Annual Iftar Gathering organised by Pangal Online Forum at Konthagram Masjid Complex

Pangal Online Forum organised Annual Iftar Gathering on 18th June 2017, at Konthagram Masjid Complex. Many youths, students, teachers, Professionals, attended the Iftar gathering. In the month of Ramadan, the Islamic month of fasting, from sunrise to sunset, the Muslims have restrained themselves from material and spiritual vices and Iftar is the time when the […]

Pangal Online Forum organised Annual Iftar Gathering on 18th June 2017, at Konthagram Masjid Complex. Many youths, students, teachers, Professionals, attended the Iftar gathering. In the month of Ramadan, the Islamic month of fasting, from sunrise to sunset, the Muslims have restrained themselves from material and spiritual vices and Iftar is the time when the […]

Read more / Original news source: http://kanglaonline.com/2017/06/annual-iftar-gathering-organised-by-pangal-online-forum-at-konthagram-masjid-complex/

Manipur: 30 ASSAM RIFLES celebrates last day of the Holy Month of Ramadan

The post Manipur: 30 ASSAM RIFLES celebrates last day of the Holy Month of Ramadan appeared first on  KanglaOnline.com.30 ASSAM RIFLES CELEBRATES LAST DAY OF THE HOLY RAMADAN MONTH    Manipur, Imphal: 30 Assam Rifles of 9 Sector under HQ IGAR (S…

The post Manipur: 30 ASSAM RIFLES celebrates last day of the Holy Month of Ramadan appeared first on  KanglaOnline.com.

30 ASSAM RIFLES CELEBRATES LAST DAY OF THE HOLY RAMADAN MONTH    Manipur, Imphal: 30 Assam Rifles of 9 Sector under HQ IGAR (S) organised an IFTAAR Party at Chingmeirong COB on 19 Aug 2012 celebrating the last day of … Continue reading

The post Manipur: 30 ASSAM RIFLES celebrates last day of the Holy Month of Ramadan appeared first on  KanglaOnline.com.

Read more / Original news source: http://kanglaonline.com/2012/08/manipur-30-assam-rifles-celebrates-last-day-of-the-holy-month-of-ramadan/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=manipur-30-assam-rifles-celebrates-last-day-of-the-holy-month-of-ramadan

Ramadan greetings by Pangal Political Forum, Manipur

The post Ramadan greetings by Pangal Political Forum, Manipur appeared first on  KanglaOnline.com.Manipur,IMPHAL, July 19: The Pangal Political Forum, Manipur has greeted the people of the state especially to the Pangal (Manipuri Muslim) on the occasi…

The post Ramadan greetings by Pangal Political Forum, Manipur appeared first on  KanglaOnline.com.

Manipur,IMPHAL, July 19: The Pangal Political Forum, Manipur has greeted the people of the state especially to the Pangal (Manipuri Muslim) on the occasion of ‘Ramadan’ which will begin from the convening night of July 20-21. The Forum has appealed … Continue reading

The post Ramadan greetings by Pangal Political Forum, Manipur appeared first on  KanglaOnline.com.

Read more / Original news source: http://kanglaonline.com/2012/07/greeting-2/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=greeting-2

Ramadhan: A Meaning of this Holy Month

By: Abdul Ghaffar “Ramadhan is the month in which was sent down the Qur’an, as a guide to mankind, also clear signs for guidance and judgment between right and wrong…. Read more »

By: Abdul Ghaffar

“Ramadhan is the month in which was sent down the Qur’an, as a guide to mankind, also clear signs for guidance and judgment between right and wrong. So every one of you who is present at his home during that month should spend it in fasting, but, if anyone is ill, or on a journey, the prescribed period should be made up by days later. God intends every facility for you; He does not want to put you to difficulties. He wants you to complete the prescribed period and to glorify Him in that He has guided you; and perchance ye shall be grateful”
(Holy Qur’an 2:185).
Once again we welcome it, once again it welcomes us. Ramadhan-a month of obligatory daily fasting in Islam is the ninth in the Islamic lunar calendar. For the entire month, Muslims fast from dawn to dusk, an act that brings joy and contentment to every Muslim who experiences the practice. But fasting as such is a human phenomenon, which is noticeable in all religions. Allah says in Qur’an:
?”O you who believe! Fasting is prescribed for you as it was prescribed for those before you, that you may become pious” (Holy Quran 2:183).

Ramadhan is not only to abstain from food, drink, smoking, and marital sex (up to sunset) but also to abstain from arguing, lying, backbiting, cursing, fighting, obscenity and all kinds of immoral acts. This is a month of return, introspection, mediation, brotherhood and love. This month provides an opportunity for the creature (Human) to get closer to his Creator (God). This is a month of when a Muslim tries to: see not what displeases God, speak no evil, hear no evil, do no evil, look to God with fear and hope. Ramadhan is supposed to be a time of giving and giving up, a time to feel closer-physically closer by fasting-to the tribulations and hunger that the poor feel all the year. It is a time to deny oneself, for one’s own good and the good of others. It is a time of deeper prayer and reflection.
The Prophet Mohammad (blessings and peace be upon him) said,
“If, during Ramadhan, someone does not refrain from backbiting, lying, slandering, arguing, or fighting with someone, the Allah is not interested in his keeping himself hungry and thirsty. And be certain that a Muslim is one from whose hand and tongue other people are safe (Hakim 2003).

And he further said, “there are many a Muslim man or woman who obtains nothing from Ramadhan except an empty belly and a dry mouth” (Hakim 2003), meaning the whole point of fasting was missed. In other words, there is a great difference between fasting and merely keeping oneself hungry- something essential to understand.
A Meaning of this Month
The month of Ramadhan is the ‘month of the Meaning.’ It is a quest for finding a meaning in our own self and the world. Why this life? What about God in my life? What about my mother and my father, still alive or already gone? What about my children? My family? My community? Why this universe and this humanity? What meaning have I given to my daily life? What meaning am I able to be consistent with?
The Prophet of Islam (peace be upon him) had warned, ‘Some people only gain from their fast the fact that they are hungry and thirsty.’ He was speaking of those who fast as mechanically as they eat. They deprive themselves from eating with the same unawareness and the same thoughtlessness as they are used to eating and drinking. In fact, they transform it into a cultural tradition, a fashionable celebration, even a month of banquets and ‘Ramadhan nights.’ This is fast of extreme alienation and counter-meaning. As this month invites us towards the deep horizons of introspection and meaning, it reminds us of the importance of detail, precision and discipline in our practice. The precise starting day of Ramadhan that must be rigorously found; the precise hour before dawn on which one must stop eating; the prayers to be performed ‘at determined moments,’ the exact time of breaking the fast. At the very time of our profound meditation with God and in our own self, one could have thought that it was possible to immerse oneself into one’s feelings because this quest for meaning is so deep that it should be allowed to bypass the details of rules and schedules. But the actual experience of Ramadhan teaches us the opposite: no profound spirituality, no true quest of meaning without discipline and rigor as to the management of rules to be respected and time to be mastered.
An Invitation to Self-Transformation
The abrupt change implied by the fast is an invitation to a transformation and a profound reform of oneself and one’s life that can only occur through a rigorous intellectual introspection (muhasaba). To achieve the ultimate goal of the fast our faith requires a demanding, lucid, sincere, and honest mind capable of sane self-criticism. Everyone should be able to that for oneself, before God, within one’s solitude. The month of Ramadhan calls Muslim to their dignity as well as to their responsibilities. It is imperative that they make it a rule for themselves to be rigorous and upright in the assessment of their conduct, individuality and collectively: self-criticism and collective introspection are of the essence at every step, to achieve a true transformation within Muslim communities and societies.
Instead of blaming ‘those who dominate,’ ‘the other,’ ‘the West,’ etc. it is necessary to make ourselves follow the teaching of the month of Ramadhan: you are indeed what you do of yourself. What are we doing of ourselves today? What are our contributions within the fields of education, social justice and liberty? What are we doing to promote the dignity of women and children or to protect the rights of the poor and marginalized people in our societies?
What kind of models of profound, intelligent and active spirituality do we offer today to the people around us? What have we done with our universal message of justice and peace? What have we done our message of individual responsibility, of human brotherhood and love? All these questions are in our hearts and minds and there is only one response inspired by the Qur’an and nurtured by the month of Ramadhan: God will change nothing for the good if you change nothing. The objective of Ramadhan is to attain Taqwa.
“O you who believe! Fasting is prescribed for you as it was prescribed for those before you, that you may attain Taqwa” (Holy Qur’an 2:183).
What is Taqwa?
Hazrat ‘Umar ibn al-Khattab (may Allah be pleased with him) said, “A person with the quality of Taqwa is like a person walking withn caution on a thorny road. The way he would take care to save his clothes from getting entangled in the thorns, so is a person with Taqwa conscious of every action he does (for fear of falling into wrong)” (IECRC 2005).
Taqwa is a way of living where God is always invoked and on one’s mind where one thinks twice before doing any wrong because one knows that He is watching, though no one else may be in sight; and where one develops such a strong will-power that acts of goodness flow from one’s hands as second-nature impulses, where the overflowing of hearts is greater than the deliberation and rationalization of intellects. The Prophet Mohammad (blessings and peace be upon him), it is said, was usually very generous and in Ramadhan was “more generous than the blowing wind,” a common Arab saying.
Ramadhan, in this sense, helps to develop character traits such as patience, gratitude, contentment, humility, generosity, heightened consciousness, purity, and other qualities. By the end of Ramadhan, a Muslims should be a better human, and that much closer to what is possible of human production, if such a thing can be imagined. Suffice it to say that Ramadhan is meant to train one to realize that ideal in one’s day-to-day life.
Few Suggestions
It is not a time to get fat and sleep the day away. That is a travesty of the spirit of the Holy Month.
Here are a few suggestions that we can look into:
Let us invite our friends and neighbours to join us in the breaking of our fasts (Iftar).
Let us donate generously to the Masjid, Islamic causes, worthy causes and everywhere people are in need. ‘This is a month of sharing!’
Let us initiate a project to promote or revive a ‘forgotten’ social cause in the community: fight against communalism, racism, social evils, obscenity, drugs, smoking…etc.
Let us seek the rare and oft-neglected rewards of ‘the night better than a thousand months,’ Laylatur-Qadr.
Let us weep in private for the forgiveness of our sins: It is the month of forgiveness and Allah’s Mercy! It’s never too late.
Let us learn to control our tongue and lower our gaze. Remember the Prophet’s warning that lying, backbiting, and a lustful gaze all violate the fast! Abandon foul language forever.
Let us experience the joy of Tahajjud prayers late at night and devote ourselves purely and fully to Allah in the I’tikaf retreat during the last 10 days of Ramadhan.
Let us encourage our younger ones to offer taraweeh prayers with us at the mosque.
Let us ensure that we mend our relations with everyone regardless of the mistakes on the part of others.
Let us ensure that we offer Zakat ul Fitr ahead of Eid prayers so that the poor and the needy can make use of it in an appropriate manner.
Each of us can develop an individual plan to benefit from and we all can do something to earn some additional grace from God, the Almighty. May this Ramadhan be a time of true fasting, of deeper prayer and real identity with the poor whose plight will not change when the day of Eid comes. To conclude, the Prophet Mohammad (blessings and peace be upon him) reported whoever fasts in Ramadhan with faith and seeking pleasure of Allah, his past sins are forgiven.

Abdul Ghaffar is a researcher in Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi and have presented and published many articles on national and international issues including about Manipur in national journals.

Enhanced by Zemanta

Read more / Original news source: http://kanglaonline.com/2011/08/ramadhan-a-meaning-of-this-holy-month/

Ramadan- a general perspective

By:  Mohd. Nasir Ahmed, Shillong- 793001 (nasir2kman[@]yahoo.com) Ramadan- a general perspective Ramadan (Sawm) is one of the five pillars of Islam and the ninth month of the Muslim calendar. The… Read more »

By:  Mohd. Nasir Ahmed, Shillong- 793001 (nasir2kman[@]yahoo.com)

Ramadan- a general perspective

Ramadan (Sawm) is one of the five pillars of Islam and the ninth month of the Muslim calendar. The meaning of Sawm is to ‘abstain’. In this month, Allah Subhana Wa Taala (SWT) has made it compulsory that the fasting be observed by day, and he has made the ‘Taraweeh’ (Ramadan nightly prayer) a ‘Sunnah’. Fasting is to abstain from eating, drinking, smoking, saying, looking, listening bad things and conjugal relations from dawn till sunset. The goal of fasting is to develop self-restrain (Taqwa).

Ramadan is an annual training programme to refresh us for carrying out our duties towards Allah (SWT). Fasting develops self-control and helps us to overcome selfishness, greed, laziness and other faults. This month of patience gives us an opportunity to experience for ourselves what it is like to have an empty stomach. This develops our feeling for the poor and hungry people. Fasting teaches us to control the love of comfort.

If difficulty is experienced in fasting, one should bear it cheerfully and not complain. Should we feel fatigued at the time of Taraweeh (Ramadan nightly prayer), this too should be borne with fortitude. It should also be borne in mind that fasting does not aim at inflicting punishment upon people or taking on unbearable burdens. The underlying idea behind it is to teach moderation and spiritual discipline so that human temptations may not become so wild and uncontrollable as to flout the commands of the Great Master. To be a true servant of Allah (SWT), it is essential that man should be able to conform his behavior to the moral and spiritual discipline embodied in the Shari’ah of Islam. Fasting is indispensable for this moral and spiritual training. The Prophet (pbuh) said, “When the month of Ramadan starts, the gates of mercy are opened and the gates of Hell are locked and the devils are chained”. (Sahih Muslim, Book 006, Number 2361)

The hadith (sayings of prophet) below gives some very important points regarding Ramadan: The Prophet (pbuh) said “Fasting is a shield or protection from the fire and from committing sins. If one is fasting, he should avoid sexual relation with his wife and quarrelling, and if somebody should fight or quarrel with him, he should say, ‘I am fasting.’ There are two pleasures for the fasting person, one at the time of breaking his fast, and other at the time when he will meet Allah; then he will be pleased because of his fasting.” (Sahih Bukhari, Volume 3, Book 31, Number 128)

In this month, the rebellious ‘Shayateen’ (Satans) are chained, so as not to provoke those evils which they normally do during months other than Ramadan. A question may arise here that, when the ‘Shayateen’ are chained, how it is that we still do see evil committed? The reply is that evil may not necessarily be caused by the rebellious ‘Shayateen’. People have for eleven months lived in obedience to ‘Shayateen’ whims and wishes, and so performing evil deeds instigated by them becomes second nature. Consequently, evil is being done in and out of Ramadan. Therefore the feelings and lessons we experience should stay with us throughout the year. In Al-Qur’an, Muslims are commanded to fast so that they may “become pious”. This piety and devotion is especially felt during Ramadan, but we all must strive to make the feelings and attitude stay with us during our “normal” lives. That is the true goal and test of Ramadan.

Fasting is the way to piety and the fear of God. Fasting narrows the food and blood arteries. They are known to be canals of the devils, hence fasting reduces their insinuation. It further weakens carnal desires, thoughts and temptations of disobedience. Fasting enhances bodily health. It gets rid of contaminated matter, eases the stomach, purifies the blood, eases the working of the heart, brightens the spirit, refines the soul and disciplines the character. When an individual fasts, his soul is humbled and his carnal desires are dispelled. There is a great reward for fasting, as it shows a Muslim obeying Allah (SWT) and submitting to His command.

According Dr. Jack Goldstein author of the book “Triumph over Disease by Fasting and Natural Diet” says that “Fasting give vital organ a complete rest, promotes elimination of metabolic wastes, allows the body to adjust and normalize its bio-chemistry and also its secretion, lets the body break down and absorb swellings, deposits, diseased tissues, and abnormal growth; restores a youthful condition to cells and tissues, increases the power of digestion and assimilation and permits the conservation and re-routing of energy; it clears and strengthens the minds”.

Fasting in Ramadan is not merely physically restraining from the obvious food and drink, but the total commitment of the servant’s body and soul to the letter and spirit of fasting.

1) The fast of the self means to be free from all carnal desires.

2) The fast of mind is avoiding thoughts about things other than Allah (SWT).

3) The fast of the hand is not touching/taking what does not belong to it.

4) The fast of the nose means not sniffing or smelling unlawful things.

5) The fast of the feet is not going places where sinful acts are propagated.

6) The fast of the eye is to prevent it from seeing forbidden things.

Allah (SWT) says in Al-Qur’an, “Tell the believing men to lower their gaze and be mindful of their chastity; this will be most conducive to their purity. And tell the believing women to lower their gaze and be mindful of their chastity, and not display their charms (in public) beyond what may (decently) be apparent thereof, hence let them draw their head-covering over their bosoms”. (Al-Qur’an 24:30-31)

7) The fast of the tongue is guarding against lying, backbiting, slandering, reviling, abusing others, cursing, indecent conversation, swearing and false evidence. The Prophet (pbuh) said: “A Muslim is he from whose tongue and hands other Muslims are safe”.

The Prophet (pbuh) said, “”Whoever does not give up forged speech and evil actions, Allah is not in need of his leaving his food and drink (i.e. Allah will not accept his fasting.)” (Sahih Bukhari, Volume 3, Book 31, Number 127)

8.  The fast of the ears is not to listen to idle talk, gossip, lyrics and notes that contain obscene and indecent things. Listening to Al-Qur’an bears the fruit of faith, guidance, light and prosperity. It fills the heart with wisdom, tranquility, intimacy and contentment. It is a source of protection from the dangerous, deviant and sinful thoughts.

Read more / Original news source: http://kanglaonline.com/2011/08/ramadan-a-general-perspective/