Tag: Ramadan

Umrah, a sacred Islamic pilgrimage to Mecca, the holiest city for Muslims situated in the Hejazi region of Saudi Arabia, holds immense spiritual significance.

Particularly during Ramadan, Umrah is considered a deeply meaningful act for Muslims.

Serving as a lesser pilgrimage compared to Hajj, Umrah is believed to bestow peace upon pilgrims and provide them with an opportunity to attain blessings and rewards from Allah, both in the present and in the future.

Unlike Hajj, Umrah is not obligatory and can be performed at any time of the year.

Umrah serves a distinctive purpose for all Muslims, predominantly viewed as a spiritual endeavour to seek Allah’s blessings and favour.

Although not obligatory for every Muslim, it serves as a simple means to praise and establish a connection with Allah.

Umrah also holds significance as a Sunnah of the Prophet Muhammad (Salallahu Alaihi Wasallam). Despite some overlooking the importance of Sunnah, reflecting on relevant Quranic verses can help appreciate its value.

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The exclusivity of Umrah during Ramadan presents an unparalleled experience, as nothing surpasses the spiritual fulfillment of visiting Makkah and Madinah during the sacred month of fasting.

Muslim believers eagerly make reservations promptly to journey to the Holy Land and cherish the invaluable days of Ramadan there.

Both the Hajj and Umrah hold profound significance for every Muslim. However, Umrah during Ramadan stands out as a unique experience, unparalleled in its excitement and spiritual resonance, compared to the profound atmosphere of Makkah and Madinah during the sacred month of fasting.

The Holy month of Ramadan is when Muslims refuel their Imaan (faith) for the entire year.

To take charge of this course, below are 10 exercise to undergo while in the season of Ramadan:

1. Read Quran daily: Reading the Quran is more effective in Ramadan because as you fast, you strengthen your consciousness of Allah which allows you to better internalise the teachings of the Quran and align your behavior to these teachings.

You will be rewarded 10 rewards for every letter you read. This prize basically illustrates the weight of the Quran in terms of where it should be in your life.

Ramadan is the perfect opportunity for us to develop a routine by making reading the Holy Quran part of your daily lifestyle choices.

2. Pray Sunnah Salaat before and/or after Salaat: “Allah will build house in Jannah for whoever is diligent in observing 12 sunnah rakat (as follows) 4 rakat before and 2 after Dhur, 2 after the Maghrib, 2 after Ishaa, and 2 before Fajr.”
[Tirmidhi]

During this month, there are so many extra blessings you can attain and praying your voluntary prayers before and/or after your obligatory salaat is an easy way to gain these. If we give ourselves the time to pray these extra salaat for this month, then during the rest of months, it would become like second nature to us. Make this a habit, and you would soon feel incomplete in your salaat without your voluntary prayers, and feel so much more spiritual when you complete them; not to mention, your blessings would be increasing and you would feel more accomplished.

3. Increase your remembrance of Allah: “O You who believe! Remember Allah with much remembrance” {Surat Al-‘Aĥzāb33: Verse 41}.
This could be as simple as doing dikhr (remembrance) while you’re in the car going to work, or in the check-out line at the grocery. Any and all free time could be the vehicle you use to develop your dikhr of Allah.

A few common things you can say are: SubhanAllah or SubhanAllahwabihamdihi (“I praise Allah (or All praise if to Allah) above all attributes that do not suit His Majesty.”). It is recorded that the reward for saying this is that a tree will be planted for you in Paradise. Another hadith records that whoever says this 100 times a day, his/her sins will be forgiven even if they were as much as the foam of the sea [Bukhari].
Alhamdulillah (“All praise is for Allah.”)
The stated reward for this one is that your scales will be tipped in your favour on the Day of Judgment.
La hawlawa la quwwataillabillah (“There is no power or might except (by) Allah.”)
You will enter through a special door in Paradise if you oft use this remembrance.

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SubhanAllah (x33), Alhamdulillah (x33), Allahuakbar (x34) “I praise Allah (or All praise if to Allah) above all attributes that do not suit His Majesty. All praise is to Allah. Allah is Great.”)
This is commonly said after all salaat and before you go to sleep.

4. Give extra charity: In addition to your Zakaat (obligatory charity) you should find a way every day to give extra charity. Feed a hungry child or family; give away some of your clothes to needy people; or even help an elderly person cross the road. The possibilities for charity are limitless. Our beloved Prophet Muhammad salallahualeyhiwasallam, has said that even a smile is charity. The little things would add up and would be a great source of your blessings. Further, the satisfaction you will get from being kind and charitable to others would be a fulfilling experience.

5. Do not engage in unnecessary talk: It has been reported that if someone approaches you and engages in nonconstructive talk, then you say ‘I am fasting, I am fasting’ and stop it in its tracks. This is a good way to cleanse your thoughts as well. Think positively and talk positively.

6. Visiting a sick Muslim: “There is no Muslim who visits a sick Muslim early in the morning but 70 thousand angles send blessings upon him until evening comes, and if he visits him in the evening, 70 thousand angles send blessings upon him until morning comes, and he will have a garden in paradise.”
[Tirmidhi]

7. Providing food for breaking the fast: “Whoever provides food for breaking of the fast for a fasting person receives the reward of the fasting person, without the reward of the fasting person being reduced in any way.”
[Tirmidhi & Ibn Majah]

This is an easy way to receive more blessings during this month, while increasing our spirituality.

8. Standing in prayer on Laylatul Qadr: “LaylatulQadr is better than a thousand months.”
{Surat Al-Qadr 97: Verse 3}

The rewards from prayers of this night is equivalent to a thousand months. This is a great opportunity to get closer to Allah and build up your spirituality.

9. Asking Allah to forgive & help Muslims all over the world: “Whoever seeks forgiveness for believing men and believing women, Allah will write for him a good deed for each believing man and believing woman.”
[Tabarani]

“Thus have we made of you an Ummah justly balanced, that you might be witnesses over the nations, and the Apostle a witness over yourselves…..” (2:143)

“You are the best Ummah raised up for people: you enjoin good and forbid evil and you believe in Allah.” (3:110)

This is a powerful way to make the best out of our Ramadan.

10. Attend lectures and events in the Masjid: “Whoever goes to the mosque not desiring except to learn or teach what is good has the reward of a pilgrim who completed his Hajj”.

In the course of fasting during the Ramadan season, Muslims must note that there are different types of prayers during the Holy Month of Ramadan. 

The Nation reported that Ramadan is dedicated entirely to Allah and His blessings via prayers so that His divine blessings may wash away the sins of a repentant Muslim in the hope of reward in the afterlife through various ways.

It can be carried out through the obligatory prayers, the congregational Taraweeh, and Zikr, the remembrance of Allah.

1. Taraweeh: A particular type of congregational prayer exclusive to the month of Ramadan is Taraweeh prayers, which are at night after breaking fast after evening prayer with physical movements akin to those Muslims do during their five daily salat.

Read Also: Seven things that don’t invalidate Ramadan fast

This is twenty rakats, but it is permissible to do a minimum of 8 if one wishes. In Taraweeh, a hafiz, or one who has memorised the Quran, recites one chapter of the Quran each night while followers stand behind and pray along.

Throughout Ramadan, the Quran is read in its entirety, one chapter at a time. As reading the Quran (and finishing it, if you can), is highly recommended during Ramadan, attending Taraweeh prayers is a great way to absorb the virtues of the Quran in a congregational setting.

2. Laylat ul-Qadr: The Night Of Power: As beneficial as all prayers are during Ramadan, any recited on Laylat ul-Qadr, or “The Night of Power,” receive the most reward.

Laylat Al Qadr is one of the holiest nights of Ramadan. It falls on the night of one of the odd days during the last ten days of Ramadan, often on the 27th day of the month.

This depends on the sight of the moon. It is the night the Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) received the first revelation of the Quran. Most mosques try to complete the recitation of the Quran on Laylat Al Qadr, and it is recommended for Muslims to attend Taraweeh at their local mosque on this night.

Muslims often try to spend the entire night in prayer, reciting surahs from the Quran and all sorts of supplications, whether personal or from scripture.

The importance of prayer and devotion on this night is unimaginable, as the Quran calls this night “better than a thousand months.”

3. Dhikr or prayers recited repeatedly in the remembrance of God, is often thought to be part of the Sufi Islamic tradition, when in fact, it is an integral part of all Muslims’ lives and essential during Ramadan.

A great way to connect with God while doing all the mundane chores of daily life (driving, waiting in line, preparing the evening meal) is to recite over and over these short phrases: Subhanallah, an expression used by Muslims to express strong feelings of joy or relief, recalls how everything Muslims have is thanks to Allah.

Alhamdulillah, or “Praise be to God!” (It is a Qur’anic exclamation with a similar meaning as hallelujah.)

Astaghfirullah, which means “I seek forgiveness from God” from mistakes and sins made.

Allahu Akbar, or “God is the Greatest.”

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For Muslims partaking in the ongoing Ramadan, there are things to note that don’t nullify or spoil the fast.

Below are seven things that don’tnvalidate the fast:

1. Involuntary vomiting. Abu Hurayra reported that the prophet had said “He who is overcome by vomiting shall not make restitution”.

2. The cupping of blood from the head. Thabit Al Bannani asked Anas Iba Malik : “Did the Prophet forbid head bleeding for the person who fasts ?” Anas said : “Not unless a person is weak”.

3. Wet Dreams. The Prophet is reported to have said that “a man’s fast is not spoiled for in voluntary vomiting or wet dreams.”

4. Unintentional eating or drinking. The Prophet said : “Allah forgives my people for acts committed by mistake, or out of absent mindedness, and acts performed under compulsion.” He also said that, “a man who fasts and who absent mindedly eats or drinks shall continue his fast.”

5. Rinsing the mouth and bathing in an attempt to reduce the effect of the summer heat. One of the Prophet’s companions reported that he used “to see the Prophet pour water on his head while he was fasting”.

6. If a man gets up in the morning in a state of ritual uncleanliness it does not affect his fast.

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7. A man who eats, drinks or sleeps with his wife thinking that it is still before dawn. The same applies if he thinks that it is after sunset. There are two opinions in this respect:

(a) The fast is valid, for Allah said: “You are not to blame for what you do by mistake, but you are for premeditated acts”.

Zayd Ibn Wahb is reported to have said: “People broke the fast during the time of Omar Ibn al-Khattab I have seen water vessels, brought from the house of Hafsa, from which the people drank. Immediately, the sun appeared from behind a cloud. The people wanted to fast another day in restitution, but Omar intervened. “Why ?” he asked. “By Allah, we did not mean any wrong”.

(b) The other school of thought makes restitution imperative.

Kohl does not spoil the fast. The Prophet is reported to have used it while fasting in Ramadan.

The rule about Kohl applies to eye drops ,eye drops, or nose drops even if they reach the throat. This rule also covers snuff, road dust, intravenous, muscular, or subcutaneous injections. Some scholars have included enema under this heading because it comes out again, drawing forth that which it is intended that it draws out. The rule even applies to the smelling of strange scents, to chewing gum, or tasting food, provided nothing of it reaches the stomach. Abu Muhammad Ibn Hazm summed it up as follows:

“Allah forbade us, during the fast, from eating, drinking, sexual intercourse, deliberate vomiting and sins. We know of no food or drink which could be consumed through the anus, urethra, ear, eye, nose from a wound in the abdomen or head. Apart from food and drink we are not prohibited from letting anything reach the stomach”.

To the Muslims partaking in the ongoing Ramadan fast, there are things to stay away from while at it. 

 Below are things to note to further guide devoted Muslims on abstinence. 

1. Food, drink and sexual intercourse from dawn until sunset, In accordance with the verse of the Quran : “Now therefore go unto them and seek what Allah has ordained for you, and eat and drink until the white thread of dawn be comes distinct from the black thread, then observe the fast till nightfall”.

The black thread means the darkness of night and the white thread means the light of day at dawn.

Every Muslim may, during the night, satisfy his needs with regard to food, drink and women, when dawn comes he must abstain till sunset.

Smoking, drug taking and the injection of nourishing solutions into the body (e.g. calcium or vitamins) are strictly forbidden.

Sexual intercourse must be followed by complete ablution, i.e. a bath covering all parts of the body.

2. Obscene speech. The Prophet said: “While fasting, you shall not indulge in obscene speech or boisterous talk. If someone insults you or quarrels with you, tell him : `I am one who fasts. “

3. Falsehood in speech or action. The Prophet said : “He who does not abstain from false- hood in words or deeds, God has no need for him to abstain from his food and drink.”

4. Slander. One day the Prophet passed by women who, while fasting, were gossiping.

He said : “These two women abstained from what God had ordered them to do and indulged in what God had forbidden them to do”.

5. Lying, lustful looks, false oath, slander and calumny. The Prophet said : “Five things spoil a man’s fast – lying, slander, calumny, the false oath and the lustful look.”

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Some ulama believe that those forbidden things spoil one’s fast. They base their verdict on the Prophet’s warning that “five things spoil a man’s fast… etc.” and other ravings mentioned earlier. They also base their verdict on a definite quotation. The Prophet said :”there may be a man whose gain from his fast is confined to hunger and thirst” These `ulama include Ibn Hazm and the late rector of AI-Azhar, Sheikh Mahmoud Shaltout,

A second group of `ulama believe that these forbidden things do not spoil the fast, but abstention from them makes one’s fast more complete.

Perhaps, in no other month of Hijrah calendar is the role of Muslim women (especially wives) more pronounced than in Ramadan. Like in other months, they display the roles of wives, mothers as well as that of their husband’s confidants. But more than in other months, they mostly exhibit their spiritual dedication in Ramadan.  

In that sacred month they fast like their men counterparts. They observe Salat five times daily like their male counterparts except when they are in menstrual period. They also join their male counterparts in observing Tarawih after the Iftar every evening. Some of them even attend Tafsir and public lectures during the days. Yet, they carry out their normal occupational functions like their male counterparts either in offices, shops, or farms. Yet, they never relent in carrying out their matrimonial duties.

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Even as some of them assist their husbands financially in maintaining the homes, they still take care of those husbands as well as their children and relatives domestically. At the time of the day when the husbands are knocked out by fatigue arising from fasting, the wives are still busy in the kitchen preparing Iftar for the household. And at the time in the night when some husbands are engaged in Tahajjud, or are snoring in bed, the wives are already up in the kitchen preparing the Sahur for the family.

Some of these women are carrying pregnancy. Some are suckling their children. Some of them are knowledgeable enough to do the Tilawah (recitation of the Qur’an) like their husbands. Some of them are even rich enough to finance the home fully or partially.

And, in all these activities, they never feel tired. Where and when they feel tired, they never show it. If any month has ever depicted the virtues of women in terms of strength and dedication, it is Ramadan. Wives are the live wire of the matrimonial homes just as their husbands are the transformers. Prophet Muhammad (SAW) was quoted as saying that “The best amongst you (men) are those who are best to their wives in treatment….” Therefore, if only for the reason of their activities in Ramadan alone, wives deserve tenderness and dignified treatment in the hands of their husbands.

• RAMADAN KARIM!