Muslim Advice

Muslim Advice

Allah has chosen and given preference to certain days and times that are special and sacred in our religion. As many of you may know by now, the sacred month of Muharram (which begins the new Islamic year) has started today.
The Prophet of Allah said, “The division of time has turned to its original form which was current the day Allah created the heavens and earth. The year consists of twelve months of which four are sacred: three consecutive months, Dhu’l-Qa’dah, Dhu’l-Hijjah and Muharram, and Rajab which comes between Jumada and Sha’ban.” [Bukhari and Muslim]

VIRTUES OF MUHARRAM
 It is one of the four sacred months. Allah said, “Verily, the number of months with Allah is twelve months (in a year), so was it ordained by Allah on the Day when He created the heavens and the earth; of them four are Sacred. That is the right religion, so wrong not yourselves therein” (9:36)

KUALA LUMPUR: The additional haj quota approved by the Saudi Arabia's government has cut the waiting time for pilgrims who are on Tabung Haji's waiting list by up to 13 years.
Minister in the Prime Minister's Department Datuk Seri Jamil Khir Baharom (pic)told the Dewan Rakyat that the waiting time has been shortened from 102 to 89 years for some 2.5 million Tabung Haji depositors who are waiting to perform their haj pilgrimage.
"The visit by Saudi Arabia's King Salman Abdulaziz Al-Saud to Malaysia recently had bring good news to our pilgrims who had waited for a long time.
"With the additional quota, the waiting period has been shorted by 13 years for which we are grateful," he said in reply to a supplementary question from Datuk Takiyuddin Hassan (PAS-Kota Baru) during Question Time on Monday.
Takiyuddin had sought the government's assurance over whether depositors will continue to enjoy the benefit provided by Tabung Haji in the future.

Introduction :
It is admitted fact that every moment, second, minute, hour, day or night that is spent in the submission of Allah Almighty and His Beloved Prophet (SAW) is exceedingly meaningful and precious. But there are some days, nights and months which have their own weight and Allah, the compassionate, lays immense stress upon them to unveil their importance to his rationale creatures.
What is Shabaan?
Among those months, those hold much importance is Sha’ban and the holy month of Ramadhan, The Holy Month of Sha’ban is one of the blessed months that holds much too for us from the mercy, compassion and kindness of Allah Almighty. Sha’ban is the name of the (eigth) month of the Islamic lunar calendar, and it is so called because in this month the Arabs used to disperse (tasha’aba) in search of water, or it was said that it is so called because it sha’aba (branches out or emerges) i.e., it appears between the months of Rajab and Ramadan.

Article 270
As it has been said before, each of the Wuqufs in “Arafat’ and “Mash'ar” are of two kinds:
1- Voluntary Wuquf 2- Emergency Wuquf
“Voluntary Wuquf of Arafat” is from about the noon until the sunset.
“Emergency Wuquf of Arafat” is some time, even a short time, of the night of the Eid.
“Voluntary Wuquf of Mash'ar” is from the dawn until the sunrise of the day of the Eid.
“Emergency Wuquf of Mash'ar” is from the sunrise until the noon of the day of the Eid.
Albeit “Mash'ar’ has another emergency Wuquf which is for women and weak and ill persons and it is staying a part of the night of Eid and departing there for Mena.Here, we explain the rulings of persons who perceive all of these kinds of Wuqufs or some of them.
1- If a person performs both Wuqufs in Arafat and Mash'ar voluntarily (which is from the noon until the sunset of the day of Arafa in Arafat, and from the dawn until the sunrise in Mash'ar al-Haraam), surely his/her Hajj is correct.

THE QURAN ON FASTING
"O you who believe! Fasting is prescribed for you as it was prescribed for those before you, that you may become Al-Muttaqun (the pious).
(Fasting) for a fixed number of days, but if any of you is ill or on a journey, the same number (should be made up) from other days. And as for those who can fast with difficulty, (i.e. an old man, etc.), they have (a choice either to fast or) to feed a poor person (for every day). But whoever does good of his own accord, it is better for him. And that you fast, it is better for you if only you know." (2:183-84)

"The month of Ramadan in which was revealed the Quran, a guidance for mankind and clear proofs for the guidance and the criterion (between right and wrong). So whoever of you sights (the crescent on the first night of) the month (of Ramadan), he must fast that month, and whoever is ill or on a journey, the same number (of days which one did not fast must be made up) from other days.

Article 55
Wearing Ihram before Miqat is not permitted, as it is Haraam to pass Miqat without Ihram. Pilgrims should only become Muhrim in Miqats, except on two conditions:
1- When the pilgrim performs Nazr for becoming Muhrim before Miqat, it is necessary to fulfill his/her Nazr from anywhere, and not necessary to renew Ihram in Miqat. Accordingly, when a person has doubt in Miqat or places parallel to that, he/she can perform “Nazr of Ihram” before reaching the doubtful place and become Muhrim from there and there is no difference between obligatory and Mustahab Hajj. Also Nazr of woman has no problem if it does not cause disturbance for her husband.
2- A person who wants to perform Umrah of month of Rajab and has a fear that month ends before he/she can reach the Miqat, can become Muhrim before Miqat. It is permitted for him in order not to lose the superiority and benefit of Umrah of month of Rajab.
Article 56

Introduction

All praise is due to Allah. We praise Him, seek His help, and ask His forgiveness. We seek refuge in Allah from the evil of our souls, and the adverse consequences of our deeds. Whoever Allah guides, there is none that can misguide him. And whoever He misguides, then none can guide him aright.

I bear witness that there is no deity that is worthy of worship except for Allah; He is alone, having no partners. And I bear witness and testify that Muhammad (peace be upon him) is His perfect worshipper and messenger.

• By Prof. Shahul Hameed
• Published on 01 Sep 2008
• Last modified on 29 Jun 2014
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It was Muhammad, may the mercy and blessings of God be upon him, who made us raise our eyes from the dust beneath to view the glory of the starry heavens above. It was Muhammad who led us from the depths of darkness to the grandeur of the light of God.
The Prophet was the one who led us to break our stone statues and wooden gods. It was Muhammad who lifted us out of the filth of idolatry to relish the serenity of God’s transcendence.
On the Night of Power in one Ramadan, the Quran descended on Muhammad, and he received its first verses in the Cave of Hira. (Ibn Abbas)

Allah has assigned a great reward for Hajj Mabrur, as evidenced by the saying of the Messenger (peace be upon him) "There is no reward for Hajj Mabrur except Paradise." (1)

The meaning of birr (from which the word "Mabrur" is derived) involves the following two:

Good behavior towards people, fulfilling ones duties towards others and giving them their rights. In the Hadith, "Al Birr is good behavior." (3) In the Musnad, from Jabir, Marfu` narration states, "They said: 'What makes Hajj Mabrur, O Prophet of Allah (peace be upon him)?' He said, 'providing food to people and spreading (the greeting of) salam'." (4)

Doing much worship and the trait of Taqwa, as opposed to sinfulness. Allah says,


Do you order people towards al-birr (righteousness) while you forget (it) yourselves?
[Noble Quran 2:44]

Article 17
Whenever a sane and adult person performs Nazr (make a spiritual vow) purposely and by free will for performing Hajj, then Hajj is obligatory for that person. But the Nazr of a wife, if it has a contradiction with her rights, is not permitted without the permission of her husband, and if it has no such contradiction then it is in order.
Article 18
Whenever a person does Nazr for performing Hajj and does not specify a time for that, then this person can delay. However if he/she had specified the time, then it is obligatory for him/her to perform Hajj in that specific time and if the person does not perform that purposely he/she should pay its compensation and perform it in another time as a precaution.
Article 19

TUBAN, Indonesia
Indonesia announced Thursday that Saudi Arabia has met Jakarta’s request for an increased Hajj quota for citizens of the world’s most populous Muslim country.
Foreign Minister Retno Marsudi said Indonesia’s quota for the annual Islamic pilgrimage to Saudi Arabia has been increased by 52,200 to 221,000 pilgrims this year.
She added that Jakarta would therefore no longer ask other countries for their unused quotas as it had done in 2016, when 177 Indonesians were arrested at Manila airport carrying Philippine Hajj passports believed to have been acquired fraudulently for $6,000-$10,000.
"There will be no quotas requested from other countries. Since the [additional quota] increases quite a lot," Marsudi was quoted by metrotvnews.com as saying at the presidential palace.
As the recipient of the largest Hajj quota, Indonesia -- which has a population of around 256 million -- sends around 200,000 pilgrims to Mecca and Medina every year.

If everything goes as planned, Muslims could travel from Mumbai port to Jeddah by ship to perform the annual pilgrimage as early as next year.
The Hajj season will begin in August, when hundreds and thousands of Muslims will embark on a pilgrimage to Makkah and Madinah from India and other countries around the globe. The annual Hajj quota was significantly increased to 1.70 lakh people by the Saudi Arabia government for Indian muslims.
However, there have been concerns related to the subsidy given to Hajj pilgrims by the government on the air fares. As the fear of increased Hajj costs might worry some potential Hajis (a person who has been to Mecca as a pilgrim), a PTI report on Wednesday brings relief.

Millions of Muslims around the world mark the start of Ramadan — a month of intense prayer, dawn-to-dusk fasting and nightly feasts. Here’s a look at some questions and answers about Islam’s holiest month:

Why do Muslims fast?
The fast is intended to bring the faithful closer to God and to remind them of the suffering of those less fortunate. Muslims often donate to charities during the month and feed the hungry.
Fasting is an exercise in self-restraint. It’s seen as a way to physically and spiritually detoxify by kicking impulses like morning coffee, smoking and midday snacking.
Ramadan is a time to detach from worldly pleasures and focus on one’s prayers. Many Muslims dress more conservatively during Ramadan and spend more time at the mosque than at any other time of the year.
Fasting during Ramadan is one of the five pillars of Islam, along with the Muslim declaration of faith, daily prayer, charity, and performing the hajj pilgrimage in Mecca.

How do Muslims fast?

The Islamic Calendar has 12 months but, unlike Western calendars, has only 354 days. This is because the Islamic Calendar (or Hijri Calendar) follows the movements of Earth's Moon.
Like much of Islam, the calendar is based on the Quran and on personal reflection of the relationship between Muslims and Allah. Each month of the Islamic Calendar officially begins when the lunar crescent is first seen after a new moon. This is not always an exact time, especially if the skies are cloudy or overcast. In a sense, the start of each month can be different for everyone. Many people, however, prefer to rely on an official announcement by Muslim authorities as to when each month begins.

The importance of the lunar cresent is also partly the explanation for why many countries with predominantly Muslim populations have a crescent shape on their flags.
The 12 months of the Islamic Calendar, in order are these:
1. Muharram
2. Safar
3. Rabi' al-awwal
4. Rabi' al-thani
5. Jumada al-awwal

Ramadan is one of the most important festivals on Islam and is celebrated at the end of the month long fasting during the month of the same name. It is celebrated with new clothes, typical foods, visits to friends and families and a large party given by the community where everybody mingles happily together. This is the day of forgetting past grievances and sins and make a new beginning.

Ramadan 2017 is on June 26 Monday
The importance of Ramadan
There are five main duties of a devout Muslim. One of them is to observe a month long fasting during the month of Ramadan. This is the ninth lunar month of the Islamic calendar. During this month, adult Muslims do not eat or drink anything from sundown. They do not take tobacco or alcohol and refrain from sexual relations and some form of swearing. They offer prayers every day and recite the Quran. Only people who are old, sick, travelling, pregnant, breastfeeding or going through the menstrual cycle are exempt from fasting.