By: Om Mohammed

 Listening to Saudi Arabia’s official broadcasting of the Quran radio station, I recently heard a scholar speaking about the topic of piety, and how one is to attain piety.

As Allah has mentioned in the Quran, He has so wisely prescribed upon us fasting (for the month of Ramadan) in order that we may attain piety. (Qur’an 2:183). It is interesting to note that the reason mentioned for the fast is that of attaining piety…not that of losing weight or that of hardship from the fast or that of cleansing out of our inner gastric system, but rather that of attaining piety.

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Question 104: Since Islam is the religion of equality, why it gives man double what it gives to woman in matters of inheritance?

By: Om Mohammed

Ahmed, a recent high school graduate and new prospect in the Saudi Arabian overseas scholarship program, was on his first trip to the US in pursuit of his college education. As time and experience reveals, this scholarship proves to be an education in life as well as simple schooling.

He had only arrived in the states 3 months prior, and now it was Christmas break – a break of only two weeks – not enough time to spend on the tickets for a trip back home. Going home from his friends’ house one night, he stopped to fill up for gas at the neighborhood gas station. As he stopped, however, he noticed something a bit out of the ordinary. A portion of the gas station’s adjacent store was not only obviously closed (due to the fact that there were no lights on inside), but it was also bound down with chain and pad lock. Not the whole store, mind you, but the corner portion that housed within it the liquor section.

By: Sheikh Mohammad Bin Saleh Al-Othaimeen

Fasting:

Fasting is a form of worship by abstaining from things which nullify it, from dawn till sunset.

Fasting of the Month of Ramadhan:

Fasting of the Month of Ramadhan is one of the five pillars of Islam, as indicated by the saying of the Prophet “Islam stands on five (pillars): To witness that there is no God but Allah and Muhammad is His Prophet; to perform Prayers; To pay Zakat; To fast the month of Ramadhan and To perform pilgrimage to Makkah”.

By: Om Mohammed

It says in the Quran: “O you who believe! The fasting is prescribed for you as it was prescribed for those before you, that you may attain piety.” (Qur’an 2:183)

To try to fully describe the Arabic word (taqwa, or tattaqun), let us say that it is piety, the knowledge and fear of Allah and His punishment, sincerity towards serving and worshiping Him, and all that each of the above explanations entails (i.e. abstaining from that which may cause His anger, and doing or attending to that which pleases Him).

By: Om Mohammed

So often we say something, either a word itself or the way we combine words together, meaning or intending one thing, but its actual meaning or true meaning can perhaps be something else altogether. For instance, a recent email making the rounds on the net these days (in Arabic) is a warning to (messenger) chat users to beware of the frequently used code word ‘burp’. The meaning of this code word is ‘just a minute’, or ‘excuse me’, or the likes. The Arabic presentation of this code word is, of course, the Arabic lettering baa, raa, and then baa. The same spelling of the word ‘bi-rabb’ which is found in the Quran, meaning ‘by the Lord’, or in other words, a reference to Allah Almighty. The email warning is a reminder for Muslims to beware of seemingly innocent words or code-representations of words which may be somehow insulting or derogatory to Allah or Islam. The messenger code may not have been instilled initially as an insult to Islam or Muslims, but it is still important for us to take note of what we say (and write) at all times, to make sure that there is nothing derogatory there towards Allah or Islam.

Frequently Asked Questions

Question 103: Why is not lawful for girls in some Muslim countries to choose any man she wants to marry?

Question 102: Is it lawful for a woman to divorce her husband if he is infertile, ill or having a chronic disease? And is it lawful for a man to divorce his wife if she is barren or has a chronic disease?