Preface of Al-Mizan by the Author. In this preface we shall describe the method adopted in this book to find out the meanings of the verses of the Qur'an. at-Tafsir ...
3. Etiquette and Deeds of the Holy Month of Ramadhan
It has been narrated from the Commander of the Faithful Imam 'Ali [a][8] that: "Don't say Ramadhan because, you don't know what Ramadhan is. Whoever says so must pay charity and must offer an atonement fast, instead of saying Ramadhan, say the way Allah has called it the Month of Ramadhan."
A bookmark with the stopping signs necessary for the recitation of Qur’an on one side and information about the 4 wajib sajadat and 10 mustahab sajadat on the Qur’an.
It has been narrated from the Commander of the Faithful Imam 'Ali [a]1 that:
“Don't say Ramadhan because, you don't know what Ramadhan is. Whoever says so must pay charity and must offer an atonement fast, instead of saying Ramadhan, say the way Allah has called it the Month of Ramadhan.”
The most important duty of a devoted wayfarer in this great month is to understand the right of this Holy Month in which Allah (the Glorious, the Exalted), has invited the wayfarers of His path for a feast. Also he must understand the correct meanings of fasting and its relevance with Allah's invitation. Having discovered this reality he must endeavour that all his actions and deeds are accompanied with required devotion and sincerity in order to earn the pleasure of his host Allah (the Glorious, the Exalted).
In astronomy, new moon is the phase of the Moon when it lies closest to the Sun in the sky as seen from the Earth. More precisely, it is the instant when the Moon ...
A prayer (dua) on sighting the new moon of the Month of Ramadan The new moon of Month of Ramadan is special to Muslims. It announces the start of the Holy Month and the beginning of the blessings and mercy associated with Month of Ramadan. According to the Holy Prophet Muhammad (as), whoever sees the new moon of Month of Ramadan should recite the following prayer/dua: In the name of Allah the Beneficent the Merciful. My Lord and your Lord is Allah, Lord of the worlds. O’ Allah let the new moon bring us, peace and faith, safety and submission, and a hastening towards what You like and are pleased with. O’ Allah bless us in this month of ours, and give us of its good, and its assistance.
Keep us away from its harm, and its evil, its difficulties, and its trials.
It is recommended to say the following invocation everyday in the Holy month of Ramadan and also at any time of the year. It consists of ten parts each part comprises ten phrases of glorification of Almighty Allah (swt).
On p. 232, Vol. 7, of Wasail al-Shi’a, and also on p. 69, Vol. 4 (old edition), of Al-Kafi, Imam Abu Ja’far al-Baqir (as) is quoted saying, "Do not say ‘this is Ramadhan,' or ‘Ramadhan has gone,' or ‘Ramadhan has approached,' for Ramadhan is one of the Names of Allah, the most Exalted, the most Great, and He neither comes nor goes; things that die come and go. Instead, you should say ‘the month of Ramadhan, for [in this case] the month will simply be identified, whereas the Name belongs to Allah, Exalted is His mention, whereas the month wherein the Qur'an was revealed is made by Allah a month for hopeful anticipation as well as of stern warnings."
Al-Majlisi quotes the same in his Bihar al-Anwar, citing Ibn Babawayh al-Qummi's Thawab al-A’mal wa ‘Iqab al-A’mal. Imam al-Baqir (as) here is simply repeating what the Messenger of Allah (S) had said as quoted by Imam Ali ibn Abu Talib, peace be upon him, thus: "Do not say ‘Ramadhan,' for you do not know what Ramadhan really is; instead, you should say just as the Almighty Allah has said in His Glorious Book ‘the month of Ramadhan,' and whoever says ‘Ramadhan' [only], let him both pay sadaqa (alms) and kaffara (atonement) so that his sin may be forgiven."1
“O People! Indeed, ahead of you is the blessed month of God. A month of blessing, mercy and forgiveness. A month, which is the best of months, with God. Its days; the best of days, its nights; the best of nights, and its hours; the best of hours… Read More
To all believers, may you be protected by God Almighty,
Periodically we receive two of the same questions regarding the timings of prayer: one regarding how to establish the time of Imsak(abstaining from food) and the Fajr (morning) prayer, and the other regarding which of the many apps available for smartphones is the most accurate and dependable. The differences among the times given by these apps have caused disagreements among believers, particularly at critical times such as congregation prayers or Iftar in the holy month of Ramadan, amongst other examples.
We first would like to inform the believers that the offices and representatives of the Supreme Religious Authority usually use the time table provided by the “Leva Research Institute”, which is available on many smartphone apps. However, it should be noted, that establishing the correct times of prayers way is the responsibility of the individuals themselves, as they should attain the “knowledge” or, at the very least, the “certainty” that the time for prayer has come, before they start their prayers.
That being said, because of the disagreement among experts and the various calculations, the supreme religious authority, Grand Ayatullah Sayyid Ali al-Sistani, may God prolong his life, says the following regarding the time of the Fajr prayer:
As an obligatory precaution, a person who is not certainthat the time indicated on the table is correct must postpone the Fajrprayer by 10-15 minutes after that time.
As a recommended precaution, a person who is certain that the time indicated on the table is correct should postpone the Fajrprayer by 10-15 minutes after that time.
In addition, the time of Imsak is the same as the time of the Fajr prayer. There is no difference between the two times. However, in order to ensure the validity and correctness of their fasting, believers should refrain from eating and drinking for a short period of time before the time of the Fajr prayer and busy themselves with reciting the Qur’an or supplications until they are certain that the time of the Fajr prayer has come.
We ask God, the Glorified, to accept your worship and submission. May you have a blissful month of Ramadan.
1st Shawwal , 1442 Thursday 13th May, 21 / Friday 14th May, 21
In Sha Allah
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Statement of Fact on Moonsighting in San Diego April 21, 2021
Salaam Alaikum,
We feel obliged to issue this statement of fact in response to the many messages and phone calls asking for clarification on the declaration of first of Ramadan on Tuesday April 13th, based on confirmed sighting by trusted momineen in San Diego on night of Monday April 12th.
1. Clear Consistent Testimony At 7:55 pm PST on April 12th we ascertained the sighting based on two momineen sighting the moon at 7:50 pm at Mount Laguna near San Diego, CA. There were four adults in that group, two sighted the crescent with their naked eye (Brothers Ali Nazeer and Zohair Mamdani); one with binoculars (Brother Kazim Mamdani) and one could not see it (Brother Mehdi Nawaz).
This was sufficient to attain itminaan and as is our practice, the announcement was duly made to the community.
2. Second Report of Sighting Later we also received confirmation through Brother Shaheed Basravi who, regularly, every month, tries to sight the moon, that he had spoken to credible people who confirmed the sighting by 3 people at Mount Wilson in Los Angeles, CA.
3. No Room for invoking the rule of conflicting testimonies We wish to reiterate that from a jurisprudential perspective it was sufficient to attain itminaan based on the testimony of two sane adults (Aadil) individuals as well as the consistency of the reporting as per #1 above. Consequently, there is NO ROOM for any doubts or invoking the jurisprudential rule of conflicting testimonies as has been intimated by some quarters. The four individuals who were at the same location at Mount Laguna on Monday, April 12th were consistent in their testimonies. We have full confidence on their probity and integrity. They are long known to us as those who are experienced on moon sighting as they regularly do so.
4. Itmamul Hujjah While all announcements by SMC are primarily for the benefit of its constituencies in California, we feel duty bound in the spirit of itmamul hujjah, to share this with other centers in Southern part of USA who share the horizon as per the rulings of some Mujtahedin, to help them make their own determination.
We must all strive to maintain the unity of the Community to help momineen enjoy a peaceful and spiritual beginning and ending of this blessed month. May Allah give us tawfeeq to perform our ibaada and amaal on the correct days.
Jazakum Allahu Khayran, Shia Muslim Council of Southern California
We hope this email finds you and your family in the best of health. We are now on day 18 of this blessed month of Ramadan. We hope that you have been enjoying our online programmes so far this month .
From tonight we will be starting our Amaal programmes for the Nights of Qadr.
Our programmes start at 9:45pm on the nights of the 19th, 21st, 23rd and 27th Nights of Qadr
