8 Top Tips for You to Prepare for Hajj

The month of Dhul Hijjah (the twelfth and final month of the Islamic calendar) is nearing.  This is the time when Muslims around the world will make the sacred, annual pilgrimage to the Holy Land of Makkah and Medina. This pilgrimage is called Hajj. 

Those making this pilgrimage would have prepared mentally and physically long before making this trip.  The Hajj is both a mental, spiritual and physical activity.  Hence its reward is extremely great and in that, it is only required for one to make this trip at least one time in their life. Delina Partadiredja, Co-founder of aMuslima gives us her top tips on what we can do to best prepare for Hajj.

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Umrah Trip and Qur’an Classes

Join the IEF’s umrah trip on Saturday, 14th November 2015 with Dr. Lamya Shahin, and below you will find details on the IEF’s weekly Qur’an sessions.

An Evening in the Company of Nouman Ali Khan

Well-known and loved Islamic speaker Nouman Ali Khan was in Jeddah last week and spoke to a select audience at a local mosque in the run up to Ramadan. JB reader Zainab binte Shahid and Jeddah Blog writer Haris Ali were lucky to be present among the listeners, and they sent us their reviews of the event.

Eloquent and charismatic, Nouman Ali Khan.

Haris Ali

Being Nouman Ali Khan’s biggest fan (I graciously share this position with a several hundred million or so other Muslims), it felt surreal to walk into the lecture hall of the Islamic Education Foundation, and to see the Islamic Speaker in the flesh – in front of my eyes. It is difficult to explain; he surpassed my expectation in terms of his personality, sense of humour and warmth. Witnessing the Ustadh standing at the Mimbar, ready to deliver his speech on the topic of Ramadan, in my heart indeed, I felt I knew him personally.

His judiciously crafted words and the trustworthiness and sincerity in his voice was just the same as I had heard in his YouTube videos in my free time. After listening to his lectures online, I was so keen to understand and apply the concepts in my life, and to strengthen my Ibadah and Yaqeen.  I felt a greater insight into comprehending the meaningfulness of Allah Almighty’s words in the Qur’an, and the explanations of the Qur’anic stories were given so clearly and authentically, that any person would be keen to listen. These are the attributes that have lead a great many hearts young and old – to their settlement, in a world filled with so many unsettling questions.

Nouman Ali Khan speaking to the gathering at the IEF Centre.

Soon into the talk I realized that throughout my run of listening to the Ustadh speak, I had always been so moved by his knowledge and eloquence in Islamic Principles, true Muslim character, and how the Muslim community in particular must act with each other and with those outside it.

He spoke particularly on the occasion, about giving proper Da’wah to non-Muslims, inviting them to Islam through justice and reason, as Islam was a gift to us by our Lord, the Creator, and so it is our duty to respectfully and honestly propagate the True Word of the Merciful Creator, the Eternal to those who are but lost and in a deep abyss of darkness. The Ustadh conveyed, that we need not have endless resources, but only the assurance in our hearts from the Lord, Most Merciful to truly convey the message. As he quoted the Prophet Moses in the Quran, faced with the difficult task of confronting the cruel and self-important tyrant, the Pharaoh:

رَبِّ اشْرَحْ لِي صَدْرِي وَيَسِّرْ لِي أَمْرِي وَاحْلُلْ عُقْدَةً مِنْ لِسَانِي يَفْقَهُوا قَوْلِي

Rabb-ishrah li sadri, wa yassir li ‘amri, Wah-lul ‘uqdatam-min-li-saani, Yaf-qahuu qawlii

O my Lord! Open for me my chest (grant me self-confidence, contentment, and boldness); Ease my task for me; And remove the impediment from my speech, so they may understand what I say
[Surah Ta-Ha; 20:25-28]

It was indeed a wonderful speech Mashaa’Allah, from Nouman Ali Khan (may Allah grant him and his family Paradise), telling us not to solely focus on ourselves this coming Ramadan the most blessed month of the Qur’an’s revelation, but to spread the brilliant message of Islam, and that is not difficult to do so, as we are in desperate need to ask Allah to ‘open our chests’ and so our task shall be made easy for us Inshaa Allah.

Nouman Ali Khan, inspiring generations.

Zainab binte Shahid

Assalam O Alaikum. My dream, no our dream just came true!! Our Beloved Ustadh Nouman Ali Khan aka NAK was here in Jeddah, and by the grace of Allah I got a chance to visit one of his lectures. Approximately one thousand people attended the event and the whole crowd was excited; I even felt butterflies.

As for those who aren’t familiar with Ustadh Nouman Ali Khan’s work, he is the founder, CEO And lead instructor at Bayyinah Institute, in Dallas.

He discussed topics regarding Ramadan, Dawah and our relationship with the Qur’an with the reference of Surah Taha and Surah Al-Kahf and their linguistic miracles.

He first told the story of Musa (a.s.) which is in Surah Taha. When Musa (a.s.) was sent to the Pharaoh to deliver the message of Allah (swt), Musa (a.s.) was worried that he would be unsuccessful due to the weight of the duty, but he took refuge in the vast grace of his Lord.

“(Moses) said: O my Lord! Expand me my breast;

   Ease my task for me;

   And remove the impediment from my speech.

   So they may understand what I say:” Surah Taha(25-28)

We learn from his story that we should always seek help from Allah in any difficult situation rather than seeking it from the people.

Ustadh Nouman also gave an example from our Prophet’s (saw) life. Princes used to come from Egypt to learn from the Prophet (saw). So when one came in to the Prophet’s congregation wearing those expensive clothing and jewels, seeing the poor people with torn clothes, he refused to sit with them, so Allah (swt) revealed to the Prophet (saw):

“And keep yourself patient [by being] with those who call upon their Lord in the morning and the evening, seeking His countenance. And let not your eyes pass beyond them, desiring adornments of the worldly life, and do not obey one whose heart We have made heedless of Our remembrance and who follows his desire and whose affair is ever [in] neglect” Surah Al Kahf:28

He (swt) tells the Prophet (saw) not to even look at him and not to even turn his eyes and be with those who call upon their Lord.

Suppose if a man comes to your charity and gives you a big cheque to donate for a masjid, but says I don’t believe in zakat. You may think to yourself that if you engage in discussion with him to teach him about zakat, you won’t get the cheque. You might decide to set religion aside for ten minutes and and take the cheque and teach him later. But no, you can’t do that, not even temporarily. We should not choose the world over Allah. The lesson we learn from this is that we should not prefer worldly resources, rather use the Book of Allah as a resource and seek the company of the believers. Never to compromise Allah when it comes to worldly desires.

His suggestion on making Ramadan productive: choose a surah (chapter) of about 2-3 pages. Find a lecture on it online and recite it day by day and eventually you will start understanding it. By the end of Ramadan you will be one surah closer to Allah.

Everyone was given a free book “Basic Dawah 101” courtesy of the organisers, written by Ryan Fawzi Arab.

Ramadan Volunteering Food Distribution Program

‣ Seeking to do good works this Ramadan?
‣ Wish to give back to the community?
‣ Looking to volunteer your time for a worthy cause?
‣ Are you a teen seeking to get involved in social programs? 
‣ Need community hours for High School graduation and University admissions?

Look no more!

Get Involved with Jeddah’s Premier Volunteering Program for Social Work. The International Community in Jeddah is currently recruiting teens to volunteer for food their Ramadan Food Distribution Program.

Who can participate?

‣ Adult
‣ Teens
‣ Minimum Age 13 years
‣ Males and females

Days and Times
‣ 1st Ramadan to 30th Ramadan
‣ 4:30 – 6:30 pm daily

Meeting Point
‣ Volunteers will be notified once they have registered.

Distribution Districts
‣ Volunteers will be dispatched in groups under the supervision of a team leader. There will be eight locations as follows: South of Jeddah, Ruwais, Ghulail, Karantina, Gurayat and Balad.

‣ Certificates to all International Community in Jeddah volunteers stating volunteering hours can be arranged upon request.

Contact Person
‣ Ally Durvesh: 0599998894

Eid ul-Fitr in Jeddah

In a day or two, depending on the sighting of the moon, Ramadan will be over, and Eid celebrations will be in full swing. Eid ul-Fitr, (Festival of the Fast) marks the end of the month of fasting for Muslims. For most of us in Jeddah this will mean three days of celebrations with family. For expats it may be quite different as they will be spending time away from family back home.

The most popular greeting heard will be ‘Kul ‘am wa antum bikhair’ meaning ‘May every year find you in good health”. The easier greeting regardless of one’s native language is ‘Eid Mubarak’ or ‘Blessed Eid’.

Rice can be bought for distribution to the needy.

In case you are wondering about the stalls selling bags of rice popping up all over Jeddah, these can be bought and distributed to the needy as ‘fitrah’, or the charitable amount which is obligatory for Muslims to give to the needy before Eid ul-fitr so that they may also participate in the festivities of Eid. Fitrah is also known as ‘fitrana’ or ‘zakat ul-fitr’. This article gives details on the Zakat ul-fitr and its calculations.

Whether resident or expat, teen or adult, we would love to know how YOU plan to celebrate Eid this year. Leave a comment and let us know.

Shaikh Arshad Basheer Madani in Jeddah

An Islamic lecture by Arshad Basheer Madani, founder and director of AskIslamPedia.com, followed by Iftar and dinner will be held on the 22nd July, 2014 in Jeddah from 4:30-8pm.

Lessons From Each Surah

(30th Parah: Surah Naba to Surah Naas)

(Quran 18:23,24)

 

Eid in Jeddah

Over three million Pakistani-Indian Muslim expatriates in Saudi Arabia celebrated Eid-ul-Fitr with zeal and fervour on Thursday 8^th August 2013. After four weeks of a soul-enriching Ramadan, the Eid festivities starting from Chand Raat (the night before eid) to the three days of Eid are packed with age-old customs, cultural rituals, and social events.

For Pakistani and Indian expats, each and every aspect of Eid in Jeddah is strikingly similar to how Eid is celebrated back home. There is no need to be home-sick. We have everything right here in Jeddah to cure your nostalgia.

Our guest contributor Rohail Khan relays a personal and detailed account of the festivities and celebrations of Eid in Jeddah, written exclusively for Jeddah Blog.

Ever Wondered About The Tomb of Eve (Hawwa)?

Jeddah (or Jiddah) means grandmother in Arabic, and the city is named thus due to the belief that the tomb of Eve or Hawwa lies within this city. The tomb is known as Maqbara Hawwa and is not openly advertised to the public. Guest blogger Delina Partadiredja who writes regularly for aMuslima.com visited the site and reported back to Jeddah Blog.

According to the Koran, Torah and Bible, Adam and Eve did not follow the commands of God to abstain from the forbidden fruit. As a consequence, after being tempted by the devil, they were commanded by God to come down to Earth.

Where did Adam and Eve come on Earth for the first time? Although there are various opinions on the topic, it is cited in Ad-Dur Al Manthur, (Ibn Abbas R.A) that Adam, Eve, Satan and the snake fell at a place called Dajnah, which is between Makkah and Ta’if. Other books claim that Adam landed at Al-Safa while Eve landed at Al-Marwah; the two hills in Makkah where the Sa’i is performed during Umrah in the Grand Mosque. Another source mentions that Adam landed in India while Eve landed in Jeddah and Adam looked for Eve in Muzdalifah (where the stoning ritual is performed during Hajj).

The signpost reads Muqbara Hawwa in Arabic, which means ‘The Tomb of Eve’.

Jeddah means ‘grandmother’ and according to Arab traditions, it is believed that the mother of all human beings (Eve) was buried in Jeddah. Eve’s burial location has not been publicised, but a few years ago I visited the site that is believed to be the tomb of Eve. The place is located near the mosque of Qisash heading toward Balad around the old Jeddah. The public cemetery has no headstones, thus no can tell where exactly Hawwa was buried. This is to prevent people from turning a cemetery into a sacred place for pilgrimages or to engage in Shirk (Polytheism) by asking for blessings and favours from the dead; something that is prohibited in Islam.

The door to the Tomb of Eve. Benches have been placed within.

Her tomb is about 3 metres long and whitewashed. Before being destroyed, the tomb of Eve was about 120m long, 3m wide and 6m high. For those who want to visit the place, people are usually only allowed to stand at the front door of the tomb (this was previously coloured green). Visitors are prohibited inside the tomb and the open doors are guarded to prevent entry.

The tomb was said to be originally almost 400 feet long and that Eve was one hundred and eighteen feet tall.

References: Atlas of the Qur’an by Dr. Shauqi Abu Khalil

Special thanks to Delina Partadiredja for writing for us, and to Zareen Muzaffar for her help in editing this piece.