AIBI One

27/11/2023

27/11/2023

We are one.

22/04/2021

The Muslim Hands team went to visit Raziya in Islamabad, Pakistan. Her home wasn’t like the other homes – the team didn’t know where to move – not out of courtesy, but simply because there was no room for them to move. Cramped into the small room were two straw beds, each with an elderly lady sleeping on them, and beside one of the beds were two cows a little wooden stove.

Having lost her husband at a very young age, Raziya lives with her blind grandmother and elderly mother, for whom she provides. Asking how she earned her income, Raziya looked down and told us how she used to look through garbage to find plastic to sell, but ever since she received a cow from Muslim Hands she has been able to sell fresh milk every morning to local families and to the nearby market from which she buys food. She was also looking to have a mud roof built with some of the money she said, with a beaming smile.

One of the elderly ladies, waking up, summoned one of our team members to sit on the bed with her. Our team asked her, ‘So what’s the best thing about the cow?’ She sat up and immediately shouted with excitement ‘doood’ – milk! Elated at her joy, our team member hugged her. Her daughter explained that it’s not the money they receive from selling the milk that brings them joy. It’s the fact that after 35 years, her mother and grandmother have finally been able to have tea again – with milk! A novelty they thought they’d never experience again.

As we kissed the ladies goodbye, Raziya’s elderly grandmother hugged us tightly and said, ‘Thank you for the cow. I don’t know who gave us this cow but I pray for them every day’.

That night as we travelled back to Islamabad it thundered and rained heavily. The car was eerily silent as we pondered each to ourselves how would Raziya and her elderly mothers get through the night with no roof to keep out the rain.

21/04/2021

Allah says in the holy Quran, “O children of Adam… Eat and drink, but be not excessive. Indeed, He doesn’t like those who commit excess.” – 7:31

One of the etiquettes of a fasting person is to be moderate in his eating and drinking during the nights of the fast.

Pre-iftar, we can be the most pious we’ve ever been. However, many of us are guilty of turning iftar time in Ramadan into an annual season for exuberant table spreads filled with copious amounts of exotic foods. We can go out of bounds, exhibiting every possible manner of excess. The result of this behaviour is that a lot of money gets wasted, and a lot of people fall ill on account of overeating. Even worse, people find themselves too sluggish and tired after gorging themselves to engage in worship.

If one was to save the money they spend on extravagant food and conduct themselves appropriately, they could spend the extra money in charity, as they are supposed to do in Ramadan. They could feed the poor, the needy, and the orphan. They could give those who find themselves in restricted means a chance to break their fasts on something nice as well.

20/04/2021

There is no reward for delaying breaking the fast, rather it is better to hasten to it as soon as the sun has set, as this brings a more complete reward.

Sahl ibn Sa’d narrates that the Messenger of Allah (saw) said, “The people will continue to do well so long as they hasten to break the fast” (Bukhari).

This hadith urges us to break the fast as soon as it is established that the sun has set. What this means is that the ummah will continue to be in a sound state, and they will be fine so long as they continue to adhere to this sunnah. If they delay it, that will be a sign that corruption has arisen among them.

Aisha (ra) was asked about a man among the companions of Muhammad (saw) – ’Abd-Allaah ibn Mas’ood – who hastened to pray Maghrib and break the fast. She said, “This is what the Messenger of Allaah (saw) used to do” (Muslim).

19/04/2021

Characteristics like that described by Hamza Yusuf, are often characteristics of those destined for the hellfire. Fasting, however, cleanses one’s heart and soul of ego, pride and envy, and it subdues the desires and reduces their severity. It is an act of worship to fast, and because of this, fasting comes between a fasting person and the hellfire. Therefore, we encourage you to use the month of Ramadan to cleanse your heart and return it back to Allah (swt).

In regards to greed, the Prophet (saw) encouraged people to give to charity as much as they can during the month of Ramadan. Giving money to the poor or spending in the name of Allah has never decreased anyone’s wealth – the Prophet (saw) said, “The likeness of those who spend their wealth in the way of Allah, is as the likeness of a grain (of corn); it grows seven ears, and each ear has a hundred grains.”

What’s more, giving increases your wealth in the hereafter, so if you want to be greedy, be greedy for the rewards you will receive in paradise, for there is no better prize.

18/04/2021

There are thousands of hadith, but this one is among those that are most reassuring. We have all undoubtedly sinned in our lifetime, some more than others, and some overwhelmed by their past misdeeds. Allah’s (swt) forgiveness is unending. We’ve all heard the story about the man who killed 99 people. If not, then in sha Allah it will put your hearts to rest.

A man who had killed 99 people had approached a monk to ask him whether he could ever be forgiven. When the monk denied him, the man killed him raising his death-toll to 100, considering that he would never be forgiven. He then went to an islamic scholar and asked the same thing, with the scholar replying that Allah is all forgiving. He then advised the man to journey to a pious land, because the land of his home was evil for him.

Upon his journey, the man passed away, and so the angels of Mercy and Torment came down and debated who had claim to him. The Angels of Torment argued he had no virtuous traits, while the Angels of Mercy argued that he had repentance for the sake of Allah in his heart. It was decided that if he had passed the halfway point of his journey, he would be forgiven. However, the man had only just set out on his travels when death overtook him. Allah (swt) is the only one who knew what was truly in his heart and saw it to be filled with sincere repentance, and so moved him closer to the land of good.

Truly our bad deeds can be magnanimous, but Allah has the power to wash it all away if we sincerely seek forgiveness. So use this month, the month in which Allah locks up the devil and multiplies all our good deeds to raise our hands to the Most Merciful and ask him to have mercy on us.

17/04/2021

In a rural area, south of Blantyre, Malawi, 53-year-old Aisha Ibbu was having to walk over 15km to reach the nearest mosque. Fed up of travelling such distances, Aisha decided to donate her land to the building of a local mosque. With the help of a family from the area and a Muslim Hands volunteer, Ntonde Masjid was built. This structure is little more than a straw hut, but already it is bringing together members of the community.

Since the mosque was built, families in the area have been returning to Islam. Five years ago, only one Muslim family remained in the community, but now around forty people pray at the mosque every day.

As well as providing classes for children and services for congregational prayers, the mosque also holds communal iftars throughout Ramadan. Last year, as part of our worldwide iftar programme, Muslim Hands supplied Aisha and the other women who hold the iftars with enough food to serve the community throughout the month of Ramadan.

Aisha stressed the importance of the help she has received from Muslim Hands, saying, ‘Even if we didn’t have the food, people would still come to the masjid hoping to eat. Without MH we would only have a small amount of flour every day to feed everyone with’.

“Whoever gives iftaar to one who is fasting will have a reward like his, without that detracting from the reward of the fasting person in the slightest (Tirmidhi).”

16/04/2021

With Ramadan comes the unavoidable debate on which time to follow when iftar is approaching. One person will insist that the app on their phone is correct, while someone else will say that the Ramadan calendar you got from your local masjid has the correct time, or that the time on someone’s phone does not much the wrist-watch of another. It can go on and on and on.

Muslim Hands advises consistency. If you follow the time on your phone and app for all your salahs, all year round, and not just because it shows the earliest time, then follow that. If you follow the prayer times of your local masjid all year round, but their time is a minute later, continue using their time. It’s best not to switch up, simply because you want to play safe than sorry, or you can’t wait a minute longer – Allah knows your true intentions.

15/04/2021

Allah has made fasting and spending the nights of Ramadan in prayer a means by which we can seek His forgiveness. This is proven by the hadith of Abu Hurayrah, according to which the Prophet (saw) said, “Whoever spends the nights of Ramadan in prayer out of faith and in the hope of reward, his previous sins will be forgiven” (Bukhari). For this reason, it is sunnah to pray qiyaam/teraweeh during Ramadan.

Fasting in Ramadan is a means of expiation for the sins committed since the previous Ramadan, so long as one avoids major sins, and one fast is equivalent to ten months’ worth. Most importantly, fasting brings us closer to Allah, as stated in the Quran, “O you who believe, fasting has been prescribed for you as it has been prescribed for people before you so that you will (learn how to) attain Taqwa” (2:183). So fasting in Ramadan not only atones for past sins, but by bringing us closer to Allah, it prevents us from future sinning, insha’Allah.