The Night of Bara' ah

Ever heard of the Night of Bara' ah? I didn't, not until today. I am currently attending an Islamic program, and the teacher read from some papers about this night. Thinking of this as a wonderful thing to post, I requested to borrow the papers, but she kindly let me keep them.
Laylatul-bara' ah means the Night of Freedom from Fire. It occurs between the 14th and 15th of Sha'ban, which is tonight, August 5th.

There is a hadith in which the Prophet(S) said that during the night of the half of Sha'ban Allah (SWT) looks upon us(humans: slaves of Allah(SWT)) and forgives those who seek forgiveness as well as mercy, yet does not forgive them until they relieve any malice they may have against another Muslim. (I'm paraphrasing the hadith here).
There are other hadiths mentioning the rewards of this night, and though this article mentions the chain of narrators of some of these suffer some minor technical defects, all clarify this night to be one beneficial to observe.

In this night, one should stay awake as much as possible. If you cannot spend the entire night in prayer and worship, select a portion of the night, preferably the second half of it, and it would be advisable to:
-Perform Salah, preferably no less than 8 Rak'at. Each part of the Salah(like ruku) should be longer than normal. The longest surahs you have memorized should be recited in the Salah. If you cannot remember any long surahs, you can recite several short ones in one rakah.
-Recite as much of the Holy Quran as you can.
-Dhikr(recitation of the name of Allah). In particular, on the Prophet(S), one should recite "Sal-Allahu alayhi wa sallam" as many times as possible.
-Dua. Inshallah it will be accepted, and it alone is ibadah, which will be rewarded. And these prayers and supplications also strengthen our connection with Allah(SWT); a main reason we perform all these acts of worship.
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On the day immediately following the Night of Bara' ah, the 15th of Sha'aban, it is advisable to keep fast. It is mentioned that the Prophet(S) used to fast most of days in Sha'ban, and that the fasts of the first half of Sha'ban have special merits.
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Inshallah I hope this post has enlightened everyone to this blessed night, and encouraged everyone to pay special attention and worship more tonight, and fast tomorrow.
Salamualikum.
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P.S.
I thought it would be neat to know how many people actually fasted tomorrow. So I have replaced the Candy Voting Poll with one that will show me how many actually fasted. Inshallah we'll get good numbers. Salamualikum!!

"I'm Traveling. Do I Have To Fast(In Ramadan)?

(Surat Al-Baqara), Verse (Ayah) 185: “Ramadan is the (month) in which was sent down The Qur’an, as a guide to mankind, also clear (signs) for guidance and judgment (between right and wrong). So every one of you who is present (at his home) during that month should spend it in fasting, but if any one is ill, or on a journey, the prescribed period (should be made up) by days later. Allah intends every facility for you; He does not want to put you to difficulties (He wants you) to complete the prescribed period, and to glorify Him in that He has guided you and perchance ye shall be grateful”.

Crushes and How to Deal with Them

Salamualikum. Thanks to Anonymous for this topic and I hope this helps your situation, Inshallah. Let me know if you have further questions, or if it helped you.


You may feel you are being attracted to the opposite gender; but it is not the question of having one, it is the question of how you deal with it.


The wrong way to deal with it is to start purposefully daydreaming about him/her, to begin chatting about your crush to your friends, keeping the idea as a play-thing. Some people may even go to their crush and tell them that they like him/her.

Try to avoid occupying your mind with your crush; try to distract yourself by reading Quran, listening to a nice Nasheed, reading an appropriate book. If you find it difficult, seek help from Allah(SWT).

I hope, Anonymous, that this post answered your concern, and I compliment your seeking knowledge to better your Islam. If you have any further questions relating to your situation, let me know. And to everyone, if you have any other questions and such relating to this topic, feel free to leave a comment.



(Thanks to everyone who complimented/viewed my blog so far)

Ramadan

Salamualikum wa Rahma tullahi wa barakatuhuh[hope I spelled it right back there :)]
Ramadan, Inshallah, is due to arrive soon.
How many feel,"Aww, "no food time"?
How many feel, "Yes! The blessed month of opportunity?"
By the end of this topic(which will be in multiple posts), I hope Inshallah we all will end up sincerely feeling the second choice.
As we all should know, Fasting(in Ramadan) is an obligatory act, and is one of the five pillars of Islam.
"...whoever witnesses the Month of Ramadan should fast through it..." Q(2:185)

In this blessed month, Allah(SWT) is even more generous with his bestowment of good deeds.

The Messenger of Allah (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) addressed his companions on the last day of Sha`ban, saying, "Oh people! A great month has come over you; a blessed month; a month in which is a night better than a thousand months; month in which Allah has made it compulsory upon you to fast by day, and voluntary to pray by night. Whoever draws nearer (to Allah) by performing any of the (optional) good deeds in (this month) shall receive the same reward as performing an obligatory deed at any other time, and whoever discharges an obligatory deed in (this month) shall receive the reward of performing seventy obligations at any other time. It is the month of patience, and the reward of patience is Heaven. It is the month of charity, and a month in which a believer's sustenance is increased. Whoever gives food to a fasting person to break his fast, shall have his sins forgiven, and he will be saved from the Fire of Hell, and he shall have the same reward as the fasting person, without his reward being diminished at all." [Narrated by Ibn Khuzaymah]

Narrated Abu Huraira(r.a): The Prophet said:"... whoever fasts during Ramadan out of sincere faith and hoping to attain Allah's rewards, then all his past sins will be forgiven." (Sahih Al-Bukhari).

Wow. Sounds pretty good, doesn't it? Subhanallah. One of the many things to reflect upon in Ramadan is the mercy of Allah(SWT). See all these opportunities, all these chances to be forgiven, all these chances to gain more good deeds?