As'Salam Wa'Alaikum Everyone!
Jumu'ah Mubarak! Reminder: Jummah prayer will be held at the sanctuary of the chapel at 1:20 pm.
Firdaws Circle will be held today at 6 pm at the Brennan Room, IFC. We will be review Prophet Salih Alayhi Salam (A.S.). We encourage every sister on campus to attend and join this precious bond of sisterhood.
Brother's FIFA Tournaments will restart next week In'Sha'Allah, Feb. 16. We especially encourage every brother on campus to attend as there will be a poll about the brothers' activities and we'd love the brothers' participation.
Registraion for the events are attached below.
As majority of you are aware, our Ramadan Preparation workshop kicked off this Tuesday, February 6, 2024 Alhamdulillah and those who attended did have a blast, so to say. Many of you unfortunately could not make and asked for a recap, so hear it is! As a reminder, if you are interested and the time does not work out, please reach out to our dear E-board and we will hold another workshop for you during the week, if needed.
Below is the list of topics that will be discussed in each workshop:
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Virtues of Ramadan (Occured Feb. 6th)
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Virtues of Ramadan Continued (Feb. 13th)
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Fiqh As-Siyam (To Understand Fasting) (Feb. 20)
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How to Benefit from Qur'an (Feb. 20th)
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The Virtues of the Last 10 days (Feb. 27th)
What is Ramdan for us muslims?
Ramadan is the time for us to come closer to our origin, our family, our goal: Allah's grace and Jannah. Allah increases hasanat (rizk; rewards) on this month, but the weight of consequences, as well (Allah is al-'Adl: The Utterly Just). Why does this month hold so much value to us muslims?
- As most of you are aware, the Qur'an descended on the Qibla of lowest sky (Dar us Salam) called, Bait ul-Izzah (Right above our Ka'ba), on Layat-ul-Qadr and revealed to our dear prophet Mohammed Sallallahu Alayhi Wa'Salam (S.A.W.),
- Interesting Fact: Not only our beloved Qur'an, but also the Torah (revealed to Musa A.S.), The Gospels (Injil; revealed to Isa A.S.), The Psalms (revealed to Dawud A.S.), and The Scrolls (revealed to Ibrahim A.S.) were also brought down to earth during Ramadan - hence why it is known to us as the Month of Revelations.
- Many attributes are given on Ramadan by Allah Subhana wa Ta'ala (S.W.T)
- The demons (shayateen) are locked up in Ramadan; though there is a scholarly debate about whether it is just the big ones or the all of thems (even the small, broken, held by the hinge ones). But Iblis (Satan) definitely has no influence over you.
- All the doors of Jannah remain open and all the doors of Jahannum remain closed.
Multiple Chances of Forgiveness
This month brings with it so many chances for us to not fail this test of a journey towards Allah S.W.T. Tke a moment to yourself and ponder on it; 1/12 of the year is literally shut off from the influences and whispers of the shaitan (demon(s)). The only battle we fight this month is the battle with out own nafs - the impulses of the soul; the ego.
A good deed, like giving Zakat (a portion of the income donated to the needy) or Sadaqah (charity) during Ramadan is multiplied by 70 times, and the reward for any righteous act is equivalent to having performed that same deed every day for 83 years, Subhan'Allah! We are dealing with a Lord that is very keen on our salvation.
What does He gain? Nothing. What do we gain? Everything.
Indeed, Allah is Ar-Rahman (The Entirely Merciful), Ar-Rahim (The Most-Gracious), Al-Ghaffar (The All-Forgiving).
First Step: Purification
Essentially as muslims, we have to prepare our mind, heart, body, and soul for this month and if you haven't began, this may be worth your attention! Because usually what happens is that Ramadan takes many of us by surprise and so we become cramped; stuck between doing good or letting our nafs win. Think of it as you cannot decorate a room without cleaning it out first because otherwise, yes the room will become cramped, but even the decoration will become dirty in a dirty room.
One of the main questiosn to think about while Ramadan approaches (personally, we should always be thinking about this) is what can you let go of that holds very little to no importance in your journey towards Allah S.W.T. We have 4 chambers that are emphasized in Islam: the mind (aql), the heart (qalb), the desires of the ego (nafs), the soul (ruh). To purify, we have to clean each chamber and to clean each chamber, we muslims have to learn to let go; or bring order to each chamber.
Individual Exercise for Next Workshop: Write down every single thought/tension occupyign your mind. Put them in two categories:
- First: What to Achieve?
- Second: What need little to not stress? What has little to no consequence? <Try to let go of these>
Also, pause on relations and take a moment to think about them. Put them in the current manner prior to Ramadan. Our deen puts emphasize on relations.
The Act of Seeking Forgiveness or Forgiving
`Abd Ar-Rahman ibn Abu Bakrah that his father (may Allah be pleased with him) said: The Messenger of Allah (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him)) said: “Shall I not tell you of the greatest of major sins?” We said: Yes indeed, O Messenger of Allah. He said: “Associating others with Allah (Shirk) and disobedience towards parent." Agreed, there are often moments of miscommunications from both sides between parents and children: often times, they escalate pretty fast as well and as a result sometimes, we do something or say something that we can never take back. But at the very end of the day, how does it matter in the grand schemes of Allah S.W.T.? That's for each to decide for themselves, but I would say though, there are times we forget that our parents grew up in a completely different generations. So. . .cut them a slack for the sake of Allah?
Forgiving does not mean forgetting, but instead, you're moving on because there are much bigger rewards in this pathway, rather than to hold onto stress that has nothing but consequence. If not for others, do it for your own sake.
By the Glory of Allah, He forgives everyone on Shab-e-Barat, the night between the 14th and 15th of Shaban (granted that you seek for forgiveness), except those who shirk and those that have bitterness towards their muslim brethren - especially parents - even if they are not in your life right now.
*Take note of how nowadays relations have turned so harsh and forgiveness have turned so expensive; complete opposite of what our deen teaches. This is due to our nafs.
Conclusion
The goal of this preparatory workshop is to make this Ramadan our yet best Ramadan and show the non-muslims how gracious Allah S.W.T. is and how beautiful our deen is. As a reminder, we muslims must treat every Ramadan as our last Ramadan.
Often times, we take time for ranted and we are so keen on doing this regularly in our lives. Shall I not tell you about this boy, whose father was very pious - but the boy was deeply attached to worldly desires. The father would often ask about when he will begin worshipping Allah; he'd always reply "tomorrow." A day such like this, the same question was asked and the same reply was given. But the boy never woke up the next day.
Let this serve as a reminder to all of us that our time is not granted. We only feel the presence of the Angel fo Death when our time has come, but here's a very important hadith to know regarding this matter:
Zuhri has narrated from Anas Ibn Malik that he said “I heard the Messenger of Allah (S) say, ‘There is not a single house which exists except that the Angel of Death visits it five times a day. If the lives of any of the people who live in the house or those who are within the house are written to come to an end, then he brings death upon that person.
When the agonies and tribulations of death clothe the entire presence of the person; the screams of the people of the house increase; the people start to pull their hair and start to hit their head and face, and cry, it is at this time that the Angel of Death says, ‘Fie be upon you! Why are you showing anger and fear?
I swear by Allah! I have not taken anyone’s wealth; I have not brought the appointed time (of death) any closer and I have not come towards you without permission (from Allah). Rather, I am taking the soul by the permission of someone else (Allah). I will continue to come to this house until not a single person remains.”
May Allah bless us all and guide us to the right path, a path towards Him - Allahumma Ameen.
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