Let's Recite The Qur'an

Brother and sister Muslims, may the peace, mercy and
blessings of Allah be upon you.

I send you this message filled with love and
greetings. I send it to you from a heart that loves
you for the sake of Allah and I ask Him to bring us
together in the abode of His Benedictions and Mercy.

On the occasion of the blessed month of Ramadan, I
extend to you this advise as a humble gift which I
hope you will accept with an open mind and that in
turn, you advise me. May Allah protect you and take
care of you.

How do we receive the blessed month of Ramadan? Allah
the Almighty says, "You who believe, fasting has been
prescribed for you asit was prescribed for those
before you that you may attain piety" [Qur'an 2:183].

My esteemed brother and sister:

Allah has distinguished Ramadan from other months with
many merits and virtues which include:

*The bad breath from the mouth of a fasting person is
sweeter to Allah than the fragrance of musk.

*The angels ask forgiveness for those fasting until
they break their fast.

*Allah beautifies His Paradise each day and says, "My
righteous servants are about to be spared suffering
and harm, then they will be sent to you."

*The devils are chained during the month.

*The doors of Paradise are opened while those of Hell
are locked.

*The night, Laylat al-Qadr, which is better than a
thousand months occurs in this month. Whoever is
deprived of the good of this night has indeed been
deprived of goodness altogether.

*Those fasting receive forgiveness on the last night
of Ramadan.

*Allah saves people from Hellfire during each night of
Ramadan.

My esteemed brother and sister:

How then do we receive the month containing these
merits and virtues? Is it by occupying ourselves with
playfulness and spending our nights with
non-beneficial things? Or do we  feel burdened and
panic at its arrival? We seek refuge with Allah from
such attitudes. The righteous servants of Allah
welcome it with  repentance and true determination to
reap its benefits
and fully utilize its precious time. They ask Allah to
help  them perform their acts of worship in the best
manner. I therefore present to you my dear brothers
and sisters, the  righteous deeds that are stressed
during Ramadan.

1. Fasting (Sawm):
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah
be upon him) said, "Every good deed of the son of Adam
will be multiplied. He will receive ten-fold to
seven-hundred-fold  reward for a good deed. Allah the
Glorious and Majestic has said 'but fasting is
exceptional, for it is done for Me and I will give
reward for it, since one abandons his passion and food
for My sake. There are two occasions of joy for one
who fasts, joy when he breaks it and joy when he meets
his Lord; and the breath (of an observer of fast) is
sweeter to Allah than the fragrance of musk." [Related
by AI-Bukhari and Muslim]. Undoubtedly, this great
reward will not be for those who only abstain from
food and drink, but as the Prophet (pbuh) said,
"Whoever does not abandon obscene speech and evil
action, Allah does not need his  refraining from
eating and drinking." [Related by Al-Bukharij. The
Prophet (pbuh) also said, "Fasting is a shield. When
anyone of you is fasting on a day, he should neither
indulge in obscene language, nor raise  is voice;
rather if anyone reviles him or quarrels with him, he
should say, 'I am fasting."' [Related by Al-Bukhari
and Muslim].

Therefore when you fast, servant of Allah, let your
hearing, sight, tongue and all your limbs fast, so
that your fasting and non-fasting days are not the
same.



2. Praying Qiyam Al-Layl:
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The Messenger of Allah (pbuh.) said, "He who observes
the fast of the month of Ramadan with sincere faith
and hope for the reward of Allah will have his past
sins forgiven." [Related by Al-Bukhari and Muslim].
Also, Allah says, "And the servants of Allah most
gracious are those who walk on the earth with
humility, and when the ignorant address them, they say
(Peace); Those  who spend the night in adoration of
their Lord prostrating and standing" [Qur'an 63-64].
Thus,  waking up in the night to pray qiyam al-layl
i.e. performing prayer in the middle of the night, was
a regular act of the Prophet (pbuh) and his
Companions. Aisha (may Allah be pleased with her)
said, "Do not abandon qiyam  al-layl, forthe Messenger
of Allah (pbuh) never left it. If he was not well or
he felt heavy, he prayed sitting."

Umar Ibn Al-Khattab, used to pray at night what he
wished, until it was in the middle of the night, when
he would wake up his family to pray; then he would say
to them "prayer.. prayer", and would recite this verse
of the Qur'an, "Enjoin prayer on your people, and be
constant therein. We ask you not to provide
sustenance: We provide it for you. But the fruit of
the Hereafter is for  righteousness" [Qur'an 20:132].

Ibn Umar used to recite, "Is one who worships devoutly
during the hours of the night, prostrating himself or
standing (in adoration), who takes heed of the
Hereafter, and who places his hope in the Mercy of his
Lord like one who does not?" [Qur'an 39:9]. He said
that was referring to Uthman Ibn Affan (may Allah be
pleased with him). Ibn Abi Hatim said Ibn Umar said
that it was due to the length of the prayer of the
commander of the faithful, Uthman, at night and his
recitation to the extent that he may have recited the
entire Qur an in one rak'ah.

Alqamah Ibn Qays narrated, "I slept with Abdullah Ibn
Mas'ud (may Allah be pleased with him) one night. He
woke up in the early part of the night and began to
pray. He recited with a recitation similar to that of
the neighborhood imam with medium regular pace. Those
around him  could hear him and he continued until what
remained of the night's darkness was equal to the time
  between the adhan (call) for maghrib prayer and the
end of the maghrib prayer time, i.e. a short time
before daybreak. He then performed witr prayer.

Furthermore, Al-Sa'ib Ibn Zayd narrated in a hadith
that the reciter would recite (the Qur'an) with
hundreds of verses such that we supported ourselves
with staves due to the lengthiness of the prayer and
did not leave until the time of fair (dawn prayer).

Caution: Brother Muslim, you have to complete the
tarawih prayer with the imam in order to be reckoned
as one of those who stood (the night) in prayer. The
Prophet (pbuh)  said, "Whoever stays with his imam
until he completes the prayer, will have the night
written for him as one who performed qiyam al-layl,
i.e. one who stood the night in prayer." [Related by
compilers of sunan books].



3. Charity (Sadaqah):
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The Prophet (pbuh) was the most generous of people,
and he was most generous during Ramadan. He was more
generous with good deeds than the blowing wind. The
Messenger of  Allah also said, "The best charity is
one given during Ramadan." [Related by Al-Tirmidhi
from Anas].

Zayd Ibn Aslam narrated from his father as saying, "I
heard Umar Ibn Al-Khattab (may Allah be pleased with
him) say, 'The Messenger of Allah (pbuh) commanded us
to donate to  charity, so I gave some of my wealth.
Then I said, 'Today I will compete with Abu Bakr if I
can ever do  so.' Then I donated half of my wealth.
The Messenger of Allah (pbuh) asked me, 'What did you
leave for your family?' He said, 'I said the same as
what I gave out.' But Abu Bakr brought all of his
wealth and  the Messenger of Allah (pbuh) asked him,
'What did you leave for your family?' He replied, 'I
left them with Allah and His Messenger,' I said, 'I
will never compete with you for anything again.

Talha Ibn Yahya Ibn Talha narrated, "My grandmother
Sa'da bint Awf AI-Mariyah who was the wife of Talha
Ibn Ubaydullah related to me, 'Talha came to me one
day disconcerted.  So I asked him, 'Why is it that I
see you with a gloomy face? What is the matter with
you? Is there  anything that I can help you with?" He
said, "No, you are a faithful Muslim wife." I said,
Then what is the matter?" He said, "The wealth that I
have has increased and that disturbs me." I said,
"Don~t worry,  distribute it." She said, 'He divided
it
until not even a single diniam was left." Talha Ibn
Yahya said: "I  asked the custodian of Talha's
property how much the amount was." He said, 'Four
hundred thousand."'

Therefore dear brother, charity during Ramadan has
special significance, so hasten to give it out
according to your means. Charity takes many forms.

a) Feeding the Needy:

Allah the Almighty says, "And they feed, for the love
of Allah, the indigent, the orphan, and the captive,
(saying), 'We feed you for the sake of Allah Alone. No
rewards do we desire from you, nor thanks. We only
fear a Day of frowning and stress from the side of our
Lord.' But Allah  will deliver them from the evil of
that day, and will spread over them brightness and a
(blissful) joy.  And because they were patient and
constant, He will reward them with a garden (and
garments of) silk" [Qur'an 76:8-12]. The Salaf used to
ensure feeding others and they placed it before many
acts of worship, and it is equally rewarded whether
you
feed a hungry person or a good Muslim brother of
yours. Hence, poverty is not a condition for feeding a
person.

The Messenger of Allah (')buh) said, "When a believer
feeds a hungry believer, Allah will feed him from the
fruits of Paradise. And when he quenches the thirst of
a believer, Allah will make him drink from the pure
sealed wine of Paradise." [Related by Al-Tirmidhi with
a good chain of narration].

Some of our pious predecessors said, "For me to invite
ten of my friends and feed them with a meal that they
like is better for me then freeing ten of the
descendants of  (Prophet) Isma'il." Many among the
Salaf used to leave their food for breaking the fast
for others. They included Abdullah Ibn Umar (may Allah
be pleased with him), Dawud Al-Ta'i, Malik Ibn Dinar
and Ahmad Ibn Hanbal. Ibn Umar did not break his fast
except with the orphans and the needy. Sometimes, if
he learned that his family had turned back the orphans
and the needy, he would not break the fast that night.
Also among the Salaf were those who fed their brother
Muslims while they still continued to fast. They also
served them and attended to their well-being. Among
them were AI-Hassan Al-Basri and Abdullah Ibn
Al-Mubarak.

Abu Al-Sawar Al-'Adwi said, "Some men from Banu Adiy
tribe used to pray in the mosque. None of them ever
broke the fast alone with his food. If he found
someone to share  with, he ate with him, if not, he
would take it to the mosque, so that others ate with
him and he ate with others. Feeding other people is an
act of worship which triggers many other acts of
worship. Ties of love  and brotherliness are
strengthened between you and the person you feed and
that may lead you to  Paradise." The Prophet (pbuh)
said, "You will not enter Paradise until you believe
and you will not believe until you love one another."
This deed will keep you close to righteous people and
Allah will reward you as the food you provide helps
them with their acts of obedience (to Allah).


b) Providing Food to Break the Fast:

The Messenger of Allah (pbuh) said, "Whoever feeds a
fasting person will have a reward equal to that of the
fasting person, without any reduction in his reward."
[Related by  Ahmad and Al-Nasai. Also verified by
Al-Albani as sahih]. In a hadith narrated by Salman
Al-Farisi,  the Prophet (pbuh) said, "Whoever feeds a
fasting person, will be recompensed with forgiveness
of sins and salvation from Hell. He will receive the
same reward as the fasting person without causing him
any reduction (in his reward). (The Companions) said,
'Messenger of Allah, not all of us can find something
to feed a fasting person.' The Prophet (pbuh) said,
'Allah will give this reward to he who feeds a fasting
person with a sip of milk or a piece of dates, or a
sip of water. And Allah will make him who quenches
the thirst of a fasting person to drink from my
istern a drink that he will never feel thirsty until
he enters Paradise (where there is no thirst)."

4. Intensifying the Recitation of the Qur'an:
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I will remind you dear brother of two actions of the
pious Salaf of this Ummah:

a) Undertaking Much Recitation of the Qur 'an:

The month of Ramadan is the month of the Qur'an. The
Muslim must therefore recite the Qur'an a great deal.
The Salaf used to pay particular attention to the Book
of Allah, and  angel Jibril (Gabriel) used to study
the Qur'an with the Prophet (pbuh) during Ramadan.
Uthman Ibn Affan used  to complete reciting the Qur'an
once each day. Some of the Salaf also completed the
Qur'an in their qiyam prayer every three nights.
Others completed it every seven days, while some
others completed it every ten nights. They used to
recite the Qur'an during prayers and at other times.
During  Ramadan, Al-Shafi'i used to complete reciting
the Qur'an sixty times, excluding prayer times.
AI-Aswad used to complete reciting the Qur'an every
two nights. Qatada regularly completed the Qur'an
within seven nights, while during Ramadan, he
completed it every three nights, but in the last ten
days of Ramadan, he completed it every night. When
Ramadan came, Al-Zuhri left studying the hadith and
study circles with scholars and he concentrted on
reciting the Qur'an from the book (i.e. not from
memory).

Also, when Ramadan came,Sufyan Al-Thawn left all other
acts of worship and concentrated on the Qur'an.

Ibn Rajab said that it was reported from the Prophet
(pbuh) that the Qur'an may not be completed in less
than three days by those who recite it constantly. As
for the blessed times such as Ramadan, especially
during the nights of expecting laylat al-Qadr or when
in holy  places such as Makkah for those not
inhabiting it, it is recommended that the recitation
of the Qur'an be increased in order to benefit from
the blessings of the time and the place. This is the
opinion of  Ahmad, Ishaq and others among the
distinguished scholars. As we indicated earlier, the
actions of other scholars also support this view.



b) Weeping During the Recitation of the Qur'an:

It was not reported from the Salaf that they chanted
the Qur'an like poetry without pondering and
understanding (its meanings); rather, they were moved
by the Words of Allah, and they in turn changed the
hearts of others with it. In a hadith in AI-Bukhari,
Abdullah Ibn Mas'ud  (may Allah be pleased with him)
said, "The Messenger of Allah (pbuh) said, 'Recite
(the Qur'an) to me.' Then I said, 'How can I recite to
you when it was revealed to you?' The Prophet (pbuh)
said, 'I like  to hear it from someone else."'
Abdullah Ibn Mas'ud said, "I recited the Qur'an from
Surah Al-Nisa' until I reached the verse that says,
'How will it be then, when We bring from every nation
a witness and  bring you to witness over all of them"'
[Qur'an 4:41]. The Prophet (pbuh) said, 'That is
enough.' I turned to the Prophet (pbuh) and found his
eyes flooding with tears."'

Al-Bayhaqi related from Abu Hurayrah that the Prophet
(pbuh) said, "When the verse of the Qur'an that says
'Do you then wonder at this recital (the 'an) and
you laugh at it and weep not.' [Qur'an 53:59-60] was
revealed, the Companions residing in the SuffQur
ah, (the
courtyard of the Prophet's mosque) wept until tears
began to trickle down their cheeks." When the Prophet
(pbuh) heard their weeping, he wept with them and his
weeping made us weep. The Messenger of  Allah said,
"The person who weeps in humility to Allah will not
enter Hell."

Ibn Umar read surah Al-Mutaffifin until he reached
'...the Day when (all) mankind will stand before the
Lord of the Worlds...' [Qur'an 83:6]. He wept to such
an extent that he fell  to the ground and could not
move on to the next verses. Furthermore, Muzahim Ibn
Zafar related, "Sufyan  Al-Thawn lead us in maghrib
prayer, and when he reached 'You (Alone) do we worship
and You (Alone) do we ask for help' [Qur'an 1:5], he
began to weep so that his recitation was disrupted. So
he started from Alhamdulillah again."

It has been reported that Ibrahim Al-Ash'ath said,
"One night, I heard Fudhayl Ibn Ayadh reciting this
verse of the Qur'an, repeatedly as he wept, 'And We
shall try you until We test those among you who strive
their utmost and persevere in patience, and We shall
test your facts  (whether true or false)' [Qur'an
47:31] But he kept on saying the words of Allah, 'And
We shall test your facts', then he would say, 'And You
will test our facts? If You test our facts, You will
disgrace us and expose our secrets. Indeed ifYou do
that, You will destroy us and punish us,' and he would
continue crying.


Sitting in the Mosque Until Sunrise
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"When the Prophet (pbuh) prayed fair prayer, he sat in
his prayer place until sunrise." [Related by Muslim].

AI-Tirmidhi narrated from Anas that the Prophet (pbuh)
said,  "Whoever prays fair in the congregation and
remains seated, remembering Allah until sunrise, then
performs two rak"at; it will be for him as the reward
of complete...complete... complete Hajj and Umrah."
[Verified by Al-Albani as sahih].  This is the reward
promised for everyday, so how will it be for Ramadan?

Dear brother, may Allah protect you, have a good sleep
at night to assist you in getting this great reward.
Also, emulate righteous people and train your soul to
strive for the pleasure of Allah. Have high
aspirations to reach the highest of the grades of
Paradise.



6. Observing I'tikaf:
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The Prophet (pbuh) used to observe I'tikaf during ten
days of Ramadan. But in the year of his death, he
stayed in I'tikaf for twenty days." [Related by Al-
Bukhari). Thus, I'tikaf  which means staying in the
mosque continuously for a certain period of time, is
an act of worship that  embraces many acts of
obedience to Allah, such as reciting the Qur'an,
praying,remembering Allah, supplicating, etc.

The person who has not experienced it might think that
is difficult to bear, but it is easy for whomever
Allah makes it easy. Thus, whoever arms himself with
good intentions and true  determination, Allah helps
him undertake the task with ease. I'tikaf is stressed
more during the  last ten days of Ramadan in
anticipation of laylat al-Qadr. It is a permissible
form of seclusion as the person observing it holds
himself in seclusion out of obedience to Allah and His
remembrance. He also cuts himself off from anything
that would distract him from the observance of I'tikaf
His heart is set on all deeds that draw him closer to
Allah and the only desire he has is to do what pleases
Allah.


Performing Umrah During Ramadan:
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

It has been established that the Prophet (pbuh) said,
"An Umrah performed in Ramadan is equal in reward to
Hajj." [Related by AlBukhari and Muslim). In another
version the Prophet (pbuh) said, "The same (reward) as
performing Hajj with me." So, congratulations to you
my brother (who succeeds) in performing a pilgrimage
with the Prophet (pbuh).

8. Anticipating Laylat Al-Qadr:
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Allah the Almighty says, "We have indeed revealed this
(Message) in the Night of Power. And what will explain
to you what the Night of Power is? The Night of Power
is better than  a thousand months" [Qur'an 97:1-3).
The Prophet (pbuh) said, "He who observes laylat
al-Qadr  with sincere faith and hope for the reward of
Allah will have his past sins forgiven." [Related by
AI-Bukhari and Muslim). The Prophet (pbuh) used to
look out for laylat al-Qadr and commanded his
Companions also to look out for it. He used to wake up
his family members during the last ten nights in the
hope that they would succeed in meeting the blessed
night (in worship).

It is related in Musnad Ahmad from Ubada that the
Prophet (pbuh said, "Whoever stays awake in
anticipation of laylat al-Qadr, and succeeds in
getting it, will have all of  his sins both past and
future forgiven." [AlNasai reported a similar hadith,
while Al-Hafidh Ibn Hajar said  that its chain meets
the conditions for authenticity].

It has been reported that some of our predecessors
among the Companions and their successors took a
complete bath and used perfume during the last ten
nights (of Ramadan) in  anticipation of laylat
al-Qadr, which has been highly honored by Allah.



So those of you who have wasted their time with
nothing beneficial, make up for what you have missed
by observing the night of laylat atQadr, as it is
reckoned from your age.  Good deeds undertaken in this
night are better than (the deeds of) a thousand
months, and whoever is  deprived of its benefits has
indeed been much deprived.


9. Remembering Allah, Supplicating and Seeking
Forgiveness
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Dear brother, the days and nights of Ramadan are
distinguished times, so seize the opportunity by
increasing your remembrance of Allah, and making
supplications, especially  during the chosen periods
when they are more acceptable to Allah. These include:

*When breaking the fast, since the fasting person's
supplications are not rejected.

*The last third of the night, when our Lord descends
and says, "Is there anyone asking that I may give;is
there anyone seeking forgiveness that I may forgive?"

*Asking for forgiveness at dawn, as Allah says, "And
in the hours of early dawn, they (were found) praying
for forgiveness" [Qur'an 51:18].

*Looking out for the chosen hour on Friday when
supplications are answered. This hour is most likely
to be the last hour of Friday (before sunset).

Finally, dear brother:

After this round in the garden of Paradise, under the
shade of righteous deeds, I would like to draw your
attention to an important issue. Do you know what that
is? It is sincerity.  Yes, sincerity. How so many are
the people who fast but benefit nothing other than
hunger and thirst from  their fast. And how so many
are the people who stay awake in worship but get
nothing other than  sleeplessness and fatigue. May
Allah save you and me from that kind of outcome.
Consequently, we find the Prophet (pbuh) stressing
this matter when he said, "(Fasting) with full faith
and hoping for  a reward from Allah." The Salaf
therefore used to do their righteous deeds secretly in
fear of falling into showing off.

Hence, we find this great Tabi'i, i.e. from the
generation succeeding the Companions of the Prophet,
Ayyoub Al-Sakhtiyani, about whom Hamad Ibn Zayd said,
"Sometimes, when  studying hadith, Ayyoub would be so
moved and he would turn (away) to blow his nose. Then
he would  say, 'How severe this cold is! Pretending to
be having a cold to hide his weeping."

It has been reported that Muhammad Ibn Wasi' said, "I
have known men among whom there is one whose head
would be placed beside that of his wife on the same
pillow, so  that the part of the pillow under his
cheek would become wet from tears without his wife
noticing it. I  have also known men, who while in the
row for prayer, tears would pour down their cheeks and
the one  next to them would not notice it. Ayyoub
AlSakhtiyani used to remain awake for the entire night
(in  worship) yet he would hide it. So when morning
came, he raised his voice as if he had woken up that
instant. Ibn Adiy related that Dawud Ibn Abi Hind
fasted for forty years without his family knowing
about it. His occupation was embroidery, so he would
take his lunch along with him (to work) but donate it
to charity on the way. When he returned at night, he
would brake his fast with the family and they did not
know that he was fasting."

Sufyan Al-Thawn said, "The servant of Allah would do
his deeds secretly, and the devil would persist in
tempting him until he convinces him to do it openly.
The devil would then continue to insist until the
person wants to be thanked for the deed. So, it will
be converted from a deed  done openly to one done for
showing off."


Amusement During Ramadan:
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Dear brother, I think I have prolonged my admonition
to you to seize this opportunity. I have taken some of
your time, but let us look together at a very critical
phenomenon that we all fall into, especially during
Ramadan. It is the phenomenon of wasting time and
spending it in ways  other than obedience to Allah.
This indeed means a lack of awareness and amounts to
turning away from  the Mercy and Bounty of Allah Who
says, "But whosoever turns away from My Message,
verily for him  is a life narrowed down, and We shall
raise Him up blind on the Day of Judgment. He will
say, 'My Lord, why have You raised me up blind while I
had sight (before)?' Allah will say, 'Thus did  you,
when our signs came upon you, forget them; so will you
be this day forgotten. And thus do we  recompense him
who transgresses beyond bounds and believes not in the
signs of his Lord. And the chastisement of the
Hereafter is far more grievous and enduring" [Qur'an
20:124-127]. One feels so much pain in his heart and
is so much dismayed to find Muslim youth filling the
sidewalks and playgrounds during  the most virtuous
nights of Ramadan.

How so many are the sins and forbidden acts committed
during the nights of Ramadan! Yes, the Muslim must be
truly concerned about the manner in which Muslims
spend their  time. He must also be disturbed to find
Muslim youth spending their time in ways that are not
pleasing to Allah. But do not worry. The path to your
happiness and that of your Muslim brothers is to call
them to apply Islamic teachings (i.e. doing da 'wah)
and to make supplications for them. Yes, da'wah to
those Muslims who have become unaware of their Islamic
duties, and guiding them to the Straight  Path. Also,
make supplications for them in their absence that
Allah may accept it from you and  that they do not
become among those deprived of guidance.