Tuesday, October 5, 2010

Salaah (prayer):

It is forbidden to perform naafil (supererogatory or “extra”) prayers when the sun is rising, when it is at its zenith, or when it is setting, because it rises and sets between the horns of the Shaytaan, and when the sun-worshipping kuffaar see it they prostrate to it. It is forbidden to pray after subh (fajr) until after the sun has risen. It is forbidden to pray after ‘asr until after the sun has set. These prohibitions apply to naafil prayers done for no specific reason; if they are done for a specific reason, such as tahiyyat al-masjid (“greeting the mosque”), there is nothing wrong with praying them at these times.

It is forbidden to make houses like graveyards by not praying naafil prayers in them; to follow a fard (obligatory) prayer with a naafil prayer without speaking in between (by making dhikr or otherwise) or by going out then coming back; or to pray anything but the two sunnah rak’ahs of fajr after the adhaan for fajr prayer.

It is forbidden to anticipate the imaam in any movement of the prayer; to pray standing alone behind a row; to look around during prayer; to raise one’s eyes to heaven whilst praying; or to recite Qur’aan during rukoo’ and sujood – although there is nothing wrong with reciting a Qur’aanic du’aa’ in sujood.

It is forbidden for a man to pray wearing only one garment, leaving both shoulders bare; to pray when there is food ready that one wishes to eat; to pray when one needs to pass water, stools or wind – because this is a distraction that keeps one from concentrating properly.

It is forbidden to pray in graveyards and bathrooms; to pray like a chicken pecking, bobbing up and down; to look around like a fox; to spread one’s arms like a beast of prey; to rest one’s forearms on the ground like a dog; to settle like a camel – which means always praying in the same spot in the mosque; to pray in the resting-place of camels, because this was created from the shayaateen.

It is forbidden to wipe the ground during prayer, but if it is necessary to do so, to smooth the gravel or whatever, then one sweep of the hand is enough. It is forbidden to cover the mouth during prayer; to raise one’s voice in prayer in such a way as to disturb other believers; to continue praying qiyaam al-layl if one becomes drowsy – in this case, one should sleep, then get up again; to pray qiyaam al-layl for the whole night, especially if this is done continuously.

It is forbidden to yawn and blow during prayer; to step over the necks of people (in the mosque); to tuck up one’s clothes and hair when praying.

It is forbidden to repeat a prayer that has been performed properly – which is of benefit to those who suffer from waswaas (insinuating thoughts from Shaytaan that make them doubt the validity of their prayer). It is also forbidden to stop praying if one is uncertain as to whether one has broken wudoo’ by passing wind – you should wait until you hear a sound or detect an odour. It is forbidden to sit in circles in the mosque before praying Salaat al-Jumu’ah; to smooth the gravel; to fidget and speak during the khutbah; or to sit with one’s knees drawn up to one’s stomach and with one’s garment drawn over them or one’s hands clasped around them during the khutbah.

It is forbidden to offer any prayer once the iqaamah for a fard prayer has been given; for the imaam to stand in a place that is higher than the congregation, unless it is for a valid reason; to walk in front of a person who is praying; for a person who is praying to allow anyone to walk in front of him or between him and his sutrah (object placed in front of him whilst praying as a kind of “screen” – people may, however, walk in front of the sutrah – Translator).

It is forbidden to spit towards the qiblah or to one's right during prayer – but one may spit to one’s left or beneath one’s left foot. It is forbidden for a person who wants to pray to put his shoes to his right or his left, lest he disturb the people beside him; he should put them between his feet. It is forbidden to sleep before ‘ishaa’ if one cannot be sure that one will not miss it; to speak after ‘ishaa’ except for a legitimate reason; to lead a man in prayer in his own place of authority, except with his permission; for a visitor to lead the head of the house in prayer, unless he asks him to; to lead a group of people in prayer when they have objections for a legitimate reason.

Success Stories: Success breeds Success

There was a farmer who grew superior quality, award-winning corn in his farm. Each year, he entered his corn in the state fair where it won honors and prizes.
One year a newspaper reporter interviewed him and learned something interesting about how he grew his corn. The reporter discovered that the farmer shared his seed corn with his neighbors.
"How can you afford to share your best seed corn with your neighbors, when they are entering corn in competition with yours each year?" The reporter asked. "Why sir?"
The farmer replied, "Didn't you know? The wind picks up pollen grains from the ripening corn and swirls it from field to field. If my neighbors grow inferior, sub-standard and poor quality corn, cross-pollination will steadily degrade the quality of my corn. If I have to grow good corn, I must help my neighbors to grow good corns."
The farmer gave a superb insight into the connectedness of life. His corn cannot improve unless his neighbors' corn also improves. So it is in the other dimensions and areas of life!
Those who choose to be in harmony must help their neighbors and colleagues to be at peace. Those who choose to live well must help others live well. The value of a life is measured by the lives it touches.
Success does not happen in isolation; it is most often a participatory and collective process. So share the good practices, ideas and new knowledge with your family, friends, team members and neighbors and all. As they say: "Success breeds Success."

Success Stories: Secret of Success or Focus is Efforts

Secret of Success or Focus is EffortsA young man asked Socrates the secret of Success. Socrates told the young man to meet him near the river the next morning and they met.

Socrates asked the young man to walk with him towards the river. When the water got up to their neck, Socrates took the young man by surprise and ducked him into the water. The man struggled to get out but Socrates was strong and kept him there until he started turning blue.

The young man struggled hard and finally managed to get out and the first thing he did was to gasp and take deep breath. Socrates asked "What you wanted the most when you were there?" The young man replied 'Air.'

Socrates said that's the most secret to success. When you want success as badly as you wanted air, you will get it. There is no other secret. Hence, it takes efforts more than little, by keeping mind - body unison to be successful.

Positive thinkers find opportunity in every difficulty and negative thinkers find difficulty in every opportunity.

There is no secret to SUCCESS. It is the result of hard work, preparation, persistence and learning from failures.

Also Remember:

  • Life is a test.
  • Islam is the best.
  • Namaz is a must.
  • Aakhirat is for rest.
  • World is only dust.
  • If Quran is in chest,
  • nothing needed next.
  • Obey Allah (SWT) first,
  • Success will be next.

Diseases of the tongue:

Diseases of the tongue:

It is forbidden to bear false witness.

It is forbidden to falsely accuse chaste women.

It is forbidden to accuse the innocent or to engage in slander or defamation.

It is forbidden to slander, backbite, call one another by offensive nicknames, gossip, make fun of Muslims, boast about one’s lineage, cast aspersions on a person’s lineage, swear, curse, utter obscenities, speak in an offensive manner or utter evil in public except by one who has been wronged.

It is forbidden to lie, and the worst kind of lies are lies about dreams, such as making up dreams and visions for the purpose of improving one’s status, making some material gains, or alarming someone towards whom one feels enmity. One of the punishments for lying about dreams is that the person who is guilty of this will be instructed on the Day of Resurrection to do something impossible, namely to tie two grains of barley together.

It is forbidden for a person to praise himself. It is forbidden to exclude people, such as two people excluding a third, because this makes the excluded person sad. It is forbidden to hold secret council for sin and wrongdoing and to curse the believers and those who do not deserve to be cursed.

It is forbidden to raise one’s voice above the voice of the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him), which includes raising one’s voice above the voice of a person reading or reciting hadeeth, and raising one’s voice near his grave.

It is forbidden to curse the dead; to curse the cockerel, because it wakes people for prayer; to curse the wind, because it merely does what it is instructed; to curse sickness, because it is an expiation for sin; or to curse the Shaytaan, because this only makes him feel great – the best thing to do is to seek refuge with Allaah from his evil.

It is forbidden to pray for or wish for death because of some harm that has befallen one, or to pray against one’s self, one’s children, one’s servants or one’s wealth.

It is forbidden to call grapes karm, because the people of Jaahiliyyah used to think that wine led to generosity or nobleness (karam). It is forbidden to say “My soul has become evil (khabuthat nafsi),” or to say “I have forgotten such-and-such an aayah” – instead, one should say “I have been made to forget.” It is forbidden to say, “O Allaah, forgive me if You want to,” because we should be positive in our du’aa’s and pleas. It is forbidden to address a munaafiq (hypocrite) as sayyid (“Mister”). It is forbidden to say, “May Allaah make you ugly!” especially when this is said by a husband to his wife. It is forbidden to say “raa’inaa” [in Arabic, this means “Be careful; listen to us and we listen to you,” but in Hebrew it means “an insult,” and the Jews used to say it to the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) with bad intentions]. It is forbidden to ask for anything before giving salaam, and to praise one another.