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myname's Umber
09-27-2006, 06:20 AM
The significance is plain to see. Fasting, linked to Ramadan in which Allah’s guidance came down, generates a taqwa which becomes directed on the supreme goal of entering the world of the Quran and of living therein, instead of being a spiritual ecstasy to be frittered away in the delights of soul. It becomes the key with which can be unlocked all the doors leading to the blessings which the Quran has to offer; honor, prosperity and freedom from fear and anxiety in this-world; success, Paradise and God’s good pleasure in the life-to-come. No time for Fasting other than Ramadan could have made taqwa such a potent force.

No Time Like Ramadan Time
By Khurram Murad

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Assalamu aliakum,

Sometimes when you are fasting, you have a breakthrough; it can be a simple truth, but it takes fasting for it to really hit you.

When you try your best to focus on the real meaning of Ramadan, you can only come out with advice that may not have really 'hit' you before; sure you heard it many times before, but in Ramadan is where you self-realization kicks in. It can be a time of self-transcendence.

So tell us what wisdom is beholding you--state it all here.

I'll start:

1. Words have an effect on people. If someone says something to you, and even if you know the person does not mean it, it still affects people.
In experimental studies, when study groups were told certain statements said to them were part of an ‘act’, were not true, that they are just part of the experiment, people were still affected by made-up hurtful words; some subjects even started crying/ were under distress even though they knew it was 'fake'.

Next time your brother or sister annoy/ bother you, be careful of what you do/ say; especially in Ramadan, when peoples' awareness of themselves and others is heightened, your words carry more weight.

fLoW
10-04-2006, 02:21 PM
2. keeping ties

you're not keeping ties when someone calls u and u call them back; when someone invites you and you invite them back. that's just being fair.
you are keeping ties when someone stops calling you but u call them; someone's being harsh to you but u're being kind towards them; you remember them even when they forget you.

call or email your friends/relatives you lost touch with, someone you had a fight with, someone you didnt forgive (and u just did)

myname's Umber
10-05-2006, 02:06 PM
3. Reckoning before going to sleep
This is soo important for all Muslims, at all levels to do.
How to do Muhasibah?

When each day has ended, we should think about all that we have done throughout the day. Asking ourselves questions such as;

• What did I do today?
• What did I talk about to people I met?
• How much time did I spend in worship?
• Did I waste time?
• How did I fulfill my duties towards people and towards my master?
• Did I follow the lawful or unlawful ways throughout the day?
• How did I fulfill the rights of 'Ibaad (people),
and those whom I happened to meet?

These types of questions are technically called muhasibah.

It is stated in a beautiful 'Hadeeth:
" Let it be your general practice to take reckoning of your activities before you are put to formal reckoning (in the hereafter)."

amna1tariq
10-10-2006, 09:49 PM
4. Begin to Understand Poverty and Its Dimensions: While fasting we are deprived of a blessing of Allah azawajal tremendously for a few hours. We can begin going into retrospect as to what it is that we are living our lives for. It is more along the lines of: You arent living for the motto "eat, drink and die", rather life is "contemplate, believe, and pray for success in both Worlds"

***fasting helps get ones focus straight***

myname's Umber
10-17-2006, 07:19 PM
5. When we get back our blessing of food, how do we react? How grateful are we?

How focused are you with your good deeds after you break your fast?
Do you use your blessing in a positive manner, befitting of a pious Muslim, such as our predecessors?

After you begin eating, how do you feel? do you feel closer to Allah, or just tired or sleepy?

SubhanAllah...

Like that hadith states:
"Perhaps a fasting person will get nothing from his fast save hunger, and perhaps the one who stands to pray at night will get nothing from his standing except sleeplessness."

well, perhaps a person who opens their fast gets nothing but a full belly, but their hearts are empty from the real remembrance of Allah.


* real remembrance is through following and obeying the Quran and Sunnah, not just an emotion