Question:
What are the Sunnahs and etiquettes that we should act in accordance with on the day of Eid?.
Answer:
1 – Doing ghusl before going out to the prayer.
It was narrated in a saheeh hadeeth in al-Muwatta’ and elsewhere that ‘Abd-Allaah ibn ‘Umar used to do ghusl on the day of al-Fitr before going out to the prayer-place in the morning. Al-Muwatta’ 428.
Al- Nawawi (may Allaah have mercy on him) said that the Muslims were unanimously agreed that it is mustahabb to do ghusl for Eid prayer.
The reason why it is mustahabb is the same reason as that for doing ghusl before Jumu’ah and other public gatherings. Rather on Eid the reason is even stronger.
2 – Eating before going out to pray on Eid al-Fitr and after the prayer on Eid al-Adha:
Part of the etiquette is not to go out to pray on Eid al-Fitr until one has eaten some dates, because of the hadeeth narrated by al-Bukhaari from Anas ibn Maalik, who said that the Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) used not to go out on the morning of Eid al-Fitr until he had eaten some dates… of which he would eat an odd number. Al-Bukhaari, 953.
It is mustahabb to eat before going out to emphasize the fact that it is forbidden to fast on that day and to demonstrate that the fast has ended.
Ibn Hajar (may Allaah have mercy on him) suggested that the reason for that was so as to ward off the possibility of adding to the fast, and to hasten to obey the command of Allaah. Al-Fath, 2/446
Whoever does not have any dates may break his fast with anything that is permissible.
But on Eid al-Adha it is mustahabb not to eat anything until one comes back from the prayer, so he should eat from the udhiyah if he has offered a sacrifice. If he is not going to offer a sacrifice there is nothing wrong with eating before the prayer.
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Question:
I know that it is better for women to pray at home, but my question has to do with the Eid prayer. Is it better for women to go out to the Eid prayer or to stay at home?.
Answer:
It is better for women to go out to the Eid prayer. This was enjoined by the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him).
Al-Bukhaari (324) and Muslim (890) narrated that Umm ‘Atiyyah (may Allaah be pleased with her) said: The Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) commanded us to bring them (women) out on (Eid) al-Fitr and (Eid) al-Adha, and to bring out adolescent girls, menstruating women and virgins, but the menstruating women were to stay away from the prayer, but were to witness goodness and the gathering of the Muslims. I said: “O Messenger of Allaah, what if one of us does not have a jilbaab?” He said: “Let her sister lend her a jilbab.”
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Question:
What are the mistakes and wrong actions that the Muslims are warned against on the two Eids? We see some actions which we denounce such as visiting graves after the Eid prayer and staying up to worship on the night of Eid….
Answer:
As Eid is approaching, we would like to point out some things that some people do out of ignorance of the laws of Allaah and the Sunnah of the Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him). These include the following:
1 – The belief of some that it is prescribed to spend the night of Eid in worship.
Some people believe that it is prescribed to spend the night of Eid in worship. This is a kind of innovation (bid’ah) that is not proven from the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him). Rather it was narrated in a da’eef (weak) hadeeth which says, “Whoever stays up on the night of Eid, his heart will not die on the day when hearts die.” This hadeeth is not saheeh. It was narrated via two isnaads, one of which is mawdoo’ (fabricated) and the other is da’eef jiddan (very weak). See Silsilat al-Ahaadeeth al-Da’eefah wa’l-Mawdoo’ah by al-Albaani, 520, 521.
It is not prescribed to single out the night of Eid to pray qiyaam to the exclusion of all other nights, unlike the one whose habit it is to pray qiyaam, in which case there is nothing wrong with him praying qiyaam on the night of Eid.
2 – Visiting graves on the two Eid days.
This is contrary to the purpose of Eid which is to express joy and happiness, and it goes against the teaching of the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) and the actions of the salaf. It comes under the general meaning of the Prophet’s prohibition on visiting graves on a specific day and making that like a festival, as the scholars stated.
See Ahkaam al-Janaa’iz wa Bida’uha by al-Albaani, p. 219, 258.
3 – Forsaking the jamaa’ah and sleeping late and missing the prayer.
Unfortunately you see some of the Muslims missing the prayer and forsaking the jamaa’ah. The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: “The covenant that stands between us and them is the prayer; whoever forsakes it is a kaafir.” Narrated by al-Tirmidhi, 2621; al-Nasaa’i, 463; classed as saheeh by al-Albaani in Saheeh al-Tirmidhi.
And he said: “The most burdensome prayers for the hypocrites are the ‘Isha’ and Fajr prayers. If they knew (what goodness) there is in them, they would come to them even if they had to crawl. I had thought of ordering the call to prayer to be given, then I would tell a man to lead the people in prayer, then I would go, taking some men with me carrying bundles of wood, to people who do not attend the prayer, and would burn their houses down around them.” Narrated by Muslim, 651.
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A lot of us yearn to prepare for Ramadan, but we have no idea how to start. Below are a few tips to insha’Allah help prepare our minds and hearts for this upcoming Month of Mercy.
1. Making the Intention
Simple to do and has a powerful impact. Maybe you want to prepare for Ramadan, but between school, work, family, and any other activities, you just have no idea how to fit in ‘Preparing for Ramadan’ time. Instead of making ‘preparing for Ramadan’ something separate from your daily activities, MAKE your daily activities a means of preparation for Ramadan.
For example, perhaps your mom asked you to pick up your brother from school on the day you finally had time to read a few extra pages of Qur’an. Instead of feeling upset and feeling like you have lost a great preparation for Ramadan opportunity, make the intention that you are picking up your brother to please Allah subhanahu wa ta’ala and prepare for Ramadan by obeying your mother, helping your family members, building ties of kinship… and the list continues.
The point is that preparing for Ramadan does not have to be some magnificent, enormous, extra-special thing that needs to be done at a certain time of the day. Many of your daily actions can be turned into Ramadan preparation actions with a sincere intention, insha’Allah.
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Question:
Is it permissible or not for a woman to uncover her breast in front of her mahrams in order to breastfeed her child, if there is no fear of fitnah?
Answer:
A woman’s ‘awrah before her mahrams such as her father, brother, and brother’s son is her entire body except that which ordinarily appears such as the face, hair, neck, forearms and feet. Allaah says (interpretation of the meaning):
“and not to reveal their adornment except to their husbands, or their fathers, or their husband’s fathers, or their sons, or their husband’s sons, or their brothers or their brother’s sons, or their sister’s sons, or their (Muslim) women (i.e. their sisters in Islâm)” [al-Noor 24:31]
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Question:
I find disciplining my children difficult and often become angry and beat them. Can you give me any advice on the subject, as well as any books that would be appropriate to read?
Answer:
Raising and educating children is one of the duties required of parents. Allaah has enjoined that in the Qur’aan, and the Messenger (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) also enjoined that. Allaah says (interpretation of the meaning):
“O you who believe! Ward off yourselves and your families against a Fire (Hell) whose fuel is men and stones, over which are (appointed) angels stern (and) severe, who disobey not, (from executing) the Commands they receive from Allaah, but do that which they are commanded”
[al-Tahreem 66:6]
Imam al-Tabari said, commenting on this verse:
Here Allaah is saying: O you who believe in Allaah and His Messenger, “Ward off yourselves” teach one another that which will protect those who do it from the Fire and ward it off from them, if it is done in obedience to Allaah and they do it in obedience to Allaah. The phrase “and your families against a Fire” means, and teach your families to do acts of obedience to Allaah so that they may protect themselves from the Fire.
Tafseer al-Tabari, 18/165
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(Hamden, CT) July 17, 2009– AmericanMuslimMom.com is the first and only online magazine that offers free tips, tools, reviews, contests and resources for Muslim Moms living in America.
AmericanMuslimMom.com is an online magazine aimed for Muslim Moms living in America or American Muslim Moms living aboard. American Muslim Mom began as a family blog in 2005, and has blossomed to a repository of useful articles for Muslim Moms aimed to help them with all aspects of raising Mu’miniyn (true believers) in a non-Muslim country.
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What to cook: Distressed over dinner?
>> Plan your dinner a week in advance!
By planning out your weekly dinner, you can do all your shopping needs in one go!
>> Cook in bulk and freeze, freeze, freeze!
Freezing your food comes in very handy especially for those lazy days when you just cant be bothered cooking. It saves you time, energy + money (gas/electricity/water).
>> Go out with your family; be it once a week or once a month!
Get rid of routine,take your family out for a nice meal and enjoy not having to cook.
Assalamualaikum,
We should all get into the habit of drinking water and that means, getting your kids drinking water at a very young age! I have seen many families, where they give sugary drinks to their kids but regret doing that now because their kids have grown to love sugary drinks and have ditched the ‘pure water’ which is meant to be very good for their health.
Pepsi, juice and all sugary drinks are not considered healthy drinking! Although, there is nothing wrong with minimum consumption of sugary drinks, if given on special occasion or as a treat.
Water is crucial to your family’s health and wellbeing. It makes up, on average, 60 percent of your body weight. Every system in your body depends on water.
Some benefits of drinking water are:
- Increase Your Mental and Physical Performance
- Remove Toxins & Waste Products from your body
- Keep Skin Healthy and Glowing
- Reduce Headaches and Dizziness
- Allow for proper Digestion
- Help to keep you more Alkaline
Sometimes, people find drinking plain water is boring…”there is no taste”. Well, spice it up! You can always add some drops of lemon, orange or whatever fruit you like and InshaAllah once your kids get the hang of it, they probably don’t even need the extra taste anymore. And remember, make sure you keep a bottle with them at all times. It definitely comes in handy especially when they have been running around.
Wassalamualaikum.
In a hadeeth narrated by Abdullah ibn Qart the Messenger of Allah (saws) said,
“The first act that the servant of Allah will be accountable for on the Day of Judgment will be salah. If it is good, then the rest of his acts will be good. And if it is evil, then the rest of his acts will be evil.” (Tabarani)
Furthermore, salah was the first act of worship that was made obligatory by Allah. Therefore, due to its extreme importance to the Believer, salah should be one of the first acts of worship that parents should teach their children.
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A child can be taught about Allaah in a suitable manner, according to his level of understanding. He can be told that Allaah is One and has no partner. He can be told that He is the Creator of all things, so He is the Creator of the earth, the heavens, people, animals, trees, rivers, etc. The educator can make the most of some situations by asking the child, whilst walking through a garden or in the countryside, about Who made the water, rivers and things in the natural scenery around him, to draw his attention to the greatness of the Creator. The father, mother or educators in general may be with a child or group of children in a car on a journey or a trip at the time of sunset, when the sun disappears from sight gradually. All that the educator has to do at that point is to draw the attention of those who are with him to the power of Allaah displayed in that.
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Question:
My question is in reference to the sunnah of shaving the underarms and the pubic region. At what age should we instill this practice with our children who may have reached the stage of puberty?
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1. Make an Eid plan. Let the whole family sit down and plan together.
2. In most Muslim countries Eid is a time for buying new clothing. It’s spring time anyway.
3. Eid is a time to go on farm for udhia/qurbani and talk about Prophet Ibrahim’s sacrifice. Remember to stress that it was Ismail (Ishmael) who was tested, not Ishaq (Isaac) as Bible says.
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25 Reasons Why You Should Start Your Teenagers Drinking Green Tea Now instead of Acidic Drinks!
Green tea has increasingly become a very popular drink worldwide because of its immensely powerful health benefits.
It is extraordinarily amazing what green tea can do for your health.
And if you’re not drinking 3 to 4 cups of green tea today, you’re definitely NOT doing your health a big favour.
Here Are The 25 Reasons Why Your Teenage Children Should Start Drinking Green Tea:
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Undoubtedly children are a source of great joy and delight; they make life sweet, bring more rizq into a family’s life and give hope. A father sees his children as a future source of help and support, as well as representing an increase in numbers and perpetuation of the family. A mother sees her children as a source of hope, consolation and joy in life, and as hope for the future. All of these hopes rest on the good upbringing of the children and giving them a sound preparation for life, so that they will become active and constructive elements in society, a source of goodness for their parents, community and society as a whole. Then they will be as (SWT) described them:
“Wealth and sons are allurements of the life of this world . . .” (Qur’an 18:46)
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Could you please tell me if there are any books that cover the topic of how to look after a baby. Currently we have to rely on the advice given by doctors in the West which may not be correct. It would be so nice to be able to follow the way of the Sahabat. For example, did they share their beds with their babies?, when did they give solid foods?, how did they discipline the young children? etc etc.
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Question: Allah tells us in the Qur’an not to cut off our blood relations. What is the interpretation of the Ayah that commands us not to severe ties of kinship ? Who does it refer to ? Just parents and siblings ? What if one maintains contact with one’s parents only through telephone or letters although he is capable of visiting them. Yet, he feels that maintaining a certain distance is healthier to the relationship?
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Planning your marriage is more important than planning your wedding. Unfortunately nowadays, it is the opposite. Millions of people tend to spend most, if not all of their time preparing for that perfect-glamorous wedding…and quite frankly, I’d say probably half of that million ended up in a divorce.
InshaAllah this post will be of beneficial to you and your prospective spouse. You may choose as many as you wish, out of 100 questions - what you would ask your potential spouse.
I cannot stress enough how important it is to ask these questions so you may be able to understand your prospective spouse and to find out if you are compatible with each other.
You can download and print a PDF copy here :
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A frail old man went to live with his son, daughter-in- law, and a four-year old grandson. The old man’s hands trembled, his eyesight was blurred, and his step faltered. The family ate together nightly at the dinner table. But the elderly grandfather’ s shaky hands and failing sight made eating rather difficult.. Peas rolled off his spoon onto the floor. When he grasped the glass often milk spilled on the tablecloth. The son and daughter-in- law became irritated with the mess. “We must do something about grandfather, ” said the son. I’ve had enough of his spilled milk, noisy eating, and food on the floor. Continue Reading…
The seven Arabic words we’ll be covering today occur in the Qur’an nearly 200 times combined! This is because each of these words (and their various forms) are repeated very often. The 7 verbs included in the below PDF document are:
- To Complete (occurs about 17 times in the Qur’an)
- To Not Recognise / To Deny (25)
- To Conceal / To Speak Secretly (18)
- To Produce / To Create (22)
- To Make / Cause to grow (16)
- To Befall / To Inflict (65)
- To Send Forward / To Proceed (27)
For each word, there are at least 7 examples of it being used in the Qur’an. This makes remembering the words easier inshaAllah. View or download the PDF using the below link. Continue Reading…