online rihla

Fasting During Sha’ban by Imam Zaid

 Usama b. Zayd relates:  “The Prophet, peace and mercy of God upon him, used to fast so many days in succession that we said, ‘He will never break his fast.’ At other times he would go without fasting for so long until we said, ‘He will never again fast;’ except for two days, which he would fast even if they occurred during the times he was not fasting consecutive days. Furthermore, he would not fast in any month as many days as he fasted during Sha’ban. I said: ‘O Messenger of God! Sometimes you fast so much it is as if you will never break your fast, at other times you leave fasting for such a long stint it is as if you will never again fast [voluntarily]; except for two days that you always fast.’ He asked: ‘Which two days are those?’ I replied: ‘Monday and Thursday.’ The Prophet, peace upon him, said: ‘Those are two days in which the deeds are presented to the Lord of the Worlds. I love that my deeds are presented while I am fasting.’ I said: ‘I do not see you fasting in any month like you fast during Sha’ban.’ The Prophet, peace and mercy of God upon him, said: “That is a month occurring between Rajab and Ramadan that many people neglect. It is a month in which the deeds ascend to the Lord of the Worlds, be He Mighty and Majesty, and I love for my deeds to ascend while I am fasting.” Related by Imam Ahmad and Imam Al-Nasa’i

The Night of the 15th of Sha’ban

It is reported from Sayyiduna `Ali (Allah be pleased with him) that the Prophet (Allah bless him & give him peace) said: “Let all of you spend the night of mid-Sha`ban in worship (i.e. partly) and its day in fasting. Allah descends to the nearest heaven during this night, beginning with sunset, and says: Is there no one asking forgiveness that I may forgive them? Is there no one asking sustenance that I may grant them sustenance? Is there no one under trial that I may relieve them? Is there not such-and-such, is there not such-and-such, and so forth until until dawn rises. [Narrated by Ibn Majah with a weak chain.]

There are many other narrations from the Companions and early Muslims confirming this matter, as mentioned by Ibn Rajab al-Hanbali in his Lataif al-Ma`arif, and others.

There is general consensus that weak hadiths may be acted upon for virtuous acts, such as voluntary fasting and prayer, as long as the hadith is not excessively weak, returns to a general basis in the Shariah, and one is not convinced that the Prophet (Allah bless him & give him peace) specifically prescribed it.

Imam Shafi’i (ra) was asked, “Who is a fool?”

He replied, “He is the person who does not pray.”

by Deen-ul-HaQ

Mehboba Ahdyar was to be the poster-child for the Olympics but the 19-year-old Afghan runner ran away from an Italian training camp last week. She has since told her parents she is too scared of reprisals and plans to seek asylum in Europe.

Mehboba Ahdyar was shouldering the heavy burden of overwhelming expectations. And in the end, it proved more than she could bear. The 19-year-old from Kabul was to be the only female athlete representing Afghanistan in this summer’s Olympic Games in Beijing. Now the young woman has run away, leaving a training camp in Italy and telling her family she is applying for political asylum in Europe.

…

But being in the international spotlight had attracted the wrong kind of attention. Although Ahdyar always ran in a headscarf and wore long tracksuit bottoms she still received death threats from extremists who objected to a Muslim woman taking part in sports at all.

When she received visits from Western media earlier this year, her neighbors called the police telling them she was obviously a prostitute working for foreign clients. Her father, a carpenter, even spent time in jail until the issue was cleared up.

May Allah (swt) protect her and her family, and give her success.

…what can I say?  While we’re known for Minnesota Nice, the husband has commented how people are often nice and hospitable to one’s face, but they’ll stab you in the back as soon as you can turn around.

Old Country Buffet’s Hiring Practices Under Fire

A civil liberties group for Muslims on Friday called upon the Eagan-based company that owns Old Country Buffet to investigate an incident involving a girl who says she was denied a summer restaurant job because of her religious headscarf.

The Minnesota chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations is asking Buffets Inc. to investigate the incident, offer a written apology and participate in the group’s workplace sensitivity and diversity training.

H. Thomas Mitchell, an executive vice president for privately held Buffets, which owns and operates more than 550 restaurants across the country, said he couldn’t comment on the specific allegations. “We are diligently investigating it,” he said.

“We are an equal opportunity employer and frankly view ourselves as a strong anchor in the diverse communities we are frequently in,” he added.

An even scarier thing - the 344 346 353 comments at the time of this posting.  *shudders*  It’s so nice to know how some people really feel when they see a woman in hijab.  Very few of the commenters seem to be aware of the actual law on the matter:

• Employers must reasonably accommodate employees’ sincerely held religious practices unless doing so would impose an undue hardship on the employer. A reasonable religious accommodation is any adjustment to the work environment that will allow the employee to practice his religion. An employer might accommodate an employee’s religious beliefs or practices by allowing: flexible scheduling, voluntary substitutions or swaps, job reassignments and lateral transfers, modification of grooming requirements and other workplace practices, policies and/or procedures.
• An employer is not required to accommodate an employee’s religious beliefs and practices if doing so would impose an undue hardship on the employers’ legitimate business interests. An employer can show undue hardship if accommodating an employee’s religious practices requires more than ordinary administrative costs, diminishes efficiency in other jobs, infringes on other employees’ job rights or benefits, impairs workplace safety, causes co-workers to carry the accommodated employee’s share of potentially hazardous or burdensome work, or if the proposed accommodation conflicts with another law or regulation.
• Employers must permit employees to engage in religious expression, unless the religious expression would impose an undue hardship on the employer. Generally, an employer may not place more restrictions on religious expression than on other forms of expression that have a comparable effect on workplace efficiency.

Please tell me, Mr. Old Country Buffet manager, how is a cashier wearing a headscarf creating an undue hardship on your business?  Unless you’re saying your clientele are bigots, in which case, I could see how they’d be offended at the mere sight of a woman covering her hair working and earning a living…

I should note that we ate at Old Country Buffet once prior to our going zabiha, and there was a woman who wore hijab who refilled the food on the buffet.  This leads me to believe that this is an isolated incident.  The bigotry in the comments section, sadly, is not.

I’m an online kinda muslim.  I learned about Islam online.  I nearly converted online.  I met my husband online.  And for the most part, my interactions with the ummah are on the interwebz.  I’m quite shy in the real world, but when I log on and start typing, all that shyness evaporates.  

It’s not that I don’t enjoy the real world masjid scene.  Ok, no wait, I don’t really enjoy the real world masjid scene.  I could go on and on about the issues I have, but inshaAllah I’m going to focus on the positive.   I enjoy the wonderful food the aunties cook for iftar.  My first fond memories of the masjid were the weekly iftars during college, where the community cooked copious amounts of delicious backhomelandia food for the hungry students.  And jummah prayer during Ramadan is awesome.   The hall is usually stuffed, and the energy is at its peak. 

However, when it comes to pumping myself up for Ramadan, I turn to Sheikh Google to see what the online ummah has to offer.   A few years back, I started a thread on one of the message boards I frequented to share the treasures I stumbled upon in my online wanderings.  I would post these so prolifically that other posters called me the Queen of the Links.  Gradually, that thread morphed into this blog.

With Ramadan fast approaching, the urge to muck around in online material is increasing.  And in honor of my humble beginnings as that crazy poster who could find a link for every occasion, I give you the best of the best (or at least what I could find in the past week from my old ramblings and new searching), my favorite Ramadan related interwebz content that I will be reading and listening to as the blessed month approaches and arrives.

~*~ rahma’s Ramadan register ~*~

Soundvision’s Ramadan Page - everything here is worth reading, although these are my favorites:

• 10 Great Goals to Set for Ramadan

• Inner Dimensions of Fasting - comes Imam Al Ghazali’s Inner Dimensions of Islamic Worship, which is a great book all round.

Zaytuna- a veritable treasure trove of iman boosting mp3s and articles

• Ramadan Reflections One One, Two Two and Three Three, Ramadan Preparations, Ramadan Mubarak!,  Approaching Ramadan, Towards Resolving the Recurring Moon-sighting Controversy, Farewell to a Blessed Ramadan and Ramadan Farewell Ramadan Farewell by Imam Zaid 

• Moon Sighting Moon Sighting, Ramadan Khutbah, Cesarean Moon Births and Ramadan Advice Ramadan Adviceby Sheikh Hamza

• Maliki Ramadan Fiqh One One, Two Two and Three Threeby Muhammad Rami Nsour 

• Hanafi Ramadan Fiqh One One and Two Twoby Imam Tahir Anwar

• Virtues of Ramadan One One and Two Twoby Shaykh Salek bin Siddina 

• Holy Verses of Ramadan Holy Verses of Ramadanby Qari Amar 

• Statement Concerning the Beginning of Ramadan, Zaytuna’s Policy Prescription For Determining the Start of Islamic Months

• The Night of the Fifteenth of Sha’baan (Nisf Sha’baan)by Mona Elzankaly

Sunnipath - search Ramadan and Fasting for more

• Ramadan and You - although it’s too late to sign up for this year, put it on your to do list for next Ramadan.  Awesome class.

• An Excellent Article on Ramadan

• Fasting in Ramadan - a Muslim Pharmacist’s Perspective

• Chapter on Fasting from the Book of Assistance

• The Book of Fasting, Its Secrets, Its Tasks and What’s Associated with It

• Prophetic Guidance on Fasting from Riyad al Saliheen

• The Basics of Fasting according to the Shafi’i School

TJ Ramadan Resources - oodles of Ramadan activities for the youngins and not so youngins.  I’m plumbing this resource for the post iftar activities that our masjid will (inshaAllah inshaAllah inshaAllah) be having this year.

In the Shade of Ramadan- a series of videos that went up last year.  There’s one for each day, and make an excellent little listen after iftar.

Yahoo News Photos- I can almost hear the puzzlement at this one.  Ah, but get this - if you search “ramadan,” Ramadan related photos pop up.  There are usually a goodly amount of new ones each day.  When I was an internet only muslim, this was my only link to the ummah.  I lived vivaciously through the joyous celebrations of others that I saw in the pictures.

I Profess - goodies for newbies including Getting Ready for Ramadan.

Ramadan FAQs - Health and Safety of Islamic Fasting

Crescent Life Ramadan Section - in particular Diet During Ramadan

Saudi Aramco World- check the archives under Ramadan for past articles.  Don’t forget to subscribe (for free!) while you’re there.  My favorite article isn’t in the archives, but there is a pdf scan of it (lots of patience required, it’s huge and takes awhile to download) - Ramadan USA.

Path to Peace Ramadan Section

Mutmainaa Ramadan Section

Sunnah Online - in particular Ramadan: Have you got what it takes?

Deviantart- search “ramadan” and “eid” for spiffy art

Islam Online’s Ramadan Section- it’s from last year, but inshaAllah the new one will be up soon.

Ramadan: It’s not just a food fast

Lord of Ramadan Music Video

Teen Imams- PBS piece on teens leading taraweeh

Amr Khaled’s In Thy Name we Live series- done a few Ramadans ago.   Discusses a different name of Allah (swt) every night.  Great to watch before/after iftar.  Viewable with english subtitles at google video.

Ramadan Commercial - good for an LOL.

Ramadan/Eid Cards:

• Your True Greetings

• Sakkal Greetings

• Silver Envelope

MDs urged to quit prostate screens in elderly men

Screening for Prostate Cancer: U.S. Preventive Services Task Force Recommendation Statement

Harms of Detection and Early Treatment

The USPSTF found convincing evidence that treatment for prostate cancer detected by screening causes moderate-to-substantial harms, such as erectile dysfunction, urinary incontinence, bowel dysfunction, and death. These harms are especially important because some men with prostate cancer who are treated would never have developed symptoms related to cancer during their lifetime. There is also adequate evidence that the screening process produces at least small harms, including pain and discomfort associated with prostate biopsy and psychological effects of false-positive test results.

My grandfather went into the hospital in June due to complications related to prostate cancer screening and treatment.  He never left.  His brother has had prostate cancer for years, hasn’t been treated, and is still alive.

*sigh*

…and thank them.  At a plant in Tennessee, Tyson Foods has agreed to the union’s request that Eid be considered a holiday and a paid day off.   Between 250 (Tyson’s number) and 700  (the unions number) muslims, mainly somalis, work at the plant.  Is that a majority of union members?  A majority of the workers?  If the 700 number is correct, then they are, according to this source.  If this is the case, why not give them eid off?  After all, many employers give their workers Christmas off (which is also a holiday at this Tyson plant).  There’s obviously nothing wrong with giving the majority their religious holiday as a paid day off, according to that precedent.

As always, stories like these have taken on a life of their own.  Those of us here in Minnesota are used to a local story involving muslims blowing up into something huge and out of proportion.  People huff and puff without asking questions to get the full story.  I wonder if that’s what is happening here as well?  I’ve gone to the websites of local papers and fallen down the rabbit hole of linkage, trying to get a local view on the story.  This blog piece in particular is quite informative in the sifting and winnowing of all the information out on the interwebz.  And speaking of rabbit holes, if you have time, read through the series the local paper in Shelbyville did about the Somali Community in December. 

 In any case, the usual calls for boycotts have sprung up in the right wing blogosphere.  If you have a minute, please write or call Tyson to thank them for accommodating their workers.

Check it out - DuaPower.com - major spiffiness.

 I’ve already printed out 10 copies of the Muslim Prayers of Happiness to give to friends.  Looks quite spiffy and professional.  Ok, it would look professional if only I could fold straight.  Dur.

to the tune of whiste while you work from Snow White:

Just dhikr while you work (la il-la-ha il Al-Lah*)
Put on that grin and start right in
to dhikr loud and long
Just move your tongue and lips (la il-la-ha il Al-Lah)
Just do your best and take a rest
and praise Allah right now.

*the whistle that went here in the original has 7 consonants.  La ilaha il Allah has 7 consonants.  Kapeesh?

Ah yes, corny, corny, I hear the groans.  But here me out.  My La TV campaign has lost it’s umph.  I try to focus on doing something else, but I get bored easily, and inevitably end up plopped on the couch in front of the tube.

So I need new things to occupy myself with:

1. Taking courses at Sunnipath.  Just got off the phone with the husband, and he’s actually encouraging me to take Ramadan and You course that starts this weekend.  Alhamdulilah.  Usually, I’ll mention I want to take a course, he looks at it and says it costs too much.  Alhamdulilah, this time he actually realizes how good it will be for me and that it’s worth the $$.  inshaAllah I’ll sign up when I get home tonight

2. Ok, this actually explains the post title and corny song, dhikr while you work.  The goal is constant dhikr in all (ok most) actions. 

Salman Farsee (ra) said, “If a person remembers Allah in times of peace, pleasure and prosperity, then whenever he is in trouble and difficulty, the angels, being familiar with his voice, recognize him in his helplessness and intercede before Almighty Allah (for his forgiveness); but, if one who does not remember Allah in his time of pleasure and happens to pray for help at the time of difficulty, the angels find his voice to be quite unfamiliar and therefore do not intercede for him.” (source)

To further that goal, I’ve taken up cross stitching.  Um, yeah, and that relates to dhikr how?  See, when one is stitching, each stitch is the perfect opportunity for a praise of Allah (swt).  If you’re doing a project that uses 2000 stitches, there are 2000 opportunities to praise Allah (swt).  Instead of counting your dhikr on beads, you’re counting them in your stitches.  And, when you’re done with the project, it will be full of barakah. 

Since I haven’t stitched since I was a child, I’m currently working on an uber easy Allah pattern in kufic.  I’m about a third of the way done, and when I finish, I’ll post a picture inshaAllah.

I figure that during Ramadan, I can lay out a schedule.  Come home, read Qur’an for x minutes, listen to a lecture for x minutes, then stitch and make dhikr until iftar.  After dinner, read an islamic book with the husband, then force him to read to me to practice his english.  Chock full of time for Allah (swt).  No time for tv.   inshaAllah.

Twin Cities Somalis are moving down to Postville, Iowa, to fill positions at a kosher food plant previously filled by illegal immigrants.

The influx of Somalis has been met with some surprise in a community still bewildered by the Agriprocessors raid, the largest raid of its kind in the United States. Federal agents arrested 389 people, mostly Guatemalans and Mexicans who had established roots and become part of the community.

The new immigrants have “raised some eyebrows, which is pretty normal when you get somebody different in town,” Mayor Robert Penrod said.

“That said, as far as I know, they haven’t caused a whole lot of problems. They’ve been keeping to themselves,” he said.

It’s not the first cultural change in Postville. The slaughterhouse attracted eastern Europeans in the 1990s, including immigrants from Bosnia, Poland and the former U.S.S.R. Hispanics became the majority in the past decade.

The result is a town barely covering two square miles is home to people from 24 nationalities speaking 17 languages.

It’s situations like these that increase my wariness of mass produced meat.   Not only are those who do the slaughtering treated like crap, the animals are often subjected to degrading conditions.  One of the (many) things I’m struck with when I read about the life of our beloved Prophet (saws) is his kind regard for everything, including animals.

The Prophet (saws) said “The merciful are shown mercy by the All-Merciful. Show mercy to those on earth, and He Who is in heaven will show mercy unto you.”

If we do not treat every living thing with the dignity it deserves, be it the cow that will become our hamburger or the human being working to bring that hamburger to our table, how then can we expect Allah (swt) to treat us with dignity?  If every bite you take is tainted with the mistreatment of animals and man, how can we face Allah (swt) on the day of judgment and claim that we showed mercy to those around us, when we ignored their plight?

Heck, this extends to all massed produced food and products.  How are the workers would make our clothes treated?  The migrants who are out in the fields picking our lettuce?  Methinks muslims need to get more involved in the fair trade movement.