Ten days of forgiveness

**Arslan** · 12-09-2009, 02:17 PM

Ten Days of Forgiveness: Ready?

Assalamo Alykum wa rehmatullahe wa barakaatuh,

The blessed days of Ramadan are passing so quickly. The special days of Allah's great mercy, forgiveness and favors are going; therefore, every one should evaluate the efforts he exerted in Ramadan before it is too late. Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him) told us that the first part of Ramadan is for Allah's mercy, its middle is for forgiveness, and its end is for salvation from Hell-fire.
No one knows whether or not he gained the mercy of Almighty Allah before the end of the first third of Ramadan. We should all be faithful and honest when evaluating our success in gaining His mercy in the first part of this blessed month. We should realize our shortcomings in order not to miss out on the blessings of the few days that remain.
Now we are favored with the days of forgiveness. Are we ready to work for forgiveness? Have we prepared ourselves to be forgiven by Almighty Allah? It is our great opportunity to repent, to return to Almighty Allah, and to seek His forgiveness. It is a precious time that we should not miss out on. If we fail to gain the forgiveness of Almighty Allah during the days of forgiveness, when would our sins would be forgiven?
Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him), his companions, and the righteous Muslims throughout the ages used to pay due attention to Ramadan and the blessings it contains. Wise people should never miss the merits of every single day of Ramadan.
Now, the important question is: How should we seek the forgiveness of Almighty Allah during these blessed days of Ramadan? Below are some tips that we should consider and implement:
1. Everybody should sincerely repent to Almighty Allah, seeking His forgiveness,
2. Wrongdoings and prohibitions should be avoided,
3. One should offer more optional acts of worship such as Tahajjud (night prayer), charity, dhikr, and Qur'an recitation.
4. Obligatory acts of worship such as the five daily prayers should be carried out properly and faithfully, and
5. One should earnestly make du`aa' to Almighty Allah to bless him with His favors and forgiveness.
O Allah, help us all to gain Your mercy, forgiveness, and blessings, Ameen.

**Arslan** · 12-09-2009, 02:19 PM

How they lived: Abu Al-Aliyah sayings on a fasting person

From the lives of our pious predecessors:

IT is reported from Abu Al-Aliyah that he said: “A fasting person is in a state of worship as long as he does not backbite, even if he is sleeping in bed.”

– Al-Imam Ahmad, Al-Zuhd, vol. 4, pg. 313

**Arslan** · 12-09-2009, 02:21 PM

Prophet's sayings- On praying at night in the month of Ramadan

ALLAH’s Messenger (peace be upon him) said:

"Whoever prayed at night in it (the month of Ramadan) out of sincere Faith and hoping for a reward from Allah, then all his previous sins will be forgiven."

Source: Al-Bukhari (3/32, no. 226)

**Arslan** · 12-09-2009, 02:22 PM

Value of just one more Ramadan

Talha Bin Ubaidullah (may Allah be pleased with him) reported about two men who came to the Prophet (peace be upon him) and accepted Islam at the same time.
One of them would parttake in Jihad more than the other. He was martyred in one of the battles he fought. The other man lived for another year, and then he too passed away.
Talha said, “I saw in my dream that I was at the door of Paradise when behold, I was with both of them (the two men). Someone came out of Paradise and allowed the man who passed away later to enter first.
Then he came out again and allowed the martyred one to enter. Then he returned and said to me, ‘Go back, for your time has not come yet.’ “
Talha woke up and began to inform others about this and they were all surprised. When they informed the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) about it, he said, “What are you surprised about?” They said, “O Messenger of Allah! Out of them both, this one strove harder (in Jihad) then he was martyred, but the other one was entered into Paradise before him.”
The Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) said, “Did he not remain behind him for one year?” They said, “Yes (he did).”
He said, “Did he not reach Ramadan, fast and pray with such and such number of prostrations in the year?” They said, “Yes.”
The Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) said, “So the difference between them is greater than what is between the heavens and the earth.” (Ibn Majah, 2/345-346, authenticated by Al-Albani)

**Arslan** · 12-09-2009, 02:27 PM

A Word for the Host

From ad-Dawal ila-Allah

Ramadaan is a time when all Muslims, all over the world, see much more of one another, whether in the masajid whilst attending the taraweeh prayers or in each other's homes at the time of Iftaar. Invitations are eagerly accepted, which is a good thing, for among the rights of a Muslim upon the other is that when he is invited he responds [1] and that is in obedience with the Messenger's (sallallahu alahi wa-sallam) instruction:

"When any of you is invited to a dinner, he should accept the invitation…" [2]

Most of us are aware of the distinguished position a guest has in Islam, the right he has upon us of being entertained, as the Prophet (sallallahu alahi wa-sallam) mentioned in many ahadeeth such as the following:

"He who gives food for a fasting person to break his fast, he will receive the same reward as him except that nothing will be reduced form the fasting person's rewards." [4]

What we'd like to draw your attention towards is how many times do we spare a thought for our host, the one who goes to the effort of preparing and providing food for his fellow Muslim? We can all relate to the joy and pleasure we feel when we break our fasts together, feeling in our hearts appreciation for the effort our host has gone to, feeling honored that he/she took so much trouble for us. Yet many of us are unaware and unsure of how we, as guest, can 'express' our gratitude. Should we take a box of chocolate, or flowers, or perhaps make an impromptu speech after the meal to say how delicious the meal was?! Alhamdulillah! these are all good things, i.e. complementing and giving gifts to each other, but there is something we as guests can do which is highly recommended in the Sunnah of the Prophet (sallallahu alahi wa-sallam) and that is to supplicate for our hosts, after finishing the food, with any of the following.

1. Akala ta'aamaakul abraaru, wasallatalaykumul mallaa ikaatu, wa aftara 'indalkumus saa'imoon.

"May righteous eat along with you, the angels seek forgiveness ask Allah to send His Grace and Honor for you, and those who fast, break their fast along with you." [5]

2. Allahumma at'im man at'amanee wasqi man saqaane.

"O Allah feed the one who fed me, and give the one who gave me drink."[6]

3. Allahumma-maghfirla hum warhamhum wa baarik feemaa razaqtahum.

"O Allah forgive them, and have mercy upon them and place them in what you have provided them." [7]

We should learn these supplications so that when we are invited to a meal and can express appreciation by supplication for our host with du'aas taught to us by our Prophet (sallallahu alahi wa-sallam) then never again should we feel stuck for word.