0Muslima0

Asalamu'alaikum Bro Dr Zakir Naik is considered to be the fitnah!!!!!!!!!!!!!!...I have never seen him with something wrong or wrong Hadiths or wrong translation of Quranic Aya so ... I never believe this.

Asalamu'alaikum Offering Salaam Is An Islamic Duty It has been narrated from Hazrat Ali that the Prophet, peace be upon him said, "Commonly in Islam there are six rights of a Muslim upon a Muslim: when he meets him he should give him salaam; when he invites him (to a meal) he should accept it; when he sneezes he should bless him; when he falls ill he should visit him; when he dies he should accompany his funeral and he should prefer for him that which he prefers Replying To Salaam Is A Duty Of A Muslim Nasai narrates from Hazrat Abu Hurairah that the Prophet, peace be upon him said, "There are rights of a Muslim over a Muslim: Responding to salaam, visiting the sick, following the bier (A platform upon which the corpse rests), accepting an invitation (to a meal) and blessing a person who sneezes." This narration has been narrated in Sahih Muslim in these words, "There are six rights upon a Muslim". The Prophet, peace be upon him was asked, "What are these O’ Prophet of Allah?" The Prophet, peace be upon him replied, "When you meet him, give him salaam, when he invites you, (to a meal) accept it, when he seeks counselling from you give him counselling and when he sneezes and says Alhamdulillah, bless him, when he falls ill visit him and when he dies accompany his funeral." Reward For Giving Salaam It has been narrated by Saalim that the Prophet, peace be upon him said, "He who says Assalaamu Alaikum (Peace be upon you) ten rewards are written down for him, and he who says Assalaamu Alaikum wa rahmatullah (Peace be upon you and Allah’s mercy) for him twenty rewards are written down and he who says Assalaamu Alaikum wa rahmatullahi wa barakatuh (Peace be upon you and Allah’s mercy and blessing) thirty rewards are written down (for him)." In support of this Hadith we find a narration by Ibn Umar in Musannaf-Abdul-Razzak; It has been narrated in this Hadith that a person came in the presence of the Prophet, peace be upon him and said, "Assalamu Alaikum." The Prophet, peace be upon him replied, "Ten." Then a second Sahabi came and said, "Assalamu Alaikum wa rahmatullah." The Prophet, peace be upon him replied, "Twenty." Then a third Sahabi arrived and said, "Assalamu Alaikum wa rahmatullahi wa barakatuh." Upon this the Prophet, peace be upon him said, "Thirty." That is to say upon three words thirty rewards will be written down. Imaam Bukhari in his Al-Adabul-Mufrad narrates from Hazrat Anas that the Prophet, peace be upon him, said, "As-salaam is indeed a name from the names of Allah, which Allah has placed upon the Earth, therefore spread salaam amongst yourselves in abundance."

Asalamu'alaikum Surah Al-Qalam And lo! thou art of a tremendous nature.(4) 68:4 Abdullah ibn Mas’ud “We emulate and do not set precedents, we follow and do not innovate, and we will not deviate as long as we hold on to the narrations.” (Sharh Usul Itiqad Ahl al-Sunnah of al-Lalaka’i, narration number 115) Barakah(r.a) We do not know precisely how the young Abyssinian girl ended up for sale in Makkah. We do not know her 'roots', who her mother was, or her father or her ancestors. There were many like her, boys and girls, Arabs and non-Arabs, who were captured and brought to the slave market of the city to be sold. A terrible fate awaited some who ended up in the hands of cruel masters or mistresses who exploited their labor to the full and treated them with the utmost harsh ness. A few in that inhuman environment were rather more fortunate. They were taken into the homes of more gentle and caring people. Barakah, the young Abyssinian girl, was one of the more fortunate ones. She was saved by the generous and kind Abdullah, the son of Abd al-Muttalib. 'She became the only servant in his household and when he was married, to the lady Aminah, she looked after her affairs as well. Two weeks after the couple were married, according to Barakah, Abdullah's father came to their house and instructed his son to go with a trading caravan that was leaving for Syria. Aminah was deeply distressed and cried: "How strange! How strange! How can my husband go on a trading journey to Syria while I am yet a bride and the traces of henna are still on my hands." Abdullah's departure was heartbreaking. In her anguish, Aminah fainted. Soon after he left, Barakah said: "When I saw Aminah unconscious, I shouted in distress and pain: 'O my lady!' Aminah opened her eyes and looked at me with tears streaming down her face. Suppressing a groan she said: "Take me to bed, Barakah." "Aminah stayed bedridden for a long time. She spoke to no one. Neither did she look at anyone who visited her except Abd al-Muttalib, that noble and gentle old man. "Two months after the departure of Abdullah, Aminah called me at dawn one morning and, her face beaming with joy, she said to me: "O Barakah! I have seen a strange dream." "Something good, my lady," I said. "I saw lights coming from my abdomen lighting up the mountains, the hills and the valleys around Makkah." "Do you feel pregnant, my lady?" "Yes, Barakah," she replied. "But I do not feel any discomfort as other women feel." "You shall give birth to a blessed child who will bring goodness," I said. So long as Abdullah was away, Aminah remained sad and melancholic. Barakah stayed at her side trying to comfort her and make her cheerful by talking to her and relating stories. Aminah however became even more distressed when Abd al-Muttalib came and told her she had to leave her home and go to the mountains as other Makkans had done because of an impending attack on the city by the ruler of Yemen, someone called Abrahah. Aminah told him that she was too grief-striken and weak to leave for the mountains but insisted that Abrahah could never enter Makkah and destroy the Kabah because it was protected by the Lord. Abd al-Muttalib became very agitated but there was no sign of fear on Aminah's face. Her confidence that the Kabah would not be harmed was well-founded. Abrahah's army with an elephant in the vanguard was destroyed before it could enter Makkah. Day and night, Barakah stayed beside Aminah. She said: "I slept at the foot of her bed and heard her groans at night as she called for her absent husband. Her moans would awaken me and I would try to comfort her and give her courage." The first part of the caravan from Syria returned and was joyously welcomed by the trading families of Makkah. Barakah went secretly to the house of Abd al-Muttalib to find out about Abdullah but had no news of him. She went back to Aminah but did not tell her what she had seen or heard in order not to distress her. The entire caravan eventually returned but not with Abdullah. Later, Barakah was at Abd al-Muttalib's house when news came from Yathrib that Abdullah had died. She said: "I screamed when I heard the news. I don't know what I did after that except that I ran to Aminah's house shouting, lamenting for the absent one who would never return, lamenting for the beloved one for whom we waited so long, lamenting for the most beautiful youth of Makkah, for Abdullah, the pride of the Quraysh. "When Aminah heard the painful news, she fainted and I stayed by her bedside while she was in a state between life and death. There was no one else but me in Aminah's house. I nursed her and looked after her during the day and through the long nights until she gave birth to her child, "Muhammad", on a night in which the heavens were resplendent with the light of God." When Muhammad was born, Barakah was the first to hold him in her arms. His grandfather came and took him to the Kabah and with all Makkah, celebrated his birth. Barakah stayed with Aminah while Muhammad was sent to the badiyah with the lady Halimah who looked after him in the bracing atmosphere of the open desert. At the end of five years, he was brought back to Makkah and Aminah received him with tenderness and love and Barakah welcomed him "with joy, longing and admiration". When Muhammad was six years old, his mother decided to visit the grave of her husband, Abdullah, in Yathrib. Both Barakah and Abd al-Muttalib tried to dissuade her. Aminah however was determined. So one morning they set off- Aminah, Muhammad and Barakah huddled together in a small hawdaj mounted on a large camel, part of a huge caravan that was going to Syria. In order to shield the tender child from any pain and worry, Aminah did not tell Muhammad that she was going to visit the grave of his father. The caravan went at a brisk pace. Barakah tried to console Aminah for her son's sake and much of the time the boy Muhammad slept with his arms around Barakah's neck. The caravan took ten days to reach Yathrib. The boy Muhammad was left with his maternal uncles of the Banu Najjar while Aminah went to visit the grave of Abdullah. Each day for a few weeks she stayed at the grave. She was consumed by grief. On the way back to Makkah, Aminah became seriously ill with fever. Halfway between Yathrib and Makkah, at a place called al-Abwa, they stopped. Aminah's health deteriorated rapidly. One pitch dark night, she was running a high temperature. The fever had got to her head and she called out to Barakah in a choking voice. Barakah related: "She whispered in my ear: 'O Barakah, I shall depart from this world shortly. I commend my son Muhammad to your care. He lost his father while he was in my abdomen. Here he is now, losing his mother under his very eyes. Be a mother to him, Barakah. And don't ever leave him.' "My heart was shattered and I began to sob and wail. The child was distressed by my wailing and began to weep. He threw himself into his mother's arms and held tightly onto her neck. She gave one last moan and then was forever silent." Barakah wept. She wept bitterly. With her own hands she dug a grave in the sand and buried Aminah, moistening the grave with whatever tears were left in her heart. Barakah returned with the orphan child to Makkah and placed him in the care of his grandfather. She stayed at his house to look after him. When Abd al-Muttalib died two years later, she went with the child to the house of his uncle Abu Talib and continued to look after his needs until he was grown up and married the lady Khadijah. Barakah then stayed with Muhammad and Khadijah in a house belonging to Khadijah. "I never left him and he never left me," she said. One day Muhammad, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, called out to her and said: "Ya Ummah!" (He always called her "Mother".) "Now I am a married man, and you are still unmarried. What do you think if someone should come now and ask to marry you?" Barakah looked at Muhammad and said: "I shall never leave you. Does a mother abandon her son?" Muhammad smiled and kissed her head. He looked at his wife Khadijah and said to her: "This is Barakah. This is my mother after my own mother. She is the rest of my family." Barakah looked at the lady Khadijah who said to her: "Barakah, you have sacrificed your youth for the sake of Muhammad. Now he wants to pay back some of his obligations to you. For my sake and his, agree to be married before old age overtakes you." "Whom shall I marry, my lady?" asked Barakah. "There is here now Ubayd ibn Zayd from the Khazraj tribe of Yathrib. He has come to us seeking your hand in marriage. For my sake, don't refuse." Barakah agreed. She married Ubayd ibn Zayd and went with him to Yathrib. There she gave birth to a son whom she called Ayman and from that time onwards people called her "Umm Ayman" the mother of Ayman. Her marriage however did not last very long. Her husband died and she returned once more to Makkah to live with her "son" Muhammad in the house of the lady Khadijah. Living in the same household at the time were Ali ibn Abi Talib, Hind (Khadijah's daughter by her first husband), and Zayd ibn Harithah. Zayd was an Arab from the tribe of Kalb who was captured as a boy and brought to Makkah to be sold in the slave market. He was bought by Khadijah's nephew and put in her service. In Khadijah's household, Zayd became attached to Muhammad and devoted himself to his service. Their relationship was like that of a son to a father. Indeed when Zayd's father came to Makkah in search of him, Zayd was given the choice by Muhammad of either going with his father or staying with him. Zayd's reply to his father was: "I shall never leave this man. He has treated me nobly, as a father would treat his son. Not a single day have I felt that I am a slave. He has looked after me well. He is kind and loving towards me and strives for my enjoyment and happiness. He is the most noble of men and the greatest person in creation. How can I leave him and go with you?...I shall never leave him." Later, in public Muhammad proclaimed the freedom of Zayd. However, Zayd continued to live with him as part of his household and devoted himself to his service. When Muhammad was blessed with prophethood, Barakah and Zayd were among the first to believe in the message he proclaimed. They bore with the early Muslims the persecution which the Quraysh meted out to them. Barakah and Zayd performed invaluable services to the mission of the Prophet. They acted as part of an intelligence service exposing themselves to the persecution and punishment of the Quraysh and risking their lives to gain information on the plans and conspiracies of the mushrikin. One night the mushrikun blocked off the roads leading to the House of al-Arqam where the Prophet gathered his companions regularly to instruct them in the teachings of Islam. Barakah had some urgent information from Khadijah which had to be conveyed to the Prophet. She risked her life trying to reach the House of al-Arqam. When she arrived and conveyed the message to the Prophet, he smiled and said to her: "You are blessed, Umm Ayman. Surely you have a place in Paradise." When Umm Ayman left, the Prophet looked at his companions and asked: "Should one of you desire to marry a woman from the people of Paradise, let him marry Umm Ayman." Ali the companions remained silent and did not utter a word. Umm Ayman was neither beautiful nor attractive. She was by now about fifty years old and looked rather frail. Zayd ibn al-Harithah however came forward and said: "Messenger of Allah, I shall marry Umm Ayman. By Allah, she is better than women who have grace and beauty." Zayd and Umm Ayman were married and were blessed with a son whom they named Usamah. The Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, loved Usamah as his own son. Often he played with him, kissed him and fed him with his own hands. The Muslims would say: "He is the beloved son of the beloved." From an early age Usamah distinguished himself in the service of lslam, and was later given weighty responsibilities by the Prophet. When the Prophet migrated to Yathrib, henceforth to be known as al-Madinah, he left Umm Ayman behind in Makkah to look after certain special affairs in his household. Eventually she migrated to Madinah on her own. She made the long and difficult journey through the desert and mountainous terrain on foot. The heat was killing and sandstorms obscured the way but she persisted, borne along by her deep love and attachment for Muhammad, may God bless him and grant him peace. When she reached Madinah, her feet were sore and swollen and her face was covered with sand and dust. "Ya Umm Ayman! Ya Ummi! (O Umm Ayman! O my mother!) Indeed for you is a place in Paradise!" exclaimed the Prophet when he saw her. He wiped her face and eyes, massaged her feet and rubbed her shoulders with his kind and gentle hands. At Madinah, Umm Ayman played her full part in the affairs of the Muslims. At Uhud she distributed water to the thirsty and tended the wounded. She accompanied the Prophet on some expeditions, to Khaybar and Hunayn for example. Her son Ayman, a devoted companion of the Prophet was martyred at Hunayn in the eighth year after the Hijrah. Barakah's husband, Zayd, was killed at the Battle of Mutah in Syria after a lifetime of distinguished service to the Prophet and Islam. Barakah at this time was about seventy years old and spent much of her time at home. The Prophet, accompanied by Abu Bakr and Umar often visited her and asked: "Ya Ummi! Are you well?" and she would reply: "I am well, O Messenger of Allah so long as Islam is." After the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, had died, Barakah would often be found with tears in her eyes. She was once asked, "Why are you crying?" and she replied: "By Allah, I knew that the Messenger of Allah would die but I cry now because the revelation from on high has come to an end for us." Barakah was unique in that she was the only one who was so close to the Prophet throughout his life from birth till death. Her life was one of selfless service in the Prophet's household. She remained deeply devoted to the person of the noble, gentle and caring Prophet. Above all, her devotion to the religion of Islam was strong and unshakable. She died during the caliphate of Uthman. Her roots were unknown but her place in Paradise was assured. Barakah('Alayhas-salaam) May ALLAH bless you,you are the the only person who was with Nabi صلى الله عليه و سلم from the start and till the end. What a honour to be wipped by the face, massaged by the feet ,rubbed by the shoulders with his kind and gentle hands. Thats what is love for the Nabi صلى الله عليه و سلم may ALLAH AZA WAJALLAH Make us love the prophet صلى الله عليه و سلم with true love

Asalamu'alaikum Why should we eat at least an apple a day? Not only because it is so refreshing and delicious, but also because it is laden with vitamins and nutrients that preserve our health and help our body fight and prevent multiple disorders and diseases. There are people that give away the skin of the apple, eating only the flesh, but this is a wrong thing to do, as specialists claim that the yellow, green or red skin is definitely the most nutritious. 4 milligrams of quercetin are usually found in an apple's skin and this is the major curative substance in these fruits. Quercetin is a very strong antioxidant of the flavonoids group that, besides apples, is also present in onions, wine, teas, raspberries, red grapes, oranges, lemons, cherries, green vegetables, blue-green algae and many other foods. It does not only protect against free radicals that oxidize the cells, but also block carcinogen agents in the environment, slows the development and spreading of cancer cells in our body etc. By inhibiting the producing and releasing of histamine and other allergic or inflammatory agents, quercetin is one of the main anti-inflammatory substances in the body, preventing and curing even very severe allergies or inflammations. Along with polyphenol antioxidants ( lutein, lycopene, carotene, anthocyanin), flavonoids are also known as phytonutrients, as they enhance the good functioning of the immune system, fighting directly against and removing bacteria and viruses from the environment and the body. The apples also contain two types of fibers, the insoluble fiber and the soluble one, both very beneficial for our health. The insoluble fiber is known as roughage or dietary fiber, as it cannot be digested by the enzymes in our bodies and helps us lose weight by giving the sensation of having a full stomach, of having eaten enough. Also found in the skin of the apple, the insoluble fiber is a great remedy against constipation because it helps digestion and prevents other related disorders like irritable bowel syndrome, diverticulosis disease that may lead to colon cancer, appendicitis, hemorrhoids, hiatus hernia, gallstones etc. The soluble fibers in the apples have opposite effects as compared to the insoluble ones, as they are very helpful in treating diarrhea. These fibers are gel-like natural substances that help reduce cholesterol and therefore prevent the risk of heart and vascular diseases. One of the most known and beneficial soluble fibers in apples is pectin. Besides lowering cholesterol levels in the blood, pectin is a natural anti-inflammatory and anti-bacterial agent. Eating apples is also beneficial for eyes and visual ability, preventing and curing cataracts, for lung function and respiratory disorders like asthma or bronchitis, for prostates and almost any type pf cancer. Reported Health Benefits of Apple : Apple is a rich source of flavonoid and polyphenols both are powerful antioxidant. Study shown that by eating 100g of apple can give an antioxidant effect that equal to taking about 1,500mg of vitamin C. Apple contain a large amount of minerals and vitamins that can strengthen the blood. Apple contain malic acid and tartaric acid, that can help prevent disturbances of the liver and digestion. Apple cider vinegar when used as beverage can help to prevent the formation of kidney stone. The skin of Apple contain pectin that can help remove toxic substances from the system by supplying galacturonic acid. Pectin helps prevent protein matter in the intestine from spoiling. Eating an apple daily can lower cholesterol and reduce skin diseases. Apples have been recommended for : Obesity, Headache, Arthritis, Bronchial asthma, Inflammation of the bladder, Gonorrhea, Anemia, Tuberculosis, Neuritis, Insomnia, Catarrh, Gallbladder stones, Worms, Halithosis, Pyorrhea Nutritive Values : Per 100 grams Vitamin A : 900 I.U. Vitamin B : Thiamine .07 mg.; Vitamin C : 5 mg. Vitamin G : Amount uncertain Calcium : 6 mg. Iron : 3 mg. Phosphorus : 10 mg. Potassium : 130 mg. Carbohydrates : 14.9 gm. Calories : 58 Apples could protect against Alzheimer's, Parkinsonism, Cornell studies find A group of chemicals in apples could protect the brain from the type of damage that triggers such neurodegenerative diseases as Alzheimer's and Parkinsonism, according to two new studies from Cornell University food scientists. The studies show that the chemical quercetin, a so-called phytonutrient, appears to be largely responsible for protecting rat brain cells when assaulted by oxidative stress in laboratory tests. Phytonutrients, such as phenolic acids and flavanoids, protect the apple against bacteria, viruses and fungi and provide the fruit's anti-oxidant and anti-cancer benefits. Quercetin is a major flavanoid in apples. Antioxidants help prevent cancer by mopping up cell-damaging free radicals and inhibiting the production of reactive substances that could damage normal cells. "The studies show that additional apple consumption not only may help reduce the risk of cancer, as previous studies have shown, but also that an apple a day may supply major bioactive compounds, which may play an important role in reducing the risk of neurodegenerative disorders," says Chang Y. "Cy" Lee, Cornell professor of food science at the university's New York State Agricultural Experiment Station in Geneva, N.Y. In a study that recently appeared online and is to be published in the November/December 2004 issue of theJournal of Food Science (69(9): S357-60), Lee and his co-authors compared how two groups of rat neuronal cells fared against hydrogen peroxide, a common oxidative stressor. Only one of the two groups was pretreated with different concentrations of apple phenolic extracts. The researchers found that the higher the concentration of apple phenolic extract, the greater the protection was for the nerve cells against oxidative stress. "What we found was that the apple phenolics, which are naturally occurring antioxidants found in fresh apples, can protect nerve cells from neurotoxicity induced by oxidative stress," Lee said. When Lee and co-author Ho Jin Heo, a visiting fellow at Cornell, looked at quercetin they found that it appeared to be the main agent responsible for the beneficial effect. In fact, they found quercetin works even better in protecting nerve cells against hydrogen peroxide than vitamin C, a naturally occurring antioxidant known to help prevent cell and tissue damage from oxidation. Quercetin is primarily found in apples, berries and onions. This study, which appeared online recently, will be published in the December issue of the Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry . The two studies build on Lee's 2002 findings that quercetin has stronger anti-cancer activity than vitamin C, and his 2000 findings that phytochemicals in apples have stronger anti-oxidant protective effects than vitamin C against colon and liver cancer cells. Other studies have found that phytochemicals are associated with a reduced risk of cancer, heart disease and diabetes, and that they fight not only cancer but also bacterial and viral infections. In addition, they are anti-allergenic and anti-inflammatory. Although Lee stresses that his studies were conducted in the laboratory, not in clinical trials with humans, he has no hesitation in recommending more apples in the diet as well as other fresh fruits and vegetables. "Indeed, I have a reason to say an apple a day keeps the doctor away," he says. The researchers used red delicious apples grown in New York state to provide the extracts to study the effects of phytochemicals. Lee said that all apples are high in the critical phytonutrients and that the amount of phenolic compounds in the apple flesh and in the skin vary from year to year, season to season and from growing region to growing region. The study on apple phenolics, which was co-authored by Heo and D.O. Kim, a postdoctoral researcher at Cornell, as well as S.J. Choi and D.H. Shin at Korea University, was supported in part by Heo's postdoctoral fellowship through the Korea Science and Engineering Foundation (KSEF) and the U.S. Department of Agriculture. The study on quercetin, authored by Lee and Heo, also was supported, in part, by the KSEF fellowship program and U.S. Apple Association. Red Delicious, Northern Spy Apples Have Most Antioxidants Source: American Chemical Society Some apples might do a better job of keeping the doctor away than others, according to Canadian researchers who analyzed eight popular varieties of the fruit. Red Delicious, Northern Spy and Ida Red, they say, pack a greater wallop of disease-fighting antioxidants than other apples studied. The researchers, led by Rong Tsao, Ph.D., of Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada in Guelph, Ontario, also pinpointed the individual chemical compounds responsible for antioxidant activity in apples. The findings could lead to the breeding of hybrid apples that pack a heftier antioxidant punch. The report appears in the June 29 issue of the American Chemical Society's peer-reviewed Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry. ACS is the world's largest scientific society. Researchers have long known that apples are a good source of antioxidants, a group of chemicals that scavenge and neutralize unstable molecules called free radicals. Free radicals, which can wreak havoc on cells and tissues, appear to play a role in the onset of heart disease and prostate, colon and other cancers. Polyphenols - phytochemicals that act like astringents - are major sources of antioxidants in apples, but which polyphenols are most active in the fruit has perplexed scientists. Tsao and his colleagues used three different laboratory measures to evaluate polyphenol activity in apples that are popular in Canada: Red Delicious, McIntosh, Cortland, Northern Spy, Ida Red, Golden Delicious, Mutsu and Empire apples. However, the researchers did not include a number of other apples popular in the United States including Gala, Granny Smith, Jonathan, York, Stayman and Rome. All of the apples used in the study were grown on the same farm under similar conditions. The researchers found: • Polyphenols were five times more prevalent in the skin than the flesh of the apples. • Two polyphenols, epicatechin and procyanidin B2, were the greatest contributors to total antioxidant activity of the apples. Procyanidins accounted for about 60 percent of the antioxidant activity in the peel and 56 percent in the flesh. • Red Delicious apples had two times more antioxidant activity than Empire apples, which had the least activity of any of the apples studied. "When taste and texture do not matter, choosing an apple with a high proportion of polyphenols in the flesh and skin can potentially produce more-health benefits," Tsao said. "But eating any apple is better than eating no apple at all." Elsewhere, three recent studies by researchers at Cornell University in New York offer plenty of other reasons to eat more apples: • Alzheimer's disease. In rats, quercetin -- another potent antioxidant abundant in apples -- appears to protect brain cells against oxidative stress, a tissue-damaging process associated with Alzheimer's and other neurodegenerative disorders. This study was published in the December 1, 2004, issue of the Journal of Agriculture and Food Chemistry. • Heart disease. Antioxidants found in apple extracts could potentially lower "bad" cholesterol (low density lipoprotein, or LDL) by stimulating the production of LDL receptors in the liver, which help remove cholesterol from the blood. This mechanism is similar to that of statin drugs, researchers say. In March, these findings were presented at the ACS national meeting in San Diego. • Breast cancer. Rats exposed to a known carcinogen and then fed the human equivalent of one, three or six apples a day respectively over 24 weeks were up to 44 percent less likely to develop breast tumors. That study was published in the April 6, 2005, issue of the Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry. The American Chemical Society is a nonprofit organization, chartered by the U.S. Congress, with a multidisciplinary membership of more than 158,000 chemists and chemical engineers. It publishes numerous scientific journals and databases, convenes major research conferences and provides educational, science policy and career programs in chemistry. Its main offices are in Washington, D.C., and Columbus, Ohio. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Study: Apple Procyanidins Linked to Reduced Colon Cancer Risk French Study Is Latest to Link Apples to Digestive Health Vienna, Va. - Taking a mouthwatering bite out of an apple might also take a bite out of colon cancer risk, according to new research just presented at a major international cancer research conference. Eating apples may help reduce the risk of developing colon cancer by significantly reducing the growth of precancerous lesions in the colon, according to lead researcher Francis Raul, Ph.D., research director of the French National Institute for Health and Medical Research in Strasbourg. Dr. Raul presented his group's findings at the American Association for Cancer Research's third annual international research conference in Seattle last month. Dr. Raul and his colleagues have found that procyanidins, plant-generated compounds found in high concentrations in apples and apple foods, reduced the number of pre-cancerous lesions in rats by nearly 50 percent. Procyanidins extracted from apples were added to the animals' drinking water, in a relatively low concentration of 0.01 percent. "Our work suggests that eating the whole apple might offer some anti-cancer benefits," said Dr. Raul. "That is certainly something we can comfortably say without more study." Procyanidins are effective against colon cancer in part because they stop newly-forming cancer cells from multiplying and give them the chemical signal to "self-destruct" known as apoptosis, according to Dr. Raul. "Procyanidins do not have any impact on 'normal' colon cells, they only act specifically on cells that are multiplying very quickly," he said. Procyanidins hail from a family of plant-generated compounds called proanthocyanidins. In August of this year, the U.S. Department of Agriculture reported that apples are a top food source of proanthocyanidins, commonly known as "condensed tannins," which contribute to foods' astringent flavor. The primary focus of Dr. Raul's work has been the impact of procyanidins on colon cancer prevention. With further testing, he hopes to find a way to use procyanidins to help cure existing cases of colon cancer. "This is important research that adds more evidence to what people have known instinctively for a very long time - that in addition to their flavor and versatile food qualities, apples and apple foods may also be good for your health in many ways," said Dianne Hyson, Ph.D., M.S., R.D., head of nutrition research at the University of California-Davis' general clinical research center and an assistant professor at California State University, Sacramento who is considered a U.S. authority on apple health benefits research. This laboratory research supports the finding of other international cancer experts that apples have a beneficial affect on cancers of the digestive tract. This summer, a scientific literature review published by the U.K.'s Institute for Food Research reported that eating more fiber - and phytonutrient-rich fruits and vegetables - including flavonoids found most abundantly in apples - may significantly reduce the risk of developing digestive or "gut" cancers, including colon cancer. In 2000, researchers from Cornell University reported in the journal Nature that phytonutrients in apples inhibited the growth of colon cancer and liver cancer cells in vitro. This and other USApple consumer and health news releases are available at http://www.usapple.o...ses/index.shtml . A summary of recent apple health research is available at http://www.usapple.o...rch/index.shtml . Hackers, Take Note: Study Finds Apples May Reduce Chronic Cough Study Is Latest to Suggest Apples May Improve Lung Function, Promote Lung Health Vienna, Va. Hackers (and we don't mean the computer kind), take note: A new study from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) reports that eating foods rich in fiber and flavonoids - found most abundantly in apples — may reduce your chronic productive cough and other respiratory symptoms. Researchers analyzing whether diet might impact chronic productive cough - commonly experienced in persons with chronic respiratory symptoms such as chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) - reported that high consumption of fiber and fruits, specifically apples, appears to be associated with a lower incidence of cough. Their findings suggest that promoting a high-fiber, high-flavonoid diet may help reduce chronic respiratory symptoms, both in smokers and non-smokers. Reporting in the August issue of the peer-reviewed American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine, Dr. Lesley Butler of NIH and her colleagues noted they found an inverse association between fiber consumption and the incidence of productive cough - that is, the more fiber consumed, the lower the reported incidence of cough. Fiber consumption appears to reduce the incidence of cough even in non-smokers, as well as smokers. While fruits, vegetables and grains are the top dietary sources of fiber, an association was found only for non-citrus fruit - the higher the consumption of fruit, the lower the reported incidence of cough plus phlegm. (Source: Butler, L.M., Koh W-P. et al. American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine August 2004; vol. 170, no. 3, pp 279-287. The paper can be accessed online at http://ajrccm.atsjou...rg/cgi/content/ ) Of all the foods examined, the most significant relationship was seen with apples. The association for apples was also seen independent of fiber, suggesting that other apple nutrients besides fiber may offer lung protection. Researchers suggested that antioxidant phytonutrients such as flavonoids may be at work. Apples are one of the top dietary sources for fiber and flavonoids. One medium, tennis ball-sized apple contains five grams of fiber, and apples are the top fruit source of flavonoids. "Cough and phlegm are frequently associated with [COPD], which may be caused by oxidative stress-mediated inflammation and tissue damage in the lung," wrote Butler and her colleagues. "Fruits and vegetables are the major food sources of antioxidants that may protect the lung from oxidative stress. We observed the strongest inverse dose-response associations for apples, pears and grapes." That means the more of these foods that were eaten, the greater the benefit was, with the benefit increasing in direct correlation with the amount of fruit consumed. "Our findings suggest that flavonoids may play a crucial role," Butler and colleagues wrote. "Flavonoids may protect the lung on the basis of their antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties." The prospective cohort study involved 571 persons aged 45-74 reporting a productive cough, who were identified from the ongoing Singapore Chinese Health Study, a large 49,140-person epidemiological study that began in 1993. The study was supported by NIH and the National Institute of Environmental Health Services. Diet May Impact Chronic Lung Disease According to the American Lung Association (ALA), COPD is the fourth leading cause of death in the United States, claiming the lives of 107,146 Americans annually. ALA reports that 80 to 90 percent of COPD cases are caused by smoking; other leading causes are second-hand smoke and exposure to air pollutants. "Our data from the Singapore Chinese Health Study provide evidence that promoting a diet high in sources of fiber and flavonoids, such as fruit and soy, may be an important contribution to primary prevention strategies for chronic respiratory symptoms, both in smokers and nonsmokers," the authors wrote. Latest Study to Link Apples, Lung Health The NIH study is the latest of many to suggest we might breathe easier - literally - by eating apples. Last fall, Australian researchers reported that eating apples and pears may protect against asthma, another growing lung health risk. In December 2001, London-based researchers reported that people who ate at least two apples per week had a 22-32 percent lower risk of developing asthma than people who ate fewer apples, based on their population-based case-control study. In May 2001, researchers at the U.K.'s University of Nottingham reported that apple eaters had better lung function and lower risk of respiratory disease, such as asthma, than non-apple eaters. At the same time, researchers at the University of Groningen in the Netherlands reported that smokers eating moderate amounts of fruits and vegetables - and particularly apples - cut their risk of developing COPD nearly in half. In January 2000, researchers at London's St. George's Hospital also documented a possible link between apples and lung function. Researchers at the University of Hawaii and Finland's National Public Health Institute both linked apple consumption with a reduced risk of lung cancer in separate studies published in 2000 and in 1997, respectively. Cornell Study Finds Apples May Reduce Breast Cancer Risk ITHACA, N.Y. - An apple a day can help keep breast cancer away, according to a study in rats by food scientists at Cornell University. "We found that tumor incidence was reduced by 17, 39 and 44 percent in rats fed the human equivalent of one, three or six apples a day, respectively, over 24 weeks," says Rui Hai Liu, Cornell associate professor of food science and lead author of the study. The Cornell researchers treated a group of rats with a known mammary carcinogen and then fed them either whole apple extracts or control extracts. Liu, who says this is the first study of the effects of apples on cancer prevention in animals, also found that the number of tumors was reduced by 25, 25 and 61 percent in rats fed, respectively, the equivalent of one, three or six apples a day. The report is published online at http://pubs3.acs.org....1021/jf058010c and will be published later this month in the Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry. In an article in the journal Nature five years ago, Liu and his colleagues credited phytochemicals - antioxidants - in fresh apples with inhibiting human liver and colon cancer cell growth. Antioxidants help prevent cancer by mopping up cell-damaging free radicals and inhibiting the production of reactive substances that could damage normal cells. "Studies increasingly provide evidence that it is the additive and synergistic effects of the phytochemicals present in fruits and vegetables that are responsible for their potent antioxidant and anticancer activities," Liu says. "Our findings suggest that consumers may gain more significant health benefits by eating more fruits and vegetables and whole grain foods than in consuming expensive dietary supplements, which do not contain the same array of balanced, complex components," says Liu. He notes that the thousands of phytochemicals in foods vary in molecular size, polarity and solubility, which could affect how they are absorbed and distributed in different cells, tissues and organs. "This balanced natural combination of phytochemicals present in fruits and vegetables cannot simply be mimicked by dietary supplements," he explains. Furthermore, Liu notes that the health benefits of consuming fruits and vegetables extend beyond lowering the risk of developing cancers and cardiovascular diseases to include preventive effects for other chronic diseases, such as cataracts, age-related macular egeneration, central neurodegenerative disease and diabetes. Says David R. Jacobs, professor in the Division of Epidemiology, School of Public Health, University of Minnesota: "Dr. Liu is in the forefront of a group of investigators, including myself, who find extensive evidence that extremely important health aspects of food work through the combination of substances that make up that food, a concept we call food synergy. Risk of many chronic diseases in modern life appears to be reduced by whole foods, but not by isolated large doses of selected food compounds. Dr. Liu's current work on apples and breast tumors in rats is a perfect example of this principle." The study, which was coauthored by Jiaren Liu, a postdoctoral associate at Cornell, and Bingqing Chen of Harbin Medical University, China, was funded by the U.S. Department of Agriculture Federal Formula Funds, the U.S. Apple Association and the Apple Products Research and Education Council. Apple Nutrition Facts • Apples don't have fat, cholesterol or sodium, which may help you maintain heart health and a healthy weight. • Apples do have lots of fiber - both soluble and insoluble kinds. Fiber may help promote heart health and maintain regularity. • Apples contain small amounts of potassium, which may promote heart health and help maintain healthy blood pressure

Asalamu'alaikum Fasting can help protect against brain diseases, scientists say Claim that giving up almost all food for one or two days a week can counteract impact of Alzheimer's and Parkinson's Robin McKie, science editor guardian.co.uk, Saturday 18 February 2012 20.36 GMT above image show:A vertical slice through the brain of a patient with Alzheimer's, left, compared with a normal brain, right. Photograph: Alfred Pasieka/Science Photo Library. Fasting for regular periods could help protect the brain against degenerative illnesses, according to US scientists. Researchers at the National Institute on Ageing in Baltimore said they had found evidence which shows that periods of stopping virtually all food intake for one or two days a week could protect the brain against some of the worst effects of Alzheimer's, Parkinson's and other ailments. "Reducing your calorie intake could help your brain, but doing so by cutting your intake of food is not likely to be the best method of triggering this protection. It is likely to be better to go on intermittent bouts of fasting, in which you eat hardly anything at all, and then have periods when you eat as much as you want," said Professor Mark Mattson, head of the institute's laboratory of neurosciences. "In other words, timing appears to be a crucial element to this process," Mattson told the annual meeting of the American Association for the Advancement of Science in Vancouver. Cutting daily food intake to around 500 calories – which amounts to little more than a few vegetables and some tea – for two days out of seven had clear beneficial effects in their studies, claimed Mattson, who is also professor of neuroscience at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine in Baltimore. Scientists have known for some time that a low-calorie diet is a recipe for longer life. Rats and mice reared on restricted amounts of food increase their lifespan by up to 40%. A similar effect has been noted in humans. But Mattson and his team have taken this notion further. They argue that starving yourself occasionally can stave off not just ill-health and early death but delay the onset of conditions affecting the brain, including strokes. "Our animal experiments clearly suggest this," said Mattson. He and his colleagues have also worked out a specific mechanism by which the growth of neurones in the brain could be affected by reduced energy intakes. Amounts of two cellular messaging chemicals are boosted when calorie intake is sharply reduced, said Mattson. These chemical messengers play an important role in boosting the growth of neurones in the brain, a process that would counteract the impact of Alzheimer's and Parkinson's. "The cells of the brain are put under mild stress that is analogous to the effects of exercise on muscle cells," said Mattson. "The overall effect is beneficial." The link between reductions in energy intake and the boosting of cell growth in the brain might seem an unlikely one, but Mattson insisted that there were sound evolutionary reasons for believing it to be the case. "When resources became scarce, our ancestors would have had to scrounge for food," said Mattson. "Those whose brains responded best – who remembered where promising sources could be found or recalled how to avoid predators — would have been the ones who got the food. Thus a mechanism linking periods of starvation to neural growth would have evolved." This model has been worked out using studies of fasting on humans and the resulting impact on their general health – even sufferers from asthma have shown benefits, said Mattson – and from experiments on the impact on the brains of animals affected by the rodent equivalent of Alzheimer's and Parkinson's. Now Mattson's team is preparing to study the impact of fasting on the brain by using MRI scans and other techniques. If this final link can be established, Mattson said that a person could optimise his or her brain function by subjecting themselves to bouts of "intermittent energy restriction". In other words, they could cut their food intake to a bare minimum for two days a week, while indulging for the other five. "We have found that from a psychological point of view that works quite well. You can put up with having hardly any food for a day if you know that for the next five you can eat what you want."

HEALTH BENEFITS OF BROCCOLI Broccoli for cancer. 50% of cancers in the world today; are caused by failures in the regulation of the cell cycle, a cycle that starts with the formation of cells and ends with its apoptosis or programmed cell death. The regulation of this cell cycle is achieved by a protein called p53 (name assigned by its molecular mass). The protein p53 is a natural tumor suppressor and it is in charge of ordering the human cells when they came to an end of life and it's time to die, process known as apoptosis. For many factors, mainly DNA damage, some times the protein p53 fails, and the tumor cells that were suppose to die in this natural cell cycle known as apoptosis, continue growing, some times in the form of tumors and some times as its malignant form, cancer. But it seems scientists have now found an active constituent in Broccoli that may help in this fight against cancer, let's have a look. BRASSICA OLERACEA Family: Brassicaceae Genus: Brassica Common name: Broccoli ANTICANCER ACTIVE CONSTITUENTS OF BROCCOLI Scientist and doctors have investigated different means to achieve what protein p53 achieves on a natural form, cell cycle regulation and natural death of tumor cells, stopping the spread of the tumors and their malignant forms cancer. In their search for chemicals and molecules that may achieve this function scientist have also looked into natural products and traditional herbal remedies as source of active constituents that may exert this anticancer properties. Recently their interest focused in a cruciferous plant, Broccoli, and one of its active constituents, diindolylmethane, a compound that is produced naturally during the digestion of indole-3-carbinol, a molecule found in Broccoli and other cruciferous vegetables of its family, the Brassicaceae or Cruciferae. Broccoli, is rich in vitamin C (in 100 grams we have our daily recommended intake of vitamin C) and fiber. It has recently been more and more in the scope of scientists as some of the active constituents found on it have demonstrated incredible health benefits, among some of them certain active constituents as diindolylmethane, have exerted certain anticancer properties in cancer /breast cancer studies. BROCCOLI FOR CANCER AND BREAST /PROSTATE CANCER But which active constituent found in Broccoli is responsible for this anticancer properties? The 3,3'-Diindolylmethane or DIM, a cancer preventive phytochemical from Brassica vegetables found in broccoli, but also in Brussels sprouts, cabbage and kale is the active constituent that so far has been proven in several studies and clinical trials [1,2,3,4] to exert anticancer, cancer preventive and inhibiting properties in at least breast cancer and prostate cancer. 3,3'-Diindolylmethane (DIM), inhibited breast cancer cell growth and proliferation in vitro and in vivo, being also able to induce arrest in human prostate cancer cell lines HCT-116 and Colo-320 [1,4]. Another naturally occurring active constituent of broccoli, sulforaphane, has been extensively studied for cancer prevention due to ist chemopreventive properties[6]. BROCCOLI ACTIVE CONSTITUENTS Many are the active constituents found in Broccoli but among all of them we would like to highlight one, Kaempferol, and active constituent known for its health benefits and wonderful properties. Kaempferol is a type of flavonoid, a flavonol, found on natural sources as apples, broccoli, Witch hazel, tea, kenaf, cabbage, kale, beans, endive, leek, tomato, strawberries and grapes, as well as in herbs and plants frequently used in herbal remedies and traditional medicine (e.g. Ginkgo biloba, Tilia spp, Equisetum spp, Moringa oleifera, Sophora japonica and propolis). It has been scientifically proven that the consumption of foods rich in kaempferol may reduce the risk of developing health problems such as cancer and cardiovascular disease. Among the properties of Kaempferol we can mention its anti-inflammatory, antimicrobial, anti-oxidant, anti-cancer, cardioprotective, neuroprotective, anti-diabetic, anti-osteoporotic, estrogenic/antiestrogenic, anxiolytic, analgesic and antiallergic activities [5]. REFERENCES: [1] 3,3'-Diindolylmethane inhibits breast cancer cell growth via miR-21-mediated Cdc25A degradation. Jin Y. Laboratory of Cell Cycle and Cancer, College of Life Sciences, Capital Normal University, HaiDian District, Beijing 100048, China. [2] The Indolic Diet-Derivative, 3,3'-Diindolylmethane, Induced Apoptosis in Human Colon Cancer Cells through Upregulation of NDRG1. Lerner A, Grafi-Cohen M, Napso T, Azzam N, Fares F. Pediatric Gastroenterology and Nutrition Unit, Carmel Medical Center, Haifa 34362, Israel. [3] Inhibition of fatty acid synthase and Sp1 expression by 3,3'-diindolylmethane in human breast cancer cells. Saati GE, Archer MC. Department of Nutritional Sciences, Faculty of Medicine, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada. [4] 3,3'-Diindolylmethane induces a G(1) arrest in human prostate cancer cells irrespective of androgen receptor and p53 status. Vivar OI, Lin CL, Firestone GL, Bjeldanes LF. Department of Nutritional Sciences and Toxicology, 119 Morgan Hall, University of California, Berkeley, CA 94720, USA. [5] A Review on the Dietary Flavonoid Kaempferol. Calderón-Montaño JM, Burgos-Morón E, Pérez-Guerrero C, López-Lázaro M. Department of Pharmacology, Faculty of Pharmacy. University of Seville, C/ Profesor García González, no 2, 41012, Sevilla, Spain [6] Organ-specific exposure and response to sulforaphane, a key chemopreventive ingredient in broccoli: implications for cancer prevention. Veeranki OL, Bhattacharya A, Marshall JR, Zhang Y. Department of Cancer Prevention and Control, Roswell Park Cancer Institute, Elm and Carlton Streets, Buffalo, NY 14263, USA. Cancer Prevention with Broccoli Sprouts. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

O Allah please forgive us all Ameen

Jaabir ibn ‘Abd-Allaah (May Allaah be pleased with him) said: إذَا صُمْت فَلْيَصُمْ سَمْعُكَ , وَبَصَرُكَ , وَلِسَانُكَ عَنْ الْكَذِبِ وَالْمَأْثَمِ , وَدَعْ أَذَى الْخَادِمِ وَلْيَكُنْ عَلَيْكَ وَقَارٌ وَسَكِينَةٌ يَوْمَ صِيَامِكَ , وَلا تَجْعَلْ يَوْمَ فِطْرِكَ وَيَوْمَ صَوْمِكَ سَوَاءً . “If you fast, then block your ears, eyes and tongue from lies and sin; do not abuse your servants; be tranquil and dignified on the day of your fast; do not let the day when you do not fast and the day when you fast be the same.” Source: “al-Muhalla bil-Athaar”, 4/306 The fasting person is enjoined to guard all his faculties against disobeying Allaah. The purpose behind fasting is not simply to refrain from eating and drinking, rather the purpose is to refrain from disobeying Allaah and to achieve piety or fear of Allaah. So, what if a person who is fasting, does not refrain from disobedience and sins like not doing hijaab, shaving of the beard, lying, etc? Does it invalidates the fast or not, or is it that the fasting is deficient but still valid? The correct view is that, with regards to fasting that is accompanied by sins, the fast is not invalidated by that, rather it is valid and the fasting person has fulfilled his obligation and does not have to make up the fast. But the more sins are committed and the more serious they are, the more that detracts from the reward of fasting, and it may cancel out the reward altogether, and the fasting person is left with nothing as a result of his fast apart from hunger and thirst. So that a person may have denied himself food, drink and all the things that break the fast, yet still deprived himself of the reward for that by disobeying Allaah. Hence the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: “The one who fasts may get nothing from his fast but hunger, and the one who prays qiyaam may get nothing from his qiyaam but a sleepless night.” [Narrated by Ibn Maajah, 1690; classed as saheeh by al-Albaani in Saheeh Ibn Maajah] • al-Subki was asked a question: “Can the (reward for) fasting be decreased by sins that may occur while one is fasting, or not? He replied: وَاَلَّذِي نَخْتَارُهُ فِي ذَلِكَ أَنَّهُ يَنْقُصُ وَمَا أَظُنُّ فِي ذَلِكَ خِلافًا . “The view which we favour is that it can decrease, and I do not think there is any differing opinion on this matter”” Source: “Fataawa al-Subki”, 1/220. He also said in his Fataawa, 1/226: وَاعْلَمْ أَنَّ رُتْبَةَ الْكَمَالِ فِي الصَّوْمِ قَدْ تَكُونُ بِاقْتِرَانِ طَاعَاتٍ بِهِ مِنْ قِرَاءَةِ قُرْآنٍ وَاعْتِكَافٍ وَصَلاةٍ وَصَدَقَةٍ وَغَيْرِهَا وَقَدْ تَكُونُ بِاجْتِنَابِ مَنْهِيَّاتٍ . فَكُلُّ ذَلِكَ يَزِيدُهُ كَمَالا وَمَطْلُوبٌ فِيهِ اهـ . باختصار . “Note that the complete reward for fasting is achieved when it is accompanied by acts of worship such as reading Qur’aan, observing i’tikaaf, praying, giving charity etc, and it may be achieved by avoiding haraam things. All of these things make the reward more complete.“ • Shaykh Muhammad ibn Saalih al-‘Uthaymeen (may Allaah have mercy on him) said: فمن صام صوماً ظاهرياً جسدياً، ولكنه لم يصم صوماً قلبياً فإن صومه ناقص جداً جداً, لا نقول: إنه باطل لكن نقول: إنه ناقص … … كذلك الصوم ناقص جداً إذا لم يصم الإنسان عن معصية الله, لكنه مجزئ حسب الرسم الظاهري؛ لأن العبادات في الدنيا إنما تكون على الظاهر. “If a person observes the fast outwardly, in the physical sense (i.e. he abstains from things that invalidate the fast and refrains from things that break the fast), but he does not fast in his heart (i.e. he does not refrain from disobedience towards Allaah), then his fast is severely deficient, but we do not say that it is invalid, rather we say that it is lacking…. … Similarly the fast is very deficient if a person does not refrain from disobeying Allaah, but it is valid, because acts of worship in this world are to be judged as they appear to be.“ Source: “Liqaa’ al-Baab il-Maftoohah”, (Volume 5 page 116). • Shaykh Ibn ‘Uthaymeen (may Allaah have mercy on him) was asked: Does engaging in haraam kinds of speech during the day in Ramadan invalidate a person’s fast? The shaykh replied: يتأكد على الصائم اجتناب المحرمات من الأقوال والأفعال ، فلا يغتاب الناس ، ولا يكذب ، ولا ينمّ بينهم ، ولا يبيع بيعا محرما ، ويجتنب جميع المحرمات . وإذا اجتنب الإنسان ذلك في شهر كامل فإن نفسه سوف تستقيم بقية العام، ولكن المؤسف أن كثيرا من الصائمين لا يفرقون بين يوم صومهم وفطرهم ، فهم على العادة التي هم عليها من الأقوال المحرمة من كذب وغش وغيره ، ولا تشعر أن عليه وقار الصوم ، وهذه الأفعال لا تبطل الصيام ، ولكن تنقص من أجره ، وربما عند المعادلة تضيع أجر الصوم. “It is most important that the fasting person avoids haraam words and deeds. So he should not backbite about people, tell lies or spread malicious gossip amongst them; he should not engage in haraam transactions; and he should avoid all haraam things. If a person avoids such things for a whole month, then he will remain righteous for the rest of the year. But unfortunately many of those who fast do not differentiate between a day when they are fasting and a day when they are not fasting. So they continue to speak and act as they usually do, engaging in haraam actions such as lying, cheating and so on. You cannot sense the dignity of fasting in them at all. These actions do not invalidate the fast but they do detract from its reward, and when they are done continually they may cancel the reward of fasting altogether.” Source: “Majmoo’ Fataawa wa Rasaa’il” of al-Shaykh Ibn ‘Uthaymeen, vol. 19, pages 358-359, question no. 233. • Imaam al-Nawawi said: ( يَنْبَغِي لِلصَّائِمِ أَنْ يُنَزِّهَ صَوْمَهُ عَنْ الْغِيبَةِ وَالشَّتْمِ ) مَعْنَاهُ يَتَأَكَّدُ التَّنَزُّهُ عَنْ ذَلِكَ فِي حَقِّ الصَّائِمِ أَكْثَرُ مِنْ غَيْرِهِ لِلْحَدِيثِ , وَإِلا فَغَيْرُ الصَّائِمِ يَنْبَغِي لَهُ ذَلِكَ أَيْضًا وَيُؤْمَرُ بِهِ فِي كُلِّ حَالٍ , وَالتَّنَزُّهُ التَّبَاعُدُ , فَلَوْ اغْتَابَ فِي صَوْمِهِ عَصَى وَلَمْ يَبْطُلْ صَوْمُهُ عِنْدَنَا , وَبِهِ قَالَ مَالِكٌ وَأَبُو حَنِيفَةَ وَأَحْمَدُ وَالْعُلَمَاءُ كَافَّةً إلا الأَوْزَاعِيَّ فَقَالَ : يَبْطُلُ الصَّوْمُ بِالْغِيبَةِ وَيَجِبُ قَضَاؤُهُ اهـ . “The fasting person should protect his fast from backbiting and slander. What this means is that it is more important for the fasting person to avoid these sins than others, although those who are not fasting should avoid these sins too, as that is enjoined in all situations. If a person backbites while fasting, he has committed a sin but that does not invalidate his fast in our view. This is the view of Maalik, Abu Haneefah, Ahmad and all the scholars except al-Awzaa’i who said that the fast is invalidated by backbiting, and must be made up.” Source: “al-Majmoo’ Sharh al-Mahdhab”, vol. 6, page 356 Remember, this does not mean that you can continue disobeying Allaah and sinning while fasting, because this month is for increasing the rewards and decreasing in sin. So who is so insane to let go of this blessed month with a reduced reward or no reward at all. Shaykh Saalih al-Fawzaan (hafidhahullaah) said: فالذي يفعل الحرام في غير وقت الصيام يأثم ويستحق العقوبة، وإذا فعله في وقت الصيام فإنه مع الإثم واستحقاق العقوبة يؤثر ذلك على صيامه بالنقص أو البطلان “If one commits the unlawful in times other than when he is fasting, he is sinning and worthy of being punished. But if he commits it while fasting, then on top of being sinful and deserving of punishment, this affects his fast by it being either deficient or nullified.” Source: “Ittihaaf Ahlil-Eemaan bi Duroos Shahri Ramadaan” of Shaykh Saalih al-Fawzaan, page 27. We should all remember that the real meaning of fasting is not only giving up food and drink, rather Allaah, may He be exalted, has enjoined fasting in order that we may attain piety (taqwa). Hence real fasting means refraining from sin by refraining from it and giving it up; this is the fasting of the heart, not just the fasting of the body. The Sunnah points to what we have said, and it has been discussed and explained by the scholars. So it is no wonder if we learn that some scholars regarded the fast as invalid if a person falls into sin during his fast, even though the correct view is that this does not invalidate the fast, but undoubtedly it detracts from it and goes against the real meaning of fasting. Source: http://www.islamictreasure.com/sins-and-disobedience-detracts-from-the-rewards-of-fasting/#ixzz22EPtKftH

If you find yourself in a time when speech is accepted as knowledge and knowledge is accepted as deeds [instead of putting it into practice], then you are in the worst time and with the worst people.— Abu Hazim al-Ashja’i

O you who spends his lifetime in disobeying his Lord! No one amongst your enemies is wicked to you than you are to yourself.— Imam Ibn ul-Qayyim

Associate with, and keep the company of those who are forgiving and merciful [to others], for indeed they are the most soft and tender hearted of people.— ‘Awn ibn ‘Abdullaah

If you mean that you want me to remain silent in the presence of disbelief and hypocrisy… you should not make such a request. And there is no obedience to anyone in a matter of disobedience to Allah.

First, do not be hasty. Do not speak except after verification for lying is abundant. Second, the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) used to know the individual hypocrites but he would accept their outward deeds and leave their inward aspects to Allah.— Muhammad ibn Abdul Wahhaab

What is the worth of the religion to you? What is Allah’s pleasure and Paradise worth to you? What is Allah’s Hell and wrath worth to you? Flee with your religion, for Paradise and Hell are in front of you.— Muhammad ibn Abdul Wahhaab

The sea of pleasures may drown its owner and the swimmer fears to open his eyes under the water.— Imam Ibn ul-Qayyim (rahimahullah), [al-Fawaaid (English Translation : A Collection of Wise Sayings), page 66]