Fasting and Prayer for Gaza

This is the text of a call from Islamictube:

(According to moonsighting.com, the 9th and 10th of Muharram will be on Tuesday and Wednesday, January 6th and 7th.)

In the name of Allah, the Beneficent, the Merciful
 

Assalamu Alaikum waRahmatullahi waBarakatuh
 

We are all aware of the suffering our brothers and sisters in Palestine have endured over the last 60 years.  The situation has now escalated to crisis point, and over 400 have been killed, not to mention the thousands who have been injured both physically and mentally with the unjust torture they have witnessed.  We’ve conducted rally’s, wrote to the organisations that are in positions of power, and signed endless petitions….Unfortunately, our efforts demanding justice have been ignored.
 

As Muslims we are aware that only Allah (subhanahu wa ta’ala) can help us in times of need, when we have been ignored by organisations that can make changes, when our efforts are fruitless, what do we do? We turn to Allah (subhanahu wa ta’ala!!)
 

This is a plea to all Muslims out there, to unite, to stand together and pray for our brothers and sisters in Palestine.  We cannot disregard the power of dua, and in times like this, when we feel we have little or no control, we can turn to The One who has All Control and Power.  
 

We have decided to call for the following campaign, to coincide with the current month of Muharram that we are in and the day of Ashura.  This campaign will require two days of your time and for all who can participate, here are the requirements: 

To fast for the 9th and 10th of Muharram

To stand in Qiyam ul Layl (Night Prayer) on the night of the 9th and 10th of Muharram

If you cannot do the full two days, then please do what you can, even if it’s just an hour of ‘Ibadah.  We must remember that our fasting and praying (as with all forms of ‘Ibadah) are done for the pleasure of Allah (subhanahu wa ta’ala) and for Him alone.  However, the virtues of the dua of a fasting person, and the dua of one who has forsaken their sleep have been highlighted in the following hadith:

The Messenger of Allah (sallahu alayhi wa sallam) said; Three supplications will not be rejected (by Allah (subhanahu wa ta’ala)), the supplication of the parent for his child, the supplication of the one who is fasting, and the supplication of the traveler. [al-Bayhaqi, at-Tirmidhi - Sahih]
 

Abu Hurairah (radiuallahu anhu) narrated that Allah’s Messenger (sallahu alayhi wa sallam) said: ‘In the last third of every night our Rabb (Cherisher and Sustainer) (Allah (subhanahu wa ta’ala) descends to the lower-most heaven and says; “Who is calling Me, so that I may answer him? Who is asking Me so that may I grant him? Who is seeking forgiveness from Me so that I may forgive him?”‘ [Sahih al-Bukhari, Hadith Qudsi]
 

We sincerely ask for the Ummah to do what they can, there are many of us, and together we CAN make a difference, we can make a CHANGE.  Let’s show others how we conduct ourselves in hard times, how we show patience and perseverance, and most importantly, how we unite in times of hardship.  
 

The Messenger of Allah (sallahu alayhi wa sallam) said: “Believers are like a structure, parts of which support one another. The believers, in regard to mutual love, affection, fellow-feeling is that of one body; when any limb of it aches, the whole body aches, because of sleeplessness and fever.” [Sahih al-Bukhari & Muslim]
 

Please circulate this email to your friends, family, to local Masjids, College/Universities, and Community Centre’s etc…  Let’s make this a collective effort.
 

Insha’Allah we are successful in our efforts.  May Allah (subhanahu wa ta’ala) help all the Muslims who are suffering around the world, may He listen to our sincere duas and forgive us of our sins. Ameen.

More info can be found at

 
http://justquraan.wordpress.com/2009/01/02/gaza-in-need/
 
JazakAllahu khairan

Wa Salamu Alaikum
 

 

IslamicTube.net is a non-profit  Dawah Project aimed to provide an alternative on the Web.

Making a More Meaningful Salat, Part 1

O you men! It is you that have need of God. But God is the One Free of all wants, worthy of all praise.  (Quran 35:15)

  

Many of us modern Muslims have a confused relationship with Allah and with our salat.  Salat often has little place within the hectic pace of our daily lives.  Often, it is an inconvenience that we try with varying degrees of success to fit into our busy work schedules.  Sometimes it is an embarrassment, as we don’t want to break up the fun we are having with our friends by mentioning that it is time for prayer.  And even when we are at home, we find ourselves  too tired  to pray or so harrassed by the demands of our spouse or our children that salat is just another demand upon us that we fulfill grudgingly or hurriedly.  

 Once it has become a burden–or a seemingly lost cause– it can be hard to reestablish salat.  The key is, first of all, to ask Allah for help.  Then it is up to us to do our part.  Salat can become more meaningful for us if we really remember that it is a spiritual and emotional lifeline.  Try doing these 6 things to help integrate salat into your life.

How to Make Salat

Salat Part 1

Salat Part 2

This is Sheikh Adly teaching salat.  This video is good not just for learning salat for the first time, but also for a review and a way to correct any bad habits–like speeding through the prayer and changing positions too quickly.

Here is an article that gives suggestions about making salat at work, and here is an article that discusses not having made salat in a long time.

Salat at Work

 

 

You may have a busy schedule and end up trying to make all 5 prayers at the end of the day, but for most people, that just turns into another hardship.  It really is easier to make salat over the course of the day, the way it’s meant to be.  

 

Most jobs are relatively indifferent.  Sometimes we are too afraid to find out what is possible.  But many of us will find that what we do on our breaks is our business, and if we get our work done efficiently and on time, a lot of employers will just shrug.

 

Sometimes we will find that if we make it easy for our employer to have one Muslim on staff, it will make it easier for the next Muslim who applies to get hired there. 

 

Here are some things to make making salat at work easier:

It’s Been a Long Time Since I Made Salat: A Muslim Horror Story With a Hopeful Ending

This might be your story.  It starts with missing Fajr (too early) or Isha (too tired).  Zhur, Asr, and Magrib (too busy) also get lost.  Maybe you make salat once at night and try to make all five prayers at one time, but then that becomes too difficult. 

Tahajjud

 

The soul is unwilling to listen
To the body’s excuses left over
From its earlier turning away
When awakened to answer
Nature’s call and Allah’s

Heeding one, but heedless of the other
From the seeming need for sleep
The soul is numb and stunned
By an instant’s choice to ignore
For a simple hand-washing and cool sheets
A wudu that would have flowed over sins
Washing them away, readying the body to pray

The waters that should have been wudu
Have flowed away without giving any hope in Allah
The prayers in the darkness
And tears streaming down with cries
For forgiveness and mercy
Are forever lost, unmade, unprayed
The hour is gone, irretrievable

A soul that could have been full of hope
Awash now in grief and loss and shame
Like a mother in a war watching the forest stream
Carry away her fat, drowned babies

The soul waits now
Wanting another night to come
Another chance for prayer
Another chance for hope, for forgiveness

Umm Umar © 2007

The Path

Hurrying down a path
A small, ordinary stone
Caught my eye
I nearly passed it by

A second, third, fourth and fifth
Were strewn along the way
I was really in a hurry
But stopped each time that day
For the small, ordinary stones
That caught my eye
When I had nearly passed them by

Later that night
Before I went to bed
I took them out of my pocket
And discovered what I had
When I dusted them off
And polished them clean
They were the finest, brightest jewels
That I had ever seen

Now each day
As I travel on my path
I never pass it by
When a small, ordinary stone
Catches my eye

© 2007 Umm Umar