09.12.09

IFS Masjid Hygiene Issues that Must be Addressed

Posted in Character, Fiqh, Islam, Knowledge, Social Commentary, Social Justice, Sufism, Taqwa at 8:35 am by faith786

بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم

Assalamu Alaikum,

WARNING: Long post.

I can totally see this post being taped to the front doors of the IFS Masjid. God forbid that happen. (Don’t get any ideas spiderman….)

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From the Desk of Faith786, future Dictator 4 Life and Emperor of the Free World:

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So yes, today’s rant, ahem, lecture of IFS is in regards to the hygiene of the Masjid. What prompted me to write this post is when I went to Fajr there this morning and…. And after praying, I really had to use the bathroom, so I went to the first floor women’s bathroom and I went in one of the stalls…

(WARNING: pregnant women, children, people who are still full from suhur,  and sensitive people should not read further) Read the rest of this entry »

06.05.08

Islamic Criminal Law

Posted in Fiqh, Islam, Knowledge, Quran at 12:34 am by faith786

بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم

Assalamu Alaikum,

Sorry I haven’t been posting lately. Been really lazy and reading and thinking a lot. I found a packet on Islamic criminal law at IFS, so I am pretty much copying everything off that packet because I found it informative on how certain crimes are defined. Anyway, I think it can be beneficial, and if I mis-wrote something let me know.

Hadd crimes: Hadd crimes are called “Quranic Offenses.” Repentance or reparation by the convicted person cannot derogate from the severity of the sentence. [I am no alim, but I know that Allah ultimately can forgive and He knows our intentions. But Allah knows best....]

Zina:

This is an offense of unlawful intercourse with someone who is not one’s lawful spouse. Strictly speaking, Islamic law has no general conception of adultery as a violation of the marital contract between to people. The punishment of zina is either death by stoning or a specified number of lashes. For conviction, Islamic law requires either the testimonial of four eyewitnesses, instead of the normal two, or the confession of the accused. Some jurists require that the confession must be repeated four times. The pregnancy of an unmarried woman can be sufficient proof against her. [So women have a higher chance of getting busted, but for men they need to remember, Allah is watching you.]

*I would also like to state hear that Islam has no punishment for a woman who is raped versus consciously doing unlawful intercourse. This is ultimate proof that God judge people by their intentions.*

Qadhf: *EVERYONE OUT THERE, READ THIS ONE*

Anyone who is competent and adult, whether male or female, Muslim or not, slave or free, is liable if he/she FALSELY CHARGES ANOTHER PERSON WITH UNLAWFUL INTERCOURSE, if the slandered party is free, competent, Muslim, and not previously convicted of unlawful intercourse. False accusation (Qadhf) occurs also when one is charged for being illegitimate. Only those who are the objects of slander or their heirs may bring charge of qadhf. The hadd punishment for qadhf is eighty lashes for free people or forty for slaves. Read the rest of this entry »

Chambers of Etiquette, by Mufti Azeemuddin Ahmed at BU *(Part 3/4)*

Posted in Character, Fiqh, Hadith, Islam, Islamic Lectures, Knowledge, Quran, Taqwa, Tazkiyah at 12:22 am by faith786

بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم

Assalamu Alaikum,

I GOT TO GO TONIGHT! Alhamdulillah! But I came about 20 minutes late, so I missed a little bit. I found out there are four lectures, not five, and that there were significantly a lot more people at this lecture series than the Surah Kahf ones. Well, whatever floats your boat, I suppose….

I apologize ahead of times that my notes are bad compared to Sarah’s. And I wrote in Sarah’s lecture notebook without her permission, and I am sorry for that too. Your pretty handwriting has been disturbed by my chicken scratches. But I thought it would look nice if that part of the notebook had all the Chambers of Etiquette notes together…. You can rip it out if you don’t like it.

I tried to copy hadith and ayahs down that the speaker was saying, but he spoke too quickly. So I paraphrased and I am perfectly aware that it isn’t the perfect translation. So when you see “Hadith:” or “Quran:”, it isn’t literally, but paraphrasing. Anyway, notes:

Part III Read the rest of this entry »

05.22.08

Tips to Help Improve One’s Salah

Posted in Character, Faith786's Favorites, Fiqh, Hadith, Islam, Knowledge, Taqwa, Tazkiyah at 2:15 pm by faith786

بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم

***Disclaimer: I have found the following information from at least 3 different sources. I admit that it is possible that they may not be authentic, but may Allah forgive me if I accidentally convey information that may not be true, and for what ever information is true and benefits, it is from Allah.***

Tips to help you improve your salah:

  • When reciting the Quran in prayer, in your mind, try to translate it in a language you know to keep your concentration. And when thinking about the translation, contemplate the meaning of the words and how they reflect the beauty and magnificence of Allah. Then hopefully, other distracting thoughts disappear.
  • Every time you mention one of Allah’s attributes in ruku or sajdah (‘Ala, ‘Atheem), think aout how grateful you are to Allah and how indebted we are to Him. Think about the greatness behind those attributes. (Blows my mind at times)
  • Take the time in a sajdah to make an additional duaa to Allah. There was a hadith that: “A servant is nearest to his lord in sajdah, so increase your supplication in sajdah.” [Muslim] Read the rest of this entry »

Differences in Salah between Men and Women

Posted in Faith786's Favorites, Fiqh, Islam, Knowledge at 2:13 pm by faith786

بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم

So, there is this belief going around that men and women pray the exact same way and that women who pray different than men are doing some form of bid’ ah (innovation). I am no scholar of Islam, but this needs to be ironed out.

But first, let me put some of the differences of how men and women pray:

  1. Men raise their hands to their ears when saying Takbir at the beginning of Salah. Women raise their hands to their shoulders.
  2. In Qayam (standing), men place their hands on their stomachs, right below their navel. Women place their hands on their chest.
  3. In Qayam (standing), men grasp their wrists. Women simply just place their right hand over their left with their fingers intact together.
  4. In Ruku (bowing), men’s backs are horizontal, (like a 90 degree angle). Women are only supposed to bend their back enough to touch their knees. It would look like an arc; Their backs won’t be straight. (I remember at schools, girls were taught this, but at home, some of their moms would teach them different.)
  5. In Sajdah (prostration), men’s back are raised from the ground (or sticking up a bit), their hands are apart from their bodies, and their toes are curled towards the Qiblah. Women pull their body parts close together, their abdomens rest on their thighs, and their feet and ankles point towards the right.
  6. In Jalsa (sitting between prostration) and Qaida (sitting during at Tahhiyat), men sit on their left ankle and their right foot’s toes are pointing towards the Qiblah. For women, they sit on the floor and both their ankles and feet stick out towards the right side.

So these are just some differences I read and heard from shaykhs, if you want a reliable internet source, I bet you can find it on www.sunnipath.com and www.islamicacademy.org .

As for the reasons why the prayers are different, I would paraphrase it, but you are better off reading the actual response here:

http://qa.sunnipath.com/issue_view.asp?HD=1&ID=1311&CATE=4

But I didn’t know about all these differences (I knew a couple), so now I have to work on my prayer. I hope other people found this beneficial too.