Oh Allaah, Help Me Reach Ramadan

A Poem by
Firdaus Fathima (Umm Hashir)

Oh Allaah, Help Me Reach Ramadan

Oh Allaah, extend my life so much, that I enter the month approaching me,
So that I can have my share of the blessings therein showered by Thee
For it is only Your will that does to a life bring an end
Or grant it time to live, to regret, to repent and make an amend

Oh Allaah, the month of blessings every year passes by your slaves
And by the end for few more days of it the heart craves
You know Your Creations better than anybody anywhere
Let not the coming Ramadan pass leaving me in despair

Oh Allaah, help me to draw closer to You, to make myself dearer to You,
Distance me from things You wouldn't want on THE DAY nearer to You
Help me to take the Quran, through my eyes into my heart
Help me to shed my sins and make a fresh start

Oh Allaah, give me good health therein, cause me to sleep very little
Be my strength oh Allaah, without You I am a soul very brittle
The night better than a thousand months You jeweled into Ramadan
The night which You had chosen to reveal the glorious Qur'an

Oh Allaah, help me in my efforts to seek that blessed night
Help me make Your Praises control my speech, hearing and sight
Oh Allaah, in Your showers of mercy and blessings I wish to get drenched
Through Your Guidance, Mercy and Grace I want my sins to be quenched

Oh Allaah, I beg You to answer me when in these words I call upon Thee
"Oh Allaah, You are Oft-Pardoning and You love to pardon, so pardon me"!
Oh Allaah if You so wish and I come out of it living,
Make me sinless as a newborn child, Oh All-Forgiving!

Oh Allaah, help me to start life anew, pleasing You always help me survive
To wait and prepare for another Ramadan help me strive!
Oh Allaah, I can never thank you enough for the month of Ramadan
Nor for the gift of light and Guidance, Your word - the Qur'an!

The BOOK which contains all I need in this life Ya Allaah!
And the key to the treasures You have promised in Jannah!
Oh Allaah, help me to take it closer to my heart this Ramadan
And as long as I live, guide me and help me to LIVE Qur'an!

(ameen)

Bid'ah/ Innovations in Religion !

 Saima Rahman

Allah's Messenger (Sal-allahu-aleihi-wassallam) said:"The best speech is that embodied in the Book of Allah, and the best guidance is the guidance given by Muhammad. The most evil affairs are their innovations; and every innovation is an error." [Book 4 No.1885](Transmitted by Sahih Muslim)

Allah's Apostle (Sal-allahu-aleihi-wassallam) said, "If somebody innovates something which is not in harmony with the principles of our religion, that thing is rejected." (means not accepted and will be unbeneficial). [Vol 3:#861](Transmitted by Sahih Bukhari)

Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) forbade and warned us against when he said: "Beware of newly-invented matters, for every newly-invented matter is an innovation and every innovation is a going astray." Narrated by al-Tirmidhi (2600), Abu Dawood (3991), and Ibn Maajah (42); classed as saheeh by al-Albaani in Saheeh al-Jaami' (2549).

And the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: "Whoever does a deed that is not in accordance with this matter of ours will have it rejected ." Narrated by Muslim (1817).

Allaah can only be worshipped in the ways that He has prescribed in His Book or on the lips of the Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him).

Dhikr may be prescribed in principle, but people start to specify the way in it is to be done, or the place or time or number, that may bring it under the category of innovation.

This is indicated by the report narrated by al-Tirmidhi (204) from 'Amr ibn Salamah who said: We were sitting at the door of 'Abd-Allaah ibn Mas'ood before Fajr prayer, when he came out. We walked with him to the mosque, then Abu Moosa al-Ash'ari came to us and said: Has Abu 'Abd al-Rahmaan come out to you yet? We said: No. So he sat with us until he came out, and when he came out we all stood up. Abu Moosa said to him: O Abu 'Abd al-Rahmaan, just now I saw something in the mosque that I have never seen before, but I do not think it was anything but good. He said: What was it? He said: If you live, you will see it. He said: In the mosque I saw some people sitting in circles waiting for the prayer. In every circle there was a man, and in their hands they had pebbles. He would say: Say Allaahu akbar (Allaah is Most Great) one hundred times, and they would say Allaahu akbar one hundred times. He would say: Say Laa ilaaha ill-Allaah (there is no god but Allaah) one hundred times, and they would say Laa ilaaha ill-Allaah one hundred times. He would say: Say Subhaan-Allaah (Glory be to Allaah) one hundred times, and they would say Subhaan-Allaah one hundred times. He said:

What did you say to them? He said: I did not say anything to them; I was waiting to see what you think and I waited for your command. He said: Why did you not tell them to count their bad deeds and guarantee to them that their good deeds would not be wasted? Then he moved on and we moved on with him until he came to one of those circles, and he stood over them and said:

What is this that I see you doing? They said: O Abu 'Abd al-Rahmaan, these are stones with which we count the takbeers ('Allaahu akbar'), tahleel ('Laa ilaaha illa-Allaah') and tasbeeh ('Subhaan-Allaah'). He said:Count your bad deeds, for I guarantee to you that none of your good deeds will be lost. Woe to you, O ummah of Muhammad! How quickly you have become doomed! His companions are still alive and his cloak has not worn out, and his vessel is not yet broken. By the One in Whose hand is my soul, you are either following a way that is more guided that the way of Muhammad or you are opening the door to misguidance. They said: By Allaah, O Abu 'Abd al-Rahmaan, we intended nothing but good. He said: How many of those who intended good did not achieve it. The Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) told us that some people would recite the Qur'aan and it would not go any further than their collarbones. By Allaah, I do not know, perhaps most of them are from among you. Then he turned away from them and 'Amr ibn Salamah said: I saw most of those circles on the side of the Khawaarij fighting us on the day of al-Nahrawaan.

Think about this attitude of Abu Moosa and 'Abd-Allaah ibn Mas'ood, and how they denounced this method which was not done by the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) or his companions, although dhikr is basically prescribed, praiseworthy and encouraged.

Al-Shaatibi (may Allaah have mercy on him) said: Bid'ah (innovation) refers to something that is newly invented in matters of religion that appears similar to that which prescribed, by which people intend to go to extremes in worshipping Allaah.

This includes adhering to certain ways and manners of worship, such as reciting dhikr in unison, or taking the birthday of the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) as an Eid, and so on. It also includes doing certain acts of worship at certain times for which there is no basis in sharee'ah, such as always fasting on the fifteenth of Sha'baan (yawm al-nusf min Sha'baan) and spending that night in prayer .