This Week's Tenant

Right Religion is an interesting blog which has deep thoughtful discussions about all what is related to religion. You can visit and participate in topics about existance of God, His characteristics etc or you can go there with your suggestions and ideas which is what it asks for. And the author has described himself as a student searching for truth, and you can take part in his quest.

Plz visit (you can see the thumbnail on the right as well), share your views and let the author know what you think of his blog. May God guide us all to the truth Aameen!

And let me complete this post with something that God said in the Quraan, a simple and straightforward idea that He gives about Himself,

Say `He is God, the Only One ! ALLAH the Independent and Besought of all.

`HE begets not, nor, is HE begotten, And there is none like unto HIM.

[112: 1-4 - The Holy Quraan]

Peace to All,

I will be away for a few days till Sunday, going to meet and stay with my relatives for Eid. And I hope you people enjoy the days too. InshaAllah.

Leaving you with two beautiful verses from the Quraan:

"Those who turn to ALLAH in repentance, who worship HIM, who praise HIM, who go about in the land serving HIM, who bow down to HIM, who prostrate themselves in Prayer, who enjoin good and forbid evil, and who observe the limits set by ALLAH. And give glad tidings to those who believe". 9:111

Surely, all believers are brothers. So make peace between your brothers, and fear ALLAH that mercy may be shown to you. 49: 10

~*~ Happy Eid ~*~

Allahu Akbar, Allahu Akbar

La ilaha IllAllahu WAllahu Akbar

Allahu Akbar, Walillahil Hamd

Allah is the Greatest, There is no God but He, And all praise is for Him alone.

HAJJ 2006

Watch the Muslim pilgrimage to Makkah Live from Saudi TV

Diary of the Hajj

Tenant

My tenant this week is about food, Kitchen Fun (you see the thumbnail on the right column) I also like the way this site is so beautifuly designed.

Go ahead and find yourself the best recipies. A WARNING follows though!

Must keep in mind the Islamic guidelines for eating the right kind of food, which is decent and healthy. As Islam strictly disallows consuming pork, wine / intoxicants in any form they may be, and meat not slaughtered islamically.

A lot of recipies at Kitchen Fun may have those ingredients. And we knowAllah disallows even a bite or a sip of those to be taken (unless ones life is in danger and there is no choice). I know you know this and would have avoided, but I think it was neccesary that I mention.

But ofcourse that is not so with all the recipies there, and i recommend that you visit there when you are really hungry, there are some really good and mouth-watering recipies, especially in the Veggies section, and try them, and leave a comment there as well, tell there I sent you.

I also want to convey here that what's unhealthy and bad is so for all, no matter where you belong, wheter Muslim, Chrisitian, Jew, hindu, aethiest or anyone else. What we eat is what we are.

Extending this a bit more, the number one reason why these few food are not allowed in Islam, is because God Himself forbade them, just as He did in the Bible and the Torah.

Among countless kinds of food that God has made for us, only a few He said you should not eat, it is both a test for us, and at the same time is in our favor, as those foods are REALLY unfitting to our health and hygiene. Science proves the same.

In the Quraan Allah says, addressing ALL mankind:

O you people, eat of what is on earth lawful and good, and do not follow the footsteps of Satan, for he is to you an avowed enemy. 11:168

here for all what God says about food in the Quraan.

and to the believers:

"He has only forbidden you carrion, blood, the flesh of swine and that on which any other name has been invoked besides that of God. But if one is forced by necessity, without wilful disobedience or transgressing due limits, then is he guiltless. For God is Oft-forgiving Most Merciful". 11:173

And in Bible He speaks of it too saying:

“And the swine, though he divide the hoof, and be clove-footed, yet he cheweth not the cud; he is UNCLEAN to you. Of their flesh shall ye not eat, and their carcass shall ye not touch; they are unclean to you.” Leviticus (11:7-8), (also Deut., 14:8)

A list of lawful and unlawful foods

Update: I found a book related to the topic, you may want to check it out.

English - What God said about Eating Pork Buy Today @ AL-Basheer.com

Who is Allah?

The Meaning of Allah

Allah is the Name of the Lord, the Exalted. It is said that Allah is the Greatest Name of Allah, because it is referred to when describing Allah by the various attributes. For instance, Allah said

He is Allah, beside Whom none has the right to be worshipped but He, the Knower of the unseen and the seen. He is the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful. He is Allah, beside Whom La ilaha illa Huwa, the King, the Holy, the One free from all defects, the Giver of security, the Watcher over His creatures, the Almighty, the Compeller, the Supreme. Glory be to Allah! (High is He) above all that they associate as partners with Him. He is Allah, the Creator, the Inventor of all things, the Bestower of forms. To Him belong the Best Names. All that is in the heavens and the earth glorify Him. And He is the Almighty, the Wise) (59:22-24).

Hence, Allah mentioned several of His Names as Attributes for His Name Allah. Similarly, Allah said,

And (all) the Most Beautiful Names belong to Allah, so call on Him by them) (7:180), and,

(Say (O Muhammad :) "Invoke Allah or invoke the Most Gracious (Allah), by whatever name you invoke Him (it is the same), for to Him belong the Best Names.'') (17:110)

Also, the Two Sahihs recorded that Abu Hurayrah said that the Messenger of Allah said,

(Allah has ninety-nine Names, one hundred minus one, whoever counts (and preserves) them, will enter Paradise.)

These Names were mentioned in a Hadith recorded by At-Tirmidhi and Ibn Majah, and there are several differences between these two narrations.

Tafsir Ibn Katheer

Is There Hope for Them?

Browsing for the news for my earthquake section, i m really feeling sad today. Life is so bitter for the people who are surviving after the quake in Himalyas. Its is piercing cold with snow there. And imagine all the rest and ease that we have in the warmth of our houses. All things that we need ready at our hands, warm water to wash ourselves, warm clothes, beds, blankets, quilts, pillows, clean and healthy food and water (and tea), clean environment. All things that save you from this biting weather, and these are what we dont think to be luxuries but as neccessities.

BUT those people from the cold mountains have NONE of these. Their flimsy tents are just as bad as being outside and facing the icy winds. Burning a fire inside could kill themselves. They still take the risk when their hands and bodies become stiff with cold, but it doesnt do any good. They dont have enough warm clothes to wear, and sitting on the bare earth inside a tent feels just like being on a slab of ice. Even outside under the sun the wind bites through the bones.

"Our skin becomes so hard that we can't move our hands properly, and they start to bleed," an old man said, and the same news report says that 2.4 million blankets suitable for winter and 1.2 million quilts are urgently required.

Its 2.5 million that are living in tents, and still another 400,ooo at the higher altitudes where probably there are no camps, and by January it will be snowing many feets.

Their troubles are endless, but the world has already forgotten them, the promised help has not reached them while they are in dire need of it.

THe point is think of all that you could need if you were them. Sweaters, jackets, socks, caps, gloves, shoeswinterized tents, anything to keep them going and warm. Food and medicine also because they are getting infections, and pneumonia.

Find out ways in which you can help them.

My side bar has the link to donate to Islamic Relief

and another one to direct you to a page listed with a number of organizations you can choose from and donate.

Go ahead and give them hope to live.

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And whatever you spend in the way of ALLAH, it shall be paid back to you in full and you shall not be wronged- The Quraan 8:61

Behold ! You are those who are called upon to spend in the way of ALLAH; but of you there are some who are niggardly. And whoso is niggardly, is niggardly only against his own soul. 47: 38.

And those of you who believe and spend will have a great reward. 57:7

'In the Name of Allah'

Blessings of Reciting 'Bismillah'

['Bismillah' is a short prayer for blessing, and for getting God's help and protection before starting any act]

In one of my previous post Beginning the Quraan, I talked about why it is important to begin the Quraan by saying Ta'awuz ("I seek Allah's refuge against Satan, the rejected"), the next etiquiette is to say 'In the name of Allah, Most Gracious, Most Merciful', and then we begin reading the Quraan.

This is to be said not just to begin reading the Quraan, but before doing anything except a bad or evil task.

When starting a work by Allah's (The God) name, He puts blessings in that, it could be in the sense that the output is increased, or it is done in a better way and also it reminds us that because we started by saying God's name, we must not cheat in it etc. or we must not do it in such a way to harm others or ourselves, or in anyway that can be evil.

Again it really hits the poor satan, not only he cannot take part in what we are doing, but also there is something else that the Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) said. The following incident is taken from Tafsir Ibn Katheer .

Imam Ahmad recorded in his Musnad, that a person who was riding behind the Prophet said, "The Prophet's animal tripped, so I said, `Cursed Shaytan.' The Prophet said,

'Do not say, 'Cursed Shaytan,' for if you say these words, Satan becomes arrogant and says, 'With my strength I made him fall.' When you say, 'Bismillah,' Satan will become as small as a fly.'

This is how it looks in Arabic.

Pronounced: Bismillah-hir Rahman-nir Raheem

Means: In the Name of Allah, Most Gracious, Most Merciful

Quraan on Your Mobile Phone

Update: June 04, 06

Been long since i have been waiting to get the holy Quraan on my mobile phone. Alhamdulilah now that I have it myself I can share my experience. I couldnt download it from the mobiquran site for some reason, I got it from PocketQuran.Com for my Sony Ericsson K700i.

It is quite a simple program, with the complete Holy Quraan in Arabic, with chapter and verse numbers, an index of surah names, and you can go to a specif verse by entering a number from a particular chapter. You can also save three bookmarks for later use.

For novices, you either download the file from the site to your pc, and then get it downloaded to your phone via data cable or/ infrared device/ bluetooth. And then you run it from your phone, which should be java enabled.

Or else if your phone is GPRS enabled, go to wap.PocketQuran.com and download direct to your phone.

This is good, but i hope that MobiQuran works too. Also plz share if you know a better software like this.

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Nov 19,05
Assalamalaikum

I found something good while surfing yesterday. Its a nice site which lets you install the Holy Quraan program on your cell phone. I havent tried, coz i dont have the right model yet.

MobiQuran

Steps are very simple and you can choose from nine languages, alongwith Latin aphabets, and also 4 different Turkish translations.

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And here i must again mention the Quraan Digital Book on which you can read and listen the Quraan in Arabic also, plz see the rest of its great features on the link above.

UPDATE

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Dec 15, 05

What I found this time is the colored version of the Digital Quraan

Colored Digital Quraan

It is beautiful, and also has a lot more additional featurs. Also has the Quraan translation in Urdu language.

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English - A Journey to Explore Islam Buy Today @ AL-Basheer.com

Guidelines for Hifz students

i.e for those who want to memorize the Quraan.

Q - What is the best time to memorise the new lesson?

A - The best time to learn the new lesson is when one's mind is quite relaxed. Generally this is at the time of Fajr (the morning prayer) and after the Magrib salah (the prayer after sunset).

Q - What is the best method to use in memorising one's new lesson?

A - One of the most effective methods to use in memorising the new lesson is as follows: Before commencing the actual procedure of memorisation, read the new lesson at least three or four times. This will prepare the student mentally for the lesson, as well as give him the crux of the lesson. Secondly, memorise verse by verse (ayah after ayah). Do not precede to the next verse if you have not memorised the previous one properly. Be very observant when memorising the lesson.

Q - How should one memorise a verse which is extremely long eg. Verse 282 of Surah Al-Imran (Chapter on the family of Imran)?

A - If the verse is very long, it is most advisable to memorise it in portions, eg. By memorising small portions of the verse. Once the entire verse has been memorised, one would be capable of reciting it fluently.

Q - Is it advisable for students to memorise their lessons by listening to cassettes?

A - It is advisable for students to listen to their new lesson on cassette then to begin memorising it. However, a more approved method is where the ustadh (teacher) himself recites the new lesson to the student and thereafter the student memorises his lesson.

Q - Are there any special benefits in listening to cassettes by the student?

A - From the many special benefits here are a few:

* Listening to these cassettes creates a greater urge and fervour to learn eg. A student loves to listen to the recital of the Qur'an by Sheikh Abdul Rahman As-Sudais, now by him listening to the recitation, this enhances the desire of learning.

* The student gets more familiar with the method of recital.

* The student tends to remember his lesson for a longer period of time.

NB. The effort of the student is still of utmost importance.

Q - Many students keep mentioning that certain chapters of the Qur'an are extremely difficult to memorise eg. Surah As Saffat. Please advise us.

A - These are merely statements of ignorance. Psychology proves when a person retains such statements and takes them to heart, one is bound to find the lesson difficult to memorise. The clarity of mind plays an extremely important role when memorising a lesson.

Q - Can you enlighten us on the importance of reciting one's lesson to the teacher before commencing the actual process of memorisation?

A - The importance of reciting the new lesson by the teacher cannot be over emphasized. One is definitely saved from many errors which could arise because of negligence. The student is made aware of any weakness regarding the application of the laws of tajweed etc.

Q - How much of the new lesson should a student learn?

A - This depends mainly on the student himself. The amount varies from 1/3 of a page to 2 pages and more.NB. Quality is of utmost importance, not quantity.Thus far most of the questions dealt with the 'new lesson' (sabaq). Hereunder follow questions pertaining to the 'previous day's lessons', revision (dor, Muraj'ah) as well as miscellaneous advice and noteworthy points.

Q - Students find great difficulty in remembering their previous day's lesson. What is the main cause for this?

A - The main cause for students forgetting their previous day's lesson is negligence.Hereunder follow some methods which will assist the students. As soon as the student recites his new lesson to the teacher from memory, he must revise the very same lesson instantly at least 4 to 5 times. The very same method should be adopted before one learns one's revision (i.e. the repetition of the new lesson).

Q - Students tend to make a lot of mistakes when reciting their revision. What is the cause of this?

A - Mistakes are unavoidable. It must be remembered that memorising the Qur'an takes different stages eg. First the student has to memorise the new lesson, revise it etc. It is like a building. The foundation has to be firm. Then only is it possible for the building to stand. Similarly, once the student makes the effort to learn his new lesson (sabaq) correctly, his revision becomes easier.To decrease the rate of mistakes, the teacher can set a target for the student eg. the student is not permitted to make more than 3 or 4 mistakes in a surah (chapter).

Q - What is the recommended amount of revision that a student should recite daily?

A - The Qur'an consists of 30 parts, it would be highly recommended that every student recites at least one part every day.

Q - How does a student remember those texts/ places in the Qur'an which are very often repeated? (Mutashabihat)

A - One can only remember these places after excessive learning.

Q - Is it necessary for a student to learn from one print of the Qur'an or can he learn from different prints of the Qur'an?

A - It is very important that a student learns from one print of the Qur'an, because the student generally visualises his lessons. Now if he starts learning from different prints, very soon he is going to be confused.NB. This also leads to a lot of strain on the student's mind.

Q - Does one learn better by reciting audibly or inaudibily?

A - This depends mainly on the student. Some students prefer to learn aloud whereas others prefer to learn in a low voice. The advantage of reciting aloud is that one tends to read more clearly and will detect any mistake one makes easily.

Mujahida an Nafs

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English - Tahfizh Al-Quran v3.0 Learn to Recite and Memorize the Holy Qur'an through an Advanced Educational Approach Buy Today @ AL-Basheer.com