Tag archive for ‘happy ramadan’
Ramadan Mubarak! Happy Ramadan 2016 / 1437
Ramadan Mubarak!
The month of Ramadan has just begun, by Allah’s grace.
It’s a strange time right now. Everyone I know is still emotional over Muhammad Ali’s death two nights ago – may Allah have mercy on him.
Ali’s passing was not entirely unexpected: he was elderly, and suffering from Parkinson’s for decades. But there are people who are such towering historical figures that you almost expect them to always be there.
Muhammad Ali inspired an entire generation of youth by standing up for what was right; he spoke out proudly as a Muslim, as an anti-war icon, and as a self-thinking black man at a time when that kind of strength was desperately needed.
But this is the life of this world. Everything and everyone ends, and in the ends are beginnings, though they may be hidden at first. In a purely chronological sense, Muhammad Ali’s life ended, and – like a soothing balm or a consoling embrace – Ramadan begins. Is there a better time to pray for his soul? Is there a better time to be inspired by his strength?
My daughter, who will be ten years old soon, will attempt to fast the entire day for the first time this Ramadan. The days are long and the weather is hot here in Central California. Insha’Allah she will succeed.
Meanwhile, the suffering in other parts of the world continues unabated. I’m thinking particularly of Syria, where some cities have been under siege for years, and populations are starving.
Every Ramadan I have a mission for myself, something I want to work on and change. My mission for this year is charity. Ramadan is a time of sacrifice, giving up what we desire for ourselves so that others can eat, be clothed and survive.
I want to ask you, brothers and sisters, to please donate generously to those for whom even a meal, or a roof over their heads, or the promise of security, would be life-changing.
Here are some organizations that assist Syrian refugees, Palestinians in crisis, people suffering from drought in East Africa, Haitians still homeless from the earthquake, and others.
Will you help them? Remember that when you give to Allah Most High, He gives back more to you. It’s a guarantee, and I have seen it in action in my own life.
International Rescue Committee
Life for Relief and Development
American Refugee Committee International
Save the Children
Together we can make a difference, Insha’Allah.
Oh Allah, make this Ramadan a time of peace and faith and safety. O Allah, for You do we fast, and in your name we break our fast. All praise is due to You, who fed us, and gave us to drink, and made us Muslims. Purify us during this month, relieve us from our burdens. You are the Most Forgiving, so forgive us and and guide us forward. Ameen!
Wael Abdelgawad
Zawaj.com Editor
Fresno, California, USA
Ramadan Mubarak! Happy Ramadan 1436 AH / 2015
Ramadan parade in Indonesia
As-salamu alaykum dear readers and fellow editors. On behalf of Zawaj.com I wish you all a happy, blessed and successful Ramadan.
The world needs change, and it needs hope. The world needs individuals capable of self-sacrifice, righteousness in the face of greed, compassion instead of cruelty, and love to conquer hate.
Isn’t this what Ramadan is about? It is a time of pure connection to Allah, pure worship, and reawakening the fitrah of the heart. It is a time of softening what has become hard in us, and cleansing what has become stained. Of course we do this fee sabeel-illah – in the cause of Allah – but let us not forget also that Islam carries with it an obligation to family, to society and to the world.
I challenge myself to do five things this Ramadan. One, to strive for awareness and humility in my salat. Two, to strive for self-purification. Three, to increase my love and kindness toward my family. Four, to ask forgiveness from whoever I have harmed. Five, to make a sacrifice (whether in money or time) for the sake of the Ummah and the world.
Will you do the same? Together, Insha’Allah, we can make a difference.
Oh Allah, make this Ramadan a start full of peace and faith, safety and Islam. Oh Allah, You are the Most Forgiving, so forgive us and and guide us forward. Ameen!
Wael Abdelgawad
Zawaj.com Editor
Fresno, California, USA
Ramadan Mubarak from Zawaj.com!
Wael and Salma
Ramadan Mubarak, brothers and sisters!
Alhamdulillah, the holy month of Ramadan has arrived. It’s a time when we strive to purify our hearts and renew our intentions in every aspect of our lives, bringing our lives into the service of Allah the Most High.
What are your goals this month?
Mine are:
- To grow closer to Allah Subhanahu wa Ta’ala.
- To become more steadfast in my salat.
- To be more patient with my daughter, especially when she is difficult.
- To assume good intentions on the part of others. Not to be suspicious or to think the worst of the people I love.
These are some of the issues that I struggle with in life. Ramadan presents me with a special opportunity to work on them, Alhamdulillah.
Please make dua’ for me and for my daughter Salma. She is seven years old and will be eight next month, Insha’Allah. Alhamdulillah she is an intelligent, playful and loving child. But I’m a single parent, and sometimes I feel like it’s a struggle to raise Salma as a good Muslim. I do my best. But it’s hard.
The good part is that I believe in Allah, and I regard Him as a Merciful, Forgiving and Loving God. I believe that Allah wants good for all people. He gives us the tools and abilities we need to make this world beautiful. The rest is up to us.
Ramadan is a gift. It’s a special tool in our toolbag, that allows us to transform the world – for one month at least – into a place of worship and light.
Ramadan Mubarak dear friends.
Wael Abdelgawad
Zawaj.com Founder
Ramadan Mubarak! Blessed Ramadan 2010 / 1431 A.H.
Ramadan Mubarak
The sacred month of Ramadan is upon us, Alhamdulillah. As I mentioned in the previous post, Ramadan Announcement 2010, the Fiqh Council of North America (FCNA) and the European Council for Fatwa and Research (ECFR) have announced that the first day of Ramadan will be Wednesday, August 11, 2010, and Eid ul-Fitr on Friday, September 10, 2010, insha’Allah.
Allah says in the Quran, in Surat Al-Baqarah verses 183 to 186:
(183) O you who have believed, decreed upon you is fasting as it was decreed upon those before you that you may become righteous – (184) [Fasting for] a limited number of days. So whoever among you is ill or on a journey – then an equal number of days [are to be made up]. And upon those who are able [to fast, but with hardship] – a ransom [as substitute] of feeding a poor person [each day]. And whoever volunteers excess – it is better for him. But to fast is best for you, if you only knew. (185) The month of Ramadhan [is that] in which was revealed the Qur’an, a guidance for the people and clear proofs of guidance and criterion. So whoever sights [the new moon of] the month, let him fast it; and whoever is ill or on a journey – then an equal number of other days. Allah intends for you ease and does not intend for you hardship and [wants] for you to complete the period and to glorify Allah for that [to] which He has guided you; and perhaps you will be grateful. (186) And when My servants ask you, [O Muúammad], concerning Me – indeed I am near. I respond to the invocation of the supplicant when he calls upon Me. So let them respond to Me [by obedience] and believe in Me that they may be [rightly] guided.
And the Messenger of Allah (saw) addressed his companions on the last day of Sha`ban, saying,
“Oh people! A great month has come over you; a blessed month; a month in which is a night better than a thousand months; month in which Allah has made it compulsory upon you to fast by day, and voluntary to pray by night. Whoever draws nearer (to Allah) by performing any of the (optional) good deeds in (this month) shall receive the same reward as performing an obligatory deed at any other time, and whoever discharges an obligatory deed in (this month) shall receive the reward of performing seventy obligations at any other time. It is the month of patience, and the reward of patience is Heaven. It is the month of charity, and a month in which a believer’s sustenance is increased. Whoever gives food to a fasting person to break his fast, shall have his sins forgiven, and he will be saved from the Fire of Hell, and he shall have the same reward as the fasting person, without his reward being diminished at all.” [Narrated by Ibn Khuzaymah]
Welcome to This Month of Ramadan
Dr. Tariq Ramadan
Dr. Tariq Ramadan is a well-respected professor of philosophy at the College of Geneva and Professor of Islamic Studies at the University of Fribourg. He is a leading Islamic thinker and was Named by Time magazine one of the 100 most important innovators of the 21st century.
Ramadan has written more than twenty books including Western Muslims and the Future of Islam (Oxford University Press, 2003), Islam, the West, and the Challenges of Modernity (The Islamic Foundation, 2000), To Be a European Muslim (The Islamic Foundation, 1998), and Jihad, Violence, War and Peace in Islam (in French only, Tawhid, 2002).
Welcome to this Month of Ramadan
by Tariq Ramadan
A Palestinian Muslim girl prays in the men’s mosque before the evening prayer called “tarawih”, during the holy fasting month of Ramadan in the West Bank city of Ramallah, Wednesday, Sept. 17, 2008. (AP Photo/Muhammed Muheisen) #
Once again we welcome it, once again it welcomes us. This month will be, for each of us, what we shall make of it. A month of return, introspection, meditation, brotherhood and love. The month of the Qur’an. Or a month of mechanical fast, almost unaware, that hurries to turn upside down nights and days ending up living the nights to forget the fast of the day…
This month is a feast… not of noise, but silence; not of banquets but restraint; not of forgetfulness but remembrance. This month is a feast for the faith.
We wish everyone a beautiful month of Ramadan. May it be a month of teaching where gift wins over avarice, generosity over selfishness, love over hatred. Be it a month where everyone tries to master one’s anger: the Prophet advised once to respond to adversity during these days of meditation : “I am fasting”…. and to pass over. Be it a month where everyone of us cares more than usual for the needy people in her/his nearest environment.
Happy Ramadan to all of you! May your fast be accepted and blessed. May the Most-High and His Light go along with you, protect you and love you.
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Ramadan Mubarak! Happy Ramadan 2016 / 1437
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Ramadan Mubarak! Happy Ramadan 1436 AH / 2015
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Ramadan Mubarak from Zawaj.com!
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Ramadan Mubarak! Blessed Ramadan 2010 / 1431 A.H.
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Welcome to This Month of Ramadan
