Ramadan 2012 Mubarak folks!

[Heba E. Husseyn]

Ramadan 2012 is scheduled to begin on July 20, InshAllah.   May Allah Almighty keep us in good health physically and emotionally to be able to complete our fasting along side our increased study of the Noble Quran.  After all, Ramadan is the month of the Quran.  We don't necessarily need to finish the Noble Quran during this month if that means rushing through it as if we are in a hurry to catch a train.  That kind of 'high-speed' Tarawi-style reading is very disrespectful toward the Noble Quran.   It's just a ritual in which neither the readers nor the listeners understand a single word, therefore it's impossible to expect them to implement the principles of the Quran in their lives.  And if the Quran is not practiced in real life, then its reading serves no purpose.  Allah wants us to read His Final Message so that we understand it and follow it.  Allah does not want us to read like a parrot as a formality.   Please remember this advise and read as much of the Quran daily during Ramadan as you comfortably can so that you follow what you read.  Subsequently, when Ramadan is over, you will get the feeling that through your dedication you have learned the contents of the Quran still better.  




   Have a blessed Ramadan .. InshAllah.

[Ruhi_Rose]

Ramadan Mubarak to you and your family as well dear sis      And that's a superb advise you gave here.    Yes, preparation for Ramadan is underway in our household.  I pray for those members of our Ummah who are suffering, who have been victims of genocides and who have lost their loved ones.   Their tears break our helpless hearts.  They are always in our prayers.

[Heba E. Husseyn]

Ramadan Mubarak to you and your family as well dear sis      .... I pray for those members of our Ummah who are suffering, who have been victims of genocides and who have lost their loved ones.   Their tears break our helpless hearts.  They are always in our prayers.

That's a very important prayer.  And yes, our helplessness makes it more unbearable.   Earnest prayer from the pit of our hearts is all we can do, but I so much hope we could do more

Thanks for your good wishes my sis.  Allah bless you.

[muslima]

May the light that we celebrate at Ramadan
show us the way & lead us together on
the path of peace

ramadan mubarak to every muslim

[Zainab_M]

Ameen and JazekAllah khair  to for all your humble and comforting prayers, dear sisters.

Sister Heba, yes, I also feel sad to think of the way they rush through the Quran during Tarawi.  I'm sure no one in the congregation understands a word of what the imam is reading because he goes so fast.  I don't know when our imams and their disciples will understand that the reading of the Noble Quran is meant to have a practical purpose (that is, to understand and follow what we read), it's not simply a ritual.  The important thing is not to finish the Quran within a specific period of time but to understand whatever we read.  It's much more purposeful in the Sight of Allah to read one page a day and to understand it well rather than read 10 pages a day like a parrot without understanding what we read.   

[Heba E. Husseyn]

Ameen, ya Rab.

Allah bless you all my sisters for your dua and appreciation of the correct reading of the Noble Quran.

[N. Truth Seeker]

Ameen.  Ramadan Mubarak to MV team and to all our members & readers.  It is the mercy of Allah that He has given us the privilege to experience this blessed month yet again in the year 1433.  May Allah Almighty grant us good health and peace of mind so that we can complete our fasting and concentrate on our worship.  Ameen. 

[Heba E. Husseyn]

Thank you for your good wishes brother PT.  May Allah shower His blessings on you and your family.  Ameen.

[muslima]

Aoa yes sisters you are right Recitation of Quran is the connection of soul ,heart and mind, understanding the meaning of verses considering every single word and showing due respect to Allah's words .sense that what is being recited is the word of Allah.The purposes of Quran described as to remove rust from our hearts, to guide us, to purify us, and to educate us.Allah's word is vital for the opening up of our hearts

(This is) a Scripture that We have revealed unto thee, full of blessing, that they may ponder its revelations, and that men of understanding may reflect 38:29

but  in ramadan muslims so focused on achieving a certain quantity of recitation in their prayers, one-thirtieth each evening, that they tempted to rush through the recitation without any reflection or understanding you are right.recitation should really be slow, contemplative and reflective. A person hearing, reading, or reciting the Quran should be engaged with the text they should have an emotional response and a rational response to its words,not just a response to the voice of the reciter and with understanding of this vers 38:29 CORRECT ME IF I AM WRONG  it not possible in Traweeh.frankly after iftar body feels so tired.mostly people feel lazy to go for traweeh in this situation people can't conect with Qura...can't concentrate thats why its not fard.

[Heba E. Husseyn]

This is exactly what I meant sister Muslima.  You are absolutely right.  Unless we don't concentrate on the meaning of the Quranic ayats we read, our reading does not serve the purpose which Allah wants us to serve.  The purpose of reading the Quran is to apply its principles in our lives.  Unless we don't understand what we read, we will not be able to apply those principles in our lives.  And yes, in Ramadan it's advisable to read the Quran either during the morning after Sahoor or later in the morning or in the afternoon.  After Iftar many people do often feel exhausted and their concentration gets weaker and distracted.  In fact, I always feel wonderful when I read the Quran after Fajr prayers.  Allah has referred in the Quran that recital of His Final Message at dawn is particularly important.  "Lo! (the recital of) the Qur'an at dawn is ever witnessed."  (17:78).

[muslima]

  sister i dont understand Neither the Taraweeh is mentioned anywhere in the Quran nor in any hadith but Still the Taraweeh prayers are performed all over the world. whithout any document ?.how can we consider sunnah ? tahajud mention in Quran but not taraweeh ?

[Ruhi_Rose]

  sister i dont understand Neither the Taraweeh is mentioned anywhere in the Quran nor in any hadith but Still the Taraweeh prayers are performed all over the world. whithout any document ?.how can we consider sunnah ? tahajud mention in Quran but not taraweeh ?

That's correct Sister Muslima.  Taravi is not mentioned in the Quran  .... and certainly not the way it is offered in the Muslim society nowadays.  No doubt Ramadan is the month of the Quran, which means we need to read the Quran more regularly in Ramadan than other months by understanding it and with reflection & contemplation.  But there is no rule in the Quran that states the reading of the Quran must be finished in Ramadan.  The Quran consists of 114 chapters and approximately over 700 pages.  If people try to finish it in just 30 days, obviously they will have to rush through it so fast that they won't  understand anything of what they read.  That's why Taravi has become a ritual, nothing more.  Lots of Muslims (men and women) have been going for Taravi on Ramadan nights for years, yet they hardly know anything about the Quran.  If you ask them any questions on the Quran, they stare back at you with a blank look on their faces.

My husband and I used to go to our neighborhood masjid for Taravi.  But since the last 5 or 6 years we have stopped going.  Instead, we read the Quran at home along with the children soon after Isha (sometimes between maghrib and Isha) when all of us have relaxed a little after Iftar.  We usually read about 4 rukus per evening, that is, approximately 4 or 5 pages with translation.  My husband reads in Arabic, then I read the translation.  We read it very slowly explaining to the children and to ourselves what every Ayat means.  This makes much more sense to us than attending the Taravi at our local masjid where the imam reads so fast that it was a waste of time for us.   Majority of the mainstream Muslims don't mind it because they are not keen on understanding the Quran anyway.  But for us who are interested in it, Taravi is useless.

Of course, Tahajjud prayer is mentioned in the Quran.  The Quran has made it quite clear that waking up in the middle of the night by sacrificing our sleep to remember Allah carries a lot of blessings.  Unfortunately, because of the hectic routine of their daily lives, very few Muslims offer Tahajjud even twice or thrice a week.  My husband and I try to offer Tahajjud at least twice a week, yet sometimes we miss it.  My parents wake up for Tahajjud almost every night, MashAllah.  However, Allah has said He has not made religion difficult for us.  Therefore, what's important is how much we try, not how much we achieve.    

[Heba E. Husseyn]

JazekAllah khair sister Ruhi.   That's an excellent way of studying the Noble Quran at home with the family during Ramadan and at all times.   We are trying to follow much the same system, on  slightly larger scale.  My family, the families of my brother, sister and brother-in-law along with the our family elders gather in my eldest brother's house soon after Iftar for collective reading of the Quran with translation.  We too read about 5 or 6 pages/evening to make sure we don't run short of time so we don't need to rush and can thus understand what we read.   Fortunately all of us live closeby so it's a very short drive, even walking distance if the weather is good.

[Ruhi_Rose]

Great idea sister Heba.  I think brother PT also said they follow the same system.   Although members of our extended family reside close to each other too, all of us are living in apartments or condos.  So, there wouldn't be enough space if four or five families with the kids gathered in one place.  All of us get-together on Leia-tul-Qadr .. sometimes at my place, and sometimes in the apartment of some other relative.  It requires making some preparations beforehand, like pushing the couches & dinner table to the corner and spreading the sheets on the carpet etc.  

[Heba E. Husseyn]

hummm ,, I absolutely understand sis.  Getting together with our extended family is not important neither necessary.  It can only be done if convenient. What's important is to read the Quran properly and your idea seems excellent. 

And yeah, brother PT once mentioned that all his cousins, uncles and aunts gather at his home for Tarawi.  They too read only few pages per evening with translation and tafsir.   That's how I got the idea and suggested to my husband and relatives