Soon, insha Allaah, the month of Muharram is coming upon us and we will begin another Hijri year. Just as the devout Muslim eagerly awaits any chance to earn good deeds and gain Allaah's Good Pleasure, and is careful not to transgress any boundaries, we should prepare ourselves for the coming of the month of Muharram. This is because Muharram is one of the four months that are SACRED in the eyes of Allah. "Verily, the number of months with Allaah is twelve (in a year): It was so ordained, by Allaah on the Day when He created the heavens and the earth; of them, four are sacred. That is the right religion, so wrong not yourselves therein..." [al-Tawbah 9:36] These four months, according to the Prophet (pbuh) are Dhul-Qa'dah, Dhul-Hijjah, Muharram and Rajab. (Bukhaari)

Quran For All - In Every Hand, In Every Heart. "Valentine's Day Review" By Shumaila Farooqui Just a week ago , the whole world "religiously" celebrated Valentines Day. Some people were genuinely happy, some stressed out trying to do the right thing & send flowers to their loved ones on time , while some paid a price for forgetting to do anything special for their loved ones, some were disappointed as they did more than they received & some were truly unhappy finding out that the expressions of love they expected went to someone else. All such scenarios were being played simultaneously throughout the world........ hence it would'nt be wrong to say that all was not "ROSES" on Valentines day ! Now that all that "hype" has passed, I would like you all to take a moment to reflect on our actions and its importance. Truly, we Muslims have become such "wanna be's" that we are ready to copy & adopt all the popular & frivolous traditions of the people of the "developed" world without any thought or reasoning. The question is why are we so impressed that we want to be & act like them?

Quran For All - In Every Hand, In Every Heart. "Fazail e Qurbani" by Unknown After the blessed month of Ramazan, the month of Zilhajj holds immense importance in the Islamic calendar. In the month of Zilhajj, Hajj has been made obligatory on the well off Muslims just like fasting has been made compulsory on Muslims in the month of Ramazan. Like Ramazan is a month of acts of goodness, likewise the good acts of first 10 days of Zilhajj have great reward then the acts of goodness of any other day. Holy Prophet (SAW) said, "there is no other day the acts of goodness of which are more liked by Allah than the ones of these 10 days." (Sahih Bukhari) The actions that should be performed during the ten days of the 1st ashrah (10 days) of Zilhajj, whose importance has been highlighted in ahadith, are as follows and one should make an effort towards them in order to attain reward.

Quran For All - In Every Hand, In Every Heart. "The Best Day On Which The Sun Has Risen - Jumuah" By Sister Manahil Edited by Imran Ayub Alhamdulilah. Indeed, all praise is due to Allaah. We praise Him and seek His help and forgiveness. We seek refuge in Allaah from our souls' evil and our wrong doings. He whom Allaah guides, no one can misguide; and he whom He misguides, no one can guide. I bear witness that there is no (true) God except Allah - alone without a partner, and I bear witness that Muhammad (peace be upon him) is His 'Abd (servant) and messenger. Allah, the Most High, says, "O you who believe (Muslims)! When the call is proclaimed for the Salât (prayer) on the day of Friday (Jumu'ah prayer), come to the remembrance of Allâh [Jumu'ah religious talk (Khutbah) and Salât (prayer)] and leave off business (and every other thing), that is better for you if you did but know!"

Quran For All - In Every Hand, In Every Heart. "What is Halloween and where did it come from?" by Unknown Halloween today is defined by children going house to house on the night of October 31st, dressed up in a variety of costumes collecting treats. Although Halloween may seem like a time for children to have fun carving pumpkins and collecting candy, not many know the origins of this 'festival' and its traditions that date back centuries. The origins of Halloween date back to the time of the Celtics or 'Celts'.They were a group occupying the area that is now Ireland, the United Kingdom, and Northern France about 2,000 years ago. This group celebrated their new year on November 1st. This day marked the end of the summer and was reflected upon as a time of darkness and cold as winter approached. The Celtics associated this dark time of year with death.

Quran For All - In Every Hand, In Every Heart. "True Love" by Unknown Love - one of the strongest emotions known to mankind- a power that can ruin or redeem a life- that can bring joy or painful heartbreak. Today as the world celebrates this emotion on Valentine's Day, we see hearts of all sizes and shapes all around, hearts of chocolate and satin. O Yes! It's Valentines! The day of hearts, red roses, poetry, candies and above all - Love! Where did Valentine's Day come from? There are many traditions about its origin, but the most authentic seems to be the one from Encyclopedia Britannica that says that this day has nothing to do with Saint Valentine, instead it is related to the Roman pagan festival of their god, Lupercalia. It was celebrated on 15th February and in honour of the goddess Juno Februata, the names of girls were placed in an urn and the men would draw out the name of a girl at random who would then become their date for the remaining festival.

Quran For All - In Every Hand, In Every Heart. "Muslim Strategies for Haloween" A letter from a student of Dr.Farhat Hashmi regarding Halloween Bismillah Assalamo Alaikum WRWB dear Ustadhah, May Allah SWT bless you for all your hard work and dedication to help us live our lives as Muslims.Alhamdulillah, my children never went trick or treating on halloween ever,instead we always tried to educate ourselves and others about this event. We tried different strategies every year. Couple of times I gathered my children and invited their friends to share the reality of Halloween on that evening that helped them stay away from the influence of this event. Alhamdulillah, children respondedvery well and they were shocked as well as disgusted when they found out the reality behind this tradition. They were so exited that they even wanted to tell all this information to the children that were coming to the door for candy. About the candy giving issue we tried different strategies as well. One year we just went to the Masjid during that time and came home after it was over. One year my children made different signs and put them on the entrance door facing outside. They had different messages like "sorry! No candy, your dentist will be mad! Etc.

Quran For All - In Every Hand, In Every Heart. "A new year gained or a new year lost??" By Asma bint Shameem Zoom! Before we knew it, last year passed by like a flash and the new year is here...whether it is 2010 CE or 1431 of the Hijri Calendar. For some people, the beginning of the new year is marked by excited countdowns, popping of firecrackers, partying till the wee hours of the morning and dancing. And for some, it is a time for somber thoughtfulness and self accountability. Instead of celebrating, they are worried and scared. Instead of partying, they think and reflect. Their hearts tremble and their skins shiver.