Ramadhan Mubarak

   Ramadhan Mubarak to muslims all over the world.

"Ramadhan is the (month)  in which the Quran was sent down , as a guide to the mankind and a clear guidance and judgement( so that mankind will distinguish from the right and wrong)."TMQ( 2:185)

Allah' s Messenger ( peace be upon him) said: Whenever you sight the new moon( of the month of Ramadhan) observe fast, and when you sight it( the new moon of Shawwal) break it, and if the sky is cloudy for you, then observe fast for thirty days.( muslim)

Allah's Apostle said, " When the month of Ramadhan starts, the gates of heaven are opened and gates of hell are close and the devils are chained."( Bukhari)

Narrated by Abu Huraira(r.a): The Prophet said:" ..... whoever fasts during the month of  Ramadhan out of sincere faith and hoping to attain Allah's rewards, then all his past sins will be forgiven."( Bukhari)

The Messenger of Allah ( peace be upon him) addressed his companions on the last day of Shaban, saying," Oh people! A great month has come over you; a blessed month; a month in which a night better than thousand months; month in which Allah has made it compulsory upon you to fast by day, and voluntary to pray by night.  Whoever draws nearer( to Allah) by performing any of the (optional) good deeds  in this month shall receive the same reward as performing an obligatory deed at any other time, and whoever discharges an obligatory deed in this month shall receive the reward of performing seventy obligations at any other time. It is the month of patience and the reward of patience is heaven. It is the month of charity , and a month in which  a believer's sustenance is increased. Whoever gives food to a fasting person to break his fast, shall have his sins forgiven, and he will be saved from the Fire of Hell, and he shall have the same reward  as the fasting person, without believer's reward being diminished at all." ( Narrated by Ibn Khuzaymah).

Ramadhan is the month in which Allah(swt) covers you with his blessings, sends down  Mercy, decreases sins and answers prayers. So show Allah( swt) the goodness from yourselves, for the unfortunate one is he who is deprived in (this month) of the mercy of Allah.

"Fasting is the shield  with which a servant protects himself from the Fire" ( Ahmad)

On the Day Of Judgement, " Fasting will say: O My Lord I prevented him from food and desires so accept my intercession for him." ( Ahmad, al- Haakim, Hasan).

In this holy month of Ramadhan let's get closer to Allah(swt) by doing good deeds and praising Allah the Almighty.  One more thing when it comes to Ramadhan, most of the women spend a lot of time in kitchen like planning for get together, inviting guests and making special things for Iftar.  Although we get lots of reward in cooking for our friends and family, we should not forget to spend our time for Allah (swt).   The time between Asr and Magrib is the best time to be in Dhikr and seek more, also that's the peak time for us to cook for Iftar.  So sisters plan your Iftar earlier with some simple menu or something which you can make it ahead and warm it  later.  I have given a sample menu for 7 days, along with that links from last year Iftar Moments with 30 day menu plan .  This is just a sample menu, along with this include plenty of fruits and salads in your diet.

Here goes the menu

Day 1

Starter -Oats and  Sago Kanji	Starter - Uzunda Vadai	Main - Polenta Idli
Main - Vada  Curry	Dessert -Blackberry Pudding

Day 2

Starter - Vegetable  Cutlet	Main-Haleem	Main - Manakish
Main -Tandoori Chicken	Dessert - Walnut and Almond Kheer

Day 3

Starter - Turkish Lentil Soup	Starter - Turkish Pide	Main - Mediterranean Kebabs
Dessert - Semolina Syrup Cake

Day 4

Starter - Wholewheat Kanji	Main- Garlic and Coriander Naan	Main - Butter Chicken
Beverages - Nongu Paal

Day 5

Starter - Vegetable Soup	Main - Broccoli Rice	Main - Chicken Kurma
Dessert-Carrot and Almond Milk

Day 6

Starter - Morrocan Harira	Main- Garlic Rolls	Main -Baba Ganoush
Dessert - Baklava

Day 7

Starter - Falafels	Starter - Carrot and Paneer Paratha	Main - Kethal Chicken
Dessert -Fruit salad

Also for more ideas refer these links
Iftar Moments Hijri 1431- Roundup 1
                                         Roundup 2
                                         Roundup 3
Ramadhan Kareem!!!