Originally posted by Al-Mu'minah: Salama alaykum, Salah is what seperates us from the unbelievers, kafiroon! I've been informed that is false. That hadeeth is authentic dear sis. The other one in Saheeh Muslim is : 'between a man and shirk and kufr there stands his neglect of the prayer.' @ Brother Abu Salman - dear brother most of those 'punishments' are false, and come from weak ahadeeth, some are even fabricated. I'll reply insha'allah when I have the chance to. We had a discussion about it on another forum.

al-Hasan used to say : 'Before He created us, Allah knew that we would sin and disobey Him, yet He still made us Muslims. O sinners, hurry to repent before the pangs of death overcome you, before the time of utter regret is upon you. Work, for death is coming, and everything that is coming is near at hand. Death hovers over you day and night; it will not come late, not even for one who has lost track of time.' [Qisatu Tawabeen 2/124] Say: "O my Servants who have transgressed against their souls! Despair not of the Mercy of Allah: for Allah forgives all sins: for He is Oft-Forgiving, Most Merciful. [Surah az-Zumar : 53] 11 more days of Ramadan ......

Asalamu'alaykum wa Rahma Raditu bi'llahi Rabban wa bi'l-Islami dinan wa bi Muhammadin sall-Allahu 'alaihi wa sallama nabiyyan ama bacad: my noble brothers and sisters, many of us do not know that Allah Ta'ala has chosen Islam for us. We are not Muslim because of our parents, we are not Muslim because of Fulaan Ibn Fulaan preached to us about Islam. When Allah Ta'ala perfected our religion for us, he chose Islam to be our way of life: '....I have perfected your religion for you, completed My favor upon you, and have chosen for you Islam as your religion...' [Surah al-Maidah 5:3] and afterwards wal-Hamdulilah, in our mothers womb he decreed that we would be Muslims ! You should be honored, and be happy that you are not amongst the misguided, indeed Allah Ta'ala guides whom he wills: 'He guides whom He wills to a Straight Way.' [Surah al-Baqarah 2:142] Dear brothers and sisters, our honor comes from Islam, 'Umar Ibn Khattab used to say : نحن قوم أعزنا الله بالإسلام ، فهما طلبنا العزة بغيره ، أذلنا الله 'We are the people whom Allah honored through Islam, so whenever we seek honor other than it, Allah will disgrace us'. Imagine how Allah Ta'ala honored you, by calling you the best ever to be raised amongst mankind! 'You [true believers in Islamic Monotheism, and real followers of Prophet Muhammad and his Sunnah ] are the best of peoples ever raised up for humankind; you enjoin good and forbid evil, and you believe in Allah....' [Surah aali-Imran 3:110] The Muslim has izzah (honor) , his blood, property and life is sacred. The blood of the Muslim is worth more to Allah then the Ka'bah - as the Prophet sallahu alayhi wa salam informed us. The worst Muslim is better then the best Kafir,who is better then a person who took Allah as his Lord, the Quran as his guiding book, and believed in Nabi al-Mukhtar Muhammad sallahu alayhi wa salam? . By Allah the Muslim has honor, and you are nothing without the deen of Allah, but the deen of Allah is everything without you. 'Power and glory belong to Allah, His Messenger (Muhammad), and to the believers, '. [Surah al-Munafiqeen 63:8]

as-Salamu'alaykum wa Rahmatullah, ponder upon Surah al-Kawthar. What is al-Kawthar? “Verily, We have granted you (O Muhammad) Al-Kawthar (a river in Paradise)” [surah al-Kawthar 108:1] He sallahu alayhi wa salam said : “It is a river that my Lord has promised to me in which there is much goodness. [Saheeh Muslim; 607] Its description: “Al-Kawthar is a river in Paradise. Its banks are made of gold and its bed is of pearls and rubies…” [Saheeh Sunan al-Tirmidhi, 3/135] Who will drink from it? The Prophet sallahu alayhi wa salam said : "it is a cistern to which my ummah will come on the Day of Resurrection.” And insha'allah, after the believers drink from it, they will never thirst again : "..whoever drinks from it will never thirst again.” [Saheeh Muslim; 4244] How big is it? He sallahu alayhi wa salam said: “My fountain is as big as the distance between San’a’ and Madinah; its drinking cups are as many as the planets or stars.” [Saheeh al-Jami as-Saghir; 3160]

The Prophet sallahu alayhi wa salam said : “Whoever gives iftaar (afuur) to one who is fasting will have a reward like his, without that detracting from the fasting person’s reward in the slightest.” [Saheeh al-Tirmidhi; 647] So insha'allah let us try to invite our friends, co-workers (who are also fasting) to break fast with us, so that we may attain the reward stated in this hadeeth.

'Asalamu'alaykum wa Rahmatullah Many scholars use the following hadith to prove that one who is eating or drinking when the time for Fajr enters on a day of fasting, then he may continue eating until he is satisfied:“If one of you hears the call and the drinking vessel is in his hand then let him not put it down until he satisfied his need from it.” This hadith was reported by Abu Dawud (2350). Abu Hatim ar-Razi, however, declared this narration to be defective, as in ‘al-’Ilal’ (340 and 759).(many people use this as proof). In fact, it goes against the apparent meaning of the following hadith reported by al-Bukhari (1/328) and Muslim (1092): “Eat and drink until Ibn Umm Maktum makes the call to prayer, as he does not make the call until it is the Fajr time.” So, this proves that the point in time to cease eating and drinking is when one hears the adhan (or, living in the West, when the time for Fajr enters). ash-Shafi’i said: “I prefer that the suhur is made late, provided it is not too close to a time in which it is feared that the Fajr has arrived. I like to stop eating at such a time. If the Fajr arrives, and one has something that he has put into his mouth and chewed, then he should spit it out, as entering it into his mouth does nothing to break his fast. Rather, what breaks his fast is his swallowing it.”" ['as-Sunan wal-Mubtada'at fil-'Ibadat' by 'Amr 'Abd al-Mun'im Salim; p. 200-201] So, basically, if one knows that the actual Fajr time has arrived while he is still eating or drinking, he should spit it out. If he cannot prevent himself from swallowing the food or drink, then he is excused due to his inability to do so, and he should not induce vomit, as this itself breaks the fast, as the Prophet said: “Whoever intentionally vomits, then he must make up his fast.”

The Sahabas said about the Prophet sallahu alayhi wa salam : 'He (sallahu alayhi wa salam) would remember Allah much, and would not engage in vain talk, and would elongate his prayer, and would shorten his speeches, and he did not consider himself great enough that he would not walk with the widow, the poor and the slave until he fulfilled their needs.' [Sahih al-Jami’ as-Saghir; 5005]

Originally posted by Nur: Why Fast? In order to increase our iman ( Lacallakum tattaquun) Nur Sax, alot of us don't know why we are fasting. Barakallahu Feekum

Firstly and most famously, the 17th of Ramadan 2 AH was the day of the first decisive battle between Islam and kufr(disbelief): the Battle of Badr. On the same day (17th) of Ramadan six years later, the Messenger of Allah sallahu alayhi wa salam conquered Makkah along with 10,000 Muslim soldiers. That day, he entered the Ka’bah and personally smashed each of the 360 idols he found inside. Later that same Ramadan, he sent his Companions to destroy the other idols worshipped by the Arabs: Khalid bin al-Walid was sent to destroy al-’Uzza, ‘Amr bin al-’As to destroy Suwa’, and Sa’d bin Zayd to destroy Manat. The next year, upon his return from the expedition to Tabuk in Ramadan, the Prophet sent a group of his Companions to demolish the Masjid ad-Dirar that was built by the hypocrites. In Ramadan of 92 AH, Tariq bin Ziyad led an army against the Gothic King Roderick in the Battle of Guadalete. This was a battle in which the Muslims defeated an army of Goths eight times their size, initiating the Islamic conquest of Andalusia, Southern Italy, and parts of France. In Ramadan of 584 AH marked victory for the Muslims in the Battle of Hittin, in which Salah ad-Din al-Ayyubi laid waste to the army of the Crusaders, resulting in his conquest of Jerusalem. In Ramadan of the year 658 AH, the Mongols were dealt their first decisive defeat in history at the hands of Sayf ad-Din Qutuz in the Battle of ‘Ayn Jalut, avenging the deaths of the millions and millions of Muslims killed during the rape of their lands. '...Honor, power and glory belong to Allah, His Messenger (Muhammad), and to the believers' [Surah al-Munafiqeen 63:8]

“O you who believe! Fasting was prescribed for you as it was prescribed for those before you, so that you may achieve taqwa.” Such is the overall goal and purpose of fasting announced: it is taqwa. So, taqwa is what wakes up in the heart, while it is fulfilling this obligation, the obedience to Allah and the pursuit of His Pleasure. Taqwa is what shields these hearts from ruining one’s fast with sins, even those that simply appear in their conscience. And those whom the Quran is addressing know the value of taqwa with Allah, as it is a goal that their souls yearn for! And this fasting is simply one path to this goal. As a result, raised before their eyes is a goal and a guiding light that leads them by way of fasting…{so that you may acheive taqwa.”}” ['Fi Dhilal al-Qur'an'; 1/167-168]

Barakallahu feek dear sis.

Islamqa.com for Islamic Questions and Answers (well over 35,000+ Q's) If you speak or understand Arabic, then you can use al-Islam.com http://en.quran.nu/ - for Quranic ayahs with its translations. You can search fast with the surah and number of ayah, or just type in the words. http://hadith.al-islam.com/ - the Major books of ahadeeth, ranging from Saheeh al-Bukhari, to the Sunan of ad-Darimi. http://quran.al-islam.com/arb/ - from the Major tafseers of the Quran.

Pre-Med students, take heed insha'allah: Q: I am a student in medical school, and my delving into studying this makes me feel as if my heart is being hardened. So, what do you advise me to do, and how can I combine between studying medicine and studying the Shari’ah? A: I differ with the brother in his saying that studying medicine leads to the hardness of the heart. If he is referring to the time when he is studying for exams, then this can happen in any field of knowledge. This can even happen when studying Tafsir, Fiqh, Hadith, etc. However, if one is in a field such as medicine, and he witnesses the wonders of the Creation of Allah, and the secrets that Allah has placed in the human body – because of which many people have come into faith, and were drowning in disbelief when they saw and pondered over it – how much more would it be for the believer who is obliged to think and ponder? I believe that if the brother were to describe for us the anatomy of the eyeball, or the functions of the liver, the kidney, or the pancreas, we would increase in faith in Allah just as if we were to have heard some verses from the Qur’an, or some ahadith of the Messenger. The point is that one’s faith can actually be increased by any of this, and if we are strong in such sciences and methodologies, and purify our intentions and goals when approaching them, we could go as far as to refer to such sciences as the supplementary sciences of Tawhid, just as in academic terminology, we refer to some sciences as specialty sciences, and to others as supplemental sciences. So, the true sciences of Tawhid that we teach are the basis. However, the supplemental sciences of Tawhid include medicine, anatomy, chemistry, physics, etc., since they all facilitate the contemplation over the Kingdom of Allah, and over the heavens and the Earth, and in the human soul. Allah Said: {“We shall show them Our signs in the heavens and in their own selves, so that it becomes clear to them that it is the Truth.”} [Surah Fussilat; 53] So, it is necessary for us to make an effort to look and to ponder over the heavens, the Earth, the mountains, the animals, the plants, the water - even the colors – and the origins of the human, how the clot is formed, how the fetus is formed, how the human gains knowledge after this, among all the numerous other concepts that strengthen one’s faith. However, if the brother is looking to what will happen after graduation, the problem in regards to medicine is in what happens after graduation, as you can work for eight hours in an environment filled with evils. You might even be unable to call to Allah as you should, as you would be constantly busy with surgeries, appointments, etc. So, we say: everyone will do what they were created for, and this Ummah was not created to all be doctors, or scholars of Fiqh, or scholars of Hadith, or preachers. Rather, Allah made a variety in this. So, this person was made to be a preacher, and it is not proper for him to distract himself and turn to something else. And this person was given knowledge of Fiqh and the Qur’an by Allah, including beautiful recitation and exceptional knowledge of the Religion, and such a person should not turn away from this and become a mechanical engineer, for example. However, for the person who was not granted other than this, we do not say to him to ignore his reality and leave what you were created for and was made easy for you, and to go to that which you are not good at. Rather, everyone should work in that which he is best at. This way, the Ummah will be complete, as we will all be doing which we are best suited for and Allah Created us for, and at the same time, we would all be calling to Allah. So, this preacher is making Da’wah from one place, and that doctor from another, and that person from another. It might even be that people who would never have been guided at the hands of the numerous students of knowledge who speak, preach, and teach in the mosques would be guided and accept Islam at the hands of the doctor. - Shayhk Safar al-Hawali

The Prophet sallahu alayhi wa salam said : “Allah spreads out His Hand at night to accept the repentance of those who did wrong during the day, and He spreads out His Hand during the day to accept the repentance of those who did wrong during the night. (This will continue) until the sun rises from the west.” [sahih Muslim, 2759] “When a person repents, Allah rejoices more than one of you who found his camel after he lost it in the desert.” [sahih al-Bukhari, 6309] “And whoever does evil or wrongs himself but afterwards seeks Allah forgiveness, he will find Allah Oft Forgiving, Most Merciful” [surah al-Nisaa’ 4:110]

The Messenger of Allah sallahu alayhi wa salam said: “There has come to you Ramadan, a blessed month which Allah has enjoined you to fast, during which the gates of heaven are opened and the gates of Hell are closed, and the rebellious devils are chained up. In it there is a night which is better than a thousand months*, and whoever is deprived of its goodness is indeed deprived.” [saheeh al-Targheeb; 999] * This night is Laylat al-Qadr: 'The Night of Al-Qadr (Decree) is better than a thousand months (i.e. worshiping Allah in that night is better than worshiping Him a thousand months, i.e. 83 years and 4 months)'. [surah al-Qadr ayah 3] “Whoever spends Laylat al-Qadr in prayer out of faith and in the hope of reward, will be forgiven his previous sins.” [sahih Bukhari; 1910] 4-5 days left until Ramadan. .....

- The Mountains of at-Ta'if - ...where the Messenger of Allah, commanding 1,000 of his Companions, had laid siege to Hawazin and Thaqif for over two weeks.

- The Valley of Yarmuk (Jordan) – ...where, under the command of Khalid bin al-Walid, 24,000 Muslims laid waste to a Roman army of 150,000, initiating the Islamic conquest of Sham. This was the battle in which 'Ikrimah, the son of Abu Jahl, was martyred - al-Qadisiyyah (Iraq) – ...where Sa'd bin Abi Waqqas miraculously walked an army of 30,000 fighters across the Tigris River (above) on foot during the conquest of Persia.

- The Village of Mu'tah (in the Jordan Valley) - ...where Khalid bin al-Walid led an army of 3,000 men against over 100,000 Roman soldiers. This is the battle in which he personally broke over nine swords, smashing them against the skulls of the kuffar.

- The Fortresses of Khaybar - ...where the Messenger of Allah led an army of 1,400 men against the Jews.

The wife of Fir'awn (Aasiya) was honored by Allah Ta'ala in the Quran: And Allah has set forth an example for those who believe: the wife of Fir'awn, when she said: "My Lord! Build for me a home with You in Paradise, and save me from Fir'awn and his actions, and save me from the people who are wrong-doers!" [Surah at-Tahrim 66:11] Commenting on this verse, Ibn Kathir spoke about the torture she under went to test her faith: "Fir'awn's wife used to ask: "Who prevailed (in the conflict between Fir'awn and the Prophets of Allah)?" When she was told that Musa and Harun had prevailed, she said: "I believe in the Lord of Musa and Harun."Fir'awn sent his aides to her and said to them: "Find the biggest stone you can. If she insists on keeping her faith, throw the stone on her. Otherwise, she is still my wife." They came to her and tortured her under the sun and when the torture session was over, the angels would shade her with their wings and she would look up to the sky and was able to see her house in Paradise. She persisted on her faith until her soul was taken. The heavy stone was then thrown on her lifeless body." [Tafsir Ibn Kathir; 4/505]

I was wondering if anyone is into kickboxing or MMA? Hopefully we have senior kickboxers or mmartists that can give us tips :] .

I was wondering why isn't the Islamic section of Camel threads not active? I mean its there for a reason right?

It is reported from Nu’aym bin Hammaad: ‘Abdullah bin Al-Mubaarak used to often stay at home, so he was asked, “Don’t you get lonely?” He replied, “How could I get lonely when I am with the Prophet – Allaah’s peace and blessings be upon him (i.e. I read his hadeeth)?” Also on the authority of Nu’aym bin Hammaad: It was once said to ‘Abdullah bin Al-Mubaarak, “O Abu ‘Abd Al-Rahmaan, you often sit alone at home.” He said, “I am alone? I am with the Prophet - Allaah’s peace and blessings be upon him – and his Companions.” Meaning: reading hadeeth. Ibn ‘Asaakir, Taareekh Dimashq 32/458. Shaqeeq bin Ibraaheem reports: It was once said to ‘Abdullah bin Al-Mubaarak, “After you have prayed with us you don’t sit with us?” He replied, “I go and sit with the Sahaabah and the Taabi’een.” We said, “And how can you sit with the Sahaabah and Taabi’een (when they have all passed away)?” He replied, “I go and read the knowledge I have collected, I find their narrations and deeds. What would I do with you? You sit around backbiting people.” Adh-Dhahabee, Siyar A’laam Al-Nubalaa' in his biography of ‘Abdullah bin Al-Mubaarak.

Why do they keep on defecting from Slands Army?

The Prophet sallahu alayhi wa salam said : “Verily, on the Day of Ressurection Allah the Exalted will torture those who tortured the people in this World.” [Sahih al-Jami as-Saghir 1900] I wonder where will the oppressors hide, when their Lord insha'allah sends the angels of the hellfire to throw them into a blazing fire - for their injustice.