As-Salaam alaikum, In a few days from now, we shall be in the Holy month of Ramadan for the year 1,447 After Hijrah, during which all Muslims in the world will embark on Fasting, and thereby observe one of the 5 pillars upon which Islam is built --- the other 4 being: TAWHEED, PRAYER(s) or SALLAH, ZAKKAT AND HAJJ. Fasting is incumbent on every Muslim who has attained manhood, and it begins on the appearance of the moon of Ramadan. It continues until the appearance of the moon of Shawwal - as Allah Ta'ala says in chapter 2 of the Holy Qur'an: -- ''O BELIEVERS, FASTING IS PRESCRIBED UNTO YOU.'' (2:183). And the Messenger of Allah, Sallallahu alaihi Wasallam, said that he was informed by Jibril, alaihi salaam, that Allah Ta'ala said, ''Fasting is Mine, and I have the best right to give recompense for it... al-Saum li wa-ana ajza bihi,'' because the religious practice of fasting is a mystery unconnected with any external thing, a mystery in which none other than Allah participates: hence the recompense is infinite. As we keep to fasting in the forthcoming month of Ramadan, we keep away from food, drink and also guard our eyes from lustful looks and the ear from listening to evil speech about anyone in his/her absence, and the tongue from vain or foul words, and the body from following after worldly things and disobedience to Allah. Anyone who acts in this manner truly keeps his/her fast, for the Prophet, Sallallahu alaihi Wasallam, said to a certain man, ''When you fast, let your ear fast and your eye and your tongue and your hand and every limb,'' and he also said, ''Many a one has no good of his fasting except hunger and thirst.''

As-Salaam alaikum, On/about chapter 109 of the Holy Qur'an, Surat al-Kafirun (those who reject faith), it has been narrated by an-Nisaa'i, Tirmidhi, al-Hakim and at-Tabarani and others on the authority of Anas ibn Malik, may Allah be pleased with him, who said the Messenger of Allah, Sallallahu alaihi Wasallam, said: -- ''Qul ya ayuhal Kafirun [reading chapter 109 of the Holy Qur'an] equals a fourth of the Qur'an.'' In another narration of Sa'ad: ''Whoever recites 'Qul-Ya ayuhal Kafirun' it is as if he recited a fourth of the Qur'an.'' And it has been related by Ahmad, Abu Dawud on the authority of Nufayl ibn Mu'awiyya who said that the Prophet, Sallallahu alaihi Wasallam, said: -- ''Whenever one of you retires to his bed at night he should recite: 'Qul ya ayuhal kafirun' and then goes to sleep after reading it will be free of polytheism [shirk].'' And it has been related by al-Daylami on the authority of Abdullah ibn Jaraad who said that the Messenger of Allah, Sallallahu alaihi Wasallam, said: - ''The hypocrite cannot pray the forenoon prayer (duhaa) nor can he recite: Qul ya ayuhal kafiruun.''

As-Salaam alaikum, Our Sheikh, al-Harith ibn Asad al-Musasibi, may Allah be pleased with him, in his book titled 'Kitab al-Mustarshid (Book of the Traveller on the Right Road)' wrote that: -- ''Know, O my brother, that sins produce heedlessness (ghafla)-- that is, the sinner is forgetful of God and His Law- and the heedlessness produces hardness of heart, and hardness of heart leads to alienation from God, and alienation from God leads to Hell.'' Whether a sin committed is small (saghira) or big/great (kabira), both types are to be avoided. Sheikh al-Muhasibi teaches that one cannot attain to the conquest of sin except by a sound purpose and a firm intention to combat desire; and by controlling one's inward self, for if the servant controls his/her self, he dominates his organs and he has knowledge of his own heart, and self-examination in what it desires becomes easy for him, by the leave of Allah Most High; but if you lose control of your inward self, God's command will seem hard to you, and your organs will go astray and your heart will be lost.... you will find yourself unfit for self-examination. Therefore keep to what is lawful, control your tongue except in what will aid you in approaching God Most High. Many Regards.

As-Salaam alaikum, In verse/ayat 32 of chapter 17 of the Holy Qur'an, Surat 'Isra, our Lord Allah Ta'ala says: -- ''AND COME NOT NEAR UNTO ADULTERY, VERILY! IT IS AN OBSCENITY AND AN EVIL WAY'' (17:32) Here, we are prohibited from even approaching Zina/adultery; thus educating us to the fact that: Any cause that leads to Haram act is also Haram, and thus should totally be avoided. Human instinct is such that no sooner do a strange man and woman meet in privacy, that a sensation of mutual attraction permeates the atmosphere between them. This attraction develops from stage to stage, from affection to uncontrollable passion and ultimately into the irreversible stage, where it is almost impossible to control the nafs, and finally the shameful deed of Zina is perpetrated. Therefore, Allah Ta'ala has made easy for us the beautiful pathway to chastity, purity and piety (taqwa), by declaring unlawful all those factors that contribute to the commission of Zina. Best Regards.

As-Salaam alaikum, In the Hadith-Qudsi, we read it where Allah Ta'ala says:-- ''I am the companion of him who remembers Me.'' (see Muslim, Ibn al-Hajjaj, al-Qushayri, Sahih Muslim, ed. Salim Hasim). In this hadith, it is discernable to hold that when someone is in the presence of the one he is remembering, he sees his companion, and as such, there is contemplation and vision. Seeing the other is a means of knowing the other, and knowing the other is, of course, necessary to consciousness of the self. In other words, if prayer is the road to self-consciousness, then he who does not pray, or does not do so in a manner true to its meaning, will not reach the desired destination, he who is not present with his Lord in prayer, neither hearing nor seeing Him, is not really praying. Rather, joy and knowledge are the fruits of mushahada [vision of God] that are endowed only upon those who have truly experienced the contemplative state exemplified in prayer/al-Sallah.