Ramadan Mubarak to you and your families! May Allah (سبحانه وتعالى) make this a most blessed and beneficial month for you all, and a source of taqwa and eman for the whole year, ameen! Subhanallah, one of the companions of the Prophet (صلي الله عليه وسلم) even said, “We spend half the year making du’a for Allah (سبحانه وتعالى) to allow us to see another Ramdaaan, and we spend half the year making du’a for Allah (سبحانه وتعالى) to accept the Ramdaan that passed.

In Surah Fatiha, Allah Almighty says: غَيرِ المَغضُوبِ عَلَيهِمْ وَلاَ الضَّالِّينَ Translation: Not of those who earned your anger, nor of those astray. From this verse, scholars mention that we identify three levels of practice. First, there are those who don’t know–they don’t know about Islam. They don’t know about the truth. Or they don’t know enough–for example, how to pay zakaah. These are the ones mentioned as gone astray (الضَّالِّينَ).

Ramadan kills all the excuses we make for ourselves throughout the year, and allows us to soar to new heights of eman! If someone said to you, “let’s go to the masjid every day,” you’d say “we can’t do it!” but, in Ramdan, you do it! If someone said “let’s play Qiyam al-Layl all night,” you’d say “we can’t do it!” but, in Ramdan, you do it! Subhanallah, in Ramdan, wishes and hopes and dreams can become reality!

Madd (pronounced like “mud”), literally means “extension”. In recitation of the Qur’an (tajweed), madd is when you extend and stretch a vowel sound (aah, ooh, etc.). There are two types of madd: fard (obligatory: you have to recite it) and mustahab (recommended: you should recite it). The general rule is that a madd inside a word is fard, while a madd that connects two words is mustahab. For example, in Surah Baqarah, Allah says:

In many countries (mostly Western countries–America, Canada, Europe, etc.) our communities fight over the actual start date of Ramadan. This, itself, is not so bad–because, alhamdulillah, everyone backs up their opinion with a legitimate fiqh source (more on that in a second). However, the problem is that people in the same region fast on different days–sometimes, even two people in the same house fast on different days! So how do we go about picking an appropriate date to start fasting?

For those who live in Western societies, fitnah abounds. From the moment you leave your house (or even before that), it bombards you from all sides, whether you’re a man or a woman. How can we lower our gaze under these distressing conditions? The following tactics will benefit you inshallah if you apply them consistently. Peripheral Vision: Fix your gaze on the ground a meter or two in front of you and see with your peripheral vision.

The following is some amazing nasiha adapted from an article by Dr. Aisha Hamdan (additional notes are italicized). Read it inshallah ta’ala and benefit from it. Props to The Muslimah Corner for finding it. You can find the original here. The young and excited bride-and-groom-to-be, ecstatic about the upcoming wedding and marriage, and the joy that it will bring. Three to six months later, reality sets in, and both spouses realize that marriage is no easy task, but one that takes a great deal of effort and patience.

Another important gem we learn from the Prophet (صلي الله عليه وسلم) and the early generations is that power comes with conciseness. During the time of the Prophet (صلي الله عليه وسلم), he received a letter from a man named Musaylimah, who claimed prophethood as well, and wished to divide up the area. In response, the Prophet (صلي الله عليه وسلم) wrote: “From Muhammad the Messenger of Allah to Musaylimah the liar.

During the battle of Yarmuk, Az-Zubayr (رضي الله عنه) tried to incite the mujahideen to fight against the Romans. (You can read the entire incident here.) From this incident, we learn some important leadership lessons: When nobody steps up to the task, the leader must take the initiative to get the job done. Because, one way or another, the task must be completed. Leaders also work in the trenches, when circumstances require it of them.

What exactly is a hadith? It’s a saying of the Prophet (صلي الله عليه وسلم). The Science of Hadith defines a hadeeth as “whatever is attributed to the Prophet, in terms of sayings, actions, approvals, and physical and character descriptions.” 1 Ahadith are an important part of Islam. They complement and the Qur’an, and provide us with numerous benefits and different types of information, including: Laws not directly stated in the Qur’an (eg.