Bismillah (in the name of Allah), we welcome this morning the opening of the first day of Ramadan of 2014, hirji year 1435 (on the uncorrected calendar). As salamu alaykum (may peace be upon you). Praise Allah, brothers and sisters. This is the holy month for Muslims who invite all believers of all faiths to take part in this soul-cleansing ritual of the daily fasts, abstention, and purification. We do not just fast during Ramadan (no food or liquids between sunup and sundown, during the hours of darkness, you may consume halal (permitted) foods and drink as you wish) but we also abstain (no physical relations - not even a hug or kiss - with spouse between sunup and sundown) and we seek to purify. During this month, we strive to make extra special effort to correct ourselves of whatever impurities are most pressing upon us. Some have large sins to make effort to give up, some have small, but do not believe that Allah is not mindful of your efforts if the sin is small. Sin is sin and Allah the Magnificent and Merciful directs you to repent of the small sins too. There is no need to discuss with others what large or small sins you make more concerted effort this month to rid yourself of, this is between you, Holy Spirit, and Allah. If your sins have affect upon your family, friends, or other associates, they will notice the difference in you without discussion - no need to talk about it, as the Ad people have told us, just do it. Focus your mental energy on doing it rather than talking about it. Muslims also make extra special effort this month to not conflict with one another and to reconcile arguments that have occurred to bring people back together in harmony. Sometimes the reconciliation is simply both sides granting that the other has a right to hold a different view and to live in peace with each other in this diversity. Other times, it is an admission by one or both sides of where they were wrong and need to correct themselves. Some of you will have difficulty today and the remainder of this first Ramadan and during the second Ramadan to come this year, of getting through the fasts. Many of you will not make the fasts, some of you will not even attempt them, knowing in honesty with yourself that you are not strong enough in this to succeed. Allah tells us through the Quran that we may make up for skipped fasts by fasting later but also by feeding others who are poor and hungry. As you read through or listen to Quran this month, you will find the specific instructions on this and many other matters. During this month, Muslims strive to read the Quran in full from cover to cover at least one complete reading. Many printed Qurans are marked into 30 nearly equal divisions to help Muslims set a pace of daily reading. This equal division also gives time each day after each reading to contemplate at least some of what was read. If you are fortunate enough to have the time each day and the opportunity, you can also discuss the readings with other Muslims online, in your home or neighborhood, or at the masjid (mosque). If you do not own a copy of the Quran or if you would prefer a more interactive experience with it, I have found two online Quran audio sites this morning to refer you to. There are several other Quran audio recitation sites online. I warn you of all of them that I have no knowledge of who has put them online or whether the audio contains subliminal sound tracks saying un-Islamic things to you that you cannot perceive by your ears but that is heard and taken into your subconscious. If you experience weird thoughts or behavior after listening to Quran on any of these sites, you should switch to a different site. I also do not encourage download to tablets and phones of any apps that require unnecessary or intrusive permissions (with exceptions only for major sites I need to access regularly like Google and Facebook, I only download apps that require no permissions are only basic network access for downloading content). For this cause, I do not have a Quran app on my Android device as I have not yet found one that does not require the intrusive permissions that will allow someone else from a remote location to take over control of my device. On this site, even if you cannot read the Arabic, you can listen to the beautiful singing (many Arabs do not recognize Quran recitation as song but in the west we can easily recognize it) and then also hear and read the English translation. quranful/
Posted on: Sat, 28 Jun 2014 12:50:07 +0000
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