The justice and spirituality movement was founded by Imam Abdessalam Yassine in the early 70s of the twentieth century. The main rationale of the movement could be summed up in the maxim which the leaders as well as members keep citing “we repent to God and call on people to repent along with us”...
Originality is one of the main characteristics of Imam Abdessalam Yassine’s thought based on the [...]
1- How many holidays are there in the Muslim religion? The Muslim calendar includes two major [...]
Setting the scene for Ramadan, God, the Most High, says: “The month of Ramadan [is that] in which was revealed the Qur’an, guidance for the people and clear proofs of guidance and criterion. So whoever sights [the new moon of] the month, let him fast it; and whoever is ill or on a journey – then an equal number of other days. Allah intends for you ease and does not intend for you hardship and [wants] for you to complete the period and to glorify Allah for that [to] which He has guided you; and perhaps you will be grateful.”
Many people have moved away from the proper understanding of the reality of fasting. Ramadan for [...]
Attempts to shed stronger light upon shared human values have gained momentum in recent decades, especially after the failure of racist and nationalist discourses to make human life any better. On the other hand, voices calling for reaching out to the ‘other’ and broadening the common grounds on which the inhabitants of the globe do stand have particularly risen owing to the increasing interchange of interests and services at all levels among people and nations alike. No surprise then to hear louder calls for cherishing “global values” in seminars, research projects, conferences, world leader summits, and the like.
The term Zakat generally refers to money, food, and the like which are given to the poor. Literally, it means purification and growth. Zakat Al-Fitr is enjoined by Islam for the occasion of Fitr (end of fasting Ramadan). This term was first introduced into Arabic with the advent of Islam. It is also called Al-Fitr alms, fasting Zakat or Ramadan alms.
The night of Qadr is a blessed night. It is the greatest night in the ten last days of the holy month of Ramadan. God – Praise be to Him – has made it so distinguished by making worship in it better than worship in a thousand months altogether; the equivalent of eighty three years and four months. He –Glorified be He– says: “The Night of Decree is better than a thousand months. The angels and the Spirit (Gabriel) descend therein by permission of their Lord for every matter” (Surat Al-Qadr, verses 3-4).
The Prophet Mohammad – God bless him and grant him peace – used to break his whole-day fast on Ruṭab or on dates or on water. Mohamed Faid, a Moroccan nutritionist, stresses that this is the best foodstuff to be dropped in an empty stomach so that it would effortlessly produce Pepsin... Ruṭab are an amazing food to break one’s fast. First, vitamin concentration in Ruṭab is more than in drier dates, especially vitamin C, which tends to disappear as dates dry off. Besides, the concentration of Vitamin B1 and B2 is higher in Ruṭab than in dates.
Q: Are travellers permitted not to fast in Ramadan? A:The most renowned jurists have agreed that any Muslim on travel is permitted not to fast in Ramadan as a license from God to make travel easier for him/her. And the beneficiary from such a license is required to re-fast the missing days of the holy month after it is over. The Qur'anic evidence for this is what God (Glorified be He) says in Surat Al-Baqrah, verse 185 “ […] and whoever is ill or on a journey – then an equal number of other days. Allah intends for you ease and does not intend for you hardship and [wants] for you to complete the period and to glorify Allah for that [to] which He has guided you; and perhaps you will be grateful”. Jurists, however, differed with regards to which would be better; to fast on a journey or not to fast.
Giving is the proof of honesty and devotion. The latter, in turn, reflects piety. Then, honesty and piety culminate into Ihsan, the highest rank on the scale of worship. It is a stage by which the believer wins God’s grace, the utmost aim of every earnest believer. The Prophet Mohammad – God bless him and grant him peace – used to be the most giving and the most generous and more so in Ramadan. He used to give like someone who does not fear poverty, and so did his companions after his passing. His most trusting companion Abu Bakr As-Siddik – may God bless his soul – once donated all what he possessed for the sake of God and His Prophet. When asked by the Prophet – God bless him and grant him peace – what he left for his household, he replied with deep conviction “I am leaving God and his Messenger for them”. He apparently was sure that by so doing, he got engaged in the most “lucrative trade” with God to whom belongs the dominion of the heavens and the earth and all what is between them.
Q: What type of travel allows us not to fast during a Ramadan day? A:In the name of God, praise be to Him, and peace be upon his messenger. Yes, the Muslim may choose not to fast (though s/he’d better fast) if s/he is on a journey only if the following conditions are met: - If the travel distance must be 83 kilometers or more. This distance is measured not from the doorstep of one’s lodging to one’s travel destination but from the exit point of one’s city, town or village, where there are no more buildings, to the travel destination. It is worth of note that the travel distance that allows eating on a Ramadan day is the same which permits reducing our four-bow prayers into two-bow ones.
