Ramadan Kareem... Ramadan Mubarak

It's the 1st day of Ramadan. And it's my 2nd year of celebrating and passing the holy month of Ramadan in Korea. Ramadan Kareem. May Allah's blessings come to all of us everyone in this world.

Bismillahirrohmanirohim...

What would a Ramadan be without one of its typical fruit: dates! Whenever Ramadan comes, dates come from different part of the world to be sold at Itaewon or any other shops where Muslim community resides.

This one, I got a special gift from friends in Uijeongbu. 

Well....Ramadan also means big business. Although I am sure that it surely is not from Korea, this kind of ad is eye-catching. 

This BK knows his lot in 'wittily twisting' its ad so as to match the holy month.^-^

In Korea, we follow the Korea Muslim Federation's rulings to serve the Ramadan. They provide us with information about the start of the Ramadan. Even, last week they provided us with the schedule of Ramadan.

Fajr (break of the dawn) starts at 03.26 and that means that we must have our sahur (pre-fasting meal) in the wee hour of 2.30 a.m. 

Magrib (fasting breaking time) is at 7.57 p.m.

That means.... in Korea .....we should refrain ourselves from eating and drinking and other should-not-do's from dawn till dusk for app. 16 hours 30 minutes.  

But...apart from that, one thing we should heed to is....by sleeping less, and praying more during this Holy Month of Ramadan.

Yes, bismillahirrohmanirrohim...

"semoga puasa Ramadan kali ini, saya dan sekeluarga bisa genap dan menjalaninya dengan baik dengan Ridho-mu, Ya Allah'

Amin.

Masjid Itaewon, Seoul

It was Friday, March 2, 2012.
A not-that-cold day to start with...but in the afternoon...it was getting windy and cold.
And...to make things more interesting...I was taking my family to Masjid Itaewon for the first time.

The only one and the biggest Masjid in Seoul lies right here in Itaewon. And...it is my weekly 'ritual' to come here to have my Friday prayer-- an obligatory for all Muslim men.
So, usually, I have to leave my class earlier. I am so glad and happy that all of my teachers at HUFS really   respect the diversities of their students. As for me, they give me permission to leave the class early every Friday since I have to be at the masjid by 1 pm. I have only 30 minutes to get myself to the masjid.














Alhamdulillah...though more often than not....I am-- being-- late...I still manage to perform the prayer.
That day...in particular..since it was still a term break, I could ask my family to go along with me.

It was a good experience for them, too.

They could see the Masjid and met other friends there, too.

Personally, the visage of the Masjid always soothes me.

The sermons held in three different languages: Arabic, English, and Korean are always interesting for me; for I can learn the multicultural aspect of it, too. More than that, meeting other friends from other countries is also a so called 'added value' to the visit.

@ Itaewon

Now that we are coming for the first time, it was a good time to capture the moment of being there with the family and friends.

somewhere in Itaewon

Part (1) 이슬람은? 'What is Islam?'

Part (1)

이슬람이란 단어는 하나님께 복종함으로써 자신의 평화와 하나님께서 창조하신 모든 것들과의 평화를 이루는 것을 뜻한다. 

Islam means obedience to God that brings about Peace with one’s self as well as Peace among all of God's  Creations.

다시 말해서 이슬람은 하나님의 뜻에 순종하고, 하나님의 법에 따라 사는 삶의 방식을 말한다. In other words, Islam means upholding the (true) meaning of God and following the God’s laws in all walks of life.  

그것은 하나님이  택하신 모든 예언자들이 우리 인류에게 전한 똑같은 진리의 메시지이다.

In this respect,  all of God’s previous chosen Prophets had also spread the same truth (about God) to all humanities.

무슬림이라면 무함마드(그분에게 평화가 깃들기를) 이전의 모든 예언자들을 차별 없이 받아드린다.

In this case, all Muslim must believe (accept) wholeheartedly (indiscriminitavely) in all of the Prophets before Muhammad (Peace be Upon Him).

무슬림은 하나님의 모든 예언자들과 이들의 초종자들 모두가 무슬림이였으며, 그들이 섬긴 종교는 유일하신 하나님을 믿는 세계인의 종교 즉, ‘이슬람’이었다고 믿는다.

All of the followers of the previous Prophets were also Muslim. Their religions (teachings) were to devote their life to the Only One God whom all people in the world believe in; this religion is believed to be Islam.

이슬람은 새로운 종교가 아니다. 하나님께서 모든 예언자들을 통하여 인류에게 계시하신 진리의 완성편인 것이다.

Islam is not a new religion. Islam is the ultimate and the complete revelation of God’s truth to all humans through all of His Prophets.

 (자료 'source': 한국이슬람교중앙회 (Korea Muslim Federation) or www.koreaislam.org 

I translated the Korean version into English. Bismillahirrohmanirrohim. All Truth comes from Allah.