More from Pakistan

I am still on my trip to Pakistan and am currently in Karachi, I will be leaving for Lahore in a couple of days then i will have more access to a computer and internet and will post pictures. This is my first ramadan in Pakistan after many years and here is some of my reaction to things in Karachi this ramadan, some heard and some observed.

1. Pakistan has become more and more of a place where people show off their "standing" in society, ramadan brings an oppertunity for a lot of people to throw, big well catered Iftar parties for people they know, so you witness an obscence amount of money spent to entertain guests in the guise of ramadan.
2. Crime apparently increases during ramadan in Pakistan, while people are having iftar parties at their friends houses, others get a free hand in their houses to come steal and rob houses.
3. I have also noticed that during the tarabi times the mosques are empty and people go for tarabis to houses of the affluent so that they can say they offered tarabi at so and sos house. I have the privelage of seeing an empty mosque 20 yards away from someones house who had tarabi arrangements in their house including a kid you not "Valet" service.

I know most of this is negative and a lot has changed from the last time I had ramadan in Pakistan, but there is a lot of positives too, you also see people offering iftar to hundreds of poor, you see gift baskets available for charity. Through this dark cloud you can still see the sun trying to shine its way through, may Allah give us strength to serve him and his people, to think of those less fortunate then ourselves and to thank him for all his blessings. Ameen.

Naat from Pakistan

Its interesting to note the similarities between Junaid Jamshed of Pakistan and Yusuf Islam (erstwhile Cat Stevens). Both of the them started out through music and once enlightened with religion, used this quality for spreading the teachings of faith.

While Cat Stevens is known for his English verses, Junaid Jamshed has released 2 Urdu Albums on Hamd (in praise of God) and Naat (in honour of the Prophet).

Jalwa-e-Jaana (Light of the Beloved), a beutiful rendering in Urdu and Arabic below:

Hadith: Spirituality

The Messenger of God (may peace and blessings be upon him) said, "True spiritual excellence is devotion to God as if you see Him; and though you do not see Him, you at least know that He sees you." - Al-Bukhãrï and Muslim

Translated from Arabic to English by Shaykh Hamza Yusuf in his book "The content of Character; ethical sayings of the Prophet Muhammad."

*Hadith is Arabic and refers to the sayings and traditions of the Prophet Muhammad (pbuh)

Orlando Bloom in a Ramadan Song?

Ok, maybe not, but the singer sure does look like him! This is quite a favorite Ramadan Song by Driton Salihu from the Balkans among last years readers. People liked the fact that the song Agjëro and its video had a simplicity to it and that it was free from the Arabization of Islam that is present today where one presents a onesided version of islamic culture in terms of dress, language and cultural expressions.

Well, see for yourself and let us know what you think!

Ramadan in Kolkata

Ramadan started in India on Friday and today is the 5th day of Ramadan here. In Kolkata (Calcutta), the festive season is celebrated with traditional gaiety. Stalls are set up in the roads selling wares for Aftar and shops with Attar, Topi, Sewain and clothes. I will post pictures of these scenes in future, but here is a picture that appeared in the newspaper on Saturday which caught my eye. The place is the Nakhoda Mosque in Kolkata (which I had written about last year, as well) and the time is just before the Friday noon prayers.


Credit: www.asianage.com

"Sweet" samosa

Had a feast yesterday at iftar time.

When something special is cooked in a house, the housekeeper distributes part of it to other homes in the locality; so I had a one of its kind experience - a neighbour had sent over sweet samosas. It was amazing and I'd eaten it for the first time yesterday. Samosa with beef, chicken and vegetable fillings is normal and we are all used to it, but it was something so different, filled with all kinds of nuts and raisins!!! Gotta lookup for a recipe!!

Ramadan Greeting from Hong Kong

Hello again everyone. Ramadan Mubarak to all!

I can't believe it is already the close of the fifth fast here. I've been checking in here since a few days before the month started, but was always pressed for time. Today, sitting at work, with an hour to go till iftaar, I'm hungry, slightly cranky, and really don't feel like working... seems like the perfect opportunity to blog :)

First of all, kudos to "Shasha" for all the work she's done in revamping this space. All the pictures of pakoras and mentions of lassi and dates is the perfect way for me to think of Ramadan back home in Pakistan.

However, since I am not at home and don't have a chance of having right-off-the-stove pakoras (or, more appropriately still-dripping-in-oil pakoras), I have decided that this month I will attempt to drop that last 10 that has been hanging out around my mid-section for some time now. Yes, that's 10lbs. So no pakoras for me, no samosas... I'm living on protein bars and nuts this Ramadan and hoping I'll be blessed with a flat tummy, among other things like forgiveness and redemption from hell etc.

I do think that given the whole month is actually about forgiveness et. al., I should work more towards that; but it is soooo very difficult. So far, I am managing my prayers and taravihs (although not in mosque), but that is really it. If you ask me if I'm doing anything extra during this month (other than giving up food an drink during the day), I don't think I'll have much of an answer for you... "No" I guess. I am just hoping to manage the obligatory bits this time round... pillars 2 - 4 of Islam (salat , zakat, fasting). The festivities and celebrations come with having people around you, friends, family, and some time to enjoy their presence. I look forward to the time I can be back among family and friends and celebrate Ramadan the way it is meant to be celebrated.

However, that time is far away. At this point, the most I'm looking forward to is iftaar... half-an-hour more.... to this:

Update: Visitors & Polls

Greetings Ramadan readers and writers!

It's been a week now since we have been back on-line and we have had an overwhelming amount of visitors besides the 6,400 we had last year, we are now up to 11 543 visitors!

Every couple of days we put up a new poll on our sidebar. The old ones will still be running on the bottom of the sidebar until the end of Ramadan.

We will also show pictures on the side-bar and invite you to send in your Ramadan Pictures for viewing to ramadankareemblog (at) gmail (dot) com

Happy Reading and we hope you enjoy your stay with us here!

Ramadan Pakistan

Assalam alaikum...sorry for posting a bit late as it was the second day of fasting here in Pakistan today; but it's only been due to a start of the fasting month amidst a strong flu and a high fever!!

Like every other place, people here are so very hopeful of the tidings that the holy month brings with itself. However, the start of the fasting season was mired again by sullen terrorism - related incidents that've shook this country. The first, on the eve of the holy month, when seven persons including six students were shot down in a brutal manner infront of the University of Karachi; another incident in which around twenty Special Services Group members of the Pakistan Army were martyred in a suicide bombing, up north; and another today in which a renown religious scholar was shot dead in Peshawar. So one gets a fair idea of what the mood would have been in this country.

It's so saddening to know that when all evil is supposed to be shunned and in times when the Greatest of Allah's blessings are guaranteed upon the slightest of pretext, we humans choose to be so lowly.

Welcome and Ramadan Mubarik

Hello Everyone, Im sorry Iv been slow this ramadan, actually iv been in transit and am in Pakistan these days so I do not have an internet connection. First of all Thanks to Shaykhspeara for a Job well done, you took initiative when others did not. I would also like to welcome new contributors and readers who are coming here and sharing their views and perspectives.

Today was the second of Ramadan here in Pakistan and things have been rather good, I am currently in Karachi and the good news is that before ramadan we had power shut down at least 4 to 5 hours a day and we haven't had that in the last 2 days. Otherwise, if you go out there are samosa and akora vendors who attract quite a crowd before Iftar, work closes early so that eole can get home in time for iftar. Thats all from my end for now, more soon when I have a regular internet connection.

Zakat in Morocco..

Strolling the streets of Casablanca a few weeks ago i was in need of a digicam download and didnt have my cable so i popped into a kodak store downtown and saw the most wonderful thing..

Friday zakat casablanca style..

Old ladies walking in and without any questions being asked the shopkeeper reaching into a bowl of coins and silently leaving the coins on the counter.. no lady had to ask.. just appear.. apparently its normally an afternoon thing on fridays but this shop was acting early that morning and i was truly in awe..

Yesterday in Tangier a shopkeeper (khalid) explained to me that during ramadan you choose a local poor person and give them enough money for a meal every night.. he said the going rate was about 20 moroccan dirham but no less than 10 and that 10 should in fact be enough for a decent meal..

I was really impressed.. I have to say..

Wishing us all a pure and holy season.. Ramadan Kareem and Shana Tova

People know its Ramadan in Sweden

We started our first day of fasting yesterday here in cold, beautiful Sweden. I woke up at 4 am to eat the pre-dawn meal and by 4.30 am the gates to foodland were closed and the time for fajr prayer had set in.

The days are long, without doubt, until 7.30 pm when Maghrib prayer falls in and the doors to foodland open once again.

Sweden knows its Ramadan, like never before. In the subway (metro) I saw ads from local phone companies giving Ramadan discounts to the Middle East, Asia, Africa, Germany and other "Muslim hot spots". Our local grocery store ICA, has started selling Lassi!! I nearly walked into a wall when I saw the ad outside the store.

Aftonbladet, one of Sweden's largest newspapers has a Ramadan Blog! Well...we were first! lol You can follow 26-year old Lama during Ramadan...all in Swedish though.

The same phone company, Tele2 that offers discounts on calls now also offers Quran downloads to cellphones!

Sweden is in general a tolerant place to be, as a Muslim, but this new Ramadan Acknowledgement is of course more to do with the fact that Swedish companies have realised that Muslims, who are 400 000 out of 9 million people here, are a huge money making market!

One can say whatever one wants about that, but I for one love to be able to walk in my home country and see signs of Ramadan around me.

A classic Ramadan Song

Last year on the blog I posted a song by German group CoTu called Lord of Ramadan. They were amusingly coined "the Muslim Backstreet Boys", however their song is somewhat of a classic for Ramadan and here it is for you once again.

Christsfasters another year on the blog

Those of you who were with us last year will remember the enigmatic group of Christians who call themselves Christsfasters who fasted Ramadan with us. They are here again to join us and we welcome them! Here's an email they sent us to post on the blog:

Ramadan 1428 / 2007

To our Muslim brothers and sisters everywhere:

All praise and thanks be to the one God whom we all worship, who has called you to worship Him after the manner of al-Islam, and us to worship Him according to the gospel of Jesus, whom both faith traditions hail as the Messiah: it is our deep wish that God strengthen you in your devotion to God, your love of God, and your trust in God during this month of Ramadan, and that everything that you do for His sake may be pleasing to Him.

We have joined you in keeping the fast of Ramadan this year, as a freewill offering to God accompanying our prayer for peace, justice, and a spirit of love to grow among the peoples of the Abrahamic religions. It is our desire that all over the world, if God so wills, Muslim, Jew and Christian can learn to stand together in brotherhood in the sight of their Creator, and encourage one another in faithfulness and good deeds. But we are mourning many of the deeds of our government and our people, as they continue to involve themselves in the affairs of Islamic peoples, and the lives of Muslim detainees held at United States facilities, without sufficiently caring or understanding what they are doing to the people whose lives they affect. To our sorrow, we see many American Christians trusting, supporting, and following policy-makers whose guiding principle seems to be “let us do evil, that good may come of it,” as if they did not know that our own scripture explicitly condemns it (Romans 3:8). In repenting our own complicity in this, we hope to lead our brother and sister Christians into repentance.

Our power to make the world’s leaders humble themselves, question their own behavior, and let their hearts be turned, seems very small. And yet we draw hope from our certainty that we are listened to by the true Ruler of this world, the Turner of Hearts, who sees everything and holds all power. This month we curb our natural appetites during daylight hours to be more mindful of the One to whom we must return, the Highest, our Helper. We perceive, sadly, that many American Christians lack understanding of what it means to be a Muslim. How better to change that than for some of us to join the Muslim world in its Ramadan fast? We also hope that such self-restraint as we gain from the fast might help restore a spirit of self-restraint to the worldly culture of the industrialized nations, in however small a way, for on our learning self-restraint now seems to depend the saving of the world from ruin.

Advised by Jesus himself to fast privately and without open display (Matthew 6:16-18), we make ourselves available for responses to this communication but without identifying ourselves individually by name. May God comfort you, sustain you in hope, and bestow on you every blessing.

Ramadan Fasters of Christ
christsfasters@aol.com

Ramadan Kareem Everyone!

Sweden will start fasting today but I hear that Pakistan and India are starting on the 14th according to fellow bloggers Destitute Rebel who is in Pakistan as we speak and Abrahim who will post from India.

We wish everyone a blessed Ramadan and hope that we can all find blessings and warmth on this forum or, as I like to call it, online Iftaar! May God accept our fasts and efforts in this Holy Month, Amen.

To our Jewish brothers and sisters (including fellow blogger Lirun who is touring the world surfing) who are celebrating their Jewish New Year (Rosh Hashana), we wish you all peace.

Preparing for Ramadan final lesson 4: Shaykh Al-Habib Kadhim in Sweden

About Leylatul Qadr* (the night of Power) which is said to be one of the odd numbered nights in the last ten days of Ramadan (no one knows for sure), Shaykh Al-Habib Kadhim mentioned that some people go through praying on each odd night without ever feeling that it is the night of Power they are praying in.

To this he attributes the lack of following the sunnah (the recommendations beyond the obligatory that the Prophet gave us through speech or action). "It is the problem of the intellectuals who question everything and dismiss a practice as unnecessary unless a clear point can be proven to them." He talked further about the recommendations the Prophet gave us for how to fast:

1. To break/open our fasts with an odd number of dates (i.e. 1, 3, 5 etc)
   
2. To always take the pre-dawn meal (sehri/suhoor)
3. Praying Salatul Taraweeh (a prayer of a recommended 8, 12 or 20 raka'at only in the month of Ramadan) Though the companions of the Prophet (pbuh) prayed 20 raka'at.

He explains how not performing these basic sunnan (superogatory acts) can affect a persons experiencing all aspects of Ramadan including Leylatul Qadr."Perhaps," he continued, "there is a point to breaking the fasts with an odd number of dates and Leylatul Qadr's appearence on an odd numbered day?"

When we insist on logical explanations or reasons for every act and recommendation we miss out on the spiritual aspect of our faith, he argued, and thus are at risk of not being sensetive to spiritual experiences such as that of The night of Power.

Shaykh Al-Habib finished the talk with a short prayer for the acceptance of our fasts and deeds and for the good of the people of Sweden (note: he did not say muslims of Sweden, but people of Sweden).

The Quran: Chapter 97, Al-Qadr

97:1 We have indeed revealed this (Message) in the Night of Power:
97:2 And what will explain to thee what the night of power is?
97:3 The Night of Power is better than a thousand months.
97:4 Therein come down the angels and the Spirit by Allah's permission, on every errand;
97:5 (That night is) Peace until the rising of the dawn.

*Leylatul Qadr is the night in which the Quran was first revealed to the Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) and it is recommended to spend this night in worship.

Preparing for Ramadan lesson 3: Shaykh Al-Habib Kadhim in Sweden

The women's prayer room at Uppsala Mosque in Sweden

Shaykh Al-Habib Kadhim went on to mention the second part of Ramadan, after talking about Intention. That of feeling a sincere happiness that Ramadan is here yet another year. A feeling we should do our best to spread to our friends and family through our meetings and talks with them.

He mentioned a hadith where the Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) had said that a person who fasts will be happy on two occasions; when he breaks his fast and when he meets his Lord.

The third and final important part of Ramadan is doing righteous works and deeds. "It is possible," he went on, "that a man goes through the whole of Ramadan fasting without getting any reward from it. The Prophet (pbuh) was concerned about this and wanted nothing but for us to attain the highest place in paradise; Al Firdaus." He then tells us about the instructions left to us by our Prophet (pbuh) on what to make sure one avoids during Ramadan, besides food:

• backbiting and slander
• corruption (of soul or mind, like e.g. telling lies.)
  
• raising ones voice
  
• and if insulted or angered by someone to reply "I am fasting"

Quran Ch. 16 Verse 90 Allah commands justice, the doing of good, and liberality
to kith and kin, and He forbids all shameful deeds, and injustice and rebellion:
He instructs you, that ye may receive admonition.

Through the mercy of our Prophet (pbuh) we have been left with recommendations on certain times when it is highly recommended to supplicate:

• Supplication (Dou'a) in the middle part of the night.
• Supplication while prostrating (Sajda/Sujood)

The two times when God pays extra attention to the prayers of His creation.

Preparing for Ramadan lesson 2: Shaykh Al-Habib Kadhim in Sweden

Uppsala Mosque in Sweden, Sept 11th 2007

Shaykh Al-Habib Kadhim speaks with animation, his hands moving and voice intensifying when he wants to emphasize something. "Ramadan is a noble guest that enters our homes, and that is how we should treat it," he says, adjusting the white shawl he has folded into a sash, lying over his right shoulder.

Drawing on a hadeeth* in the Al-Hakim Collection which (roughly speaking) says that The Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) is reported to have said that both our fasts and the Quran will take shape on the Day of Judgement to intercede on our behalf.

He goes on to mention three important parts of Ramadan:

1. Intention
2. To find yourself in a position of extreme happiness over the coming of Ramadan.
3. To do righteous works and deeds
   

About the first part of Ramadan he mentions a hadith of the Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) where it is said that the true intention of a believer is better than his actions. So if we intend to read the Quran in Ramadan our tongues will be honored while reciting, for the Quran is God's speech to man, His speech being one of His attributes. In it God adresses us as He has adressed the Messengers before us:

Quran Ch. 2 Verse 183 O ye who believe! Fasting is prescribed to you as it
was prescribed to those before you, that ye may (learn) self-restraint,-

A sincerely made intention will be blessed with sucess in performing it, and God will make it easy for us to do what we intended. "Therefore," he conluded, "make as many intentions as you can for Ramadan. Intend to pray all the Taraweeh prayers and sunnah prayers, intend to finish the Quran in this month. Even if you do not completely fulfill your intentions despite your efforts, if sincere, you will be rewarded nevertheless God willing."

* hadeeth are the prophetic sayings or traditions of the Prophet Muhammad (pbuh)

Read lesson one here.

Preparing for Ramadan lesson 1: Shaykh Al-Habib Kadhim in Sweden

Shaykh Al-Habib Kadhim adressing a crowd of
Swedish Muslim men & women in Uppsala

The rain fell outside Uppsala Mosque in Sweden yesterday as we prayed Maghrib, and got ready for a talk by the prominent Muslim Scholar from Tarim in Yemen, Shaykh Al-Habib Kadhim Ja‘far Muhammad al-Saqqaf.

His Yemeni-Arabic was made comprehendable to the Swedish crowd of Muslims thanks to the American Muslim Yahya Rhodus translation. "Give thanks," he started, mentioning the great merit in not only giving thanks to God for whatever blessings one has but also giving thanks for being able to give thanks.

"Thank God first and foremost for our faith", he pointed out that those who also thank God for the blessings He gives other people, be it friends or family, will partake in those blessings as well and help guard ones heart from any ill will one might harbor to take those blessings away from others. Giving thanks (alhamdulillah*), he concluded, is one of the greatest ways of drawing near to our Lord.

*Alhamdulillah is Arabic for 'All praise is due to Allah'

Some verses from the Quran on giving thanks:

Ch. 39 Verse 66 Nay, but worship Allah, and be of those who give thanks.

Ch. 40 Verse 61 It is Allah Who has made the Night for you, that ye may rest therein,
and the days as that which helps (you) to see. Verily Allah is full of Grace and Bounty
to men: yet most men give no thanks.

Ch. 54 Verse 35 As a Grace from Us: thus do We reward those who give thanks.

TimesofOman.com: The Spirit of Ramadhan

Men praying at the Sultan Qaboos Mosque in Muscat, Oman

Below you can all read and comment on the latest article that was published on the TimesofOman.com website, under the title 'The spirit of Ramadhan'. Do enjoy!

"Ramadhan approaches in less than five days from today and we're barely even set into the mood. I'm not talking about the mood of festivities whereby one goes out and goes on a frenzy of buying everything that is on discount or special offers. Or partying out at the latest new trends of Ramadhan tents at a hotel or some restaurant.

For once, I would be glad if Ramadhan to everyone was just about being around the family, going to the mosque every night lending your ears at least once in a year to hearing the Qura'nic verses of the Holy Quran or a lecture from the Imam at a near mosque whether it was a moral to be learnt about the story of our beloved Prophet (Peace Be Upon Him) or one his age-old battles that helped conquer Islam after seeing that it was the solution to spread the religion that believes that there is ‘No God But God’.

For once, I would like to see people actually making an effort to putting the energy that they put during the holy month of Ramadhan throughout the whole year. They have no idea what it is they’re missing out on. The feeling of joy that fills someone up and lights up their soul is beyond all meaning and all measures that could ever be looked into. It would be like seeing a young child smile an innocent smile with the entire gleam in their eyes.

This is the month that God closes the doors on Hell and locks up the Devil away during the entire month and sends the Angels down to Earth to help protect and see the good deeds that God's subjects are into during the holy month. This was the month that God delivered the Holy Qur'an upon His last Prophet, Mohammed (Peace Be Upon Him).

I really hope this would be the month that would truly change a person's life from bad to good, from worst to fair, and from better to great.

I really hope and wish that everyone would just think for a second about what the Ramadhan spirit is all about."

(The views expressed are solely those of the author and do not reflect the views of timesofoman.com)

God has 99 names in Djibouti too

Ramadan is, without exaggeration, the single most important event in a Muslim's annual life (apart from the pilgrimage to Mecca). And for centuries it has been expressed in different ways through poetry, song and art. Although the Muslim World is by far in unity on issues such as music or no music, instruments or no instruments, Muslims themselves continue with the legacy they were left with by their forefathers, whatever that may be.

In Ramadan 2005, Dandawi, a group of somali male and female singers from Djibouti, performed the song Asma u Xusna (Asmaa ul Husna), a song which is traditionally sung by Muslims all over the world to different melodies. It is about God's 99 names mentioned in the Quran among them being Allah (The Lord/God), Al Rahman (The All Merciful), Al Raheem (The All Compassionate), Al Salaam (The source of Peace). In the songs you will always hear the word Ya sung before God's names as a sign of affection and invocation.

Other songs by Dandawi on YouTube: Nabi Awaan, Alahu ya alahu

e-Greetings

The market for greeting cards related to islamic events or days of celebration has become huge over the last couple of years. The general greeting card sites like Hallmark or Blue Mountain have all got sections for Ramadan or the two Eid festivals. Muslims themselves have also started their own websites for muslim greetings.

On our link bar to the right we have included a list of some of the best sites we have found. Jamal e-cards and Eid Mubarak are our favorites. Eid Mubarak specializes in all occasion e-cards and has the extremely hillarious character Latif the Poet featured on some of its cards. Have a browse and send family and friends a greeting for Ramadan!

New Ramadan Song!

The famous singer and songwriter Yusuf Islam (a.k.a Cat Stevens) has produced an adorably cute song for Ramadan free to download in two versions: Voice only and Drum.

The name of the song, Ramadan Moon, is taken from the forthcoming children's album I look, I see Vol 2. The song is all about the different aspects of Ramadan as well as the sighting of the new moon in order to determine when the Islamic month of Ramadan will start.

I do not have a problem with drums in music however the voice only version is in my opinion the best one. Have a listen and enjoy!

We're back!

...and so is the blessed month of Ramadan!

It has been a year since we said Ramadan and Eid Mubarak (Have a blessed Ramadan and Eid), and as is rule with Ramadan, it moves back 10 days every year and will most likely start this Wednesday or Thursday, September 12/13th.

I brought 11 kilos of Dates with me back from the UAE a couple of weeks back, (yes I know that is a lot of dates!), and have distributed small packs to my friends to prepare them for the guest we wait for every year with anticipation.

The blog is back up and running for everyone who wishes to post pictures, or thoughts on Ramadan or fasting wherever they may be and whatever their background may be.

Ramadan Kareem wa Mubarak!

Have a blessed and spiritually uplifting Ramadan!

We'll be back 2007

Greetings everyone!

Those of you who are wondering, will Ramadan Kareem be back next Ramadan? I am glad to inform you that if we are all alive and kicking (god willing) we'll be back with a peaceful bang next Ramadan 2007.

If you wanna join us as a contributor next Ramadan, send me or Destitute Rebel an email.

Meanwhile, a new project called Global Themes has started with members of our old Ramadan Kareem team, and it's a weekly theme based photo blog with contributors from all over the world. Come join us there and feel free to contribute!

/Shaykhspeara