Tuesday, October 20, 2009

A Quick Refresher

A Quick Refresher
Sunnahs of Our Beloved Prophet Muhammad [PBUH]

Sunnahs of Eating:
1.Sit and eat on the floor.
2.Spread out a cloth on the floor first before eating.
3.Wash both hands up to the wrists.
4.Recite "Bismillah wa'la barakatillah' aloud.
5.Eat with the right hand.
6.Eat from the side that is in front of you.
7.If a morsel of food falls down, pick it up, clean it and eat it.
8.Do not find fault with the food.
9.When eating, sit with either both knees on the ground or one knee raised or both knees raised.
10.Clean the plate and other utensils thoroughly after eating.
11.By doing this, the utensils make dua for one's forgiveness.
12.Recite dua after eating. ( Al hamdu lillahi lazi atamana saqana wo jaalna minal musalamin )
13.After meals wash both the hands.
14.Eat with three fingers if possible.
15.One should not eat very hot food.
16.Do not blow on the food.
17.After eating one should lick his fingers.

Sunnahs of drinking:
18.A Muslim should drink with the right hand. Shaytaan Drinks with the left hand.
19.Sit and drink
20.Recite "Bismillah" before drinking.
21.After drinking say " Alhamdullilah".
22.Drink in 3 breaths removing the utensil from the mouth after each sip.
23.Do not drink directly from the jug or bottle. One should pour the contents into a glass first and then drink.

Sunnahs of Sleeping:
24.To sleep in the state of Wuzu.
25.To make the bed yourself.
26.Dust the bed thrice before retiring to bed.
27.One should change into some other clothes (e.g.pyjamas ) before going to sleep.
28.It is Sunnah to sleep immediately after Isha Salaah.
29.To apply surmah in both the eyes.
30.To brush the teeth with a miswaak.
31.To sleep on the right hand side.
32.To sleep with the right palm under the right cheek.
33.To keep the knees slightly bent when sleeping.
34.To sleep on a bed or to sleep on the floor are both sunnah
35.To face Qiblah.if possible
36.To recite Surah Mulk, before sleeping.
37.To recite Ayatul Kursi.
38.To recite Surah Ikhlaas, Surah Falaq and Surah Naas before sleeping 3 times and thereafter blow over the entire body thrice.
39.Recite Tasbeeh-e-Fathima before sleeping.( i.e. 33 X Subhan Allah 33 X Alhamdulillah and 34 X Allahu Akbar).
40.To recite the dua before sleeping. ( i.e. Be ismik allahumma amutu wo ahya )
41.To wake up for Tahajjud Salaah.


Sunnahs on Awakening:
42.On awakening rub the face and the eyes with the palms of the hands in order to remove the effects of sleep.
43.Thereafter recite the dua on awakening. ( i.e. Al hamdu lillahi allazi ahyana badama amatana wo ilaihunushur )
44.On awakening cleanse the mouth with a miswaak.
Sunnahs when wearing clothes:
45.Rasulullah (S.a.w.) loved white Clothing.
46.When putting on any garment Rasulallah (S.a.w.) always began with the right limb.
47.When removing any garment Rasullallah (S.a.w.) always removed the left limb first.
48.Males must wear the pants above the ankles. Females should ensure that their lower garment covers their ankles.
49.Males should wear a "topee" or turban. Females must wear scarves when outside or in the presence of non mahrams.
50.When wearing shoes, first wear the right shoe then the left.
51.When removing them first remove the left and then the right.

Sunnahs of the Toilet:
52.Enter the toilet with your head covered.
53.To enter the toilet with shoes.
54.Recite the dua before entering the toilet.( i.e. Allahumma inni auzbeka minal qubs wal qabaes
55.Enter with the left foot.
56.To sit and urinate. One should never urinate whilst Standing.
57.To leave the toilet with the right foot.
58.To recite the dua after coming out of the toilet ( i.e. Ghufranaka )
59.One should not face Qiblah or show his back towards the Qiblah.
60.Do not speak in the toilet.
61.Be very careful of the splashes of urine (being unmindful in this regard causes one to be punished in the grave).
62.After relieving oneself, to cleanse oneself using water.
Sunnahs of the Home:
63.To recite the dua before entering the home.
64.To greet those that are in the house with "Assalaamu Alaykum". Even though it may be your own house.
65.To announce ones arrival by coughing, greeting, etc

Other Sunnahs of High Importance:
66.Using a miswaak is a great Sunnah of Rasulullah (S.a.w.) One who makes miswaak when making wuzu and thereafter performs salaah will receive 70 times more reward. It will also enable one to easily recite the kalima at the time of death.
67.To take a Ghusl bath on a Friday
68.To apply itar (applies to men only).
69.To show mercy to those that are younger than you.
70.To respect your elders.
71.It is sunnah to ponder over Allah Ta'ala and His Creation.
72.For men to keep a beard that is one fist in length
73.To visit a Muslim when he is sick.
74.To be good towards ones neighbour.
75.To meet a Muslim with a cheerful face.
76.To care for the poor and the needy.
77.To keep good relations with all your relatives.
78.To honour a guest even though he may not be of a very high position.
79.To greet all Muslims by saying " Assalaamu alaykum wa rahmatullahi wa barakaatuhu"
80.To keep the gaze on the ground whilst walking.
81.To speak softly and politely.
82.To command people to do good.
83.To forbid them from doing evil.
84.To carry ones shoes in the left hand.
85.To make wuzu at home before going to the Masjid.
86.To enter the Masjid with the right foot.
87.To leave the Masjid with the left foot.
88.To recite some portion of the Quran Shareef daily.
89.To be hospitable towards one's guest.
90.To exchange gifts with one another.
91.To make dua to Allah Ta'ala for the fulfillment of one's needs in what ever language one desires.
92.To consult with one's parents, teachers or elders before doing any work.
93.To respect one's parents.

Source:From a forwarded email.

Friday, October 9, 2009

Minhaj ul Qasideen 2

Assalamalikum,

I'm back to blogging with another chapter of Minhaj ul Qasideen, Book of knowledge.The previous chapter was about knowledge,its benefits and related things.In this chapter, Imam Jawziyyah tries to analyse and conclude on what real/true knowledge is.Again,Dr.Farhat Hashmi does an amazing job in explaining the chapters.I truly thank her for her efforts mashallah and pray to Allah SWT to inspire us to become like her inshallah.

True Knowledge :

1)Real/true knowledge is the one through which we know our Lord and we learn to love Him and fear Him.

2)Our relation with Allah SWT is based on three things.
a)Aqeedah which means creed.It refers to our belief in Allah SWT and His oneness.It also means not to associate any partners with Him.Also, we must believe in our beloved Prophet Muhammad PBUH and all that Allah SWT has revealed through him.

b)Amal/Actions and ibadaat which should follow from the first one which is aqeedah.All our actions must confirm to our aqeedah.We must strive to follow Allah SWT's revelations in the form of the Holy Quran as well as the teachings of our beloved prophet Mohammed PBUH.

c)Avoiding all that has been forbidden such as alcohol,riba,disobedience of our parents,breaking relations with ones kins,backbiting,consuming haram or pork and so on.

3)It is mandatory on parents to teach their adolescent children about Allah SWT.
Who is our Lord?What do they know about Him?What do they think of Him?The presence of Allah SWT around us and the love and fear of Him should be instilled in children from a young age.

4)Once children are capable of understanding deen and their duties such as prayer/salah they should be taught about cleanliness/taharah and purity.They should be taught the right way to make wudho and ghusl.And other things such as what nullifies the wudhu/ablution and the ghusl/ritual bathing.

5)The chilren should be taught about salah and the proper way to do it.They should be taught to recite the Holy Quran with meaning and understand it.They should be encouraged to improve their recitation and to memorize the quran.

6)Most importantly, an aspect that many parents do not fully realize is the surrounding culture.As parents its our duty to educate our self as well as our families about the trials/fitnah surrounding us.For example, if you live in a society where alcohol/drugs is easily available and riba/interest is considered inevitable, then you must educate yourself on the evils associated with it and ways to prevent it.
If the society you live in practices bidah/shirk in any form, it is your duty to learn about it and educate your family.
Very important, if the society you live in practices false beliefs or ideologies or misinformation about islam, then you must refer to the mosques/institutes/scholars and get the relevant information and pass it on to your families.

8) We must also seek knowledge about life after death.The time the soul is taken away and the stages following that.We must also learn about heaven/jannah and hell/jahannum and about the last day, the day of judgement/yaum al qiyamah.

9)In every muslim society, there should be a group of people rightly educated about sharia law such as property distribution after death,rights of the women and men in case of divorce and so on.

7)Laziness/ignorance is not an excuse.Haram is haram and it is our duty as muslims to seek knowledge and clear away doubts and misconceptions.

May Allah SWT help us improve our knowledge about deen and grow in our faith and spirit.

Assalamalikum