Al-hamdu'lillaah ! We have made it to Ramadan 2011 / 1432 whereas so many, even from our own community, have not. We should therefore strive to extract as many of the pearls and rewards out of this Ramadan as possible. SUPER-charge your Ramadan experience here at IIOC by joining our programs designed to spiritually enlighten you.

IIOC's Nightly digest: The Ramadan Insider will be running again for the duration of Ramadan, by Allah's grace. It will feature downloadable Taraweeh .mp3s, video of Witr and Qunuut, video of guest lectures, and a few surprises that you will have to wait and see. Please make du3a that the content providers have the energy to make it through the entire month this time :)

• Please check with the Masjid to confirm the start and finish of Ramadan
• Fajr prayer will be at 5:00am from Aug 1st until Aug 15th and 5:15am from Aug 16th until Aug 30th
• Isha prayer will be at 9:30pm from Aug 1st until Aug 15th and 9:15pm from Aug 16th until Aug 30th, followed by Taraweeh prayers
• Car pooling is encouraged to ease the Masjid's parking congestion and to help the environment

IIOC / Masjid Omar Ramadan Rules

1. Absolutely NO SMOKING on the IIOC premises
2. No double parking, all vehicles parked illegally will be towed
3. Additional parking behind Sketchers and Pete's Produce (NOT in front of Bank of America) from 9:15 to 11:30 only
4. No children in the lobby during prayer:
   
   • Under 2: with mothers in upstairs women's prayer area
   • 2 to 7: in the babysitting room
   • 7 and older: in the musalla praying
5. All cell phones must be turned off / silenced during prayers
6. Please respect all the volunteers at the Masjid as they are implementing things requested by the IIOC Administration
7. If you have any questions or concerns, please contact the office

In order to avoid the 'Star-Wars' or perhaps more accurately Moon-Wars that occur every year at other masaajid, since its founding, IIOC has used a Global Moon-Sighting policy. What this means is that so long as anyone on this planet actually ascertains the Ramadan hilal (crescent), then we will acknowledge the month has started. This is in accordance with the authentically reported ahadeeth of the Prophet, may the Peace and Blessings of Allah be upon him. There also exist a minority Fiqh opinion whereby some permit the calculation of the start of Ramadan; while we do not disparage this opinion, the truth of the matter is we have found ourselves in a situation whereby we can enact the hadith of Ibn 'Umar (RAA) that details the action (fi'el) of the Prophet (SAW); that is, physically searching the edges of the horizon to ascertain the testimony.

For your convenience, we have set up this page as a detailed overview of both Fiqh opinions as well as their accompanying ahadeeth.

FAQs

• Is it permissible to brush one's teeth using tooth-paste when fasting?
  Yes, it is permitted; however it is preferable not to use them because the toothpaste is strong and may go down into the throat. Instead of doing it during the day, one should brush at night.
• If a person has pain in his tooth, then a Dentist cleans, ills or removes it, does it affect his fasting? Does an anesthetic injection invalidate fasting?
  No, the fast is still valid. Being given medicine via injection does not break the fast, whether it is intramuscular or intravenous, so long as the injected substance does not provide nutrition, because in that case it is like food and drink which are forbidden to the one who is fasting.
• Can one taste food while fasting?
  Yes, if a fasting person needs to taste the food whilst fasting, there is nothing wrong with that, and it does not affect the fast so long as none of the food enters the throat of the fasting person.
• How can sins happen in Ramadan when the devils are chained up?
  This is an in-depth answer. Please refer to this site for details.
• The one who cannot help vomiting have to make up the fast?
  No, there is no dispute among the scholars concerning the fact that vomiting deliberately is one of the things that invalidate the fast, but if a person cannot help vomiting, that does not break his fast. This was mentioned by al-Khattaabi and Ibn al-Mundhir. See al-Mughni, 4/368.
• Does using a puffer for asthma in the mouth during the day in Ramadan invalidate the fast for one who is suffering difficulty in breathing?
  No, the puffer used for asthma does not invalidate the fast because it is a pressurized gas that goes to the lungs, and is not food, and it is something that is always needed, in Ramadaan and at other times.

Sadaqa Opportunities

Your generous donations and support are asked for on these days; please don't forget to bring your checkbooks to IIOC on the following dates such that you can further increase your position in Jannah, insha'Allaah:

• Dates Will be updated soon

Download Ramadhan Duas!