1Contents: 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.

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THTSTypewritten TextArticles Edited By: Maryum Abdul-Hakeem Salahudeen Abdul Malik

It was the month of Ramadn in which the Qurn 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 first 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 first 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 first 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 first 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 five [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 signified 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 AnsariUstadha 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 childrenTo read the full bio, see page 7.

In the collection of Al-Bayhaqi, the Prophet refers to Ramadan as a month, the first of which is compassion, the middle of which is

forgiveness, and the end of which is freedom from the fire.

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 first night the sky is opened and the gates of the hellfire are

locked. The doors to paradise are flung 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 overflow 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 difficulty 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 deficit 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

affluent than themselves cannot find 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 first 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. BrownJihad 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 outfits, 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 five, based on authentic

hadith, of which fasting is the fourth integral. When we examine the

word integral, we find that the jurists define 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 defined 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 filled 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 find that having a connection with Allah is found

linguistically in the very definition 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 specific 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 reflect 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 FastingPart 1By Ustadh Jamal Ud-Deen Hysaw

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Ustadh Jamal Ud-DeenSidi 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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HopeIbn RajabTranslated 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 fire. One who

neglects sowing during the time of planting

only harvests remorse and loss.

The first 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 flung open.

[2] It is related by Imam al-Tirmidhi and

others: God has those that He liberates

from the Hellfire during every night of

Ramadan. [3]

[In considering what is said about the month,

we can say that] its first 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 fulfill 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 ShakirImam 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 AnsariZaynab 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, Shafii fiqh, sira, hadith, hadith classification, 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 M S A 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 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, 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: Reflections 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 influential leaders. Recently, Imam Zaid was ranked as one of Americas most influential Scholars in the West; by The

500 Most Influential 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.