The Prophet (pbuh) relayed, "(Allah said), 'Every good deed of Adam's son is for him except fasting; it is for Me. and I shall reward (the fasting person) for it.' Verily, the smell of the mouth of a fasting person is better to Allah than the smell of musk."

Allah says, “O you who believe, fasting is prescribed for you as it was prescribed for those before you, that you may develop God-consciousness.” (Koran 2:183)

I pray that Allah has accepted our fasting that was sincerely done for His pleasure. Ameen.

The beautiful month of Ramadan has come and gone but may its many virtues remain with us as we enter the month of Shawwal.

Shawwal is the month that follows Ramadan and is considered to be a month of untold blessings as we have the opportunity to fast and perhaps gather some more blessings of Allah, What a compassionate and generous God we serve! A God who is ever ready to shower us with His unyielding mercy.

The Messenger of Allah (pbuh) was the best of example for us, and whatever he did, we should strive to do too, as such he advised us to fast for six days in Shawwal as mentioned in this Hadith: “Whoever fasts Ramadan then follows it with six days of Shawwal, it is as if he fasted for a lifetime.” (Sunan Ibn Majah)

In another Hadith, the Messenger of Allah (pbuh) said: “He who observes As-Saum (the fasts) in the month of Ramadan, and also observes As-Saum for six days in the month of Shawwal, it is as if he has observed As-Saum for the whole year." (Sahih Al-Muslim)

Wow, this is surely an opportunity not to be missed.

The fast can be done in the way we choose, either six consecutive days or intermittent days as long as they amount to six. It would be so beneficial to accept God’s offer for increased blessings and take up the bonus of fasting six days of Shawwal.

Moving on, it would be remiss of me not to acknowledge that April is annually observed as Child Abuse Prevention Month. Addressing the prevention of child abuse is vital on so many levels. Abuse aimed towards any man, woman, child or beast is evil and darn right unacceptable, however particularly heinous is abuse hurled towards children, for obvious reasons. Adults and especially parents are expected and duty-bound to protect our most vulnerable charges.

Children look to adults for safety and protection. Let us not fail them. It takes a village to raise a child, a village that is loving, caring, nurturing, protective and most of all aware of the signs of child abuse to prevent it from becoming a raging menace to the wellbeing of children. It is incumbent on us, the adult villagers, to safeguard our children against this looming monster among us, in fact it is our duty to become educated on this destructive and dangerous peril in our community, so that it can be eradicated once and for all.

I trust the villagers of Bermuda will take up the banner to tirelessly stamp out abuse of any sort in our community but zoom in on child abuse. There are numerous agencies that we can contact to help us to be a champion in preventing child abuse in our community.

“Trusted adults are the soldiers on the front line of the battle against child abuse.” These are the words of Kelly Hunt, the executive director of the Coalition for the Protection of Children, please contact her to see how you can get involved. We must protect our children, they are the future of Bermuda and indeed the world.

Islam’s view on child abuse dates back to over 1,444 years and it is, in my opinion, the blueprint for recognising and changing the western world’s views on child abuse.

The Koran continually draws reference to and gives guidance on the good treatment of children who were regarded as gifts from Allah.

“Wealth and children are the adornment of the life of this (dunya) world.” (Al-Kahf, 18:46).

Muslims are constantly reminded to treat children fairly and justly.

“They ask you, [O Muhammad], what they should spend [in charity]. Say, “Whatever you spend of good is [to be] for parents and relatives and orphans and the needy and the traveller. And whatever you do of good – indeed, Allah is Knowing of it.” Al Baqarah: 215.

Islam was, is and continues to be the trailblazer for upholding, advocating and promoting children’s protection against abuse.

• Linda Walia Ming is a member of the Bermuda Hijab Dawah Team, a group of Muslim women who reside in Bermuda and have a goal of educating the community about the religion of Islam