The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said: “Fasting the day of ‘Arafah I hope Allah will expiate thereby for the year before it and the year after it, and fasting the day of ‘Ashura’ I hope Allah will expiate thereby for the year that came before it.”

[Narrated by Muslim, 1162]

Abū Qatāda al-Anṣārī (raḍī Allāhu anhu) narrated that the Messenger of Allāh (ṣallallāhu ‘alayhi wa sallam) said: “…The fast of the day of `Āshūra, [I consider it to] expiate the sins of the preceding year.” [Muslim, Aḥmad, Abū Dāwūd and Ibn Khuzaymah]

The six points of Tabligh are:

1. Emaan : Our belief should be firm that “ There is no other to be praised except Allah, and Mohammed (s.a.s) is His rasool ”
-Its means that we should not do shirk (associating anyone else with Allah) and follow Islam according to sunnah of Rasulullah (s.a.s)

2. Namaz : We should establish salah which is a real one as Rasulullah (s.a.s) and sahaba had established.

3.Ilm and Dhikr : We should gain knowledge. We should know Faza’il (virtues) of good deeds and also Masa’il (how to do deed). We should remember that just gaining knowledge is not enough.
According to hadees which means Allah will ask 5 questions on the day of judgment. One of the question in that will be “ How much did you implement on the knowledge you had ? ”.(Tirmidi)
Therefore we should do Dhikr (remembrance) of Allah. So that Allah comes to our mind before every act. And we can judge what is halaal and what is haram. Are we doing good or bad.

4. Ekraam al-muslim : It means honoring our muslim brothers and sisters. It means we should benefit others by sacrificing ourselves. We should never think bad about them nor we should keep jealousy about our ummah. (Jealousy of Muslims is haram).

5. Ekhlas : It is our Sincerity towards Allah. What ever we do we should do only for the cause of Allah. According to hadees “one who offers salat, fasts, or gives sadaqa to show off has committed shirk”(Musnad Ahmed). So, what ever deed we do we should remember that Allah (swt) is watching us and we are doing the deed for Allah(swt). Its very important point or quality which is to be brought into our lives.

6. Dawah & Tabligh : Its our duty to invite and convey Islam to people of this world as our prophet Mohammed (s.a.s) is the last prophet, and no other prophet is going to come now. And prophet Mohammed (s.a.s) has been declared as prophet till the Day of Judgment. Then every muslim should think then who is going to call people towards Islam. We should spend all our wealth and health to spread Islam.

The Messenger of Allah (pbuh) said:
“The most virtuous fasting after the month of Ramadhaan is
Allah’s month Al-Muharram”
[Sahih At-Tirmidhī]

The forty hadith of Imam AlNawawi condensed into poetry by Ammar AlShukry.

Narrated ‘Uqba bin ‘Amir: We staid to the Prophet, “You send us out and it happens that we have to stay with such people as do not entertain us. What do you think about it? He said to us, “If you stay with some people and they entertain you as they should for a guest, accept their hospitality, but If they don’t do, take the right of the guest from them.”[Bukhari 043:641]

Ashura is 10th of Muharram, and in our case will be on Tuesday, December 6, 2011. (Remember that Islamic days begin after Maghrib, so 10th of Muharram will be from Maghrib on Monday, Dec. 5 till Maghrib Tuesday, Dec. 6)

Practices To Be Observed On The Day of Ashura (10th of Muharram.)
1. To fast on the 9th and 10th or the 10th and 11th of Muharram.
a. This is a nafl fast.
b. The act of fasting is sunnah.
2. To spend freely on one’s family (without incurring debt and being wasteful.)

Rasoolullah (sallallahu alayhi wa sallam) said:
“He who will be generous on his family on the day of Ashura, Allah Ta’ala will be generous on him for the entire year.” (Tabrani, Baihaqi).

`Umar ibn Khattab (Allah be well pleased with him) said:
“As we were sitting one day before the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him), a man suddenly appeared. He wore pure white clothes and his hair was dark black—yet there were no signs of travel on him, and none of us knew him.
He came and sat down in front of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), placing his knees against his, and his hands on his thighs. He said, “O Muhammad! Tell me about Islam.”
The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) replied, “Islam is to bear witness that there is no god but God and that Muhammad is the Messenger of God; and to perform the prayer; pay zakat; fast Ramadan; and to perform Hajj to the House if you are able.”
The man said, “You have spoken the truth,” and we were surprised that he asked and then confirmed the answer.
Then, he asked, “Tell me about belief (iman).”
The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) replied, “It is to believe in Allah; His Angels; His Books; His Messengers; the Last Day; and in destiny—its good and bad.”
The man said, “You have spoken the truth. Now, tell me about spiritual excellence (ihsan).”
The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) replied, “It is to serve Allah as though you behold Him; and if you don’t behold him, (know that) He surely sees you.”
“Now, tell me of the Last Hour,” asked the man.
The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) replied, “The one asked knows no more of it than the one asking.”
“Then tell me about its signs,” said the man.
The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) replied, “That slave women give birth to their mistresses; and that you see barefoot, unclothed, beginning shepherds competing in the construction of tall buildings.”
Then the visitor left, and I waited a long time. Then the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) asked me, “Do you know, Umar, who the questioner was?”
I replied, “Allah and His Messenger know best.”He said (Allah bless him and give him peace), “It was Jibril. He came to you to teach you your religion.” [Sahih Muslim]

Join Sh. Omar Subedar and Sh. Yusuf Badat this Sunday at Islamic Foundation of Toronto

from 1:15-4pm

“And indeed they have led many astray. And (O Allâh): ‘Grant no increase to the Zâlimûn (polytheists, wrong-doers, and disbelievers, etc.) save error.’ ”

Prophet Muhammad (sallallaahu ’alayhi wa sallam) said,
“Whenever sexual permissiveness spreads among the people until it becomes declared, infections and killing diseases, as well as illnesses not previously found in their ancestors will spread among them”
(Narrated by Ibn Majah)

World Aids Day is observed today by the non muslims who dedicate this day for raising awareness about the deadly disease of Aids. Aids has killed more than 25 million people and more than 33.2 million people worldwide live with HIV, making AIDS one of the most destructive epidemics in the history of mankind. But just raising awareness about a certain thing is not the solution, but finding the root cause is. The Prophet (sallallaahu ’alayhi wa sallam) warned us about this and it is a clear sign for the whole world that if we move away from the teachings of Islaam than more deady plagues will occur.

In another Hadith which is reported by Malik, the Prophet (sallallaahu ’alayhi wa sallam) said, “Whenever adultery becomes a widespread phenomena among certain people, death will spread among them.” Islaam blocks all the roots that will lead to the problem of such deadly diseases. Allah says in the Qur’aan : “And come not near to Zina (fornication). Verily, it is a Fahisha (i.e. a great sin) and an evil way.”
(The Holy Qur’aan 17:32)

In the “so called modernization” we have left the teaching of Islaam but can we tihnk that we can get away with anyting, no we cannot! It will only invite the wrath of Allaah, “Verily, the punishment of your Lord is severe.” (The Noble Qur’aan 85:12)

Therefore let us learn from the pain and devastation of AIDS the lesson that the Hudood (limitations) set up by Allaah, the Almighty must be followed strictly.

Doesnt it hurt you that so many Non Muslims are dying daily because of Aids? Have you ever invited them to the Path of Allaah and shown them its benefits?
Please share this Hadith will everyone Non Muslim you can, Jazak’Allaah.

What is Sunnah?

Sunnah according to AL-Mawrid Institute of Islamic Sciences

Literally means well trodden path(Tariqah) in Arabic.

Are those Abrahamic practices and rituals that were adopted and revived (Hajj) by the Prophet Mohammad (pbuh), in some cases after modifications (Fatiha in salaah) and additions (Eidayaan), and instituted among his followers as integral part of God’s religion.

Sunnan have been transferred and established by the Prophet Mohammad (pbuh), through practical demonstration to his Companions.

From the companions, these practices have been transmitted uninterrupted through successive generations of Muslims with consensus and practical perpetuation to date.

They have reached us through the same mechanism of history. The Qur’an has reached us by verbal (documentary) transmission whilst the Sunnah by practical transmission.

What is Hadith?

Hadith literally means a saying or something new. In Islamic terminology, it is defined as the individual-to-individual narratives ascribed to the Prophet (pbuh) regarding his sayings, actions, expressed or tacit approvals, his life history and personal description.

It includes

Life history of Prophet Mohammad (pbuh), including his meetings with people, important events in his time e.g. Holy wars as narrated by his followers.

Record of the Prophet Mohammad’s (pbuh) everyday life, rituals and routines, these are those things that he liked but did not authorise their initiation as essential part of religion. These records reveal the Prophet’s (pbuh) excellent example (Uswa Al Hasana) in carrying out the directives of Islam.

Record of answers to questions and explanations given by the Prophet (pbuh) to his followers.

Record of any explanations about commandments in the Qur’an and the Sunnah by the Prophet (pbuh) to his followers

Verily, those who divide their religion and break up into sects (all kinds of religious sects), you (O Muhammad “salallahu alayhi’walsam) have no concern in them in the least. Their affair is only with Allâh, Who then will tell them what they used to do.(6:159)

Allah’s Apostle (sallallähu alaihi wasallam) said, “Do good deeds properly, sincerely and moderately and know that your deeds will not make you enter Paradise, and that the most beloved deed to Allah’s is the most regular and constant even though it were little.”

[Bukhari Book:76 No:471]

WHO WAS JESUS

Islam honors all the prophets who were sent to mankind. Muslims respect all prophets in general, but Jesus in particular, because he was one of the prophets who foretold the coming of Muhammad. Muslims, too, await the second coming of Jesus. They consider him one of the greatest of Allah’s prophets to mankind. A Muslim does not refer to him simply as “Jesus,” but normally adds the phrase “peace be upon him” as a sign of respect.

No other religion in the world respects and dignifies Jesus as Islam does. The Quran confirms his virgin birth (a chapter of the Quran is entitled “Mary”), and Mary is considered to have been one of the purest women in all creation. The Quran describes Jesus’ birth as follows:

“Behold!’ the Angel said, God has chosen you, and purified you, and chosen you above the women of all nations.”
[Noble Quran 3:42]

“Mary, God gives you good news of a word from Him, whose name shall be the Messiah, Jesus son of Mary, honored in this world and in the Hereafter, and one of those brought near to God. He shall speak to the people from his cradle and in maturity, and he shall be of the righteous. She said: “My Lord! How shall I have a son when no man has touched me?’ He said: “Even so; God creates what He will. When He decrees a thing, He says to it, ‘Be!’ and it is.” [Noble Quran 3:45-47]

Muslims believe that Jesus was born immaculately, and through the same power which had brought Eve to life and Adam into being without a father or a mother.

“Truly, the likeness of Jesus with God is as the likeness of Adam. He created him of dust, and then said to him, ‘Be!’ and he was.” [Noble Quran 3:59]

During his prophetic mission, Jesus performed many miracles. The Quran tells us that he said:

“I have come to you with a sign from your Lord: I make for you out of clay, as it were, the figure of a bird, and breathe into it and it becomes a bird by God’s leave. And I heal the blind, and the lepers, and I raise the dead by God’s leave.” [Noble Quran 3:49]

Muhammad and Jesus, as well as the other prophets, were sent to confirm the belief in one God. This is referred to in the Quran where Jesus is reported as saying that he came:

“To attest the law which was before me, and to make lawful to you part of what was forbidden you; I have come to you with a sign from your Lord, so fear God and obey me.”
[Noble Quran 3:50]

Prophet Muhammad emphasized the importance of Jesus by saying: “Whoever believes there is no god but Allah, alone without partner, that Muhammad is His messenger, that Jesus is a servant and messenger of God, His word breathed into Mary and a spirit emanating from Him, and that Paradise and Hell are true, shall be received by God into Heaven. [Bukhari]