Questions answered! Doubts cleared.

"Bersabarlah dalam meghadapi penyakit, Sesungguhnye penyakit itu penghapus dosa." hadith Qudsi.
Aunt Eleine passed mak some lozenges from a klink in M'sia the other day. Poliklinik Penawar, No 136 Jalan 1/18, Taman Bukit Kempas,Tampoi, JB. hahahha! Mak was under the weather a couple of days ago...Alhamdulillah, she's much better now. Phew! The words above were actually printed on the lozenges sachet. How cool is dat? Way cool! I was impressed by the klinik's decision to print those words coz we need reminders all the time to be patient human beings in whatever situation, esp in sickness. I felt guilty whining about this shoulder pain after reading it. Ssssshhh Shah. Other ppl have it worst than you... Anyways, M'sia's cool that way to me. Just before the azan airs on TV, they showed a hadith to say, I can't remember the exact words but the message was in the lines of:
"To miss a single solah is as though you lost your family and all the wealth that you have." A single solah. Imagine that. If you were feeling lazy and the iman's weak that moment, that very hadith was the "push" u needed to take wudhu' immediately. This is a stark contrast to our "multi-racial, Modern-day, circular" Singapore where you can't even say "Assalamualaikum" on TV, and I'm talking about the channel SURIA, the supposedly Malay/Muslim channel here. (Islamophobia at it's peak!) Even during Ramadhan, SURIA has arranged for "moral decay" events instead of showing ceramah/syarahan from the mosques. It's a pity really. Ramadhan comes only once in a year.... Sigh..
Personally, I can't wait for this coming Ramadhan, Insya Allah. My soul needs cleansing. Insya Allah, this year's ibadah will be better than the last and the future's will be better than now.

Andy and I were talking till quite late yesternite. It was quite a conversation and it got me thinking... Informative, mature, clean talk. Project K's in the works at the moment so I thought I'd do some adult research. I wanted to find out something specific but knowledge is a journey, not a destination. Getting to my search, I've learnt of new things along the way... I assume whoever comes to my page are adults, so lets' be open shall we... No taboo topics here but I'll be tactful all the same. =)

a) was just asking myself whether I can still wear my fav bermudas at home in the presence of future mahram relatives and today, Alhamdulillah, I got my answer. :) Anything below the knees are OK then. Cool. :D
"However, one should not look at what is usually covered such as the knees, the breasts, the armpits, etc. This means that the woman should be decently clothed while in the presence of her mahram relatives."

b) While the first inadvertent look causes no sin on him, the young man should be taught not to follow it by another, as the Prophet, sallallahu alayhe wa sallam, said to Ali Ibn Abi Talib, "O Ali! Do not let the second look follow the first. The first look is allowed to you but not the second." (Tirmithi, Ahmad and Abu Dawud)

c) A man should always cover himself from the navel to the knees in the presence of others. The thigh of man is considered awrah. It is highly recommended to teach boys to cover themselves down to the knees at a young age (around seven) so that they grow up with this habit.
Does this mean guys' are permitted to wear bermudas in public then? I need to confirm this further...

d) The Prophet, sallallahu alayhe wa sallam, said, "It is better for one of you to be pierced by an iron needle in the head than to touch the hand of a woman that is not allowed to him." (Tabarani)
This sin is considered a fornication of the hand, as the Prophet, SAW said, "The eyes fornicate, and the hands fornicate, and the feet fornicate, and the intimate parts fornicate." (Ahmad) Is there a person purer than Muhammad, SAW? And in spite of that he said, "I do not shake women's hands." (Ahmad)
It should also be known that wearing a glove or wrapping the hand with a cloth while shaking hands is not allowed either.

e) Good for any would-be parents to know this.
Children ten years and older should not share the same bed even if they are of the same sex, as the Prophet SAW advised, saying, "Enjoin your children to perform solah when they are seven, and spank them for it when they are ten, and let them sleep in separate beds." (al-Hakim and Abu Dawud)

f) The Prophet, sallallahu alayhe wa sallam, said, "And in the sexual act (with your spouses) there is a charity (you will be rewarded for)." He was then asked, "A man satisfies his urge and gets reward for it?" He said, "Do you see if he satisfied it in an unlawful way, would he not get a punishment?" They said, "Yes." And then he said, "Similarly if he did it in a lawful way, he would be rewarded for it!" (Muslim)

g) It is a desirable Sunnah that the groom puts his hands on the bride's head and pray for her. The Prophet SAW taught us to say, "O Allah, I ask You her goodness, and the goodness of the inborn dispositions which You have given her, and I solicit Your protection from her evil, and the evil of the inborn dispositions which You have given her." (Abu Dawud and Ibn Majah) The groom can make this supplication aloud or silently.

h) It is also desirable that they make two raka'at of voluntary salah together. When your wife comes to you, ask her to make two raka'at with you and then say, 'O Allah, bless my wife for me, and bless me for her. O Allah, unite between us in good, and if You separate us, separate us in good." (Abu Shaybah)

i) IMPORTANTE: it is a sunnah to make the following supplication, "In the name of Allah. O Allah, keep Satan away from us, and keep Shaytan away from (the offspring) that which You grant us." (Bukhari)

These are just some of the info I find enlightening personally. Good on you if you already know the above listed. I didn't. Think I'd stop here before the list gets too long. The info above is posted at www.zawaj.com. I shall not elaborate further but I've already gotten the answer to my specific query and needless to say, I can now re-affirm what I already know. I'd rather not say what it is coz I'm trying to be tactful here. heee...



= = Prophet Muhammad SAW said," Facilitate things to people (concerning religious matters) and do not make it hard for them and give them good tidings and do not make them run away (from Islam). = = Sahih Bukhari