The virtue of Hajj

The Messenger of Allah (may peace be upon him) said:
"Whoever performs Hajj (pilgrimage)
and does not have sexual relations (with his wife),
nor commits sin, nor disputes unjustly (during Hajj),
then he returns from Hajj as pure and free from sins
as on the day on which his mother gave birth to him."
(Reported by Al - Bukhari and Muslim)


The Messenger of Allah (may peace be upon him) said:
“From one ‘Umrah to the next is an expiation
for whatever (sins) came between them,
and for an accepted Hajj
there is no reward but Paradise.”
(Reported by Al - Bukhari and Muslim)

If Hajj is accepted does that means that major sins are forgiven?
The answer is Islam QA

All about Haji File of Hajj

To see the video of Hajj:
Tawaf around Kabba at Hajj 2006 in Masjid Al Haram
Hajj Safety - Part 1
Hajj Safety -Part 2
Hajj Pilgrimage 2006/2007(nasheed)
Surah Ar Rahman in Hajj video
Advice and Reminder for Hajj
Hajj view of the Kaaba as pilgrims walk
Nasheed Hajj
Hajj ,Mecca , over 2.5 million people

May Allah accept all our doa. Ameen.
Please make your doa for me in your Hajj.

The Virtues of Ayat Al-Kursi

Let's teach our kids and memorize this ayah.

Allah! La ilaha illa Huwa (none has the right to be worshipped but He), the Ever Living, the One Who sustains and protects all that exists. Neither slumber, nor sleep overtake Him. To Him belongs whatever is in the heavens and whatever is on earth. Who is he that can intercede with Him except with His Permission? He knows what happens to them (His creatures) in this world, and what will happen to them in the Hereafter . And they will never compass anything of His Knowledge except that which He wills. His Kursee extends over the heavens and the earth, and He feels no fatigue in guarding and preserving them. And He is the Most High, the Most Great. (This Verse 2:255 is called Ayat-ul-Kursee.)


Imam Bukhari writes that Abu Hurayrah (Allah be well pleased with him) said:

The Messenger of Allah (Allah bless him and give him peace) deputised me to keep Sadaqah of Ramadan. Someone came and started taking handfuls of the Sadaqah, quickly.

I took hold of him and said, “By Allah, I will take you to the Messenger of Allah.”
He said, “I am needy and have many dependents.”

I released him, and in the morning the Messenger of Allah (Allah bless him and give him peace) asked me, “What did your prisoner do yesterday?”

I said, “O Messenger of Allah! The person complained of being needy and of having many dependents, so, I pitied him and let him go.”

The Messenger of Allah (Allah bless him and give him peace) said, “Indeed, he told you a lie and he will return.”

I believed that he would return again as the Messenger of Allah (Allah bless him and give him peace) had told me that he would return. So, I waited for him watchfully.

When he returned and started stealing handfuls of foodstuff, I caught hold of him again and said, “I will definitely take you to the Messenger of Allah .

He said, “Leave me, for I am very needy and have many dependents. I promise I will not come back again.” I pitied him and let him go.

In the morning the Messenger of Allah (Allah bless him and give him peace) asked me, “What did your prisoner do?”

I replied, “O Messenger of Allah! He complained of his great need and of too many dependents, so I took pity on him and set him free.”

The Messenger of Allah (Allah bless him and give him peace) said, “Verily, he told you a lie and he will return.”

I waited for him attentively for the third time, and when he came and started stealing handfuls of the Sadaqah, I caught hold of him and said, “I will surely take you to the Messenger of Allah as it is the third time you promise not to return, yet you break your promise and come.”

He said, “Forgive me and I will teach you some words with which Allah will benefit you.”

I asked, “What are they?” He replied, “Whenever you go to bed, recite Ayat al-Kursi: ‘Allah – There is no God but He, the Living, the Everlasting,’ till you finish the whole verse.
If you do so, Allah will appoint a guard for you who will stay with you and no devil will come near you till morning.”

So, I released him. In the morning, the Messenger of Allah (Allah bless him and give him peace) asked, “What did your prisoner do yesterday?”

I replied, “He claimed that he would teach me some words by which Allah will benefit me, so I let him go.”

The Messenger of Allah (Allah bless him and give him peace) asked, “What are they?”

I replied, “He said to me, ‘Whenever you go to bed, recite Ayat al-Kursi from the beginning to the end: ‘Allah – There is no God but He, the Living, the Everlasting.’
He further said to me, ‘If you do so, Allah will appoint a guard for you, who will stay with you, and no devil will come near you till morning.’ (Abu Hurayrah or another sub-narrator) added that they (the companions) were very keen to do good deeds.

The Prophet (Allah bless him and give him peace) said, “He really spoke the truth, although he is an absolute liar.

Do you know whom you were talking to, these three nights, O Abu Hurayra?”

Abu Hurayra said, “No.”

He said, “It was the Devil.”
[Sahih al-Bukhari: Book of Wakalah. Imam al-Bukhari]


Please read more in
Ayat al Kursi
Al Kursi

To hear and memorize the ayat al Kursi (2:255) in
Ayatul Kursi - Saad al-Ghamedi
Ayat Al Kursi (2:255) Recited by Abdul Basset Abdus Samed
Ayat Kursi
Ayatul Kursi
Ayatul Kursi--Various Sheikhs

Gheebah (backbiting, gossip)

Allah (the Exalted and Almighty) has said:
And spy not, neither backbite one another.
Would one of you like to eat the flesh of his dead brother?
You would hate it (so hate backbiting)
( Al-Hujurât : 12 )

Gheebah (backbiting, gossip)
means that a person mentions the faults of his Muslim brother
in his absence, which he would not like if he heard about it,
when there is no need to mention them.

To read more, please click Gheebah

Abu Hurairah, may Allah be pleased with him, reported:
Allah's Messenger (may peace and blessings be upon him) said:

Three are the signs of a hypocrite:

when he speaks he tells a lie,

when he makes a promise he acts treacherously,

and when he is trusted he betrays.

(Sahih Muslim)

To read more, please click Hypocrisy

To hear the lecture, please click in
Part I , Part II, and Part III

May Allaah bless our Prophet Muhammad and his family
and companions, and those who follow them in truth.
Ameen.
May Allah always bless us and
we are always in the right path.
Ameen.

What About Homework?

Assalamualaikum,

I just read this article What About Homework? by Jane Bluestein, Ph.D.

I quote some of sentences from the article:

"Research has found that the amount of homework students have does not correlate with performance on achievement tests. Some districts are now pushing for more meaningful assignments and setting limits on the amount of homework kids have to reduce kids’ stress and increase family time."

The articles above is the homework problem in the public school.
Now, how is our homeschooling kids doing in their homeworks? Too many or too low.
Too many homeworks, the kids get stress and don't have enough family time.
In homeschooling, we do have alot of time with our kids. The family time is not a problem for us.

I think, Homeschoolers mom are more wise and should be the best teacher for their own kids. This is the reason why we are doing homeschooling.

Each kid is special. We never teach each kids in the same way.
Some kids need more homeworks and the other kids don't need alot of homeworks.

Some time, We take day off...no homeworks, but we are doing outside homeworks.
Field trip is one way to do homeworks, too.
You don't have to go to museum or special place.
Going to Bank while you are doing something in the bank is field trip, too.
Visiting our family or friends is field trip, too.
Going to masjid is field trip, too.
The kids will learn the real world outside...

I remember when we went to Bank to do the wire transfer. My kids in the same time asked about the process in the bank to the bank managers there.
It was suprised me that they learned so many thing just for 30 minutes in the Bank. They learned and had fun in the same time. They got candy, too. Sometimes, I asked them to write the stories what they had learnt.

Here’s a terrific article about Homework for parents and educators. You can read in
Is Your Child’s Homework Worth Doing? By Chick Moorman and Thomas Haller.

What do you think?
Please share your experience.

Learn About Tawheed

Assalamualaikum,
Allah--Ta'ala--has said:
"I have not created jinn and mankind except to serve Me."
(Quran 51:56)

This week , we have some worksheets and other links, as following:

Islamic Studies:
1. Islamic Games Words Search for Kids:
Islamic Games Words Search

2. Article Fundamentals of Tawheed:

Book of Tawheed and
Learn about Tawheed

3. Story of Sahabah:
Abdullah Ibn Sailam


Arabic:
1. Printables Arabic Learning Materials:
Yemenlinks: Arabic Resources

2. Learn Arabic in level 1, 2, and 3.
Babel: Learn Arabic


Math:
1. Addition single digit for grade K-2 (just click the Free one if you are not member)
Math Addition

2. Addition decimal problems of single digit and tenth for grade 3-5 (just click the Free)
Math: Decimals


Language Arts:
1. Conconants blends bl- and br- for grade 1-2 (just click the Free one)
Language Arts: Consonant blends

2. Game Words: Bookworms (this is my favorite kids game words)
Words Games



Science:
1. Read about Young Scientist who won $20,000 scholarship, Nolan Kamitaki.
Science News for kids org

2. Label me printout, about General Biology.
Label Biology


Geography:
1. National Geography for Kids: Games, Videos, Activities, and Stories.
National Geographic: Games, etc.

2. Where is Bali Island in the world?
All About Bali Island
and Bali map


Jokes of the week:

Reluctantly, a mother agreed to let her son move into the basement so he could have his own room. Soon she realized one advantage of this. Instead of yelling for him to come to breakfast, she would flip the light switch, and he would come running to breakfast.

One morning the mother flicked the switch, but her son did not promptly appear. She flicked the light on and off several times. Finally the son shouted, "I'm on my way. You didn't have to yell."


Have Happy Homeschooling Day to all of you.

The Way To A Good End

Allah (the Exalted and Almighty) has said:
"Wheresoever you may be, death will overtake you
even if you are in fortresses built up strong and high!"
(An-Nisâ’ :78)

Oh Allah, I seek refuge in You from disbelief and proverty.

Oh Allah, I seek refuge in You from torment in the grave.

None the right has to be worshipped except You.

In surat Al-Asr:

1. By the Time,

2. Truly Man is in Loss,

3. Except such as have Faith,

and do rightoues deeds,

and (join together) in the mutual teaching of Truth,

and Patience and Constancy.

I think this is very good reminder or naseeha for all of us including myself.

The only way we may be successful in this world and in the Hereafter is that we must act righteously and follow Allah's commandments.

To hear and memorize surah Al 'Asr (Quran 103) here
To hear the lecture Khalid Yassin: Death -Your time is up

Keep Glad Tiding with the Family

Hadiths for this week are:

• The Messenger of God (may peace be upon him) said: "Whoever would be glad to have his livelihood expanded and his life prolonged should maintain family ties"
  
  
• "Verily, because of charity and keeping uterine family ties, Allâh increases life, repels a bad death, and repels all kinds of evils."
  
  
• "Keeping family ties and good manners builds up one's house and increases life."
  
  
• "Whoever would like for Allâh to increase his income and lengthen his span of life, let him keep glad tiding with the family."
  

The resource is from here

If you have good deed to you family, Allah will give you bounties or increase your life even after your death.

Let's always keep silahturahmi (keep glad tiding) to all our relatives.

May Allah bless us. Ameen.