Ramadan Is:

1. The Month of Mercy so set your goals! Ramadan Is:

2. About Mercy: • It is favor from Allah which He places in the hearts of whomsoever He wills • Allah will have mercy on His servants who are merciful. • Allah orders His servants to enjoin patience and mercy

3. Many lack mercy due to their sins and disobedience. They stain their hearts so much so that they ultimately blind them until their hearts become harder than stones. Allah says of the Children of Israel: 'And yet, after all this, your hearts hardened and became like rocks, or even harder' (2:74). Some people lack mercy:

4. 'Then, for having broken their solemn pledge, We rejected them and caused their hearts to harden' (5:13). So thus sin and disobedience is the main cause of a lack of mercy Allah also says about them:

5. Allah says: 'Nay, verily, man becomes grossly overweening whenever he believes himself to be self-sufficient' (96:6-7). Another cause of a loss of mercy is arrogance with wealth, pride and riches

6. These two things lead to contempt and recklessness. Hence the month of fasting was prescribed to crush this unruliness and ill discipline. The fasting person is naturally among the most merciful people. That is because he has tasted hunger, experienced thirst and endured hardship. His soul is, therefore, enveloped with mercy, care and gentleness for Muslims. Another cause of loss of mercy is gluttony and saturation:

7. Prophet Muhammad sallallahu `alaihi wa sallam said: 'O Allah! Whoever was entrusted with authority over any affair of the Muslims and made it difficult for them, please make it difficult for him. And whoever was entrusted over any affair of the Muslims and was kind toward them, then be kind toward him.' Muslims are required to have mercy:

8. 'Whoever oversees an affair for my nation and disappeared or abandoned them without fulfilling their needs while impoverishing them, Allah will debar him from his needs and impoverish him on the Day of Judgement.' Also the prophet (sa) said:

9. 'And it was by God's grace that thou [O Prophet] didst deal gently with thy followers: for if thou hadst been harsh and hard of heart, they would indeed have broken away from thee' (3:159). Mercy demands that the scholar and teacher should be gentle toward his students and lead them to the easiest and best ways to love him and benefit from his teachings:

10. The Prophet sallallahu `alaihi wa sallam said: 'Whoever from you leads the people in prayer must make it easy because among them are the old, the sick, the young and the needy.' It was narrated that when Mu'adh once extended the prayer the Prophet sallallahu `alaihi wa sallam said to him: 'Are you a troublemaker O Mu'adh? Are you a troublemaker O Mu'adh? Are you a troublemaker O Mu'adh?' Mercy also demands that the imam should not make worship difficult for his followers or cause them harm:

11. Uthman ibn Abi al As al Thaqafi requested: 'O Messenger of Allah, make me an imam of my people.' The Prophet sallallahu `alaihi wa sallam said: 'You are their imam so lead the prayer according to the weakest of them and take a caller to prayer who would seek no payment for doing so.' Also:

12. Allah advised Moses and Aaron to employ the following methods in their call to the tyrant Pharaoh: 'But speak unto him in a mild manner, so that he might bethink himself or [at least] be filled with apprehension' (20:44). He also says: 'Call thou [all mankind] unto thy Sustainer's path with wisdom and goodly exhortation, and argue with them in the most kindly manner' (16:125). Also Mercy dictates that the one who calls to Islam must advise those whom he is inviting with tenderness:

13. The mercy of the father or mother toward her children has the greatest effect on their integrity, well-being and obedience. Self-praise and harshness only open the door to despair. The Prophet sallallahu `alaihi wa sallam said: 'Kindness was never bestowed upon something except that it beautified it, and it was never removed from that thing except that it made it ugly.' Mercy is also required from a father to his children:

14. Understand the following: • Mercy is something that comes from Allah and he only gives it to whom he chooses • Mercy lies in the heart

15. Discipline it with faith and good deeds. This in turn will fill your heart with kindness and mercy To fill your heart with mercy means you must:

16. Spend this month being merciful to others..Make being more merciful your goal Ramadan is the month of Mercy

17. The Goals of Fasting? What are

18. "O you who believe! Observing As-Sawm (fasting) is prescribed for you as it was prescribed for those before you, that you may become Al-Muttaqun (the pious)." [2:183]. Hence, fasting is a means to achieve At-Taqwa. In fact, all acts of worship and Tawhid are methods and means to achieve At-Taqwa, as Allah has said, what translated means, "O mankind! Worship your Lord (Allah), Who created you and those who were before you so that you may become Al-Muttaqun." [2:21] Achieving At-Taqwaa - fear from Allah:

19. Al-Bukhari and Muslim narrated that Abu Hurayrah related to the Prophet, that he said, what translated means, "Allah the Exalted said, 'All the deeds of the son of Adam are his, except for As-Siyam, for it is Mine and I will reward for it.'" Acquiring the rewards of Allah:

20. "It means he is happy because his hunger and thirst have ended, since he is allowed to break his fast. This happiness is natural and this is apparently the desired meaning. It was also said that his being happy is because of his breaking the fast, means that he has fulfilled his fast, and as a culmination for his practicing the acts of worship. His saying, 'And when he meets his Lord he is happy because of his fast,' means he is happy because of the rewards for fasting and its complete awards.'" The faster has two happy moments: when he breaks his fast he is happy, and when he meets his Lord he is happy because of his fast."

21. Fasting teaches one to ignore the desires of his soul and in turn trains it to obey Allah and do away with the things harmful to it Fasting purifies the soul and helps it acquire the habit of obeying Allah and His Messenger:

22. "And Allah has those whom he frees from the Fire, and this occurs every night (meaning in Ramadhan)." [At-Tirmithi] Another goal is to save oneself from the hell fire:

23. "As-Siyam and the Quran will intercede on behalf of the slave. As-Siyam says, 'O Lord! I prevented him from food and obeying his desires in the morning. Therefore, accept my Shafa`ah on his behalf.' And the Quran says, 'I prevented him from sleeping at night. Therefore, accept my Shafa`ah on his behalf,' and they will be accepted as intercessors.'" [Ahmad, Al-Hakim Another goal of fasting – the right of intercession:

24. The Prophet said, "The five prayers, and from Friday to the next Friday, and Ramadhan to the next Ramadhan, are erasers for what occurs between them, as long as major sins are avoided." [Muslim]. Also, the Messenger of Allah said, what translated means, "Whoever fasts Ramadhan with Iman and Ih.tisab, will have his previous sins forgiven." [Al-Bukhari & Muslim]. The final goal – sins forgiven:

25. QUESTIONS TO BE CONTINUED...