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Islam as a religion brings an answer to every single question that exists; this is why it is considered as the complete code of life. You can find the impressions of Islam in each part of a Muslim life, regardless of whether it is some financial issue, social, personal or any other thing related to life. Among the different variables, something which makes Islam the top religion in the case of the contemporary existence of today’s reality is the way that it is in total reverberation with the modern science that is a primitive instrument for the general population nowadays to judge anything.

There he stood. A grown man, towering to the sky. Broad shoulders, and so much pain in his eyes. I know it’s impossible, yet I could hear his heart sobbing. In reality though it was just the sound of my own pumping away. I stopped, asked, and what I was about to hear would break my heart in pieces. It’s a painful encounter I’ve heard over and over again of parents who’ve ‘lost’ their children for one reason or another to drugs, alcohol, fame, money, friends, etc.

Photo Credit: Pienw (Flickr) The first practical step to gaining taqwa is accountability, known as muhasabah in Arabic; taking account of your actions. We see this concept from the beginning of Islamic history.: In the Qur’an In Surah Al-Hashr, Allah says: يا ايها الذين امنوا اتقوا الله ولتنظر نفس ما قدمت لغد واتقوا الله ان الله خبير بما تعملون Translation: O you who have believed, fear Allah .

Allah introduces himself in Surah Fatiha as Ar-Rahman and Ar-Raheem, both. Both of these names derive their meaning from the word mercy (rahmah). In classical Arabic, rahmah represents the mercy of a mother for her child. As the child grows, it causes the mother to be sick and weak; it eats nutrition from the mother; in the later trimesters, the child even stretches, punches, or kicks the mother’s ribs! But still, the mother cares for, takes care of, and protects the child.

Have you ever felt like you were drowning? Submerged in the depths of the world? With darkness encompassing you everywhere you went? I have. And what makes the situation even more difficult to swim through is when you don’t know why. Everything seems to be on point; you’re praying, going to the masjid, giving charity, etc. yet that feeling of drowning is ever-so-present. What’s going on?  I want you to imagine an empty jar with dirt in it (or just look below).

There he stood. A grown man, towering to the sky. Broad shoulders, and so much pain in his eyes. I know it’s impossible, yet I could hear his heart sobbing. In reality though it was just the sound of my own pumping away. I stopped, asked, and what I was about to hear would break my heart in pieces. It’s a painful encounter I’ve heard over and over again of parents who’ve ‘lost’ their children for one reason or another to drugs, alcohol, fame, money, friends, etc.

How do we hold on to some of the good habits we developed in Ramadan? For many, Ramadan has slipped away from our mind as something of the past. However, this is an excellent time to refresh those memories and make new intentions moving forward.

Image credit: Wikipedia Ramadan ended. (May Allah accept all our prayer, fasting, du’a, and good deeds during this blessed month — ameen!) How should we, as Muslims, act now? We graduated from the school of Ramadan; can life simply return to normal? Our scholars mention a few points about this: Allah says, in surah Baqarah, that Ramadan was prescribed on us in the hope that we gain taqwa. Did we achieve that goal of the school of Ramadan?

By Sheikh Tawfique Chowdhury [https://www.youtube.com/embed/6a2Jpkp6cNM?feature=oembed] Do not let your ‘performance’ until now affect your last 10 days. The moment of forgiveness could be today or anytime in the coming days! It is not all lost! If you sincerely wish it could have been better – Chin up and get ready to make it your best yet! Start with a positive, sincere intention! Today, take a little time to read the Tafseer of Surah al-Qadr to understand what actually happens this night!

Image credit: Farazk007 The sunnah contains many examples of how rasulullah (ﷺ) dealt with children. Why is this important? Because he’s our uswah, our role-model, our example to follow. Many of his companions met him once or twice, saw him doing something once or twice, and as a result, would keep doing that thing until they died. Not because he told them to, but because they loved him, and sought to follow him as much as possible.