ramadhan

well, i'm going home tomorrow to be with my family for the month of Ramadhan. i'm so excited. =)

"Ramadhan is a very important part of every Muslim’s life. Ramadhan is the month of giving and mercy, and during this month Allah blesses the believers with forgiveness and great reward.

This is a time to stop and contemplate, to look inwards and out, it is a time to set our goals. We should ask ourselves what we want to achieve this month, - something we will carry into our futures.

Achievement is accomplished by change. ‘How’ and ‘what’ we change are as important to consider as ‘when’ we change. Ramadhan gives us a huge opportunity to improve ourselves and gain rewards for our actions.

Just consider how precious time is. Our time when used well can gain us much reward, but when wasted we lose something of unimaginable value.

Therefore, whoever is merciful and giving in Ramadhan, Allah will be even more Merciful and Giving towards them and will bestow upon them countless bounties and blessings.
All praises to Allah (SWT), Lord of the worlds. As revealed in the Glorious Qur’an, "Oh you who believe, fasting is prescribed for you as it was prescribed for those who came before you that you may keep your duty to your Lord" 2:185.

There are many actions we can take during the month of Ramadhan which will benefit us immensely. One of these would be to take Sahoor (the pre-dawn meal) as there is great benefit in it. The greatest blessing of Sahoor may be that Allah engulfs those who partake in it with His Forgiveness, showers His Mercy on them, while His angels ask of Him to forgive and pardon them.

Reciting the Quran has much benefit as it was in this blessed month that the Qur’an was revealed to prophet Muhammed (peace be upon him).
"Verily! We have sent you (O Muhammad) with the Truth, a bearer of glad tidings and a warner; and there is not a nation but a warner has passed among them," The Holy Quran (35:24).

"Surely this Qur’an' guides to the way that is straightest and gives good tidings to the believers who do deeds of righteousness, that theirs shall be a great reward.” The Holy Quran (17 : 11).
The importance of the Qur’an cannot be presented in a few words. It is not just another book on the shelf, but it is the words of Allah, speaking to every one of us. It is direct contact with Allah Himself. This is what we should keep in mind when we read the Qur'an or think about it.

The Giving of charity also carries much blessing and the rewards, giving during the holy month will increase your reward immensely. Zakah does not only purify the property of the contributor but also purifies his heart from selfishness and greed..." more on source below

source: http://www.ramadhanzone.com/welcoming_ramadhan.asp

juz a little update

hi! hi! hi! *grins* well, well, well...just finished our paper defense in Philo. well, they may think me maldita *lafs* which is half-bothering me because for one, a good number already knows that i am maldita and two...heck! i'm not that bad kaya. *hrmf*lafs* so, peace. it was just a defense but what i said was true and the anger, confusion, wobbling of knees were REAL!!! shux. *bleh* you see, you see...this is what you get when you are loaded with exams, reports and papers...blogging?! this one's more fun than studying, anyway. it's like talking to yourself but having people all over the world get a piece of your daily life. *bleh* not that i like announcing...it's just a bit comforting, blogging away...but nothing personal really--the kind which i would rather keep to myself and myself alone. so... *bleh* i miss this one too. *grr* those school stuff!!! *lafs* okay. i'm sort of a jumble right now. everytime i get to my dorm room...aah! help! i wanna vacation! but i just can't have one. no, not right now. still have to get over this and i can have that super big real grin on my face...weeh! can't wait. and oh...speaking of can't wait. i can't wait for Ramadhan. *smiles* weeh. i'm so excited. it's such a nice feeling to be closer...hmm...ain't it? ... *smiles* okay, believe it or not...this is me. farhanna mapandi. yepyep. the girl who grew up in a christian community, who does not know the maranao dialect that well, who hides herself from relatives, who was never exposed to islam, who ran away crying when an Ustadz scolded her for wearing that elephant sleeveless top to Madrasah...whew. this is me. and i'm trying to be better. weeh! there's a lot more story behind all these and well...hmm...i can't share all of it detail by detail but i'm trying my best to tell you how wonderful all of these make me feel. really!!! even papa called when i forwarded a very Islamic message to him and sheesh...i'm so happy when i heard that "i'm-proud-of-you" tone. weeeh! i'm finally good. *lafs* anyway, got to go. 'til next time! *smiles*

the religion of Islam

The first thing that one should know and clearly understand about Islam is what the word "Islam" itself means. The religion of Islam is not named after a person as in the case of Christianity which was named after Jesus Christ, Buddhism after Gotama Buddha, Confucianism after Confucius, and Marxism after Karl Marx. Nor was it named after a tribe like Judaism after the tribe of Judah and Hinduism after the Hindus. Islam is the true religion of "Allah" and as such, its name represents the central principle of Allah's "God's" religion; the total submission to the will of Allah "God". The Arabic word "Islam" means the submission or surrender of one's will to the only true god worthy of worship "Allah" and anyone who does so is termed a "Muslim", The word also implies "peace" which is the natural consequence of total submission to the will of Allah. Hence, it was not a new religion brought by Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) I in Arabia in the seventh century, but only the true religion of Allah re-expressed in its final form.
Islam is the religion which was given to Adam, the first man and the first prophet of Allah, and it was the religion of all the prophets sent by Allah to mankind. The name of God's religion lslam was not decided upon by later generations of man. It was chosen by Allah Himself and clearly mentioned in His final revelation to man. In the final book of divine revelation, the Qur'aan, Allah states the following:
"This day have I perfected your religion for you, completed My favour upon you, and have chosen for you Islam as your religion". (Soorah Al-Maa'idah 5:3)
"If anyone desires a religion other than Islam (submission to Allah (God) never will It be accepted of Him" (Soorah Aal'imraan 3:85)
"Abraham was not a Jew nor Christian; but an upright Muslim." (Soorah Aal'imraan 3:67)
Nowhere in the Bible will you find Allah saying to Prophet Moses' people or their descendants that their religion is Judaism, nor to the followers of Christ that their religion is Christianity. In fact, Christ was not even his name, nor was it Jesus! The name "Christ" comes from the Greek word Christos which means the annointed. That is, Christ is a Greek translation of the Hebrew title "Messiah". The name "Jesus" on the other hand, is a latinized version of the Hebrew name Esau.
For simplicity's sake, I will however continue to refer to Prophet Esau (PBUH) as Jesus. As for his religion, it was what he called his followers to. Like the prophets before him, he called the people to surrender their will to the will of Allah; (which is Islam) and he warned them to stay away from the false gods of human imagination.
According to the New Testament, he taught his followers to pray as follows: "Yours will be done on earth as it is in Heaven".

*source: http://www.islamworld.net/true.html