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As-salam Alaikum waramotullai, wa barakatuh! The kindness of Allah cannot be overemphasised when one ponders on the blessings in the act of eating sahur during Ramadan.  For almighty Allah (SWT), it is not enough blessings that He provides us with food on our table, but He further blesses anyone who wakes up in the first rays of dawn to eat the same food for sahur. The Prophet (s.a.w) was reported by Anas to have said: “Eat something for sahur even if it is a date.  For there is in it barakah.” (Al-Bukhari and Muslim)  Isn’t it great that Allah is rewarding us for eating? The prophet taught his companions and by extension, every Muslims that they should begin their fasting by taking something. It does not necessarily have to be heavy meal. In fact, overeating negates the spirit of fasting.  It is advised to wake in the pre-dawn period to appropriately kick-start fasting by eating sahur among other things. Eat moderately even as you remember those who could not afford a meal for that pu...

By Haroon Balogun A minor headache for example with no other conditions may not in many instances constitute a situation where a person can use the flexibility of the injunction of illness to skip Ramadan fast.  Scholars agree that sickness that doesn’t cause any hardship cannot be used as an excuse for not fasting. Some of the conditions for breaking fast during Ramadan are as follows: Intense illness that will further aggravate the illness if he or she were to fast, or that recovery will be delayed because of fasting.  Illness that causes great pain in fasting or it becomes unbearable with fasting.   “The person who is unable to fast because of a sickness which he hopes will go away is not obliged to fast. This applies if he encounters obvious difficulty in fasting and is not subject to the condition that he reaches a point when he is unable to fast.  Rather our companions said: The permission not to fast is subject to the condition that fasting causes him difficulties that it is har...

By Haroon Balogun Fasting is not only about abstinence from food and drink, but also going closer to Allah by doing what you are enjoined to do and shunning those things that will vitiate your fast and render the whole exercise useless. Come to think of it, what is the need to deny yourself from the food and pleasure of life, feeling the pangs of hunger and yet with the availability of food or the means to get same, you chose to fast only to be rendered useless on account of your inadequacies borne out of ignorance or sheer neglect. Among the things that break fast other than eating and drinking are: Injections that are given to replace food and drink is not aceptable.  Other injections such as vaccinations do not break the fast, but to be on the safe side, they can be administered in the night after the dusk. Essentially, all those with terminal illness are advised to leave out fasting pending the time they can pay back. Puffers used for asthma do not break the fast, because this is j...

By Haroon Ishola Balogun There is no doubt that the two features of fasting in Ramadan are mental and practical exercise. Many think the feelings of the pangs of hunger is more like a punishment to oneself, but even medical experts have confirmed the benefits of fasting to the body. We are not going to be talking about medicine, but to explore the mercies of allah through Ramadan fasting. The mental and practical exercise of fasting are like the wings of a bird on which man flies through the heavenly space of spirituality in the month of Ramadan. This is not only our mental ability to decipher what is good and also recognise what is bad but also to deplore this mental abilities into use. Good enough, the Holy Quran which was also revealed in the month of Ramadan is a guide to mankind. This means that in the month of Ramadan, one should get to know the Holy Quran better and, through the clearance of guidance, take a broader view of what is right and wrong. The Holy Quran says: "O y...

As-salam Alaikum waramotullai, wa barakatuh Tarawih prayers are prayed in pairs of two and can be prayed in at least 10 rak’ah.  While some schools say the prayers should be 20, some say 8 while some put it at 36.  Without concerning ourselves with the details of these schools, suffice to say that Tarawih is a supererogatory prayer that is offered after Salat Isha’a during Ramadan. Every activity in the month of Ramadan should be for seeking the blessings of Allah.  Succintly put, the Tarawih is considered part of Ramadan. In the early days of Islam in Mecca, the companions of the Prophet and his successors used to make prolonged rak’ah during Ramadan. So long that hey would take a rest after offering every four Rak'ah. The Rak’ah were done with the recitation of long surahs and after every four, they take a rest.  This is how it came to be named Tarawih which means 'Rest prayer'.  Again, the point of rest was also called Tarweehah. Like in all other supererogatory prayers,...

Glory be unto Allah, the Lord of the worlds. We thank Him for His grace and mercy having to witness another Ramadan. Whosoever Allah guides cannot be misled and whoseoever Allah misleads cannot be guided.  I bear witness that there is no god except Allah with no associate and Muhammad is His prophet. May the peace and blessings continue to abide with Prophet Muhammad (s.a.w). Allah has assigned to us the season of goodness in which the rewards for good deeds are not only in multiple folds but also the bad deeds are blooted out.  In it, there are opportunities for repentance and forgiveness.  Whoever uses the time to purify himself will be spiritually cleansed; he will attain success in this world and hereafter. That is one of the blessings of Allah in the month of Ramadan. Ramadan is a pillar of Islam in which the Glorious Qur’an was revealed.  In the month, we have a night that is better than a thousand months. It means fasting in Ramadan is equvalent to fasting in 10 months. This is ...