All together

The togetherness of Muslims during ‘Id is much similar to the togetherness every Friday during prayer and eating couscous as a family.  

What are the memories of the past weeks? What did I learn from Ramadan?
Which of those blessings am I able to carry on with me into my daily life?
Can I manage to take at least parts of this increased worship into my everydays?

Are we able, all together, to lighten the world with the peaceful, silent, deep insights we hopefully had during the past blessed month?

Are we able to make this world a better place, all together, every one of us in our own surroundings, just by being the best Muslims we ever were?

Ya Rabb, help us to keep the high level of spirituality far beyond Ramadan.
Help us staying steadfast in your worship,
and help us living in real kindness and love with our brothers and sisters in faith and humanity.
All together. For a peaceful world.

Blessed Friday and blessed month of Shawwal!

‘Id el Fitr 2012

 
 

.bliss. alhamdulillah.

‘Id moubarak!

we are still fasting today… as usual, Morocco celebrates the ‘Id one day after the rest of the world, mashaallah.
but anyway, our thoughts are with the Ummah (Muslim nation), today and tomorrow, and we wish you all a blessed feast day!

Salam aleikoum!

 

 

The blessed Nights

We’ve just entered the last ten days of Ramadan – those days which are known to be the most blessed days of the entire year.

It’s the time when the night gets more important than the day, and when worship, prayer and repentance become more intense then ever.

It is the time when most Muslims feel a bit dizzy, tired and fuzzy during day but much more energized and motivated by night. It is now that we feel the deepest need and wish to observe voluntary night-prayers, to do extra-worship, to recite and read the Qur’an, to humiliate ourselves, to ask for forgiveness, guidance and His mercy.
These nights are the time when the gates of the heavens are opened, when the angels come down, and when Allah is more willing than ever to listen and to respond to His servant’s invocations, inchaallah.

In these ten days there is one night, the night of decree and power, Al-Qadr’, the most blessed night, which is better than a thousand months, the night when archangel Gabriel came to prophet Mohammed (sas) with God’s first revelation of the Qur’an, the night when God, Allah, decrees every matter of ordainments for the coming year and wherein is peace and blessing until dawn.

Many Muslims now take vacation and spend the whole ten days in the mosque, in submission, remembrance and prayer. It is comparable to the kind of retreat some Christians take when they go visiting a monastery to gain personal insight, to take time for meditation, to experience silence and a deep connection to their creator.
Those who are not able to spend the whole time in mosque (like me), we spend our nights at home in devotion and prayer, reading Qur’an, pondering and reflecting upon its meanings and trying to put worship over everything else.

I ask Allah to give us sincerity, strength and energy to make the most out of these coming nights. I ask Allah to accept all our worship, to accept all our good intentions, all our repentance and to forgive us all our sins. I ask Him for guidance, for His mercy, for protection from our own ego, from shaytan (Satan) and every evil, and I ask Him for rescue from the torment of hellfire.

I pray that we Muslims might be able to carry the piety, the peace and beauty of these precious nights into our everyday-life long after Ramadan is gone. I hope that we might be able to live and to spread around us the message of love and peace that Islam is. And I hope that the entire humanity will be able to experience the beauty and blessing of the glorious night of Al-Qadr, inchallah.

Allahumma taqqabbil minni oua minkoum. Ameen. Salamou aleikoum and may peace be with the worlds!

Xxx

By the way: Nora wrote about some great advice for Non-Muslims visiting or dealing with Muslims during Ramadan-time.  

Ramadan – some fundamentals of faith

 
 

“Why do Muslims fast?” – you might ask.

“Why do Muslims restrain the whole day from food and drink?”

“Why do Muslims do this for one whole month?”

“And why do they seem to even like this torture??” 

 

Well, you know, we do this because we are Muslims.
And being a Muslim means to submit oneself totally under the will of God, Allah, the Almighty, who says in the noble Qur’an:
“Oh you who belief, observing the fasting is prescribed for you as it was prescribed for those before you, that you may become pious” (2:183)
So before explaining some things about Ramadan I should maybe explain some essentials of our faith that build the basis of all our actions:

We as Muslims believe in only one God, Allah, the One Who created us, the One Who causes everything and to Who’s will we totally submit.

We absolutely believe in His wisdom, in His preordainment and we want to obey only Him to gain His pleasure.
This submission gives us the maximum of freedom possible, because we are only responsible to Him and nobody else.
We blindly trust in Him, and we also belief in all of His prophets and messengers (beginning with Adam, Abraham, Moses, Noah, Joseph, David, etc…, to Jesus and Mohammed, peace be upon them) who all brought the eternal message of monotheistic faith.
We belief in the day of resurrection and in God’s final judgment.
We belief in the reality of a hereafter with either the beautiful gardens of paradise or the horrible fires of hell, not only as parables but as a fact.
We belief in God’s angels and in His books (the torah, the psalms, the gospel, and the Qur’an).
We belief that the Holy Qur’an was the last book sent by God to humanity as a mercy, as a reminder and for guidance, because all the other scriptures were changed and falsified over time.
We belief that the Qur’an was revealed to prophet Mohammed (sas) by archangel Gabriel, and that everything written in the Qur’an is the true word of God, valid for all human beings at any time.
So, we accept everything in the Qur’an as a fact and we try to follow all the given orders, which are always based on mercy, justice, peace and the universal good for humanity.
We are absolutely sure that God’s commands lead to the best for everybody.

We belief that this present life is only a quick passage full of tests and mere play and that the only way to succeed in this reality here is by following God’s guidance.
We belief that we are only here to be tested and to worship Him.
We know that life after death will be the real and eternal life, so we strive to gain His pleasure now to deserve a place in paradise then, inchaallah.

So, this absolute and total belief makes us fear only God and it leads us to the wish to respond to all of his commands.
In fact, the wish to please only Him becomes so essential and serious to Muslims, that we put worship over everything else – so, everything worldly and even our own desires become negligible.

This total obedience makes us become aware of our collective responsibility and it gives us the strength to discipline and to sometimes even deny our own ego – because we absolutely trust that all sacrifice and abstain for God’s sake leads us to something better in the end.

So this is why we are able to restrain from food and drink even in the heat of summer (by nearly 50°C in Marrakech), alhamdulillah.
This is why we feel light and pure, refreshed and blessed even after 16 hours of fasting:
Because He makes things easy for us, if we really trust in Him, alhamdulillah.
Because there are many worldly benefits in fasting for the human being, even though God tells us that fasting is the only thing we really do just to please Him.

We can feel the benefits of Ramadan and we understand that there is always something good in His commands, even if we are not able to explain it with our limited human nature, subhanallah. And that’s why we love this Holy month of fasting!

“Verily my prayer, my sacrifice, my living and my dying are for Allah, the Lord of the worlds” (6:162) – So please, oh Allah, accept my worship and lead me on Your path.

Allahumma taqqabbil minni oua minkoum. Ameen.

03.48 a.m., right before sunrise; the last meal before 16 hours of fasting.

A New Beginning

Salaam aleikoum friends and Ramadan moubarak to all of you!

Welcome to the new “Itto’s living faith” with a fresh look and some changed pages and design. Take a moment, step in and enjoy, I hope you feel comfortable.

Thank you all for your ever faithful visit here, your lovely comments and thoughts, your dua’ and your support.
May Alah bless you all and grant you His mercy and may He make this Ramadan a month of consciousness, worship and growth for all of us.

Love and peace! Xxx

Ramadan moubarak – and some last preparations

 

Some last preparations before Ramadan begins…
This year’s kids-calendar is a banner of numbers for every day. On iftar-time, when we break the fast, the children will seek the number of the day and then get a little gift, inchaallah.

We also have kind of a wish tree this year: on the hanging candle holder I decorated hearts and stars and moons with written words like “peace”, “love”, “faith” and “blessings” – things we wish for, inchaallah.

Now I will prepare a jar of affirmations, filled with little papers with prophetic hadith, positive affirmations and little prayers, to take out every morning, to reflect on before beginning to fast; and I will go again through my Ramadan-preparing lists of the last years to be really ready to welcome this beloved month, God willingly.

Ramadan moubarak dear friends!
May Allah make it a blessed time of inner growth, love and harmony for all of you!
World, may you be blessed!

Approaching Ramadan 1433

 

Today is the longest day of the year, summer solstice, but also the beginning of a precious time for Muslims: the first of the Islamic month of Sha’baan, which comes right before Ramadan (the most blessed months of the year, the month of fasting).

Subhanallah, there it is again, the beginning of this precious time of devotion and extended worship, full of virtues, blessings and benefits, inchaallah.

It is Sunnah (recommended) to fast in the first half of this month, just as the Prophet (sws) did, and it is the perfect time to prepare oneself, the house and the environment for the upcoming Ramadan.

Aisha (raa) said: “I never saw the Messenger of Allah (sws) fast for a complete month except for Ramadan, and I never saw him do more fasting in any month than he did in Sha’baan” Reported by Al-Bukhari and Muslim
The Prophet (sws) said: “That is a month that people neglect. It comes between Rajab and Ramadan. It is a month in which the deeds are raised to the Lord of the Worlds. I love my deeds to be raised while I am fasting.” Reported by An-Nasaa’i and Abu Daoud

Wishing you a month full of blessings and personal growth! Salam aleikoum.

‘Id el fitr 1432 – Remembering

  
  

Hope your ‘Id was as peaceful and family-focused as ours, alhamdulillah.

Sending you wishes of love and salaams.
 
  
  
(Here’s a beautiful remembrance of Ramadan from Nora of Marrakesh: http://moroccomama.wordpress.com/2011/08/31/its-not-detox-and-other-ramadan-reflections  )

‘Id moubarak saïd 1432

Allahumma taquabbil minni oua minkoum, happy feast day to all Muslims!

 

“O People! Lend me an attentive ear, for I know not whether after this year I shall ever be amongst you again. Therefore, listen carefully to what I am saying and take these words to those who could not be present here today.

O People! Just as you regard this month, this day, this city as sacred, so regard the life and property of every Muslim a sacred trust. Return the goods entrusted to you to their rightful owners.
Hurt no one so that no one may hurt you. Remember that you will indeed meet your Lord, and that he will indeed reckon your deeds.

Allah has forbidden you to take usury (Interest); therefore all interest obligations shall henceforth be waived. Your capital is yours to keep .You will neither inflict nor suffer any inequality. Allah has judged that there shall be no interest […].

Beware of Satan, for the safety of your religion. He has lost all hope that he will be able to lead you astray in big things so beware of following him in small things.

O People it is true that you have certain rights with regard to your women but they also have rights over you. Remember that you have taken them as your wives only under Allah’s trust and with His permission. If they abide by your right then to them belongs the right to be fed and clothed in kindness.
Do treat your women well and be kind to them for they are your partners and committed helpers. And it is your right that they do not make friends with any one of whom you do not approve, as well never to be unchaste.

O People! Listen to me in earnest, worship Allah, say your five daily prayers, fast during the month of Ramadan, and give your wealth in Zakat (obligatory donation) .Perform Hajj (pilgrimage to Mecca) if you can afford it.

All mankind is from Adam and Eve, an Arab has no superiority over a non-Arab nor a non-Arab has any superiority over an Arab; also a White has no superiority over a Black nor does a Black have any superiority over a White except by piety and good action.

Learn that every Muslim is a brother to every Muslim and that the Muslims constitute one brotherhood. Nothing shall be legitimate to a Muslim which belongs to a fellow Muslim unless it was given freely and willingly.

Do not therefore do injustice to yourselves. Remember one day you will meet Allah and answer your deeds. So beware, do not astray from the path of righteousness after I am gone.

O People! No Prophet or apostle will come after me and no new faith will be born. Reason well, therefore O People, and understand words that I convey to you. I leave behind me two things, the Quran and the Sunnah (the Prophet’s way of life) and if you follow these you will never go astray.

All those who listen to me shall pass on my words to others and those to others again; and may the last ones understand my words better than those who listen to me directly.

O Allah, be my witness, that I have conveyed Your message to Your people.”

This is the Last Sermon of Prophet Muhammad (May the Peace be upon him).
The sermon was delivered on the Ninth day of Dhul-Hijjah, 10 A.H. (623 A.D.) in the Uranah valley ofMountArafatinMecca. It was the occasion of annual rites of Hajj (pilgrimage). It is also known as the Farewell Pilgrimage.
As part of this sermon, the prophet recited to them a revelation from Allah, which he had just received, and which completed the Quran, for it was the last passage to be revealed:

“This day the disbeliever’s despair of prevailing against your religion, so fear them not, but fear Me [Allah]! This day have I perfected for you, your religion and fulfilled My favor unto you, and it hath been My good pleasure to choose Islam for you as your religion.”
(The Holy Qur’an, Sura 5, Verse 3)