2 Rakat in Masjid

Narrated Abu Qatada Al-Aslami (Radi Allahu 'anhu):

Allah's Apostle (Sallallahu 'Alaihi Wa Sallam) said, "If anyone of you
enters a mosque, he should pray two Rakat before sitting."

Bukhari Vol. 1 : No. 435

Lottery Tickets Haram ?

Muslims today are lacking "knowledge" in Quran and Hadith and following the people/culture around us. Many of us committing "Major Sins" without even knowing about it. We personally don't try to gain the knowledge even though it is much easier to learn Quran and Hadith in this 21st century. This is our own fault. May Allah bless us with the right path, help us to gain knowledge and follow it properly. Ameen.

Let's see what we have regarding "lottery" in Quran:

Lotteries and raffles are other names for gambling, which is haraam according to the Qur’aan and Sunnah, and the consensus of the scholars.

Allaah says (interpretation of the meaning):

“O you who believe! Intoxicants (all kinds of alcoholic drinks), and gambling, and Al Ansaab (stone altars for sacrifices to idols, etc.), and Al Azlaam (arrows for seeking luck or decision) are an abomination of Shaytaan’s (Satan’s) handiwork. So avoid (strictly all) that (abomination) in order that you may be successful.

Shaytaan (Satan) wants only to excite enmity and hatred between you with intoxicants (alcoholic drinks) and gambling, and hinder you from the remembrance of Allaah and from As-Salaah (the prayer). So, will you not then abstain?

And obey Allaah and the Messenger (Muhammad), and beware (of even coming near to drinking or gambling or Al Ansaab, or Al Azlaam) and fear Allaah. Then if you turn away, you should know that it is Our Messenger’s duty to convey (the Message) in the clearest way” [al-Maa’idah 5:90-91]

This gambling – which is any transaction in which a person may win or lose, and he does not know whether he will be a winner or a loser – is all haraam. Indeed, it is one of the major sins, and its abhorrent nature is no secret when one realizes that Allaah mentions it in conjunction with idol-worship, alcohol and azlaam (arrows for seeking luck or decision). Whatever benefits may be hoped for from gambling pale into insignificance beside the harm that it causes. Allaah says (interpretation of the meaning):

“They ask you (O Muhammad) concerning alcoholic drink and gambling. Say: ‘In them is a great sin, and (some) benefits for men, but the sin of them is greater than their benefit.’”

[al-Baqarah 2:219]

Dua before and after Wudu

As Muslims, we Insha-Allah pray 5 times a day. And we perform Wudu for each Prayer.
We need to say Dua before/after Wudu according to Sunnah.
There is NO dua during wudu that I have found authentic. It is very important to find out which is authentic before doing Duas, else we might fall into Bida (Innovation that is very serious in Islam). May Allah help us to properly follow our beloved Prophet (peach be upon him). Ameen.

Dua before starting Wudu:
بِسْمِ ال
(Bismilllah)

Meaning "In the name of Allah"


Dua after completing Wudu:

Prophet (Peace and Blessings of Allah be upon him) said: "There is no one amongst you who does wudoo' and does it properly and does it well THEN he says,

ash-hadu an laa ilaha illa Allah, wahdahu, laa shareeka lah, wa ash-hadu anna muhammadan a'abduhu warasooluhu

Except the gates of Paradise will be opened to him and he may enter through whichever of them he wishes." (Muslim)

Meaning: (I bear witness that none has the right to be worshipped except Allah, alone, without partner, and i bear witness that Muhammad is His slave and messenger.


Another dua,

اللَّهُمَّ اجْعَلْنِي مِنَ التَّوَّابِينَ وَاجْعَلْنِي مِنَ الْمُتَطَهِّرِينَ
allahummaj 'alni, minuthawaabeena waj'alnee, minal mutathahireen.

O Allah, make me of those who return to You often in repentance and make me of those who remain clean and pure.

Stages of the revelation of the Quran

The Qur'an is a Message from Allah (swt) to humanity. It was transmitted to us in a chain starting from the Almighty Himself (swt) to the angel Gabriel to the Prophet Muhammad (saw). Quran was revealed in 3 stages :

1. Stage #1:

Allah (swt) had The Quran written before any creation. And Quran was put in Preserved Tablet (in the Seventh Heaven). The Quran mentions the Preserved Tablets in the verse (which means):

"Nay! This is a Glorious Quran, inscribed in a Preserved Tablet" [Quran 85:21-22]

2. Stage #2:

In this stage, the Quran was brought by Jibreel (as) from the Preserved Tablet (in the Seventh Heaven) down to the First Heaven (sky) and placed in the 'Place of Power or Honor'.

Quran tells of the fact that it was sent down during a specific night, in the verse (which means):

"By the Book that makes things clear; - We sent it down during a Blessed Night: for We (ever) wish to warn (against Evil). In the (Night) is made distinct every affair of wisdom." [Quran 44:2-4]

And (which means):

"We have indeed sent down this during the Night of Power." [Quran 97:1].

These two verses indicate that the Quran was revealed in a single blessed night in the month of Ramadhaan that is called the 'Night of Power, or Decree'.

3. Stage #3:

This stage of revelation lasted for about 23 years in which the Quran was sent down in response to the development of events and in accordance with the sequence needed to complete the delivery of the Message.

The Quran, the last of Allaah’s Scriptures, is divided into 114 'Surahs' (Chapters) of unequal length. It is the first fundamental source of Islamic Sharee’ah (Islamic Law). Allaah, Most High, Says (what means): "… A Quran which We have given seriatim (separated out) in order that you may recite it to the people at intervals and We have caused it to come down successively (by stages)." [Quran 17:106]

May Allah guide us to read/understand/teach Quran and implement our life based on Quran and Sunnah. Ameen

Love for Our Prophet (salla-hu-alaihi-wa-sallam)

As Muslims, we can't be true believers unless we love our Phophet (salla-hu-alaihi-wa-sallam) more than anything, even then ourselves.

The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: “None of you truly believes until I am more beloved to him that his father, his child and all the people.” (Narrated by al-Bukhaari, 15; Muslim, 44)


Now, is it enough just to say I love our beloved Prophet (salla-hu-alaihi-wa-sallam)?
No, we need to prove it in our action, specially in our daily life.
His life, saying, actions are preserved as Sunnah/Hadith. It is obligatory on every muslim to make effort to learn hadith, follow it as much as they can.

By following the Sunnah, we can show how much we love our Prophet (salla-hu-alaihi-wa-sallam).

More detailed response:
http://islamqa.info/en/ref/2431

Rizk

Allah swt provides us Rizk. We don't have any option either to increase it or decrease it.

Let's use a simple example. Say a Person named "A" is destined to have 1 million as income in his lifetime by Allah's will. Now Person "A" do have the "free will/choice" how he will make this money.

• He can earn it in sinful ways like using riba/interest, selling harm like Alcohol, stealing from others etc..... or

• He can earn it in the correct way.

Either way Peason "A" will not be able to earn more or less than 1 Million unless Allah let's him.

So why do we try to earn money in harm ways ? Why we think we will loose income if we don't sell alcohol, or try to get interest from CDs in Bank etc... It is not worth it once we realize that Allah provides us Rizk and we don't want to be sinful by earning the Rizk in Harm ways.

May Allah protect us and family from any Haram ways to earn money. Ameen.

Topic: Good deeds vs Following Islam

Some Muslims don't follow Islam properly, for example they don't pray five times, don't pay Zakat etc. When you talk to them, they will say that they are doing good/noble deeds, helping others, not lying etc. So basically, this is how they are following what Islam wants them to do.

How do you respond to them?

There are Two types of Good Deeds:
1. Wordly Good Deeds : Example, Help Poor, Speak the Truth...
2. Spritual Good Deeds : Example, Pray five times, Perform Hajj...

Just choosing one type of Good Deed is not enough in Islam. One type of Good Deed doesn't replace the other.

Insha-Allah, we Muslims will understand this and educate others to fulfill our responsibility as the follower of Islam.