Ramadan is fast approaching and is being looked forward to by many many Muslims around the world. Ramadan is the 9th month of the Islamic calender and is considered one of the holiest months of Islam. It is a month of blessing and a month which gives Muslims an opportunity to seek forgiveness from God. A month of fasting and worship. A month that brings everyone closer to ones creator. Ramadan is the time for good deeds and charity, a month to be thankful to God for all his blessings. Prayers are answered in this month and your status is elevated because of your good deeds and worship.
Allah bestows so many blessings upon his servants in the month of Ramadan. This is the month of fasting that is one of the five pillars of Islam. The Prophet (peace be upon him) fasted during this month and directed his followers to do the same. He told us that whoever fasts this month with faith, seeking Allah’s reward, will have all of his past sins forgiven. He likewise informed us that whoever stands in prayer throughout this month will have all of his past sins forgiven.
The month of Ramadan contains within it a night that is superior to a thousand months. Whoever is denied the goodness of that night is indeed deprived.
We should welcome this month and embrace it with happiness and joy. We should have the truest resolve to observe the fasts and the prayers and to compete in doing righteous deeds. During this month, we should ardently repent for all of our sins and encourage each other to engage in virtuous deeds and call to what is right and forbid what is wrong. In this way, we will succeed in attaining the blessings and the great rewards of Ramadan.
Ramadan around the World in Pictures & Words! We wanna hear from you! Follow our Bloggers during Ramadan in Hong Kong, Pakistan, Australia, Israel, The UAE, Sweden, India and USA among many places.
Saturday, July 31, 2010
Tuesday, July 27, 2010
Ramadan Savories - Dhai Bhendi
1/4 Kg Bhendi- Okra (cleaned)
1 Cup Yogurt)
1/4 Cup Water) Mix together
1/4 Tsp Garlic)
1 Tsp Poppy seeds - paste
1/2 Tbsp Nigella
2 Tbsp Oil
1 Tsp Garlic
1 1/2 Tbsp Coconut paste
1/2 Tsp Green Chillie paste
1/4 Tsp Tumeric
8 Whole small red chilllies
Salt to taste
10 Curry leaves
3 Cloves of Garlic chopped
2 Tbsp Oil
6 Whole small red chillies
METHOD: Heat oil put okra and fry for 5mins. Add all the masalas and little salt and little water
and let it cook till the okra is tender with a slight bite and dry, but dont let it wilt. Before serving heat the okra slightly and remove from the pan and lay it out on a flat dish. Spread the yogurt mixed with garlic, on top of the okra.
Then heat 2tbsp of oil in a pan fry 3 cloves of chopped garlic until light brown, then add 6 whole small red chillies, 1/4 tsp cumin seeds and then 10 curry leaves any for a minute only be careful it burns very quickly. Then evenly spread it out on the yogurt okra and serve.
Ramadan Savory Recipes provided thanks to SRAK at DumPukht Blog.
Monday, July 26, 2010
Ramadan Savories - Chicken Chunks On A Bed Of Lettuce
2 Cups Chicken cubed into 1 inch pieces
3 Tbsp lemon juice
1/2 Cup Boiled Carrots (not overdone)
1 Tsp Ginger
1 Tsp Garlic
1 Tsp Mixed Herbs
1/2 Tsp Crushed Pepper
1/2 Cup Chopped Green onions
1/2 Cup Boiled Green peas
1 Tsp Mustard seeds
Salt to taste
1 Tbsp Oil
1 Chopped Tomatoes for garnish (optional)
2 Tbsp Mayonaise
METHOD: Mix the chicken chunks in marination of garlic, ginger, mixed herbs, salt, pepper and lemon juice.
Heat oil a karhai and add put mustard seeds, brown them and add chunks of chicken and fry and cook till tender. Lastly add the peas and green onions and stir fry for 5mins and mix with mayonaise and serve ona bed of lettuce garnished with tomatoes (optional).
You can also take pita bread cut into half and fill the bread halves with chicken and lettuce...in order to enjoy a more filling meal.
Ramadan Savory Recipes provided thanks to SRAK at DumPukht Blog
Sunday, July 25, 2010
Ramadan Savories - Fish Chinese Style
3 Fish- whole, fillets or pieces (you can use sole, salmon or haddock)
1 Tbsp Cornflour mix together with 1/4 cup Water till smooth
2 Tbsp Soya Sauce
2 Large Capsicums- cut into squares
2 Tbsp Green onions-cut finely
2 Tbsp Vinegar
1/2 Tsp Ginger
3 Tbsp Chilly sauce
2 Tbsp Garlic
1 Tbsp Sesame seeds- Roast till light brown
2 Tsp Red chillies (ground)
2 Tbsp Oil
METHOD: Marinate the fish with ginger, garlic, sesame seeds, soya sauce mix well and set aside for 15mins. Fry fish in hot oil add vinegar, chillies, capsicums and green onions fry and add
cornflour and chilly sauce mixed in 1/4 cup water and then add the fish.
Stir fry well and plate it, sprinkle red chillies and serve.
Ramadan Savory Recipes provided thanks to SRAK at DumPukht Blog
Ramdan Savories- Green Chutney
6 Cloves Garlic (roast on a flat pan)
1 Bunch Mint
1/2 Tsp Cumin (whole)
4 Green Chillies
1/2 Tsp Salt
1/2 Tsp sugar
METHOD: Grind all this and add lemon juice, mix well and serve with cottage cheese samosas, potato samosa, pakoras and many other kinds of savories.
Ramadan Savory Recipes provided thanks to SRAK at DumPukht Blog
Monday, July 05, 2010
Prophet's (PBUH) Sermon for Ramadan
Baihaqi reported on the authority of Salman Al-Farsi (Radhi Allah ‘Anh) that Prophet (‘Alaihi Salat was-Salam) delivered a sermon on the last day of the month of Sha’ban. In it he (‘Alaihi Salat was-Salam) said,
“O People! The month of Allah (Ramadan) has come with its mercies, blessings and forgivenesses. Allah has decreed this month the best of all months. The days of this month are the best among the days and the nights are the best among the nights and the hours during Ramadan are the best among the hours. This is a month in which you have been invited by Him (to fast and pray). Allah has honoured you in it. In every breath you take is a reward of Allah, your sleep is worship, your good deeds are accepted and your invocations are answered.
Therefore, you must invoke your Lord in all earnestness with hearts free from sin and evil, and pray that Allah may help you to keep fast, and to recite the Holy Qur’an. Indeed!, miserable is the one who is deprived of Allah’s forgiveness in this great month. While fasting remember the hunger and thirst on the Day of Judgement. Give alms to the poor and needy. Pay respect to your elders, have sympathy for your youngsters and be kind towards your relatives and kinsmen. Guard your tongue against unworthy words, and your eyes from scenes that are not worth seeing (forbidden) and your ears from sounds that should not be heard.
Be kind to orphans so that if your children may become orphans they will also be treated with kindness. Do repent to Allah for your sins and supplicate with raised hands at the times of prayer as these are the best times, during which Allah Almighty looks at His servants with mercy. Allah Answers if they supplicate, Responds if they call, Grants if He is asked, and Accepts if they entreat. O people! you have made your conscience the slave of your desires.
Make it free by invoking Allah for forgiveness. Your back may break from the heavy load of your sins, so prostrate yourself before Allah for long intervals, and make this load lighter. Understand fully that Allah has promised in His Honour and Majesty that, people who perform salat and sajda (prostration) will be guarded from Hell-fire on the Day of Judgement.
O people!, if anyone amongst you arranges for iftar (meal at sunset) for any believer, Allah will reward him as if he had freed a slave, and Allah will forgive him his sins. A companion asked: “but not all of us have the means to do so” The Prophet (SAAWS) replied: Keep yourself away from Hell-fire though it may consist of half a date or even some water if you have nothing else.
O people!, anyone who during this month cultivates good manners, will walk over the Sirat (bridge to Paradise) on the day when feet will tend to slip. For anyone who during this month eases the workload of his servants, Allah will make easy his accounting, and for anyone who doesn’t hurt others during this month, Allah will safeguard him from His Wrath on the Day of Judgement. Anyone who respects and treats an orphan with kindness during this month, Allah shall look at him with kindness on that Day. Anyone who treats his kinsmen well during this month, Allah will bestow His Mercy on him on that Day, while anyone who mistreats his kinsmen during this month, Allah will keep away from His Mercy.
Whomever offers the recommended prayers during this month, Allah will save him from Hell, and whomever observes his obligations during this month, his reward will be seventy times the reward during other months. Whomever repeatedly invokes Allah’s blessings on me, Allah will keep his scale of good deeds heavy, while the scales of others will be tending to lightness. Whomever recites during this month an ayat (verse) of the Holy Qur’an, will get the reward of reciting the whole Qur’an in other months.
O people!, the gates of Paradise remain open during this month. Pray to your Lord that they may not be closed for you. While the gates of Hell are closed, pray to your Lord that they never open for you. Satan has been chained, invoke your Lord not to let him dominate you.”
Ali ibn Talib (RAA) said: “I asked, ‘O messenger of Allah, what are the best deeds during this month’?” ‘He replied: ‘O Abu-Hassan, the best of deeds during this month is to be far from what Allah has forbidden’.”
“O People! The month of Allah (Ramadan) has come with its mercies, blessings and forgivenesses. Allah has decreed this month the best of all months. The days of this month are the best among the days and the nights are the best among the nights and the hours during Ramadan are the best among the hours. This is a month in which you have been invited by Him (to fast and pray). Allah has honoured you in it. In every breath you take is a reward of Allah, your sleep is worship, your good deeds are accepted and your invocations are answered.
Therefore, you must invoke your Lord in all earnestness with hearts free from sin and evil, and pray that Allah may help you to keep fast, and to recite the Holy Qur’an. Indeed!, miserable is the one who is deprived of Allah’s forgiveness in this great month. While fasting remember the hunger and thirst on the Day of Judgement. Give alms to the poor and needy. Pay respect to your elders, have sympathy for your youngsters and be kind towards your relatives and kinsmen. Guard your tongue against unworthy words, and your eyes from scenes that are not worth seeing (forbidden) and your ears from sounds that should not be heard.
Be kind to orphans so that if your children may become orphans they will also be treated with kindness. Do repent to Allah for your sins and supplicate with raised hands at the times of prayer as these are the best times, during which Allah Almighty looks at His servants with mercy. Allah Answers if they supplicate, Responds if they call, Grants if He is asked, and Accepts if they entreat. O people! you have made your conscience the slave of your desires.
Make it free by invoking Allah for forgiveness. Your back may break from the heavy load of your sins, so prostrate yourself before Allah for long intervals, and make this load lighter. Understand fully that Allah has promised in His Honour and Majesty that, people who perform salat and sajda (prostration) will be guarded from Hell-fire on the Day of Judgement.
O people!, if anyone amongst you arranges for iftar (meal at sunset) for any believer, Allah will reward him as if he had freed a slave, and Allah will forgive him his sins. A companion asked: “but not all of us have the means to do so” The Prophet (SAAWS) replied: Keep yourself away from Hell-fire though it may consist of half a date or even some water if you have nothing else.
O people!, anyone who during this month cultivates good manners, will walk over the Sirat (bridge to Paradise) on the day when feet will tend to slip. For anyone who during this month eases the workload of his servants, Allah will make easy his accounting, and for anyone who doesn’t hurt others during this month, Allah will safeguard him from His Wrath on the Day of Judgement. Anyone who respects and treats an orphan with kindness during this month, Allah shall look at him with kindness on that Day. Anyone who treats his kinsmen well during this month, Allah will bestow His Mercy on him on that Day, while anyone who mistreats his kinsmen during this month, Allah will keep away from His Mercy.
Whomever offers the recommended prayers during this month, Allah will save him from Hell, and whomever observes his obligations during this month, his reward will be seventy times the reward during other months. Whomever repeatedly invokes Allah’s blessings on me, Allah will keep his scale of good deeds heavy, while the scales of others will be tending to lightness. Whomever recites during this month an ayat (verse) of the Holy Qur’an, will get the reward of reciting the whole Qur’an in other months.
O people!, the gates of Paradise remain open during this month. Pray to your Lord that they may not be closed for you. While the gates of Hell are closed, pray to your Lord that they never open for you. Satan has been chained, invoke your Lord not to let him dominate you.”
Ali ibn Talib (RAA) said: “I asked, ‘O messenger of Allah, what are the best deeds during this month’?” ‘He replied: ‘O Abu-Hassan, the best of deeds during this month is to be far from what Allah has forbidden’.”
Advantages of Fasting
Fasting is not just the state of remaining hungry and thirsty. If an animal or a disbeliever is confined in a room and deprived of food and water, this is not considered fasting. In fact, fasting has a connection with other acts of worship, such as patience, giving thanks to Allahu ta'ala, and disciplining the nafs. Therefore, it is stated in a hadith-i sharif, "Everything has a gate. The gate of worship is fasting" (Ibn Mubarak).
The nervous system has a vital place in the human body. Those whose lingual nerves have been paralyzed cannot talk. Those whose nerves in their legs have been paralyzed cannot walk. Our lives are in danger to a lesser or greater degree as per the nervous system disorder we experience. People who suffer from neurosis are restless and impatient. Most of the fights and murders that occur within the community spring from being nervous and lacking patience. The hadith-i sharif, "Fasting is half of patience, and patience is half of faith," states that a fasting person is forbearing. (Abu Nu'aym)
Thus, it is seen that fasting is also from faith. Those who have faith do not commit crimes or sins in accordance with the strength of their faith. They keep their temper. There is a zakat for everything, and the zakat of the body is hunger. Because the desires of those who remain hungry by fasting are restrained, it is easy for them to show patience. Fasting people remain hungry. Remaining hungry, in turn, is beneficial: It develops one's insight (basirah) and enhances one's ability to understand. As a matter of fact, it was declared in hadith-i sharifs, "The comprehension of a hungry person increases, and his intellect is sharpened" and "Meditation [tafakkur] is half of worship, while eating little is all of it" (Imam-i Ghazali).
Those who eat much sleep much, thus spending their lives doing nothing. They are like drunks. Their brains become sluggish, and their intellects and memories atrophy. However, hunger brings tenderness to the heart. A hadith-i sharif says, "The interior of a person who eats little is filled with lights. Allahu ta'ala loves the Believer who eats and drinks little and whose body is light in weight" (Daylami).
In a state of hunger, desires are curbed. Leaving disobedience, our nafses become submissive. On the other hand, overeating causes negligence. Just as it is difficult to subjugate a wild horse, so it is difficult to subjugate the nafs that had gotten out of hand as a result of overindulgence in food. Hunger facilitates training of the nafs. It was declared in a hadith-i sharif:
(The human heart is like crops in a field, and eating is like rain. Just as excessive rain causes crops to rot, so excessive food causes the heart to die.) [Imam-i Ghazali]
Those who are always full up become merciless and ruthless. They cannot imagine what it means to be hungry. Gluttonous people become hard-hearted. It was related in a hadith-i sharif, "Do not kill your heart by eating and drinking much" (Imam-i Ghazali).
Those who keep their temper experience inner happiness. Hunger crushes one's hankering to commit sins and prevents one from doing evil deeds. A hadith-i sharif says, "Fighting against the nafs through hunger and thirst is like fighting in the way of Allah" (Imam-i Ghazali).
Those who eat much drink much water. Those who drink much water, in turn, sleep much. Since such people spend their lives sleeping, this state keeps them from earning material and spiritual profits. This means to say that hunger keeps nerves agile and energetic. Repletion results in imbecility. It inhibits memorization and keeping something in mind. A hadith-i sharif says, "Eating a meal once a day is moderation" (Bayhaqi).
Having meals three times every two days [that is, morning and evening meals on the first day and lunch on the second day] was reported to be standard. (Tashil-ul-manafi)
Most of diseases result from eating much. It was stated in a hadith-i sharif, "Eating and drinking much is the source of diseases" (Dara Qutni).
Those who eat little will have healthy bodies. "He who fasts will have a good health," was said in a hadith-i sharif. (Tabarani)
The feeling of pity in those who consume excessively will lessen. Their sensual desires will increase, and they will engage in forbidden deeds. It is necessary to block off all the paths that excite unlawful desires. Hunger, in this respect, blocks off Satan's path. A hadith-i sharif declares, "Satan circulates in the body like blood. Make his passage narrow by means of hunger" (Ihya).
The nervous system has a vital place in the human body. Those whose lingual nerves have been paralyzed cannot talk. Those whose nerves in their legs have been paralyzed cannot walk. Our lives are in danger to a lesser or greater degree as per the nervous system disorder we experience. People who suffer from neurosis are restless and impatient. Most of the fights and murders that occur within the community spring from being nervous and lacking patience. The hadith-i sharif, "Fasting is half of patience, and patience is half of faith," states that a fasting person is forbearing. (Abu Nu'aym)
Thus, it is seen that fasting is also from faith. Those who have faith do not commit crimes or sins in accordance with the strength of their faith. They keep their temper. There is a zakat for everything, and the zakat of the body is hunger. Because the desires of those who remain hungry by fasting are restrained, it is easy for them to show patience. Fasting people remain hungry. Remaining hungry, in turn, is beneficial: It develops one's insight (basirah) and enhances one's ability to understand. As a matter of fact, it was declared in hadith-i sharifs, "The comprehension of a hungry person increases, and his intellect is sharpened" and "Meditation [tafakkur] is half of worship, while eating little is all of it" (Imam-i Ghazali).
Those who eat much sleep much, thus spending their lives doing nothing. They are like drunks. Their brains become sluggish, and their intellects and memories atrophy. However, hunger brings tenderness to the heart. A hadith-i sharif says, "The interior of a person who eats little is filled with lights. Allahu ta'ala loves the Believer who eats and drinks little and whose body is light in weight" (Daylami).
In a state of hunger, desires are curbed. Leaving disobedience, our nafses become submissive. On the other hand, overeating causes negligence. Just as it is difficult to subjugate a wild horse, so it is difficult to subjugate the nafs that had gotten out of hand as a result of overindulgence in food. Hunger facilitates training of the nafs. It was declared in a hadith-i sharif:
(The human heart is like crops in a field, and eating is like rain. Just as excessive rain causes crops to rot, so excessive food causes the heart to die.) [Imam-i Ghazali]
Those who are always full up become merciless and ruthless. They cannot imagine what it means to be hungry. Gluttonous people become hard-hearted. It was related in a hadith-i sharif, "Do not kill your heart by eating and drinking much" (Imam-i Ghazali).
Those who keep their temper experience inner happiness. Hunger crushes one's hankering to commit sins and prevents one from doing evil deeds. A hadith-i sharif says, "Fighting against the nafs through hunger and thirst is like fighting in the way of Allah" (Imam-i Ghazali).
Those who eat much drink much water. Those who drink much water, in turn, sleep much. Since such people spend their lives sleeping, this state keeps them from earning material and spiritual profits. This means to say that hunger keeps nerves agile and energetic. Repletion results in imbecility. It inhibits memorization and keeping something in mind. A hadith-i sharif says, "Eating a meal once a day is moderation" (Bayhaqi).
Having meals three times every two days [that is, morning and evening meals on the first day and lunch on the second day] was reported to be standard. (Tashil-ul-manafi)
Most of diseases result from eating much. It was stated in a hadith-i sharif, "Eating and drinking much is the source of diseases" (Dara Qutni).
Those who eat little will have healthy bodies. "He who fasts will have a good health," was said in a hadith-i sharif. (Tabarani)
The feeling of pity in those who consume excessively will lessen. Their sensual desires will increase, and they will engage in forbidden deeds. It is necessary to block off all the paths that excite unlawful desires. Hunger, in this respect, blocks off Satan's path. A hadith-i sharif declares, "Satan circulates in the body like blood. Make his passage narrow by means of hunger" (Ihya).
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