Saturday, October 4, 2008

How to Prepare for Mahe Ramadan

Making supplications to Allah (SWT) to let you live healthy till the end of Ramadan.
Thanking Allah (SWT) when the month of Ramadan arrives.
Being happy and pleased when the month of Ramadan arrives.
Planning and preparing to make the most out of the month of Ramadan.
Purifying the intentions and being determinant not to waste the month of Ramadan without being one of those that Allah (SWT) will wipe their sins and refuge them from Hell fire.
Learning about fasting, what breaks it, what perfects it, etc.
Asking Allah (SWT) to forgive you, your sins and mistakes, working hard to stop doing any sin, and avoiding doing any bad deeds in Ramadan.
Preparing your self mentally, spiritually and emotionally by reading books and articles and listening to cassettes and other audio materials about the virtues and benefits of fasting.
You can participate in the activities that are held in the Masjid.

You can send small gifts to your friends. You can send some letters to brothers and sisters. You can remind people about the poor and the Muslims who suffer in many places on Earth.
Opening a new chapter with...
Allah (SWT) by repenting.
The Prophet (PBUH) by following his way of life.
The Ahlul Bait (SA) by attaining their Marafat.
The parents, relatives, spouse & children by reconnecting with them.
The community by being active, caring and beneficial.

The Holy Prophet (saw) said: “It is a month in which you have been called to the Banquet of Allāh” al-Iqbāl,vol.1,pg.26

Imām Muhammad al-Bāqir (as) is reported to have said “…The month of Ramadān is the month of Ramadān, and those who are fasting therein are the guests of Allāh…” Fadā’il al-Ashhur al-Thalāthah, pg. 123.

Imām al-Sādiq (‘a) is also reported to have said: “Whosoever prays an obligatory prayer and follows it with another, then he is a guest of Allāh, and it is upon Allāh to venerate(Honour) His guest…” al-Kāfī, vol. 2, pg. 241.

Ibn Fahd al-Hillī in his ‘Uddat al-Dā’ī narrates a sacred tradition (al-hadīth al-qudsī) in which Almighty Allāh tells Prophet Dāwūd (‘a) the following:“The obedient people are My guests…” ‘Uddat al-Dā‘ī, pg. 252.

The Holy Prophet (s) in a sacred tradition is reported to have said: “And surely Allāh, free is He from imperfections, Says: Those who remember Me are My guests” Irshād al-Qulūb, pg. 58.
Rewards of Quranic recitation during this month
Imam Ja'fer al-Sadiq (as), as we are told by Shaykh Taqi al-Deen Ibrahim ibn Ali ibn al-Hassan ibn Muhammad ibn Salih al-'Amili-al- Kaf'ami, has made the following statement with regard to the merits of reciting chapters and verses of the Holy Qur'an:
One who recites ten verses in one night will never be written down among the indifferent.
One who recites fifty verses will be written down among those who remember Allah often (i.e., thakireen).
If he recites a hundred, he will be written down among those who constantly supplicate (qaniteen).
If he recites three hundred, he will be written down among the winners (faaizeen).
If he recites five hundred verses, he will be written down among those who reach the degree of ijtihad (mujtahideen). And if one recites a thousand verses, he will be rewarded with one kantar which is five thousand mithqals: each mithqal is twenty-four karats the smallest of which [in as far as the weighing in the hereafter is concerned] is as big as the mountain of Uhud , and the largest extends from the earth to the sky.

The Imam (as) has also said, as quoted in the same reference, "If one recites the Qur'an, Allah will let him enjoy his vision, and such recitation decreases the penalty of his parents even if they may be kafirs (apostates)."

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