Some resources for the Last Ten Days and Eid
بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم
Assalamu Alaikum.
Yes, they’re almost upon us – the best nights of the year.
No more napping. We need to take some action.
This Ramadan, I haven’t posted many resources because I did that last year.
I thought I would just link to the useful ones:
[All of these link to the post which contains the resource.]
Last Ten Days, Laylatul Qadr, Itikaf, Zakaatul Fitr and Eid
Articles / Books
1) When is Laylatul Qadr? [Don’t forget to read this one!]
2) The Excellence of the Night of Qadr
3) The Last Ten Days of Ramadan
4) A Guide to the Last Ten Days
5) Why have the Muslims forsaken Itikaaf?
6) Resources for Itikaf – Umm Muawiyah’s very own guide as to what you REALLY need for itikaf.
7) “There is no Itikaf except in the three Masjids”
[Note: It seems that some people get confused between Zakaah and Zakaatul Fitr. They are two totally different things.]
10) Some more Resources for Eid
Lectures
1) Making the Most of the End of Ramadan
2) Focusing on Laylatul Qadr and Itikaaf
3) Rulings and Virtues of Itikaf
4) Zakaatul Fitr – Is it money or food?
Is this the last post for this Ramadan, you ask?
I wish but no. A few more to go, insha-Allah…
Juz by Juz summary of the Quran
بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم
Assalamu Alaikum.
Last year, I had linked to the summarisation of the first 12 ajzaa (plural of juz) of the Quran.
That was by Brother Abu Taubah.
Last year, he had another series on summarising each Juz which was aired on some channel.
That series is being uploaded on this website juz by juz on a daily basis so that everyone can get a chance to view it before the taraweeh prayers of that day*.
[For the newbies: The Quran has 30 ajzaa, so the imams generally recite 1 Juz a day so as to complete the whole Quran in Ramadan.]
The summaries should help both with the taraweeh and understanding of the Quran, insha-Allah.
Some resources to study the fiqh of fasting…
بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم
Assalamu Alaikum.
[Fiqh = Jurisprudence. It sort of means the rulings regarding a particular thing.]
Last year, I put up a lot of resources on studying the fiqh of fasting so I thought I’d link to some of those again.
Which resource should you use?
Well, it depends on your level. If you are a beginner, try to choose one and stick with that for now.
However, if you are a student of knowledge, then you should try to go through as many of them as possible.
Also, I’d advise everyone to take notes and summarise the points in your Ramadan journal. That way, you won’t have to go through these books and lectures each year. All you have to do is to read your own notes.
[Note: The links take you to the earlier posts which contain the resources. I haven’t linked to the resources directly.]
Lectures
1) Basic Fiqh for Ramadan by Brother Abu Taubah.
Nice and simple.
2) Ramadan Rulings By Brother Moosa Khoory
Also nice and simple. Oh and he’s also from the UAE.
3) 186 Rules for Ramadan by Brother Waleed Basyouni.
Good series. It mentions all the required issues.
He also has another lecture entitled “How to make this your best Ramadan ever“.
4) The Month of Mercy by Brother Abu Abdissalam
For those who like British accents.
5) Fasting for the Everlasting and Fiqh of Moonsighting by Brother Shakiel Humayun
Both of these are from a seminar entitled “From the Moon to the Spoon”….
6) Fasting in Ramadan by Shaikh Saleh As-Saleh
Covers just about every important topic related to Ramadan.
7) Fiqh of Siyaam by Brother Abdur Rauf Shakir
I haven’t linked to this before. His lectures are really detailed, masha-Allah. It’s very good for students of knowledge.
8) Two free courses from Islamic Online University
For those who prefer to study properly.
Books / Articles
1) The Fast of Ramadan by Shaikh Muhammad ibn Jamil Zino
Nice, simple, well-organized book.
2) Ramadan and Fasting by Brother Abdel Kader Kamel Tayeb.
Organised in a different way but that makes it more appealing.
3) Fasting and its Rulings by Shaikh Usaamah Al-Qusee
Summarises the rules of fasting.
4) Rulings Pertaining to Ramadan by Shaikh Muhammad Salih Al-Munajjid
All the fatwas from Islam Q and A.
5) Ramadan as observed by the Prophet (salallahu alaihi wasallam) by Shaikh Saleem Al-Hilali and Shaikh Alee Hasan Al-Halabee
6) Lessons on Fasting, Taraweeh and Zakaah by Shaikh Muhammad Saalih Aal- Uthaimeeen (rahimahullah)
Simple book? Of course. Didn’t you notice the “Uthaimeen” in the author’s name?
7) The Nature of Fasting by Imam Ibn Taimiyyah (rahimahullah)
Just another book by one of the greatest scholars of all time.
The Rights of the Quran and some tips on how to fulfill them – Part 1
بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم
Assalamu Alaikum.
Last year, I put up a lecture on the rights of the Quran.
Here is a summary of its rights:
1) To believe in it
2) To recite it
3) To understand it
4) To act upon it
5) To call to it
[6) To do the above all the time]
Now, how can we can actually fulfill these rights especially with the month of the Quran almost here?
Here are some tips that might be useful, insha-Allah.
1) To believe in it
Well, here is the main obstacle that this ummah (nation) faces today when trying to keep in touch with the Quran: many Muslims secretly have doubts about the Quran.
They don’t directly say it of course but one can easily understand that they do when they say things like “Polygamy is not correct” or “Capital punishment is cruel” or “Times are different now.”
These are the same people who call for “reinterpreting the Quran”. They also reject many authentic hadeeth. Why? Well, because it goes against their beliefs.
There’s a problem here, of course. Being a Muslim means we take our beliefs from the Quran and the Sunnah. It does not mean that we come in with a bunch of pre-conceived notions then try to interpret Islam in a way that suits our desires. That is not called submission.
Submission is letting Allah and His Messenger dictate what we should and should not do.
So, how can we fulfill this right of the Quran?
Well, we need to take everything that it tells us as the truth. We need to judge everything else according to it and not the other way around.
For example, suppose someone mentions a scientific “fact” that goes against the Quran. We need to accept what the Quran says and reject this scientific “fact”.
Another way would be to learn aqeedah (creed). This is one way of increasing oneself in certainty and iman (faith).
Also, there’s a nice book, called “How to Approach and Understand the Quran” by Jamal Zarabozo, that talks about the proper way to approach the Book of Allah. [No, I don’t think that it’s online.]
2) To recite it
The proper way to recite the Quran is explained in a science known as “tajweed”.
It is mandatory for a person to read the Quran with tajweed (i.e. following the rules of recitation). Why? Well, if one recites the words incorrectly, it could lead to changing the meaning.
So, how can you recite the Quran with tajweed?
1) Get a teacher ASAP. You cannot do this alone as someone has to be there to spot your mistakes.
2) Practice, practice, practice and after that, practice some more.
What if you have no teachers in your area? Well, try to get one of those online teachers. [Warning: Some of them these online Quran teachers are cheats. A relative of mine had a bad experience with one of them.]
Also, you could try to keep listening to the ayaat (verses) over and over again.
The following websites would be helpful:
For tajweed rules, one may refer to the following websites:
http://www.tajweedinenglish.com/
http://www.readwithtajweed.com/
[Oh and I have some useful stuff on my Haafidh blog as well.]
For those who have no way of getting a teacher, the following two series may help:
Correct your recitation by Muhammad Salah
The Noble Emissaries by Yasir Qadhi
To be continued…
Various points of benefit
Assalamu Alaikum.
I just came across these nice points of benefit. They’re basically questions that were asked to some shuyookh (plural of “shaikh”). Each of them is only a few minutes long but they’re very deep, maashaa-Allah.
The questions and answers are all in Arabic but don’t worry, everything has been translated!
[Note: For those who want to improve their Arabic listening skills, this is a good chance.]
Calling to Tawheed Unites the Hearts
Benefit: Question Posed to Shaykh Saalih as-Suhaymi on How One is to Love Allah
The Cure For khushoo (concentration) in Prayer
Read more 
Lecture: Shackles of the Mind
Assalamu Alaikum.
In the last Recover Ramadan post, I spoke about adjusting our attitude.
I found this interesting lecture (I’m still at the beginning) by Dr. Bilal Philips about the “shackles” of the mind. The example that he starts of with is also interesting: the Day of Eid.
Then, he moves on to explain how Surah Al-Fatiha talks about the shackles of the mind.
Sounds intriguing, doesn’t it?
[According to the comments, this is a straight to the point lecture. Just my type.]
Shackles of the Mind by Dr. Bilal Philips
Lecture: The Ten Best Days
Assalamu Alaikum.
Here’s a lecture to help get you excited about The Best Days of The Year:
Lecture Series: One Step Closer
Assalamu Alaikum.
In an earlier post, I had linked to a lot of Huda TV’s Ramadan programs.
I didn’t mention one and ironically, it seems to have been one of the best programs. It’s called “One Step Closer” and it was hosted by Brother Mutasim Al-Hameedee. It offered practical solutions to increase one’s iman.
Now, even though it’s not Ramadan anymore, I think that we should still watch this series.
For those of you who claim that they “don’t have time”, why don’t you download these onto your iPhone or whatever (now you know which phone I have), and at least watch it at those times when you’re reduced to watching the flies flying around (like when you’re waiting for your doctor).
You can download the entire series from here.
Here’s a little summary of some of the episodes.
Taraweeh, Qiyam Al-Layl and Eid scenes from my favourite masjid…
Assalamu Alaikum.
Which masjid is that, you ask?
The farthest one, of course.
“Glorified (and Exalted) be He (Allah) Who took His slave (Muhammad) for a journey by night from Al-Masjid-al-Haram (at Makkah) to the farthest mosque (in Jerusalem), the neighbourhood whereof We have blessed, in order that We might show him (Muhammad) of Our Ayaat (proofs, evidences, lessons, signs, etc.). Verily, He is the All-Hearer, the All-Seer.” [Surah Al-Israa (17) : 1]
Masjid Al-Aqsa actually means the farthest masjid.
One of the things that really makes me sad is the non-interest of the majority of the Muslims in reclaiming Masjid Al-Aqsa and Jerusalem from the hands of the Jews. Many seem to think that this is a “Palestinian issue”, which of course is complete nonsense.
It is a MUSLIM issue.
Here are various short videos from previous Ramadans showing taraweeh, qiyam al-layl and Eid Al-Fitr at the third greatest masjid on this planet.
Please watch them so that you can remind yourself that this is OUR masjid, and that the Jews shouldn’t be let anywhere near it:
The Greatest Month 