Eid ul Fitr

Eid ul-Fitr or Id-Ul-Fitr or Idul Fitri (especially in Indonesia and Malaysia), often abbreviated to Eid (or Lebaran , Hari Raya), is a Muslim holiday that marks the end of Ramadan, the Islamic holy month of fasting. Eid is an Arabic word meaning “festivity”, while Fi?r means “to break the fast” (and can also mean “nature”, from the word “fitrah”) and so symbolizes the breaking of the fasting period.[1]

It is celebrated on the first day of Shaw’waal, at the completion of Ramadan. Shaw’waal is the 10th month of the Islamic calendar. The Eid-al-Fitr is a very joyous day; it is a true Thanksgiving Day for the believing men and women. On this day Muslims show their real joy for the health, strength and the opportunities of life, which Allah has given to them to fulfill their obligation of fasting and other good deeds during the blessed month of Ramadan.[2]

Sunnah of Eid
Wake up early.
Prepare for personal cleanliness, take care of details of clothing, etc.
Take a Ghusl (bath) after Fajr.
Brush your teeth.
Dress up, putting on best clothes available, whether new or cleaned old ones.
Use perfume (men only).
Have breakfast on Eid-al-Fitr before leaving for prayer ground. On Eid-al-Adha, eat breakfast after Salaat or after sacrifice if you are doing a sacrifice.
Pay Zakaat-al-Fitr before Salaat-al-Eid (on Eid-al-Fitr).
Go to prayer ground early.
Offer Salaat-al-Eid in congregation in an open place except when whether is not permitting like rain, snow, etc.
Use two separate route to and from the prayer ground.
Recite the following Takbir on the way to Salaat and until the beginning of Salaat-al-Eid:
Allaho-Akber, Allaho-Akber. La ila-ha ill-lal-lah. Allaho-Akber, Allaho-Akber. Wa-lilahill hamd.

(Allah is great, Allah is great. There is no god but Allah. Allah is great, Allah is great. And all praises are for Allah).[3]

–
[1] Wikipedia
[2] Islamicity.com
[3] ibid

How to Put Photo in Wordpress Blog Comment Box

Here’s a practical guide on how to put your photo aka avatar / gravatar in a wordpress blog comment box:

FIRST STEP

1. After login, click profile the link of which is located at http://yourblog.wordpress.com/wp-admin/profile.php or http://fatihsyuhud.com/wp-admin/profile.php for self-hosted wordpress blog.

2. Upload your photo or any image at “My Gravatar” menu.

3. Click “Update Profile” if it’s done.

SECOND STEP

Now, everytime you give a comment in someone’s blog, remember to put the same email address as in your wordpress blog profile. You should see your photo gravatar / avatar everytime you comment on any wordpress-powered blog both in wordpress.com and self-hosted blog as far as the blog owner enable the avatar facility. Try to comment here to see your avatar right away!

Good luck!

Islam in Indonesia (1800 - 1830)

1800 to 1830: Chaos and Resistance
1800
VOC formally dissolved on January 1; properties revert to Dutch government.

Sultan of the Kraton Kanoman in Cirebon is banished to Ambon by the Dutch. A low-level rebellion breaks out under Bagus Rangen.
Help the People of Aceh

During these times, the Netherlands was allied to or occupied by Napoleon’s France. Until Daendels arrived, not all Dutch officials in the Indies approved of the government in Amsterdam.

Around this time, many ports and markets that had been monopolized by the VOC were opened to free trade. This turned out to be profitable for the local government, which then allowed the Netherlands Indies officials to be more independent of the Napoleonic government in Amsterdam (until events of war reduced trade around 1807-1808).

1801
British take control of the Minahasa region, remaining until 1816.
Read more

Mos Def Hip Hop Music and Islam

You’re Gonna Serve Somebody
Category: Muslim Celebrities

Rapper Mos Def says we all devote our lives to something. He’s chosen Allah.

Look at Mos Def and you see a poster child for the East Coast hip-hopper, Brooklyn division. But when he opens his mouth, whether plying his rhymes or just chatting, his eloquence shatters the preconceptions. What comes out is a surprising moral rectitude and religious focus.
Read more

Ali Alatas

Ali Alatas (4 November 1932 – 11 December 2008 was an Indonesian diplomat of Hadhrami descent, who served as the country’s foreign minister from 1988 to 1999.

A trained lawyer who also had a brief stint as a journalist, Alatas joined the Indonesian foreign service in 1954 as a 22-year-old. Throughout his career, he continued to push for regional cooperation and, as a member of the ASEAN’s Eminent Persons Group, helped broker peace in several hot spots in the Southeast Asia region. Alatas also played a key role in ASEAN’s development, and even after he had retired he played a critical role in the drafting of the ASEAN Charter.

In 2003, Alatas was appointed as the United Nations special envoy. He arrived in Burma on 18 August 2005 for a three-day visit to negotiate the release of Aung San Suu Kyi. He was the first special envoy allowed into the country in more than a year.

Until his death, Alatas was chairman of Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono’s Presidential Advisory Council (Dewan Pertimbangan Presiden/Wantimpres)[1].

In the 12 years as Foreign Minister, Alatas was not only Indonesia’s principal spokesman in the international arena, he was also the initiator and formulator of his country’s foreign policy. He contributed actively to the formation of organizations as the Non-Aligned Movement, the Group of 77, ASEAN and APEC. As chairman of the Jakarta Informal Meetings and as co-chairman of the International Conference on Cambodia in Paris, he played a key role in the settlement of the Cambodian conflict in the early 1990s. He was also instrumental in the negotiations between the Philippines Government and the Moro National Liberation Front, which led to a peace agreement in 1996 that ended more than two decades of rebellion in southern Philippines.

Despite his retirement, Alatas refuses to stay put. As Foreign Affairs Special Advisor to President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, he occasionally serves as special envoy to a number of conflict areas. Most recently, he was selected to be among 10 members of ASEAN’s Eminent Persons Group, which is tasked with formulating a charter for the Southeast Asian organization.[2]

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Notes:
[1] Wikipedia.org
[2] the-leaders.org