The Cow

someOne may ask, "Why is **pork forbidden in Islam?

**" Generally, there are some types of meat that are not allowed in certain faiths or cultures.

For example, the Jews don't eat camel meat, roosters, or shrimp because it's against their beliefs.

The Hindus don't eat beef because cows are holy in their faith.

Some people eat cats and dogs, while others are strictly vegetarian.

As we can see in verses 172-173, the foods forbidden to Muslims are listed by name because they are few in number.

All other good, pure foods are allowed.

The prohibition of certain types of food is a test of our **obedience to Allah**.

Before the advent of **Islam**, it was common for Arab tribes to engage in inter-tribal warfare, leading to widespread injustices.

For instance, if a woman was killed by another woman from a different tribe, the victim's tribe would retaliate by killing a man from the killer's tribe.

Similarly, if a slave killed another slave, the victim's tribe would kill a free man from the killer's tribe.

In cases where an important individual was killed, the aggrieved tribe would often seek revenge by killing multiple people from the opposing tribe.

With the arrival of **Islam**, a system of legal rules was introduced to address these injustices.

Islam made it unlawful to kill anyone other than the actual killer, irrespective of the victim's or killer's gender or social status.

In instances of **intentional killing**, the victim's close relatives are given the right to choose: they can demand the killer's execution, accept **blood money (diyah)**, or

charitably waive the punishment.

If a person is killed by **mistake**, the victim's relatives have two options: they can either accept blood money or forgive the killer.

(Imam Ibn Kathir)

62.

**Blood money** is the amount paid by the killer in order to be forgiven by the victim's family.

The following are true stories that happened in North America many years ago:

Long before the internet became a thing, a Muslim brother died in a small town Canada.

His non-Muslim wife didn't know what to do because he didn't have family members or fellow Muslims in town.

They prayed for him at a church and he was buried in a non-Muslim way.

When his story was brought to my attention many years after his death, we prayed janazah for him at my mosque, because no one did when he died.

A brother died and his body was kept for 2 weeks at a local hospital because nobody knew the contact information of his family back home.

A sister was running a small business and she owed a few people some money, and other people owed her money.

When she died suddenly, her family wasn't aware of those debts.

The family refused to pay her debts because they weren't in writing.

A Muslim couple died in an accident, leaving little kids, who ended up being adopted by a non-Muslim family.

A Muslim man died in the U.

S.

, and his non-Muslim wife decided to cremate (burn) his body.

His Muslim family protested and took his wife to court, but the judge ruled in her favour.

All the Muslims in this story had one thing in common: they didn't leave a will (a document that says what should happen when they die).

If a Muslim man is married to a Christian or Jewish woman, most of the time the wife doesn't know what needs to be done according to Islam

(especially if the husband himself was not practicing his faith).

Sometimes the wife does things her own way, just to get the support of her own family and community.

In the other examples mentioned above, things got complicated because the person didn't have family members to take care of the kids or arrange a proper Islamic funeral

for the Muslim who died.

To solve these problems, Islam teaches us to write a **wasiyyah (will)**.

The Quran (verses 2:180-182) and the Sunnah of the Prophet talk about the importance of wasiyyah, especially if the person leaves property.

'Abdullah ibn 'Omar, reported that the Prophet said, "It's not right for a Muslim who has something valuable to stay for two days without having a written will.

" Ibn 'Omar said, "When I heard this, I immediately wrote my wasiyyah.

" {Imam Al-Bukhari & Imam Muslim}

Someone may ask, "How can I write my will?

" The wasiyyah is very simple.

Consider including the following points:

### Islamic Will (Wasiyyah)

1.

I believe that Allah is my Lord, Muhammad is His Prophet, and Judgment Day is true.

2.

I advise my family to keep Allah in mind and follow the guidance of the Prophet.

3.

I want my funeral to be done according to the teachings of Islam.

4.

I want to be buried in a Muslim cemetery.

5.

My young children will be in the care of my spouse, or close family members if my spouse isn't alive.

6.

This is my property (land, house, money, bank accounts, gold, etc.

)

7.

I owe this amount $.

to this person

8.

This person .

owes me this amount $.

9.

I want this amount (up to ½ of my wealth) $.

to be given to this person

10.

(who has no share in my inheritance) or this project (optional)

11.

After paying my funeral expenses, debts, and gifts or donations, I want the rest of my property to be distributed according to the shares decided by Islamic law.

12.

I want this person .

to be in charge of applying my wasiyyah.

If you live away from your family, make sure to add the names and phone numbers or emails of the people who should be contacted if something happens

to you.

You can make 2 copies: one to keep with your family, and one with the person in charge of applying your wasiyyah.

You can update your wasiyyah if there is a major change (let's say you bought a new house or borrowed money from someone).

If you live in a non-Muslim country, you may want to get your wasiyyah verified by a lawyer to make sure that no one will challenge it after

your death.

This is a true story of a man who was travelling with his family for vacation.

Since the roads were busy during the day, they decided to travel at night.

He said he got so busy preparing for the trip that he forgot to stop by the gas station to fill up the tank before taking the highway.

It was his first time travelling down that highway, so he assumed it would be easy to find a gas station on the way.

He drove for about an hour but couldn't see any.

Once the gas light began to flash on the dashboard, he started to panic.

The road was dark, with no homes or signs of life.

The man was worried that they would be forced to sleep in the car until the morning.

Suddenly, they saw some light from a distance, and it turned out to be a small, old rest area.

The man asked the owner if he had any gas but the owner said he didn't.

However, he said there was a new place 10 minutes away that sold gas.

This gave them some hope, but the man was worried.

What if that place doesn't have any gas left?

What if those 10 minutes turn out to be 10 hours?

Then he drove away, with his eyes staring at the flashing gas light.

Finally, he arrived at the place and asked the owner desperately, "Do you have some gas please?

" The owner said, "Yes!

" The man was very excited.

He said that this was the best 'yes' he ever heard in his life.

He went down into sajdah to thank Allah before continuing his journey with a full tank.

The man said that this experience reminded him of Ramadan.

Think of this month as the only gas station on your highway to Jannah.

Do you think it would have been smart for the man in the story to say, "I'm going to skip this gas station and use the next one"?

Of course not.

In the same way, we can't say, "I'm going to skip this Ramadan and focus on the next one.

" We may not live to see another Ramadan.

So, we shouldn't be distracted from filling up our tanks with good deeds if we really want to make it to Jannah.

A few months before Ramadan, Joha lost his only donkey.

Even though he looked for it everywhere, he couldn't find it.

So, he promised to fast 3 days if his beloved donkey was found.

A week later, he woke up in the morning and found the donkey standing in front of the house.

Sure enough, he kept his promise and fasted 3 days.

However, the donkey soon died.

Joha was so mad that he said, "That's it.

I'm going to discount those 3 days from Ramadan!

"

What do you think about what Joha said?

Fasting in the month of Ramadan is very special to Allah.

The Prophet reported that Allah said, "All the good deeds of the children of Adam are for them, except for fasting, which is for Me, and I'm the

One Who gives the reward for it.

" (Imam Al-Bukhari & Imam Muslim) Some scholars say that fasting is very special to Allah because:

* Some Muslims may show off when they pray, donate, or do haj.

But no one can tell if you are fasting sincerely.

* For zakah, a person may receive 700 rewards.

As for fasting, it's Allah Who decides its special reward.

* The idol-worshippers did different acts of worship for their gods, except fasting.

For example, they prayed, donated, made du'a, and did haj for their idols.

But they never fasted for them.

To understand the importance of Ramadan, let's think about this beautiful hadith.

It was reported that 2 men from the tribe of Quda'ah accepted Islam with the Prophet.

Later, one of them died as a shahid in battle, and the other lived for another year.

Talhah (one of the companions) said, "I had a dream of Paradise, and saw the one who lived a year longer entering Paradise before the shahid.

I was surprised by this.

In the morning, I mentioned it to the Messenger of Allah.

" The Messenger told him that he shouldn't be surprised, adding, "Didn't he fast an extra Ramadan and pray this many rak'ahs for a whole year?

" {Imam Ahmad}

Ramadan—which became a duty to fast in the 2nd year after Hijrah to Madinah—is also very special because of Lailat-ul-Qadr (one of the last 10 nights of the

month, probably the night of the 27th).

According to Surah 97, the reward of good deeds done on Lailat-ul-Qadr is better than 1,000 months.

So, if you pray or give charity on this night, you will get the reward for praying or donating for over 83 years.

Imagine you work for a big company and they tell you, "If you work just one hour tonight, we will give you a salary for over 83 years.

" Do you think it would be wise to refuse this deal?

As mentioned in Surah 97, people usually prepare for salah by making wudu', for zakah by calculating their money, and for hajj by saving and planning.

However, most people don't have a plan to maximize their rewards in Ramadan, the best of all months.

Like the Prophet, our plan should include:

1.

Physical worship: fasting and praying.

2.

Verbal worship: reading the Quran, remembering Allah, and making du'a.

3.

Financial worship: paying our zakah and sadaqah.

The Prophet was very generous all year long, but he was more generous in Ramadan.

(Imam Al-Bukhari)

Ramadan is not just about avoiding food or water.

If fasting only means we don't eat or drink during the days of Ramadan, then camels fast better than us because they can go for weeks or even

months without food or water.

If we want to win more rewards in Ramadan, our tongues should fast, so we don't say bad things, Our ears should fast, so we don't listen to

bad things.

Our eyes should fast, so we don't look at bad things.

And our hearts should also fast, so we do everything only for the sake of Allah, not for showing off.

We should try to keep up this spirit even after Ramadan.

It's interesting how verse 186, which focuses on du'a, is mentioned at the heart of the verses that talk about Ramadan.

This teaches us the importance of making **du'a**, especially during important times like Ramadan, Lailat-ul-Qadr, the Day of 'Arafah, Jum'ah, when it rains, and while in sajdah.

When you say, 'O Allah,' you acknowledge that:

* Allah is One, because you aren't praying to anyone else.

* Allah is ever Living.

* Allah can hear your prayers.

* Allah knows what you want.

* Allah has the power to answer your du'a.

The Prophet said to one of his companions, "O Shaddad ibn Aws!

When you see people treasuring gold and silver, then treasure these words (of dua): O Allah!

I pray to stay strong in all matters and remain dedicated to doing what is right.

I pray for what guarantees Your mercy and ensures Your forgiveness.

I pray for the ability to thank You for Your blessings and to worship You in the best way.

I pray for a pure heart and a truthful tongue.

I pray for whatever good things known to You.

I seek protection in You against whatever evil things known to You.

And I ask Your forgiveness for whatever things known to You.

Indeed, You alone know all unknowns.

" {Imam Ahmad & Imam At-Tabarani}

It was the first night of tarawih (Ramadan night prayers) at a new masjid in North America.

All of a sudden, there was a disagreement on whether people should pray 8 or 20 rak'ahs.

One thing led to another, and people started fighting and screaming in the masjid.

Someone called the police, and soon 3 non-Muslim police officers walked into the prayer area with their shoes on, not knowing the proper way of entering a mosque.

Both the 8-rak'ah brothers and the 20-rak'ah brothers yelled at the officers, "How dare you disrespect the house of Allah!

"