The Challenge

بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم

{And if you are in doubt concerning that which We have sent down [the Qur'an] to Our Slave [Muhammad all Allahu 'alayhi wa sallam], then produce a chapter of the like thereof and call your witnesses besides Allah if you are truthful.}

Suratul Baqarah:23

SURATUL FAJR WITH THE KIDS

بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم

My latest method for working on hifdh with the kids is getting them to use Quran Explorer. They love using the computer and so this works quite well ma sha Allah. We select the verses that they need to learn, set the repetition to 10 (5 if it's revision), they choose their own highlighter colour and take it in turns to work on their surah. They do the whole selection a minimum of two times. The more repetition they can get in the better.

The other day, one of them was working on Suratul Fajr and got excited at the last few verses. we talked about it and I was reminded of how much I loved these same aayaat especially when I first learnt the surah.

{"Oh tranquil soul! Come back to your Lord, well-pleased and well-pleasing! Enter then among my servants. And enter My Paradise!"}

Suratul Fajr:27-30

TAJWEED SKYPE CLASSES

بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم

The Tajweed classes on skype for sisters will be starting up again on Saturday in sha Allah. Please email me with you're skype ID, the country you live in and a very brief description of your reading level, if you are interested in participating. The classes are free and the timings are (you can chose between morning and evening classes):



1. MORNING CLASSES:



SATURDAY & SUNDAY



8 - 9.30 am OR 9.30 - 11 am



2. EVENING CLASSES:



SUNDAY & TUESDAY



5 - 6.30 pm OR 6.30 - 8 pm



*All times are KSA (Kingdom of Saudi Arabia) times which are GMT +3

SOMETHING TO PONDER OVER

بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم

{So whatever you have been given is but (a passing) enjoyment for this wordly life, but that which is with Allah is better and more lasting for those who believe and put their trust in their Lord. And those who shun the greater sins and al fawaahish (immoral deeds), and when they are angry, they forgive...}

(Suratush-Shurah:36-37)

INVOKE ALLAH

بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم

Ramadan Mubarak! The Month of Mercy is here, the Month of the Qur'an is here! Let's use this time to read more of the Book of Allah, to reflect upon its verses, to memorise it and to act upon it.

In line with reflecting and pondering over the verses of the Qur'an (tadabbur) I would like to share with you one of my favourite aayaat from the Book of Allah. We might all be familiar with or have come across the verses in suratul Baqarah about fasting (verses 183 to 185). Immediately after this Allah subhaanahu wa ta'aala says:

And when My servants ask you (O Muhammad, then answer them) I am indeed near. I respond to the invocations of the supplicant when he calls on Me (without any mediator or intecessor). So let them obey Me and believe in Me, so that they may be led aright.

(Suratul Baqarah: 186)

Just the section "Fa innee qareeb" (I am indeed near) is enough to make me feel the Magnificence of the Almighty and His Mercy. What more do we need? In times of difficulty and distress when no person can help or in times of loneliness when no one can comfort all we need is to invoke Allah. When we really need something, He is the One to turn to. And He has told us that He will respond. Why then, won't we worship and obey Him the way that He deserves to be?

The Prophet sall Allahu 'alayhi wa sallam said, "No Muslim supplicates to Allah with a du'aa that does not involve sin or cutting the relations of the womb, but Allah will grant him one of three things. He will either hasten the response to his supplication, save it for him until the Hereafter, or would turn an equivalent amount of evil away from him." They (the companions) said, "What if we were to recite more (du'aa)." He said, "There is more with Allah." (Related by Ahmad 3:18)

And while we are fasting let us also remember this:

Allah's Messenger sall Allahu 'alayhi wa sallam said, "Three persons will not have their supplication rejected: the just ruler, the fasting person until breaking the fast and the supplication of the oppressed person, for Allah raises it above the clouds on the Day of Resurrection and the doors of Heaven will be opened for it, and Allah says, 'By My Grace! I will certainly grant it for you even if after a while.'" (Related by Ahmad 3:544)

A GIFT

بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم

An ordinary keyring?

No, it has makhaarij diagrams for all the letters (and sounds) of the Arabic alphabet!

QUR'AN BOOST

بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم

Yesterday, I listened to someone read Qur'an on Skype. She read Suratul Hashr (in juz' 28). She read from memory. I told her about one tajweed rule and she applied it almost immediately. She gave me a "Qur'an boost". She was only 7 years old! Ma shaa Allaah tabaarak Allaah!