Sadaf's Space

Bismillah

Allahu Akbar, Allahu Akbar, Laa illaaha illAllah….these words are buzzing through our heads nowadays, as we proclaim the greatness of the first ten, exalted and esteemed days of the last month of the Islamic calendar – Dhul Hijjah. Allah has sworn by these days in the Quran:

“By the ten nights.”

[Surah Al-Fajr: 2]

Unlike the last ten odd nights of the Holy month of Ramadan, which are exalted in seeking rewards through night worship every odd-numbered night, the first ten days of Dhul Hijjah provide non-stop, continuous chances for doing righteous deeds.

Aside from personal acts of piety, they give Muslims the golden chance to do those good deeds that earn rewards even during the day, especially during daily, routine interaction with peers and family. For example, smiling, visiting a sick neighbor, makng your mother her tea, or patiently enduring a colleague’s unfair behavior are all good deeds that can earn manifold rewards if consciously done during these ten days.

The Prophet [صلی اللہ علیہ وسلم] said:

“There are no days during which good deeds are more beloved to Allah than these (ten) days.” He was asked, “Not even jihad in the path of Allah?” He replied, “Not even jihad in the path of Allah, except for a person who goes out with his self and his wealth, and comes back with nothing.”

[Sahih Al-Bukhari and others] 

Therefore, here is a list of ten things, both personal and communal, that can help us maximize our rewards during these blessed Dhul Hijjah days until Eid Al Adha:

1. Umrah and Hajj
   
   As the name of the month “Dhul Hijjah” suggests (viz. “the one of the Hajj”), the most exalted deed that can be performed in it is the pilgrimage of the house of Allah. Hajj is obligatory for those who can afford the journey, physically and financially, especially if they have never done it before.
   
2. Sacrifice of an animal
   
   Buying, rearing, and nurturing an animal for sacrifice for the sake of Allah is part of the ritual that forms the crux of this month; it is one of the rites performed during Dhul Hijjah, by the pilgrims and non-pilgrims both, starting from the same day - the 10^th of the month.
   
   Allah says in the Quran:
   
   ”It is not their meat, nor their blood, that reaches Allah. It is your piety that reaches Him: He has thus made them (sacrificial animals) subject to you, so that you may glorify Allah for His Guidance to you and proclaim the good news to all who do right.”
   
   [Surah Al-Hajj: 37]
   
   The hard work needed in getting the animal slaughtered and its meat cut and distributed on the 10^th – 13^th of this month should not dissuade a Muslim from enthusiastically performing this rite. Rather, he should remember that it is his taqwa during this process that will greatly please Allah.
   
   Some Muslim men opt to have the sacrifice done by a third party simply out of laziness, to avoid the manual work involved in slaughter. This attitude should be changed, and this sunnah should be carried out with enthusiasm, keeping in mind the unswerving spirit of Ibrahim (peace be upon him) as he lay his son down for sacrifice, in submission to his Lord.
   
3. Takbeer, tahleel and tahmeed
   
   Muslims should loudly recite these adhkar from the night they sight the Dhul Hijjah moon until the Eid salah on the 10^th. The wisdom behind doing this loudly (for men only) is so that listeners can be reminded to do the same.
   
4. Fasting
   
   Fasting on the Day of Arafah – 9^th Dhul Hijjah – is especially prescribed. It joins the Muslims in unity as one brotherhood: as the pilgrims reach Arafah to ask Allah for forgiveness, the rest of the Muslims the world over, seek forgiveness for their sins via fasting this day.
   
   As many other days as possible, from the 1^st – 8^th of this month, Muslims should fast in order to reach a higher level of piety and to earn rewards, especially on Monday and Thursday.
   
5. Zakah and Sadaqah
   
   Dhul Hijjah provides another chance to give pending zakah or other charity, for greater reward. Even giving one riyal per day will have its benefits!
   
6. Recitation of Quran
   
   Reciting each letter gets ten rewards at the minimum; how so ever more can one please Allah by reciting as much of the Quran as they can, during these ten days? Recitation should be done carefully, giving each letter of the Quran it’s due, and should not be taken as a chore. Do as much as you like; but do it every day.
   
7. Repentance
   
   As always, its never too late to seek Allah’s forgiveness, by renewing our intention to turn over a new leaf and change our way of life to one of righteousness. Offering two units of prayer before Fajr with this intention during these ten days would prove very beneficial.
   
8. Abstaining from prohibited things, entertainment, and useless pastimes
   
   Reducing the amount of time we spend on activities that do not benefit our Hereafter would be a wise course of action during these ten days. Even those mundane tasks and chores that take up our time and energy, such as fixing the kitchen plumbing or servicing the car, can be delayed until after Eid Al Adha.
   
9. Respecting and serving pilgrims
   
   Pilgrims are Allah’s guests. Any act of help towards them: feeding them, quenching their thirst, guiding them, giving them shelter, or easing their difficulties, will please Allah tremendously, insha’Allah.
   
10. Visiting Relatives
    
    These ten days can be cashed in on by visiting someone who is sick or experiencing bad times in their life, within one’s clan, neighborhood or community.
    

This “top-ten” list allows us to prioritize our course of action during Dhul Hijjah. We can focus on waking up early to pray and eat suhoor; to find, buy, feed and care for a sturdy sacrificial animal; to help a needy person every day or give them money, and to pray every obligatory prayer in the mosque. It is just a short, ten-day period, dear Muslims! Let us not procrastinate anymore; let us rush forward to perform little bits of all the above good deeds, in order to garner the pleasure of our Creator for the rest of the year!

Bismillah

Google AdSense has taken the global blogosphere by storm since a few years. It is a program that allows users to display Google advertisements on their websites and blogs when they sign up for it. Whenever a site visitor/content reader clicks on such an ad, revenue is generated and added to the website- or blog-owner's account. When these little cent-trickles add up over time and reach a $100, Google sends the blogger or website owner this amount of money via express check or any other specified mode of payment, such as Western Union. "Easy" money while sitting at home! Sound too good to be true? Well, it is.

As a result of the Google AdSense phenomenon, many people have turned to making money online by operating several websites or blogs simultaneously, and focusing on generating more and more content on them, so that the greater the number of web pages displaying Google ads, the more the number of ad-clicks, and hence, the more revenue generated for the site/blog owners. You will not be surprised to find several writing websites popping up on the Internet that entice users to sign up to write articles on their areas of 'expertise' (which could be anything from agnosticism to kite-flying), in return for "being paid" by the website. This "payment" however, turns out to be a few cents per month, unless the writer has hundreds of articles under their belt. Enter the realm of online moneymaking scams! The website owners keep a percentage of the revenue, and pay the registered writers the remaining percentage. What goes on behind the scenes is anybody's guess, because it is never known just how much of the chunk website owners actually keep for themselves.

My concern however, more than what people are doing elsewhere in the blogosphere (reportedly earning up to thousands of dollars per month through AdSense), is the implications of using AdSense and its generated revenue, for a Muslim blogger. This concern got me thinking about the permissibility of the ads displayed by Google on a Muslim's blog, and whether facilitating readers' clicks on that ad (which promptly takes them to that specific advertiser's website) is actually an action that will cause that Muslim more harm than benefit in their Akhirah.

Having a few-months old baby and  a toddler made me quite homebound over a year ago, and I turned to alternative da'wah that could make better use of my time at home with the babies. Like any naive start-up writer, I too, enthusiastically signed up to write for a how-to website, intending to fill up their embarrassingly empty "Islam" section with articles related to Islam, hoping to do my da'wah bit in the global cyberspace. Like any other novice at AdSense, I too, would be pleasantly surprised when a user clicked on an ad and I saw a big, fat "$0.21" appear in my account. Over the months, the cents kept adding up and I really did not believe that one day the so-called big pay-day would arrive (because in Pakistan, things don't always go smoothly - it's a developing country after all). However, it did. That was when my bubble burst.

When some of my Islamic articles started displaying ads inviting to other religions, I actually started to think about whether the income generated via AdSense was halal or not. When I started searching, I came across a post on a blog that talked about putting 'questionable' website URLs (which generated impermissible advertisements), in your AdSense "Competitive Ad Filter", to block those ads from displaying on your article web pages. I did that, but soon realized, as I observed and monitored the ads displaying on my article pages, that there are tons of such 'questionable' websites out there that just keep popping up out of nowhere each day, and that, observing them all the time and putting them in my Competitive Ad Filter would take up all of my free time. Not to mention this filter allows only up to 200 websites. To be specific, since my articles (totaling less than 30) are mostly Islamic in nature (peppered with the terms 'Muslim' and 'Islam'), the ads displaying on them take clicking users to websites inviting to Christianity or some other religion ("Find your religion today!") or those providing online Muslim personals/dating services. That put my guard up and I no longer felt excited as the clicks brought in more cents. My articles were actually helping take readers towards misguidance! And paying me for this "service"!

I am incessantly thankful for having online access to scholars who answer questions related to the latest cyber trends. Quoted below is part of an answer to a question related to the permissibility of signing up for the Google AdSense program:

The basic principle is that it is not permissible to sign up for these advertising programs unless one can be certain that the sites advertised are sound and are free of haram things, because it is not permissible to advertise, promote or help to spread evil.

Allah says (interpretation of the meaning):

"Help you one another in Al‑Birr and At‑Taqwa (virtue, righteousness and piety); but do not help one another in sin and transgression. And fear Allah. Verily, Allaah is Severe in punishment"

[Al-Ma'idah 5:2]

And the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said: "Whoever calls others to guidance will have a reward like the rewards of those who follow him, without that detracting from their reward in any way. And whoever calls others to misguidance will have a burden of sin like the burden of those who follow him, without that detracting from their burden in any way."

[Muslim: 4832]

If the matter is as you describe, and most of the ads that will be placed on your site are for teaching languages and the like, then we hope that there will be nothing wrong with you signing up for this program, especially since you need the money.

You have to block the ads that go against shar'i rulings. If you are unable to do that, and these ads appear on your site against your wishes, then you have to leave this service because otherwise you will be a partner in spreading and propagating haram.

Source: IslamQA.com: Question Reference No. 101806

Well, if your eyebrow was cocked up till now, perhaps the above scholarly opinion might have made things a bit clearer. As for the fact that not all ads on which users click are actually impermissible/haram, but rather, some are permissible and some are not - that is, in fact, very true. However, how can an AdSense user ever know which clicks generated halal revenue, and which generated haram? As Muslims, we all know that, regarding matters which fall into such a "mushbooh" (doubted) category, it is best to be on the safe side, as indicated by the hadith of Prophet Muhammad [صلی اللہ علیہ وسلم] quoted below, where he said:

"The halal is clear and the haram is clear. Between the two there are doubtful matters concerning which, people do not know, whether they are halal or haram. One who avoids them in order to safeguard his religion and his honor is safe, while if someone engages in a part of them he may be doing something haram, like one who grazes his animals near the hima (the grounds reserved for animals belonging to the King which are out of bounds for others' animals); it is thus quite likely that some of his animals will stray into it. Truly, every king has a hima, and the hima of Allah is what He has prohibited. So Beware, in the body there is a piece of flesh: if it is good, the whole body is good; if it is corrupt, the whole body is corrupt, and behold, it is the heart."

[Al-Bukhari & Muslim]

As for the revenue that Muslim bloggers earn through AdSense; knowing that there is a very high chance of it being mixed with impermissible income, how should the money be dispensed with? Can we use it for operations maintenance for our websites? Should we dispose it off by giving to the poor (without hoping for any reward)? Should it be used to buy meat to feed wild animals? Or should it, literally, be thrown away? Or better yet, just not collected i.e. the check can be torn up, or the Western Union payment passed up?

I'd really be interested to hear the opinions of our Shuyookh and other, more experienced Muslim bloggers regarding this issue.

Since a great (and growing) percentage of online bloggers and users is Muslim, alhamdulillah, we can just not chuck something away without actually trying to be proactive enough to devise and promote halal alternatives to it. That is where still-new services such as the Muslim Ad Network and halalads come in. I must admit and profess my ignorance here, though. I do not really know what these services are about, in-depth, except their face-value i.e. they are offering Muslims a chance to display Muslim ads on their blogs and websites. Any information that readers can offer on their validity will be greatly appreciated.

In the end, I must say, as a very concerned AdSense user, I'd jump at the opportunity to have the Google ads displaying in my articles become a 100% halal! Just for the sake of clarity, this personal blog of mine thankfully does not display AdSense ads, but those of my articles that have been irrevocably published on the website howtodothings.com, do. In fact, when Google AdSense crawls my articles, most of which are mostly faith-related, it picks up keywords related to religion/faith/belief etc. and, as a result, displays ads of other religions (e.g those calling towards Scientology or Christianity) within my articles’ text body! Even if I do not collect my AdSense payment, I will still have those ads being displayed on my article pages, and will therefore be partly responsible for driving user traffic towards the websites advertising them (some of which, I reiterate, call away from Islam - as they are based on other religions - because my "Islamic" articles automate Google Adsense to display only "religion"-related ads within them).

I ask Allah to keep us safe from spreading evil on the web.

My uncle very generously sent us a huge chocolate cake on Chand Raat this Eid. The morning after Eid day, when we were still asleep, a 4-year-old munchkin made her way to the fridge and *tried* to cut herself a slice. Notice the stains of little chocolate-covered hands on the box:

The cake died a slow death: by slaughter!

Usually, I do not share my children’s pictures online, due to personal reasons regarding privacy. However, Eid is special and I am making a rare exception here (please do not expect this to become a regular feature!). Below is the result of some hopeless tries at getting my younger hyperactive tot to stand still for a pose on Eid afternoon:

A trip to Bundoo Khan last night was fun. I love the food at this place:

Eid Mubarak!

Taqabbal Allahu minnaa wa minkum.

Ramadan, the month of the Quran, has passed like a whirlwind as usual, with just a bit less than a third of it left already. Now we haplessly watch the days and nights interchange with quick succession, with our routines having set in, and our eating and sleep patterns following a comfortable schedule. We zealously look forward to the last ashrah’s five odd nights, in hopes of having our sins forgiven and our supplications granted for the coming year. However, there are some of us who find themselves quelling an innate guilt of not having lived up to the resolutions regarding daily goals of Quran reading, recitation and reflection that we made before this month started.

When we could not keep up with the half, one, or over one juz of Quran reading per day that we had ambitiously promised ourselves to do during Ramadan, we gave up and left it altogether. However, this is not the right attitude, because the Quran was not meant to be finished in a hurry anyway.

“And recite the Qur'an in slow, measured rhythmic tones.” [Surah Al-Muzammil 73:4]

We should remind ourselves that so many of the Prophet’s companions died before the Quran’s revelation was even complete i.e. they did not even get the opportunity to “finish” it during their lives. The Prophet Muhammad [صلی اللہ علیہ وسلم] also received the revelation of the Quran in stages that followed an erratic and unpredictable schedule spanning more than two decades! The reasons for this gradual, step-by-step revelation as opposed to one, complete swoop (as in the case of the Torah), is:

“Thus (is it revealed), that We may strengthen your heart thereby, and We have rehearsed it to you in slow, well-arranged stages, gradually.” [Surah Al-Furqan - 25:32]

Granted, we live in an era when the entire Quran is ensconced in the hearts of millions of Muslims already, so we should focus on completing it during Ramadan, as was the action of Prophet Muhammad [صلی اللہ علیہ وسلم], who revised it each year in its entirety with the Archangel Jibreel during Ramadan.

Let us be realistic however; we may try your best, but we still might not finish it. The next best option would be to utilize the amazing gift of technology for our spiritual benefit for the rest of the month, as an aid towards revising the whole Quran, in case we cannot finish its recitation or reading on our own. Remember that the rewards of each activity might not be the same, but at least they will keep us tied to the Book for the rest of the month, which is better than having given up on its recitation altogether:

Internet:

Open up the Quran on a website such as Quran Flash or Quran Explorer, turn on the audio of a particular Surah and follow the words with your eyes, reading silently with your lips moving, as the Qari recites it. You will be able to enjoy the spiritual effect of recitation by reading the Divine verses while listening to them.

Dedicate a few minutes you can easily afford for this activity every day (even as few as ten!), and enjoy this time of reflection. You can cover all of your “favorite” portions of the Quran this way i.e. those verses that especially touch your heart when you listen to them. Menstruating women too, can remain bonded with the Quran during Ramadan via this activity.

Taraweeh:

If you have been going to taraweeh, or if you intend to go in the last five odd nights of Ramadan for Qiyam Al-Layl in the mosque, take a mushaf along with you, which you can hold during prayer and follow the Quran’s words with your eyes as the imam recites them.

Television:

If you can watch the channel on which the taraweeh from the Haramain is broadcast live in your home, sit in front of it with a mushaf and follow as the imam recites. You can do this even with any other program that airs a portion of Quran recitation during the day.

CD Players:

If your commute to school, college or office is long, use the car’s tape/CD player or your iPod (if you use the tube or bus) to listen to the Quran while you travel. While listening is not the same in reward, as reading, or of course reciting it yourself, the effect of the recitation on the listener’s heart is nevertheless, still better and more worthy of being sought during Ramadan, than wasting the same time thinking random thoughts, twiddling thumbs, reading worldly literature, watching scenery, or dozing off.

Homemakers can also use a tape or CD player this way, for listening to the Quran while they do housework, especially while preparing iftar in the kitchen. This also prevents unnecessary conversation, such as gossip, between household members.

Last but not least, we all can reap the benefits of the last five odd nights of Ramadan by trying to intensify our reading, recitation and reflection on the Quran during the precious hours of these nights before suhoor. Intensive worship can easily help us accomplish two or three juz per night, if we are motivated enough.

Again, the point is not to rush through the Quran in order to be able to save face before our family and friends by telling them how much we covered. Rather, the goal is to absorb as much of the Quran as we can, with deep understanding and reflection, before this month of exclusive worship passes us by and we are left regretting how we could have cashed in on the chances to do more, yet gave up on ourselves too soon.

Last year, one of my college friends suddenly got in touch with me. “I want to see your children! Let’s get together with the whole gang!” she suggested. I agreed, thinking that it would be good to have a reunion with everyone after so many years, and especially following the births of several babies. Despite distinctly feeling that I no longer have much in common with these 'friends' due to my reversion to Islam since graduation, I did look forward to meeting up with them again, nevertheless.

The gathering took place and there were several awkward moments following the initial excited exchange of greetings, kisses-in-the-air and exclamations of delight at beholding each other’s children. The conversation soon began drifting around careers, domestic life and babies; with each person giving a detailed account of what she’d been up to all these years. With everyone pointedly ignoring my deep involvement with the Quran, and my da’wah-based teaching occupation since graduation; I nevertheless, playing the polite hostess, made sure everyone was well-served and comfortable. When I went into the kitchen to bring food to the table, I heard slivers of conversation filtering in through the door. Despite having progressed to managerial-level career positions boasting hefty paychecks in multinational companies, or having garnered several years of experience living with and adjusting to in-laws, it was disappointing to realize that my guests’ conversation still centered around exchange of gossip, catching up on rumors (mainly about others' flings/engagements/marriages/divorce), backbiting, and demeaning others by referring to them with derogatory, college-era nicknames.

The moment of truth, however, came for me while one of my friends was introducing us to her sister-in-law; she mentioned everyone’s occupation as part of their introduction (e.g preschool teacher, Manager at XYZ etc.), but when it was my turn, not a word was said about what I do, and she moved on after just mentioning my name. To me, the message conveyed was clear: ‘we do not want to discuss your association with Islamic religiosity’. They were interested only in the past person under the superficial cloth hijab whom they had known in college – they were not interested in what that person had morphed into, since then. The entire gathering went by without any mention of Allah, His Prophet [صلی اللہ علیہ وسلم], or His Deen Islam.

The ‘party’ left a bad taste in the mouth. I did not particularly feel insulted, but I had the distinct realization that whatever my relationship was with these people now, who once used to be such good “friends”, it was definitely not one for the sake of Allah. I had secretly hoped to be able to invite them towards Deen by meeting them, but what can one really say to a person when they literally become stiff and aloof, break off eye contact, and turn their head away, as soon as the conversation starts to drift towards the Quran, Sunnah or other aspects of Deen?

A few weeks later, I came across a hadith that opened my eyes and shook me to reality:

It was narrated from Abu Sa’eed al-Khudri [رضی اللّٰہُ عنہ] that the Messenger of Allah [صلی اللہ علیہ وسلم] said:

“Do not keep company with anyone but a believer, and do not let anyone eat your food except the one who is pious.”

[Tirmidhi: 2395, Abu Dawood: 4832]

Whatever excuse we might present to ourselves when we invite people over for a meal to our house, the fact remains that our Prophet Muhammad’s [صلی اللہ علیہ وسلم] words reign supreme; they could not be truer or wiser. He has strongly advised us Muslims to mingle only with believers and invite only those “friends” over for a meal who are pious and Allah-fearing. This, of course, applies to personal or family friends, not to people with whom we have ties of blood or familial kinship. It also leaves no doubt about eating with those of our ‘friends’ who never pray salah, or who openly mock the teachings of Islam, both in word and deed.

When is it that people invite someone over to their house for a meal? It is when they want to further ties with them, or become closer to them for some reason. Usually, business owners regularly invite their loyal clients over for dinner parties; or families negotiating a possible marriage invite each other to elaborate banquets at their homes in order to get to know each other and hence, facilitate an eventual acceptance of the proposal. Having a meal together strengthens an already existing bond; or in the case of strangers, helps in breaking the ice to get better acquainted.

Our Deen has thus stipulated that when Muslims invite guests over for a meal, the latter should be pious, i.e. those who fulfill Islam’s obligations and perhaps practice da’wah in some form or other. However, accepting invitations to meals from other Muslims comes with no such restrictions. This system is therefore, intended to work in such a way that pious people are invited more often to other Muslims’ houses, and in this way, these role models of Islam move around among the masses, eating with them and inspiring them to act upon Islam as well.

As Muslims, we should meet and be polite with everyone in general, without judging his or her actions as right or wrong. However, our close friendships that result in frequent company, especially over meals, should involve only those who are at least religiously-inclined enough to fulfill the faraid (obligations) of Islam. This is an effective way of ensuring that we do not slip down the slope of piety, but rather, keep climbing to higher ranks of righteousness. This is also good for our children, because they get to make friends with other children from like-minded families.

This year, I followed Prophet Muhammad’s advice. I invited only those sisters whom I know for the sake of Allah for a party, i.e. my colleagues at the organization where Islamic education is imparted, and some friends with whom I studied the Quran together under a teacher. These are sisters who at least follow the obligations of Islam, and hold Allah and His Prophet close to their hearts. Consequently, during every discussion at the gathering - be it related to motherhood, our husbands’ jobs, or our relationships with in-laws - Allah, the Quran or Prophet Muhammad’s ahadith were consistently referred to and remembered. The guests left giving me dua’s and blessings. After the party, I basked in an all-enveloping feeling of love and warmth, and felt my imaan level at a new high.

I was reminded of a beautiful hadith at that moment:

Abu Musa [رضی اللّٰہُ عنہ] reported Allah's Messenger [صلی اللہ علیہ وسلم] as saying:

“The similitude of good company and that of bad company is that of the owner of musk and that of the one (iron-smith) blowing bellows; the owner of musk would either offer you some free of charge, or you would buy it from him, or (at least) you would smell its pleasant fragrance; and as for the one who blows the bellows, he would either burn your clothes or you shall have to smell its repugnant smell.”

[Sahih Muslim: Book 32, Number 6361]

Alhamdulillah for our beautiful Deen: one that guides us in every aspect of life!