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Umm Salamah! What an eventful life she had! Her real name was Hind. She was the daughter of one of the notables in the Makhzum clan nicknamed “Zad ar-Rakib,” because he was well known for his generosity, particularly to travelers. Umm Salamah’s husband was Abdullah ibn Abdul-Asad, and they both were among the first people to accept Islam. Only Abu Bakr and a few others, who could be counted on the fingers of one hand, became Muslims before them.

My brothers and sisters in Islam, As-salamu ‘alaikum!

To testify that there is One Creator who sustains, nourishes, and controls is not enough for the Muslim. The Muslim is one who believes and testifies that indeed Allah is the Creator, the Nourisher, the Sustainer, and also affirms that ONLY He is worthy of worship.

Our testimony of faith is not, ‘La Rabba ill Allah’ (There is no Lord except Allah), because if this was the case then even the mushrikeen of the time of our beloved Prophet (صلي الله عليه وسلم) believed and testified that Allah was the sole Creator. And so truly the differentiating part of our creed is that we believe that Allah is unique in His Lordship which in fact necessitates that He Alone be worshiped. Challenge yourself to learn more, click the play button and listen to the podcast!

So, another Ramadan has come and gone! 30 days of reading Qur’an and feeding the poor, 30 nights of Qiyaam-ul-Layl and Taraweeh and Tahajjud. And so, ‘Eid comes again.

Congratulations! You have been one of those lucky few who lived to receive this great blessing from Allah (سبحانه وتعالى), this chance to get all your sins forgiven! Because the Messenger of Allah (صلي الله عليه وسلم) said: “Whoever fasts during Ramadan out of sincere faith and hoping to attain Allah’s rewards, then all his past sins will be forgiven.” [Saheeh Al-Bukhari]

What does it mean to say ‘La Illaha Ill Allah’? Has one every truly sat back and wondered what makes this one testimony so special? What makes this the differentiation point between one who believes and one who doesn’t? Truly, it is every Muslims responsibility to comprehend fully what this Kalimah entails, because without it, one has not fulfilled the conditions of this testimony.

Someone asked a scholar of the past, “is not the Shahada the key to Jannah?” He replied, “Yes, but every key has ridges, so if you come with the a key with the right ridges, the door will open, otherwise it will not.”

Why are you fasting? The answer to this questions determines your reward on Judgment Day. Monks fast. Some poeple fast to lose weight. Is it a cultural thing?

Or is it because Allah is worthy of worship, and only He deserves your fast? That you are seeking His reward? This is what the Prophet (صلي الله عليه وسلم) said–“Whoever fasted Ramadan with belief, hoping for the reward from Allah, all his previous sins will be forgiven.” [Bukhari/Muslim]

Ramadan is here, you’re all excited, praying in the masjid … but how can you make the MOST of Ramadan? Do you have what it takes to keep your heart in touch, regardless of the distractions around you? To be one of those who look back and realize they’ve had an AMAZING Ramadan?

Listen to the podcast below to figure out how to plan your Ramadan! Props out to Living Halal for this amazing ilm-tastic podcast!

Of the categories of tawheed, the most common one is that of making Allah One and Unique in His Lordship i.e Tawheed ar-Ruboobiyyah. The meaning of this is believe that only Allah creates, sustains, and nourishes the entire creation. Of the manifestations of this are:

1. every object must have a creator
2. no object can escape that which is decreed
3. when in distress all of mankind calls out to his Creator. The proofs of this, the proofs of Allah’s existence is many fold, of them are:
   1. fitrah – innate nature that we are all created with
   2. the creation itself – the mountains, the sun, the moon, etc.

Listen and learn more from the podcast, more about Allah, our Rabb.

What do you make of the amazing incident when the best of the sahaba (رضالله عنه) came to the best of the Prophets (صلي الله عليه وسلم) to ask for a du’a to make in his prayers?

Narrated Abu Bakr As-Siddiq (رضالله عنه)

I asked Allah’s Apostle (صلي الله عليه وسلم) to teach me an invocation so that I may invoke Allah with it in my prayer. He told me to say,

Our purpose of creation is one and that is tawheed. Tawheed is making Allah One and Unique in His Lordship (Ruboobiyyah), in His Names and Attributes (Asmaa was Sifaat), and in His rights to be worshiped (Uloohiyyah). There are many blessings associated with tawheed, of them are:

1. Jannah
2. a means for sins to be forgiven
3. the right that Allah has over us
4. the reason for sending Prophets and Books
5. the dangers of its opposite – shirk

Who are your role models? Movie stars? Sports stars? Celebrities? Do we have any role models for Ramadan–people we can look on to and learn from? Let us take a glimpse at how our pious predecessors and the early generations spent their Ramadan.

Their reading of Qur’an in Ramadan:

• Salam ibn Abi Muti’ informs us that Qatadah used to normally complete reading the Qur’an in 7 days, but in Ramadan, he completed it in three days. Indeed, during the last ten nights of Ramadan, he read the entire Qur’an every night.
• Abd al-Malik ibn Abi Sulayman tells us that Sa’id ibn Jubayr would complete a reading of the Qur’an every two nights in Ramadan

How much of the Qur’an have YOU planned to finish this Ramadan? How much of it will YOU read with understanding and contemplation?