Ramadan Recommended Intentions and Zikir - by Habib Umar bin Hafiz

Bismillah

Here's another precious lesson for us to heed as we embrace the Holy Month of Ramadan. It's from our venerable Habib Umar bin Hafiz.

I got this through Muwasala of course, Alhamdulillah. You should subscribe to Muwasala mailing list if you want to get some extras, than those published on their website.

Habib Umar says, there are five intentions we should make:

1. We should intend to be in the state that Allah and His Messenger love for us to be in.

2. We should seek to attain Allah's pleasure and to strengthen our following of the Messenger of Allah salallah alaihi wasalam so that we attain his companionship.

3. We should intend that a new door is opened to us in understanding the Quran and acting according to it.

4. We should intend to avoid the inward things that nullify our fast as we avoid outward things.

5. We should truly seek to raise our fast from the fast of the ordinary people to the fast of the elite and we should aspire to attain the fast of the elite of the elite even if only for a short time.


According to Habib Umar, we should try to win the gaze of Allah on the first night of Ramadan. How?

"We do this by striving to purify our hearts, being in a state of brokenness in front of Allah and having a sincere desire to receive it. Anyone who sincerely seeks to receive it will not be disappointed."

- Habib Umar bin Hafiz


And here is the recommended zikir:

Ramadan Trivia:

Alhamdulillah I was pleased to be able to perform terawih at the newly refurbished mosque near my home. It's a wonderful feeling to see how the mosque has grown physically and has become so grand and beautiful. But my heart wept thinking of a friend who passed away, who had been given a final ghusul at the same mosque. If she was alive, I might bump into her praying terawih there cos that's her neighborhood's mosque.

On a lighter note but quite important actually, please remind your family, boys, and man, especially to not wear any kind of T-shirt/tops that have got any kinds of wording on the back because it's distracting, especially for people like me who reads everything including car registration numbers on the road. LOL.

The terawih was heart-wrenching when the special guest-imam recited long emotional qunut prayers.

However, I could not help but noticed one guy spotting a shirt that says: "Savings all the way". LOL. That's good advice all right. And about six guys to his right wore a T-shirt that says: "Sogo Sale"! LOL. He must be a staff of SOGO, a popular department store in KL.

So now which message should I heed? Do I save all the way? Or do I have to go to Sogo Sale, for Eid preparations?

LOL.

p/s
Yours truly was careful to place her Tote bag face down cos she didn't want the ladies praying beside her to wonder: "Oh she went to Tokyo Disney?" or "Did she get it as a gift?" LOL.

Having it face up would have been worse for me! LOL.