Fiza Mohammad sent a message to the members of RAMADAN ๑۩๑ رمضان كريم ๑۩๑ KAREEM.

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Subject: The second ten days of Ramadan.

The second ten days of Ramadan.
  "The second Ashra"

In the Name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful
2nd Ashra of Ramadan

The Holy Prophet (peace be upon him and his progeny) has said:
It (Ramadhan) is the month, whose beginning is mercy, its middle, forgiveness and its end, emancipation from the fire (of hell) -- Bihar al-Anwar, Vol.: 93, Pg.: 342

Ashra is an Arabic word which means “ten.” In Islamic terminology, the 1st Ashra refers to the first 10 days of the Holy month of Ramadan. The second Ashra refers to the middle 10 days (11-20), and the third Ashra refers to the last set of 10 days (21-30).

The middle Ashra of Ramadan is the time for Maghfirah; the time to wash off our sins. Ramadan is the month to seek Forgiveness and repentance. Having witnessed the Mercy of Allah (SWT) by thanking Him for all that He has granted us, by being good to everyone and keeping ourselves at peace, we realize our relationship with our Rabb, and our role and duties towards Him. This is the time when Allah’s (SWT) Mercy is at its peak, and it is best to utilize this opportunity by imploring Allah to forgive our sins. The Prophet is reported to have said: "Do repent in this month to Allah for your sins, and supplicate with raised hands at the time of prayer as these are the best times, during which Allah Al-Mighty looks at his servants with mercy. Allah answers if they supplicate, responds if they call, grants if He is asked, and accepts if they entreat. O People! You have made your conscience the slave of your desires. Make it free by invoking Allah for forgiveness. Your back may break from the heavy load of your sins, so prostrate (sajda) yourself before Allah, for long intervals, and make this load lighter."

We are required to reflect on these elements in these days of Repentance even more than any other days and this is the time we seek forgiveness and make amendments for our mistakes, never intending to do them again. Do Tauba repeatedly, constantly, and sincerely for Allah loves Tauba, and especially during this Ashra Allah loves to forgive and loves him who seeks forgiveness. Forgive your brothers in Islam, and accept them as friends, and show no ill-treatment or disrespect to others. The Prophet continued and said: "O’ People! Anyone who during this month cultivates good manners, will walk over the Sirat (bridge to Paradise) on the day when feet will tend to slip. For anyone who during this month eases the workload of his servants, Allah will make easy his accounting, and for anyone who does not hurt others during this month, Allah will safeguard him from His wrath on the Day of Judgment."

DUA:
May Allah guide us to Siraat-e Mustaqeem, and grant us the taufeeq to utilize this merciful and ever so forgiving Ashra of the Most Holiest of the Holy Months. May Allah accept our sujood o qayaam and tauba, for indeed His mercy prevails over his wrath, and indeed we are sinners in dire need of that mercy. Aameen.


Best Regards,
Ramadan Kareem Team

http://www.nigeriancurrent.com/ck89-opinion/our-public-water-supply-must-work

Our Public Water Supply Must Work

By Tunji Buhari

Water, it is said, is a free gift of nature. Soon, this may not be the case if plans by the Lagos State Government in collaboration with International Finance Corporation (IFC), the private arm of World Bank, succeed.
Though there have been side denials, there are rumours that the Lagos state government is in talks with the IFC to privatise water supply in Lagos under a so-called Public-Private Partnership (PPP) arrangement.
The PPP, as experts know, is another form of privatization. The implication is that our right to water as Lagosians will be tied to the privatizers who are only interested in profits.

The planned privatization of Lagos water will not only cause hardship for over 21 million people that it targets and violates their human right to water, but will also result in hike in prices, water shut-offs and low quality water. For water sector workers, it will also mean job losses. Water privatisation has proved to be a failure in some countries where it was introduced. For example, in Manila, Philippines, India and Indonesia. Of recent in Indonesia, a court ruled against an 18-year old World Bank water contract insisting it violated the country’s constitution. In Manila, the strong push to curb the corporate appetite for profits is on-going and in India, the privatization has led to unemployment, poor water quality, etc

In their quest for profits, some of the privatizers have made us believe that public water is not safe for consumption because the source is unhealthy and unwholesome and therefore it promotes bottled water. It is not surprising therefore that in our local restaurants today, bottled water is the order.

We only need to take a cue from the privatization of power sector which has not translated into more hours of electricity to understand what lies ahead. Today consumers pay monthly charges for what they do not consume. It is very clear that privatisation will continue to enrich the big corporations and enslave the people.

The biggest puzzle is that under the administration of Governor Raji Fashola, he kept citizens in the dark regarding the contract of the so-called PPP with the World Bank. A visit to the Ijora Lagos Water Corporation Office to get any information on the involvement of the state in the water privatization is always met with conflicting statements.
The campaign by civil society groups to unravel the mystery around the PPP deal with the IFC is still yet to produce result as a result of the lockup of the LSWC.

It could be said that transparency in allowing Lagosians access to vital information on the deal is not considered an important factor by the promoters of this initiative. Could it be that the Lagos State government is hiding something from the public?

This is the same poser that a coalition led by the Environmental Rights Action/Friends of the Earth Nigeria, Nigeria Labour Congress and AUCPTRE put before former governor Fashola before he left office. There was no response from him.

We need to remind the incumbent Governor, Mr. Akinwunmi Ambode not to forget his electioneering campaign promise that he will not support water privatisation in the state. What the average Lagosian supports is making our public water supply system work.