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Blogs for New Muslims – Islamic Education Blogs

Phases of Quran Revelation

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The Quran is Divine communication to humans and the speech of God, the Word of God, delivered to His final Messenger Muhammad. The revelation of the Quran is not a single event, rather a process. Here is a simplified version of the process by which the final scripture of God, the Quran, came about.

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Story of Jonah

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The story of Jonah is mentioned a number of times in the Quran. Jonah was sent by God as a messenger to a nation in modern-day Iraq according to Muslim historians. It was a thriving nation and city. God describes it in the Quran, “We sent him, Jonah, to a hundred thousand people or more.” 37:147 Jonah called his people to worship God alone and reject false gods, however they rejected his call and message. Jonah warned his people of God’s impending punishment and then left the city.

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The Day of Sacrifice

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The Day of Sacrifice [1]

 

The tenth day of the Month of the Pilgrimage [2], is the second Islamic holiday of the year. Muslims around the world celebrate it just as they did a few months ago after the completion of Ramadan. This year the holiday will correspond with Saturday, the 9th of July.

 

The history of the Day of Sacrifice goes back to the time of Abraham.  The annual celebration commemorates the great event when God commanded Abraham in a dream to sacrifice his son as an act of obedience. 37:102

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Timeline of the Life of Moses

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●Moses is born at a time when Pharaoh has decreed that newborn males of the Children of Israel be killed.

● Moses’ mother places him in the river when she sees the soldiers of Pharaoh approaching. When the soldiers leave and she goes to retrieve Moses, she finds that he has been taken downriver and ends up at the Palace of Pharaoh.

● He is adopted by Pharaoh and his wife, yet refuses to be suckled by any woman other than his mother, and so is returned to his mother so that she may suckle him.

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Keep Going After Ramadan

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Ramadan is a month in which we try our best to excel and do more. Inevitably, after Ramadan finishes, we feel a dip in terms of our worship levels. This is natural and nothing to be overly concerned about. A sign that our good deeds are accepted is that we maintain doing good after the season is over.  We should try to keep an element of our Ramadan worship going:

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Objectives of Fasting

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Fasting has a number of noble goals and objectives. Ramadan is a time of discipline and training, and many of the lessons and benefits learned during Ramadan should be carried forward for the next eleven months.

  • Attainment of God Consciousness and Piety – Fasting builds piety. A person fasting refrains from food, drink and intimate relations to please God. They could hide and eat and drink, but don’t, as they are aware that God is watching. God says, “O you who have faith in Allah and follow His Prophet, Allah has ordered you to fast, as He ordered those before you, so that you may become mindful of Allah, protecting yourself from His punishment by doing good actions – fasting being one of the best of these.”[2:183]
  • Glorifying God – Ramadan is a month of worship. Muslims do not just fast, but the fasting should motivate them to worship God in other ways. In particular, we glorify God for having guided us to His worship. God says concerning fasting, “…He wants you to complete the right number of days and to glorify Him upon the completion of Ramadan, on the day of Eid, as He helped you and made it possible for you to fast.” [2:185]
  • Thanking God – fasting allows us to appreciate God’s many blessings upon us. We often take things like food and water for granted, while being fully aware that there are many in the world who do not always enjoy these blessings. We could easily have been in their situation. We also thank God for His blessings of faith and guidance, and knowing the Quran and the Messenger Muhammad. God says about fasting, “…, so that you thank Allah for guiding you to this religion which He has approved for you.” [2:185]
  • Spiritual Development – Ramadan allows us to improve our spiritual side and character. Just as we train our bodies and refrain from enjoying food and drink during the fasting hours, we must also train ourselves to abstain from sins and hurting others. With an increase in faith and piety, there should come an increase in good character and higher morals. Muslims should always refrain from losing their temper or harming others, especially while fasting.

 

Months of the Hijri Calendar

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There are 12 months in the Islamic Year:

The names of these months pre-date the revelation of the Quran. They were named by the Arabs based on the seasons of the year and the conditions of their lives.

Month 1 – Muharram – the literal meaning is “sacred.” It is said the Arabs called this month sacred as they forbade fighting, war, and killing during it. Read More