Baseerath

The first ten days of Zul Hijjah are among the most magnificent days in Islamic calendar. The Messenger of Allah, Sallallaahu Alayhi Wa Sallam said: "There are no days in which righteous deeds are more beloved to Allah than these ten days."(Bukhari) Almighty Allah Ta’ala says, (By the dawn; by the ten nights) (Quran-Al-Fajr 89: 1-2). Ibn `Abbas, ibn az-Zubayr, Mujahid and others of the earlier and later generations are of the opinion that this refers to the first ten days of Dhul-Hijjah. Ibn Kathir said: "This is the correct opinion." (Tafsir Ibn Kathir, 8/413) The Messenger of Allah, Sallallaahu Alayhi Wa Sallam, has said, "One fast during these days is equal to the fasting of one complete year, and the worship of one night during this period is equal to the worship of "Lailatul-Qadr". (Tirmizi) Every Muslim should avail oneself of this wonderful opportunity by performing as much Ibadah (acts of worship) as he or she can during this period. THE

Once a man came to the prophet Muhammad (S.A.W.) and said, "Oh prophet of Allah, I have many bad habits. Which one of them should I give up first?" The prophet said, "Give up telling lies first and always speak the truth." The man promised to do so and went home. At night the man was about to go out to steal. Before setting out, he thought for a moment about the promise he made with the prophet. "If tomorrow the prophet asks me where have I been, what shall I say? Shall I say that I went out stealing? No, I cannot say that. But nor can I lie. If I tell the truth, everyone will start hating me and call me a thief. I would be punished for stealing." So the man decided not to steal that night, and gave up this bad habit. Next day, he felt like drinking wine, when he was about to do so, he said to himself, "What shall I say to the prophet if he asks me what did I do during the day? I cannot tell a lie, and if I speak the truth people will hate me, because

A Vital Skill to Cultivate Sheikh Salman al-Oadah It gives me some satisfaction to recall the times I have been able to swallow back my bitterness and restrain my anger when one of my dear brothers (who may not think of me as such) abused me because they disagreed with me on some point. However, I mean it when I say: there are far more things that we have in common than the points of contention in which we disagreed. I feel happy when I recall how Allah helped me to restrain myself and therefore avoid getting into useless and base arguments, the type that is heated and impassioned, where I would have inevitably stooped – witting or unwitting – to the level of disputing for the sake of my own ego instead of for the truth. In the heat of the moment, there is a strong impulse to “clarify” the “truth” or “give full disclosure”, or any other justification for mean-hearted and vain disputation. We enter into a wild and barren desert when we let ourselves succumb to that impulse. The strengt