And obey Allah and the Messenger that you may obtain mercy.

The virtue of fasting six days of Shawwaal

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Q.

What is the ruling on fasting six days of Shawwaal? Is it waajib (obligatory)?

Praise be to Allaah.

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Fasting six days of Shawwaal after the obligatory fast of Ramadaan is Sunnah Mustahabbah, not waajib. It is recommended for the Muslim to fast six days of Shawwaal, and in this there is great virtue and an immense reward. Whoever fasts these six days will have recorded for him a reward as if he had fasted a whole year, as was reported in a saheeh hadeeth from the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him). Abu Ayyoob (may Allaah be pleased with him) reported that the Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: “Whoever fasts Ramadaan and follows it with six days of Shawwaal, it will be as if he fasted for a lifetime.” (Narrated by Muslim, Abu Dawood, al-Tirmidhi, al-Nisaa’i and Ibn Maajah).

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Kullu ‘am Wa Antum bi Kheyr!!

Taqabala Minna Wa Minkom

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Sunnahs of Eid

• Wake up early.

• Prepare for personal cleanliness, take care of details of clothing, etc.

• Take a Ghusl (bath) after Fajr.

• Brush your teeth.

• Dress up, putting on best clothes available, whether new or cleaned old ones.

• Use perfume (men only).

• Have breakfast on Eid-al-Fitr before leaving for prayer ground. On Eid-al-Adha, eat breakfast after Salaat.

• Pay Zakaat-al-Fitr before Salaat-al-Eid (on Eid-al-Fitr).

• Go to prayer ground early.

• Offer Salaat-al-Eid in congregation in an open place except when the weather is not permitting like rain, snow, etc.

• Use two separate route to and from the prayer ground.

Recite the following Takbir on the way to Salaat and until the beginning of Salaat-al-Eid:“Allaho-Akber, Allaho-Akber. La ila-ha ill-lal-lah. Allaho-Akber, Allaho-Akber. Wa-lilahill hamd.“

(Allah is great, Allah is great. There is no god but Allah. Allah is great, Allah is great. And all praises are for Allah).

How to offer Eid prayer

Ibn Abbass (ra) reported: ” I participated in the Eid-ul-Fitr prayer with the Messenger of Allah (saw), Abu Bakr (ra), Umar (ra) and Uthman (ra), and all of them held Eid prayer before Khutbah, and then the Prophet Muhammad (saw) delivered the Khutbah (sermon).” ( Muslim )

Who should go to the prayer ground & offer Eid Prayer?

Umm Atiyah (ra) reported: “The Messenger of Allah (saw) commanded us to bring out on Eid-al-Fitr and Eid-al-Adha, young women, hijab-observing adult women and the menstruating women. The menstruating women stayed out of actual Salaat but participated in good deeds and Duaa (supplication). I (Umm Atiyah) said to the Holy Prophet (saw): Oh! Messenger of Allah, one does not have an outer garment. He replied: Let her sister cover her with her garment.” ( Muslim )On the Eid day, every believing man, woman and child must go to the prayer ground and participate in this joyous occasion.Link: http://www.islamicity.com/ramadan/Eid_default.shtml

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Structure of the Eid prayer

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Eid prayer is wajib (strongly recommended, just short of obligatory). It consists of two Rakaat (units) with six or thirteen additional Takbirs. It must be offered in congregation. The prayer is followed by the Khutbah.

The Khutbah is part of the worship and listening to it is Sunnah. During the Khutbah, the Imam must remind the community about its responsibilities and obligations towards Allah, fellow Muslims and the fellow human beings.The Imam must encourage the Muslims to do good and ward off evil. The Muslim community must also be directed to the state of the community and the Ummah at large and the feelings of sacrifice and Jihaad should be aroused in the community. At the conclusion of the prayer the Muslims should convey greetings to each other give reasonable gifts to the youngsters and visit each other at their homes. Muslims should also take this opportunity to invite their non-Muslims neighbors, co-workers, classmates and business acquaintances to Eid festivities to expose them to Islam and Muslim culture.

16 things you can do on the Night of Power

Abdul Malik Mujahid

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Laylatul Qadr (the Night of Power) is described in the Quran as, “better than a thousand months” (97:3). Any action done on this night such as reciting the Quran, remembering Allah, etc. is better than acting for one thousand months which do not contain the night of Qadr.

Allah’s Messenger used to exert himself in devotion during the last ten nights to a greater extent than at any other time.” (Muslim). Allah’s peace and blessings be upon our beloved Prophet.

Aisha, may Allah be pleased with her, related that the Prophet said: Look for Laylatul Qadr on an odd-numbered night during the last ten nights of Ramadan (Bukhari).

The Prophet said: “Whoever prays during the night of Qadr with faith and hoping for its reward will have all of his previous sins forgiven.” (Bukhari and Muslim recorded from Abu Huraira).

Here are some tips of things we can do on the Night of Power and the time before and after it.

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