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Contents:
A Brief History of Ramadan By Ustadha Zaynab Ansari
Its First is Mercy by Shaik Jihad Brown
The Art of Fasting By Shaik Jamal Ud-Deen
Ramadan Lessons: Hope By Imam Zaid Shakir
As-Salaamu Alaykum and Ramadan
Mubarak!
The mission of the Quran&Sunnah
(Q&S)Ramadan Digest is to introduce
Muslims residing in the Metro-Atlanta
area to important local and indigenous
male and female scholars present in their
or their neighboring communities. Our
goal is to teach and inform the masses,
both Muslim and Non-Muslim alike, of the
various and copious aspects, splendors,
and subtleties of the glorious Month of
Ramadan. We strive to construct the
bridges of relation between the scholars
featured in this publication and the
Muslim communities.
RAMADANDIGEST
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Improve Yourself...Improve the World
Articles Edited By: Maryum Abdul-Hakeem
Salahudeen Abdul Malik
It was the month of Ramad!n in which the
Qur!n was [first] bestowed from on high...
Ramadan is the ninth month of the Islamic
lunar calendar. Lasting for either twenty-nine or
thirty days from the rst morning after the
sighting of the crescent moon, Ramadan has
been observed by Muslims as a month of
fasting and devotion for the last 1400 years.
Linguistically, The word Ramadan refers to
intense heat, perhaps an indication that the rst
Ramadan occurred during the summer. The
Islamic calendar, or Hijri calendar, dates back to
622 CE, when Prophet Muhammad, Allah bless
him and give him peace, emigrated from Mecca
to Medina in the seminal journey known as the
Hijra.
2
Because the calendar is lunar, its twelve
months also migrate through the year, with each
month beginning eleven days prior to its start
the previous year. What this means is that
Muslims have experienced Ramadan in all four
seasons: spring, summer, fall, and winter,
especially those who live or have lived in
temperate climates.
In North America, believers have come full circle
as the intensely hot Ramadans of the early-to-
mid 1980s have now returned. This year, the
rst of Ramadan is predicted to fall on August 11,
which means Muslims in Georgia will be fasting in 90 weather with
up to 50% humidity. This experience will connect us back to the
earliest Muslim community who withstood extreme temperatures in
order to carry out the divine commandment to fast.
Fasting was legislated in Shaban of 2 AH (the second year after
Hijra).
3
Shaban, incidentally is the month immediately preceding
Ramadan and was a month in which the Prophet, Allah bless him
and give him peace, loved to perform voluntary fasting as means of
preparation for Ramadan.
4
Allah the Most High revealed in the
Quran, O ye who believe! Fasting is prescribed for you, even as it
was prescribed for those before you, that ye may ward off (evil);
(Fast) a certain number of days; and (for) him who is sick among you,
or on a journey, (the same) number of other days; and for those who
can afford it there is a ransom: the feeding of a man in need. But
whoso doeth good of his own accord, it is better for him: and that ye
fast is better for you if ye did but know. The month of Ramadan in
which was revealed the Qur'an, a guidance for mankind, and clear
proofs of the guidance, and the Criterion (of right and wrong). And
whosoever of you is present, let him fast the month, and whosoever
of you is sick or on a journey, (let him fast the same) number of other
days. Allah desireth for you ease; He desireth not hardship for you;
and (He desireth) that ye should complete the period, and that ye
should magnify Allah for having guided you, and that peradventure
ye may be thankful.
5
The early Muslims understood from this revelation that fasting was
an act of worship they shared with previous faith communities;
however, the Ummah (community) of the Prophet, Allah bless him
and give him peace, was singular in its month-long fast of Ramadan.
Ramadan was also distinguished by being the month of the Quran,
in which God revealed the rst words of the sacred scripture to the
Prophet, Allah bless him and give him peace, in the momentous
encounter between Muhammad and the Archangel Gabriel.
Furthermore, fasting the month of Ramadan came to be known as a
pillar of Islam, based on the sound Prophetic hadith, Islam has been
built on ve [pillars]: Testifying that there is no god but Allah and that
Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah, performing the prayers,
paying alms, making the pilgrimage to the House, and fasting
Ramadan.
2
In this way, Muslim individual responsibility and
communal identity came to revolve around major acts of devotion:
ritual prayer, fasting, almsgiving, and pilgrimage. These acts of
devotion would form the basis of Muslim civilization as Islam spread
beyond the borders of the Arabian Peninsula, unifying ethnically,
linguistically, and culturally diverse peoples under the banner of
tawhid (monotheism) and ritual acts of worship.
Today, we are linked back to the earliest community and are
connected to Muslims globally through this centuries-old devotion of
fasting. In fact, ones entrance into taklif, or adulthood under Islamic
ritual law, is signied by acts of ritual worshipprayer, fasting,
almsgiving, and pilgrimagebecoming obligatory upon one.
Granted, fasting has changed drastically since the time of the
Prophet, Allah bless him and give him peace. Many of us are
fortunate enough to have access to air conditioning and other
modern amenities that make the summer months bearable and even
enjoyable. However, the essence of fasting has not changed. And
that is the fact that Muslims fast Ramadan because it is a command
from Allah, a means of drawing closer to our Creator, a way to
reconnect with the Sunna (tradition) of the Prophet, Allah bless him
and give him peace, and a reminder that, ultimately everything we do
is for the sake of God, even if it means being hungry and thirsty
during the long summer days of the Deep South.
In fact, the attitude of the believer has always been one of joy at the
commencement of Ramadan. Ramadan is seen as a great gift of
God. The Prophet, Allah bless him and give him peace, in one of
many hadiths (sayings) on the virtues of fasting, stated, When
Ramadan comes, the gates of the Garden are opened, the gates of
the Fire are closed and the shaytans (devils) are chained up.
3
We understand from this Prophetic tradition that Ramadan is a time
of great opportunity to grow spiritually. We should resolve to make
Ramadan a time of spiritual cleansing and rejuvenation. Bad habits
are replaced with good, tempers are calmed, and adab (Islamic
etiquette) is learned. We end the month equipped with the spiritual
tools to transform our lives for the better in the following years.
May Allah the Most High grant us all an accepted Ramadan and
many more Ramadans to come!
A Brief History of Ramadan
By Ustadha Zaynab Ansari
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Ustadha Zaynab Ansari
Ustadha Zaynab Ansari spent several
years studying Islam in Syria at Abu Nour
University. Upon her return to the United
States, she continued her Islamic studies
with Shaykh Khalil Abdur-Rashid, who is
now Imam of New York's Iqra Masjid,
and with Shaykh Faraz Rabbani,
educational director of SeekersGuidance.
From 2004 to 2009, she volunteered,
answered questions, and taught for
SunniPath Academy. Ustadha Zaynab
currently answers questions for
SeekersGuidance burgeoning Answers
Blog and writes for Azizah Magazine's
Deen Department. She has
undergraduate degrees in history and
Middle Eastern Studies from Georgia
State University. Ustadha Zaynab is
married and has three children
To read the full bio, see page 7.
In the collection of Al-Bayhaqi, the Prophet refers to Ramadan as
a month, the rst of which is compassion, the middle of which is
forgiveness, and the end of which is freedom from the re.
Compassion is a sympathetic consciousness of anothers distress
coupled with a desire to alleviate it. Mercy, another word
commonly used in the same context, implies forgoing punishment
even when justice demands it, or lenient compassionate
treatment.
But how is a month mercy? What is the nature of its source, the
mercy of Allah? How does this extend to the compassion of His
subjects, one for another? And how does all of it form an
integrated whole, or a closed system?
In Ramadan, we are informed in the soundest narrations that on
the rst night the sky is opened and the gates of the hellre are
locked. The doors to paradise are ung wide and the demons are
bound and shackled. It is a month in which sins are forgiven,
prayers are answered and all colors of goodness are on tap. It is a
season of worship and devotion, the promised rewards for which
are doubled.
The mercy of Allah is an expression of the proffers, blessings, and
generosities that He pours over His devotees in this month. In the
Quran He says: My mercy encompasses everything; and the
pious used to call out, as if to remind Him, O Allah! I am a thing!
In the chapter of the Cattle, He says: And your Lord has
prescribed mercy upon Himself. The rain is employed as a
metaphor for His grace that He distributes, even after a people
have despaired at its arrival.
In the chapter of Rome, he says: Do
you not see the effects of the mercy of
Allah, how he resuscitates the earth after it
was dead?
The hearts of people that have been lost in
the dry barrenness of materiality are like
the earth in autumn and winter, awaiting a
spring of awakening in Ramadan.
Gratefulness for these blessings entails
that the hearts of the faithful overow in
return with fraternal compassion for other
sentient beings and sentient life.
Giving and catering to unmet needs is a
sign that compassion has taken up
residence in the heart. The fasting person
has undergone hunger and thirst, thereby
experiencing difculty and deprivation.
Empathy is one of the fruits of fasting that
people can share with one another.
The recent healthcare crisis hotly debated
in the United States marked a decisive decit in compassion.
Some 47 million Americans do not have health care and
unfortunately, many of the boat-owners who own healthcare insist
that the less fortunate should be left in the water to get wet. They
believe that it is not their problem that others less industrious and
afuent than themselves cannot nd and do not have a way to
stay dry.
The fruit of the tree of individualism can be bitter. The myopia of
parochialism and the fetters of xenophobia prevent us from
comprehending that other less prosperous nations have sorted
out ready solutions in which all boats rise.
The Prophet said that mercy is not removed from the heart of
anyone but the wretched.
In the celebrated hadith designated as the rst to be taught to any
student of Sacred Law, the Prophet says: Those who show
compassion to others will be shown mercy. Have compassion for
those in the earth, and those in the heavens will show compassion
to you.
Its First is Mercy
By Shaik Jihad H. Brown
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Shaik Jihad H. Brown
Jihad Hashim Brown was born in
Santa Ana, California. He graduated
from Rutgers University in 1994
with a Bachelor of Arts degree in
Psychology and a Minor in Middle
East Studies. Upon graduation, he
went on to pursue studies in Islamic
Juristic Methodology, Theology and
Logic with renowned scholars in
Damascus, Syria. Subsequently, he
continued studies of Islamic Juristic
Methodology from the Compendium
of Compendiums of al-Taj al-Subki
in the antique madrasahs of the
Southern Atlas Mountains in
Morocco. Jihad Brown now lives in
Abu Dhabi with his wife and five
children.
The poet once said (Al-Eid, laisa leman
yelbasu jaded..Al-Eid leman tauatuhu
yazeed). It means that the Eid (after
Ramadan) is not for the one that wears
new clothes, the Eid is for he that has
increased himself in worship.
This poem really hits the nail on the
head in that it implies that many people
have not come to understand what Eid is
really about. Many of us run off to get
new outts, our hair and nails done, and
the beards shaped up, We try to look as
sharp as we possibly can. Then when we
get to the Eid prayer, as soon as the
prayer is over we are up and walking
around talking, ready to show off our new
look. Many of us are so disconnected
from the true understanding of this time,
which the poet discusses in the second
part of his poem by saying that the Eid is
for the one that has increased him/herself
in worship. Oh yes, the Eid is a
celebration of worship. We are not
celebrating the fact that we can eat and do other things anytime we
want, nor are we celebration the struggle of going without food, drink
and other things, because all of these actions are actually connected
to the material world. In truth, all worship is and has to be connected
to Allah, otherwise it is nothing more than a mundane action.
In the books of Islamic Jurisprudence, the jurists say that the
integrals (Arkan, singular: rukn) of Islam are ve, based on authentic
hadith, of which fasting is the fourth integral. When we examine the
word integral, we nd that the jurists dene it as an intrinsic part of
an entity that, if it were not present, the true essence of the entity
could never be realized. Fasting, as mentioned, is an integral of
Islam, so if the fast is not performed properly then the true essence
of Islam cannot and will not be realized. Islam is dened by the
jurists as complete submission and surrender, coupled with the
complete resignation of ones self (istislaam) before Allah, and
absolute conviction (inqiyaad) in He who one proclaims he or she
believes in (Allah). If one has completely submitted to Allah and
destroyed his or her desires, ego, etc. as a result of his or her
adamantine belief in Allah, everything he or she does is solely for
Allah (Ikhlas).
When one does everything for the sake of Allah, the quality of his or
her worship is increased and all that he or she does is with
connection to Allah taala. This connection is essential to our fasting
(as it is with all aspects of worship). It turns the mundane act of
fasting into an act of worship that becomes deeply lled with the
splendor and depth that is intrinsic to fasting, thereby allowing one
to truly become aware of the essence of Islam and the essence of
being Muslim. We nd that having a connection with Allah is found
linguistically in the very denition of the word fasting. Fasting means
to abstain. It juristically means to abstain from food, drink, those
things that enter openings in the body and reach the body cavity, self
induced vomiting, masturbation, sex, with a specic intention from
dawn (fajr) until sunset (maghrib) with the purpose of becoming close
to Allah taala (Qamus Al-Fiqhiyya pg. 219, Dar Al-Fiqir).
A sincere connection between worship and Allah is the foundation
for everything that we do. Having said that, as we examine the art of
fasting we should endeavor to continue to reect on the foundation
that mus be the forethought of everything, spanning from the
sighting of the moon to begin Ramadan to the sighting of the moon
to bring about our day of celebrating our increased worship.
Look for Part 2 of this article in next weeks edition of the
RamdanDigest.
The Art of Fasting
Part 1
By Ustadh Jamal Ud-Deen Hysaw
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Ustadh Jamal Ud-Deen
Sidi Jamal ud-Deen is originally from
Chicago, Illinois. He obtained his
undergraduate degree in Political
Science from Southern Illinois
University. In the summer of 1992,
he embraced Islam and subsequently
traveled to Damascus, Syria where he
studied Arabic and Islamic Studies at
Abu Nur and the University of
Damascus for three years. He then
traveled to Dar al-Mustafa in Tarim,
Yemen where he studied with
scholars for another five years. Shaykh
Jamaluddin received permission from his
teachers to teach and comment on books
of Shafi Fiqh, Aqida, Hadith, Tafsir, and
the Sciences of the Heart. Upon leaving
Yemen, he served as an assistant
Imam at a mosque in Crawley,
England. In Spring 2004, he returned
to the United States and currently
resides with his family in Atlanta.
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Ramadan Lessons:
Hope
Ibn Rajab
Translated by Imam Zaid Shakir
Translators note: !"#$% &#'%" Ramadan
Mubarak! May you all be blessed during this
blessed month. The month of Ramadan
combines fear and hope, hardship and
relief. In the following section Ibn Rajab
encourages hope by detailing the
tremendous manifestations of forgiveness
God has opened for the servant during
Ramadan. (pp. 377-387)
During the Month of Ramadan there are
many avenues to Gods forgiveness. These
include: Fasting the month; standing in
prayer during its nights; the Night of Power;
all of which have been previously
mentioned. These avenues also include:
1. Providing the wherewithal for the fasting
person to break his fast;
2. Easing an employees burden. Both of
these have been mentioned in a prophetic
tradition related by Salman.
3. Remembering God abundantly. It is related
in a tradition referred back to the Prophet,
peace upon him: One who remembers God
abundantly in Ramadan will be forgiven.
4. Seeking Gods forgiveness. The prayer of
the fasting person is guaranteed an answer
during the time he is fasting and at the time
that he breaks his fast. For this reason, Ibn
Umar, may God be pleased with him and his
father, would pray when breaking his fast: O
God! Possessor of the most expansive
forgiveness, please forgive me! A tradition
concerning the virtue of Ramadan, related by
Abu Hurayra, may God be pleased with him,
mentions that the Prophet, peace upon him,
said: Everyone will be forgiven during it
(Ramadan) except one who refuses. They
asked: O Abu Hurayra! Who would ever
refuse? He said: One who refuses to seek
Gods forgiveness.
5. [Among these paths of forgiveness] are the
angels seeking forgiveness for the fasting
people until they break their fast.
In that the causes facilitating forgiveness are
so numerous during Ramadan, one who
misses the opportunity to be forgiven during
this month has been deprived the very
epitome of depravation. Abu Hurayra, may
God be pleased with him, in the compilation
of Imam Ibn Hibban, narrates:
The Prophet, peace upon him, ascended the
minbar and proceeded to say: Amen, Amen,
Amen. He was asked: O Messenger of
God, [What caused] you to ascend the
minbar and then thrice say, Amen? He
replied: The Angel Gabriel came to me and
said: Whoever attains to the month of
Ramadan and is not forgiven will enter Hell
and be distanced from God. He then
commanded: Say Amen! So I said: Amen.
He then said: Whoever outlives his parents,
or even one of them, and has not behaved
righteously towards them, and then dies; he
will enter Hell and be distanced from God.
He then commanded, Say Amen! So I said,
Amen. He then said: When your name is
mentioned in someones presence and he
does not pray for mercy for you ()*+ ,-. /0
and then dies; he will enter Hell and be
distanced from God. He then commanded,
Say Amen! So I said, Amen. [1]
Said relates from Qatada that he said:
Whoever is not forgiven in Ramadan will
never be forgiven during any other time. If a
person is not forgiven during Ramadan then
when will he be forgiven? When will the
deeds of one whose deeds are rejected
during the Night of Power be accepted?
When will one who cannot be upright during
Ramadan ever be upright? When will one
debilitated with the diseases of ignorance
and heedlessness be healthy if not during
Ramadan? All fruit not harvested during its
proper season, dries on the branch and then
is plucked and thrown in a re. One who
neglects sowing during the time of planting
only harvests remorse and loss.
The rst part of Ramadan is mercy, its middle
days are forgiveness, and its latter part is
liberation from Hell. Hence, it is related that
during it the gates of mercy are ung open.
[2] It is related by Imam al-Tirmidhi and
others: God has those that He liberates
from the Hellre during every night of
Ramadan. [3]
[In considering what is said about the month,
we can say that] its rst part is dominated by
mercy, etc. This mercy is especially
designated for the God-conscious
individuals who are excellent in their religion.
God mentions in the Quran: Gods mercy is
close for those who are excellent in their
religion. (7:56) He also says: My mercy
encompasses everything. I have ordained it
for the God-conscious who fulll the right of
charity. (7:156) Hence, during the beginning
of the month the cloak of mercy and [Gods]
good pleasure envelop the God-conscious.
The people of excellence are treated in the
most gracious and excellent manner.
Look for Part 2 of this article in next
weeks edition of the RamdanDigest.
Imam Zaid Shakir
Imam Zaid Shakir is amongst the
most respected and influential
Islamic scholars in the West.
For seven years in Syria, and briefly
in Morocco, he immersed himself in
an intense study of Arabic, Islamic
law, Quranic studies, and spirituality
with some of the top Muslim
scholars of our age. In 2001, he
graduated from Syrias prestigious
Abu Noor University and returned to
Connecticut.
In 2003, he moved to Zaytuna
Institute, where he now teaches
courses on Arabic, Islamic law,
history, and Islamic spirituality.
To read the full bio, see page 7.
Biographies of Our Contributors
Ustadha Zaynab Ansari
Zaynab Ansari (Umm Salah) comes from a Lebanese-American and African-American background. In 1996, Zaynabs parents
relocated the family to Damascus, Syria, where Zaynab and her younger sister spent four years studying sacred knowledge.
During that time, Zaynab obtained a Thanawiyya Shariyyah (equivalent to a secondary school diploma) with distinction from
Abu Nour Islamic Foundation. There, she was acquainted with the major Islamic sciences, including Arabic, Quranic exegesis,
Quranic recitation, Shai qh, sira, hadith, hadith classication, inheritance law, and theology. Her teachers included Ustadh
Adnan al-Azmeh, Ustadha Sousan Falah, Ustadha Sanaa, Ustadha Huda al-Habash, Ustadha Samar, and the master Quran
reciter Shaykh Muhammad al-Sukkar. Zaynab also spent a year studying advanced Arabic at the University of Damascus.
Upon returning to the United States, Zaynab continued her Islamic studies with Sidi Khalil Abdur-Rashid, who studied with
traditional scholars in Yemen and Turkey. She also earned a B.A. in History and a B.I.S. in Middle Eastern Studies at Georgia
State University, graduating summa cum laude. She has received a number of scholarships, including the Faculty Scholarship
Award, the Honors Alumni Scholarship, and the Phi Alpha Theta Award. Zaynab also worked extensively with the MSA at her
previous school, Georgia Perimeter College.
In her free time, Zaynab enjoys volunteering for the Islamic Speakers Bureau and writing for Azizah Magazine. She is one of the
main teachers behind the SunniPath Answers service, and her answers are highly popular because of their knowledge,
wisdom, and sensitivity. She has both taught and TAd courses at SunniPath Academy. Zaynab is passionate about
contributing to an enhanced understanding of Islam in America, with a particular emphasis on the achievements of Muslim
women. She is married with one son and one daughter, and currently resides in Atlanta, GA
Imam Zaid Shakir
Born in Berkeley, California, Imam Zaid accepted Islam in 1977 while serving in the United States Air Force. He obtained a BA
with honors in International Relations at American University in Washington D.C. and later earned his MA in Political Science
at Rutgers University. While at Rutgers, he led a successful campaign for divestment from South Africa, and co-founded New
Brunswick Islamic Center formerly Masjid al-Huda.
After a year of studying Arabic in Cairo, Egypt, he settled in New Haven, Connecticut and continued his community activism,
co-founding Masjid Al-Islam, the Tri-State Muslim Education Initiative, and the Connecticut Muslim Coordinating Committee.
As Imam of Masjid Al-Islam from 1988 to 1994 he spear-headed a community renewal and grassroots anti-drug effort, and also
taught political science and Arabic at Southern Connecticut State University. He served as an interfaith council Chaplain at
Yale University and developed the Chaplaincy Sensitivity Training for physicians at Yale New Haven Hospital. He then left for
Syria to pursue his studies in the traditional Islamic sciences.
For seven years in Syria, and briey in Morocco, he immersed himself in an intense study of Arabic, Islamic law, Quranic
studies, and spirituality with some of the top Muslim scholars of our age. In 2001, he graduated from Syrias prestigious Abu
Noor University and returned to Connecticut, serving again as the Imam of Masjid al-Islam, and writing and speaking
frequently on a host of issues. That same year, his translation from Arabic into English of The Heirs of the Prophets was
published by Starlatch Press.
In 2003, he moved to Hayward, California to serve as a scholar-in-residence and lecturer at Zaytuna Institute, where he now
teaches courses on Arabic, Islamic law, history, and Islamic spirituality. Imam Zaid has also authored numerous articles on a
wide range of topics. In 2005, Zaytuna Institute published, Scattered Pictures: Reections of An American Muslim an
anthology of diverse essays penned by Zaid Shakir. In 2008, he authored an award-winning text, Treatise for the Seekers of
Guidance, a translation and commentary on Imam Harith al-Muhasibis work, Risala al-Mustarshideen. He also co-founded
Zaytuna College this same year.
He is a frequent speaker at local and national Muslim events and has emerged as one of the nations top Islamic scholars and a
voice of conscience for American Muslims and non-Muslims alike. Imam Zaid has served as an advisor to many organizations,
and inuential leaders. Recently, Imam Zaid was ranked as one of Americas most inuential Scholars in the West; by The
500 Most Inuential Muslims, edited by John Esposito and Ibrahim Kalin, (2009).
While many have cited Imam Shakir as example of Islamic moderation, his critics have questioned his moderate credentials by
citing his expressed hope for the conversion of America to Islam and adoption of Islamic law in America. Dr. Ingrid Mattson
stated that Imam Zaid is solidly grounded in the Islamic legal, ethical and intellectual tradition, which all Muslims share, as well
as his personal understanding of the current political context.