Basmalah

بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم 

Basmalah (reciting Bismillah) is recommended before starting any action or deed. For instance, Basmalah is recommended before starting a Khutbah (speech). The Basmalah is also recommended before one enters the place where he wants to relieve himself, there is a Hadith concerning this practice. 

Further, Basmalah is recommended at the beginning of ablution, for Imam Ahmad and the Sunan compilers recorded that Abu Hurayrah, Sa`id bin Zayd and Abu Sa`id narrated from the Prophet,

«لَا وُضُوءَ لِمَنْ لَمْ يَذْكُرِ اسْمَ اللهِ عَلَيْهِ»

There is no valid ablution for he who did not mention Allah's Name in it. This Hadith is Hasan (good).

Also, the Basmalah is recommended before eating, for Muslim recorded in his Sahih that the Messenger of Allah said to `Umar bin Abi Salamah while he was a child under his care,

«قُلْ بِسْمِ اللهِ وَكُلْ بِيَمِينِكَ وَكُلْ مِمَّا يَلِيكَ»

Say Bismillah, eat with your right hand and eat from whatever is next to you.

Some of the scholars stated that Basmalah before eating is obligatory. Basmalah before having sexual intercourse is also recommended. The Two Sahihs recorded that Ibn `Abbas said that the Messenger of Allah said,

«لَوْ أَنَّ أَحَدَكُمْ إِذَا أَرَادَ أَنْ يَأْتِيَ أَهْلَهُ قَالَ: بِسْمِ اللهِ اللَهُمَّ جَنِّبْنَا الشَّيْطَانَ وَجَنِّبِ الشَّيْطَانَ مَا رَزَقْتَنَا،فَإنَّهُ إِنْ يُقَدَّرْ بَيْنَهُمَا وَلَدٌ لَمْ يَضُرَّهُ الشَّيْطَانُ أَبَدًا»

If anyone of you before having sexual relations with his wife says, 'In the Name of Allah. O Allah! Protect us from Satan and also protect what you grant us (meaning the coming offspring) from Satan,' and if it is destined that they should have a child then, Satan will never be able to harm that child.

( Summary, Qur'an Tafseer Al-Imam Ibnu Katsir)

Social Etiquette

 بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم

[17:23] Thy Lord hath decreed that ye worship none but Him, and that ye be kind to parents. Whether one or both of them attain old age in thy life, say not to them a word of contempt, nor repel them, but address them in terms of honour.

[17:24] And, out of kindness, lower to them the wing of humility, and say: "My Lord! bestow on them thy Mercy even as they cherished me in childhood."

[17:25] Your Lord knoweth best what is in your hearts: If ye do deeds of righteousness, verily He is Most Forgiving to those who turn to Him again and again (in true penitence).

[17:26] And render to the kindred their due rights, as (also) to those in want, and to the wayfarer: But squander not (your wealth) in the manner of a spendthrift.

[17:27] Verily spendthrifts are brothers of the Evil Ones; and the Evil One is to his Lord (himself) ungrateful.

[17:28] And even if thou hast to turn away from them in pursuit of the Mercy from thy Lord which thou dost expect, yet speak to them a word of easy kindness.

[17:29] Make not thy hand tied (like a niggard's) to thy neck, nor stretch it forth to its utmost reach, so that thou become blameworthy and destitute.

[17:30] Verily thy Lord doth provide sustenance in abundance for whom He pleaseth, and He provideth in a just measure. For He doth know and regard all His servants.

[17:31] Kill not your children for fear of want: We shall provide sustenance for them as well as for you. Verily the killing of them is a great sin.

[17:32] Nor come nigh to adultery: for it is a shameful (deed) and an evil, opening the road (to other evils).

[17:33] Nor take life - which Allah has made sacred - except for just cause. And if anyone is slain wrongfully, we have given his heir authority (to demand qisas or to forgive): but let him not exceed bounds in the matter of taking life; for he is helped (by the Law).

[17:34] Come not nigh to the orphan's property except to improve it, until he attains the age of full strength; and fulfil (every) engagement, for (every) engagement will be enquired into (on the Day of Reckoning).

[17:35] Give full measure when ye measure, and weigh with a balance that is straight: that is the most fitting and the most advantageous in the final determination.

[17:36] And pursue not that of which thou hast no knowledge; for every act of hearing, or of seeing or of (feeling in) the heart will be enquired into (on the Day of Reckoning).

[17:37] Nor walk on the earth with insolence: for thou canst not rend the earth asunder, nor reach the mountains in height.

[17:38] Of all such things the evil is hateful in the sight of thy Lord.

[17:39] These are among the (precepts of) wisdom, which thy Lord has revealed to thee. Take not, with Allah, another object of worship, lest thou shouldst be thrown into Hell, blameworthy and rejected.

[17:40] Has then your Lord (O Pagans!) preferred for you sons, and taken for Himself daughters among the angels? Truly ye utter a most dreadful saying!

[17:41] We have explained (things) in various (ways) in this Qur'an, in order that they may receive admonition, but it only increases their flight (from the Truth)!

 (Al-Qur'an : 17.Al-Israa' ; 23-41) 

Shahadah

حبسم الله الرحمن الريم

  

[Qur'an surah 47.Muhammad :19] Know, therefore, that there is no god but ALLAH, and ask forgiveness for thy fault, and for the men and women who believe: for ALLAH knows how ye move about and
how ye dwell in your homes.

The word shahādah (شِهادة) is a noun stemming from the verb syahida or shahada (شَهَدَ) , meaning "he observed, witnessed, or testified"; when used in legal terms, shahādah is a testimony to the occurrence of events, such as debt, adultery, or divorce. The shahādah can also be expressed in the dual form shahādatān (شِهادَتانْ, lit. "two testimonials"), which refers to the dual act of observing or seeing and then the declaration of the observation.The person giving the testimony is called a shāhid (شاهِد), with the stress on the first syllable. The two acts in Islam are observing or perceiving that there is no god but ALLAH and testifying or witnessing that Muhammad is the messenger of God. In a third meaning, shihādah or more commonly istishhād (إسْتِشْهادْ), means "martyrdom", the shahīd (شَهيد) pronounced with stress on the last syllable ("martyr") demonstrating the ultimate expression of faith, the point is the recognition that there is no true god except ALLAH ta'ala, there is no god but ALLAH alone.

Content of syahadat :
Pledge.
Pledge is a statement about what a Muslim believes. When someone utter the phrase martyrdom, then he has an obligation to uphold and fight for what he swore it.

Oath.
Syahadat also meaningful oath. Someone who swears, then he is willing to accept the consequences and risks of any such oath in practice. That is, for a Muslim that means ready and are responsible for the establishment of Islam and the rule of Islam.

Appointment
Syahadat also significant promise. That is, every Muslim are the ones who promised faithfully to hear and obey in all circumstances to all the commands of ALLAH, contained in the Qur'an and Sunnah.

ASYHADU ALLAA ILAAHA ILLALLAAH

There is no god worthy of worship except ALLAH.
A Muslim trust only ALLAH subhaanahu wa ta'aala as the only God and there is no god other than ALLAH. ALLAH is a God in the sense of something that's a person's motivation or a goal. So by pledging first sentence, steadying himself a Muslim to make only ALLAH as the goal, motivation, and a way of life.


WA ASYHADU ANNAA MUHAMMADARRASUULULLAAH

and Muhammad is His messenger.

With this sentence pledged to establish itself for a Muslim to believe the teachings of ALLAH as conveyed through Muhammad, such as believing hadith-hadith the prophet Muhammad shallallaahu 'alaihi wa sallam.

In the name of ALLAH the Beneficent, the Merciful. From Me the servant of ALLAH subhaanahu wa ta'aala, the follower of the Prophet Muhammad shallallaahu 'alaihi wa sallam, I invite You to Islam, to become a Muslim and follow the right path.

A LETTER

بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم

 

Letter of the Prophet Muhammad Shallallaahu ‘Alaihi Wasallam to the Heraclius :
In the name of God the Beneficent, the Merciful: (This letter is) from Muhammad son of Abdullah to Heraclius the Great (ruler) of the Romans (Byzantines). Peace be upon him, he who follows the right path. Furthermore I invite thee to Islam; become a Muslim and thou shalt be safe (from Hell or God’s punishment), and God will double thy reward (as your people will follow along and be saved because of you), and if thou rejectest, thou shalt bear the sins of persecuting Arians.
And I recite to you God’s Statement: (O Muhammad): ‘and people of the scripture! Come to a word common to you and us that we worship none but God and that we associate nothing in worship with Him, and that none of us shall take others as Lords beside God. Then, if they turn away, say: ‘Bear witness that we are Muslims’ (those who have surrendered to God).

Letter of the Prophet Muhammad Shallallaahu ‘Alaihi Wasallam to the Negus :
In the name of God the Beneficent, the Merciful: From Muhammad the Prophet of Islam to the Negus, the king of Ethiopia: peace be on you, I thank God for you, The God, who is no god but him, the King, the Holy Faith, the Guardian, and I witness that Jesus, the son of Mary, the Spirit of God and His Word. The word he gave to the Virgin, the believer Mary, and from this word she bears Jesus. God created Jesus from his soul just as he created Adam. I invite you and your soldiers to believe the God the Almighty. I wrote and advised you, so accept my advise. Peace upon those who follow the right way.  

Letter to You :
In the name of ALLAH the Beneficent, the Merciful: From Me the servant of ALLAH, the follower of the Prophet Muhammad, to You.
Peace be on You, I thank God for you, The God, who is no God but Him, The King, The Holy Faith, The Guardian, ALLAH. Furthermore I invite You to Islam, become a Muslim and follows the right path, and ALLAH will double Your reward, and if You rejected, You shalt bear the sins. Peace upon those who follow the right way, There is no God but ALLAH, and Muhammad is His messenger.
And I recite to you ALLAH’s statement In Al-Qur’an : Let there be no compulsion in religion : Truth stands out clear from Error: whoever rejects evil and believes in ALLAH hath grasped the most trustworthy hand-hold, that never breaks. And ALLAH heareth and knoweth all things. [2:256]