Ramadan in Cayman (part 3)

After Fajr, Br Mahmood narrated the second of the 40 Hadith.  This one is on the Foundation of the Sunnah and is, roughly, as follows:


'Umar ibn Al-Khattab reported: One day while we were sitting with the Messenger of Allah there appeared before us a man whose clothes were exceedingly white and whose hair was exceedingly black; no signs of journeying were to be seen on him and none of us knew him. He walked up and sat down by the prophet. Resting his knees against his and placing the palms of his hands on his thighs, he said, “O Muhammad, tell me about Islam.” The Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, said:

Islam is to witness that there is no God but Allah and Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah, to establish prayer, to give the alms, the fast the month of Ramadan, and to perform pilgrimage to the House if he is capable of travel.

The man said, “You have spoken rightly,” and we were amazed at him asking him and saying that he had spoken rightly. Then he said, “Tell me about faith.” The Prophet said:

Faith is to believe in Allah, His angels, His books, His messengers, and the Last Day, and to believe in the providence (al-qadr) (or destiny) of both good and evil.

The man said, “You have spoken rightly. Then tell me about excellence.” The Prophet said:

Excellence (al-Ihsan)  is to worship Allah as if you see Him, for verily, He sees you.

The man said, “Then tell me about the Hour.” The Prophet said:

The one who is asked does not know more than the one asking.

The man said, “Then tell me about its signs.” The Prophet said:

When the slave girl gives birth to her master, when the naked and barefooted will become chiefs of the people, and when the shepherds of black camels will exult themselves in constructing tall buildings.

Then he left and I stayed for a time. Then the Prophet said:

O Umar, do you know who the questioner was?

I said, “Allah and His messenger know best.” He said:

He was Gabriel (as), who came to teach the people their religion.'



After this, we had the opportunity to discuss a range of topics, including aspects of Zakat, clothing, and the instruction to have a will done up.









At Jummah, we welcomed a revert to Islam - Alhumdulillah.


The Khutbah had a focus on the Qur'an, its rights over us, and how it will be a witness for or against us on the Day.  There are those of us (and I put myself at the top of this poor list) who struggle to read the whole Qur'an at least once in an entire year and, in doing so, are deprived of so many blessings that are attained by reading the Qur'an.

We heard of those who would read the Qur'an 60 times during Ramadan, and others who would complete the Qur'an every two days through the Blessed Month.  We heard of those who had read the Qur'an 18,000 times in one part of their house, and one who would read the entire Qur'an in one rakat of salaat.  Subhanallah.

We heard of how the Qur'an would advocate on behalf of those who were about to be cast into the Fire, that those of us who would otherwise be in Hell would be saved because we had taken the time to read the Words of Allah (swt).

After the Jummah prayer and greeting the new Brother, we then had to wait patiently for the rain to ease.


After Isha, Br Mahmood continued with the description of the Noble Features of the Prophet (saw):

Anas bin Malik (Radiallhu Anhu) reports, "Rasullullah (Sallallahu alaihe wasallam) was of a medium stature, he was neither very tall nor very short. He was very handsome, of medium built and his hair was neither very curly nor very straight (but was slightly wavy). He had a wheat-coloured complexion. When he walked, he leaned forward slightly".

He explained about the wheat-coloured complexion and how, when the Prophet (saw) walked (the word used in the hadith being 'Yata-kaf-fa-oo'), it was at a fast pace, with the leg lifted with force, and leaning forward slightly.  The description is that he walked quickly and did not walk with his chest pushed out with pride.  He also didn't drag his feet when he walked.

After this, there were further Q&A sessions on aspects of salaat and other areas.