Hadith(s) about Fasting

1. If the observer of a fast does not give up false utterances and their pursuit, then God does not require him to give up his food and water.
Hadith of Al Bukhari and Muslim, on the authority of Abu Hurayrah.

2. Any man who misses a fast without a reason, such as illness, can never atone for it, even if he fasts for the rest of his life.
Hadith of At Tirmidhi and Abu Dawud, on the authority of Abu Hurayrah.

3. Anas ibn Malik said that they used to travel with the Prophet. Those who observed a fast never found fault with those who did not keep the fast. Similarly, those not observing the fast, never said anything amiss tho those who kept their fast.
Hadith of Al Bukhari

4. Partake of sahoor, for there is a blessing in it.
Hadith of Al Bukhari and Muslim, on the authority of Anas ibn Malik


I think they are all really clear hadiths but I am a little confused about 3. I need to find out whether the fast being observed was during Ramadhan and if so, who were these people not observing it?

Ramadan Day 8

The title of this post misleads the reader into thinking that I have been keeping a Ramadhan Diary. I have not. I could not find a suitable title to incorporate the 2 stories that I am going to blog about. You'll see...

This afternoon, my friend and I took a drive to Mill Point to enjoy the scenery. I stepped out of the car and watched as a lady walked onto the field with her huge black dog who began running around wildly. The dog ran towards a couple and was rather aggressive. The man tried to push the dog away, as its owner called out to it, unsuccessfully. The dog then ran around again before it spotted its next target. Me.
I took a few steps back, towards my friend. If not for my friend, I would have made the not-so-wise decision of running away but I stood rooted to the spot. The dog halted to a spot next to us and leapt up to pounce on me.
I was already whimpering like a baby and the minute I felt the dog pounce on me with its paws I just started bawling. No, Im not exaggerating when I say the dog is huge.
Maybe the dog got the idea that I wasn't into playing with it so it ran away and chased after the couple again, tackling the lady from the back and causing her to fall over. She then proceeded to shout at the dog owner, asking her why she didn't have her dog on a leash.
I walked back to the car, severely traumatised and my friend decided to tell the dog owner off for being irresponsible. The dog had started chasing after all the smaller dogs and annoying the other dog owners. After my friend gave the dog owner an ultimatum, she finally leashed her dog and the other dog owners were all thanking my friend.
I dislike dogs. I am afraid of dogs. But, I am afraid of cats too. I am afraid of all animals generally. Since young, I avoided animals because I had asthma and extremely sensitive skin. Besides, all my experiences with animals (cats and dogs) were unpleasant.
I don't hate dogs. I don't think that dogs shouldn't exist. What I do know is that if you're a dog owner and you know that your dog is huge and overly friendly, you should have it on a leash, even in a non-leashed area of the park. Otherwise, get the dog some training so that you have control over it and it actually listens to you.
I am going to try my very best to stay away from Mill Point. This is the 2nd unpleasant dog experience that I've had over there.




This evening, I got invited to an iftar at a friend's place. I knew before hand that it was going to be a mixed event (duh, because the friend who invited me is a guy, classmate from uni). But, I thought that they would have separate sitting areas for guys and girls. They didn't.
I was uncomfortable at the idea of going at first because I told him that I didn't know any girls there but he called me twice to invite me so I felt obliged. Also, I called a girl that I did know and she said she would be attending. She also said that she would leave before Isha' so that both of us can proceed to the musolla in Uni for Isha' and tarawih prayers.
I was one of the first people there and boy, was it awkward! There were 3 other girls. 2 of them didn't remember me even though I had met them before and 1 of them was someone I knew but was never close to.
At maghrib, there weren't many guests so I made polite conversation with the girl that I vaguely knew. She replied to all my questions but she gave closed answers. It seemed as though I was trying too hard to keep the conversation going and clearly, she was not going to be a willing participant.
Then they all prayed Maghrib without me...After I prayed Maghrib alone, I sat in my friend's room and played with my ipod. The next time I came out, the place was a full house. Guys and girls everywhere. I was much too shy to budge in and crowd around the table to get food so my friend helped me get some. He told me that he felt bad for me because I was feeling left out so he tried his best to include me. Unfortunately, his graciousness was mistaken for something else because a guy saw my friend helping me get food and made a statement that insinuated that something more was going on between the 2 of us.
I didn't like what I heard so again, I secluded myself in the room. I did try to talk to some girls but they all had their cliques and they all knew each other. No one wants to waste time talking to the newbie.
My girl friend finally arrived but she was too busy eating and catching up with her friends. Also, she made no move at Isha' and I realised that no one was headed to the Uni for tarawih. They were all going to do tarawih together in the house after iftar.
It seemed like the guys were always trying their best to include me but the girls didn't really give a damn. Finally, I made the decision to leave and the guys were all like "Aw Nadia come on, don't go yet. Come, I'll introduce you to the girls"
And I'm like "err, yeah you guys already did that. 3 times. Noone came to talk to me."
Lesson learnt: I am NEVER going to a mixed iftar again.
I am NEVER going to any event where I don't know someone.

And I leave you with this:

When there are three of you, one should not be left out while the other two share a secret, for this will cause him grief.

HADITH OF AHMAD IBN HANBAL
On the Authority of 'Abdullah Ibn 'Umar

Boasting about Lineage

Rasul Allah (sal Allahu alaihi wasallam) said: “There are indeed people who boast of their dead ancestors, but in the sight of Allah they are more contemptible than the black beetle that rolls a piece of dung with its nose. Behold, Allah has removed from you the arrogance of the time of jahiliyya (ignorance) with its boast of ancestral glories. Man is but an Allah-fearing believer or an unfortunate sinner. All people are the children of Adam, and Adam was created out of dust.” [Tirmidhi, Abu Dawud]

Nobody has any control over which family they are born into. Therefore, a person has no right to boast about that which they had no role in. Nor do the good or bad deeds of our ancestors have any bearing on our status with Allah (subhana wa ta’ala). Muslims are therefore told to shun these wrong criteria of status. What gives a person status with Allah (subhana wa ta’ala) is righteousness.


[Just a response to what I know about a person who likes to boast about being Arab and being from the same tribe as the Prophet. This person tells my brother these things with an air of arrogance but we all know he's just jealous because he can't speak a word of arabic and my brother can hold entire conversations in arabic.
Come on, if you drink and go clubbing then really, why are you boasting about such things? ]

A smile is charity

So, my exam was extremely disappointing. There was not enough time, the format of the paper was ridiculous (including the lack of space to write answers) and the phrasing of questions was not clear.
I studied so much this time around because I didn't want to do badly again but, ...

I can go on and on about how the exam was terrible, I feel cheated. I don't feel better complaining so yeah, will stop NOW.

SMILE people. if you smile, I'll smile.

fasting & furious

This Ramadhan, it seems totally weird that people are always asking me "Are you fasting today?"

am i giving off non-fasting vibes or something?

Leave of Absence

I haven't posted in 10 days, which is out of character for me. Anyways, I was really busy and I haven't been feeling too well so... forgive me if I haven't done your tags or commented on your blogs.

I'll be back.

After my exam on thursday.


Everyone, Ramadhan kareem! [Really, I don't know what that means because yeah I'd rather say Happy Ramadhan but SOMEONE is going to accuse me of being blasphemous so >__< ]

Ramadhan

One long post because telstra is a jerk.

Friday

It was in the evening. I was on the phone talking to my friend in Melbourne. Then I heard someone knocking on the front door. I told my friend to stop talking and I waited for the knocks again. There weren't any. So I continued with my conversation.
But the knocks started and they became persistent and gradually moved from being classified as a 'knock' to 'banging on the door like they're trying to break it open'. What was weird was that I didn't hear anyone calling out.
I opened the door to my room to discover I was home alone!! This was where I started freaking out. I theorized that perhaps my housemate forgot her keys but then why didn't she call me? Oh yeah, I was on the phone but..if it was anyone who knew us, why didn't they call out our names?
I went back into my room and started rambling to my friend about how that was a crazy person outside my house trying to break the door down. My friend wanted me to dial 000 but I had my doubts so finally, I left my room again and called out 'Who is it?' from the 2nd floor.
A female voice answered 'Ummm...' and I said 'Yeah?' and she replied 'I think I got the wrong house...Sorry!'
I nearly fainted out of pure relief. But seriously, its just so weird how she went on banging on the door for nearly 20 minutes without ever saying anything!

Saturday

Again, knocks on the front door but this time I was not home alone. My housemate and I decided to keep really quiet. The person knocked about 5 times and then left in a white car (Yes, we peeked from my bedroom window). So after a while, my housemate decides to lock the screen door so that no one can knock on our front door when she discovered food placed at our doorstep. Weird. Noodles and soup. No note.
We decided that perhaps the same unlucky girl was still adamant that she had the right house and had mistakenly sent food to us. We didn't eat it because 1) Maybe it wasn't halal and 2) Maybe it was poisoned. Total paranoia, people.
Later on in the evening, my housemate received a text from a senior claiming responsibility for the food at the doorstep. Phew. At least we know that it was only 1 weirdo knocking on our door once.

Oh and I went to the Ramadhan expo thingy and bought some books and halal gummy bears. I haven't read any of the books but I have eaten the poor little teddies. Anyways, I got this little book with a collection of hadith inside. I think that's my favourite buy.

Sunday

I don't remember what I did.

Monday

No internet. HELLO. NO INTERNET. WHATTT?!!! We have a contract with Telstra but it is under our ex housemate's name and I have tried several times to change the name of the account holder but...yeah. Telstra cut our phone line so we didn't have a phone line and internet.

Anyways, my housemate tried to call Telstra but when the support staff asked for the name of the account holder, my housemate gave her my name as well as the ex housemate's name. The lady then asked my housemate for her name and then the lady went all like 'Sorry I cant help you because you gave me 3 names so I am suspicious and you're making me uncomfortable.'
Not her exact words but she did use 'Uncomfortable'. I really want to smack her.
Anyways, I tried my luck but I ended up talking to a damn machine for 15 minutes before I had had enough fo saying 'Yes' 'No' 'ADSL' and various other words to a machine who didn't understand what I was saying.
My housemate tried again and this time I talked. We were SOOO close to getting our complaint handled when credit on her mobile ran out.

So we were pissed and I skipped Uni so that we could head to the telstra shop in the city. Unfortunately, they didn't handle complaints but they did let us use their landline...We talked for TWO hours, and we were passed around. There was this philipino lady on the phone who was saying 'I can't access your account because it must be stored in the old system and I'm using the new system so I can't access your account. I will transfer you to the old system so that they can access your account because it is stored in the old system and I am using the new system so I can't access it'... Yes, she really did go round and round until I interrupted and said 'Yeah ok so can you just transfer us now?' Finally, they transferred me to this really nice lady who went through everything with me and handled all my requests.

Basically, Telstra has been sending the bills to the wrong address so we never got any and we didn't really realise that we hadn't paid the bills for 3 months. The problem is, when we first signed up, they managed to send the modem package to the right address but the system seems to have our old address as well as an address in Victoria. I know, they suck.
Also, they have been charging us $30 extra per month even though we were on a different plan. I managed to get $30 for 3 months and $5 for late fee credited to our account. Then we were transferred to a different department and I let my housemate talk for another hour. We were going to be charged $55 for reconnection fee and I was furious. It's not even our fault. They're the ones who cut the line DUH. So yeah, we got that charge cancelled too.

What I'm saying is that when I dial for technical support, I want to speak to a human being. I don't even care if the person has a funny accent (3's support is the best. they outsource to India and the staff are super friendly and helpful). I do not want to speak to a wonky machine who asks me stupid redundant questions and refuses to let me speak to a consultant.

Tuesday

I went to Uni. Phone line reconnected.

Wednesday

Internet reconnected. My housemate sent a long complaint to telstra and they deserve it. Before we signed up, many people said that Telstra wasn't good but we were swayed by their telemarketing skills. I am never recommending Telstra to anyone. Seriously, unless you get off on talking to a machine.


I admit I was being really aggressive and I may have come off pretty rude on the phone. But then, what do you expect when you provide poor service? You definitely won't get happy customers. Sometimes, I need to be mean to get things done.

just got my internet back. will update later.

i just got scared to death. update later. need to breathe..

Innovations in Religion

15th of Shaaban

In the Sunan of Ibn Majah, it is narrated with a weak chain, on the authority of ‘Ali that the Prophet, may blessings and peace of God be upon him, said the following:

If it is the night of the middle of Sha’baan, then enliven its night and fast its day, for in it, God descends to the heaven once the sun sets and says, “Is there anyone seeking forgiveness so that I can forgive him? Is there anyone seeking provision so that I can give him? Is there anyone tribulated that I can relieve his tribulation? Is there? Is there?” until the entrance of dawn.

It is narrated that the tabi’in (the generation that directly followed the time of the Prophet, peace and blessings of God be upon him) of Shaam used to glorify this night. Amongst them are Khalid b. Ma’dan, Makhul, Luqmaan b. ‘Aamir, and others. They used to exert themselves in worship during this night. It was from them that people learned the benefit and the glorification of this night.

On the other hand, the scholars of Hijaaz differed with them and refused to acknowledge acts of glorification and worship that were performed specifically in observation of mid-Sha’baan. From among them are ‘Ata’ and Ibn Abi Mulayah. Abdu al-Rahman b. Zaid b. Aslam narrated the same from the jurists of the people of Medina, and it is also the opinion of the companions of Imam Malik and others. They all said glorifying this night was an innovation.

While the scholars of Shaam acknowledged enlivening mid-Sha’baan, they differed on the method of doing so. One opinion is that it is preferred to enliven it in the masjid in a congregation. Khalid b. Ma’dan, Luqmaan b. ‘Aamir, and others used to put on their best clothes, perfume themselves with incense, put on kuhl, and spend the night in the masjid. Ishaaq b. Rahwayh concurred with them and said “Establishing it in the masjid in congregation is not an innovation.” This was narrated by Harb al-Karmaani in his Masaai’l. According to another opinion, however, it is disliked to congregate on that night in the masjid to pray, tell stories, and to supplicate, while it is not disliked for one to enliven that night with prayers by himself. This is the opinion of al-Awza’i, the imam of the people of Shaam, their jurist and scholar.

Based on the fact that there are valid differences of opinion between the scholars, no one should condemn another for enlivening this night or for not doing so. Those who choose to seek the benefit of mid-Sha’baan by enlivening its night and fasting its day are following the opinion of Imam al-Awzaa’i and others. As for those who choose not to do so, they are abiding by the opinion of Imam Malik and others. Hence, there is no blame on choosing to follow either opinion.

Actions recommended by some scholars to perform during this night:

As mentioned previously, it is recommended to bring this night to life with prayers, seeking forgiveness, supplication, and remembrance of God, and to fast the day of the fifteenth of Sha’baan. Many scholars have said it is good to read the Qur’anic chapter Yasin three times during this night (which begins after sunset). The first reading should be done with the intention of asking for a long life; the second with the intention of protection from tribulation; and the third with the intention of being in need only of God and leaving reliance on people. After each time this chapter is read, it is recommended to read the following supplication:

In the Name of God, the Compassionate, the Merciful. O God, O Bestower upon Whom none can bestow, O Possessor of Sublimity and Honor, O Possessor of Might and Favor, there is no deity but You, Who subdues disputers, Who grants protection to those seeking it, Who is the Safe Harbor for the fearful. O God, if You have inscribed me in Your Source Book as someone destined to be miserable and deprived of blessing or straitened in provision, then I beseech You to erase such from the Book, and rather to establish me with Yourself as one destined to be fortunate and to have adequate sustenance and access to wealth; for You have said, and Your word is the Truth, in Your own Book, revealed to Your Messenger and Prophet, “God erases whatever He wishes, or establishes it, and with Him is the Source Book” (Qur’an 13:39). My God! By Your most Sublime Manifestation on this most honored night of mid-Sha’baan, in which every important matter is differentiated and then bound together, remove from my destiny any tribulation, whether I be conscious of it or not, and forgive me that which You are most cognizant of. O God, make me one of Your servants with the greatest good fortune and portion of that which You distribute on this night, of guiding light, or apportioned mercy, or sustenance, or bounty given Your believers. O God! O God! There is no deity but You! O God, give me a devout, pure heart that is free of associating partners with You, neither ungrateful nor miserable—a sound heart that is humble and beseeching. O God, fill my heart with Your Light and the Lights of Your Manifestations, Your Beauty, Perfection and Love, Your Infallibility, Power, and Knowledge. O Most Merciful of the Merciful! And may God, the Exalted, bless our Master Muhammad and his family and companions and grant them peace.

Taken from :Zaytuna Institute & Academy

VS

Firstly:

What is narrated concerning the virtue of praying, fasting and worshipping on the fifteenth of Sha’baan (al-nusf min Sha’baan) does not come under the heading of da’eef (weak), rather it comes under the heading of mawdoo’ (fabricated) and baatil (false). So it is not permissible to follow it or to act upon it, whether that is in doing righteous deeds or otherwise.

A number of scholars ruled that the reports concerning that were false, such as Ibn al-Jawzi in his book al-Mawdoo’aat, 2/440-445; Ibn Qayyim al-Jawziyyah in al-Manaar al-Muneef, no. 174- 177; Abu Shaamah al-Shaafa’i in al-Baa’ith ‘ala Inkaar al-Bida’ wa’l-Hawaadith, 124-137; al-‘Iraaqi in Takhreej Ihyaa’ ‘Uloom il-Deen, no. 582. Shaykh al-Islam [Ibn Taymiyah] narrated that there was consensus on the fact that they are false, in Majmoo’ al-Fataawa, 28/138.

Shaykh Ibn Baaz (may Allaah have mercy on him) said in Hukm al-Ihtifaal bi Laylat al-Nusf min Sha’baan (Ruling on celebrating the fifteenth of Sha’baan):

Celebrating the night of the fifteenth of Sha’baan (Laylat al-Nusf min Sha’baan) by praying etc, or singling out this day for fasting, is a reprehensible bid’ah (innovation) according to the majority of scholars, and there is no basis for this in sharee’ah.

And he (may Allaah have mercy on him) said:

There is no saheeh hadeeth concerning the night of the fifteenth of Sha’baan (Laylat al-Nusf min Sha’baan). All the ahaadeeth that have been narrated concerning that are mawdoo’ (fabricated) and da’eef (weak), and have no basis. There is nothing special about this night, and no recitation of Qur’aan or prayer, whether alone or in congregation, is specified for this night. What some of the scholars have said about it being special is a weak opinion. It is not permissible to single it out for any special actions. This is the correct view. And Allah is the Source of strength.

Fataawa Islamiyyah, 4/511.

Secondly:

Even if we assume that the hadeeth is da’eef (weak) and not mawdoo’ (fabricated), the correct scholarly view is that weak ahaadeeth should not be followed at all, even if they speak of righteous deeds or of targheeb and tarheeb (promises and warnings). The saheeh reports are sufficient and the Muslim has no need to follow the da’eef reports. Nothing is known in Islam to suggest that this night or day is special, either from the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) or from his companions.

The scholar Ahmad Shaakir said: There is no difference between rulings or righteous deeds; we do not take any of them from da’eef reports, rather no one hast he right to use any report as evidence unless it is proven to be soundly narrated from the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) in a saheeh or hasan hadeeth.

Al-Baa’ith al-Hatheeth, 1/278.

For more information, see: al-Qawl al-Muneef fi Hukm al-‘Aml bi’l-Hadeeth al-Da’eef.

And Allah knows best.

Taken from: Islam Question and Answer

Did you do anything out of the ordinary today because it is the 15th of Shaaban?

Hijab

So, said girl in previous post decided to ask me a question this afternoon while we were walking across the field towards the dissection room.

she asked what i (or i guess, in general all hijabis) thought about muslimahs who don't wear hijab. She said that if other non muslim girls are viewed as 'cheap' or 'trashy' while wearing tight, short, revealing clothing then would a muslim girl be viewed the same way if she was without hijab?

she also asked if i was forced into wearing hijab and if not, whether i knew of anyone who had been forced to wear it.

so this was my answer: no, i dont think muslim girls without hijabs are cheap or trashy. hijab is a religious duty but, i have seen girls without hijab act better than those with hijab on. no i was not forced into hijab and yes i do know of girls who had been forced into wearing it.

i know my answer could have been alot better but this was what i said at that point in time. i could also have left out the part where i mentioned hijabis acting worse than non hijabis. duh nadia, you're supposed to be painting a good picture of hijabis but yes sometimes i say things that i regret. im sorry! ):

she seemed focussed on only one thing...girls being forced to wear hijab and i felt like she wanted to dramatize the whole hijab issue so i left my answer at that.

i hate how people try to manipulate an issue and turn people against each other. noooo, i like wearing hijab! seriously, it makes me feel safe but i know she will never understand.


also, a friend commented "Wow Nadia, i love how colorful you are today" while I was wearing black abaya, black hijab and black shoes.


i <3 my friends *ehem*

Redefined.

So today I stepped out of the house without eyeliner or lipgloss. No perfume either.

You see, I thought wearing abaya would make me stronger in my faith but then there were all these little things that were holding me back (well, I didn't really figure this out on my own. a little bird educated me).

Some of you might think that light makeup is OK, which is what I used to think/still think (?). But if I was being honest to myself, I will admit that I put on eyeliner to look nice. I don't stink either but I just like how my perfume smells.

A girl friend (note the space) used to comment on how lovely I smelled and imagine what the boys with their raging hormones might think. This very same girl friend is the one who goes and blabs my secrets out loud and how I regret trusting her with these details. She might point out a good looking male to me and I might agree. After that, she starts referring to him as if he is my crush which is obviously a lie. Embarrassing. i am keeping my mouth shut around that girl.

I'm working on the little things, InshaAllah...like oh SOCKS :D


OH, maghrib. bye i need to break my fast.

I've been lied to

So, I have just received an email detailing statistics of applications for internships here in WA. It seems like the numbers are too great for the teaching hospitals to cope with and hence, no interstate or international graduates have been offered internships.

Interstate applications are considered next and lastly, international applications (even though they were trained in WA).

This is a big blow to my future plans because I have always wanted to do my internship here in WA. The University never mentioned this problem to us and we were always under the rosy impression that internships would be of no problem to us.
I have heard that doctors graduating from Australia are treated like 2nd class doctors in Singapore hospitals so I am never going back to that country. It is MY country but I don't see a future in that country. There aren't enough opportunities for the middle class and discrete discrimination exists.

I might consider doing my internship in another state but, if WA is experiencing this problem then the other states must be having it too. Another country maybe? But where? I have to start a whole new life in a new country on my own? ): I'm not willing to go through it again.

If I do have to go to a different country, I'm choosing a Muslim country. Don't know which yet but I hope the situation changes in a few years!!

help

this blog is turning into too much of a lifestyle blog. i dont know what the purpose of this blog is anymore. i used to do a mixture of both lifestyle as well as posts related to Islam but now I'm doing alot of random things.

am i losing readers?

do i separate the 2 or should i continue putting everything into 1 blog? fyi, i cant possibly maintain 2 blogs. even if i started another, i would find a way to put everything into this blog again.

my goal this week (and forever after that): to start reading the Quran daily, regardless of how much or what time of day (reading during prayer is not counted). this was a habit of mine that i stopped about 2 months ago. ):