Islam Online Fatwa Committee
In the Name of Allah, Most Gracious, Most Merciful. All praise and thanks are due to Allah , and peace and blessings be upon His Messenger.
Dear questioner, first of all, we'd like to voice our appreciation for the great confidence you repose in us. Our utmost wish is to have our efforts come up to your expectation. May Allah help us all keep firm on the straight path, Amen!
It is permissible to celebrate the Prophet's birthday as an expression of love to the Prophet provided that the celebration doesn’t involve any of the prohibited acts.
In this regard, we would like to cite for you the following fatwa issued by Sheikh `Atiyyah Saqr, former head of Al-Azhar Fatwa Committee, in which he states the following:
According to historians, the Fatimides were the first to celebrate the Prophet's birthday. Qalqashandi, in his book Subh Al-A`sha, says that the Fatimides used to make a huge celebration in Egypt and distribute large amounts of sweets for the occasion. Actually, the Fatimides used to celebrate the birthdays of other members of the Prophet's family and they also celebrated Christ's birthday.
However, all of these celebrations were stopped in 488 upon an order from Caliph Al-Musta`li billah appointed as prime minister Al-Afdal Shahindah, son of Commander-in-chief Badr Al-Jamali, a powerful man who conformed to the Sunnah as stated by Ibn Al-Atheer in his book Al-Kamel, volume 8, page 302.
People stopped celebrating such occasions till Al-Ma'mun Al-Bata'ihi came to power and issued an official decree in 517 enjoining the distribution of alms in 12th Rabee` Al-Awwal. Sanaa' Al-Malik was in charge of distributing them.
When the Ayoubides came to power, they stopped all Fatimide practices, but families used to celebrate the Prophet's birthday in their houses. Then it returned to be officially celebrated at the beginning of the seventh century in the city of Irbil upon a decree from its prince, Muzafar Al-Deen Abi Sa`d Kawakbri Ibn Zein Ed-Deen `Ali- Ibn Tabakatikin, who was a Sunni.
Muzafar gave great care and attention to such celebrations and ordered marquis to be erected starting from the beginning of Safar. Such tents, which were wonderfully decorated and extended from Al-Qal`a gate till the Khandaq gate. Muzafar used to go everyday after `Asr prayer to watch the festivities in these tents.
The celebration was sometimes held on the 8th of Rabee` Al-Awwal (and sometimes on the 12th) which used to be an official holiday so that the people could enjoy the festival. Two days before the actual celebration, Muzafar used to order the sheep, cows and camels to be slaughtered in the main avenue amidst cheerful festivities, then the meat would be cooked and distributed among the people.
Ibn Al-Hajj Abu `Abdullah Al-`Abdari says that such festivals were widespread in Egypt during his rein and condemned the innovations that used to take place during such festivals. (Al-Madkhal, volume 2, p 11, 12)
Many books were written on the Prophet's birthday in the seventh century such as the stories of Ibn Dahya, who died in Egypt in 633 AH, Muhy Ed-Deen Ibn Al-`Arabi, who died in Damascus in 683 AH, Ibn Taghrabik, who died in Egypt in 670 AH; and Ahmad Al-`Azli and his son Muhammad, who died in Sabata in 670 AH.
Due to the spread of innovation during such celebrations, scholars have denounced them and stated that they were groundless. Among those scholars is the Maliki jurist Taaj Ad-Deen `Umar Ibn Al-Lakhmi Al-Sakandari known as Al-Fakahani, who died in 731 AH; he wrote his thesis Al-Mawrid fil Kalam `Ala-Mawlid on this issue and As-Suyuti quotes it in his book Husn Al-Maqsid.
Sheikh Muhammad Fadl `Ashur says that in the ninth century, scholars were divided over the issue. Some said it was permissible, others said it was not and it was recommended by As-Suyuti, Ibn Hajar Al-`Asqalani and Ibn Hajar Al-Haythmi, yet they condemned the innovations that took place during such festivities. Their opinion was derived from the verse: (And remind them of the days of Allah) (Ibrahim 14: 5).
Explaining the previous verse, An-Nasa`i and `Abdullah Ibn Ahmad report in Zaway’d Al-Musnad and Al-Bayhaqi in Shu'ab Al-Iman reports on the authority of Ibn Ka`b that he said that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), said: 'The days of Allah' are Allah's Blessings and Signs, and the Prophet's birth is a great bliss." (Al-Alusi's Ruh Al-Ma`ani)
Muslim reports on the authority of Qatadah Al-Ansari that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), was asked about fasting on Monday and he replied: "It is the day on which I was born and on which I received the Divine Revelation". It is also reported on the authority of Ibn `Abbas and Ibn Jabir that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) was born in the "year of the elephant" on the 12th of Rabee` Al-Awwal. He also received the Divine Revelation, ascended to the Heavens, migrated to Madinah and died on the 12th of Rabee` Al-Awwal.
The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), says that the day he was born was a special day. Since it is well known from the Shari`ah that Muslims should seize the opportunity in blessed days and do good deeds, Muslims should celebrate the Prophet's birthday so as to thank Allah for guiding them to Islam through Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him).
Therefore, celebrating the Prophet's birthday is permissible provided that it does not include committing any of the prohibited things. As for throwing banquets, this comes under the verse saying: (O ye who believe! Eat of the good things wherewith We have provided you, and render thanks to Allah if it is (indeed) He whom ye worship.þ) (Al-Baqarah 2: 172)
My opinion is that celebrating such a religious occasion is recommended especially nowadays for youth have become forgetful of these religious occasions and their significance because they have indulged in other celebrations.
Celebrating such a great event should be done through reading more about the Prophet's Sunnah and life, building mosques, religious institutes and doing other forms of charity work that remind people of the Prophet's life and his struggle.
Therefore, it is permissible to celebrate the Prophet's birthday as an expression of our love to him and our endeavor to follow him as an example provided that these celebrations do not involve any of the prohibited things. Some prohibited things are improper intermingling between men and women, behaving improperly at mosques and partaking in innovations such as worshiping at tombs and other things that violate the teachings of Islam. If such previously mentioned violations surpass the religious benefit realized from these celebrations, then they should be stopped in order to prevent harm and wrongdoing as indicated in the Shari`ah.
Moreover, Sheikh Yusuf Al-Qaradawi, adds: We all know that the Companions of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) did not celebrate the Prophet's birthday, Hijrah or the Battle of Badr, because they witnessed such events during the lifetime of the Prophet who always remained in their hearts and minds.
Sa`d Ibn Abi Waqqas said that they were keen on telling their children the stories of the Prophet's battles just as they were keen on teaching them the Qur'an. Therefore, they used to remind their children of what happened during the Prophet's lifetime so they did not need to hold such celebrations. However, the following generations began to forget such a glorious history and its significance. So such celebrations were held as a means of reviving great events and the values that we can learn from them.
Unfortunately, such celebrations include some innovations when they should actually be made to remind people of the Prophet's life and his call. Actually, celebrating the Prophet's birthday means celebrating the birth of Islam. Such an occasion is meant to remind people of how the Prophet lived.
Allah Almighty says: (Verily in the Messenger of Allah ye have a good example for him who looketh unto Allah and the last Day, and remembereth Allah much.) (Al-Ahzab 33: 21)
þ
By celebrating the Prophet's Hijrah, we should teach people values such as sacrifice, the sacrifice of the Companions, the sacrifice of `Ali who slept in the Prophet's place on the night of the Hijrah, the sacrifice of Asma' as she ascended the Mountain of Thawr. We should teach them to plan the way the Prophet planned for his Hijrah, and how to trust in Allah as the Prophet did when Abu Bakr told him: We could be seen so easily, the Prophet replied saying: "O Abu Bakr! What do you think of two when Allah is their third?" (Have no fear, for Allah is with us.) (At-Tawbah 9: 40)
We need all these lessons and such celebrations are a revival of these lessons and values. I think that these celebrations, if done in the proper way, will serve a great purpose, getting Muslims closer to the teachings of Islam and to the Prophet's Sunnah and life.
As for celebrating `Ashura’, the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), celebrated this day by fasting only. He asked the Jews why they fasted on that day and they told him that it was the day that Allah saved Moses and the people of Israel. The Prophet replied saying: "We have more of a right to Moses than you." So he fasted on that day and ordered the people to fast on that day. He also said near the end of his life: "By Allah, if I lived longer I would fast on the 9th of Muharram." That is, that he would fast on the 9th and the 10th in order to be different from the Jews who fast on the 10th only. However, some of the Sunnis celebrate `Ashura as if it were a feast. The Shi`ah consider it a day of sadness and mourning, but all such things are innovations and are completely un-Islamic.
As for the second part of the question, the exact date of the Prophet's birth is controversial, but it is most likely to be on Monday, 9th Rabee` Al-Awwal (20th or 22nd of April, 571 AC), the same year in which the invasion of the Elephants took place against the Ka`bah. And he (peace and blessings be upon him) passed away on Monday 12, Rabee` Al-Awwal in the eleventh year of Hijrah (8 June 632 AC.)
Saturday, March 31, 2007
Friday, March 30, 2007
5 Reasons why God uses Problems
The problems you face will either defeat you or develop you - depending on how you respond to them.
Unfortunately, most people fail to see how God wants to use problems for good in their lives. They react foolishly and resent their problems rather than pausing to consider what benefit they might bring.
Here are five ways God wants to use the problems in your life:
1.God Uses Problems To DIRECT U
Sometimes God must light a fire under you to get you moving.
Problems often point us in a new direction and motivate us to change.
Is God trying to get your attention? "Sometimes it takes a painful situation to make us change our ways."
2. God Uses Problems To INSPECT U
People are like tea bags...if you want to know what's inside them, just drop them into hot ever water! Has God tested your faith with a problem What do problems reveal about you?
"When you have many kinds of troubles, you should be full of joy, because you know that these troubles test your faith, and this will give you patience."
3. God Uses Problems To CORRECT U
Some lessons we learn only through pain and failure.
It's likely that as a child your parents told you not to touch a hot stove.
But you probably learned by being burned. Sometimes we only learn the value of something... health, money, a relationship. .. by losing it. "It was the best thing that could have happened to me, for it taught me to pay attention to your laws."
4. God Uses Problems To PROTECT U
A problem can be a blessing in disguise if it prevents you from being harmed by something more serious. Last year a friend was fired for refusing to do somet hing unethical that his boss had asked him to do. His unemployment was a problem - but
it saved him from being convicted and sent to prison a year later when management's actions were eventually discovered.
"You intended to harm me, but God intended it for good...
5. God Uses Problems To PERFECT U
Problems, when responded to correctly, are character builders. God is far more interested in your character than your comfort. Your relationship to God and your character are the only two things you're going to take with you into eternity.
"We can rejoice when we run into problems...they help us learn to be patient. And patience develops strength of character in us and helps us trust God more each time
we use it until finally our hope and faith are strong and steady."
Here's the point Ad:
God is at work in your life - even when you do not recognize it or understand it.
But it's much easier and profitable when you cooperate with Him.
"Success can be measured not only in achievements, but in
lessons learned,lives touched and moments shared along the way"
Unfortunately, most people fail to see how God wants to use problems for good in their lives. They react foolishly and resent their problems rather than pausing to consider what benefit they might bring.
Here are five ways God wants to use the problems in your life:
1.God Uses Problems To DIRECT U
Sometimes God must light a fire under you to get you moving.
Problems often point us in a new direction and motivate us to change.
Is God trying to get your attention? "Sometimes it takes a painful situation to make us change our ways."
2. God Uses Problems To INSPECT U
People are like tea bags...if you want to know what's inside them, just drop them into hot ever water! Has God tested your faith with a problem What do problems reveal about you?
"When you have many kinds of troubles, you should be full of joy, because you know that these troubles test your faith, and this will give you patience."
3. God Uses Problems To CORRECT U
Some lessons we learn only through pain and failure.
It's likely that as a child your parents told you not to touch a hot stove.
But you probably learned by being burned. Sometimes we only learn the value of something... health, money, a relationship. .. by losing it. "It was the best thing that could have happened to me, for it taught me to pay attention to your laws."
4. God Uses Problems To PROTECT U
A problem can be a blessing in disguise if it prevents you from being harmed by something more serious. Last year a friend was fired for refusing to do somet hing unethical that his boss had asked him to do. His unemployment was a problem - but
it saved him from being convicted and sent to prison a year later when management's actions were eventually discovered.
"You intended to harm me, but God intended it for good...
5. God Uses Problems To PERFECT U
Problems, when responded to correctly, are character builders. God is far more interested in your character than your comfort. Your relationship to God and your character are the only two things you're going to take with you into eternity.
"We can rejoice when we run into problems...they help us learn to be patient. And patience develops strength of character in us and helps us trust God more each time
we use it until finally our hope and faith are strong and steady."
Here's the point Ad:
God is at work in your life - even when you do not recognize it or understand it.
But it's much easier and profitable when you cooperate with Him.
"Success can be measured not only in achievements, but in
lessons learned,lives touched and moments shared along the way"
5 Question's coming up...
"A person will not be able to move from his place,on the Day of recompense, until he replies to five questions:
1. How did you spend your life?
2. How did you spend your youth?
3. Where did you earn your wealth from?
4. Where did you spend your wealth?
5. How much did you act upon your knowledge?"
Jist of Hadith of Rasulullah S.A.W
The Prophet (peace be upon him) said: “ Beware! There is a piece of flesh in the body: if it becomes good (reformed) the whole body becomes good, but if it gets spoilt the whole body gets spoilt! and that is: the heart.”
Sahih Al-Bukhari Hadith 1.49 Narrated by An Numan bin Bashir
1. How did you spend your life?
2. How did you spend your youth?
3. Where did you earn your wealth from?
4. Where did you spend your wealth?
5. How much did you act upon your knowledge?"
Jist of Hadith of Rasulullah S.A.W
The Prophet (peace be upon him) said: “ Beware! There is a piece of flesh in the body: if it becomes good (reformed) the whole body becomes good, but if it gets spoilt the whole body gets spoilt! and that is: the heart.”
Sahih Al-Bukhari Hadith 1.49 Narrated by An Numan bin Bashir
Be thankful
If you have a bad day at work, be thankful. Appreciate that you have a job. Some people don't.
When you pay your bills, be thankful. You can pay them.
If you see a gray hair, be thankful. Think of the cancer patient in chemotherapy who only wishes for any hair.
When you find yourself waiting in line or the recipient of poor service, be thankful. Think about the people who have no food to eat at all.
When you realize how much work it is to take care of a house, be thankful you have a house. Think about those who only wish they had a house to take care of.
When you feel like complaining because you have to walk a long distance from your car, be thankful. Think of what it would be like not to be able to walk!
If you get irritated by other people's anger, apathy, ignorance, bitterness, or insecurities, be thankful. Things could be worse. You could be one of them!
When you think everything in your world is terrible, and you want to give up, think of the people who have been told they only have a certain amount of time to live. They don't want to give up.
Live life to its fullest. Appreciate life, and be thankfull to Allah as u have been given everything by Him
And will provide for him whence he expects not. And he who puts his trust in Allah - He is sufficient for him. Verily, Allah is to fulfil His work. Undoubtedly, Allah has kept a measure for every thing.
Surah At-Talaq
When you pay your bills, be thankful. You can pay them.
If you see a gray hair, be thankful. Think of the cancer patient in chemotherapy who only wishes for any hair.
When you find yourself waiting in line or the recipient of poor service, be thankful. Think about the people who have no food to eat at all.
When you realize how much work it is to take care of a house, be thankful you have a house. Think about those who only wish they had a house to take care of.
When you feel like complaining because you have to walk a long distance from your car, be thankful. Think of what it would be like not to be able to walk!
If you get irritated by other people's anger, apathy, ignorance, bitterness, or insecurities, be thankful. Things could be worse. You could be one of them!
When you think everything in your world is terrible, and you want to give up, think of the people who have been told they only have a certain amount of time to live. They don't want to give up.
Live life to its fullest. Appreciate life, and be thankfull to Allah as u have been given everything by Him
And will provide for him whence he expects not. And he who puts his trust in Allah - He is sufficient for him. Verily, Allah is to fulfil His work. Undoubtedly, Allah has kept a measure for every thing.
Surah At-Talaq
What is the point of mentioning the dog in the story of the people of the Cave?
Question:
What is the point of mentioning the dog in the story of the people of the Cave?
Answer:
Praise be to Allaah.
Shaykh al-Shanqeeti (may Allaah have mercy on him) said:
Note that Allaah mentions this dog in His Book, and says that he was stretching forth his two forelegs at the entrance to the Cave [al-Kahf 18:18], in the context of referring to their high status. This indicates the great benefit to be gained by keeping company with righteous people. Ibn Katheer (may Allaah have mercy on him) said in his commentary on this aayah:
"Their dog was included in their blessing, so he slept as they slept in that situation. This is the benefit of keeping company with righteous people, so this dog was mentioned and was given status too."
This meaning is also indicated by the hadeeth of the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah, in which he said to the one who said that he loved Allaah and His Messenger, "You will be with those whom you love." (Agreed upon, from the hadeeth of Anas).
From this it may be understood that keeping company with bad people causes a great deal of harm, as Allaah explained in Soorat al-Saaffaat, where He says (interpretation of the meaning):
"A speaker of them will say: Verily, I had a companion (in the world),
Who used to say: Are you among those who believe (in resurrection after death).
(That) when we die and become dust and bones, shall we indeed (be raised up) to receive reward or punishment (according to our deeds)?
(The speaker) said: Will you look down?
So he looked down and saw him in the midst of the Fire.
He said: By Allaah! You have nearly ruined me.
Had it not been for the Grace of my Lord, I would certainly have been among those brought forth (to Hell)"
[al-Saaffaat 37:51-57]
Adwaa' al-Bayaan, 4/47-48.
What is the point of mentioning the dog in the story of the people of the Cave?
Answer:
Praise be to Allaah.
Shaykh al-Shanqeeti (may Allaah have mercy on him) said:
Note that Allaah mentions this dog in His Book, and says that he was stretching forth his two forelegs at the entrance to the Cave [al-Kahf 18:18], in the context of referring to their high status. This indicates the great benefit to be gained by keeping company with righteous people. Ibn Katheer (may Allaah have mercy on him) said in his commentary on this aayah:
"Their dog was included in their blessing, so he slept as they slept in that situation. This is the benefit of keeping company with righteous people, so this dog was mentioned and was given status too."
This meaning is also indicated by the hadeeth of the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah, in which he said to the one who said that he loved Allaah and His Messenger, "You will be with those whom you love." (Agreed upon, from the hadeeth of Anas).
From this it may be understood that keeping company with bad people causes a great deal of harm, as Allaah explained in Soorat al-Saaffaat, where He says (interpretation of the meaning):
"A speaker of them will say: Verily, I had a companion (in the world),
Who used to say: Are you among those who believe (in resurrection after death).
(That) when we die and become dust and bones, shall we indeed (be raised up) to receive reward or punishment (according to our deeds)?
(The speaker) said: Will you look down?
So he looked down and saw him in the midst of the Fire.
He said: By Allaah! You have nearly ruined me.
Had it not been for the Grace of my Lord, I would certainly have been among those brought forth (to Hell)"
[al-Saaffaat 37:51-57]
Adwaa' al-Bayaan, 4/47-48.
Quotes : On Mother
"Mother love is the fuel that enables a normal human being to do the impossible."
-- Marion C. Garretty
"A mother's love for her child is like nothing else in the world. It knows no law, no pity, it dares all things and crushes down remorselessly all that stands in its path."
-- Agatha Christie
"My mother had a great deal of trouble with me, but I think she enjoyed it."
-- Mark Twain
"A man loves his sweetheart the most, his wife the best, but his mother the longest."
-- Irish Proverb
"All that I am or ever hope to be, I owe to my angel Mother."
-- Abraham Lincoln (1809-1865)
"Life began with waking up and loving my mother's face."
-- George Eliot.
"Most of all the other beautiful things in life come by twos and threes by dozens and hundreds. Plenty of roses, stars, sunsets, rainbows, brothers, and sisters, aunts and cousins, but only one mother in the whole world."
-- Kate Douglas Wiggin
"My mother was the most beautiful woman I ever saw. All I am I owe to my mother. I attribute all my success in life to the moral, intellectual and physical education I received from her."
-- George Washington (1732-1799)
"There is no velvet so soft as a mother's lap, no rose as lovely as her smile, no path so flowery as that imprinted with her footsteps."
-- Archibald Thompson
"Being a full-time mother is one of the highest salaried jobs ... since the payment is pure love."
-- Mildred B. Vermont
-- Marion C. Garretty
"A mother's love for her child is like nothing else in the world. It knows no law, no pity, it dares all things and crushes down remorselessly all that stands in its path."
-- Agatha Christie
"My mother had a great deal of trouble with me, but I think she enjoyed it."
-- Mark Twain
"A man loves his sweetheart the most, his wife the best, but his mother the longest."
-- Irish Proverb
"All that I am or ever hope to be, I owe to my angel Mother."
-- Abraham Lincoln (1809-1865)
"Life began with waking up and loving my mother's face."
-- George Eliot.
"Most of all the other beautiful things in life come by twos and threes by dozens and hundreds. Plenty of roses, stars, sunsets, rainbows, brothers, and sisters, aunts and cousins, but only one mother in the whole world."
-- Kate Douglas Wiggin
"My mother was the most beautiful woman I ever saw. All I am I owe to my mother. I attribute all my success in life to the moral, intellectual and physical education I received from her."
-- George Washington (1732-1799)
"There is no velvet so soft as a mother's lap, no rose as lovely as her smile, no path so flowery as that imprinted with her footsteps."
-- Archibald Thompson
"Being a full-time mother is one of the highest salaried jobs ... since the payment is pure love."
-- Mildred B. Vermont
10 Most Important Things..
Love
The Special Feeling that makes you feel all Warm and Wonderful
Respect
Treating others as well as you'd like to be treated
Appreciation
To be Grateful for all the Good Things Life has to offer
Happiness
The Full Enjoyment of each moment with a Smiling Face
Forgiveness
The Ability to let Things be without Anger
Sharing
The Joy of giving without Thought of Receiving
Honesty
The Quality of always telling the Truth
Integrity
The purity of doing what's Right no matter what.
Compassion
The Essence of Feeling another's Pain, while Easing their Hurt
Peace
The Reward for living the 10 Most Important Things..
The Special Feeling that makes you feel all Warm and Wonderful
Respect
Treating others as well as you'd like to be treated
Appreciation
To be Grateful for all the Good Things Life has to offer
Happiness
The Full Enjoyment of each moment with a Smiling Face
Forgiveness
The Ability to let Things be without Anger
Sharing
The Joy of giving without Thought of Receiving
Honesty
The Quality of always telling the Truth
Integrity
The purity of doing what's Right no matter what.
Compassion
The Essence of Feeling another's Pain, while Easing their Hurt
Peace
The Reward for living the 10 Most Important Things..
Lessons on Life
There was a man who had 4 sons. He wanted his sons to learn not to judge
things too quickly. So he sent them each on a quest, in turn, to go and look
at a pear tree that was a great distance away.
The 1st son went in the winter, the 2nd in the spring, the 3rd in
summer, and the youngest son in the fall.
When they had all gone and come back, he called them together to describe
what they'd seen.
The 1st son said that the tree was ugly, bent, and twisted. The 2nd son
said, "No it was covered with green buds & full of promise."
The 3rd son disagreed; he said it was laden with blossoms that smelled so
sweet & looked so beautiful, it was the most graceful thing he'd ever seen.
The last son disagreed with all of them; he said it was ripe & drooping
with fruit, full of life and fulfillment.
The man then explained to his sons that they were all right, because they'd each seen but only one season in the tree's life.
He told them that you can't judge a tree, or a person, by only one season,
and that the essence of who they're and the pleasure, joy, and love that come
from that life can only be measured at the end, when all the seasons are up.
If you give up when it's winter, you'll miss the promise of your spring,
the beauty of your summer, fulfillment of your fall.
Moral:
Don't let the pain of one season destroy the joy of all the rest.
Don't judge life by one difficult season.
Persevere through the difficult patches.
And better times are sure to come some time or later.
things too quickly. So he sent them each on a quest, in turn, to go and look
at a pear tree that was a great distance away.
The 1st son went in the winter, the 2nd in the spring, the 3rd in
summer, and the youngest son in the fall.
When they had all gone and come back, he called them together to describe
what they'd seen.
The 1st son said that the tree was ugly, bent, and twisted. The 2nd son
said, "No it was covered with green buds & full of promise."
The 3rd son disagreed; he said it was laden with blossoms that smelled so
sweet & looked so beautiful, it was the most graceful thing he'd ever seen.
The last son disagreed with all of them; he said it was ripe & drooping
with fruit, full of life and fulfillment.
The man then explained to his sons that they were all right, because they'd each seen but only one season in the tree's life.
He told them that you can't judge a tree, or a person, by only one season,
and that the essence of who they're and the pleasure, joy, and love that come
from that life can only be measured at the end, when all the seasons are up.
If you give up when it's winter, you'll miss the promise of your spring,
the beauty of your summer, fulfillment of your fall.
Moral:
Don't let the pain of one season destroy the joy of all the rest.
Don't judge life by one difficult season.
Persevere through the difficult patches.
And better times are sure to come some time or later.
SIGNS OF WEAK IMAN
SIGNS OF WEAK IMAN
1) Committing sins and not feeling any guilt.
2) Having a hard heart and no desire to read the Quran.
3) Feeling too lazy to do good deeds, e.g. being late for Salat
4) Neglecting the Sunnah.
5) Having mood swings, for instance being upset about petty things and bothered and irritated most of the time.
6) Not feeling anything when hearing verses from the Quran, for example when Allah warns us of punishments and His promise of glad tidings.
7) Finding difficulty in remembering Allah and making Dhikr.
8) Not feeling bad when things are done against the Shariah.
9) Desiring status and wealth.
10) Being mean and miserly, i.e. not wanting to part with wealth.
11) Ordering others to do good deeds when not practising them ourselves.
12) Feeling pleased when things are not progressing for others.
13) Making fun of people who do simple good deeds, like cleaning the mosque.
14) Not feeling concerned about the situation of Muslims.
15) Not feeling the responsibility to do something to promote Islam.
16) Being unable to deal with calamities, for instance crying and yelling in funerals.
17) Liking to argue just for the sake of arguing without any proof.
18) Becoming engrossed and very involved with dunya, worldly things, i.e. feeling bad only when losing something in terms of material wealth.
19) Becoming engrossed and obsessive about ourselves.
WAYS TO INCREASE OUR IMAAN
1) Recite and ponder on the meanings of the Quran. Tranquillity then descends and our hearts become soft. To get optimum benefit, remind yourself that Allah is speaking to you. People are described in different categories in the Quran; think of which one you find yourself in.
2) Realize the greatness of Allah. Everything is under His control. There are signs in everything we see that points us to His greatness. Everything happens according to His permission. Allah keeps track and looks after everything, even a black ant on a black rock on a black moonless night.
3) Make an effort to gain knowledge. People who have Taqwah are those who have knowledge.
4) Attend gatherings where Allah is remembered. In such gatherings we are surrounded by angels.
5) We have to increase our good deeds. One good deed leads to another good deed. Allah will make the way easy for someone who gives charity and also make it easy for him or her to do good deeds. Good deeds must be done continuously, not in spurts.
6) We must fear the miserable end to our lives; the remembrance of death is the destroyer of pleasures.
7) Remember the different levels of akhirah, for instance when we are put in our graves, when we are judged, whether we will be in paradise or hell.
8) Make Dua, realize that we need Allah. Be humble. Don't covet material things in this life.
9) Our love for ALLAH Subhana Wa Tuala must be shown in actions. We must hope Allah will accept our prayers, and be in constant fear that we do wrong. At night before going to sleep, we must think about what good we did during that day.
10) Realize the effects of sins and disobedience- one's Iman is increased with good deeds and our Iman is decreased by bad deeds. Everything that happens is because Allah wanted it. When calamity befalls us- it is also from Allah. It is a direct result of our disobedience to Allah.
Aisha (Razi AllahuTa`ala anhaa), the wife of Hazrat Muhammad(Sallallahu alaihe wa aalihe wasallam), reported Hazrat Muhammad(Sallallahu alaihe wa aalihe wassalam) as saying:
"Kindness is not to be found in anything but that it adds to its beauty and it is not withdrawn from anything but it makes it defective."
(Narrated in Sahih Muslim, Book 3, Number 6274)
"Riches does not mean having a great amount of property; real wealth is self-contentment". (Sahih Bukhari Book 81, Chapter 15)
Regards,
Sana Khan Ghori
1) Committing sins and not feeling any guilt.
2) Having a hard heart and no desire to read the Quran.
3) Feeling too lazy to do good deeds, e.g. being late for Salat
4) Neglecting the Sunnah.
5) Having mood swings, for instance being upset about petty things and bothered and irritated most of the time.
6) Not feeling anything when hearing verses from the Quran, for example when Allah warns us of punishments and His promise of glad tidings.
7) Finding difficulty in remembering Allah and making Dhikr.
8) Not feeling bad when things are done against the Shariah.
9) Desiring status and wealth.
10) Being mean and miserly, i.e. not wanting to part with wealth.
11) Ordering others to do good deeds when not practising them ourselves.
12) Feeling pleased when things are not progressing for others.
13) Making fun of people who do simple good deeds, like cleaning the mosque.
14) Not feeling concerned about the situation of Muslims.
15) Not feeling the responsibility to do something to promote Islam.
16) Being unable to deal with calamities, for instance crying and yelling in funerals.
17) Liking to argue just for the sake of arguing without any proof.
18) Becoming engrossed and very involved with dunya, worldly things, i.e. feeling bad only when losing something in terms of material wealth.
19) Becoming engrossed and obsessive about ourselves.
WAYS TO INCREASE OUR IMAAN
1) Recite and ponder on the meanings of the Quran. Tranquillity then descends and our hearts become soft. To get optimum benefit, remind yourself that Allah is speaking to you. People are described in different categories in the Quran; think of which one you find yourself in.
2) Realize the greatness of Allah. Everything is under His control. There are signs in everything we see that points us to His greatness. Everything happens according to His permission. Allah keeps track and looks after everything, even a black ant on a black rock on a black moonless night.
3) Make an effort to gain knowledge. People who have Taqwah are those who have knowledge.
4) Attend gatherings where Allah is remembered. In such gatherings we are surrounded by angels.
5) We have to increase our good deeds. One good deed leads to another good deed. Allah will make the way easy for someone who gives charity and also make it easy for him or her to do good deeds. Good deeds must be done continuously, not in spurts.
6) We must fear the miserable end to our lives; the remembrance of death is the destroyer of pleasures.
7) Remember the different levels of akhirah, for instance when we are put in our graves, when we are judged, whether we will be in paradise or hell.
8) Make Dua, realize that we need Allah. Be humble. Don't covet material things in this life.
9) Our love for ALLAH Subhana Wa Tuala must be shown in actions. We must hope Allah will accept our prayers, and be in constant fear that we do wrong. At night before going to sleep, we must think about what good we did during that day.
10) Realize the effects of sins and disobedience- one's Iman is increased with good deeds and our Iman is decreased by bad deeds. Everything that happens is because Allah wanted it. When calamity befalls us- it is also from Allah. It is a direct result of our disobedience to Allah.
Aisha (Razi AllahuTa`ala anhaa), the wife of Hazrat Muhammad(Sallallahu alaihe wa aalihe wasallam), reported Hazrat Muhammad(Sallallahu alaihe wa aalihe wassalam) as saying:
"Kindness is not to be found in anything but that it adds to its beauty and it is not withdrawn from anything but it makes it defective."
(Narrated in Sahih Muslim, Book 3, Number 6274)
"Riches does not mean having a great amount of property; real wealth is self-contentment". (Sahih Bukhari Book 81, Chapter 15)
Regards,
Sana Khan Ghori
Meanings of the word ummah in the Qur'aan
Question:
Whilst reading the Qur'aan I have come across the word "ummah" several times and I have the feeling that it has numerous meanings, not just one meaning. Is this correct? How should we understand this word?
Answer:
Praise be to Allaah.
Shaykh Muhammad al-Ameen al-Shanqeeti (may Allaah have mercy on him) said:
The word ummah is used in four senses in the Qur'aan:
1 _ The word ummah is used to mean a period of time, as in the aayahs (interpretation of the meanings):
"And if We delay the torment for them till a determined term [ila ummatin ma'doodah]"
[Hood 11:8]
"Then the man who was released (one of the two who were in prison), now at length [ba'da ummatin] remembered"[Yoosuf 12:45]
2 _ It is used to mean a group of people, which is the usual usage, as in the aayahs (interpretation of the meaning):
"he found there a group of men [ummatan min al-naas] watering (their flocks)"[al-Qasas 28:23]
"And for every Ummah (community or nation) there is a Messenger"
[Yoonus 10:47]
"Mankind were one community [ummah]"[al-Baqarah 2:213]
and there are other similar aayahs.
3 _ The word ummah is used to refer to a man who is taken as a leader, as in the aayah (interpretation of the meaning):
"Verily, Ibraaheem (Abraham) was an Ummah (a leader having all the good righteous qualities)"[al-Nahl 16:120]
4 _ The word ummah is used to mean a way or religion, as in the aayahs (interpretation of the meanings):
"They say: "We found our fathers following a certain way and religion [ummah]"[al-Zukhruf 43:23]
"Truly, this, your Ummah [Sharee`ah or religion (Islamic Monotheism)] is one religion"[al-Anbiyaa' 21:92]
and there are other similar aayahs.
Adwaa' al-Bayaan, 3/13.
Whilst reading the Qur'aan I have come across the word "ummah" several times and I have the feeling that it has numerous meanings, not just one meaning. Is this correct? How should we understand this word?
Answer:
Praise be to Allaah.
Shaykh Muhammad al-Ameen al-Shanqeeti (may Allaah have mercy on him) said:
The word ummah is used in four senses in the Qur'aan:
1 _ The word ummah is used to mean a period of time, as in the aayahs (interpretation of the meanings):
"And if We delay the torment for them till a determined term [ila ummatin ma'doodah]"
[Hood 11:8]
"Then the man who was released (one of the two who were in prison), now at length [ba'da ummatin] remembered"[Yoosuf 12:45]
2 _ It is used to mean a group of people, which is the usual usage, as in the aayahs (interpretation of the meaning):
"he found there a group of men [ummatan min al-naas] watering (their flocks)"[al-Qasas 28:23]
"And for every Ummah (community or nation) there is a Messenger"
[Yoonus 10:47]
"Mankind were one community [ummah]"[al-Baqarah 2:213]
and there are other similar aayahs.
3 _ The word ummah is used to refer to a man who is taken as a leader, as in the aayah (interpretation of the meaning):
"Verily, Ibraaheem (Abraham) was an Ummah (a leader having all the good righteous qualities)"[al-Nahl 16:120]
4 _ The word ummah is used to mean a way or religion, as in the aayahs (interpretation of the meanings):
"They say: "We found our fathers following a certain way and religion [ummah]"[al-Zukhruf 43:23]
"Truly, this, your Ummah [Sharee`ah or religion (Islamic Monotheism)] is one religion"[al-Anbiyaa' 21:92]
and there are other similar aayahs.
Adwaa' al-Bayaan, 3/13.
The blonde companion of the Prophet(saw)
SUHAYB AR RUMI (the Roman)
About twenty years before the start of the Prophet's (saw - may the peace & blessings of Allah be upon him) mission, that is about the middle of the sixth century CE, an Arab named Sinan ibn Malik governed the city of al-Uballah on behalf of the Persian emperor. The city, which is now part of Basrah, lays on the banks of the Euphrates River. Sinan lived in a luxurious palace on the banks of the river. He had several children and was particularly fond of one of them who was then barely five years old. His name was Suhayb (ra - may Allah be pleased with him). He was blond and fair-complexioned. He was active and alert and gave much pleasure to his father.
One day Suhayb's (ra) mother took him and some members of her household to a village called ath-Thani for a picnic. What was to be a relaxing and enjoyable day turned out to be a terrifying experience that was to change the course of young Suhayb's (ra) life forever.
That day, the village of ath-Thani was attacked, by a raiding party of Byzantine soldiers. The guards accompanying the picnic party were overwhelmed and killed. All possessions were seized and a large number of persons were taken prisoner. Among these was Suhayb ibn Sinan (ra).
Suhayb (ra) was taken to one of the slave markets of the Byzantine Empire, the capital of which was Constantinople, there to be sold. Thereafter he passed from the hands of one slave master to another. His fate was no different from thousands of other slaves who filled the houses, the palaces and castles of Byzantine rulers and aristocrats.
Suhayb (ra) spent his boyhood and his youth as a slave. For about twenty years he stayed in Byzantine lands. This gave him the opportunity to get a rare knowledge and understanding of Byzantine/ire and society. In the palaces of the aristocracy, he saw with his own eyes the injustices and the corruption of Byzantine life. He detested that society and later would say to himself:
"A society like this can only be purified by a deluge." Suhayb (ra) of course grew up speaking Greek, the language of the Byzantine Empire. He practically forgot Arabic. But he never forgot that he was a son of the desert. He longed for the day when he would be free again to join his people's folk. At the first opportunity Suhayb (ra) escaped from bondage and headed straight for Makkah which was a place of refuge or asylum. There people called him Suhayb "ar-Rumi" or "the Byzantine" because of his peculiarly heavy speech and his blond hair. He became the khalif of one of the aristocrats of Makkah, Abdullah ibn Judan. He engaged in trade and prospered. In fact, he became quite rich.
One day he returned to Makkah from one of his trading journeys. He was told that Muhammad (saw) the son of Abdullah had begun calling people to believe in God alone, commanding them to be just and to do good works and prohibiting them from shameful and reprehensible deeds. He immediately enquired who Muhammad (saw) was and where he stayed. He was told.
"(He stays) in the house or' al-Arqam ibn Abi al-Arqam. Be careful however that no Quraysh sees you. If they see you they would do (the most terrible things to you). You are a stranger here and there is no bond of asabiyyahi to protect you, neither have you any clan to help you."
Suhayb (ra) went cautiously to the house of al-Arqam. At the door he found Ammar ibn Yasir (ra) the young son of a Yemeni father who was known to him. He hesitated for a moment then went up to Ammar and said: "What do you want (here), Ammar? (ra)" "Rather, what do you want here'?" countered Ammar (ra). "I want to go to this man and hear directly from him what he is saying." "I also want to do that." "Then let us enter together, ala barakatillah (with the blessings of God)."
Suhayb and Ammar (ra) entered and listened to what Muhammad (saw) was saying. They were both readily convinced of the truth of his message. The light of faith entered their hearts. At this meeting, they pledged fealty to the Prophet (saw). declaring that there is no god but Allah and Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah (saw). They spent the entire day in the company of the noble Prophet (saw). At night, under cover of darkness, they left the house of al-Arqam, their hearts aglow with the light of faith and their faces beaming with happiness.
Then the familiar pattern of events followed. The idolatrous Quraysh learnt about Suhayb's (ra) acceptance of Islam and began harassing and persecuting him. Suhayb (ra) bore his share of the persecution in the same way as Bilal, Ammar and his mother Sumayyah, Khabbab and many others who professed Islam (ra - may Allah be pleased with them all). The punishment was inhuman and severe but Suhayb (ra) bore it all with a patient and courageous heart because he knew that the path to Jannah (Paradise) is paved with thorns and difficulties. The teachings of the noble Prophet (saw) had instilled in him and other companions a rare strength and courage.
When the Prophet (saw) gave permission for his followers to migrate to Madinah, Suhayb (ra) resolved to go in the company of the Prophet (saw) and Abu Bakr (ra). The Quraysh however found out about his intentions and foiled his plans. They placed guards over him to prevent him from leaving and taking with him the wealth, the gold and the silver, which he had acquired through trade.
After the departure of the Prophet (saw) and Abu Bakr (ra), Suhayb (ra) continued to bide his time, waiting for an opportunity to join them. He remained unsuccessful. The eyes of his guards were ever alert and watchful. The only way out was to resort to a stratagem.
One cold night, Suhayb (saw) pretended he had some stomach problems and went out repeatedly as if responding to calls of nature. His captors said one to another:
"Don't worry. Al-Laat and al-Uzza (the names of the 2 main idols of Qurasysh) are keeping him busy with his stomach."
They became relaxed and sleep got the better of them. Suhayb (ra) quietly slipped out as if he was going to the toilet. He armed himself, got ready a mount and headed in the direction of Madinah.
When his captors awoke, they realized with a start that Suhayb (ra) was gone. They got horses ready and set out in hot pursuit and eventually caught up with him. Seeing them approach, Suhayb (ra) clambered up a hill. Holding his bow and arrow at the ready, he shouted: "Men of Quraysh! You know, by God, that I am one of the best archers and my aim is unerring. By God, if you come near me, with each arrow I have, I shall kill one of you. Then I shall strike with my sword." A Quraysh spokesman responded: By God, we shall not let you escape from us with your life and money. You came to Makkah weak and poor and you have acquired what you have acquired.."
"What would you say if I leave you my wealth?" interrupted Suhayb (ra). "Would you get out of my way?" "Yes," they agreed.
Suhayb (ra) described the place in his house in Makkah where he had left the money, and they allowed him to go.
He set off as quickly as he could for Madinah cherishing the prospect of being with the Prophet (saw) and of having the freedom to worship God in peace. On his way to Madinah, whenever he felt tired, the thought of meeting the Prophet (saw) sustained him and he proceeded with increased determination. When Suhayb (ra) reached Quba, just outside Madinah where the Prophet himself alighted after his Hijrah, the Prophet (saw) saw him approaching. He was over-joyed and greeted Suhayb (ra) with beaming smiles.
"Your transaction has been fruitful, O Abu Yahya. Your transaction has been fruitful." He repeated this three times. Suhayb's (ra) face beamed with happiness as he said: "By God, no one has come before me to you, Messenger of God (saw), and only Jibril (Angel Gabriel) could have told you about this." Yes indeed! Suhayb's (ra) transaction was fruitful. Revelation from on high affirmed the truth of this:
"And there is a type of man who gives his life to earn the pleasure of God. And God is full of kindness to His servants." (The Quran, Surah al-Baqarah, 2:2O7).
What is money and what is gold and what is the entire world so long as faith remains! The Prophet (saw) loved Suhayb (ra) a great deal. He was commended by the Prophet (saw) and described as preceding the Byzantines to Islam. In addition to his piety and sobriety, Suhayb (ra) was also light-hearted at times and had a good sense of humor. One day the Prophet (saw) saw him eating dates. He noticed that Suhayb (ra) had an infection in one eye. The Prophet (saw) said to him laughingly: "Do you eat ripe dates while you have an infection in one eye?" "What's wrong?" replied Suhayb (ra), "I am eating it with the other eye."
Suhayb (ra) was also known for his generosity. He used to give all his stipend from the public treasury fi sabilillah(for the pleasure of God), to help the poor and those in distress. He was a good example of the Quranic verse: "He gives food for the love of God to the needy, the orphan and the captive." So generous was he that Umar (ra) once remarked:
"I have seen you giving out so much food that you appear to be too extravagant." Suhayb (ra) replied: "I have heard the Messenger of God (saw) say: 'The best of you is the one who gives out food.'"
Suhayb's (ra) piety and his standing among MusIims was so high that he was selected by Umar ibn al-Khattab (ra) to lead the Muslims in the period between his death and the choosing of his successor.
As he lay dying after he was stabbed by a Magian, Abu Lulu (may Allah curse him), while leading the Fajr Salat, Umar (ra) summoned six of the companions: Uthman, Ali, Talhah, Zubayr, Abdur Rahman ibn Awf and Sad ibn Abi Waqqas (ra). He did not appoint anyone of them as his successor, because if he had done so according to one report "there would have been for a short time two Khalifahs looking at each other". He instructed the six to consult among themselves and with the Muslims for three days and choose a successor, and then he said:
"Wa-l yusalli bi-n nas Suhayb - Let Suhayb (ra) lead the people in Salat (prayer)."
In the period when there was no Khalifah (caliph), Suhayb (ra) was given the responsibility and the honor of leading the Salat and of being, in other words, the head of the Muslim community.
Suhayb's (ra) appointment by Umar (ra) showed how well people from a wide variety of backgrounds were integrated and honoured in the community of Islam. Once during the time of the Prophet (saw), a hypocrite named Qays ibn Mutatiyah tried to pour scorn and disgrace on sections of the community. Qays had come upon a study circle (halqah) in which were Salman al-Farsi, Suhayb ar-Rumi and Bilal al-Habashi, may God be pleased with them, and remarked:
"The Aws and the Khazraj have stood up in defence of this man (Muhammad). And what are these people doing with him'?" Muadh was furious and informed the Prophet (saw) of what Qays had said. The Prophet (saw) was angered. He entered the mosque and the Call to Prayer was given, for this was the method of summoning the Muslims for an important announcement. Then he stood up, praised and glorified God and said:
"Your Lord is One. Your ancestor is one. Your religion is one. Take heed. Arabism is not conferred on you through your mother or father. It is through the tongue (i.e. the language of Arabic), so whoever speaks Arabic, he is an Arab."
Taken from: www.witness-pioneer.org/vil/articles/
About twenty years before the start of the Prophet's (saw - may the peace & blessings of Allah be upon him) mission, that is about the middle of the sixth century CE, an Arab named Sinan ibn Malik governed the city of al-Uballah on behalf of the Persian emperor. The city, which is now part of Basrah, lays on the banks of the Euphrates River. Sinan lived in a luxurious palace on the banks of the river. He had several children and was particularly fond of one of them who was then barely five years old. His name was Suhayb (ra - may Allah be pleased with him). He was blond and fair-complexioned. He was active and alert and gave much pleasure to his father.
One day Suhayb's (ra) mother took him and some members of her household to a village called ath-Thani for a picnic. What was to be a relaxing and enjoyable day turned out to be a terrifying experience that was to change the course of young Suhayb's (ra) life forever.
That day, the village of ath-Thani was attacked, by a raiding party of Byzantine soldiers. The guards accompanying the picnic party were overwhelmed and killed. All possessions were seized and a large number of persons were taken prisoner. Among these was Suhayb ibn Sinan (ra).
Suhayb (ra) was taken to one of the slave markets of the Byzantine Empire, the capital of which was Constantinople, there to be sold. Thereafter he passed from the hands of one slave master to another. His fate was no different from thousands of other slaves who filled the houses, the palaces and castles of Byzantine rulers and aristocrats.
Suhayb (ra) spent his boyhood and his youth as a slave. For about twenty years he stayed in Byzantine lands. This gave him the opportunity to get a rare knowledge and understanding of Byzantine/ire and society. In the palaces of the aristocracy, he saw with his own eyes the injustices and the corruption of Byzantine life. He detested that society and later would say to himself:
"A society like this can only be purified by a deluge." Suhayb (ra) of course grew up speaking Greek, the language of the Byzantine Empire. He practically forgot Arabic. But he never forgot that he was a son of the desert. He longed for the day when he would be free again to join his people's folk. At the first opportunity Suhayb (ra) escaped from bondage and headed straight for Makkah which was a place of refuge or asylum. There people called him Suhayb "ar-Rumi" or "the Byzantine" because of his peculiarly heavy speech and his blond hair. He became the khalif of one of the aristocrats of Makkah, Abdullah ibn Judan. He engaged in trade and prospered. In fact, he became quite rich.
One day he returned to Makkah from one of his trading journeys. He was told that Muhammad (saw) the son of Abdullah had begun calling people to believe in God alone, commanding them to be just and to do good works and prohibiting them from shameful and reprehensible deeds. He immediately enquired who Muhammad (saw) was and where he stayed. He was told.
"(He stays) in the house or' al-Arqam ibn Abi al-Arqam. Be careful however that no Quraysh sees you. If they see you they would do (the most terrible things to you). You are a stranger here and there is no bond of asabiyyahi to protect you, neither have you any clan to help you."
Suhayb (ra) went cautiously to the house of al-Arqam. At the door he found Ammar ibn Yasir (ra) the young son of a Yemeni father who was known to him. He hesitated for a moment then went up to Ammar and said: "What do you want (here), Ammar? (ra)" "Rather, what do you want here'?" countered Ammar (ra). "I want to go to this man and hear directly from him what he is saying." "I also want to do that." "Then let us enter together, ala barakatillah (with the blessings of God)."
Suhayb and Ammar (ra) entered and listened to what Muhammad (saw) was saying. They were both readily convinced of the truth of his message. The light of faith entered their hearts. At this meeting, they pledged fealty to the Prophet (saw). declaring that there is no god but Allah and Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah (saw). They spent the entire day in the company of the noble Prophet (saw). At night, under cover of darkness, they left the house of al-Arqam, their hearts aglow with the light of faith and their faces beaming with happiness.
Then the familiar pattern of events followed. The idolatrous Quraysh learnt about Suhayb's (ra) acceptance of Islam and began harassing and persecuting him. Suhayb (ra) bore his share of the persecution in the same way as Bilal, Ammar and his mother Sumayyah, Khabbab and many others who professed Islam (ra - may Allah be pleased with them all). The punishment was inhuman and severe but Suhayb (ra) bore it all with a patient and courageous heart because he knew that the path to Jannah (Paradise) is paved with thorns and difficulties. The teachings of the noble Prophet (saw) had instilled in him and other companions a rare strength and courage.
When the Prophet (saw) gave permission for his followers to migrate to Madinah, Suhayb (ra) resolved to go in the company of the Prophet (saw) and Abu Bakr (ra). The Quraysh however found out about his intentions and foiled his plans. They placed guards over him to prevent him from leaving and taking with him the wealth, the gold and the silver, which he had acquired through trade.
After the departure of the Prophet (saw) and Abu Bakr (ra), Suhayb (ra) continued to bide his time, waiting for an opportunity to join them. He remained unsuccessful. The eyes of his guards were ever alert and watchful. The only way out was to resort to a stratagem.
One cold night, Suhayb (saw) pretended he had some stomach problems and went out repeatedly as if responding to calls of nature. His captors said one to another:
"Don't worry. Al-Laat and al-Uzza (the names of the 2 main idols of Qurasysh) are keeping him busy with his stomach."
They became relaxed and sleep got the better of them. Suhayb (ra) quietly slipped out as if he was going to the toilet. He armed himself, got ready a mount and headed in the direction of Madinah.
When his captors awoke, they realized with a start that Suhayb (ra) was gone. They got horses ready and set out in hot pursuit and eventually caught up with him. Seeing them approach, Suhayb (ra) clambered up a hill. Holding his bow and arrow at the ready, he shouted: "Men of Quraysh! You know, by God, that I am one of the best archers and my aim is unerring. By God, if you come near me, with each arrow I have, I shall kill one of you. Then I shall strike with my sword." A Quraysh spokesman responded: By God, we shall not let you escape from us with your life and money. You came to Makkah weak and poor and you have acquired what you have acquired.."
"What would you say if I leave you my wealth?" interrupted Suhayb (ra). "Would you get out of my way?" "Yes," they agreed.
Suhayb (ra) described the place in his house in Makkah where he had left the money, and they allowed him to go.
He set off as quickly as he could for Madinah cherishing the prospect of being with the Prophet (saw) and of having the freedom to worship God in peace. On his way to Madinah, whenever he felt tired, the thought of meeting the Prophet (saw) sustained him and he proceeded with increased determination. When Suhayb (ra) reached Quba, just outside Madinah where the Prophet himself alighted after his Hijrah, the Prophet (saw) saw him approaching. He was over-joyed and greeted Suhayb (ra) with beaming smiles.
"Your transaction has been fruitful, O Abu Yahya. Your transaction has been fruitful." He repeated this three times. Suhayb's (ra) face beamed with happiness as he said: "By God, no one has come before me to you, Messenger of God (saw), and only Jibril (Angel Gabriel) could have told you about this." Yes indeed! Suhayb's (ra) transaction was fruitful. Revelation from on high affirmed the truth of this:
"And there is a type of man who gives his life to earn the pleasure of God. And God is full of kindness to His servants." (The Quran, Surah al-Baqarah, 2:2O7).
What is money and what is gold and what is the entire world so long as faith remains! The Prophet (saw) loved Suhayb (ra) a great deal. He was commended by the Prophet (saw) and described as preceding the Byzantines to Islam. In addition to his piety and sobriety, Suhayb (ra) was also light-hearted at times and had a good sense of humor. One day the Prophet (saw) saw him eating dates. He noticed that Suhayb (ra) had an infection in one eye. The Prophet (saw) said to him laughingly: "Do you eat ripe dates while you have an infection in one eye?" "What's wrong?" replied Suhayb (ra), "I am eating it with the other eye."
Suhayb (ra) was also known for his generosity. He used to give all his stipend from the public treasury fi sabilillah(for the pleasure of God), to help the poor and those in distress. He was a good example of the Quranic verse: "He gives food for the love of God to the needy, the orphan and the captive." So generous was he that Umar (ra) once remarked:
"I have seen you giving out so much food that you appear to be too extravagant." Suhayb (ra) replied: "I have heard the Messenger of God (saw) say: 'The best of you is the one who gives out food.'"
Suhayb's (ra) piety and his standing among MusIims was so high that he was selected by Umar ibn al-Khattab (ra) to lead the Muslims in the period between his death and the choosing of his successor.
As he lay dying after he was stabbed by a Magian, Abu Lulu (may Allah curse him), while leading the Fajr Salat, Umar (ra) summoned six of the companions: Uthman, Ali, Talhah, Zubayr, Abdur Rahman ibn Awf and Sad ibn Abi Waqqas (ra). He did not appoint anyone of them as his successor, because if he had done so according to one report "there would have been for a short time two Khalifahs looking at each other". He instructed the six to consult among themselves and with the Muslims for three days and choose a successor, and then he said:
"Wa-l yusalli bi-n nas Suhayb - Let Suhayb (ra) lead the people in Salat (prayer)."
In the period when there was no Khalifah (caliph), Suhayb (ra) was given the responsibility and the honor of leading the Salat and of being, in other words, the head of the Muslim community.
Suhayb's (ra) appointment by Umar (ra) showed how well people from a wide variety of backgrounds were integrated and honoured in the community of Islam. Once during the time of the Prophet (saw), a hypocrite named Qays ibn Mutatiyah tried to pour scorn and disgrace on sections of the community. Qays had come upon a study circle (halqah) in which were Salman al-Farsi, Suhayb ar-Rumi and Bilal al-Habashi, may God be pleased with them, and remarked:
"The Aws and the Khazraj have stood up in defence of this man (Muhammad). And what are these people doing with him'?" Muadh was furious and informed the Prophet (saw) of what Qays had said. The Prophet (saw) was angered. He entered the mosque and the Call to Prayer was given, for this was the method of summoning the Muslims for an important announcement. Then he stood up, praised and glorified God and said:
"Your Lord is One. Your ancestor is one. Your religion is one. Take heed. Arabism is not conferred on you through your mother or father. It is through the tongue (i.e. the language of Arabic), so whoever speaks Arabic, he is an Arab."
Taken from: www.witness-pioneer.org/vil/articles/
So you have sinned
So you have sinned!
Don't shout, don't scream
Don't even think
Of making a scene
Don't blame it on fate
-your miserable state
It's never too late
Start picking a date.
Today is a good start
Yes be smart
Allah accepts all repentance
Neither, it costs a cent nor a matter of expense
So you have sinned!
Allah's blessing is a shinning screen
A sincere being
Just like the very beginning with no sin
Put a right to a wrong
Yes you have to be strong
A sin prolongs
A black heart it belongs
Everyone goes through this test
Not a matter of jest
That's just being human with full of zest
But repent - don't let it rest
So you have sinned!
Allah forgives your sins
Just don't you associated Him
That's the benefit of a Muslim
In verse 8, Soorah At-Tahrim*
All is not grim
Shall we return to Him?
Without saying - O Allah forgive me I have sinned
Hope and guidance
With a sincere repentance
For a definite forbearance
Jannah is the place of acceptance
by Qalamuddin 20th March 2007
In Soorah At-Tahrim verse 8
. O ye who believe! Turn to Allah with sincere
repentance: In the hope
that your Lord will remove from you your ills and
admit you to Gardens
beneath which Rivers flow - the Day that Allah will
not permit to be
humiliated the Prophet and those who believe with
him. Their Light will
run forward before them and by their right hands,
while they say, "Our
Lord! Perfect our Light for us, and grant us
Forgiveness: for Thou hast
power over all things."
Don't shout, don't scream
Don't even think
Of making a scene
Don't blame it on fate
-your miserable state
It's never too late
Start picking a date.
Today is a good start
Yes be smart
Allah accepts all repentance
Neither, it costs a cent nor a matter of expense
So you have sinned!
Allah's blessing is a shinning screen
A sincere being
Just like the very beginning with no sin
Put a right to a wrong
Yes you have to be strong
A sin prolongs
A black heart it belongs
Everyone goes through this test
Not a matter of jest
That's just being human with full of zest
But repent - don't let it rest
So you have sinned!
Allah forgives your sins
Just don't you associated Him
That's the benefit of a Muslim
In verse 8, Soorah At-Tahrim*
All is not grim
Shall we return to Him?
Without saying - O Allah forgive me I have sinned
Hope and guidance
With a sincere repentance
For a definite forbearance
Jannah is the place of acceptance
by Qalamuddin 20th March 2007
In Soorah At-Tahrim verse 8
. O ye who believe! Turn to Allah with sincere
repentance: In the hope
that your Lord will remove from you your ills and
admit you to Gardens
beneath which Rivers flow - the Day that Allah will
not permit to be
humiliated the Prophet and those who believe with
him. Their Light will
run forward before them and by their right hands,
while they say, "Our
Lord! Perfect our Light for us, and grant us
Forgiveness: for Thou hast
power over all things."
How the people will be divided on the Day of Resurrection
Question:
How the people will be divided on the Day of Resurrection
"And you (all) will be in three groups.
So those on the Right Hand (i.e. those who will be given their Records in their right hands) how (fortunate) will be those on the Right Hand! (As a respect for them, because they will enter Paradise).
And those on the Left Hand (i.e. those who will be given their Record in their left hands) how (unfortunate) will be those on the Left Hand! (As a disgrace for them, because they will enter Hell)." [al-Waaqi'ah 56:7-9 _ interpretation of the meaning]
Answer:
Praise be to Allaah.
Ibn Katheer said: i.e., the people will be divided into three groups on the Day of Resurrection.
Al-Tabari said: thus they will be divided into the three groups mentioned at the end of the soorah at the time when they are dying.
Then Allaah explained the state of the (three) groups. He said "those on the Right Hand" to point out how great is their status and how respected they are.
"And those on the Left Hand (i.e. those who will be given their Record in their left hands) how (unfortunate) will be those on the Left Hand"; their being on the left indicates how terrible their situation will be.
"And those foremost [(in Islamic Faith of Monotheism and in performing righteous deeds) in the life of this world on the very first call for to embrace Islam] will be foremost (in Paradise)"
[al-Waaq'iah 56:10 _ interpretation of the meaning] This means that those who were foremost in doing good deeds in this world will be foremost in the Hereafter and will be the first to enter Paradise. Those who are of this caliber are the ones who will be closest to Allaah in gardens of delight, in the heights of `Illiyeen, in a lofty status above which there are no higher status. We ask Allaah to make us among those who are foremost. And Allaah knows best.
See Tafseer Ibn Sa'di, p. 832
How the people will be divided on the Day of Resurrection
"And you (all) will be in three groups.
So those on the Right Hand (i.e. those who will be given their Records in their right hands) how (fortunate) will be those on the Right Hand! (As a respect for them, because they will enter Paradise).
And those on the Left Hand (i.e. those who will be given their Record in their left hands) how (unfortunate) will be those on the Left Hand! (As a disgrace for them, because they will enter Hell)." [al-Waaqi'ah 56:7-9 _ interpretation of the meaning]
Answer:
Praise be to Allaah.
Ibn Katheer said: i.e., the people will be divided into three groups on the Day of Resurrection.
Al-Tabari said: thus they will be divided into the three groups mentioned at the end of the soorah at the time when they are dying.
Then Allaah explained the state of the (three) groups. He said "those on the Right Hand" to point out how great is their status and how respected they are.
"And those on the Left Hand (i.e. those who will be given their Record in their left hands) how (unfortunate) will be those on the Left Hand"; their being on the left indicates how terrible their situation will be.
"And those foremost [(in Islamic Faith of Monotheism and in performing righteous deeds) in the life of this world on the very first call for to embrace Islam] will be foremost (in Paradise)"
[al-Waaq'iah 56:10 _ interpretation of the meaning] This means that those who were foremost in doing good deeds in this world will be foremost in the Hereafter and will be the first to enter Paradise. Those who are of this caliber are the ones who will be closest to Allaah in gardens of delight, in the heights of `Illiyeen, in a lofty status above which there are no higher status. We ask Allaah to make us among those who are foremost. And Allaah knows best.
See Tafseer Ibn Sa'di, p. 832
Explaining the Arabic word for God - Allah
Allah is the generic Arabic word for God, even Arab Christians use it, ask them yourselves!
Say: "Call upon God, or call upon The All-Compassionate: by whatever name ye call upon Him, (it is well): for to Him belong the Most Beautiful Names. Neither speak thy Prayer aloud, nor speak it in a low tone, but seek a middle course between". (Quran 17:110)
A few months ago, while doing some contract work, the issue of religion came up. I don't remember why it came up but a colleague told me the following joke:
"These two guys go parachuting. When they're getting ready to jump out of the plane, one guy asks the other, 'What do I do if my parachute doesn't open?' The second guy says, 'Pray to Allah.' The first guy's puzzled: 'To Allah?' The second guy says, 'Just do it.' The first guy shrugs, they both jump, and sure enough, the first guy's parachute doesn't open. At first he doesn't remember the advice and begins madly praying to God for help. No help comes. He suddenly remembers and prays to Allah for help. Suddenly a giant hand swoops down from the sky, catching and cradling him. The guy heaves a huge sigh of relief and says, 'Thank God!' So the hand drops him."
I kind of chuckled to be polite, but inwardly I just felt weary, because this is one of the most common misconceptions about Islam: that Allah is something different from the God Jews and Christians worship.
I hope to be clearing up some of the primary misconceptions and fallacies about Islam, in the hope of promoting better understanding of this religion, especially given the growing number of Muslims living in Western nations. Historically, the Western media have been guilty of spreading half-truths, half-baked conjecture, and often, outright lies about Islam. Most of us get precious little accurate information about it in our education. With recent events surrounding the attacks on the United States, and the numerous subsequent attacks on Muslims and Arabs, I can hardly think of a better time to sort out some of these things.
I've even heard people refer contemptuously to the God of Islam as a "desert god," as if Judaism and Christianity originated in "Yankee Stadium" or something! The fact is that Allah is simply a compound word made from the Arabic words al (the) and lah (god): Allah (The God). In Spanish we have el (the) and in French La, le or les (again: the). Monotheism - the belief in a single, supreme, divine creator - is the central and most important aspect of Islam.
Among His Signs are the Night and the Day, and the Sun and the Moon. Do not prostrate to the sun and the moon, but prostrate to Allah, Who created them, if it is Him ye wish to serve. (Quran 41:37)
The generic word for God in Arabic is therefore “Allah”. All Arab and even Christians from the Indian subcontinent use the word “Allah” when referring to God. These Christians also say "Allah-u-akbar" (God is the greatest), "Insha-allah" (God willing) and "Alham-dul-lilah" (All praise be to God). Hallelujah also literally means “praises to God”.
All of the above rules out some of the common Western stereotypes that Allah is a Sun god, a Moon god, a Desert god, a Pagan deity, or someone made up by the Prophet Mohammad (pbuh). Allah is the Creator, and our Supreme being. The word Allah is preferred by most Muslims and Arab Christians even when speaking a foreign language, because it implies no gender and absolute authority. In the English language, the word god is often given the plural treatment, and you can have a female as well as a male version! Even humans are given the title of gods and goddesses based upon their superiority in a particular field, e.g. a love god or goddess.
It is also interesting to note that in the mother tongue of Jesus Christ (pbuh), which is a dialect having links with Hebrew and Aramaic, the word for God is “Alla-ha”. You've all heard variants of Eloh, Elah and Eli - well, Allah and Alla-ha are just two more. Aramaic and Arabic are sister languages. Sadly many lay-Christian scholars from the West choose to lie in the face of historical and present day fact concerning the word “Allah” and stubbornly deny that it is just a generic word for God in Arabic. We ask you to get in touch with some Arab Christians to verify for yourselves the exact origins of the Arabic name for God.
Christians who acknowledge Allah is the generic Arabic word for God:
http://www.christiananswers.net/q-eden/allah.html
Comments:
EL: God ("mighty, strong, prominent") used 250 times in the OT See Gen. 7:1, 28:3, 35:11; Nu. 23:22; Josh. 3:10; 2 Sam. 22:31, 32; Neh. 1:5, 9:32; Isa. 9:6; Ezek. 10:5. El is linguistically equivalent to the Arabic "Allah," but the attributes of Allah in Islam are entirely different from those of the God of the Hebrews as we know. Elah is Aramaic, "god." Elah appears in the Hebrew Bible in Jer. 10:11 (which is in Aramaic, and is plural, "gods"). In Daniel (the Aramaic sections) Elah is used both of pagan gods, and of the true God, also plural. Elah is equivalent to the Hebrew Eloah which some think is dual; Elohim is three or more. The gods of the nations are called "elohim." The origin of Eloah is obscure. Elohim is the more common plural form of El. Eloah is used 41 times in Job between 3:4 and 40:2, but fewer than 15 times elsewhere in the OT.
"Elah is used both of pagan gods, and of the true God"
The above statement makes the claim that "Elah" was used for the True God and also the Pagan gods. The exact same was true for the word "Allah", it was used in a variety of ways too. To make it clear for us lets look at the way we use the word "God" in the modern age. We give the title of god to anyone we feel deserves the praise for whatever reason. Is this 'lending the title of god' a new phenomenon though? I doubt it very much. Elah and Allah are both simply generic names for God.
Say: "Call upon God, or call upon The All-Compassionate: by whatever name ye call upon Him, (it is well): for to Him belong the Most Beautiful Names. Neither speak thy Prayer aloud, nor speak it in a low tone, but seek a middle course between". (Quran 17:110)
A few months ago, while doing some contract work, the issue of religion came up. I don't remember why it came up but a colleague told me the following joke:
"These two guys go parachuting. When they're getting ready to jump out of the plane, one guy asks the other, 'What do I do if my parachute doesn't open?' The second guy says, 'Pray to Allah.' The first guy's puzzled: 'To Allah?' The second guy says, 'Just do it.' The first guy shrugs, they both jump, and sure enough, the first guy's parachute doesn't open. At first he doesn't remember the advice and begins madly praying to God for help. No help comes. He suddenly remembers and prays to Allah for help. Suddenly a giant hand swoops down from the sky, catching and cradling him. The guy heaves a huge sigh of relief and says, 'Thank God!' So the hand drops him."
I kind of chuckled to be polite, but inwardly I just felt weary, because this is one of the most common misconceptions about Islam: that Allah is something different from the God Jews and Christians worship.
I hope to be clearing up some of the primary misconceptions and fallacies about Islam, in the hope of promoting better understanding of this religion, especially given the growing number of Muslims living in Western nations. Historically, the Western media have been guilty of spreading half-truths, half-baked conjecture, and often, outright lies about Islam. Most of us get precious little accurate information about it in our education. With recent events surrounding the attacks on the United States, and the numerous subsequent attacks on Muslims and Arabs, I can hardly think of a better time to sort out some of these things.
I've even heard people refer contemptuously to the God of Islam as a "desert god," as if Judaism and Christianity originated in "Yankee Stadium" or something! The fact is that Allah is simply a compound word made from the Arabic words al (the) and lah (god): Allah (The God). In Spanish we have el (the) and in French La, le or les (again: the). Monotheism - the belief in a single, supreme, divine creator - is the central and most important aspect of Islam.
Among His Signs are the Night and the Day, and the Sun and the Moon. Do not prostrate to the sun and the moon, but prostrate to Allah, Who created them, if it is Him ye wish to serve. (Quran 41:37)
The generic word for God in Arabic is therefore “Allah”. All Arab and even Christians from the Indian subcontinent use the word “Allah” when referring to God. These Christians also say "Allah-u-akbar" (God is the greatest), "Insha-allah" (God willing) and "Alham-dul-lilah" (All praise be to God). Hallelujah also literally means “praises to God”.
All of the above rules out some of the common Western stereotypes that Allah is a Sun god, a Moon god, a Desert god, a Pagan deity, or someone made up by the Prophet Mohammad (pbuh). Allah is the Creator, and our Supreme being. The word Allah is preferred by most Muslims and Arab Christians even when speaking a foreign language, because it implies no gender and absolute authority. In the English language, the word god is often given the plural treatment, and you can have a female as well as a male version! Even humans are given the title of gods and goddesses based upon their superiority in a particular field, e.g. a love god or goddess.
It is also interesting to note that in the mother tongue of Jesus Christ (pbuh), which is a dialect having links with Hebrew and Aramaic, the word for God is “Alla-ha”. You've all heard variants of Eloh, Elah and Eli - well, Allah and Alla-ha are just two more. Aramaic and Arabic are sister languages. Sadly many lay-Christian scholars from the West choose to lie in the face of historical and present day fact concerning the word “Allah” and stubbornly deny that it is just a generic word for God in Arabic. We ask you to get in touch with some Arab Christians to verify for yourselves the exact origins of the Arabic name for God.
Christians who acknowledge Allah is the generic Arabic word for God:
http://www.christiananswers.net/q-eden/allah.html
Comments:
EL: God ("mighty, strong, prominent") used 250 times in the OT See Gen. 7:1, 28:3, 35:11; Nu. 23:22; Josh. 3:10; 2 Sam. 22:31, 32; Neh. 1:5, 9:32; Isa. 9:6; Ezek. 10:5. El is linguistically equivalent to the Arabic "Allah," but the attributes of Allah in Islam are entirely different from those of the God of the Hebrews as we know. Elah is Aramaic, "god." Elah appears in the Hebrew Bible in Jer. 10:11 (which is in Aramaic, and is plural, "gods"). In Daniel (the Aramaic sections) Elah is used both of pagan gods, and of the true God, also plural. Elah is equivalent to the Hebrew Eloah which some think is dual; Elohim is three or more. The gods of the nations are called "elohim." The origin of Eloah is obscure. Elohim is the more common plural form of El. Eloah is used 41 times in Job between 3:4 and 40:2, but fewer than 15 times elsewhere in the OT.
"Elah is used both of pagan gods, and of the true God"
The above statement makes the claim that "Elah" was used for the True God and also the Pagan gods. The exact same was true for the word "Allah", it was used in a variety of ways too. To make it clear for us lets look at the way we use the word "God" in the modern age. We give the title of god to anyone we feel deserves the praise for whatever reason. Is this 'lending the title of god' a new phenomenon though? I doubt it very much. Elah and Allah are both simply generic names for God.
Commentary : When Will Britain and America Apologize for Slavery?
Likewise when will the man who sleeps in a White House built by Black Slaves, and U.S. legislators who work in a Capitol building built by slaves, bring themselves to make a formal government apology to the world in general and the descendants of those slaves in particular, for their role in slavery? How can they sleep and work without their conscience bothering them daily?
Peace, Curtis Sharif
Houston, Texas
"G.Waleed Kavalec" <kavalec@gmail.com> wrote:
-----
*Why I am saying sorry for London's role in this horror.*
The state failure to issue an apology for a crime as monstrous as the slave
trade diminishes Britain in the eyes of the world.
By Kenneth Robert Livingstone(Mr. Livingsrone is the Mayor of London)
Wednesday March 21, 2007
Next Sunday marks the bicentenary of the abolition of one of history's
greatest crimes - the transatlantic slave trade. The British government must
formally apologise for it. All attempts to evade this are weasel words.
Delay demeans our country. Recalling the slave trade's dimensions will show
why. Conservative estimates of the numbers transported are 10-15 million;
others range up to 30 million. Deaths started immediately, as many as 5% in
prisons before transportation and more than 10% during the voyage - the
direct murder of some 2 million people.
Conditions imposed on survivors were unimaginable. Virginia made it lawful
"to kill and destroy such negroes" who "absent themselves from ... service".
Branding and rape were commonplace.
A Jamaican planter, Thomas Thistlewood,
in 1756 had a slave "well flogged and pickled, then made Hector shit in his
mouth" for eating sugar cane.
From 1707, punishment for rebellion included
"nailing them to the ground" and "applying fire by degrees from the feet and
hands, burning them gradually up to the head".
When in 1736 Antigua found there was to be a rebellion, five ringleaders
were broken on the wheel, 77 burned to death, six hung in cages to die of
thirst. For "lesser" crimes, castration or chopping off half the foot were
used. A manual noted: "Terror must operate to keep them in subjection."
Barbarism's consequences were clear. More than 1.5 million slaves were taken
to the British Caribbean islands in the 18th century, but by its end there
were only 600,000. By 1820, more than 10 million Africans had been
transported across the Atlantic and 2 million Europeans had moved. But the
European population grew to 12 million while the black slave population
shrank to 6 million.
If the murder of millions, and torture of millions more, is not "a crime
against humanity", these words have no meaning. To justify murder and
torture on an industrial scale, black people had to be declared inferior, or
not human. As historian James Walvin noted, there was a "form of bondage
which, from an early date, was highly racialised. By 1750, to be black in
the Americas (and often in Europe) was to be enslaved." The 1774 History of
Jamaica argued black slaves were a different species, able to work "in a
very bungling and slovenly manner, perhaps not better than an orangutan".
Material being produced today to mark the anniversary of the abolition of
the slave trade makes it appear that white people liberated black - the
assumption being they could not do it themselves. In reality, slaves rose
against the trade from its inception. This broke it.
The first recorded slave revolt was in 1570. There were at least 250
shipboard rebellions. Jamaican slave society faced a serious revolt every
decade, in addition to prolonged guerrilla war. In 1760, 30,000 Jamaican
slaves revolted. The culmination, recorded in CLR James's magisterial The
Black Jacobins, was the 1791 slave revolt in St Domingue. After abolition of
the trade, slavery in British possessions was abolished following revolts in
Barbados in 1816, Demerara in 1823, and Jamaica in 1831, in which 60,000
slaves participated. For this reason Unesco officially marks August 23, the
anniversary of the St Domingue rebellion's outbreak, as slavery's official
remembrance day.
No one denigrates William Wilberforce, but it was black resistance and
economic development that destroyed slavery, not white philanthropy.
Slavery's reality is increasingly acknowledged outside Britain. One of the
few things on which I agree with George Bush is his description of
transatlantic slavery as "one of the greatest crimes of history".
The
Virginia general assembly last month expressed "profound regret" for its
role, stating slavery "ranks as the most horrendous of all depredations of
human rights and violations of our founding ideals".
The French national assembly declared slavery a "crime against humanity".
n 1999, Liverpool became the first major British slaving city to formally apologise. The Church of England Synod followed suit.
The British government's refusal of such an apology is squalid. Until
recently, almost unbelievably, it refused even to recognise the slave trade
as a crime against humanity, on the grounds that it was legal at the time.
It helped block an EU apology for slavery.
Two arguments are brought forward against official apology - not only by the
government but by David Cameron. First, an apology is unnecessary because
this happened a long time ago. This would only apply if there had been a
previously apology - there hasn't been. Slavery was the mass murder of
millions of people. Germany apologised for the Holocaust. We must for the
slave trade.
Second, that apologising is "national self-hate". This is nonsense. Love of
one's country and its achievements is based on reality, not denying it. A
Britain that contributed Shakespeare, Newton and Darwin to human
civilisation need fear comparison with no one. A British state that refuses
to apologise for a crime on such a gigantic scale as the slave trade merely
lowers our country in the opinion of the world.
It is for that reason that I invite all representatives of London society to
join me in following the example of Virginia, France, Liverpool and the
Church of England, by formally apologising for London's role in this
monstrous crime.
UK News paper.
Peace, Curtis Sharif
Houston, Texas
"G.Waleed Kavalec" <kavalec@gmail.com> wrote:
-----
*Why I am saying sorry for London's role in this horror.*
The state failure to issue an apology for a crime as monstrous as the slave
trade diminishes Britain in the eyes of the world.
By Kenneth Robert Livingstone(Mr. Livingsrone is the Mayor of London)
Wednesday March 21, 2007
Next Sunday marks the bicentenary of the abolition of one of history's
greatest crimes - the transatlantic slave trade. The British government must
formally apologise for it. All attempts to evade this are weasel words.
Delay demeans our country. Recalling the slave trade's dimensions will show
why. Conservative estimates of the numbers transported are 10-15 million;
others range up to 30 million. Deaths started immediately, as many as 5% in
prisons before transportation and more than 10% during the voyage - the
direct murder of some 2 million people.
Conditions imposed on survivors were unimaginable. Virginia made it lawful
"to kill and destroy such negroes" who "absent themselves from ... service".
Branding and rape were commonplace.
A Jamaican planter, Thomas Thistlewood,
in 1756 had a slave "well flogged and pickled, then made Hector shit in his
mouth" for eating sugar cane.
From 1707, punishment for rebellion included
"nailing them to the ground" and "applying fire by degrees from the feet and
hands, burning them gradually up to the head".
When in 1736 Antigua found there was to be a rebellion, five ringleaders
were broken on the wheel, 77 burned to death, six hung in cages to die of
thirst. For "lesser" crimes, castration or chopping off half the foot were
used. A manual noted: "Terror must operate to keep them in subjection."
Barbarism's consequences were clear. More than 1.5 million slaves were taken
to the British Caribbean islands in the 18th century, but by its end there
were only 600,000. By 1820, more than 10 million Africans had been
transported across the Atlantic and 2 million Europeans had moved. But the
European population grew to 12 million while the black slave population
shrank to 6 million.
If the murder of millions, and torture of millions more, is not "a crime
against humanity", these words have no meaning. To justify murder and
torture on an industrial scale, black people had to be declared inferior, or
not human. As historian James Walvin noted, there was a "form of bondage
which, from an early date, was highly racialised. By 1750, to be black in
the Americas (and often in Europe) was to be enslaved." The 1774 History of
Jamaica argued black slaves were a different species, able to work "in a
very bungling and slovenly manner, perhaps not better than an orangutan".
Material being produced today to mark the anniversary of the abolition of
the slave trade makes it appear that white people liberated black - the
assumption being they could not do it themselves. In reality, slaves rose
against the trade from its inception. This broke it.
The first recorded slave revolt was in 1570. There were at least 250
shipboard rebellions. Jamaican slave society faced a serious revolt every
decade, in addition to prolonged guerrilla war. In 1760, 30,000 Jamaican
slaves revolted. The culmination, recorded in CLR James's magisterial The
Black Jacobins, was the 1791 slave revolt in St Domingue. After abolition of
the trade, slavery in British possessions was abolished following revolts in
Barbados in 1816, Demerara in 1823, and Jamaica in 1831, in which 60,000
slaves participated. For this reason Unesco officially marks August 23, the
anniversary of the St Domingue rebellion's outbreak, as slavery's official
remembrance day.
No one denigrates William Wilberforce, but it was black resistance and
economic development that destroyed slavery, not white philanthropy.
Slavery's reality is increasingly acknowledged outside Britain. One of the
few things on which I agree with George Bush is his description of
transatlantic slavery as "one of the greatest crimes of history".
The
Virginia general assembly last month expressed "profound regret" for its
role, stating slavery "ranks as the most horrendous of all depredations of
human rights and violations of our founding ideals".
The French national assembly declared slavery a "crime against humanity".
n 1999, Liverpool became the first major British slaving city to formally apologise. The Church of England Synod followed suit.
The British government's refusal of such an apology is squalid. Until
recently, almost unbelievably, it refused even to recognise the slave trade
as a crime against humanity, on the grounds that it was legal at the time.
It helped block an EU apology for slavery.
Two arguments are brought forward against official apology - not only by the
government but by David Cameron. First, an apology is unnecessary because
this happened a long time ago. This would only apply if there had been a
previously apology - there hasn't been. Slavery was the mass murder of
millions of people. Germany apologised for the Holocaust. We must for the
slave trade.
Second, that apologising is "national self-hate". This is nonsense. Love of
one's country and its achievements is based on reality, not denying it. A
Britain that contributed Shakespeare, Newton and Darwin to human
civilisation need fear comparison with no one. A British state that refuses
to apologise for a crime on such a gigantic scale as the slave trade merely
lowers our country in the opinion of the world.
It is for that reason that I invite all representatives of London society to
join me in following the example of Virginia, France, Liverpool and the
Church of England, by formally apologising for London's role in this
monstrous crime.
UK News paper.
Islam, the Crusades and Columbus in their proper historical context
By Mr Avenger, Test Valley
http://www.bbc.co.uk/dna/actionnetwork/A10472988
"Islam has made crucial contributions to the modern world of science and discovery; this is a small example, although far from being comprehensive, provided by the University of South California:
Mathematical Sciences and Physics; Astronomy; Mathematics; Algebra; Geometry; Trigonometry; Number Theory; Physics, Balance, Projectile Motion, Optics; Experimental Method; Medical Sciences; Pharmacology; Natural History and Geography; Botany, Zoology; Geography; Chemistry; Technology; Man and Nature; Architecture.
http://cwis.usc.edu/dept/MSA/introduction/woi_knowledge.html
In fairness, it is worthy of several books of study to look at the issues in any depth. According to the Gospel of St. John the Prophet Jesus (pbuh) said:
“I have yet many things to say unto you, but ye cannot bear them now. Howbeit when he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he will guide you into all truth: for he shall not speak of himself; but whatsoever he shall hear, [that] shall he speak: and he will shew you things to come. He shall glorify me: for he shall receive of mine, and shall shew [it] unto you” [John, 16:12-14]
The position of Muslims is that the ‘spirit of truth’ in this verse can only relate to the Holy Prophet Mohammed (pbuh) as the object of the male pronoun references in this verse. The verse itself is utterly unique from all other verses of the Bible in this regard. Similarly the Qu’ran states:
“He has taught you that which [heretofore] you knew not.” [Q.2:239]
This accords with John 16:12-14 and gives us a focal point for the new advances in science, medicine and the arts made by the Muslims that followed the revelation of the Qu’ran. Aside from technical advances that lead to the Renaissance and The Industrial Revolution, the image of Islam should be looked at in its proper historical context.
The image of Muslims in the modern day is the result of the re-writing of history. For the believers, world history can be viewed as one continuous chain of events: the propagation of knowledge and true belief from the time of Adam through Abraham, Moses, Jesus and finally to Mohammed (pbut) versus the oppression of the truth, ignorance and the persecution of the true believers. As Muslims we state that the Christian and Jews are our brethren as we are the People of the Book, it is of great benefit to us to have open discourse about our beliefs. Events come into sharp focus when we look at these issues in the full context of world History.
I will offer you only one example of how history has been censored and misrepresented against the Muslims. Few Americans and even fewer Christians know that Muslims from Spain and West Africa arrived in the Americas at least five centuries before Columbus.
9th Century: During the rule of the Spanish Muslim Caliph Abdullah Ibn Muhammad (888-912 CE), a Muslim navigator known as Khashkhash Ibn Saeed Ibn Aswad of Cordoba, sails from Delba (Palos) in Spain in 889 CE. He crosses the Atlantic reaching ‘Ard Majhoola’ (the unknown territory) and returns with ‘fabulous treasures’. This is recorded in a book written by Al-Masudi (871-957 CE) called ‘Muruj Adh-dhahab wa Maadin al-Jawhar’ (The Meadows of Gold and Quarries of Jewels).
10th Century: During the rule of Abdul Rahman III (929-961), Muslims of African origin sail westward again from the Spanish port of Delba again into an “Ocean of darkness an fog.” They returned after a long absence from a “strange and curious land.”
15th Century: Under King Ferdinand and Queen Isabela, the so-called ‘Christian’ armies of Europe persecute and commit genocide of the Muslims of Spain. Granada falls in 1492 CE. This is part of an ongoing war against Islam by Greco-Roman Europe from centuries earlier, in fact since Islam spread throughout the Roman Empire after the time of the Holy Prophet (pbuh). The European crusades are fuelled by false propaganda, misinformation creating hatred and mistrust for the Muslims (who are demonized as barbarians and Satan worshippers) which is then spread throughout Christendom.
“Popes encouraged, launched, and led the Crusades. They have vilified Islam as a false religion. Pope Innocent III (1161-1216) identified the Prophet Muhammad as the Anti-Christ. Such pronouncements by successive popes created a climate of hatred among Christians toward Muslims.
In 1099, when the Crusaders took Jerusalem, they massacred 40,000 Muslims–men women, and children. The Church of the Holy Sepulcher, the holiest church in Christendom, the site of Calvary, was a pool of blood. The Crusaders found Jews huddled in the main synagogue in Jerusalem and burned them to death, dancing around the pyre and singing Te Deum. After the killing, the looting started. The mosque of Umar was sacked; the tomb of Abraham was destroyed. “In the Temple and the porch of Solomon, men rode in blood up to their knees and bridal reins,” wrote Raymond of Aguilers, an eyewitness chronicler of the First Crusade. Women were not spared, he observed: “The Franks did no other harm to the women whom they found in the enemy camp, save that they ran their lances through their bellies.”
www.beliefnet.com/story/164/story_16413_1.html
Although ‘The Crusades’ normally refer to the battles in the Holy lands this was only part of a much wider campaign of war against the Muslims which covered: Asia, North Africa, Europe (the Balkans, Serbia-Montenegro-Bosnia, Hungary, Austria, Bulgaria, Italy etc) the wider Mediterranean, the Middle East, Central and Southern Africa and the Far East. At the exact same time as ‘The Crusades’ are ongoing in the Holy Lands, we see crusades against Muslims in Spain (the ‘Reconquista’) with the battle for Toledo in 1085 CE. After 1492, Spain comes under Christian control and this now leads to the Spanish Inquisition aimed at killing or converting the true believers to Christianity - it is primarily targeted at Muslims but also includes smaller populations of Jews living peacefully under Islamic rule. The propagandized war against Islam spreads to the Americas.
3rd August 1492 CE: Columbus sails to the Americas again from Delba (Palos) in Spain. Under the authority of the Ferdinand & Isabela, Columbus sets out on a Christian Crusade as part of the ongoing war against Islam occurring in his home country and throughout Europe and the Middle East. His arrival in the Americas is far from the ‘accidental’ discovery it is made out to be. He sets sail from a port which has well established Muslim links with the Americas, he uses the exact same maps which were draughted by the Muslim navigators (NB: Columbus’ brother is a cartographer) and in his hands are the reports and manuscripts written by the Muslim scholars.
He heads for ‘Gomera’ (the Canary Islands and ‘Gomera’ being the Arabic word for ‘small firebrand’). Here he falls in love with Beatriz Bobadilla who is the daughter of the first captain General of the island (the family name Bobadilla being derived from the Arab Islamic name Abouabdilla). The Bobadilla family was related to Abbasid / Islamic dynasty of Seville (1031 -1091 CE). Francisco Bobadilla later puts Columbus in chains and transfers him from Santo Domingo back to Spain in November 1500 CE.
12th October 1492 CE: Columbus lands on a little island in the Bahamas called ‘Guanahani’ by the natives. Guanahani is derived from Mandinka and modified Arabic words. Guana (Ikhwana) means ‘brothers’ and Hani is an Arabic name. The original name of the island was ‘Hani Brothers’. Columbus renames this as San Salvador. Columbus reports that the natives have no religion, they are peaceful and he states that the conversion to Christianity of the peoples of the Americas would be achieved through love, not force. This ends up being one of the biggest fallacies in history.
At the same time in this same region, live a tribe of Muslim natives known as Almamy. In Mandinka and Arabic languages, Almamy is the designation of ‘Al-Imam’ or ‘Al-Imamu’ (the leader of the Muslim prayer, or sometimes also the chief of the community). A renowned American historian Leo Weiner from Harvard University wrote a book called ‘Africa and The Discovery of America’ in 1920. He wrote that Columbus was well aware of the Mandinka presence in the New World and that the West African Muslims had spread throughout the Caribbean, Central, South and North American territories, including Canada, where they were trading and intermarrying with the Iroquois and Algonquin Indians.
Instead of co-existing and trading, what followed Columbus’ arrival was the wholesale massacre and genocide of the natives and Muslims of the Americas by European crusader / invaders coming across the Atlantic in fleets of armed galleons. American history states everything before 1492 is ‘Pre-Columbian’ – in the text books of the U.S. there is little or no reference to the spread of Islam to the Americas some 500 years earlier. In California, there even exists an early American petrogyph (rock carving) which states in Arabic: ‘Yasus ibn Maria’ which means ‘Jesus (son) of Mary’, which is taken from the Qu’ran. British historians such as Gavin Menzies, state that there was an earlier discovery of the Americas but in only in 1421 and made by the Chinese!
The image of Islam must be viewed in the context of world history: the demonization of the Muslims and Islam is not a new phenomenon. In truth, it makes very difficult reading for those of us who have been systematically misinformed for centuries.
Of interest:
http://www.nyu.edu/gsas/program/neareast/andalusia/pdf/8.pdf - Ferdinand & Isabela
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christopher_Columbus - Islam ‘edited out’ of history
www.beliefnet.com/story/164/story_16413_1.html - propaganda against Islam and the crusades
http://www.bbc.co.uk/dna/actionnetwork/A10472988
"Islam has made crucial contributions to the modern world of science and discovery; this is a small example, although far from being comprehensive, provided by the University of South California:
Mathematical Sciences and Physics; Astronomy; Mathematics; Algebra; Geometry; Trigonometry; Number Theory; Physics, Balance, Projectile Motion, Optics; Experimental Method; Medical Sciences; Pharmacology; Natural History and Geography; Botany, Zoology; Geography; Chemistry; Technology; Man and Nature; Architecture.
http://cwis.usc.edu/dept/MSA/introduction/woi_knowledge.html
In fairness, it is worthy of several books of study to look at the issues in any depth. According to the Gospel of St. John the Prophet Jesus (pbuh) said:
“I have yet many things to say unto you, but ye cannot bear them now. Howbeit when he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he will guide you into all truth: for he shall not speak of himself; but whatsoever he shall hear, [that] shall he speak: and he will shew you things to come. He shall glorify me: for he shall receive of mine, and shall shew [it] unto you” [John, 16:12-14]
The position of Muslims is that the ‘spirit of truth’ in this verse can only relate to the Holy Prophet Mohammed (pbuh) as the object of the male pronoun references in this verse. The verse itself is utterly unique from all other verses of the Bible in this regard. Similarly the Qu’ran states:
“He has taught you that which [heretofore] you knew not.” [Q.2:239]
This accords with John 16:12-14 and gives us a focal point for the new advances in science, medicine and the arts made by the Muslims that followed the revelation of the Qu’ran. Aside from technical advances that lead to the Renaissance and The Industrial Revolution, the image of Islam should be looked at in its proper historical context.
The image of Muslims in the modern day is the result of the re-writing of history. For the believers, world history can be viewed as one continuous chain of events: the propagation of knowledge and true belief from the time of Adam through Abraham, Moses, Jesus and finally to Mohammed (pbut) versus the oppression of the truth, ignorance and the persecution of the true believers. As Muslims we state that the Christian and Jews are our brethren as we are the People of the Book, it is of great benefit to us to have open discourse about our beliefs. Events come into sharp focus when we look at these issues in the full context of world History.
I will offer you only one example of how history has been censored and misrepresented against the Muslims. Few Americans and even fewer Christians know that Muslims from Spain and West Africa arrived in the Americas at least five centuries before Columbus.
9th Century: During the rule of the Spanish Muslim Caliph Abdullah Ibn Muhammad (888-912 CE), a Muslim navigator known as Khashkhash Ibn Saeed Ibn Aswad of Cordoba, sails from Delba (Palos) in Spain in 889 CE. He crosses the Atlantic reaching ‘Ard Majhoola’ (the unknown territory) and returns with ‘fabulous treasures’. This is recorded in a book written by Al-Masudi (871-957 CE) called ‘Muruj Adh-dhahab wa Maadin al-Jawhar’ (The Meadows of Gold and Quarries of Jewels).
10th Century: During the rule of Abdul Rahman III (929-961), Muslims of African origin sail westward again from the Spanish port of Delba again into an “Ocean of darkness an fog.” They returned after a long absence from a “strange and curious land.”
15th Century: Under King Ferdinand and Queen Isabela, the so-called ‘Christian’ armies of Europe persecute and commit genocide of the Muslims of Spain. Granada falls in 1492 CE. This is part of an ongoing war against Islam by Greco-Roman Europe from centuries earlier, in fact since Islam spread throughout the Roman Empire after the time of the Holy Prophet (pbuh). The European crusades are fuelled by false propaganda, misinformation creating hatred and mistrust for the Muslims (who are demonized as barbarians and Satan worshippers) which is then spread throughout Christendom.
“Popes encouraged, launched, and led the Crusades. They have vilified Islam as a false religion. Pope Innocent III (1161-1216) identified the Prophet Muhammad as the Anti-Christ. Such pronouncements by successive popes created a climate of hatred among Christians toward Muslims.
In 1099, when the Crusaders took Jerusalem, they massacred 40,000 Muslims–men women, and children. The Church of the Holy Sepulcher, the holiest church in Christendom, the site of Calvary, was a pool of blood. The Crusaders found Jews huddled in the main synagogue in Jerusalem and burned them to death, dancing around the pyre and singing Te Deum. After the killing, the looting started. The mosque of Umar was sacked; the tomb of Abraham was destroyed. “In the Temple and the porch of Solomon, men rode in blood up to their knees and bridal reins,” wrote Raymond of Aguilers, an eyewitness chronicler of the First Crusade. Women were not spared, he observed: “The Franks did no other harm to the women whom they found in the enemy camp, save that they ran their lances through their bellies.”
www.beliefnet.com/story/164/story_16413_1.html
Although ‘The Crusades’ normally refer to the battles in the Holy lands this was only part of a much wider campaign of war against the Muslims which covered: Asia, North Africa, Europe (the Balkans, Serbia-Montenegro-Bosnia, Hungary, Austria, Bulgaria, Italy etc) the wider Mediterranean, the Middle East, Central and Southern Africa and the Far East. At the exact same time as ‘The Crusades’ are ongoing in the Holy Lands, we see crusades against Muslims in Spain (the ‘Reconquista’) with the battle for Toledo in 1085 CE. After 1492, Spain comes under Christian control and this now leads to the Spanish Inquisition aimed at killing or converting the true believers to Christianity - it is primarily targeted at Muslims but also includes smaller populations of Jews living peacefully under Islamic rule. The propagandized war against Islam spreads to the Americas.
3rd August 1492 CE: Columbus sails to the Americas again from Delba (Palos) in Spain. Under the authority of the Ferdinand & Isabela, Columbus sets out on a Christian Crusade as part of the ongoing war against Islam occurring in his home country and throughout Europe and the Middle East. His arrival in the Americas is far from the ‘accidental’ discovery it is made out to be. He sets sail from a port which has well established Muslim links with the Americas, he uses the exact same maps which were draughted by the Muslim navigators (NB: Columbus’ brother is a cartographer) and in his hands are the reports and manuscripts written by the Muslim scholars.
He heads for ‘Gomera’ (the Canary Islands and ‘Gomera’ being the Arabic word for ‘small firebrand’). Here he falls in love with Beatriz Bobadilla who is the daughter of the first captain General of the island (the family name Bobadilla being derived from the Arab Islamic name Abouabdilla). The Bobadilla family was related to Abbasid / Islamic dynasty of Seville (1031 -1091 CE). Francisco Bobadilla later puts Columbus in chains and transfers him from Santo Domingo back to Spain in November 1500 CE.
12th October 1492 CE: Columbus lands on a little island in the Bahamas called ‘Guanahani’ by the natives. Guanahani is derived from Mandinka and modified Arabic words. Guana (Ikhwana) means ‘brothers’ and Hani is an Arabic name. The original name of the island was ‘Hani Brothers’. Columbus renames this as San Salvador. Columbus reports that the natives have no religion, they are peaceful and he states that the conversion to Christianity of the peoples of the Americas would be achieved through love, not force. This ends up being one of the biggest fallacies in history.
At the same time in this same region, live a tribe of Muslim natives known as Almamy. In Mandinka and Arabic languages, Almamy is the designation of ‘Al-Imam’ or ‘Al-Imamu’ (the leader of the Muslim prayer, or sometimes also the chief of the community). A renowned American historian Leo Weiner from Harvard University wrote a book called ‘Africa and The Discovery of America’ in 1920. He wrote that Columbus was well aware of the Mandinka presence in the New World and that the West African Muslims had spread throughout the Caribbean, Central, South and North American territories, including Canada, where they were trading and intermarrying with the Iroquois and Algonquin Indians.
Instead of co-existing and trading, what followed Columbus’ arrival was the wholesale massacre and genocide of the natives and Muslims of the Americas by European crusader / invaders coming across the Atlantic in fleets of armed galleons. American history states everything before 1492 is ‘Pre-Columbian’ – in the text books of the U.S. there is little or no reference to the spread of Islam to the Americas some 500 years earlier. In California, there even exists an early American petrogyph (rock carving) which states in Arabic: ‘Yasus ibn Maria’ which means ‘Jesus (son) of Mary’, which is taken from the Qu’ran. British historians such as Gavin Menzies, state that there was an earlier discovery of the Americas but in only in 1421 and made by the Chinese!
The image of Islam must be viewed in the context of world history: the demonization of the Muslims and Islam is not a new phenomenon. In truth, it makes very difficult reading for those of us who have been systematically misinformed for centuries.
Of interest:
http://www.nyu.edu/gsas/program/neareast/andalusia/pdf/8.pdf - Ferdinand & Isabela
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christopher_Columbus - Islam ‘edited out’ of history
www.beliefnet.com/story/164/story_16413_1.html - propaganda against Islam and the crusades
Help us educate Palestinains
Assalaamu 'alaikum wa rahamtullah,
I hope you are in the bestest of health and imaan (faith).
Are you working or looking for work? Are you at school/college? If your answer to these questions is yes, then answer this...WHY?
Most of you will probably say becuase u want to make a living, you want to be able to support yourself, you want to achieve something, be independant and not have to depend on others for financial support etc.
Am i right?
Well, day in day out, Palestinians and many more of our brothers and sisters are having to rely on relief donations to survive, they don't have much hope for their future. They want to be able to support themselves and their families like we do. They need to be educated so they can make a living, for them to move on...
A few weeks ago, the enitire library of the islamic university of Gaza in palestine had been burnt out by an arson attack. All the books, journals, computer and other IT qeuipments had been destroyed.
The effect of this on the university and the comminuity is devastating as over 20,000 students have been left with no library facilities whatsoever. These students are now facing real diffictulties to complete their education and training which will delay their gradiation and hinders their employments to support thenselves and their families.
They need your help...
All you have to do is kindly donate some books, journals, elecrtonic books (CDs DVDs) which are desperately needed in the following areas:
Medicine and related disciplines
Nursing
Agricultural and food production
Science (Chemisrty, Biology, Physics and related subjects)
Mathematics, statistics and related disciplines
IT and related subjects
Engineering-all disciplines
Please, ask friends and family if they have any old uni books which they could donate and let me know asap Inshallah. Email me with your details and what books you are able to give Inshallah.
Remember this will also act as a sadakah jaariyah Inshallah. All your efforts will be rewarded imensly and you don't need to do much! You will be rewarded for supplying knowledge, for helping them have their own job, for being able to support their families...the food they get form the money to feed them etc and it goes on! Subhanallah!
Please pass this on to as many contacts as you can Inshallah and spread the word, Jazakallah khair, may Allah reward you with paradise Inshallah
Wa 'alaikum assalaam
Email Husna:-ha_smileuroncctv@hotmail.com
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5S6GeAWssXQ
Please visit www.freeali.org to see how we can help insha'Allah
I hope you are in the bestest of health and imaan (faith).
Are you working or looking for work? Are you at school/college? If your answer to these questions is yes, then answer this...WHY?
Most of you will probably say becuase u want to make a living, you want to be able to support yourself, you want to achieve something, be independant and not have to depend on others for financial support etc.
Am i right?
Well, day in day out, Palestinians and many more of our brothers and sisters are having to rely on relief donations to survive, they don't have much hope for their future. They want to be able to support themselves and their families like we do. They need to be educated so they can make a living, for them to move on...
A few weeks ago, the enitire library of the islamic university of Gaza in palestine had been burnt out by an arson attack. All the books, journals, computer and other IT qeuipments had been destroyed.
The effect of this on the university and the comminuity is devastating as over 20,000 students have been left with no library facilities whatsoever. These students are now facing real diffictulties to complete their education and training which will delay their gradiation and hinders their employments to support thenselves and their families.
They need your help...
All you have to do is kindly donate some books, journals, elecrtonic books (CDs DVDs) which are desperately needed in the following areas:
Medicine and related disciplines
Nursing
Agricultural and food production
Science (Chemisrty, Biology, Physics and related subjects)
Mathematics, statistics and related disciplines
IT and related subjects
Engineering-all disciplines
Please, ask friends and family if they have any old uni books which they could donate and let me know asap Inshallah. Email me with your details and what books you are able to give Inshallah.
Remember this will also act as a sadakah jaariyah Inshallah. All your efforts will be rewarded imensly and you don't need to do much! You will be rewarded for supplying knowledge, for helping them have their own job, for being able to support their families...the food they get form the money to feed them etc and it goes on! Subhanallah!
Please pass this on to as many contacts as you can Inshallah and spread the word, Jazakallah khair, may Allah reward you with paradise Inshallah
Wa 'alaikum assalaam
Email Husna:-ha_smileuroncctv@hotmail.com
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5S6GeAWssXQ
Please visit www.freeali.org to see how we can help insha'Allah
How the Shaytaan has a share in people's wealth
Question:
What is the share that the Shaytaan has in people's wealth, as mentioned in the aayah (interpretation of the meaning): "share with them wealth and children (by tempting them to earn money by illegal ways usury, or by committing illegal sexual intercourse),"[al-Israa' 17:64]?
Answer:
Praise be to Allaah.
The share that he has in their wealth is when they spend it in disobeying Allaah. This was the view of al-Hasan. And it was said that it is that which is acquired from sources which are not halaal. This was the view of Mujaahid.
Ibn `Abbaas said: (it means) the things they used to forbid such as al-baheerah (a she-camel whose milk was spared for the idols and nobody was allowed to milk it), al-saa'ibah (a she-camel let loose for free pasture for their false gods, and nothing was allowed to be carried on it), al-waseelah (a she-camel set free for idols because it had given birth to a she-camel at its first delivery and then again gave birth to a she-camel at its second delivery) and al-haam (a stallion-camel freed freed from work for their idols after it had finished a number of copulations assigned for it). This was the view of Qutaadah. Al-Dahhaak said: (it means) what they used to sacrifice to their gods.
It was narrated from Ibn `Abbaas and Mujaahid: this is what he (the Shaytaan) commands them to do of spending their wealth in disobeying Allaah. `Ataa' said: this means riba (usury, interest). Al-Hasan said: this means acquiring it (wealth) from evil sources and spending it in haraam ways. This was also the view of Qutaadah. Al-`Awfi said, narrating from Ibn `Abbaas (may Allaah be pleased with them both): with regard to his sharing in their wealth, this means that which he forbade them of their an'aam (livestock such as camels, cattle, etc.), i.e., the baheerah, saa'ibah, etc. This was also the view of al-Dahhaak and Qutaadah.
Al-Tabari said:
The view which is most likely to be correct is the view of those who said that what this meant was every kind of wealth which involved disobeying Allaah, whether it was spent on haraam things, earned from haraam sources, sacrificed to their gods, instituted as a saa'ibah or baheerah for the Shaytaan, or other ways by means of which it was spent in disobedience (towards Allaah). That is because Allaah said (interpretation of the meaning): "share with them wealth". So every kind of wealth by means of which the Shaytaan is obeyed and Allaah is disobeyed, the one who does that has given Iblees a share in it; there is no reason why one specific meaning should be intended to the exclusion of others (i.e., the meaning is general).
With regard to the Shaytaan sharing in food and drink _ to which his sharing in staying overnight in people's houses, which are also a form of wealth, is also added _ in the case of those who do not mention the name of Allaah, this is mentioned in the hadeeth of Jaabir ibn `Abd-Allaah, who said that he heard the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) say: "When a man enters his house and remembers Allaah [i.e., says Bismillaah] when he enters and when he eats, the Shaytaan says, `You have no place to stay and no dinner.' If he enters and does not remember Allaah when entering, the Shaytaan says, `You have found a place to stay.' If he does not remember Allaah when he eats, [the Shaytaan] says, `You have found a place to stay and dinner.'"
(Narrated by Muslim, 2018).
It was narrated that Hudhayfah said: When we ate with the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him), we would not stretch forth our hands until the Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) stretched forth his hand first. We were going to eat with him one time, when a young girl came rushing as if she were being pushed. She went to stretch forth her hand to the food, but the Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) took hold of her hand. Then a Bedouin came rushing as if he were being pushed, and he took hold of his hand. Then the Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: "The Shaytaan regards food as permissible (for himself) if the name of Allaah is not mentioned over it. He brought this girl so that the food might become permissible for him through her, but I took her hand. Then he brought this Bedouin so that the food might become permissible for him through him, but I took his hand. By the One in Whose hand is my soul, his hand is in mine along with her hand." This was narrated by Muslim, 2017.
Al-Nawawi said:
The correct view, which is that of the majority of scholars of the earlier and later generations, scholars of hadeeth, fiqh and kalaam, is that this hadeeth and similar ahaadeeth which were narrated concerning the Shaytaan eating are to be interpreted according to their apparent meaning. The Shaytaan eats in a real sense, because rationally this is not impossible and sharee'ah does not deny it, rather it confirms it. So we must accept it and believe in it. And Allaah knows best.
Sharh Muslim, 13/190.
What is the share that the Shaytaan has in people's wealth, as mentioned in the aayah (interpretation of the meaning): "share with them wealth and children (by tempting them to earn money by illegal ways usury, or by committing illegal sexual intercourse),"[al-Israa' 17:64]?
Answer:
Praise be to Allaah.
The share that he has in their wealth is when they spend it in disobeying Allaah. This was the view of al-Hasan. And it was said that it is that which is acquired from sources which are not halaal. This was the view of Mujaahid.
Ibn `Abbaas said: (it means) the things they used to forbid such as al-baheerah (a she-camel whose milk was spared for the idols and nobody was allowed to milk it), al-saa'ibah (a she-camel let loose for free pasture for their false gods, and nothing was allowed to be carried on it), al-waseelah (a she-camel set free for idols because it had given birth to a she-camel at its first delivery and then again gave birth to a she-camel at its second delivery) and al-haam (a stallion-camel freed freed from work for their idols after it had finished a number of copulations assigned for it). This was the view of Qutaadah. Al-Dahhaak said: (it means) what they used to sacrifice to their gods.
It was narrated from Ibn `Abbaas and Mujaahid: this is what he (the Shaytaan) commands them to do of spending their wealth in disobeying Allaah. `Ataa' said: this means riba (usury, interest). Al-Hasan said: this means acquiring it (wealth) from evil sources and spending it in haraam ways. This was also the view of Qutaadah. Al-`Awfi said, narrating from Ibn `Abbaas (may Allaah be pleased with them both): with regard to his sharing in their wealth, this means that which he forbade them of their an'aam (livestock such as camels, cattle, etc.), i.e., the baheerah, saa'ibah, etc. This was also the view of al-Dahhaak and Qutaadah.
Al-Tabari said:
The view which is most likely to be correct is the view of those who said that what this meant was every kind of wealth which involved disobeying Allaah, whether it was spent on haraam things, earned from haraam sources, sacrificed to their gods, instituted as a saa'ibah or baheerah for the Shaytaan, or other ways by means of which it was spent in disobedience (towards Allaah). That is because Allaah said (interpretation of the meaning): "share with them wealth". So every kind of wealth by means of which the Shaytaan is obeyed and Allaah is disobeyed, the one who does that has given Iblees a share in it; there is no reason why one specific meaning should be intended to the exclusion of others (i.e., the meaning is general).
With regard to the Shaytaan sharing in food and drink _ to which his sharing in staying overnight in people's houses, which are also a form of wealth, is also added _ in the case of those who do not mention the name of Allaah, this is mentioned in the hadeeth of Jaabir ibn `Abd-Allaah, who said that he heard the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) say: "When a man enters his house and remembers Allaah [i.e., says Bismillaah] when he enters and when he eats, the Shaytaan says, `You have no place to stay and no dinner.' If he enters and does not remember Allaah when entering, the Shaytaan says, `You have found a place to stay.' If he does not remember Allaah when he eats, [the Shaytaan] says, `You have found a place to stay and dinner.'"
(Narrated by Muslim, 2018).
It was narrated that Hudhayfah said: When we ate with the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him), we would not stretch forth our hands until the Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) stretched forth his hand first. We were going to eat with him one time, when a young girl came rushing as if she were being pushed. She went to stretch forth her hand to the food, but the Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) took hold of her hand. Then a Bedouin came rushing as if he were being pushed, and he took hold of his hand. Then the Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: "The Shaytaan regards food as permissible (for himself) if the name of Allaah is not mentioned over it. He brought this girl so that the food might become permissible for him through her, but I took her hand. Then he brought this Bedouin so that the food might become permissible for him through him, but I took his hand. By the One in Whose hand is my soul, his hand is in mine along with her hand." This was narrated by Muslim, 2017.
Al-Nawawi said:
The correct view, which is that of the majority of scholars of the earlier and later generations, scholars of hadeeth, fiqh and kalaam, is that this hadeeth and similar ahaadeeth which were narrated concerning the Shaytaan eating are to be interpreted according to their apparent meaning. The Shaytaan eats in a real sense, because rationally this is not impossible and sharee'ah does not deny it, rather it confirms it. So we must accept it and believe in it. And Allaah knows best.
Sharh Muslim, 13/190.
Egyptian Christians Defend Headscarf
CAIRO — Showing solidarity with the Muslim principal, Christian students in an Egyptian secondary girls school and their parents rushed to defend wearing headscarves in class, insisting they were not coerced but were simply following in the footsteps of Virgin Mary.
"All Christian girls in the school wear headscarves out of their own volition," Merriam Nabil, a student at Al-Ayyat Technical School in the Giza governorate, told IslamOnline.net.
"We have decided to stand by our principal to demonstrate to all that he did not force us to don the headscarf."
A state-owned magazine had reported that the entire 2,700 students of the school, including 55 Christians, cover their hair with white headscarves.
It claimed that the school's principal, Magdy Fikri, coerced the Christian girls into putting on the Muslim head cover.
Accordingly, he was rebuked by the Ministry of Education and transferred along with two teachers from the school.
"We received complaints from some parents and girl students, who said that the principal forced Muslim and Christian girls to wear hijab," Ministry of Education Undersecretary Hussein el-Sheikh told IOL.
Fikri refuses to swallow claims that complaints had been lodged with the ministry from his students.
"I can never believe that a student or one of my Christian colleagues is behind these alleged complaints," he said.
"I have known them for years, they can never behave like this. We, Muslims and Christians, are one and do not bear grudges for one another."
Minister of Education Yousri el-Gamal only backed down after the Christian girls joined hands with their Muslim colleagues in defending their principal.
"The minister was moved by the Muslim-Christian solidarity in the case," el-Sheikh said.
Virgin Mary
Merriam Nabil has been wearing a headscarf since the preliminary grade.
"We wear the headscarves inside and outside the school just like our mothers," said the Christian student.
"I having been covering my hair since the preliminary school. We don't feel offended if we are likened to our Muslim peers."
The disciplinary action against Fikri drew fire from parents of the Christian students and Christian school teachers alike.
The school's deputy principal, Magdy Rasmi, a Christian, defended his colleague.
"Fikri is one of the best people I know," he told IOL. "Injustice has been done to him and we must stand by him."
Lotfi Adly, the father of a Christian student, agreed.
"If our daughters had been really forced to wear hijab, we would have never kept our mouths shut," he told IOL.
"But we are convinced that there is nothing wrong with the headscarf."
The Christian father said the overwhelming majority of Egyptians are devout and conservative.
"Do you think I would be happy seeing my kid's hair uncovered?"
Said Ghobriyal, another father, insisted that the headscarf is all about chastity.
"It really unnerves me to see women on the streets with uncovered hair."
The mother of Fayza Awad, a Christian student, asserted that herself and her daughter were modeling themselves after Virgin Marry.
"I wear a headscarf because Virgin Mary covered her hair. This is all about respect and there is no compulsion."
"All Christian girls in the school wear headscarves out of their own volition," Merriam Nabil, a student at Al-Ayyat Technical School in the Giza governorate, told IslamOnline.net.
"We have decided to stand by our principal to demonstrate to all that he did not force us to don the headscarf."
A state-owned magazine had reported that the entire 2,700 students of the school, including 55 Christians, cover their hair with white headscarves.
It claimed that the school's principal, Magdy Fikri, coerced the Christian girls into putting on the Muslim head cover.
Accordingly, he was rebuked by the Ministry of Education and transferred along with two teachers from the school.
"We received complaints from some parents and girl students, who said that the principal forced Muslim and Christian girls to wear hijab," Ministry of Education Undersecretary Hussein el-Sheikh told IOL.
Fikri refuses to swallow claims that complaints had been lodged with the ministry from his students.
"I can never believe that a student or one of my Christian colleagues is behind these alleged complaints," he said.
"I have known them for years, they can never behave like this. We, Muslims and Christians, are one and do not bear grudges for one another."
Minister of Education Yousri el-Gamal only backed down after the Christian girls joined hands with their Muslim colleagues in defending their principal.
"The minister was moved by the Muslim-Christian solidarity in the case," el-Sheikh said.
Virgin Mary
Merriam Nabil has been wearing a headscarf since the preliminary grade.
"We wear the headscarves inside and outside the school just like our mothers," said the Christian student.
"I having been covering my hair since the preliminary school. We don't feel offended if we are likened to our Muslim peers."
The disciplinary action against Fikri drew fire from parents of the Christian students and Christian school teachers alike.
The school's deputy principal, Magdy Rasmi, a Christian, defended his colleague.
"Fikri is one of the best people I know," he told IOL. "Injustice has been done to him and we must stand by him."
Lotfi Adly, the father of a Christian student, agreed.
"If our daughters had been really forced to wear hijab, we would have never kept our mouths shut," he told IOL.
"But we are convinced that there is nothing wrong with the headscarf."
The Christian father said the overwhelming majority of Egyptians are devout and conservative.
"Do you think I would be happy seeing my kid's hair uncovered?"
Said Ghobriyal, another father, insisted that the headscarf is all about chastity.
"It really unnerves me to see women on the streets with uncovered hair."
The mother of Fayza Awad, a Christian student, asserted that herself and her daughter were modeling themselves after Virgin Marry.
"I wear a headscarf because Virgin Mary covered her hair. This is all about respect and there is no compulsion."
Nice Questions-please read
1) My brother, you asked: Does the Quran/Islam mention anything about dinosaurs?
Mohammad: Though Qur’aan may not have mentioned Crocodiles or Dragons today, or many other speeches that were during the time of Muhammad Sallah Allah Aleihi Wasallam, does that mean Allah did not know about? However, Allah mentioned about the Giants of old times, like the people prophet Saleh and prophet Hood, who built huge dwellings and majestic cities, then Allah wiped them out. If you want please look at the attachment I am sending you, if this is how man was, this is a clear indication of how animals were as well. If the attachment does not show well, send me a message to my mail box to send you another message with the attachment again. On the other hand, Allah says how he brought us from a different kind of people (6:133), most likely another indication how we came from those Giants of old times when Dinosaurs were around.
2) You said: What does Islam say about slavery? I heard, as a rumor, that there were islamic leaders, including the Prophet (Peace Be Upon Him) that had slaves..if thats true, doesnt that go against the part of the Quran where it states something that goes like "No Arab has any superiority over a non-arab" and so on and so forth.
Mohammad: yes of course it does, however, what is the story here? As we all know, Arabs existed long before Muhammad Alihi Al Salatu walsalaam, during their days before our prophet, Arabs did have slaves, when Islam came to them, Islam faced a serious problem with slavery, if Allah ordered us to set them free just like that, many of those were born in slavery and were taken from different countries, those slaves will wind up in the street homeless and will die, because they are removed from the only known homes they knew all of their lives. With this difficulty in social life, Islam found a way to fee them little by little, sometimes through buying them from their owners, and then setting them free after assigning work to them to survive an giving them homes among other believers who followed out prophet among the first Sahabah. Therefore, first they needed to free them from their non Believing owners first, then set them free, our Imam was given a young man named Zaid who was a slave under Khadijah, the first thing our Imam did is setting this young man free, then adopted him as an adopted son till Allah said: do not call him by the son of Muhammad, call him to his own father. Yes, before Islam Arabs had slaves, Islam had nothing to do with that, then Islam came to remedy things in a gentle way without creating a serious situation at hand.
Now, and on the other hand, Allah made it clear how it was our duty to sit those slaves free, how? Ayah 5:89 says: or setting a soul free. So you see, Allah show us how to things in the best manner possible, without creating a situation in our social lives.
3) You said: Why do muslims say "Peace be upon him" about our Prophet when he already has beyond imaginable peace and I'm sure right now he's waiting in a good place until Judgement day..so how much more peace does he need?
Mohammad: yes my brother, this is wrong, the words are not peace be upon him, now we have the stupid from non Muslims using evil words to replace what some of us say, and I feel disgust and cannot repeat what they say. Now let us see what Allah told us to say, and what is the meaning of such? Allah says in Ayah 33:56: Allah and His Angels make Salah over the prophet, O Believers in Allah make Salah and say your Salaams. Let us try to understand this according to Qur’aan, not according to how some translated this. How Allah and His Angels make Salah over the prophet, and is it only our prophet Muhammad? If this was for Muhammad only, Allah would have said: over Muhammad, not the prophet, which means this applies to every prophet Allah sent to mankind. How, and what is my proof?
Listen to your prayer, when you set and recite Durud Shareef, or in Arabic: Tahyat, you say in the second part: O Allah make Sala over Muhammad, and the family of Muhammad, like you made Salah over Ibraheim and the family of Ibraheim, do you see how Salah was made over Ibraheim thousands of years before Muhammad may Allah bless all the same? Now, what is Salah Allah may make and his Angels, is it prayer as we do and call Salah and Namaas? Those words mean: Allah and His Angels sends blessings over the prophet, O Believers in Allah, send your blessings over him, and say Salaam. What is Salaam, like saying: Al Salaam Aleikum Ye Rasool Allah, as we all know how the name: Al Salaam belong to Allah, and it is one of the 99 names of Allah, when you say Al Salaam Aleika Ya Rasool Allah, you are in essence saying: may Allah in His quality of peace shed our Imam and prophet, that is why even you an I when we greet one another we say: Al Salaam Aleikum, which is in essence a Dua we make wishing Allah in His quality of peace to shed our brothers and sisters in Islam, where we learned that at, and who speaks like that in Qur’aan? If you read Ayah 10:10 which says about the dwellers in Paradise: their greetings in it, Al Salaam Aleikum, and then end of their Dua is: Thanks to Allah the LORD of the two worlds, imagine, when you say: Al Salaam Aleikum today, you are practicing how to speak when the day come when Allah place us next to the Angels Insha Allah. May Allah makes us among those, and may Allah allow us to escape Hell, Eternity to come.
Now as for your Question: why we need to do this, simple, obeying Allah and His orders is a must, therefore, we have to do as Allah orders us, they way He orders, not following Temptations of our hearts.
You said: 4) Marijuana is considered Mahkru by some muslims and completely haram by others..i think it's 100 percent haram..which one is right? Marijuana = Mahkru or Total Haram? I'm sure your a busy guy but if you can answer these questions for me, it would be greatly appreciated!
Mohammad: now let us ask: what this Drug does to the human body? Looks like it takes away powers of thinking clearly, make us less human like, exactly as when we drink licker, and how Allah dealt with Licker? Allah said: Licker is Haram, not only in our Qur’aan, even in Jewish Christian books too. Liquor does away with the minds, also all Drugs, when Allah made Liquor that does away with the mind Haram, this applies to all similar products.
Mohammad: Though Qur’aan may not have mentioned Crocodiles or Dragons today, or many other speeches that were during the time of Muhammad Sallah Allah Aleihi Wasallam, does that mean Allah did not know about? However, Allah mentioned about the Giants of old times, like the people prophet Saleh and prophet Hood, who built huge dwellings and majestic cities, then Allah wiped them out. If you want please look at the attachment I am sending you, if this is how man was, this is a clear indication of how animals were as well. If the attachment does not show well, send me a message to my mail box to send you another message with the attachment again. On the other hand, Allah says how he brought us from a different kind of people (6:133), most likely another indication how we came from those Giants of old times when Dinosaurs were around.
2) You said: What does Islam say about slavery? I heard, as a rumor, that there were islamic leaders, including the Prophet (Peace Be Upon Him) that had slaves..if thats true, doesnt that go against the part of the Quran where it states something that goes like "No Arab has any superiority over a non-arab" and so on and so forth.
Mohammad: yes of course it does, however, what is the story here? As we all know, Arabs existed long before Muhammad Alihi Al Salatu walsalaam, during their days before our prophet, Arabs did have slaves, when Islam came to them, Islam faced a serious problem with slavery, if Allah ordered us to set them free just like that, many of those were born in slavery and were taken from different countries, those slaves will wind up in the street homeless and will die, because they are removed from the only known homes they knew all of their lives. With this difficulty in social life, Islam found a way to fee them little by little, sometimes through buying them from their owners, and then setting them free after assigning work to them to survive an giving them homes among other believers who followed out prophet among the first Sahabah. Therefore, first they needed to free them from their non Believing owners first, then set them free, our Imam was given a young man named Zaid who was a slave under Khadijah, the first thing our Imam did is setting this young man free, then adopted him as an adopted son till Allah said: do not call him by the son of Muhammad, call him to his own father. Yes, before Islam Arabs had slaves, Islam had nothing to do with that, then Islam came to remedy things in a gentle way without creating a serious situation at hand.
Now, and on the other hand, Allah made it clear how it was our duty to sit those slaves free, how? Ayah 5:89 says: or setting a soul free. So you see, Allah show us how to things in the best manner possible, without creating a situation in our social lives.
3) You said: Why do muslims say "Peace be upon him" about our Prophet when he already has beyond imaginable peace and I'm sure right now he's waiting in a good place until Judgement day..so how much more peace does he need?
Mohammad: yes my brother, this is wrong, the words are not peace be upon him, now we have the stupid from non Muslims using evil words to replace what some of us say, and I feel disgust and cannot repeat what they say. Now let us see what Allah told us to say, and what is the meaning of such? Allah says in Ayah 33:56: Allah and His Angels make Salah over the prophet, O Believers in Allah make Salah and say your Salaams. Let us try to understand this according to Qur’aan, not according to how some translated this. How Allah and His Angels make Salah over the prophet, and is it only our prophet Muhammad? If this was for Muhammad only, Allah would have said: over Muhammad, not the prophet, which means this applies to every prophet Allah sent to mankind. How, and what is my proof?
Listen to your prayer, when you set and recite Durud Shareef, or in Arabic: Tahyat, you say in the second part: O Allah make Sala over Muhammad, and the family of Muhammad, like you made Salah over Ibraheim and the family of Ibraheim, do you see how Salah was made over Ibraheim thousands of years before Muhammad may Allah bless all the same? Now, what is Salah Allah may make and his Angels, is it prayer as we do and call Salah and Namaas? Those words mean: Allah and His Angels sends blessings over the prophet, O Believers in Allah, send your blessings over him, and say Salaam. What is Salaam, like saying: Al Salaam Aleikum Ye Rasool Allah, as we all know how the name: Al Salaam belong to Allah, and it is one of the 99 names of Allah, when you say Al Salaam Aleika Ya Rasool Allah, you are in essence saying: may Allah in His quality of peace shed our Imam and prophet, that is why even you an I when we greet one another we say: Al Salaam Aleikum, which is in essence a Dua we make wishing Allah in His quality of peace to shed our brothers and sisters in Islam, where we learned that at, and who speaks like that in Qur’aan? If you read Ayah 10:10 which says about the dwellers in Paradise: their greetings in it, Al Salaam Aleikum, and then end of their Dua is: Thanks to Allah the LORD of the two worlds, imagine, when you say: Al Salaam Aleikum today, you are practicing how to speak when the day come when Allah place us next to the Angels Insha Allah. May Allah makes us among those, and may Allah allow us to escape Hell, Eternity to come.
Now as for your Question: why we need to do this, simple, obeying Allah and His orders is a must, therefore, we have to do as Allah orders us, they way He orders, not following Temptations of our hearts.
You said: 4) Marijuana is considered Mahkru by some muslims and completely haram by others..i think it's 100 percent haram..which one is right? Marijuana = Mahkru or Total Haram? I'm sure your a busy guy but if you can answer these questions for me, it would be greatly appreciated!
Mohammad: now let us ask: what this Drug does to the human body? Looks like it takes away powers of thinking clearly, make us less human like, exactly as when we drink licker, and how Allah dealt with Licker? Allah said: Licker is Haram, not only in our Qur’aan, even in Jewish Christian books too. Liquor does away with the minds, also all Drugs, when Allah made Liquor that does away with the mind Haram, this applies to all similar products.
For the Love and Support of You
by Gail Fripp (aka Tahira Ali)
I write this with much love to our young people who are in a desperate state. Our children are confused, pressured, misled, and misinformed about many things, including how their bodies should be used and what to do when the world (which in a young person's life is usually their friends and their parents) seems to not understand them and be against them, or is pressuring them to be something they are not ready to be. What can we all do to ease the pressure?
For Our Young People
You will feel pressure to do many things the older you get, but you must know when you should say no and when to say yes. You have to know when to give in to good pressure that leads you to becoming a stronger Muslim, and when to withdraw from pressure that may possibly cause the downfall of your good reputation and your faith.
What are some common pressures that our young face? (Parents you need to pay attention to this and not go into denial)
Uncovering Their Hair *
Wearing Makeup / Perfume *
Drinking
Having Sex
Sneeking Out Of The House
Dating
Going To Parties
Watching Immoral Videos/Movies
Taking Drugs
Wearing Inappropriate Clothing (Too tight, short, revealing,etc.) *
Giving Up Their Religion (What? You didn't know)
Increasing Their Religion (There are good pressures you know)
Listening To Haraam Music
Getting Good Grades
Marrying Someone They Are Not Interested In
AND Other Things I Have Probably Forgotten
* Starred pressures represent things relevant after entering puberty and/or in situations where the opposite sex is present, although it is better to encourage our young men and women to behave appropriately and dress respectably form day one.
We will talk about the pressure of dating and/or being intimate before you are married because this problem is getting worse by the second.
We know in Islam that if you are not able to marry you should fast to suppress your desires, but what if your deen isn't that strong or is basically non-existent? Where does your strength lie? Who helps you to stay on the straight path and work towards being able to marry so that you may satisfy your desires in a halaal manner? Who encourages you to pray and make dua to increase your faith? Friends? Family? The boy or girl who is attempting to deflower you? Probably not on the latter question.
You must rely on Allah when the temptation is so strong that you feel that your only choice is to give in. You must read Quran and ahadith to understand what your rewards are for waiting and what the punishments are for giving in - EVEN when you don't really want to. You must surround yourself with people who will encourage you to stay true to yourself and your religion and want what is best for you in this life and the next. You must distance yourself from all things that will counter your desired goal of pleasing Allah and making it into Jannah, even if it means losing a friend, or angering a family member.
"There is no obedience of the created in disobedience of the creator.”
Physical desires can seem to overtake your every thought, especially when you have a specific person in mind. It can seem unbearable to be in the same room with anyone of the opposite sex and make you confused about even the most basic tasks. It can make you forget appointments and dislike day-to-day functioning if it does not involve coming closer to your "beloved." Hormones, emotions, temptations, shaitan - they are all VERY real and should be taken seriously.
For all of these reasons, it is extremely important that you remember what you are on this Earth for - to serve Allah.
So how do I do that on a daily basis Tahira? I'm just a young person in school and most of my friends or people I come into contact with are not Muslim or are struggling as well. What about that?
Try these things:
1. Change yourself first - set the example. Begin to dress more conservatively and save the flashy outfits for gatherings with your girl friends and at girl-only parties. Refuse gatherings that are inappropriate. If you keep yourself in check, there can be no pressure from others. You know where you stand and that's that.
2. Begin to cover your hair properly and concern yourself with what you know about Islam and what will help your religion, not what boy is checking you out.
3. Encourage friends and family to do 1 and 2
4. Think about the object of your desire? Is he or she clean as it relates to how a Muslim cleans themselves for prayers, after going to the bathroom, after intimacy, etc? Sometimes that can be a great deterrent when you are battling your nafs (desires). Just a trick I heard about once.
5. Talk to your parents about your concerns for your well-being (relating your desires to your faith), or talk to another trusted adult who may be able to help you talk to your parents or give you good, solid, islamically-based advice
6. Contact me at help@mysisterskeeper.com and I will try to assist you with your situation the best that I am able or send you in the right direction.
7. Start NOW! Don't wait! That boy you are looking at doesn't mean a thing when you're burning in the hellfire, doe he?
For Parents
1. Teach your children correct Islamic values from DAY 1, don't wait until they are teens and then say "Hey, did you know we were Muslim?". Just because you were a half-practicing, arrogant, so-and-so Muslim for many years (but not anymore Insha Allah), don't let your children follow the same path. Don't be afraid to make them good, well-informed, proud Muslims.
I thought as parents we were supposed to save ourselves and our families from the hell-fire, not pack their bags for them and wish them a speedy journey there. Encourage them to be better than you were - better than you are now.
2. Improve yourself. You set the first impression for your child, so in many cases, if you are weak, so shall the child be. (I did say in many cases, not all cases so insha Allah you are not one of those cases.) It is already a struggle for our Muslim children to survive the daily onslaught of haraam things happening these days, so to have a parent who is discouraging (openly or otherwise), happily ignorant about the differences between religion and culture, in denial, or uncaring whether you are a believer or not can add major fuel to the "fire". ( Any pun in my last sentence relating to the dangers of helping to send your child to the actual hell-fire is most definitely intended.)
3. Communicate with your children, listen to what they say, and watch for what they don't say. Many times actions can speak volumes more than words. You may be in denial, but they are living the struggle. If they talk to you (which is difficult for many youth), listen. They just may be asking you for crucial advice in their roundabout, this -is-embarrassing-but-I-really-need-help kind of way.
4. Involve them in activities where they will meet other "practicing" Muslim youth. If they should become interested in someone, Insha Allah it will be handled correctly, they will marry and become excellent examples for their own children.
5. Don't discourage their desire to learn more about the correct way to practice Islam. They are not trying to show you up or anger you. They ARE our future and, as such, need to learn what is expected of them and what true Islamic belief is. You may feel intimidated at the fact that they are learning more than you know, but this just may give you the incentive to learn more as well. Please, let them learn. We need knowledgeable young people to carry Islam forward until the day comes when gaining knowledge will no longer help us get into Jannah. That could be tomorrow.
In conclusion...
1. Young People - Be strong, patient, and do what you need to do to be successful in Islam. START SOMETHING GOOD NOW! Don't worry about making mistakes because it's going to happen. Allah forgives all but shirk so ask Allah for forgiveness and guidance often. Seek help and support from others who have your best interest in mind and never give up!
Verily, Allâh forgives not that partners should be set up with him in worship, but He forgives except that (anything else) to whom He pleases, and whoever sets up partners with Allâh in worship, he has indeed invented a tremendous sin.
Quran 4:48
2. Parents - PAY ATTENTION to what your child is doing and saying, be a positive role model for them, encourage them to be better than you are, and teach them true Islam and not your preferences. Also, don't worry about making mistakes because it's going to happen. Allah forgives all but shirk so ask Allah for forgiveness and guidance often. (Where have I heard that before? Oh yes, in number 1 above.) Save yourselves AND your families from the hellfire and don't be arrogant. Your last day to guide your children in the right direction could be today.
I write this with much love to our young people who are in a desperate state. Our children are confused, pressured, misled, and misinformed about many things, including how their bodies should be used and what to do when the world (which in a young person's life is usually their friends and their parents) seems to not understand them and be against them, or is pressuring them to be something they are not ready to be. What can we all do to ease the pressure?
For Our Young People
You will feel pressure to do many things the older you get, but you must know when you should say no and when to say yes. You have to know when to give in to good pressure that leads you to becoming a stronger Muslim, and when to withdraw from pressure that may possibly cause the downfall of your good reputation and your faith.
What are some common pressures that our young face? (Parents you need to pay attention to this and not go into denial)
Uncovering Their Hair *
Wearing Makeup / Perfume *
Drinking
Having Sex
Sneeking Out Of The House
Dating
Going To Parties
Watching Immoral Videos/Movies
Taking Drugs
Wearing Inappropriate Clothing (Too tight, short, revealing,etc.) *
Giving Up Their Religion (What? You didn't know)
Increasing Their Religion (There are good pressures you know)
Listening To Haraam Music
Getting Good Grades
Marrying Someone They Are Not Interested In
AND Other Things I Have Probably Forgotten
* Starred pressures represent things relevant after entering puberty and/or in situations where the opposite sex is present, although it is better to encourage our young men and women to behave appropriately and dress respectably form day one.
We will talk about the pressure of dating and/or being intimate before you are married because this problem is getting worse by the second.
We know in Islam that if you are not able to marry you should fast to suppress your desires, but what if your deen isn't that strong or is basically non-existent? Where does your strength lie? Who helps you to stay on the straight path and work towards being able to marry so that you may satisfy your desires in a halaal manner? Who encourages you to pray and make dua to increase your faith? Friends? Family? The boy or girl who is attempting to deflower you? Probably not on the latter question.
You must rely on Allah when the temptation is so strong that you feel that your only choice is to give in. You must read Quran and ahadith to understand what your rewards are for waiting and what the punishments are for giving in - EVEN when you don't really want to. You must surround yourself with people who will encourage you to stay true to yourself and your religion and want what is best for you in this life and the next. You must distance yourself from all things that will counter your desired goal of pleasing Allah and making it into Jannah, even if it means losing a friend, or angering a family member.
"There is no obedience of the created in disobedience of the creator.”
Physical desires can seem to overtake your every thought, especially when you have a specific person in mind. It can seem unbearable to be in the same room with anyone of the opposite sex and make you confused about even the most basic tasks. It can make you forget appointments and dislike day-to-day functioning if it does not involve coming closer to your "beloved." Hormones, emotions, temptations, shaitan - they are all VERY real and should be taken seriously.
For all of these reasons, it is extremely important that you remember what you are on this Earth for - to serve Allah.
So how do I do that on a daily basis Tahira? I'm just a young person in school and most of my friends or people I come into contact with are not Muslim or are struggling as well. What about that?
Try these things:
1. Change yourself first - set the example. Begin to dress more conservatively and save the flashy outfits for gatherings with your girl friends and at girl-only parties. Refuse gatherings that are inappropriate. If you keep yourself in check, there can be no pressure from others. You know where you stand and that's that.
2. Begin to cover your hair properly and concern yourself with what you know about Islam and what will help your religion, not what boy is checking you out.
3. Encourage friends and family to do 1 and 2
4. Think about the object of your desire? Is he or she clean as it relates to how a Muslim cleans themselves for prayers, after going to the bathroom, after intimacy, etc? Sometimes that can be a great deterrent when you are battling your nafs (desires). Just a trick I heard about once.
5. Talk to your parents about your concerns for your well-being (relating your desires to your faith), or talk to another trusted adult who may be able to help you talk to your parents or give you good, solid, islamically-based advice
6. Contact me at help@mysisterskeeper.com and I will try to assist you with your situation the best that I am able or send you in the right direction.
7. Start NOW! Don't wait! That boy you are looking at doesn't mean a thing when you're burning in the hellfire, doe he?
For Parents
1. Teach your children correct Islamic values from DAY 1, don't wait until they are teens and then say "Hey, did you know we were Muslim?". Just because you were a half-practicing, arrogant, so-and-so Muslim for many years (but not anymore Insha Allah), don't let your children follow the same path. Don't be afraid to make them good, well-informed, proud Muslims.
I thought as parents we were supposed to save ourselves and our families from the hell-fire, not pack their bags for them and wish them a speedy journey there. Encourage them to be better than you were - better than you are now.
2. Improve yourself. You set the first impression for your child, so in many cases, if you are weak, so shall the child be. (I did say in many cases, not all cases so insha Allah you are not one of those cases.) It is already a struggle for our Muslim children to survive the daily onslaught of haraam things happening these days, so to have a parent who is discouraging (openly or otherwise), happily ignorant about the differences between religion and culture, in denial, or uncaring whether you are a believer or not can add major fuel to the "fire". ( Any pun in my last sentence relating to the dangers of helping to send your child to the actual hell-fire is most definitely intended.)
3. Communicate with your children, listen to what they say, and watch for what they don't say. Many times actions can speak volumes more than words. You may be in denial, but they are living the struggle. If they talk to you (which is difficult for many youth), listen. They just may be asking you for crucial advice in their roundabout, this -is-embarrassing-but-I-really-need-help kind of way.
4. Involve them in activities where they will meet other "practicing" Muslim youth. If they should become interested in someone, Insha Allah it will be handled correctly, they will marry and become excellent examples for their own children.
5. Don't discourage their desire to learn more about the correct way to practice Islam. They are not trying to show you up or anger you. They ARE our future and, as such, need to learn what is expected of them and what true Islamic belief is. You may feel intimidated at the fact that they are learning more than you know, but this just may give you the incentive to learn more as well. Please, let them learn. We need knowledgeable young people to carry Islam forward until the day comes when gaining knowledge will no longer help us get into Jannah. That could be tomorrow.
In conclusion...
1. Young People - Be strong, patient, and do what you need to do to be successful in Islam. START SOMETHING GOOD NOW! Don't worry about making mistakes because it's going to happen. Allah forgives all but shirk so ask Allah for forgiveness and guidance often. Seek help and support from others who have your best interest in mind and never give up!
Verily, Allâh forgives not that partners should be set up with him in worship, but He forgives except that (anything else) to whom He pleases, and whoever sets up partners with Allâh in worship, he has indeed invented a tremendous sin.
Quran 4:48
2. Parents - PAY ATTENTION to what your child is doing and saying, be a positive role model for them, encourage them to be better than you are, and teach them true Islam and not your preferences. Also, don't worry about making mistakes because it's going to happen. Allah forgives all but shirk so ask Allah for forgiveness and guidance often. (Where have I heard that before? Oh yes, in number 1 above.) Save yourselves AND your families from the hellfire and don't be arrogant. Your last day to guide your children in the right direction could be today.
Checking Suicide Among Women: What We Should Do
Maha Al-Hujailan
Dr. Maha Al-Hujailan is a medical researcher at King Khaled University Hospital in Riyadh.
Our culture has set different social norms for men and women, making one enjoy an entirely different life than the other. In our society men have more freedom than women. Women must be either contented with or forced to live a life that is circled by forbidden things. Merciless families and unjust husbands add to their suffering.
Most women live in pain and misery as a result of these social taboos and they do not know where to go or who to meet to lessen their miseries or receive moral and material support. As a result they confine to themselves and get a feeling that a woman is the only person she can take revenge against. This distracted feeling leads many women to commit suicide.
People may wonder about cases of suicide in our conservative Muslim societies or any other religious society as all divine religions have prohibited that action that draws eternal punishment. The Islamic culture we have is often dominated by the culture of our families and tribes that fashions our behavior since childhood. In addition, our society suffers from a lack of affectionate and humanitarian attachment among family members. Many of us go through mental and social difficulties but when we look for a person to heed our problems with an understanding and sympathetic mind we face instead rebuke and humiliation or an indifferent attitude.
Such antipathy would only generate negative feelings and exacerbate the feeling of depression and with the passage of time would develop into mental problems such as uneasiness and paranoia. As women in our society spend most of their time inside homes they are more likely to suffer from mental stress than men. Some families exploit their weakness to oppress them and deny their rights.
For example, there are women who are forced to marry individuals without their consent. Many women have been subjected to despicable treatment by their families and husbands for reasons related to personality, children and salary. Some others undergo miseries as a result of their husbands’ drug addiction and mental problems. In the absence of medical treatment and counseling these women are likely to commit suicide as a way to run away from the painful realities of their life.
Cases of suicide are not rare in our society. We have started reading a lot of such reports in recent years. We don’t know whether they were the result of new social changes or wider media coverage. One report speaks of a 17-year-old girl in Taif who committed suicide after suffering from mental ailment. But the report did not give a reason for worsening her mental condition. She took the gun of her father to end her life. It gave a message to her father that he should take care of her mother and sisters.
Alarabiya.net published another report on Aug. 11 about two Saudi women tortured by their families. They tried to end their lives by taking pills. Fortunately doctors were able to treat them. But one of them ran away from hospital after hearing that she will be returning to the family. She is a divorced woman with less than 30 years old. She has a small child but her former husband would not allow her to see the child. The second woman, who is 25 years old, was a university student. She was treated badly by her brother for daring to use part of her monthly stipend to subscribe to Emaar Economic City and paying the bill of a dental clinic.
Okaz published another report on July 20 about a 24-year-old woman in Balqarn. Before committing suicide she had written a note to her father that she was aware that her action was prohibited in Islam but was forced to do it. The same paper carried another report about a Taif girl committing suicide after taking pills. An investigation is still under way on the case.
We cannot ignore these repeated incidents of suicide in different parts of our country. A study must be conducted on girls and women opting for this horrible method to run away from their social and family problems. I believe that we have been negligent in providing necessary treatment and counseling to women going through such difficult times.
Many of these oppressed women do not find someone to help them consult a doctor or attain counseling as they alone will not be able to do it without the support of family members. In our society women are not allowed to drive cars or go out alone without the permission of their male guardians. In such a situation I would like to suggest that the authorities establish special agencies with toll-free lines to provide counseling to such depressed men and women in order to discourage them from committing suicide.
We should also activate the role of social counselors at schools and establish centers for psychological counseling at our colleges and universities as young students, especially girls, require special care and guidance.
We should also organize seminars and other special programs to educate women and girls to help them overcome their negative feelings, inject self-confidence and develop a positive attitude toward life. I should commend the efforts being made through radio and television programs. But some of these programs are full of religious sermons and do not serve the purpose.
This again emphasizes the need for opening special agencies consisting of psychologists and sociologists to help depressed men and women. I would like to suggest that such agencies should provide their services free of charges and should be manned by experts.
[49:11] O ye who believe! Let not a folk deride a folk who may be better than they (are), not let women (deride) women who may be better than they are; neither defame one another, nor insult one another by nicknames. Bad is the name of lewdness after faith. And whoso turneth not in repentance, such are evil-doers.
[49:12] O ye who believe! Shun much suspicion; for lo! some suspicion is a crime. And spy not, neither backbite one another. Would one of you love to eat the flesh of his dead brother ? Ye abhor that (so abhor the other)! And keep your duty (to Allah). Lo! Allah is Relenting, Merciful.
Allah Hafiz,
Ron Abdul Latif
Dr. Maha Al-Hujailan is a medical researcher at King Khaled University Hospital in Riyadh.
Our culture has set different social norms for men and women, making one enjoy an entirely different life than the other. In our society men have more freedom than women. Women must be either contented with or forced to live a life that is circled by forbidden things. Merciless families and unjust husbands add to their suffering.
Most women live in pain and misery as a result of these social taboos and they do not know where to go or who to meet to lessen their miseries or receive moral and material support. As a result they confine to themselves and get a feeling that a woman is the only person she can take revenge against. This distracted feeling leads many women to commit suicide.
People may wonder about cases of suicide in our conservative Muslim societies or any other religious society as all divine religions have prohibited that action that draws eternal punishment. The Islamic culture we have is often dominated by the culture of our families and tribes that fashions our behavior since childhood. In addition, our society suffers from a lack of affectionate and humanitarian attachment among family members. Many of us go through mental and social difficulties but when we look for a person to heed our problems with an understanding and sympathetic mind we face instead rebuke and humiliation or an indifferent attitude.
Such antipathy would only generate negative feelings and exacerbate the feeling of depression and with the passage of time would develop into mental problems such as uneasiness and paranoia. As women in our society spend most of their time inside homes they are more likely to suffer from mental stress than men. Some families exploit their weakness to oppress them and deny their rights.
For example, there are women who are forced to marry individuals without their consent. Many women have been subjected to despicable treatment by their families and husbands for reasons related to personality, children and salary. Some others undergo miseries as a result of their husbands’ drug addiction and mental problems. In the absence of medical treatment and counseling these women are likely to commit suicide as a way to run away from the painful realities of their life.
Cases of suicide are not rare in our society. We have started reading a lot of such reports in recent years. We don’t know whether they were the result of new social changes or wider media coverage. One report speaks of a 17-year-old girl in Taif who committed suicide after suffering from mental ailment. But the report did not give a reason for worsening her mental condition. She took the gun of her father to end her life. It gave a message to her father that he should take care of her mother and sisters.
Alarabiya.net published another report on Aug. 11 about two Saudi women tortured by their families. They tried to end their lives by taking pills. Fortunately doctors were able to treat them. But one of them ran away from hospital after hearing that she will be returning to the family. She is a divorced woman with less than 30 years old. She has a small child but her former husband would not allow her to see the child. The second woman, who is 25 years old, was a university student. She was treated badly by her brother for daring to use part of her monthly stipend to subscribe to Emaar Economic City and paying the bill of a dental clinic.
Okaz published another report on July 20 about a 24-year-old woman in Balqarn. Before committing suicide she had written a note to her father that she was aware that her action was prohibited in Islam but was forced to do it. The same paper carried another report about a Taif girl committing suicide after taking pills. An investigation is still under way on the case.
We cannot ignore these repeated incidents of suicide in different parts of our country. A study must be conducted on girls and women opting for this horrible method to run away from their social and family problems. I believe that we have been negligent in providing necessary treatment and counseling to women going through such difficult times.
Many of these oppressed women do not find someone to help them consult a doctor or attain counseling as they alone will not be able to do it without the support of family members. In our society women are not allowed to drive cars or go out alone without the permission of their male guardians. In such a situation I would like to suggest that the authorities establish special agencies with toll-free lines to provide counseling to such depressed men and women in order to discourage them from committing suicide.
We should also activate the role of social counselors at schools and establish centers for psychological counseling at our colleges and universities as young students, especially girls, require special care and guidance.
We should also organize seminars and other special programs to educate women and girls to help them overcome their negative feelings, inject self-confidence and develop a positive attitude toward life. I should commend the efforts being made through radio and television programs. But some of these programs are full of religious sermons and do not serve the purpose.
This again emphasizes the need for opening special agencies consisting of psychologists and sociologists to help depressed men and women. I would like to suggest that such agencies should provide their services free of charges and should be manned by experts.
[49:11] O ye who believe! Let not a folk deride a folk who may be better than they (are), not let women (deride) women who may be better than they are; neither defame one another, nor insult one another by nicknames. Bad is the name of lewdness after faith. And whoso turneth not in repentance, such are evil-doers.
[49:12] O ye who believe! Shun much suspicion; for lo! some suspicion is a crime. And spy not, neither backbite one another. Would one of you love to eat the flesh of his dead brother ? Ye abhor that (so abhor the other)! And keep your duty (to Allah). Lo! Allah is Relenting, Merciful.
Allah Hafiz,
Ron Abdul Latif
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