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To give your recitation a quick boost, try ‘Itmaam-ul-Harakaat’. No, it’s not a medicine from Yemen. ‘Itmaam’ simply means completion & ‘harakaat’ could be loosely translated to mean vowels. It means fine-tuning the vowels. Unlike English, unitary vowels in Arabic are not letters – thus not written out explicitly. Instead, they are shown with either of the following 3 marks above or below a letter.

Fathah: straight stroke on top of a letter, pronounced like the ‘a’ as in “bat”. The common mistake is to pronounce it as the ‘a’ in “ball”, thus making it heavy. Bear in mind that heavy letters are only a minority (7 of 28), so for most cases pick up the “bat” and throw the “ball” away. Trust me on this.

The root word for ٱلۡقَهَّارُ is قَهر which is defined as:

1. to compel something or someone against his/her wishes
2. to subdue
3. to overcome
4. to force [1]

Thus, with regards to Allah (سبحانه وتعال), the noble name Al-Qahhar can be translated as “the Subduer, i.e. the Subduer of His creatures by His sovereign authority and power and the Disposer of them as He pleases, with and against their will.” [1]

Islam is a deen–a complete, total, and comprehensive way of life. Islam teaches us everything, from how to worship Allah (سبحانه وتعال), to how to eat, sleep, socialize, govern a state, perform financial transactions, everything!

What, then, are some of the etiquettes of eating?

‘Umar bin Abu Salamah (رضي الله عنه) reported: Messenger of Allah (صلي الله عليه وسلم), said to me, “Mention Allah’s Name (i.e., say Bismillah before you start eating), eat with your right hand, and eat from what is near you.”

Conquest: History of the Khulafa is an AlMaghrib Institute course taught by Muhammad Alshareef.

“Follow my sunnah and the sunnah of the Khulafa Rashideen.” Advice from the Messenger of Allah (صلي الله عليه وسلم) to all of humankind–to stick to the sunnah, and follow the Khulafa Rashideen, the righteous Khalifas.

But do we know who the Khulafa Rashideen are? Abu Bakr, ‘Umar, ‘Uthmaan, and ‘Ali (رضي الله عنهم)–may Allah be pleased with them all. Do we know their personalities, their rise to Islam, the things they did for the deen? The battles they fought, the fitnah they turned away, the deviation they destroyed? Their heights of victory, their assassinations?

The topic of the ‘awrah of a woman is one of great discussion, both amongst the scholars and the laymen. In sha Allah, here is an attempt to specify what exactly is the ‘awrah of a woman in light of the evidences from the Quran and sunnah, as explained by the scholars.

A few definitions:

‘Awrah – the parts of the body that are not supposed to be exposed to anyone, except your spouses. Even in private, it is a sign of hayaa (modesty) to have your ‘awrah covered.

After the battle of Uhud, ‘Aisha (رضالله عنها) lost her necklace; so while the Muslim army moved forward, she stayed behind to find it. The army had a lost-and-found guy–Sawfan ibn Mu’atib (رضالله عنه)–who travelled behind the army and picked up lost items. So when he saw her, he immediately said la hawla wa la quwwata illa billah (there is no might or power except Allah), hopped off his camel, and let her go on it. Not one word passed between them (as they narrated later).

Everybody wants to read the Qur’an more–and why not? The Word of Allah, no less–unfiltered, unmodified, eternal; guidance for the entire planet. Yet many of us–even Arabs, who understand and have no problems reading and reciting–procrastinate and put off reading the Qur’an.

So try this inshaAllah: every day, read and recite the Qur’an for at least one minute. Try it. I mean, one minute is hardly time enough to do anything–so you have no excuse. RIGHT NOW, after you finish this post, pick up that dusty mushaf and give it one minute of attention that you know it deserves.

In the old days, back when people used to actually use gold coins, forgeries abounded; so how do you tell the difference between a real gold coin and a fake gold coin? How can you tell the percentage that’s real or not?

The answer is, you put it through a test.

Translation: Do people think that they will be left alone because they say: “We believe,” and will not be tested? And We indeed tested those who were before them. And Allah will certainly make known the truth of those who are true, and will certainly make known the falsehood of those who are liars (although Allah knows all that before putting them to test). [Surah Ankabut, 29:2-3]

Most parents love their children so much — they sacrifice their time, wealth, and energy in ensuring all their children’s needs are met or surpassed! They pray for their well-being, and also plan in advance to give them the best educate them accordingly to have the best career, so they can get the best house and car. But how often do we see parents planning for their child’s deen? If we want the best in this life for our children, then why don’t we want the best ETERNAL life for them in the akheera? To a regular person, this is the order for their needs:

Whether you travel by foot or by bike, by bus or by car, by train or by plane, you should recite the du’a the Messenger of Allah (صلي الله عليه وسلم) taught us — because du’as are always for our protection.

This du’a, in particular, comes in handy these days, since so many people have to commute to school or work.

Allah says in the Qur’an:

Translation: In order that you may mount firmly on their backs, and then may remember the Favour of your Lord when you mount thereon, and say: “Glory to Him who has subjected this to us, and we could never have it (by our efforts). And verily, to Our Lord we indeed are to return!” [Surah Zukhruf, verse 13-14]