And Allah the Majestic says: "And fast, it is better for you, if only you knew." [Baqarah (2):184] Abu Hurairah (ra) said that the Prophet (Salallahu Alaihi Wasallam) said "Allah said that all the actions of the son of Adam are for him except for fasting, for it is for Me and I will recompense it. Fasting is a shield, and when it is the day when one of you fasts, then let him not speak indecently or argue, and if anyone abuses or seeks to fight him then let him say, 'I am fasting.' By Him in Whose Hand is the soul of Muhammad, the smell coming from the mouth of the fasting person is better with Allah than the smell of musk. For the fasting person there are two times of joy: when he breaks his fast he is happy and when he meets his Lord he is happy due to his fasting." [al-Bukhaaree] He (Salallahu Alaihi Wasallam) said: "He who fasts Ramadhan, due to Eemaan and hoping for reward (from Allah) then his previous sins are forgiven." [Bukhaaree and Muslim] Jibreel (as) supplicated saying to the effect "May his nose be rubbed in the dust (meaning, may he be humiliated) who passes through the month of Ramadaan and does not attain Allah's forgiveness", to which the Prophet (Salallahu Alaihi Wasallam) replied: Aameen. "Whoever does not abandon falsehood in word and action then Allah the Mighty and Majestic has no need that he should leave his food and drink." [al-Bukhaaree] He (Salallahu Alaihi Wasallam) said : "There are three whose supplications are not rejected : the fasting person when he breaks his fast, the just ruler and the supplication of the oppressed." [at-Tirmidhee] each sawab/hasana/good deed is 70 times (heard it this morning at the fajr dars) . i'm sure you were already planning to read and finish the quran in this month. there's a big possibility, according to the above, that you'll get the ajr/reward of reading it SEVENTY TIMES! holds a night that's equal to 1000 months of worship. in the times before us, people used to live for 100s, even 1000s of years. they were given the chance of worshipping Allah for sooo long, but in our case, the average age of a typical muslim lies only between 60-70 yrs. Allah's balanced out the equation for us by giving us this Laylat al Qadr. don't miss it, rather keep your eyes open for it!!! if there were 2 people fighting for the sake of Allah, and one of them survives but the other gets blessed with martyrdom, well the prior has a chance of a higher place in jannah as he was lucky to make the next ramadan. that's how important Ramadan is! one last thing from me. just give yourself a moment and think of all the sins you must've done in the past year only. remember them and their details. remember that Allah knows about them. but also know that He is sooooo Kind, soooo Great that He told us he'll forgive ALL of our sins if we fast this month properly, with fear of Him. and no, that doesn't just mean food wise, but i think more importantly for most of us it means a) the TONGUE (especially), b) the EYES as well as c) the HEART. so take control of these to get your deal of more than a life time (literally). some people apparently are 'thankful' to their lord... but when it comes to showing their thanks, it turns out they were only giving lip service. tell you what, i won't go on but paste a summary of the khutba by Prophet Muhammad - peace be upon him and his household- on the Holy Month of Ramdhaan, to wrap up: " Oh people! The Month Of Allah The High has come with blessings, mercy and forgiveness. To Allah, this month is the best month. Its days are the best days. Its nights the best of all nights. Its hours the best of all hours. And this is the month which you have been invited to be the guests of Allah and you have become the graced ones by Allah. Your souls in it[month of Ramadhan] are glorification [of Allah]. Your sleep in it, is worship. Your deeds in it, are accepted. Your prayers in it, are answered. So ask your Lord with truthful intentions and pure hearts that He would grant you success in fasting and reading His book. For that the unfortunate is the one who forbids Allah's forgiveness in this great month. With your hunger and thirst remember the hunger and thirst of the Day of Judgment. Give to your poor and needy. Respect the elder. Have mercy on the younger. Be nice and keep in touch with your relatives. Protect your tongues. Cast down from what is not Halal for your sights to see and what is not halal for your ears to hear. Be compassionate and caring for the orphans of other people, so that your orphans would be taken care of and receive compassion. Repent from your sins. Raise your hands towards Him in dua during the hours of prayers, those hours are the best hours and Allah-azza wa jall- looks at His servants with mercy; answers them if they ask for help; answers their call if they call upon Him; answers their dua if they ask Him. Oh people! Your souls are hostages by your deeds. So let yourselves free by asking Allah's forgiveness. Your backs are heavy with loads, so make it light by prolonging your sajdas. And know that Allah-jalla zikruh- has vowed to His Dignity that He would not punish those who pray and those who make Sajda. And He would not worry them with Fire on the day which people rise to the Lord of the Universe. Oh people! Whoever feeds a fasting believer during this month, to Allah, it is as if he has freed a slave. And his past sins are forgiven. Then he, peace be upon him and his family, continued: ".....whoever does one 'fareedha'(a religious deed) during this month it is as if he has accomplished doing 70 good deeds in other months. Whoever increases sending blessings on me, Allah will make his rewards heavy on the day which people's rewards are light. Whoever recites one aya of Qur'an, will receive the reward of finishing the whole Qur'an in other months. Oh people! The doors of Heaven in this month is open, so ask your lord not to close it on you. The doors of Hell are closed, so ask your Lord not to open it for you. The devils are in chains, so ask your Lord that they do not rule you." ************************************************ www.mauriweb.com/Ayesha