I pray that my intention in writing this blog is solely to benefit those who read it in worshipping Allah, Lord of All the Worlds, ameen.

Okay, I was going to delve into a detailed description of prayer positions, but there are many different rulings that I am simply not qualified to make exhaustive judgments about, lest I speak out of ignorance. However, if anyone does have specific questions regarding these, post below and I will try my best to find an answer from someone credible, insha’Allah. Remember that no question is worth leaving unanswered as sometimes these “little” things can make the difference between an accepted prayer and an unaccepted prayer. Though if possible, direct your questions to your local imam. Anyhoo, let’s fast-forward.

Everyone appreciates effort. Whether they’re grateful or not is another thing, but everyone feels nice or special or humbled when someone spends time and energy on them. It’s a great feeling when your mom makes you your favourite meal or when a student does more homework than is required of them because these things show that the person cares. In our relationship with Allah Subhanahu wa Ta’ala, we should also find ways to not just please Him, but super-please Him.  One way of doing this is to fancy up your prayer and prove that you are really giving Allah Mighty and Majestic the best you can. Below are some humble suggestions. Some are Prophetic advice and others are based on personal reflection. Enjoy, and be sure to add where you see fit.

Pray in congregation

The Blessed Prophet, peace be upon him, said “Prayer in congregation is superior by 27 degrees to prayer performed individually.” (Bukhari& Muslim)

Abu Huraira radiAllahu Ta’ala anhu narrates that the Messenger of Allah salAllahu alayhi wasalam said: “By the One in Whose Hand is my soul, sometimes I intend that I ask someone to lead people in prayer while I go to the people who remain away from the congregation and burn their houses along with them with fire.” (Bukhari & Muslim)

It is understood from these ahadith that a man’s prayer does not receive full reward unless prayed in congregation, and many would go so far as to say that it’s an offense if you could have done so and didn’t.  So if we could reasonably make it to a masjid in time for congregational prayer, we must do so. This same ruling does not apply for women, as in one prophetic tradition, the Prophet salAllahu alayhi wasalam says that a woman’s prayer is better in the depths of her home than at the masjid. However, there is no sin on her if she does pray in congregation.

We’re assuming you’re going to the masjid now…

Learn the du’as for entering and leaving the masjid. When entering, we enter with our right foot first and say:

 “Bismillah, Allahumma salli ‘alaa Muhammad. Allahummaf tahli abwaba rahmatik.”

“In the name of Allah, O Allah, shower blessing on Muhammad. O Allah, Open for me the gates of Your mercy.”

After entering the masjid, we should perform 2 rakah before anything else. This is a sunnah prayer called Tahiyyat Al’Masjid.

Upon leaving, we use our left foot first and say

 “Bismillah, Allaahumma salli ‘alaa Muhammad. Allaahumma inee as’aluka min fadlik.”


“In the name of Allah, O Allah, shower blessing on Muhammad. O Allah, I am asking You for Your grace.”

These small acts of worship bring tremendous baraka into visits to the masjid, insha’Allah, and they allow us to…

Focus!

One of the most difficult parts of perfecting salah is gaining and maintaining focus. The importance of this is highlighted beautifully in Aisha’s earlier article. Here are some things I find to be helpful steps in the process.

1)     Okay, we all know we have to pray 5 times a day – no surprises here. So find a way to hear the adhan (call to prayer) for each of those prayers, or if not possible, then have an alarm that goes off at each scheduled prayer. At this time, focus yourself on the Oneness of Allah and on the message of our Prophet salAllahu alayhi wasalam. If you are so blessed as to be able to hear the adhan or a recording of it, respond appropriately. There is also a du’a to be read after the adhan, and note that talking during the adhan is sinful behavior.

 http://behindacurtain.wordpress.com/2006/10/06/what-to-say-during-and-after-the-athan/

2)     Do some amount of dhikr before you stand up to pray. Saying ten “subhanAllahs” with attention can bring about a great amount of focus during your salah, insha’Allah.

3)     Know what you’re saying. Find a translation of Al-Fatiha and whatever other surahs you’re reciting and the other various parts of prayer. It can be difficult to pay attention to something we don’t know the meaning of, and surely there is more reward in a heartfelt prayer than one in which we’re just reciting empty words. It might even be wise to only recite verses you do know the meaning of until you learn the meaning of the others, though Al-Fatiha has to be recited completely for a valid prayer.

4)     Don’t let your eyes wander. It’s sunnah to stare at the place before you where you will be making sujjud throughout the prayer. During ruku, look between your feet or at your feet, and during tashahhud, look at your index finger or lap. Darting eyes lead to distraction. Closing your eyes is disliked except in the event that it helps you to focus. If you find that closing your eyes causes your mind to wander or makes you sleepy, don’t continue, as this is the preferred act. However, if you have trouble keeping your eyes on the spot before you and your focus increases with closed eyes, it is permissible for you to do so.

5)     Make sure you’re breathing. It sounds funny, but seriously, amongst remembering the right things to say and when to say them and what they mean and oh wait where do my hands go again? – shaytaan has a lot to play with here.  More often then not, we probably don’t breathe normally during salah, causing irritation, absent-mindedness and a general discomfort that might make us want to rush through salah so we can just exhaaaaale. The solution is simple: recite properly. Qur’an is to be recited in measured tones, and it is beautifully divided into ayahs so we can read, stop- read, stop- read, stop. In fact, our entire prayer is designed to allow this sort of breathe-in, breathe-out meditation. Bend down in ruku (breathe in), stand back up (breathe out), go down in sajda (breathe in) sit back up (breathe out). That’s not a formula but do remember that deep breaths are a great way to peaceful submission.

6)     Practice focus outside of salah. Having presence is an important part of daily interactions on many different levels. In being aware of everything from oncoming traffic to the body language of the people we talk to, being alert and attuned to the right things at the right times is key. So how does one practice? Choose a time of day in which you want to do this, say your subway ride home. Then make yourself extremely aware of one or two things. When I first learned of this, I was advised to start internally, with breathing. What you’ll end up doing is sitting in the subway breathing in and out and simultaneously telling yourself to breathe in, breathe out. Eventually move on to other surroundings but be sure that you’re deliberately choosing them. For example, “now I’m going to spend 5 minutes focusing on my sense of smell.” Increase the time increments and in some time, you’ll gain the ability to concentrate all your attention on whatever you set your mind to without being easily distracted. When prayer time comes around, or really whenever you want to make dhikr, you won’t have trouble gathering your thoughts, insha’Allah.

7)     Another way of gaining focus outside of salah is to become very God-conscious. This is our ultimate goal anyway, to worship Allah Ta’ala as though we see Him. One way of doing this is to, whenever alone, repeat “Allah is with me, Allah beholds me.” This is from Al-Ghazali’s book of Invocations and Supplications, though forgive me, I don’t remember the name of the pious person from whom it’s transmitted. It’s useful in practice, though.

So I’ve listed a couple of ways that benefit me- and hopefully insha’Allah, you, too- in focusing during salah, but the gist of most of them is to start early. Don’t wait until salah time rolls around to be caught off-guard by worldly distractions. Learn to avoid them throughout your life so that those precious moments before your Lord are not wasted.

Review what you are reciting

In children who are being taught the Qur’an, we can observe a rather endearing but eventually harmful behavior – “mismemorization.” Whether it is because they haven’t developed the ability to pronounce certain sounds or through the negligence of their teachers (may Allah reward them for their efforts), kids often learn Qur’anic verses incorrectly. Unfortunately, we’re not always corrected, and so many of us go our whole lives reading the Qur’an without proper tajweed or worse – saying the wrong words altogether.  If you’re not a native Arabic speaker, I would highly recommend that you find a transliteration of the Qur’an in whatever language suits you best and review the surahs you know so as to be sure that you’re saying what the Qur’an is saying. If possible, indulge in the beauties of proper recitation after that, too.

Tasbih

Hadrat Ka'ab bin Uzrah radiAllahu Ta'ala anhu reported that Allah's Messenger salAllahu alayhi wasalam said: There are some recitations after prayer, of which the reciters or the doers at the end of each obligatory prayer will not be disappointed -tasbih (SubhanAllah) 33 times, tahmid (Alhamdulilah) 33 times and takbir (Allahuakbar) 34 times." (Muslim)
In another narration, tasbih 33 times, tahmid 33 times, takbir 33 times and “la illaha illAllah, wahdahu la shareekalak, lahul mulku wa lahul hamdu, wa huwa ala qulli shay’in qadeer”  once, which if recited, the reciter’s sins will be washed away, even if they should be equal to the foam of the sea.

Also, Thawban reported that when the Prophet salAllahu alayhi wasalam turned away after completing the salah, he used to say astaghfirullah three times and  "Allahumma antassalamu wa minkas salam tabarakta ya dhal jalali wal ikram" (I seek forgiveness from Allah, O Allah you are peace and from you comes peace. Blessed are You, O Master of Majesty and Honour!)


Du’a

“Nothing prevents predestination except for du’a, and nothing stretches the age except piety.” (Al-Tirmidhi)
“Du’a is a weapon of a believer, a pillar of religion, and a light of the heavens and of the earth.” (Al-Hakim)

The importance of du’a overall is great. Allah Subhanahu wa Ta’ala is Gracious and bestows upon those who ask and those who do not ask, so it is not because He won’t take care of us that we supplicate unto Him. Rather, it is to remind ourselves how lowly and dependent we really are on the Mercy of the One we worship. Actually, it is also so that we do depend on Him and Him alone, for who could be of greater reliance? It is for guidance and for protection from the evils of this world and the hereafter.  It is to gain certainty that we are being looked over, we are being cared for.

Of the billion different times when we should ask from Allah Subhanahu wa Ta’ala, there are some when the du’a of the supplicant will never be denied. One of these is after (obligatory) ritual prayer. Abu Umamah radiAllahu Ta'ala anhu reported: The Messenger of Allah salAllahu alayhi wasalam was asked: "At what time does the supplication find the greatest response?'' He replied, "A supplication made during the middle of the last part of the night and after the conclusion of the obligatory prayers.''[At-Tirmidhi]. So after we're done our salah, we should make a habit of asking from Allah Ta’ala, for He is listening. Don't let shaitaan fool you into believing that Allah won't listen to your prayers because you're a sinner, or worse, that your problems are too great to pray for. Allah loses nothing by answering our prayers and we have only to benefit by asking. Another very special time to supplicate is during sajdah, for Allah is nearer to His servant during this time than any other.

That being said, it is highly  beneficial to learn the du'as of our Beloved Prophet, salAllahu alayhi wasalam. Of course we're allowed to use our own, too. However, the  du'as of the Prophet salAllahu alayhi wasalam encompass the proper wording and etiquette of invoking the Glorious Allah and they've been proven to work, so don't let these gems go undiscovered!

Supererogatory prayers

There are some prayers, which if performed regularly are of great merit and others given tremendous reward if done at all. Of the first are salat-ul Jummuah (which is obligatory upon men, anyway) performed every Friday and qiyyam-ul-layl or night prayer, or tahajjud. The latter is anything prayed after Isha. It can be performed as 2 rakah, or 4, or 6, or 8, etc and should be performed in sets of two rak’ahs, as in taraweeh prayer. It is best if prayed in the last third of the night, for this is when Allah Subhanahu wa Ta’ala descends to the lowest heaven and asks who is there asking to be forgiven? Who is there who is asking that I may grant his request? SubhanAllah, this happens every single night. We shouldn't miss it! One should withhold praying witr until after tahajjud prayer if he is sure that he will wake up for tahajjud prayer.

Salat-ul Tasbih is something I’ve never had the pleasure of performing but it is highly recommended. Prophet salAllahu alayhi wasalam said: O Abbas, O my uncle! Should I not give you, should I not tell you something in lieu of performance of which Allah will forgive all your past and future sins, old and new, done wittingly or unwittingly, evident or concealed. You should offer four rak'ah of prayers in a way that in each rak'ah after reciting surah Fatiha and a verse of the Qur'an say fifteen times "SubhanAllah walhamdulillah wa la ilaha illallahu wAllahu akbar" and then repeat it ten times before finishing the bow, ten times on standing erect and ten times before finishing each of the prostrations, ten times in between them and ten times after the second prostration before getting up. Thus in each rak'ah this has to be repeated seventy-five times. If you can, offer this prayer every day, if not once in every week or once in every month or at least once in a year. If even this is not possible, at least once in a life time." (Abu Dawud, Ibn Majah, Baihaqi).

See also: http://qa.sunnipath.com/issue_view.asp?id=1253.

May Allah Subhanahu wa Ta’ala grant every pray-er, supplicator and believer His protection in this life, and His shade on The Day of Eternity, ameen. May Allah accept all of our noble efforts during this blessed month and always, and may He forgive us for all our shortcomings, ameen.

WAllahu ‘alim, wa billahi tawfiq.

The last ten days of Ramadan have arrived, and one of these nights are the “Night of Power Laylatul Qadr.” Standing in worship through this night is equivalent to that of a thousand months. This night is immensely powerful. It falls on one of the last ten nights of Ramadan, and therefore it is imperative to be consistent in prayer for the last ten nights. A great part of this ibadah (prayer) is gaining closeness to Allah swt through the Quran. The Quran has been revealed through the divine source, and constantly reciting the Quran will help one gain closeness to the Almighty and it will increase God consciousness.

The last part of the ‘Story of the Quran’ will focus on the final stages of the Quran’s compilation and interpretation. This part will be divided into three sections: interpretation, compilation and distribution of the Quran.

In order to understand the Quran, the historical and social context of revelation needs to be understood. Many suras and aayas can be interpreted in multiple ways, therefore it is important to analyze the context of revelation and relevant ahadith. This process of understanding the Quran is not only done through translation, but a big part of it has to do with interpretation. Many Quranic passages have obvious and hidden meanings. The zahir content of the Quran is that which is manifest, obvious, and the batin content is that which has hidden meanings.

The compilation of the Quran is also not without its history. The Quran was revealed over a time span of 23 years. It was not revealed in the chronological order in which it is compiled today. The fact that the Quran was revealed over such a great span of time meant that the companions of the Prophet (s) had the time and opportunity to memorize the aayas before new ones were revealed. One of the main reasons that the Quran is not compiled in the chronological order in which it was revealed is because many of the suras came down in parts, and if it were compiled in chronological order, the topics in the suras would not flow. The current order in which the suras are placed is roughly by the length of the sura.

After the death of the Prophet (s), there was no hard copy of the Quran compiled as we know it today. One of the companions of the Prophet (s) name Ziad was one of the first individuals to memorize the Quran. He gathered written parts of the Quran from parchment, bark and bones and started to put all of the parts together. Ziad collected transcriptions from the companions of the Prophet (s) and transcribed the aayas onto loose sheets of paper, known as suhuf. These papers were kept by Abu Bark (r) until his death, and then were transferred to Umar bin Khattab (r). When Umar (r) passed away, he left the papers with his daughter, Hafsa, who was also the Prophet’s (s) widow. The last collection was kept by Uthman (r) and he ordered Ziad and a group of other companions to form a committee and write out the entire Quran. Passages written according to the dialect of the Quraysh. Once the new text was compiled, it was read publicly in Medina. This compilation became known as mushaf and it is the copy of the Quran as we know it today.

The Quran has been transcribed on a variety of medium including parchment, bark, bone, paper, the printing press, audio tapes, CDs and now, the Internet. The Quran has been translated into thousands of languages today; making it accessible to the audience it was initially aimed for: all of mankind. The true source of guidance from which we shall all learn, adhere and apply, inshAllah.

Last year, Bassam Tariq and Aman Ali thought it would be a crazy idea to visit a different mosque in New York City for every day of Ramadan and so they went for it. After the insisting of their friends, they decided to blog their visits at www.30mosques.com. One year and hundreds of followers later, this Ramadan they’ve decided to visit 30 mosques in 30 states.

What makes their blog great to follow is the unique coverage they give of each community they visit. They started their trip at Park51 and point out that despite all of the media attention it’s been getting, praying there brings the same feeling of peace and tranquility as it does anywhere else. From their visit to the Islamic Society of Augusta in Maine, where the Muslim community is a total of 12 families and they have to take turns to pick up halal meat from a location 4 hours away, to Philadelphia where its common to see niqaabi parking meter attendants, a huge contrast can be seen in the different Muslim communities across the states. It’s like Aman said during the interview, “there’s never been a dull moment.”  

Logistically speaking, it seems difficult to plan a 30 states in 30 days road trip. In terms of their accommodations and arrangements for sehri, Aman said, “We’re purposely not staying at any hotels, since it takes away from Ramadan. We’re staying with people we know or families that offered to host us, or at the masjid itself. When we went from Charlotte to Atlanta, we left before Fajr so we had food on the road, we had granola bars and orange juice.” 

When I asked Bassam and Aman what their favourite part of their road trip is, they both said the same thing: that it gave them an opportunity to meet new people and learn about different communities across the states. Bassam gave the following example: “When I was in Pennsylvania I visited the East Fallowfield farm, the mazhar of the great Sri Lankan saint Bawa Muhaiyaddin. The community was mostly White Americans and we all prayed Maghrib together. I remember going up to one of the congregants and telling him, ‘I don't think I've ever prayed with this many white people before.’”

Aman pointed out that because they are both currently based in New York, this road trip has also given them the opportunity to visit their families in New Orleans and Houston. In these blog posts, they make it a point to bring up issues that affect their own communities at home, such as dealing with the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina and the lives of Muslim gas station owners.

After reading their insightful posts, you really feel as if you’re there with them. To add to this effect, they frequently add pictures, often posting in the form of photo essays. The pictures add a feeling to the story that the words can’t. It’s as the photographer Ansel Adams said: “To photograph truthfully and effectively is to see beneath the surfaces and record the qualities of nature and humanity which live or are latent in all things.”

What makes this project more endearing is Aman and Bassam’s humility towards it. After I told Aman how great I thought they were doing, he replied, “It’s only by the grace of Allah that we’re doing this. Last year we were saying ‘we don’t want to do something like this again.’ We got lucky because Allah willed it, and we couldn’t have done it without the support of the people following our blog last year. They helped us raise $6000 in one week, which covered our entire trip.”

All in all, it makes for a very insightful read and I strongly encourage you all to check it out.

There are ten people which were promised Janaat (heaven) of them were the four Khalifahs: Abu Bakr, Umar, Uthman & Ali (R.A.). Each had different personalities and ruled the Islamic Empire in different fashions. How they lived their lives are reasons for them being promised Janaat.

Abu Bakr (R.A.) was granted the title of As-Siddiq which means “The Truthful”.  He was the closest acquaintance of the prophet and he was the first male to accept Islam and he spread the message to his close acquaintances that led to the conversion of: 
·        Uthman ibn Affan
·         Al-Zubayr
·         Talhah
·         Abdur Rahman bin Awf
·         Sa'id ibn Abi Waqqas
·         Umar ibn Masoan
·         Abu Ubaidah ibn al-Jarrah
·         Abdullah bin Abdul Asad
·         Abu Salama
·         Khalid ibn Sa'id
·         Abu Hudhaifah ibn al-Mughirah
Abu Bakr (R.A) felt compassion for the slaves in Arabia and purchased some so that he may free them.  He faced persecution from the tribe of Quraysh who physically punished him but he did not break his conviction to his faith.

Umar Ibn Kathab which means Umar the Great was also known as Al-Farooq “The one who distinguishes between right and wrong” as well as Amir al-Mu'minin “Commander of the Faithful”. Under his rule the Muslims conquered the Sassanid Persian Empire and more than two thirds of the Easter Roman Empire and after 500 years of Jews being banished from the Holy Lands were they allowed to return and practise in Jerusalem. From his early years he was a wrestler and physically strong as well as a powerful orator who arbitrated in cases of conflicts.  Umar was adamant to defeat Islam and murder the Prophet, but when he read the verses of the Quran (Surah Taha) he was moved and converted to Islam. He became a protector of Muslims after being a persecutor of them.

Uthman (R.A.) was the fourth male convert to Islam and was a wealthy businessman. He donated a lot of his wealth to charity. In Uthman’s rule there was expansion of Muslim territories, increased economic prosperity, and increase in Public Works projects. Uthman (R.A.) formed a committee for the composition of the Quran that exists to this day.

The fourth and final Rashidun Khalifah is Ali (R.A.). The traits of Ali include honesty, courage, unrelenting to devotion to his faith and mercy against defeated enemies. He was the first to accept the divine revelation to Muhammad at the age of 10. When Muhammad (S.A.W) invited the clan of Banu Hashim to join Islam Ali was the only one to accept.  In the migration Medina Ali (R.A.) slept in the bed of Muhammad (S.A.W.) to foil a plot of an assignation attempt on the Prophet. Ali (R.A.) survived and carried out the further instruction that were given to him of returning property. Ali took place in all battles with the exception of Tabouk. Ali (R.A.) was given the title of Asadullah by the prophet which means “Lion of God”.

These are the four out of the ten that were promised heaven and if we take from their personalities inshAllah (God-Willing) we may be able to escape from hell-fire. 

Pakistan has been characterized by illiteracy, poverty, and corruption for a long time. Now, it has been hit with its most devastating flood in history. 
 
Although this flood has affected more than the combined victims of the Haiti earthquake in January, the 2005 earthquake in northern Pakistan, and the 2004 Asian tsunami, it has received very little media attention. UNICEF reports that it has only received a fraction of the donations that it has urgently appealed for. The UN secretary general Ban Ki-moon has called this a “global disaster” and is urging everyone to provide “unprecedented assistance” to the victims. 
 
There are countless stories of the heartache people are going through: a 70 year old widow stuck in a tree for four days seeking salvation from the flood waters, a young girl’s donated pack of rice stolen from her, and a mother being interviewed desperate enough to try and give up her child to a reporter in exchange for the chance of a better future. These are just a handful of the people affected by the flood. Many of the flood’s victims are stuck on islands, where the only relief they receive is from packages thrown down at them from helicopters. 
Across the GTA, many efforts have been made to fundraise for these individuals. From collecting tents for victims, charity drives to gather relief goods, fund drop off-boxes in mosques, barbeque fundraisers where food items were brought by volunteers, to individuals opening up their homes for fundraising, people are coming together to help citizens of Pakistan.

There is extensive food shortage, as countless crops have been washed away, and the UN Food and Agriculture Organization reports that millions of livestock are at risk, with 200 000 cows, sheep, buffalo, goats and donkeys already dead. The contaminated water is another issue in itself; many Pakistanis are using the flood water despite how dangerous it is.

UNICEF reports that 3.5 million Pakistani children are at risk of water-bourne diseases. There are a projected 150 000 cases of measles, 140 000 cases of cholera, 350 000 cases of acute respiratory infections and 100 000 cases of malaria.
This is a time for us to come together and help those less fortunate than ourselves.
Monetary donations can be made to the Red Cross online at the account setup by the Pakistan Development Fund, Pakistan Students Federation, and South Asian Development Council under 'Students for Pakistan' here:
www.redcross.ca/studentsforpakistan.

Some items being collected include goods, bottled water, blankets, medicine, sleeping bags, and tents. Drop-off locations include:
North American Muslim Foundation (416-299-1969), 4140 Finch Ave E, Scarborough, ON, M1S3T9  


Get Directions Weston Islamic Center (905-265-8511), 4040 Steeles Ave W #201 First Floor, Woodbridge, ON, L4L 4Y5

ISNA (905-403-8406 ext. 206/207) 2200 South Sheridan Way, Mississauga, ON, L5J 2M4


If anything, volunteer your time and join an organization the 'Students for Pakistan' that is already fundraising. If you are interested in helping please contact Zenaira or Aisha at zenaira@keepingithalal.com or aisha@keepingithalal.com. A little goes a long way!

Salah, like all our good deeds, should be perfected. Allah Subhanahu wa T’ala is beautiful and He loves beauty, so it follows that we should beautify ourselves when we present ourselves before  Him.  This can be done by following the sunnah of our Prophet Muhammad salAllahu alayhi wassalam, who was no doubt the best pray-er ever  :). Here’s a breakdown of the basics before you start:


Time is of the essence

It is forbidden to pray fard salah before stated times with the exception of combined prayers for the traveler. It is also forbidden to combine prayers unless one is considered a traveler.Also, one should not pray superogatory prayers after the fard Fajr or Asr salah.

As for when one should start praying, salah becomes obligatory on every sane Muslim at the age of puberty. Missed prayersmust be made up for.

Most crucially, pray as early as you can. Don’t delay your prayers because you’re “busy”. Allah Subhanahu wa Ta’ala doesn’t tell you to wait when you’re making du’a – He’s listening to you all the time. Surely, Our Lord - because of Whom we’re even able to be busy- is more important than anything else.

Intention

Intention does not need to be spoken aloud but it should contain some specific information. Firstly, be sure of what time it is and thereafter which prayer you will be praying. Next, know how many rakah you will be praying and if they are fard, sunnah, nafl or witr. Lastly and most importantly, remind yourself that you’re praying for Allah’s pleasure alone. If you’re not, it’s not hard to change that, so don’t be discouraged. Renew your intention and humble yourself by remembering that you’re standing before the All-Mighty Creator of All Things, Who sees inside your heart. All of this should be done before you begin praying but if you fall off-track during prayer, stop in whatever position you’re in, renew your intention and say “aoodhu billahee min ash-shaytaanir rajeem”, “I seek refuge in Allah from Shaytan , the rejected.”

Purity

Good intention helps us attain purity of the heart and mind, insha’Allah. Of equal importance is physical purity. So make sure you…

1)      Make wudu properly

Wudu is ritual ablution. One should make the intention of wudu and say “bismillah” “in the name of Allah” and then proceed. The fard (obligatory) parts of wudu are stated in The Holy Qur’an (5:6) “O you who believe! When you rise up for prayer, wash your faces and your hands up to the elbows and lightly rub your heads (with wet hands) and (wash) your feet up to the ankles.” Hence washing these body parts once is the minimum for a valid wudu. However, it is common practice and highly recommended to do full wudu as the Prophet salAllahu alayhi wassalam did:

In this order,

-Wash your hands up to the wrists (3X).
- Rinse your mouth (3X). It’s also recommended to clean your teeth with a siwak, though a toothbrush can work, too.
-Sniff water in your nostrils and blow it out (3X).

-Wash your face from your hairline to the bottom of your chin, from ear to ear (3X).

-Wash the right arm up to the elbow (3X), repeat with the left.

-Pass wet hands over your head and rub inside and outside of ears with fingers (1X).

-Wash feet up to the ankles using your left hand, starting with the right foot (3X). Make sure you get your heels and between your toes. If wearing water-proof socks, you don’t need to take them off so long as you made wudu before you put them on. This condition holds for 24 hours for a person at home and 3 days and 3 nights forthe traveler.

Again, washing each part once or twice is okay as well, but three is best.  Do not exceed three times as this is considered wasteful, even if you’re not sure you did it right.

  If water is unavailable, one can perform dry ablution.

  After completion, recite: “ash-hadu allaa illaaha illal-laahu wahdahoo laa shareeka lah, wa ash-hadu anna Muhammadan abduhu wa rasuluh”  “I bear witness that there is no God but Allah Who is One and has no partners and I bear witness that Muhammad is His Servant and Messenger”

with  the option of adding “Allahummaj-‘alnee minat-tawwaabeena waj’alnee minal mutattahhireen.” “O Allah, make me among those who turn to You in repentance and make me of those  who strive to be pure”

  Wudu is invalidated and must be redone:

  If one has passed gas, excrement or urinated.

If one has fallen into a deep sleep.

If one loses their senses in any way (madness, fainting, use of drugs, etc).

If one has touched sexual organs intentionally with naked hands or emits sexual fluid.

If one vomits.

If one has touched  a person of the opposite sex who is not a mahram. (Shafi’i)

If one bleeds  to the point that it runs or spits saliva consisting mostly of blood.  (Hanafi)

If one comes in contact with a dog or other unclean animal. (Hanbali)

 
If one is already praying and suspects he has passed gas, he should not stop praying.
Narrated 'Abbas bin Tamim:
My uncle said: The Prophet said, "One should not leave his prayer unless he hears sound or smells something." (Bukhari).

2)      Pray in an appropriate place

Make sure the place is clean.  Also, make sure there are no photos, statues or the like around, especially not in front of you or within your view while praying. Lastly, the place should be free of chatter or excessive background noise (music, television, phone ringers, etc).

3)Wear appropriate clothing

Immodest clothing is undesirable in Islam anyway but be extra cautious of this during salah. For men, this means being covered from the naval to the knee. Also, one’s shoulders should be covered as was said by the Prophet salAllahu alayhi wassalam: “None of you should observe prayer in a single garment which does not cover his shoulders” (Bukhari& Muslim). For women, it is required that one cover everything except the hands and face, and on some authorities, the feet. Note also that one should be decent and not wear tight jeans/clothes or clothes that rise up when one bends over - this goes for men, too.

Allah Most High is the Most Merciful, the Oft-Forgiving. This does not mean that we should slack off in how we worship Him with the hopes that He will just forgive our faults. Indeed, a person who follows all of the recommended and obligatory actions to the best of his ability is still prone to error. We should be grateful that we have such perfect guidelines on how to pray transmitted by our Beloved Prophet salAllahu alayhi wasalam and do our part by following them.

WAllahu ‘alim, wa billahi tawfiq.

The Quran is not only a text or a scripture to Muslims, it is the greatest form of guidance. The foundation of the Quranic theology is monotheism, in Arabic known as ‘tawhid’. The oneness of God is the most important foundation in Islam, as it makes up the first half of the creed of Islam “I bear witness that there no god but God…” All teachings of the Quran tie back to the main theme of tawhid. One sura in specific is referred to as the ‘touchstone of theology’ by Dr. Zakir Naik, a scholar of comparative world religions. He states, “anyone claiming to be Almighty God, if that candidate fits the 4 line definition, we accept him to be Almighty God”. This statement is made in reference to Sura Ikhlas,

“Qul hu-wallah hu ahad. Allah hus-samad. Lam yalid walam yullad. Wa lam ya kullahu qufuwan ahad.” (Quran: 112)

Translation: Say! He is God, the One! The Eternally besought of all! He does not beget, nor is He begotten. And there is nothing comparable to Him.

In relation and addition to theme of monotheism, the Quran addresses all aspects of the relationship between God and humanity. The Quran speaks of topics including but not limited to social issues (ie: infanticide, death, communal relations), family issues (marriage, children, divorce) and economic issues (inheritance, interest, dowry).

In addition to addressing issues of daily life, the Quran also narrates incidents of past Prophets. Many passages in the Quran narrate incidents in the lives of Pre-Islamic Prophets and noble people such as Prophets Ibrahim, Yusuf, Isa, Nuh (peace be upon them), Biblically known as, Abraham, Joseph, Jesus and Noah. Numerous suras are titled with the names of past Prophets, and this shows that the righteous message the Prophet (s) tried to get across was mirrored in the struggle of his ancestors in faith. One aaya that beautifully ties this concept together is Sura Hijr:

“We sent messengers before you to the communities of old; and we never sent a messenger but that they mocked him” (15:10-11).

No summary of the Quran will do justice to its complete contents; hence I shall not attempt to do so. What I have done thus far is briefly touch upon some of the major themes of the Quran and some of the major topics it entails.

The Prophet (s) used to receive revelations from Allah swt and this made him the first reciter and transmitter of the Quran. The Prophet (s) was known to go into a trance-like state when receiving revelations, as he was interacting with the divine, the Almighty God. The Quran was revealed in the native language of the Holy Prophet (s), and it is read by over a billion Muslims worldwide today.

The aayas of the Quran are imbued with rhyme, assonance and rhythm, making them easy to recite and giving them a smooth flow. The Quran is not poetry, but the Arabic of the Quran draws on some aural patterns of pre-Islamic poetry.

Today, the Quran is read and recited in multiple aspects of the daily life of Muslims. The Quran is recited in the five daily prayers, completed fully in the taraweeh prayer during Ramadan, recited for spiritual healing and above all, for guidance of all of mankind.

May the blessed words of the Holy Quran given to mankind from Allah swt through the beloved Prophet (s) serve the purpose of bettering our lives and making us all improved and God-conscious beings, Ameen.

Ahmed is also known as Mr. Perfect. Every brother wants to be his friend and every sister wants to marry him. In his life he has never committed a sin.  And when I say never committed a sin I mean he hasn't done anything wrong - ever. He’s never hurt anyone’s feelings or ever raised his gaze.

His secret to maintaining such great rapport amongst his fellow human beings is individual interactions. He says this way he can customize his behaviour to be compatible with the person he is talking to. He avoids groups because this becomes very difficult to do in groups.

The push for scientific research on cloning is aimed for Ahmed because as his mom says “You can never have enough Ahmeds”.  Though Ahmed himself (the original Ahmed) is against the idea saying it’s haram and that he is just like anyone else. Did I mention Ahmed was always humble?

Yup, Ahmed is perfect and therefore he never needs to be forgiven or ask for forgiveness.

But, I’m not perfect and I doubt you are either. Allah has blessed the second ten days of Ramadan for forgiveness. And if you’re not Ahmed (the Ahmed in the story that is) now is the perfect time to repent and be forgiven.