Blog Archives
6 Steps to Achieve a Quality Salah
Source: productivemuslim.com
By: Abu Umar
Alhamdulillah, achieving a quality salah is something we, as Productive Muslims, are all striving towards. None of us likes to recite Quran during our salah without having our faith refreshed. We would all like for us to feel that peace from showing our obedience to Allah 
.
We’re all leading busy lives and this can affect the time we spend in worship to Allah . Therefore, in the little time we spend worshiping Him, we want to make sure this is done right and in a way that is pleasing to Allah . This will help benefit us in this life and our worldly duties, as well as the hereafter.
Here are a few points which, inshallah, will help you improve the quality of your salah in terms of improving the prayer itself and also bearing in mind what can harm it.
6 SIGNS THAT YOU LOVE THE PROPHET MUHAMMAD
Source: ilmfeed.com
By: Suleiman Salem
As Muslims, we are commanded to love the Messenger (salAllaahu ‘alayhi wasallam) and to follow in his path without religious deviations or innovations, in order to worship Allah (subhaanahu wa ta’aala) in the way that He commanded. Sometimes, unfortunately, our claims of love fall short, and thus there are signs that we can reflect on in order to analyze how much love we truly have for the greatest human being to walk this earth, peace and blessings be upon him.
Yasiin Bey: Ayatul Kursi (Video)
Yasiin Bey reciting Ayatul Kursi during his Sydney show at Enmore Theatre.
The inner secrets of reciting the Quran
By: Imam Ghazali
Source: seekersguidance.org
Based on Imam Ghazali’s explanation in his Ihya’ `Ulum al-Din
In the Name Of Allah, Most Compassionate, Most Merciful
1. One should understand the magnificent nature of the Qur’an. This is a divine gift from Allah, and a tremendous favor. One should bring to mind the favor of Allah and be thankful.
How to read Quran with Multiple Intentions
Source: blog.islamiconlineuniversity.com
By: Shaibu Asali
What is your intention when you recite the Qur’an? The Prophet (
) said,
“Actions are to be judged only by intentions and a man will have only what he intended” 1
Having great intentions was the way through which the Sahaba (may Allah be pleased with them), the sincere worshipers of Allah (
) and the scholars sought reward from Allah () They used to have multiple intentions for one action in order to acquire a great reward for every action. Ibn Katheer (may Allah have mercy on him) said,
Making the most of the 10 blessed days of Dhul-Hijjah
Source: eislaminfo.blogspot.com
By His wisdom, Allah Ta’ala gave preference to some places and times over others. For Muslims, Friday is the best day of the week, Ramadan is the best month of the year, “Laylat al-Qadr” is the best night in Ramadan, the day of “Arafah” is the best day of the year. Likewise the first ten days of the month of “Dhul-Hijjah” are the blessed days for Muslims.
Allah Ta’ala says in the Quran what means: {By the daybreak, by the ten nights, by the even and the odd,by the passing night – is this oath strong enough for a rational person?} (Al-Fajr 89:1-5)
How Can I Enjoy Listening to the Qur’an in Taraweeh When I Don’t Understand What is Being Recited?
The Qur’an Series: Part I | Part II | Part III | Part IV |Part V | Part VI | Part VII | Part VIII | Part IX
During Ramadan, many of us attend taraweeh(night prayers) at the masjid. Some of us stay until the Imam leads us in witr (a final supplementary prayer). For many of us, this can amount to over two hours of prayer time and for many of us, we understand almost nothing.
Sometimes, during the recitation of the Qur’an we hear the people around us crying profusely and we wish we could understand what could be so powerful that those around us are reduced to such tears. We can sometimes make out a specific word, but within a moment, we are back to indistinguishable meanings and simply wishing we knew what was going on.
I used to have no idea what was going on in the prayer. I remember standing for lengthy time periods behind the Imam, trying to make my mind focus but finding it constantly drift off; it’s very, very hard to concentrate when the mind has nothing to contextualize. I eventually would settle on trying to think of anything for which I could possibly be grateful. But taraweehprayers are long; without understanding, my heart would simply get bored and my limbs would always fidget. Thoughts of my day, my concerns, my hopes and my food cravings after a day of fasting would all filter through my conscious while I shifted around. It’s hard to keep still for that long when one is mentally checked out and physically disengaged.
However, Allah subhanahu wa ta`ala (exalted is He) guided me to an action which changed my life and revolutionized my prayer and du`a (supplication) experience ever since. It’s simple, but it takes long-term dedication. The results, for me, were powerful and transformational. The common-sense solution that worked miracles in my life by Allah’s blessings: reading a translation.
Every single day, for a number of years, I would sit and read five pages of the Qur’an in the English translation. I would do this while both reciting and listening to the Arabic recitation, allowing my ears to become accustomed to the Arabic words associated with the English.
After a few months of this practice, the first Ramadan came. In my hometown masjid, the Imam would lead twenty rakahs(units of prayer). So I would pray eight rakahs and then sit in the back and read the translation of the verses for the next twelve. I continued this throughout Ramadan and was extremely consistent with this practice for the next year. Soon, my awareness of Arabic words increased; I realized that the Qur’an uses many of the same words over and over and I was able to recognize them. I was also becoming more familiar with the surahs (chapters); I had an introductory understanding of what themes were being discussed in certain portions of the Qur’an due to keywords and a general awareness of what thesurah entailed.
By the second Ramadan, I was praying with purpose. While I still had no idea what every word meant, I had begun to comprehend general meanings of many of the chapters and I was able to grasp the overarching messages of some of the verses. I kept up my practice of praying eight and reading the translation. I even had a few emotional moments. I started looking forward to certain verses that were my favorites. I was finally beginning to understand and I was actually enjoying it; the sweetness of the Qur’an had penetrated my heart and taken hold of my body. Praying taraweeh in Ramadan became a means of nourishment for my soul and tranquility for my limbs.
I also began memorizing the Qur’an and the more I memorized, the more my vocabulary expanded. After four years of reading the translation consistently and memorizing the Qur`an, I was enthralled with the idea of praying for hours behind the Imam. I could not wait for Ramadan; all year I waited for the last ten nights specifically, when the Imam would recite the Qur’an for an even longer period of time. My character, my life’s purpose, my Ramadan experience completely changed because I finally grasped a general understanding of the Qur’an.
Six years after I began reading the translation consistently and memorizing portions of the Qur’an, I moved to Egypt to learn Arabic. When I started, I took a practice test and was placed in an intermediary level. However, when I met my teacher for the first time, barely able to communicate a few sentences, she was shocked. “Your vocabulary is so expansive,” she told me, “but you clearly are a beginner!” Needless to say, I was re-placed as a beginner. Throughout our lessons, my Arabic teacher would express her surprise at my ability to understand certain words in depth simply because they appeared in the Qur’an, while others I struggled with at great lengths. Eventually, she told me that my Qur’anic preparation was what helped me actually grasp the language and is what had originally placed me at a level far higher than I really was.
PASS THE KNOWLEDGE (LIGHT & LIFE) 