Pen Marks

Just tonight I was listening to a lecture by Muhammed Alshareef, he’s become my favorite shaykh right now Anyways, the lecture was about getting ready for Ramadan and I jotted down a lot of notes. He had us make a dua list, as well as a list of 30 goals for Ramadan, (I’ve only gotten to 15)

One thing he mentioned was some tips on How to stay healthy in Ramadan I liked them so I thought I’d share them,

• Wake up for Suhoor! Missing suhoor will mean that you have basically started your day’s fast from the night before, and that’ll cause some fatigue. Also try not to eat fatty food, instead eat a regular breakfast, a peter-butter sandwich or some dates…
• Move around during the day, don’t spend the entire time snoozing.
• Don’t over eat during Iftaar. He mentioned eating with a tea saucer (ie. just a lil) Remember, 1/3 food, 1/3 water, and 1/3 air.
• Sleep early. Like right after getting back from Taraweeh. Go straight to bed, that way you’ll have energy to pray qiyaam, and you’ll have energy during the day. It’s also alright to get about an hour and half worth of sleep during the day. But don’t oversleep!
• Water, water and more water! Don’t dehydrate yourself!

I can’t wait 4 Ramadan!

Allâh (swt) – the Exalted – says, to the Shaytân:

{”Certainly, you shall have no authority over My slaves…”} [al-Hijr; 42]

Some of the Companions said:

“Verily, the believer exhausts his devil just like one of you exhausts his camel during travel.”

Meaning: the believer wears out his devil, so he debilitates him and makes him lose weight from his grief and sadness, because he is not able to tempt him, just like the person wears out his riding camel during travel and makes it lose weight due to the length of the travel and its hardships, and this is the condition of the believer with his devil in the constant struggle with him.

He resists his plots and plans and whispers by always being firm upon the obedience of Allâh – the Exalted and Mighty.

And with this, Ibn Abî ad-Dunyâ narrates in his book ‘The Plots of the Devil’ from some of the Salaf, that they said:

“Verily a devil meets another devil, so he says to him: “Why is it that I see you looking sickly?”

The other devil replies: “Verily, I am with a man that, if he eats, he remembers the name of Allâh so I can not eat with him, and if he drinks, he remembers the name of Allâh so I can not drink with him, and if he enters his home, he remembers the name of Allâh so I am rejected outside of the house.”

The other devil says: “But as for me, then I am with a man that, if he eats, he does not remember Allâh so he and I eat together, and if he drinks, he does not remember Allâh so I drink with him, and when he enters his home he does not remember Allâh so I enter with him.”

How do you determine who is a lazy person? Perhaps the best way is determining if he woke up for Fajr Salaat or not. If a person can manage to overcome the first hurdle in his day, he will be able to overcome all others. Our Prophet (peace be upon him) said: “During your sleep, Satan ties three knots at the back of your necks. He whispers the following into them: The night is long so keep on sleeping. If the person wakes and praises Allah, then one of the knots is unfastened. And if he performs ablution, the second knot is unfastened. When he prays, all of the knots are unfastened. After that he will be energetic and happy in the morning. Otherwise he would get up listless and grouchy.” (Sahih al-Bukhari)

Imam al-Bukhari also records that our Prophet (peace be upon him) was asked about a man who sleeps until the morning comes, that is, after the time of the dawn prayer. He said: “That is a man whom Satan has urinated into his two ears.”

Procrastination and laziness are two of Shaytan’s strongest strategies to stop us from performing good deeds. It is necessary for the wise person to take matters into his/her own hand and harness his/her energy in a positive way everyday. The person who breaks the back of Shaytan in the start of the day will not just pass his time day dreaming and in mindless pursuits, he will make sure that every second of his time is spent fruitfully. In summer, Fajr is a lot earlier so we struggle to get up, but our struggle could gain us more reward. So let us break the back of Shaytan and kick-start our day with Salaat!

Bismillah Ar-Rahman Ar-Raheem…

The Messenger of Allah said, “I am leaving you with two murshids.” The term murshid refers to the one who guides to the right path. The first is the talking murshid, the Qur’an, the second is the silent murshid, mawt or death. These are the only two things that will lead us to the right path: learning Qur’an and remembering death. If we truly remember death, we realize we have a deadline, and would work towards our goals in an efficient manner. Insha’Allah, the following outlines a recommended routine.

Daily

Try to read the Qur’an on a regular basis. It is better to read small portions consistently, rather than large portions occasionally. A good start would be from the interpretation of the 30th juzu: pray qiyam, and read from it at night. Those who say they do not feel submissive prayers should try this and see the results. This way, you truly taste the sweetness of qiyam. Suggested choices for interpretation:

• Mukhtasar Tafseer Ibn-Katheer (The Abridged Interpretation of Ibn-Katheer).
• Fee thilal Al Qur’an (In the Shade of the Qur’an) by Sheik Sayyed Kutb (part 6 has the 30th juz interpretation)

Weekly

Try to observe what time of the week most of the family members are around. Read one topic from a book weekly with them. Even if you cannot cover the full topic, set up the family halaqa to be at least an hour long. You can incorporate this with any picnics or outgoing activities that your family takes part in to make it more enjoyable and rewarding! Some good books include:

• Riyad As-Saliheen (The Gardens of the Pious) by Al-Imam An-Nawawi. Explains kind treatment towards parents, Qiyam, praying at masjid, etc. and it states all the authentic ahadith only for the specific topics
• Al-Imam An-Nawawi’s 40 Hadith, Commentary by Jamaal al-Din M. Zarabozo

Monthly

The Prophet peace be upon him said: “None of you believes until he loves me more than he loves himself.” [Bukhari]

How many of us claim that we love the Prophet  more then ourselves? How much do we know about him? In order to truly love him more then ourselves, we must first learn the seerah, learn about his life, learn about manners, and learn about his sunnah. A good way to do this is to set goals for yourself, to read at least one book that allows you to learn more about the Prophet  and derive lessons for yourself. This can be done monthly or bi-monthly, depending on how fast you read. Suggested books:

• Fiqh As-Seerah (understanding the life of the Prophet) by Sheikh Said Ramadan Al-Buty.
• Ar-Raheeq Al-Makhtoom (The Sealed Nectar), it teaches of the life of prophet as well as lessons that can be taken from it.
• Fiqh As-Sunnah (Understanding the Tradition of the Prophet, especially part 1) by Sheikh Sayyed Sadek. Outlines how the Prophet performed wudu’ (ablution), prayed, fasted and so on in detail.

May Allah  allow us all to make the best use of our limited lifespans, ameen!