A Decent Wish

Ten different phrases that are short, easy, and light, but will give you what no eye has seen, no hear has heard, and what no mind has imagined.

1 - "Whoever says: 'Glorified is Allah, the Most Great, and praised is He' [Subhan Allah al-'Adhim wa bi-Hamdih] will have a date palm planted for him in Paradise." ['Sahih al-Jami'' #5531]

2 - "Whoever is stricken with sadness, grief, sickness or hardship and says: 'Allah is my Lord, without any partners' [Allahu Rabbi, la sharika lah], then it will be removed from him." ['Sahih al-Jami'' #6040]

3 - "Whoever ate something, then said: ‘Praise be to Allah who has fed me this food and provided it for me, without any strength or power on my part’ [al-Hamdu lillah aladhi at'amani hadha wa Razaqnih bi ghayr hawlin minni wa la quwwa] is forgiven his past and future sins. And whoever wears a garment and says: ‘Praise be to Allah who has clothed me with this garment and provided it for me without any strength or power on my part' [al-Hamdu lillah aladhi kasani hadha at-thawb wa Razaqnih bi ghayr hawlin minni wa la quwwa] is forgiven his past and future sins.” ['Sahih al-Jami'' #6086]

4 - "Whoever enters the marketplace and says: 'There is none worthy of worship except Allah who has no partners, for Him is the Dominion, and for Him is all Praise, He brings life and He causes death, and He is Alive and does not die, in His Hand is all good, and He is able to do all things,' [La ilaha ill-Allah, Wahdahu la sharika lahu, lahul-Mulk, wa lahul-Hamd, yuhyiyy wa yumit, wa Huwa Hayyun la yamut, bi Yadihil-Khayr wa Huwa 'ala kulli shay'in Qadir] then Allah will write one million good deeds for him, and will wipe away one million of his bad deeds, and will raise him one million levels and will build a home for him in Paradise." ['Sahih al-Jami'' #6231]

5 - "Whoever controls his anger when he is able to act upon it, then Allah will call him to come in front of all of the Creation so that he would let him choose from the Hur al-'Ayn and marry from them whomever he pleases." ['Sahih al-Jami'' #6518]

6 - "Whoever asks Allah for Paradise three times [Allahumma inni as'aluk al-Jannah], then Paradise will say: "O Allah! Enter him into Paradise!" And whoever seeks protection with Allah from the Fire three times [Allahumma najjini min an-Nar], the Fire will say: "O Allah! Protect him from the Fire!"" [Reported by at-Tirmidhi, and it is authentic]

7 - "Whoever seeks forgiveness for the believing men and the believing women, Allah writes for him - for every believing man and woman - a good deed." [Reported by at-Tirmidhi, Ibn Majah, and Ahmad, and it is authentic]

8 - ‘Abdullah bin Mas’ud said: "Whoever reads 'al-Mulk' (chapter 67 of the Qur'an) every night, Allah will protect him from the torment of the grave. At the time of the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him), we used to call it al-mani’ah (that which protects). In the Book of Allah, it is a chapter which - whoever recites it every night - has done very well." ['Sahih at-Targhib wat-Tarhib' #1475]

9 - “Whoever asks Allah sincerely for martyrdom [Allahumma inni as'aluk ash-shahadah], Allah will cause him to reach the status of the martyrs even if he dies in his bed.” ['Sahih al-Bukhari' #1909]

10 - "No one witnesses that there is none worthy of worship but Allah and that I am Allah's Messenger - truthfully, from his heart - except that Allah makes the Fire of Hell forbidden to touch him." [Reported by Muslim, Ahmad, and al-Bayhaqi]

Translated by Abu Sabaayaa 

ALLAH offers us a great blessing and opportunity for forgiveness during Ramadan.    The following programme is suggested for the blessed month.

1.      Make a commitment and go the Fajr prayer at the masjid and be there for the opening takbeer.

2.      Sit for a while after the prayer in the masjid and read the Quran, not just for recitation, but try to understand what you read, Remember Allah as much as you can until the sunrise and then make two rakaats to get the reward of a complete Hajj or Umrah, Inshaa Allah.

3.      Get some sleep before work or study to remain fresh and alert.

4.      Advise your muslim  friends  at work or at school to stay serious and keep busy and not appear lazy or lethargic.   Ramadan is the month of exertion, not a time to sleep behind the desk.  If you work around the non-muslims this becomes very important because it will give them a strong impression of how Muslims act in Ramadan.   It is a chance for giving da’wah.

5.      If you arrive home just before ‘Asr prayer, don’t go to sleep or you will miss it. Relax a little if you must and prepare your self early for the prayer.

6.      It is a good practice to read the Qur’an after Asr up to the time of  Maghrib.

7.      Remember that when the faster breaks his fast it is a time when the Prophet (sallal laahu alahih wa sallam) said the du’aa is not rejected , so make the most of this precious opportunity to remember your Muslim parents  and anyone else in your supplication.  If one’s relatives are not Muslims the earnestly pray that Allah guide them.

8.      After the Maghrib prayer (or whenever you sit to eat a full meal )it is advisable not to eat too much in order to help you to be ready to stand for the Isha prayer with full attention and ease.

9.      In the time between maghrib and Isha spend some quality time with your family and perhaps read the Quran together or remember stories of the Prophets (alai-himus salam),or the early Muslims and their deeds.Read the some of Hadith of the Prophets ( sallallahu alaihi wa sallam) or partake of any wholesome activity or speech especially with the chidren.

10.  Prepare yourself to go to the masjid early for salathul Ishaa and At tharaweeh .Many masjids  take only a little time between adaan  and iqamah during Ramadan so try to get there before the adaan.

11.  After the Taraweeh when people find themselves with more time. Don’t waste all of your free time on entertainment.try to spend more time reading the Quran or visiting relatives or friends or attending an Islamic lecture or function or visiting your neighbour. Any and all of this is better than watching a bad film or TV show or spending all of your extra time in shopping in the blessed nights of Ramadan.

12.  You should try to sleep in the night as opposed to staying up the entire night thus turning  the night into your day. Go to sleep and get up a little before fajr,say 30 minutes or so.

13.  Us that time before fajr to make 2 rakaath and ask Allah for forgiveness for it is the best time to make supplication during the last third of the night.

14.  After making 2 takaath it will be time for suhoor and you will have time to eat before adaan of fajr and prepare to go to the masjid and begin a new day.           

This  is just a suggested programme. Often circumstances do not allow one to implement all that is mentioned. The main point is not to lose the great blessing and opportunity for forgiveness that Allah offers us in Ramadan. We must be determined not be like those who come in to Islam during the Ramadan only to practically go out of it as soon as the month is over. We want to come out of the Ramadan more commited, with renewed faith and a rejuvenated spirit ready to devote ourselves as we should for the reminder of the year.                                                                                                                                                                               

v  Seek Knowledge to increase of worship.

v  Make dua for parents.

v  Speak well or keep silent.

v  Treat the guest and neighbors well.

v  Try to fast few optional fast from time to time.

v  Lower the gaze.

v  Help your self by helping out a brother in need.

v  Prepare for victory .Start working out.

v  Help spread worthy causes by speech and action.

v  Be a muhsin. Do your best in whatever you are doing for the sake of Allah.

v  Treat others as you want to be treated by them.

v  Don’t hesitate in doing a good deed.

v  Try to stop bad deeds by remembering death.

v  Be patient when something bad happens. So Allah makes forgive a sin or more.

v  Make habit of making taw bah and astagfar.

v  Pray fajr and Isha in jamah. After fajr sit and make dhikr  then pray Luha prayer.

v  Give up an argument. Even if you’re justified.

v  Give up lying. Even if you’re joking.

v  Manners. Improve them by treating others as you want to be treated by them.

v  Attach your self to the book of Allah and the way of His messenger  (saws).

v  Speak the truth.

v  Pray the Sunnah prayers regularly.

v  Be thankful. Shukr  Shukr and more shukr.