Fasting at the end of Sha’baan

It was reported in al-Saheehayn from ‘Imraan ibn Husayn (may Allaah be pleased with him) that the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said to a man, “Have you fasted anything of the sirar of this month?” He said, “No.” He said: “If you have not fasted, then fast two days.” According to a report narrated by al-Bukhaari: I think he meant Ramadaan. According to a report narrated by Muslim, (the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him)) said: “Have you fasted anything of the sirar of Sha’baan?” (Narrated by al-Bukhaari, 4/2000; Muslim, no. 1161).

Fasting in Sha’baan

‘Aa’ishah (may Allaah be pleased with her) said: “The Messenger (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) used to fast until we thought he would never break his fast, and not fast until we thought he would never fast. I never saw the Messenger of Allaah fasting for an entire month except in Ramadaan, and I never saw him fast more than he did in Sha’baan.” (Narrated by al-Bukhaari, no. 1833; Muslim, no. 1956).

According to a report narrated by Muslim (no. 1957), “He used to fast all of Sha’baan, he used to fast all but a little of Sha’baan.”

The Month of Sha’baan

Sha’baan is the name of the (eighth) month, and it is so called because in this month the Arabs used to disperse (tasha’’aba) in search of water, or it was said that they dispersed to carry out raids and forays. Or it was said that it is so called because it sha’aba (branches out or emerges) i.e., it appears between the months of Rajab and Ramadaan. The plural forms of the word Sha’baan are Sha’baanaat and Sha’aabeen.

Let's Go Fruit Picking

By: Zulkifli Khair

Despite the end of strawberry season, there are apple, grapes and many more to come – fruits harvesting season during summertime in the north hemisphere. Don’t miss out. Plucking and eating the sweet juicy plum under its tree is really a remarkable experience, especially if it is your first time. So, let’s go fruit picking, as well as fruit eating!

By the way, there are plenty signs of the Creator on fruits. For instance, fruits of diverse colours, tastes, fragrances and sizes produced from the same soil and climate. In the mean time, I used to pick reddish apple, greenly pear and yellowish plum in the same farm. Once at the tropical farm, I used to eat yellowish banana, reddish and hairy rambutan and blackish mangosteen in the same farm.

What can you do in one minute?

Praise be to Allaah.

Time is of the essence, it is too precious to be wasted or neglected. The wise person is the one who pays attention to his time and does not treat it as a vessel to be filled with cheap things and vain talk. Instead, he limits it to worthy efforts and righteous deeds that please Allaah and benefit other people. Every minute of a person’s life carries the potential to raise his own status and to make his people happier, little by little.

If you are keen to attain the highest position, and bring the most happiness to your people, then forget about relaxing and keep away from empty amusement.

Giving Thanks To Allah

By Harun Yahya

Being grateful is to render one's thanks to someone who has shown favor, to express gratitude and to appreciate. The concept of being grateful to Allah, on the other hand, is to grasp and express that every kind of grace and favor is granted exclusively by Allah. In the Qur'an, the opposite of being grateful is defined by the term "disbelief", which is synonymous to being ungrateful. Only this definition indicates the importance attached to being grateful as a worshiper and the detrimental consequences it may have for a believer.

Points to remember

• Is this time right time to joke?

• Is this an appropriate person to joke with?

• Is this an appropriate topic to joke about?

• Is this the right place?

Also remember these points while joking:

Guidelines for Humour:

• Joking should not deviate from the truth. The Prophet Muhammad peace be upon him said, “I only say what is true.”

• Joking should not become consistent in a person’s manner, for seriousness is also a virtue. Muhammad ibn Ar Rashid said, “The issues of Islam are more serious than to be dealt with jokingly. Smiling, joking, relaxing and laughing are certainly welcome at appropriate times and places. But at times of work, seriousness is called for.

Types of Joking

According to ibn Hayan, there are two types of joking. The first is preferred and defined as, “That which Allah has permitted, which commits no sin and does not lead to separation between people.” The second is the negative harmful kind, which is defined as, “Causes hostilities and sadness, and creates disrespect amongst people.” Outlining some of the benefits and harms of joking is beneficial in that it entertains, lifts the spirit and lightens the burdens of life, bringing people closer together. In describing this kind of joking, a man wrote, “Such humour does not hurt or criticize anyone. It leads a person from sadness to happiness, ceases the frown an allows people to relax and be themselves.” Joking defeats its purpose when it separates people, causes hostilities and envy between them.

Humour in Islam

We are all drawn to people with a good sense of humour. Humour has the power of warming people’s hearts and lifting the spirits like no other human characteristic, and it provides a welcome break amidst the pressures of life.

Humour and joking are permitted in Islam. We learn this from several ahadith of the Prophet Muhammad peace be upon him. Abu Huraira radi allahu anhu said that the Prophet peace be upon him was told, “O Prophet of Allah, you are joking with us.” He said, “I only say what is true.” (Tirmidhi) Another Hadith relates that the Prophet would nickname Zainab bint Salama by repeatedly calling her ‘O Zuweinab’.

Faith has a Language

By Muhammad Al-Shareef

While attending a month long Dawah course when I was a teenager, one of our Islamic studies instructors, Dr. Mahmood Ghaazi, from Islamabad, Pakistan, told us about an official trip he had taken to the Vatican. His delegation met with a group of high priests. Dr. Ghazi asked one of them, "Do you have any words that you know for certain, 100%, that were spoken by Jesus Christ?" The priest felt a little ashamed, but he replied honestly that there were no words that could be traced authentically to Jesus - the language he spoke had been forever lost.

The Road to Victory - 6. The sixth element: Glad tidings of success.

The invitation to Islam aims from the beginning to erase paganism and unjust systems. Also it aims at establishing Allah’s authority and His religion on earth so this earth would be full of justice and forgiveness after injustice and transgression. In addition to that Islam has to lead the whole humanity to pleasing Allah, abandoning serving other human slaves and serving Allah only, and to spread Islam’s justice instead of the injustice of the human rulers. So, serving Islam does not only bring calamities and death.

In the middle of the companions’ isolation and detention, the Quran came down with glad tidings and with verses telling the stories of the previous Prophets and their people who accused them of lying. The Quran mentions the results of the struggle and that injustice is always destroyed and believers always prevailed and inherited the lands. These verses contained description of conditions that were exactly similar to the conditions of the Makkan Muslims and pagans and gave the glad tidings that the pagans are going to fail in the future, even if they were temporarily successful.

The Road to Victory - 5. The fifth element: Belief in the Day of Judgment

Believing in the Day of Judgment increased the feeling of responsibility for the companions, and it should also increase the responsibility feeling for the nation of Islam today.

This belief increases the certainty of the Muslim that we all will return to Allah after resurrection and will be reckoned for all our deeds, however small or big. The outcome is either eternal bliss or eternal hellfire. This way, a Muslims would spend their days between fear and hope, wishing for their Lord’s mercy and afraid of his fire:

The Road to Victory - 4. The fourth element: The Qur’an

In this particular period and in all the other times, the Quran is the best of provisions, the best teacher and guidance to all Muslims.

In periods of prosecution and torture, surahs of the Quran came down in the most elegant style to guide the believers to the principles of Islam in order to establish the foundations of the greatest and most fabulous society known to humanity. Those Quranic verses came to urge the believers to be patient and to tell them about the wisdom of patience and remaining steadfast:

The Road to Victory - 3. The third element: Feeling responsible

The Muslim has to feel responsible for his Ummah and obligated towards other Muslim brothers and sisters. The companions of the Prophet felt this huge responsibility after the death of the Prophet peace be upon him. If Allah had not implanted this deep feeling of responsibility in the companions’ hearts, the light of this religion would have never reached us. If we don’t have the same feeling, this religion is not going to reach our children. Only then Allah will replace us with people whom he loves and they love, who will be responsible enough to deliver the religion to our children.

The Road to Victory - 2. The second element: The beloved leadership of the Messenger of Allah (Peace be Upon Him).

The Messenger peace be upon him is the commander in chief for the Islamic Ummah and for all humanity. Humanity will never be happy until this divine leadership takes over and rule again. It is true that the Prophet peace be upon him had left this world, but his legacy and example will live forever. The Prophet peace be upon him had pointed out that the heirs of the Islamic leadership are those who have the knowledge of Islam. In Sahih Ibn Majah, the Prophet peace be upon him said, “The scholars are the inheritors of the Prophets. The Prophet's don't leave money, but rather they leave knowledge. Whoever takes it after them such then take as much as they can."

The Road to Victory - 1. The first element: Having faith in Allah (Iman billah)

1. The first element: Having faith in Allah (Iman billah)


Our faith has to be only in Allah. We should know Him truly, worship nothing and nobody but Him. Allah is the creator; the Provider, and the Judge for everything. There is no creator but Him, no provider but Him. No decision can be made in the matters of the living except through His judgment.

Allah made us and He is the one who knows what is best for our sustenance and protection. Unfortunately, some seek protection and sustenance from others than Allah. Others make themselves equal to Him, trying to set up rules for people to follow, according to their likings and not according to His guidance. Our faith is not complete until we abandon worshipping, following, or seeking protection from anybody but Him alone, the most Exalted.

The faith of the companions was pure and clean from any filth of paganism. With this deeply rooted faith they stood, heads high, and raised themselves above the lies, annoyance, hardship, and stupidity of vanity. Nations can live and rule only by the truth and upon the principles of justice. No socialism, Buddhism, Christianity, Jewish Zionism, Imperialism or anything else can be more truthful or more just than Allah’s religion and His guidance.

Take the example of the very well known Bilal, the Prophet’s mu’azzen (the person who calls for the prayer). Bilal had been tortured by burdening his chest with the heaviest rocks while lying on the burning sands of Mecca, because the pagans of Quraish wanted him to revert to their idolatrous worship. With all the power in his soul he endured the torture and kept saying Ahadun Ahad (the One, the One). His body became so cheap because he knew the fact that the reward comes from the same substance of the deed.

“And those who strive in Our cause, We will certainly guide them to our Path.” (29:69)

That’s how Bilal, the slave from Habasha (Ethiopia) became the infamous Bilal known to all Muslims all over the world.

Another example is Yasser and his pure wife Sumaya, the mother of Ammar who endured the torture of the pagans and were killed only because they believed in one thing, that Allah is the only God worthy to be worshiped.

The hearts of the companions were full of faith and their religion ran in their veins like blood. When the beauty of faith mixes in the hearts, it outweighs the mountains.

This kind of a believer will be able to face any test, however huge or hard. He will see it very small next to his faith. Hardships will become nothing to him, because the sweetness of faith is all that he can taste. Hardships and torture would be like some floating froth above the huge flood of faith coming to break the high dams of ignorance and paganism.

“For the scum disappears like froth cast out; while that which is for the good of mankind remains on the earth.” (13:17)

So, worshipping Allah alone and following His guidance is the first step to make all the factors to achieve victory will arise from within.

The Road to Victory

In the name of Allah we begin, in His book we seek guidance, and on the footsteps of His Prophet we follow.

The nation of Islam is the best Ummah evolved for mankind because of what Allah had favored it with:

“You are the best of peoples, evolved for mankind, enjoining what is right, forbidding what is wrong, and believing in Allah.” (3:110)

All of us might wonder, how can this nation be resurrected, what is the way to do it, and where does the road to victory begin?

How To Be Happy

Praise be to Allaah.
Peace of mind, contentment, happiness and freedom from worries and anxiety. These things are what everyone wants, and these are the ways in which people can have a good life and find complete happiness and joy. There are religious means of achieving that, and natural and practical means, but no one can combine all of them except the believers; although other people may achieve some of them, they will miss out on others.

Here follows a summary of the means of achieving this aim for which everyone is striving. In some cases, those who achieve many of them will live a joyful life and a good life; in other cases, those who fail to achieve all of them will live a life of misery and hardship. And there are others which are in between, according to what the means he is able to attain. These means include the following:

Ayyub: An Example of Faith and Patience

The story of Ayyub (Job) gives consolation to all those who are ill or deprived of wealth or children.

The angels were discussing the conditions of mankind, their obedience and disobedience. One of them said that Ayyub was the best man on earth. He was an obedient believer, always praying to Allah. Allah blessed Ayyub to be wealthy for eighty years. During this time he never forgot to worship or thank Allah. He shared his wealth with the poor and clothed the naked.