Spend in God's Cause?

[Anjum]

Salam All,

I have read in many verses that...Spend in God's cause...what does it actually mean?..does it mean charity?...or...building mosques or something else?..m not able to figure it out...

When should we break our fast?..i m still confused..some say that..we may break our fast during maghrib prayer time..some say...we should break it during Isha prayer time...what is the actual time?

And recently..i have seen lot of anti-muslim or anti-islam posts...or comments...its really disheartening...what should we do about it....

m sorry if m asking silly questions

Regards,
Anjum

[deleted]

سَلَامٌ عَلَيْكُمْ,

"And they ask you, what they spend,  Say:"

2:215:
 يَسْأَلُونَكَ مَاذَا يُنْفِقُونَ قُلْ مَا أَنْفَقْتُمْ مِنْ خَيْرٍ فَلِلْوَالِدَيْنِ وَالْأَقْرَبِينَ وَالْيَتَامَى وَالْمَسَاكِينِ وَابْنِ السَّبِيلِ وَمَا تَفْعَلُوا مِنْ خَيْرٍ فَإِنَّ اللَّهَ بِهِ عَلِيمٌ
The translations translate this well.

and from 2:219:
وَيَسْأَلُونَكَ مَاذَا يُنْفِقُونَ قُلِ الْعَفْوَ
Which I translate as:
And they ask you, what they spend. Say, "The forgiveness"

[deleted]

And for that else which you ask:

To the night. Which is stated in 2:187 as ثُمَّ أَتِمُّوا الصِّيَامَ إِلَى اللَّيْلِ.

As for what this means then, this might be up to your perspective as the God states يُكَوِّرُ اللَّيْلَ عَلَى النَّهَارِ وَيُكَوِّرُ النَّهَارَ عَلَى اللَّيْلِ (from 39:5), which means "He wraps the night upon the day, and the day upon the night".

Joe wrote an article in which he states it to be sometime after Maghreb, however I don't think it is so. If God just stated "He wraps the day upon the night", then yes, however God stated also "He wraps the night upon the day"

[Hassan A]

Salam Anjum,

You asked:

I have read in many verses that...Spend in God's cause...what does it actually mean?

As clarified in Muhammad Asad's commentary, to spend in God's applies to all that may be of benefit to man, whether it be concrete (like food, property, offspring, etc.) or abstract (like knowledge, wisdom, piety, etc.).

When should we break our fast?

I usually break my fast at night when the sun has completely disappeared

http://quransmessage.com/articles/fasting%20till%20night%20FM3.htm

recently..i have seen lot of anti-muslim or anti-islam posts...or comments...its really disheartening...what should we do about it

We should respond the way the Quran instructs us to respond. The Quran has repeatedly instructs us to turn the other cheek against those who ridicule the religion, as evident by the following verses:

"Be patient over what they say and remember our servant David, the man of strength for he was repeatedly turning (to God)"[Quran 38:17]

“Therefore be patient with what they say, and celebrate (constantly) the praises of thy Lord, before the rising of the sun and before its setting, yea, celebrate them for part of the hours of the night, and at the sides of the day: that you may have (spiritual) joy”[Quran 20:130]

"And be patient over what they say and avoid them with gracious avoidance." [Quran 73:10]

"And it has been sent down to you in the Scripture, that if you hear God's revelations being rejected and ridiculed in, then do not sit with them until they move on to a different subject; if not, then you are like them. God will gather the hypocrites and the disbelievers in Hell all together"[Quran 4:140]

"And be patient,, and your patience is not but through Allah. And do not grieve over them and do not be in distress over what they conspire." [Quran 16:127]

Even more, the Quran advice's all of us to address those who mock them with words of kindness. The Quranic verses (cited below) explicitly exhorts Muslims to turn way from those who are ignorant, arrogant, or who engage in idle talks while wishing them “salam” (peace) at the same time, in essence “emphasize the need not just for inter-religious tolerance, but for cooperative moral ventures that seek to achieve Godliness on earth.”:

"And it has been sent down to you in the Scripture, that if you hear God's revelations being rejected and ridiculed in, then do not sit with them until they move on to a different subject; if not, then you are like them. God will gather the hypocrites and the disbelievers in Hell all together"[Quran 4:140]

"And the servants of (Allah) Most Gracious are those who walk on the earth in humility, and when the ignorant address them, they say, "Peace!";[Quran 25:63]

"...And when they hear idle talk, they turn away from it and say: 'Unto us our deeds, and unto you yours; salam (peace) be on you; we seek not the ignorant.'" [Quran :25:55]

"So turn away from them and say: 'Salam (Peace), for they will (soon) come to know.'" [Quran 43:89]

[Anjum]

Salam Eliiah..

Thank you very much for your answer.....m sorry..but i didnt understand the first answer...but..the second one was quite clear.....thank you very much......

With best regards,
Anjum

[Anjum]

Salam Brother Hassan..

Once again..thank you very much for your answers.....but...if...after sunset mean...doesnt that mean...after maghrib prayer?...or is it...like..we should break during Isha...?...

Thank you for the verses from the Quran...i too came across those verses...i struggle a lot to...not to think about it...but shaitan knows our weakness..and makes me think about it......i dont know..how to come out of it....i really hate those comments against us...

Thanks and regards,
Anjum

[deleted]

It is "until the night"(إِلَى اللَّيْلِ) which is stated.

This might be useful to you (all the mentions of night in the Book).
This too might be useful.