Labels

Saturday, May 6, 2017

Ramadan and Allah

Qur’an helps us rediscover our Emaan in Allah!  Who is Allah? In Surah Tur, chapter 52, verse 43...



Do they have gods other than Allah. SubhanAllah. Glory be to Allah who is far more perfect than everything that is worshiped beside Him. We say SubhanAllah! Glory be to Allah – but what does it really mean?

Subhaan – means swimming, regular calculated actions to stay afloat in the water. The tasbeeh of Allah, Remembering Allah is what keeps us afloat in this world – in the midst of all the exams, accidents, frustrations, breakups, distractions, temptations and tragedies, remembering Allah, swimming back to Allah give us strength and momentum to cope, to survive. It gives hope, courage, new beginning and new happiness.  If we stopped swimming in a pool, we would sink and drown. If we failed to remember Allah, we would spiritually and morally die and perish.

Subhana lil Jabaruti wal malakuti wal kibreeyaa i wal adhama

Adhama – Allah’s Name Al Adheem is from the same root as adhama which means for something to be strong, firm and solid. This is why the bones are called idhaam. Al Adheem means Someone Who is constantly Strong, Firm and Solid, Unshakable, Dependable, Reliable, Unbendable. This is a quality and attribute of Allah.
Subhan is how absolutely Perfect is the Possessor of Might and Power

Jabarut is from the root word jabr, which means to apply pressure to something
The Name of Allah, Al Jabbar is from the same root. All Mighty, All Powerfull. The Compeller, The Irresistable.

Malakuut comes from the word milk, or Maalik which means ownership and Owner
Malakuut is a bigger word, it means, absolute total ownership of everything. Malakuut refers to the ownership of tangible and intangible for instance emotions, health, sickens, conditions, beauty, popularity, emaan and kufr. Allah is the Owner of everything and anything.

Kibreeya comes from the same root as Akbar, Greater. Allah is Greater – no matter what you bring in comparison to Allah, He will remain Greater.

Allah’s Greatness is such that He cannot be ignored, greatness that surrounds us, greatness that is everywhere – and we witness it all around us. For Allah alone is the manifest greatness in the skies and the earth.

In each and everything on our planet and beyond in the universes, there are numerous, countless miraculous signs that tell us that Allah is One and He is Alone. Someone challenged a Bedouin to bring proof for his belief in Allah (li kuli da’wah daleel – for every claim, there is evidence. If you claim that there is  Allah, give evidence. Since the beginning of human race, belief in God has always been the default position).
The Bedouin said, camel droppings tell you that a camel was here, (if you go a park and you see poop in the grass, what does it tell you? A dog was here!). Footprints in the sand tell you that someone walked by here. So the earth full of trees, the sky full of stars, the ocean full of waves. Doesn’t this tell you that Allah is there?
           
The Prophet saws passed by a Bedouin man who was praying to Allah, the prophet saws stopped to lean in to hear him make duaa like an observant teacher. He was saying, “O You the One Eyes cannot see in this world, minds cannot comprehend his greatness. People cannot praise him as He deserves to be praised. Situations do not change Him. He does not fear the passing of time. He created time. He created all the mountains in the world, He knows their exact weight. He created all the oceans in the world and He knows their exact volume. He created rain and every drop falls from the sky with His permission. He created all the trees and all the leaves on each tree. He knows their exact numbers. Every season comes and it is replaced with another season by His permission. Allah created you and me. He knows all those things that the day illuminates with its light and the night hides with its darkness. One sky cannot shield another sky from Allah. One ground cannot shield another ground from Allah. And a mountain in its deepest darkest cave, cannot hide anything from Allah. And the ocean in its depths and darkness cannot hide anything from Allah. O Allah, make the best part of my life, the last part of my life. Make the best of my actions, the last thing that I do in this life. And make the best of my day the day when I return and meet you.”


The  reward of the fasting person is meeting Allah. The Prophet (s.a.w) informed us that there are two pleasures – two sources of happiness for every fasting person. Obviously the first is when we break our fast – our hunger and our thirst is satiated.  After a long day of holding back, even the simplest of food and water taste extra delicious, and it makes us feel really good. The second pleasure and happiness for a fasting person is when we meet Allah and see the reward that Allah has saved for us. This will make their hearts burst with joy. The Prophet Muhammad saws said if happiness could kill people on the Day of Judgement, they would die out of happiness that day. If you are just excited about Eid – just the shoes, or mendhi or jewelry then you ain’t seen nothing yet son. Fasting almost guarantees that we will meet Allah. O Allah give us the pleasure and the delight of seeing Your Face aameen.

Ramadan with Quran

By far, the greatest phenomena of human existence is the Qur’an. Qur’an is a friend, its  counsells and it comforts.  Quran is a like a  lighthouse – its beautiful to look it, its beautiful to listen to, it gives direction, instruction, guidance. You can also think of it as a   gas station or a service shop – Qur’an fuels and repairs us.  Reading the Quran is like being intensively alive, it's like wearing a new coat, falling in love.... its like holding a firefly  in your hands. Qur’an is a  magic carpet ride into distant lands, a time machine to the past and future fanned.
 The broadening of minds, the transformation of habits and the beginning of new eras  - all started with the Qur’an. When people lived the Qur’an – took its teachings seriously and performed every single command of Allah in it – that time period came to be known as the Golden Age while the rest of Europe was going through the Dark Age. Mayor of London, UK. Boris Johnson, said on May 3 2013, “that without Islam, European Renaissance would not have taken place.” That is, without the Qur’an, the Renaissance, the Industrial Revelution, any progress in medicine or other sciences was impossible . Qur’an is the mark of civilization and advancement.

 In  Hollywood celebrity Russell Brand was seen reading a copy of Qur’an translation. Bollywood’s Amitabh Bachan reads Qur’an to find peace and truth. He even quotes Qur’an on his twitter account.I wish I could say that everyone loves Qur’an, that this passion for Qur’an is shared amongst all in our community. Some want to burn the Qur’an, ban the Qur’an. Some want nothing to do with it. Its in a different language, we can’t be bothered with it. Some of us force ourselves literally, grudgingly to read the Qur’an in Ramadan.

The best thing about this month of Ramadan is that it brings out the Muslim in us.

If for the entire year, we were indifferent, lazy, busy... Ramadan makes it easy for us to engage with the Qur’an. Ramadan calls us to have a real, genuine, conscious relationship with the Qur’an. And when we go through the Qur’an, it  revamps the way we think of Allah, about angels, Judgement Day/Life after Death, and the Messengers ...These are called the 6 pillars of Emaan. In this article series I will inshAllah discuss what the Qur’an says about Allah, the angels, the Day of Judgement, Life after Death, the Messengers and Qadr.



The Prophet Muhammad (s.a.w) said, this is a narration in Ibn Hibban, Tabarani and Ahmed, that “all of Allah’s divine scriptures was sent down in Ramadan: the Suhuf of Ibrahim – 1st of Ramadan, Torah – 6th Ramadan, Injeel 13 Ramadan, Zabur 18 Ramadan , Qur’an 24th of Ramadan


Allah says, "(It was) the month of Ramadan in which was revealed the Qur’aan, a guidance for humanity and clear proofs for the guidance and the criterion (between right and wrong). So whoever of you sights the month (of Ramadan), she must observe Sawm (fast) that month…" [al-Baqarah 2:185] 

Leave everything, drop your calls, drop your texts, clear out your schedule, cancel your commitments so you can really celebrate and really take in the Qur’an.