Islamic Reminders

The Supreme Court of Saudi Arabia officially calls for Muslims to look out for the crescent of the holy month of Ramaḍān on Friday evening, 28th February 2025 [29 Shaʿbān 1446 AH].

US President, Donald Trump shared an AI-generated video on his Truth Social platform, illustrating his vision for a transformed Gaza Strip. The footage begins with images of the war-torn region, captioned "Gaza 2025... What's Next?" It then transitions to a depiction of Gaza as a luxurious Middle Eastern destination, featuring exotic beaches, towering skyscrapers reminiscent of Dubai, and opulent yachts. Notably, the video showcases a "Trump Gaza" tower and a massive golden statue of President Trump, with smaller replicas available in a souvenir shop. Additional scenes include a child holding a large balloon shaped like Trump's head, President Trump dancing with a scantily clad belly dancer, and lounging by a resort pool alongside Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Elon Musk also appears multiple times, seen enjoying hummus on the beach and tossing dollar bills into the air.

Narrated by Abū Hurayrah رضي الله عنه: The Prophet ﷺ said, “No prayer is heavier upon the hypocrites than the Fajr and the ʿIshā' prayers and if they knew what is in them in reward, they would have attended them, even if it was by crawling…” [Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī 657]

Sayyid al-Istighfār: The Best Prayer for Seeking Forgiveness اللهم أنت ربي، لا إله إلا أنت ، خلقتني وأنا عبدك، وأنا على عهدك ووعدك ما استطعت أعوذ بك من شر ما صنعت أبوء لك بنعمتك علي، وأبوء بذنبي، فاغفر لي فإنه لا يغفر الذنوب إلا أنت [Allāhumma anta rabbī, lā ilāha illā anta,, khalaqtanī wa-anā ʿabduka, wa-anā ʿalā ʿahdika wa-waʿdika mā’istaṭaʿtu, aʿūdhu bika min sharri mā ṣanaʿtu abūʾu laka bi-niʿmatika ʿalayy, wa-abūʾu laka bidhanbī, fa’ighfir lī fa-innahu lā yaghfir al-dhunūba illā ant] O Allāh, You are my Lord, there is no God but You. You created me and I am Your servant, and I abide by Your covenant and promise (to honor it) as best as I can. I seek refuge in You from the evil that I have committed. I acknowledge Your favor upon me, and I acknowledge my sin, so forgive me, for surely none can forgive sins but You.

Narrated Abū Hurayrah رضي الله عنه: Allāh's Messenger ﷺ said, “While a man was walking he felt thirsty and went down a well and drank water from it. On coming out of it, he saw a dog panting and eating mud because of excessive thirst. The man said, 'This (dog) is suffering from the same problem as that of mine. So he (went down the well), filled his shoe with water, caught hold of it with his teeth and climbed up and watered the dog. Allāh thanked him for his (good) deed and forgave him.” The people asked, “O Allāh's Messenger (ﷺ)! Is there a reward for us in serving (the) animals?” He replied, “Yes, there is a reward for serving any living thing”. [Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī 2363]

The only true believers in Our revelation are those who - when it is recited to them - fall into prostration and glorify the praises of their Lord and are not too proud. They abandon their beds, invoking their Lord with hope and fear, and donate from what We have provided for them. No soul can imagine what delights are kept in store for them as a reward for what they used to do. [Sūrah as-Sajdah, Verse 15-17]

Abu Hassan reported: “I said to Abū Hurayrah (رضي الله عنه) that my two children had died. Would you narrate to me anything from Allāh's Messenger ﷺ a hadith which would soothe our hearts in our bereavements?” He said: “Yes. Small children are the fowls of Paradise. If one of them meets his father (or he said his parents) he would take hold of his cloth, or he said with his hand as I take hold of the hem of your cloth (with my hand). And he (the child) would not take off (his hand) from it until Allāh causes his father to enter Paradise” [Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim 2635]

My Lord! Make me and those believers of my descendants keep up prayer. Our Lord! Accept my prayers. Our Lord! Forgive me, my parents, and the believers on the Day when the judgment will come to pass. رب اجعلني مقيم الصلاة ومن ذريتي ربنا وتقبل دعاء ربنا اغفر لي ولوالدي وللمؤمنين يوم يقوم الحساب Rabbi j'ʿalnī muqīma-ṣalati wamin dhurriyyatī rabbanā wataqabbal duʿāʾ Rabbanā igh’fir lī waliwālidayaa walil-muʾminīna yawma yaqūmul ḥisāb [Sūrah ʾIbrāhīm, Verse 40-41]

A 31-year-old Pascoe Vale woman has been charged with assaulting two Muslim women at an Epping shopping centre in Melbourne's north last week. Police allege the woman attacked a 30-year-old pregnant woman at Pacific Epping shopping centre on High Street on Thursday, before assaulting a 26-year-old woman 10 minutes later. One victim has alleged she was grabbed from behind and choked with her hijab in front of her four-year-old daughter while she was eating lunch. The second woman alleged she was punched, slapped and pushed over, causing bruising and scratches. "Police will allege the victims were targeted due to wearing head coverings," a police spokeswoman said.

We did not send messengers before you [O Prophet] except mere men inspired by Us. If you [polytheists] do not know this already, then ask those who have knowledge of the Scriptures. We did not give those messengers supernatural bodies that did not need food, nor were they immortal. Then We fulfilled Our promise to them, saving them along with whoever We willed and destroying the transgressors. We have surely revealed to you a Book, in which there is glory for you. Will you not then understand? [Sūrah al-ʾAnbiyāʾ, Verse 7-10]

Narrated ʿAbd Allāh ibn ʿUmar رضي الله عنه: Allāh's Messenger ﷺ said, "A Muslim is a brother of another Muslim, so he should not oppress him, nor should he hand him over to an oppressor. Whoever fulfilled the needs of his brother, Allāh will fulfill his needs; whoever brought his (Muslim) brother out of a discomfort, Allāh will bring him out of the discomforts of the Day of Resurrection, and whoever screened a Muslim, Allāh will screen him on the Day of Resurrection.” [Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī 2442]

Iş Gıda, the former franchise operator of KFC and Pizza Hut in Türkiye, has filed for bankruptcy which has led to the closure of 537 restaurants. The bankruptcy coincides with growing boycott calls against the parent company, Yum! Brands, who is alleged to support pro-Israeli start-ups. Last month, Yum! Brands announced it terminated franchise agreements with it's Turkish operator, Iş Gıda due to a significant drop in sales and "failure to meet Yum! Brands’ standards".

Mordechai Brafman, 27, a pro-Israel supporter, fired 17 rounds at a father and son in Miami Beach, wounding both. Thinking he had killed them, he smiled and told police, “I killed two Palestinians.” However, police said that the victims were actually two Israelis visiting the US. The victims, Ari Rabey and his father, claimed they were being targeted in an antisemitic attack. and went on to Facebook posting about the incident whilst chanting “D*ath to Arabs”.

‎Nuʿmān ibn Bashīr رضي الله عنه reported: I heard Allāh's Messenger ﷺ as having said this (and Nuʿmān) pointed towards his ears with his fingers): ‎What is lawful is evident and what is unlawful is evident, and in between them are the things doubtful which many people do not know. ‎So he who guards against doubtful things keeps his religion and honour blameless, and he who indulges in doubtful things indulges in fact in unlawful things, just as a shepherd who pastures his animals round a preserve will soon pasture them in it. ‎Beware, every king has a preserve, and the things God his declared unlawful are His preserves. ‎Beware, in the body there is a piece of flesh; if it is sound, the whole body is sound and if it is corrupt the whole body is corrupt, and hearken it is the heart. ‎[Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim 1599a]

‎Abū Hurayrah رضي الله عنه reported Allāh's Messenger ﷺ as saying that Allāh, the Exalted and Glorious, thus stated: ‎“I am near to the thought of My servant as he thinks about Me, and I am with him as he remembers Me. And if he remembers Me in his heart, I also remember him in My Heart, and if he remembers Me in assembly I remember him in assembly, better than his (remembrance), and if he draws near Me by the span of a palm, I draw near him by the cubit, and if he draws near Me by the cubit I draw near him by the space (covered by) two hands. And if he walks towards Me, I rush towards him.” ‎[Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim 2675a]

‎Narrated Abū Hurayrah رضي الله عنه: Allāh's Messenger ﷺ said, ‎"If one says one-hundred times in one day: ‎ لا إله إلا الله وحده لا شريك له له الملك وله الحمد وهو على كل قدير ‎One will get the reward of manumitting ten slaves, and one-hundred good deeds will be written in his account, and one-hundred bad deeds will be wiped off or erased from his account, and on that day he will be protected from the morning till evening from Satan, and nobody will be superior to him except one who has done more than that which he has done.” ‎[Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī 3293] ‎Transliteration: Lā ilāha illAllāhu, waḥdahu lā sharīka lahu, lahul-mulku wa lahul-ḥamdu, wa huwa ʿalā kulli shaiʾin qadīr ‎Translation: There is no god but Allah alone, without any partner. The Kingdom and praise belongs to Him and He has power over everything.

The body of the Qurʾān burner, Salwan Momika was reportedly cremated in Sweden after no one came forward to claim it. Salwan Momika who was the leader of a militia group and was wanted for war crimes in Iraq, used to publicly burn copies of the Qurʾān in Sweden. Many believed his motives for burning the holy book was so he could gain support from the far-right and be granted asylum in Europe, to avoid being punished for war crimes in his home country.

‎اللهم إني أسألك العافية في الدنيا والآخرة ‎[Allāhumma inn-ī ʾasʾalu-k al-ʿāfiyah fī dun’yā wal-ākhirah] ‎O Allāh, I ask You for my wellbeing in this world and the next

اللهم صل على محمد وعلى ال محمد كما صليت على ابراهيم وعلى ال ابراهيم أنك حميد مجيد اللهم بارك على محمد وعلى ال محمد كما باركت على ابراهيم وعلى ال ابراهيم