How can a Muslim in the United States welcome Ramadan with the oppression of the US everywhere in the world? Could you please furnish me with some detailed tips of how can a US Muslim celebrate this month according to the Qur'an and the Sunnah?
In the Name of Allah, Most Gracious, Most Merciful.
All praise and thanks are due to Allah, and peace and blessings be upon His Messenger.
We must always be positive and work for the best. It is true there are many difficulties that Muslims are facing here and in many other places, but there are also many more blessings that we have. We should thank Allah for His Blessings and pray to Him to remove the difficulties.
Ramadan is a great opportunity to turn to Allah, to do the good deeds. We should take good advantage of this time. In addition to fasting and prayers in this month, you can invite your non-Muslims neighbors, civic and political leaders, interfaith leaders to have iftar with you and tell them about Islam, its beautiful message. Remove their misunderstandings and establish good relations. This is the way you can celebrate the month. May Allah bless you."
Guest Name / Dr.MuzammilH.Siddiqi
Profession / Former President of the Islamic Society of North America (ISNA) and Member of the Fiqh Council of North America
Subject / Welcoming Ramadan
Date / Wednesday,Oct 22 ,2003
Time / Makkah
From... 20:00...To... 21:00
GMT
From...17:00...To...18:00
Name / Host-
Profession
Question / .
Answer / In the Name of Allah, Most Gracious, Most Merciful.
All praise and thanks are due to Allah, and peace and blessings be upon His Messenger.
Brothers and sisters, the session has already started. You can submit your questions. Please, make your questions short and clear so as to help us answer all your questions.
Yours,
Islam Online Fatwa Editing Desk.
Name / Muslim-United States
Profession
Question /
How can a Muslim in the United States welcome Ramadan with the oppression of the US everywhere in the world? Could you please furnish me with some detailed tips of how can a US Muslim celebrate this month according to the Qur'an and the Sunnah?
Answer /
In the Name of Allah, Most Gracious, Most Merciful.
All praise and thanks are due to Allah, and peace and blessings be upon His Messenger.
We must always be positive and work for the best. It is true there are many difficulties that Muslims are facing here and in many other places, but there are also many more blessings that we have. We should thank Allah for His Blessings and pray to Him to remove the difficulties.
Ramadan is a great opportunity to turn to Allah, to do the good deeds. We should take good advantage of this time. In addition to fasting and prayers in this month, you can invite your non-Muslims neighbors, civic and political leaders, interfaith leaders to have iftar with you and tell them about Islam, its beautiful message. Remove their misunderstandings and establish good relations. This is the way you can celebrate the month. May Allah bless you."
You can also read:
Conducting Iftar for non-Muslims in Ramadan
A Piece of Advice to Welcome Ramadan
Allah Almighty knows best.
Name / Haritha-Oman
Profession
Question / Is there anything wrong with Muslims exchanging cards and greeting each other with the beginning of Ramadan? Could you please mention some evidences?
Answer / In the Name of Allah, Most Gracious, Most Merciful.
All praise and thanks are due to Allah, and peace and blessings be upon His Messenger.
It is reported in a Hadith that the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) used to greet the Sahabah(kana yubashiru ashabahu) at the beginning of Ramadan. He used to tell them "Ramadan has come to you. A great and blessed month has come to you. Allah has made fasting in this month obligatory and prayers at night a recommended act of devotion... (a long Hadith reported in al-Darmi).
It is good to greet each other and give the congratulations and make du'a for each other on seeing the new moon of Ramadan.
You can also read:
Ramadan Felicitations: Are They Bid`ah?
Allah Almighty knows best.
Name / Regreting-
Profession
Question / I drunk alcohol last week, and I don't know how can I pray and perform siyam (fasting) because I should wait 40 days, after that Allah will accept my Salah. What can I do in Ramadan?
Answer / In the Name of Allah, Most Gracious, Most Merciful.
All praise and thanks are due to Allah, and peace and blessings be upon His Messenger.
You must repent immediately and start doing good deeds. Do not stop your prayers and fasting during the month of Ramadan. Because of your sin, it is possible that you may not receive your full blessings for these good deeds, but if your repentance is sincere, Allah may forgive you.
The Hadith of the Prophet about 40 days does not say that one should not pray or fast for 40 days after drinking Alcohol. It says that one shall not receive the joy and blessings of good deeds after committing this sin.
May Allah accept you tawbah and bless you.
You can also read:
Alcohol: Dangerous, But Why?
The Door of Repentance Is Wide Open
Allah Almighty knows best.
Name / fida-Palestine
Profession / seniar lab technologist
Question / Could you please help me understand and emphasize more on how I should relay on Allah and never give up to stressful life. Thank you.
Answer / In the Name of Allah, Most Gracious, Most Merciful.
All praise and thanks are due to Allah, and peace and blessings be upon His Messenger.
Always put your trust in Allah. Never give up. Difficulties and problems sometimes come to make us stronger in our faith and commitment. During this time, Satan tries to turn the person away from Allah. All kinds of evil thoughts come in the mind. Say Lahawla wa la quwwata illa billah, make istighfar and continue doing right things. Soon you will see that your soul will be at peace. You may or you may not be relieved from your problems and difficulties, but you shall certainly be out of your stressful condition.
It may take some time for the problems to be solved because of many other factors, but the rest, calm, comfort and the peace of heart is indeed in tawakkul and the remembrance of Allah.
Allah Almighty knows best.
Name / khadijia-
Profession
Question / Assalamu`alaykum, I want to know the ruling for a person taking an injection while fasting. Is it allowed? What about those suffering from diabetes? Thank you for your answer. May Almighty Allah accept our du'a' and fasting this Ramadan!
Answer / Wa`alykum As-Salamu warahmatullahi wabarakatuh.
In the Name of Allah, Most Gracious, Most Merciful.
All praise and thanks are due to Allah, and peace and blessings be upon His Messenger.
May Allah also accept your Siyam and du'a'. It is permissible to take injections for medical reasons during fasting. One should not take any nutritional injections during fast, because fast is to abstain from food and drink.
If your medical condition is such that you cannot fast, then you are allowed to skip fasting until you are healthy. Those who are permanently ill and cannot fast during or after Ramadan, they should give fidya (food for one person for every day of the missed fast)
Allah Almighty knows best.
Name / aysha-United Kingdom
Profession / student
Question / As-salamu `alaykum. I hope this reaches you in the best health in sha’ Allah. My questions are about tarawih prayer. I have been told very contrasting "rules" about this prayer such as how many rak`has one should pray. Can you clarify how one should perform this prayer? What is required of the person, and is this prayer compulsory for women? Jazaka Allah Khair!
Answer / Wa `alaykum As-Salamu wa Rahmatullahi wa Barakatuh.
In the Name of Allah, Most Gracious, Most Merciful.
All praise and thanks are due to Allah, and peace and blessings be upon His Messenger.
Tarawih prayer is a confirmed Sunnah or Sunnah mu'akkdah for both men and women. It is not required that you pray Tarawih in jama'ah (congregation). You may pray in congregation or alone, but your should pray it.
There is a difference of opinion about the number of rak`has to be prayed. Some schools say eight rak`has and some twenty. Whatever you pray, pray with full devotion and the sincerity of the heart. Do not get involved in controversies. Pray as much as you can. May Allah bless you.
You can also read:
Fatwas about the Tarawih Prayer
Allah Almighty knows best.
Name / Loay-United States
Profession
Question /
Dear Dr. Muzammil, I hope you have good and sound health and nice to see you online to answer our questions. I wish you Ramadan Mubarak. As you know we are living in a non-Muslim country and we are trying very hard to raise our kids following the teachings of Islam. Now, with some few days left for Ramadan, my wife and I are trying to let the kids get ready for the blessed month. My wife made everything different in the house. We decorated the house with some decorations we used to have them back home for Ramadan. And we started having tamr (dates) at the time of maghrib, and we started to wake up few minutes before the time of fajr in order to get ready for the suhur. And on the beginning of Ramadan we are having a party for our kids. All this to make them feel connected with the blessings of Ramadan and to consider it a special month in their lives. However, a friend of ours visited us yesterday and discouraged us from doing so, as it falls under the category of Bid'ah, and he said we should never tend to do anything that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) didn't practice. Is this true? Is there any evidence in the Shari'ah to sanction our activities?
Answer / Wa`alykum As-Salamu warahmatullahi wabarakatuh.
In the Name of Allah, Most Gracious, Most Merciful.
All praise and thanks are due to Allah, and peace and blessings be upon His Messenger.
Dear brother Loay,
May Allah bless you and your family! I am quite pleased to see your approach in preparing for Ramadan and helping your children to love this month and enjoy it. I do not see anything wrong in this as long as it is not overdone or taken as part of the 'ibadah and religious obligations.
There are a number of Ahadith that mention that the Paradise is beautified for the month of Ramadan. The Prophet is also reported to pray from the month of Rajab, "Allahumma barik lana fi Rajab, wa barik lana fi Sha'ban wa ballighna Ramadan." (O Allah, bless us in Rajab and bless us in Sha'ban and make us reach Ramadan.) Thus, we find in Sunnah there is some indication that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) used to prepare himself and others for this great occasion.
Allah Almighty knows best.
Name / Abdul Karim-Canada
Profession / Student
Question /
As-Salamu `Alaykum, Alhamdullilah Allah has blessed me with wonderful parents who have raised me and my siblings well. Alhamdullilah also I have become more religious in the past 2 years or so. I have one problem though, both my parents do good acts for the sake of Allah and are highly mannered, however, my mom doesn't wear hijab and my dad doesn't do voluntary prayers. Alhamdullilah, I try to strive hard to keep a good relationship with them. I always ask them to pray for me as well and they do. However, sometimes the following thought comes across my mind: since they are disobeying Allah in some acts, their prayers will not be accepted. Can you please advise me since this is really bugging me?
Answer /
Wa`alykum As-Salamu warahmatullahi wabarakatuh.
In the Name of Allah, Most Gracious, Most Merciful.
All praise and thanks are due to Allah, and peace and blessings be upon His Messenger.
May Allah increase your iman (faith) and taqwa (piety). Be always good to your parents and pray for them. Remind with respect and politeness your mother to wear hijab. If your father prays his obligatory prayers and does not pray any nafl, there is no blame on him. Nafl are not required. If he prays he will receive special blessings, if not, there is no sin committed.
Be good and keep following the middle path which is to avoid extremes.
Allah Almighty knows best.
Name / Ibrahim-Nigeria
Profession / Civil Worker
Question /
As-Salamu `Alaykum, what are those things required of a Muslim to attain Allah Favors during the days of Ramadan apart from the fasting it self.
Answer /
Wa`alykum As-Salamu warahmatullahi wabarakatuh.
In the Name of Allah, Most Gracious, Most Merciful.
All praise and thanks are due to Allah, and peace and blessings be upon His Messenger.
Fasting is not just avoiding food, drink and sexual relations during the day time. Fasting is also to abstain from bad words and bad deeds. Sawm in Arabic means abstention. Sawm is not only for the stomach, but our eyes must have Sawm so we should not watch bad movies. Our ears must have Sawm, so we should not listen to bad music, songs or to gossip and rumors. Our hands must have Sawm, so that we do not touch or take what is haram. Our feet have Sawm so that we should not walk to haram places etc.
Fast should change our whole personality, our behavior and outlook. We should become more conscious of Allah Almighty. Fast should make us more charitable and kind to those who are in need. If we do our fast in the right way, Allah's favors and blessings will be with us.
Allah Almighty knows best.
Name / Editor-
Profession
Answer /
In the Name of Allah, Most Gracious, Most Merciful.
All praise and thanks are due to Allah, and peace and blessings be upon His Messenger.
Brothers and sisters, we are so sorry for not answering all your questions because the time is over. We apologize for any inconvenience. Do keep in touch. Join us in coming sessions.
Yours,
Islam Online Fatwa Editing Desk
Details of Fatwa
Title of Fatwa / Ramadan Felicitations: Are They Bid`ah?
Date of Fatwa / 20/ November/ 2002
Date of Reply / 20/ November/ 2002
Topic Of Fatwa / Ramadan
Question of Fatwa / Is saying 'Ramadan Mubarak' or 'Ramadan Kareem' considered to be bid`ah?
Name of Mufti / Sheikh Muhammad Saleh Al-Munajjid
Content of Reply / In The Name of Allah, Most Gracious, Most Merciful.
All praise and thanks are due to Allah, and peace and blessings be upon His Messenger.
Dear questioner, thanks for your question and we implore Allah to guide you to the best, both in this world and in the Hereafter, Amen.
Primarily, there is nothing wrong with wishing one another well at the start of or during Ramadan with the phrase 'Ramadan Mubarak' or 'Ramadan Kareem,' as such greetings are part of customs, and permissibility is the original rule governing such things.
In his response to the question, the prominent Saudi Islamic lecturer and author, Sheikh Muhammad Saleh Al-Munajjid, states the following:
"There is nothing wrong with felicitating one another well at the beginning of the month of Ramadan. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) used to tell his Companions the good news of the onset of Ramadan, and he used to urge them to make the most of it. Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him) said: The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said, ‘There has come to you Ramadan, a blessed month. Allah has made it obligatory on you to fast (this month). During it, the gates of Paradise are opened and the gates of Hell are locked, and the devils are chained up. In it there is a night that is better than a thousand months, and whoever is deprived of its goodness is deprived indeed.’ (Reported by al-Nasaa'i, 4/129; Sahih al-Targhib, 1/490)”
It has become clear now that felicitations during Ramadan are not considered an innovation or bid`ah because they are part of the custom of people and the act itself is based on the original rule of permissibility.
If you have any further questions, please don't hesitate to write back!
May Allah guide you to the straight path, and guide you to that which pleases Him, Amen.
Allah Almighty knows best.
Guest Name / ProfessorAla'EddinKharofa
Profession / Professor of Islamic Law at the International Islamic University (IIU), Malaysia.
Subject / Women Issues in Ramadan