Jamaican Muslimah

Common Mistakes Made During Ramadan

2009-08-24T09:49:00.005-05:00

Bismillah,

I received this from a friend and wanted to share, I hope you all find it as beneficial as I did InshaAllah.

Most Muslims who fast Ramadan focus on the benefits and rewards of it. But in doing so, we often make mistakes that instead of adding to our experience actually detract from it. Mistakes that can make us commercialize Ramadan as so many other religions have commercialized their sacred days. Insha Allah the following serves as a reminder to myself first and to all Muslims. May Allah help us to spend our time wisely this Ramadan and help us to avoid these mistakes. Aameen!

1. Taking Ramadaan as a ritual

For many of us Ramadaan has lost its spirituality and has become more of a ritual than a form of Ibaadah. We fast from morning to night like a zombie just because everyone around us is fasting too. We forget that its a time to purify our hearts and our souls from all evil….we forget to make dua, forget to beseech Allaah to forgive us and ask Him to save us from the Fire. Sure we stay away from food and drink but that's about all.

Although the Prophet (Sal Allaahu Alaiyhi wa Sallam) said:
'Jibreel said to me, 'May Allaah rub his nose in the dust, that person to who Ramadaan comes and his sins are not forgiven,' and I said, 'Aameen'. Then he said, 'May Allaah rub his nose in the dust, that person who lives to see his parents grow old, one or both of them, but he does not enter Paradise (by not serving them) and I said, 'Aameen'. Then he said, 'May Allaah rub his nose in the dust, that person in whose presence you are mentioned and he does not send blessings upon you,' and I said, 'Aameen.'' (Tirmidhi, Ahmad, others. Saheeh by al-Albaani)

2. Too much stress on food and drink

For some people, the entire month of Ramadaan revolves around food. They spend the ENTIRE day planning, cooking, shopping and thinking about only food, instead of concentrating on Salaah, Quraan and other acts of worship. All they can think of is FOOD. So much so that they turn the month of 'fasting' into the month of 'feasting'. Come Iftaar time, their table is a sight to see, with the multitudes and varieties of food, sweets and drinks.. They are missing the very purpose of fasting, and thus, increase in their greed and desires instead of learning to control them. It is also a kind of waste & extravagance.

'…..and eat and drink but waste not by extravagance, certainly He (Allaah) likes not Al-Musrifoon (those who waste by extravagance) ' [al-Araaf :31]

3. Spending all day cooking

Some of the sisters (either by their own choice or forced by their husbands) are cooking ALL day and ALL night, so that by the end of the day, they are too tired to even pray Ishaa, let alone pray Taraweeh or Tahajjud or even read Quraan. This is the month of mercy and forgiveness. So turn off that stove and turn on your Imaan!

4. Eating too much

Some people stuff themselves at Suhoor until they are ready to burst, because they think this is the way to not feel hungry during the day and some people eat at Iftaar, like there is no tomorrow, trying to 'make up for the food missed.' However, this is completely against the Sunnah. Moderation is the key to everything.

The Prophet (Sal Allaahu Alaiyhi wa Sallam) said: 'The son of Adam does not fill any vessel worse than his stomach; for the son of Adam a few mouthfuls are sufficient to keep his back straight. If you must fill it, then one-third for food, one-third for drink and one-third for air.' (Tirmidhi, Ibn Maajah. saheeh by al-Albaani).

Too much food distracts a person from many deeds of obedience and worship, makes him lazy and also makes the heart heedless.

It was said to Imam Ahmad: Does a man find any softness and humility in his heart when he is full? He said, I do not think so.

5. Sleeping all day

Some people spend their entire day (or a major part of it) 'sleeping away their fast'. Is this what is really required of us during this noble month? These people also are missing the purpose of fasting and are slaves to their desires of comfort and ease. They cannot 'bear' to be awake and face a little hunger or exert a little self-control. For a fasting person to spend most of the day asleep is nothing but, negligence on his part.

6. Wasting time

The month of Ramadaan is a precious, precious time, so much so that Allaah calls this month 'Ayyamum Ma'doodaat' (A fixed number of days). Before we know it, this month of mercy and forgiveness will be over. We should try and spend every moment possible in the worship of Allaah so that we can make the most of this blessing. However, there are some of us who waste away their day playing video games, or worse still, watching TV, movies or even listening to music. Subha an Allaah! Trying to obey Allaah by DISOBEYING him!

7. Fasting but not giving up evil

Some of us fast but do not give up lying, cursing, fighting, backbiting, etc. and some of us fast but do not give up cheating, stealing, dealing in haraam, buying lotto tickets, selling alcohol, fornication, etc. and all kinds of impermissible things without realizing that the purpose of fasting is to not stay away from food and drink; rather the aim behind it is to fear Allaah.

'O you who believe! Fasting is prescribed for you as it was prescribed for those before you, that you may become Al-Muttaqoon (the pious)' [al-Baqarah 2:183]

The Prophet (Sal Allaahu Alaiyhi wa Sallam) said: 'Whoever does not give up false speech and acting upon it, and ignorance, Allaah has no need of him giving up his food and drink.' (Bukhaari)

8. Skipping Suhoor (sehri)

The Prophet (Sal Allaahu Alaiyhi wa Sallam) said: 'Eat suhoor for in suhoor there is blessing.'(Bukhaari, Muslim).
And he (Sal Allaahu Alaiyhi wa Sallam) said: 'The thing that differentiates between our fasting and the fasting of the People of the Book is eating suhoor.' (Muslim)

9. Stopping Suhoor at 'Imsaak'

Some people stop eating Suhoor 10-15 minutes earlier than the time of Fajr to observe 'Imsaak'.
Shaykh Ibn 'Uthaymeen said: This is a kind of bid’ah (innovation) which has no basis in the Sunnah. Rather the Sunnah is to do the opposite. Allaah allows us to eat until dawn: 'and eat and drink until the white thread (light) of dawn appears to you distinct from the black thread (darkness of night)' [al-Baqarah 2:187]

And the Prophet (pbuh) said: '….eat and drink until you hear the adhaan of Ibn Umm Maktoom, for he does not give the adhaan until dawn comes.'

This 'imsaak' which some of the people do is an addition to what Allaah has prescribed, so it is false. It is a kind of extremism in religion, and the Prophet (Sal Allaahu Alaiyhi wa Sallam) said:
'Those who go to extremes are doomed, those who go to extremes are doomed, those who go to extremes are doomed.' (Muslim)

10. Not fasting if they missed Suhoor

Some people are too scared to fast if they miss Suhoor. However, this is a kind of cowardice and love of ease. What is the big deal if you missed a few morsels of food? It's not like you will die. Remember, obedience to Allaah overcomes everything.

11. Saying the intention to fast 'out loud' or saying a specific dua to start fasting:

The intention is an action of the heart. We should resolve in our heart that we are going to fast tomorrow. That is all we need. It is not prescribed by the Shari'ah for us to say out loud, 'I intend to fast', 'I will fast tomorrow' or other phrases that have been innovated by some people. Also, there is no specific dua to be recited at the time of starting the fast in the correct Sunnah. Whatever 'dua' you may see on some papers or Ramadaan calendars, etc. is a Bid'ah.

12. Delaying opening fast

Some people wait until the adhaan finishes or even several minutes after that, just to be 'on the safe side'. However, the Sunnah is to hasten to open the fast, which means opening the fast the moment the sun sets. Aa'ishah (RA) said: This is what the Messenger of Allaah (Sal Allaahu Alaiyhi wa Sallam) used to do. (Muslim)

The Prophet (Sal Allaahu Alaiyhi wa Sallam) said: 'The people will continue to do well so long as they hasten to open the fast.' (Bukhaari, Muslim)

Inspite of the above Hadith being so clear, the Adhaan in many of the mosques is given 5 minutes after sunset. You can check the newspaper everyday and see the exact time of sunset that is mentioned there. You can also check it on the net and then check for yourself when the Adhaan is given).

Determine to the best of your ability, the accuracy of your clock, calendar, etc. and then have tawakkul (trust) on Allaah swt and break your fast exactly on time.

13. Eating continuously until the time for Maghrib is up

Some people put so much food in their plates when breaking their fast and continue eating, enjoying dessert, drinking tea, etc., until they miss Maghrib. That is obviously not right. The Sunnah of the Prophet (Sal Allaahu Alaiyhi wa Sallam) was that once he broke his fast with some dates, he would hasten to the prayer. Once you are done with the prayer, you can always go back and eat some more if you wish.

14. Missing the golden chance of having your Dua accepted

The prayer of the fasting person is guaranteed to be accepted at the time of breaking fast.
The Prophet (Sal Allaahu Alaiyhi wa Sallam) said: 'Three prayers are not rejected: the prayer of a father, the prayer of a fasting person, and the prayer of a traveler.' (al-Bayhaqi, saheeh by al-Albaani).

Instead of sitting down and making Dua at this precious time, some people forego this beautiful chance, and are too busy frying samosas, talking, setting the food, filling their plates and glasses, etc. Think about it….Is food more important than the chance to have your sins forgiven or the fulfillment of your Duas.

15. Fasting but not praying

The fasting of one who does not pray WILL NOT BE ACCEPTED. This is because not praying constitutes kufr as the Prophet (Sal Allaahu Alaiyhi wa Sallam) said: 'Between a man and shirk and kufr there stands his giving up prayer.' (Muslim)

In fact, NONE of his good deeds will be accepted; rather, they are all annulled.
'Whoever does not pray 'Asr, his good deeds will be annulled.' (Bukhaari)

16. Fasting and not wearing Hijaab

Not wearing the Hijaab is a major sin as it is obligatory for Muslim women. (See Surah Nur, Surah Ahzaab). So fasting and not wearing hijaab certainly takes away enormously from the rewards of fasting, even if does not invalidate it.

17. Not fasting because of exams or work

Exams or work is NOT one of the excuses allowed by the Shariah to not fast. You can do your studying and revision at night if it is too hard to do that during the day. Also remember that pleasing and obeying Allaah is much more important than 'good grades'. Besides, if you will fulfill your obligation to fast, even if you have to study, Allaah will make it easy for you and help you in everything you do.
'Whosoever fears Allah, He will appoint for him a way out and provide for him from where he does not expect, Allaah is Sufficient for whosoever puts his trust in Him.' (Surah at-Talaaq 2-3)

18. Mixing fasting and dieting

DO NOT make the mistake of fasting with the intention to diet. That is one of the biggest mistakes some of us make (esp. sisters). Fasting is an act of worship and can only be for the sake of Allaah alone. Otherwise, mixing it with the intention of dieting may become a form of (minor) Shirk.

19. Praying ONLY on the night of the 27th

Some people pray ONLY on the 27th to seek Lailat ul-Qadr, neglecting all other odd nights, although the Prophet (Sal Allaahu Alaiyhi wa Sallam) said: 'Seek Lailat ul-Qadr among the odd numbered nights of the last ten nights of Ramadaan.' (Bukhaari, Muslim).

20. Wasting the last part of Ramadaan preparing for Eid

Some people waste the entire last 10 days of Ramadaan preparing for Eid, shopping and frequenting malls, etc. neglecting Ibadah and Lailatul Qadr. although, the Prophet (Sal Allaahu Alaiyhi wa Sallam) used to strive the hardest during the last ten days of Ramadaan in worship (Ahmad, Muslim) and not in shopping. Buy whatever you need for Eid, buy before Ramadaan so that you can utilize the time in Ramadaan to the max..
Aa'ishah (RA) said: 'When the (last) ten nights began, the Messenger of Allaah (Sal Allaahu Alaiyhi wa Sallam)) would tighten his waist-wrapper (i.e., strive hard in worship or refrain from intimacy with his wives), stay awake at night and wake his family.' (Bukhaari and Muslim).

21. Iftaar parties

Although inviting each other for breaking fast is something good and encouraged, some people go to extremes with lavish 'Iftaar parties' with all sorts of disobedience to Allaah, from flirting, mixing of the sexes and hijaab-less women, to show-off and extravagance, to heedlessness of Salaah and Taraweeh. Some even resort to music and dancing.

It's not too late to rectify ones mistake and do good for the sake of Allaah.

[15:49] Inform My servants that I am the Forgiver, Most Merciful.

Ensuring a Successful Ramadhan

2009-08-21T11:51:00.001-05:00

Bismillah,
Assalamu alaykum wa rahmatullahi wa barakatuh,

Ensuring a Successful Ramadhaan

The gates of the heavens have been opened, the doors of Hellfire closed and our accursed enemy, the Shayateen, are locked up. Ramadhaan is upon us, the blessed month of mercy, forgiveness and compassion.
Indeed, we are in need of such a blessed month, so that we may immerse ourselves in the remembrance of Allah ta'ala after having been heedless, turn our sights to the Hereafter after having retreated to the dunyaa, read the Book of Allah after it has been untouched, collecting dust on our shelves. Surely our state is a distressing one; our hearts have become hardened, we have lowered our barrier of taqwa, chasing after our whims and desires somehow, we have become of those who are negligent.

Yet the opportunity presents itself to humble oneself, return to Allah and seek His forgiveness. It is a month wherein we may purify our hearts and free ourselves from the stronghold of transgression. And what is it that causes such a transition? For some it may be the large congregation of Muslimeen in salaat, a renewed sense of gratefulness after food has touched your lips, spending long nights in taraweeh prayer, raising your hands in du'aa qunoot and hoping fervently for the mercy of Allah ta'ala. Even still it may be the emergence of the Muslimeen, the many greetings of salaam, the smiles and heartfelt words, reflecting sincerely over the Qur'aan, or performing itikaaf in the masaajid, There is a change in the air and it can readily be sensed, a breeze of wellness overtakes us, sprinkled with ihsaan and taqwa, as we strive to enjoin the good. Suddenly we realize that the Promise of Allah is true, and fearing His Threat and hoping for His Mercy, we increase ourselves in worship and remembrance.

The Son of Adam often makes excuses for themselves their faults and their shortcomings. Truly this is an obstacle in the way of change. The beauty of Ramadhaan is that it diminishes such obstacles. Tasting the sweetness of faith allows for contemplation, reflection and self-assessment, such that we may diagnose our faults, make tawbah (repentance) and seek to remedy our condition. And what better time to make a firm resolution of change than in the blessed month of Ramadhaan, when the melodious recitation of the Qur'aan is resounding in your ears, when your eyes look upon believers who congregate to worship their Lord, and when your mouth abstains from food and drink instilling within you self-discipline? Surely, the time is now, ya Muslimeen.

The virtues of Sawm are many; the special quality of this ibaadaah is found in its close connection with Allah ta'ala: He says, The Fast (Sawm) is for Me and I will reward it.'' [Bukhari and Muslim] This statement relays the high status granted to fasting. Moreover, fasting stifles desires and is ultimately a shield from the Hellfire. Abu Sa`eed al-Khudri relates that the Messenger of Allah salla Allahu alaihi wa sallam said : "Fasting is a shield with which a servant protects himself from the Fire" [Ahmad, Sahih] and likewise, "No servant fasts on a day in the path of Allah except that Allah removes the Hell Fire seventy years further away from his face." [Bukhari and Muslim] Another unique aspect of Sawm is that the reason behind the command is given. Allaah, the Exalted and Most High, says in the Noble Quraan:

O you who believe! Fasting is prescribed for you as it was prescribed for those before you, so that you may become people having Taqwaa. Soorah al-Baqarah 2:183

So the wisdom behind fasting is not just in preventing oneself from enjoyable and permissible things, but so that we may attain taqwaa. Therefore, the wisdom behind the prescription of Fasting is that the Muslim should increase in obedience to Allaah ta'ala in Ramadhaan, and become more obedient than he was before it.[1] Thus this blessed month does indeed facilitate change within the believer as they strive to increase themselves in worship. Having knowledge of the reason behind the legislation should motivate the believer to hasten to do good works, hoping to earn the pleasure of Allah ta'ala.

Know O Believer that the fast is not purely on a physical level - refraining from food and drink - but rather the complete fast involves œthe refraining of ones gaze, tongue, hands, feet, hearing and eyes, as well as the rest of his body parts from committing sinful acts. The one who is fasting lowers his gaze and safeguards his tongue from the repulsive speech that is forbidden, disliked, or which has no benefit, as well as controlling the rest of his body parts. [2] This is elucidated in a hadeeth by al-Bukhaaree: " Whosoever does not abandon false speech and the acting upon it, Allaah is not in need of his food and drink.'' [Bukhari]

Just as the life of this world, Ramadhaan shall come to an end. And while we may lament at the closing of this blessed month at having experienced a closer relationship to Allah ta'ala and an increased level of emaan. It may serve to be a beacon of light henceforth. Perhaps the key lies in realizing Ramadhaan's worth so that we do not use our limited time in vain. The rightly guided predecessors (As-Salif As-Salih) used to seek the forgiveness of Allaah and repent so much so that it was reported that they would supplicate to Allaah for six months that He would allow them to reach Ramadaan. If He allowed them to reach Ramadaan, they would fast, pray at night and supplicate for the next six months that He accepts the month of Ramadaan from them. [3] Such was their piety, and may we follow in their footsteps.

"If the Muslim is in a good state after Ramadaan, performing many good deeds and righteous actions, then this is a proof of acceptance. If the opposite is true, and he follows good with evil, and as soon as Ramadaan is over he follows on from this with sins, heedlessness and turning away from the obedience of Allaah, then this is a proof that it hasn't been accepted." [3] Let not the Eid celebration symbolize a return to the vice you were once in, for Alhamdulillah you have been shown the radiant light by way of Ramadhaan. Do not revisit the crooked path, but instead follow this nur and continue your beautiful journey seeking the Pleasure of Allah, seeking Al-Jannah, seeking His Face.

Surely we wish to be of the people of Taqwaa', and may Allah make it so. [Aameen].

References:

[1] Sunnahs Neglected During Ramadhaan Shaykh al Albaanee
[2] The Inner Secrets of Fasting Imaam Ibn Qudaamah al-Maqdisee
[3] A Successful Ramadhaan Shaykh Saalih Al Fawzaan

Introducing the new Mrs. G

2009-07-31T09:53:00.004-05:00

Assalamu alaykum everyone,

It's been a while since I posted and I have a confession....a good one. I was busy preparing for my wedding :). Alhamdullilah, I got married earlier this week to a wonderful man MashaAllah , Mr. G.

I'm so sorry for keeping you all in the dark through the whole process and I'll be sure to fill you in with more details later InshaAllah. I don't have internet at home yet so am just sneaking in a quick post from the office, lol.

Authentic Jamaican food....In Jeddah

2009-07-09T08:40:00.004-05:00

Jamaican Grill, an authentic Jamaican Restaurant is now open in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia and has been getting good reviews MashaAllah. It's owned and operated by one of my best friends brothers, Rasheed Muncey a trained chef.

We’ve been eagerly awaiting the opening of Jamaican Grill since we first heard about it, and so it was refreshing to learn that not only is the founder of this restaurant Jamaican, he is also a trained chef, and one who is bringing a little bit of Carribean cuisine into the heart of Jeddah.

Jamaican Grill is pretty easy to find, in fact its hard not to miss if youre driving down Hera Street, the bright neon lights are a dead giveaway; lights that have been attracting Jeddahs youth like moths to a flame for the last month or so (according to the member of staff we spoke to). All were turned away with flyers detailing the forthcoming menu, but they may be happy to know their wait is now finally over. The Venue has its soft opening on the 2nd of July 2009.

Traditional Jamaican grub is served up in this carefully decorated restaurant, shoots of bamboo cover the walls from floor to ceiling, while photos from Jamaica adorn the walls. Elsewhere it’s easy to spot Jamaican memoribilia decorating the walls along with ornate boards detailing humourous takes on the Jamaican Alphabet and even Jamaican slang!

You can read the rest of the review from JeddahFood here.

MashaAllah! I feel so happy for them. May Allah Subhana wa ta'ala grant them success in this life and the next, Ameen!

Successfully Integrated and Niqabi Interrupted

2009-06-26T18:47:00.005-05:00

This news item on the bbc made me wonder at the hidden agenda behind this.... is this some subtle way of telling the 'Muslim World' that no hijab = successfully integrated into American Society ? I wonder whats next...

Here's an interesting article written by Naima Robert about the Niqab and her choice to wear it, in response to Mr. Sarkozy.

Ahmediyyah/ Qadianiyyah here to confuse the people !

2009-06-16T15:16:00.003-05:00

Tonight, on Religious HardTalk there will be an interview with some members of the Ahmediyyah movement here in Jamaica. May Allah guide the viewers away from the misguidance and confusion that these people bring, Ameen. Jamaicans are getting used to Islam and are in no need of these deviant sects to confuse them.

The following was taken from IslamQA

Qadianiyyah in the light of Islam

Definition:

Qadianiyyah is a movement that started in 1900 CE as a plot by the British colonialists in the Indian subcontinent, with the aim of diverting Muslims away from their religion and from the obligation of jihaad in particular, so that they would not oppose colonialism in the name of Islam. The mouthpiece of this movement is the magazine Majallat Al-Adyaan (Magazine if Religions) which was published in English.

Foundation and prominent personalities:

Mirza Ghulam Ahmad al-Qadiani (1839-1908 CE) was the main tool by means of which Qadianiyyah was founded. He was born in the village of Qadian, in the Punjab, in India, in 1839 CE. Ghulam Ahmad grew up loyal and obedient to the colonialists in every sense. Thus he was chosen for the role of a so-called prophet, so that the Muslims would gather around him and he would distract them from waging jihaad against the English colonialists. The British government did lots of favours for them, so they were loyal to the British. Ghulam Ahmad was known among his followers to be unstable, with a lot of health problems and dependent on drugs.

Among those who confronted him and his evil da’wah was Shaykh Abu’l-Wafa’ Thana’ al-Amritsari, the leader of Jama’iyyat Ahl al-Hadeeth fi ‘Umoom al-Hind (The All-India Society of Ahl al-Hadeeth). The Shaykh debated with him and refuted his arguments, revealing his ulterior motives and Kufr and the deviation of his way. When Ghulam Ahmad did not come to his senses, Shaykh Abu’l-Wafa’ challenged him to come together and invoke the curse of Allaah, such that the one who was lying would die in the lifetime of the one who was telling the truth. Only a few days passed before Mirza Ghulam Ahmad al-Qadiani died, in 1908 CE, leaving behind more than fifty books, pamphlets and articles, among the most important of which are: Izaalat al-Awhaam (Dispelling illusions), I’jaaz Ahmadi (Ahmadi miracles), Baraaheen Ahmadiyyah (Ahmadi proofs), Anwaar al-Islam (Lights of Islam), I’jaaz al-Maseeh (Miracles of the Messiah), al-Tableegh (Conveying (the message))and Tajalliyyaat Ilaahiyyah (Divine manifestations).

Noor al-Deen (Nuruddin): the first Khaleefah of the Qadianis. The British put the crown of Khilaafah on his head, so the disciples (of Ghulam Ahmad) followed him. Among his books is: Fasl al-Khitaab (Definitive statement).

Muhammad Ali and Khojah Kamaal al-Deen: the two leaders of the Lahore Qadianis. They are the ones who gave the final shape to the movement. The former produced a distorted translation into English of the Qur’aan. His other works include: Haqeeqat al-Ikhtilaaf (The reality of differences), al-Nubuwwah fi’l-Islam (Prophethood in Islam) and al-Deen al-Islami (The Islamic religion). As for Khojah Kamaal al-Deen, he wrote a book called al-Mathal al-A’laa fi’l-Anbiya’ (The highest example of the Prophets), and other books. This Lahore group of Ahmadis are those who think of Ghulam Ahmad as a Mujaddid (renewer or reviver of Islam) only, but both groups are viewed as a single movement because odd ideas that are not seen in the one will surely be found in the other.

Muhammad Ali: the leader of the Lahore Qadianis. He was one of those who gave the final shape to Qadianiyyah, a colonialist spy and the person in charge of the magazine which was the voice of the Qadianiyyah. He also produced a distorted translation into English of the Qur’aan. Among his works are Haqeeqat al-Ikhtilaaf (The reality of differences), and al-Nubuwwah fi’l-Islam (Prophethood in Islam), as stated above.

Muhammad Saadiq, the mufti of the Qadianiyyah. His works include: Khatim al-Nabiyyeen The seal of the Prophets).

Basheer Ahmad ibn Ghulam. His works include: Seerat al-Mahdi (the life of the Mahdi) and Kalimat al-Fasl (Decisive word).

Mahmood Ahmad ibn Ghulam, his second Khaleefah. Among his works are: Anwaar al-Khilaafah (Lights of the caliphate), Tuhfat al-Mulook and Haqeeqat al-Nubuwwah (The reality of prophethood).

The appointment of the Qadiani Zafar-Allaah Khan as the first Foreign Minister of Pakistan had a major effect in supporting this deviant sect, as he gave them a large area in the province of the Punjab to be their world headquarters, which they named Rabwah (high ground) as in the aayah (interpretation of the meaning): “… And We gave them refuge on high ground (rabwah), a place of rest, security and flowing streams.” [al-Mu’minoon 23:50].

Their thought and beliefs

Ghulam Ahmad began his activities as an Islamic daa’iyah (caller to Islam) so that he could gather followers around him, then he claimed to be a mujaddid inspired by Allaah. Then he took a further step and claimed to be the Awaited Mahdi and the Promised Messiah. Then he claimed to be a Prophet and that his prophethood was higher than that of Muhammad (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him).

The Qadianis believe that Allaah fasts, prays, sleeps, wakes up, writes, makes mistakes and has intercourse – exalted be Allaah far above all that they say.

The Qadiani believes that his god is English because he speaks to him in English.

The Qadianis believe that Prophethood did not end with Muhammad (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him), but that it is ongoing, and that Allaah sends a messenger when there is a need, and that Ghulam Ahmad is the best of all the Prophets.

They believe that Jibreel used to come down to Ghulam Ahmad and that he used to bring revelation to him, and that his inspirations are like the Qur’aan.

They say that there is no Qur’aan other than what the “Promised Messiah” (Ghulam Ahmad) brought, and no hadeeth except what is in accordance with his teachings, and no Prophet except under the leadership of Ghulam Ahmad.

They believe that their book was revealed. Its name is al-Kitaab al-Mubeen and it is different from the Holy Qur’aan.

They believe that they are followers of a new and independent religion and an independent Sharee’ah, and that the friends of Ghulam are like the Sahaabah.

They believe that Qadian is like Madeenah and Makkah, if not better than them, and that its land is sacred. It is their Qiblah and the place they make hajj to.

They called for the abolition of jihaad and blind obedience to the British government because, as they claimed, the British were “those in authority” as stated in the Qur’aan.

In their view every Muslim is a Kaafir unless he becomes a Qadiani, and everyone who married a non-Qadiani is also a kaafir.

They allow alcohol, opium, drugs and intoxicants.

Intellectual and ideological roots

The westernizing movement of Sir Sayyid Ahmad Khan paved the way for the emergence of the Qadianiyyah, because it had already spread deviant ideas.

The British made the most of this opportunity so they started the Qadiani movement and chose a man from a family that had a history of being agents of the colonialists.

In 1953 CE, there was a popular revolution in Pakistan which demanded the removal of Zafar-Allaah Khan from the position of Foreign Minister and that the Qadiani sect should be regarded as a non-Muslim minority. In this uprising around ten thousand Muslims were martyred, and they succeeded in having the Qadiani minister removed from office.

In Rabee’ al-Awwal 1394 AH (April 1974), a major conference was held by the Muslim World League in Makkah, which was attended by representatives of Muslim organizations from around the world. This conference announced that this sect is Kaafir and is beyond the pale of Islam, and told Muslims to resist its dangers and not to cooperate with the Qadianis or bury their dead in Muslim graveyards.

The Majlis al-Ummah in Pakistan (the central parliament) debated with the Qadiani leader Mirza Naasir Ahmad, and he was refuted by Shaykh Mufti Mahmood (may Allaah have mercy on him). The debate went on for nearly thirty hours but Naasir Ahmad was unable to give answers and the Kufr of this group was exposed, so the Majlis issued a statement that the Qadianis should be regarded as a non-Muslim minority.

Among the factors that make Mirza Ghulam Ahmad an obvious Kaafir are the following:

His claim to be a Prophet

His abolition of the duty of jihaad, to serve the interests of the colonialists.

His saying that people should no longer go on Hajj to Makkah, and his substitution of Qadian as the place of pilgrimage.

His anthropomorphism or likening Allaah to human beings.

His belief in the transmigration of souls and incarnation.

His attributing a son to Allaah and his claim to be the son of God.

His denying that Prophethood ended with Muhammad (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) and his regarding the door of Prophethood to be open to “any Tom, Dick or Harry”.

The Qadianis have strong ties with Israel. Israel has opened centres and schools for them, and helped them to publish a magazine which is their mouthpiece, to print books and publications for distribution worldwide.

The fact that they are influenced by Judaism, Christianity and al-Baatiniyyah is clear from their beliefs and practices, even though they claim to be Muslims.

Their spread and positions of influence

Most of the Qadianis nowadays live in India and Pakistan, with a few in Israel and the Arab world. They are trying, with the help of the colonialists, to obtain sensitive positions in all the places where they live.

The Qadianis are very active in Africa and in some western countries. In Africa they have more than 5,000 teachers and dai’yahs working full-time to call people to Qadianiyyah. Their wide-spread activity proves that they have the support of the colonialists.

The British government is also supporting this movement and making it easy for their followers to get positions in world governments, corporate administration and consulates. Some of them are also high-ranking officers in the secret services.

In calling people to their beliefs, the Qadianis use all kinds of methods, especially educational means, because they are highly-educated and there are many scientists, engineers and doctors in their ranks. In Britain there is a satellite TV channel called Islamic TV which is run by the Qadianis.

From the above, it is clear that:

Qadianiyyah is a misguided group, which is not part of Islam at all. Its beliefs are completely contradictory to Islam, so Muslims should beware of their activities, since the ‘Ulama’ (scholars) of Islam have stated that they are Kaafirs.

For more information see: Al-Qadianiyyah by Ihsaan Ilaahi Zaheer.

(Translator’s note: this book is available in English under the title “Qadiyaniat: an analytical survey” by Ehsan Elahi Zaheer)

Reference: Al-Mawsoo’ah al-Muyassarah fi’l-Adyaan al-Madhaahib wa’l-Ahzaab al-Mu’aasirah by Dr. Maani’ Hammad al-Juhani, 1/419-423

The following statement was published by the Islamic Fiqh Council (Majma’ al-Fiqh al-Islami):

After discussing the question put to the Islamic Fiqh Council in Capetown, South Africa, concerning the ruling on the Qadianis and their off-shoot which is known as Lahoriyyah, and whether they should be counted as Muslims or not, and whether a non-Muslim is qualified to examine an issue of this nature:

In the light of research and documents presented to the members of the council concerning Mirza Ghulam Ahmad al-Qadiani, who emerged in India in the last century and to whom is attributed the Qadiani and Lahori movements, and after pondering the information presented on these two groups, and after confirming that Mirza Ghulam Ahmad claimed to be a prophet who received revelation, a claim which is documented in his own writings and speeches, some of which he claimed to have received as revelation, a claim which he propagated all his life and asked people to believe in, just as it is also well-known that he denied many other things which are proven to be essential elements of the religion of Islam

in the light of the above, the Council issued the following statement:

Firstly: the claims of Mirza Ghulam Ahmad to be a prophet or a messenger and to receive revelation are clearly a rejection of proven and essential elements of Islam, which unequivocally states that Prophethood ended with Muhammad (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) and that no revelation will come to anyone after him. This claim made by Mirza Ghulam Ahmad makes him and anyone who agrees with him an apostate who is beyond the pale of Islam. As for the Lahoriyyah, they are like the Qadianiyyah: the same ruling of apostasy applies to them despite the fact that they described Mirza Ghulam Ahmad as a shadow and manifestation of our Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him).

Secondly: it is not appropriate for a non-Muslim court or judge to give a ruling on who is a Muslim and who is an apostate, especially when this goes against the consensus of the scholars and organizations of the Muslim Ummah. Rulings of this nature are not acceptable unless they are issued by a Muslim scholar who knows all the requirements for being considered a Muslim, who knows when a person may be deemed to have overstepped the mark and become an apostate, who understands the realities of Islam and kufr, and who has comprehensive knowledge of what is stated in the Qur’aan, Sunnah and scholarly consensus. The ruling of a court of that nature is invalid. And Allaah knows best.

Majma’ al-Fiqh al-Islami, p. 13

Sheikh Muhammed Salih Al-Munajjid

Psycho crazy wife/ex-wife...are there any normal people out there?

2009-06-15T09:48:00.007-05:00

SubhanAllah! This is just dejavu, over the weekend I got an instant message from the brother I mentioned in the polygny thoughts post. He said he had an apology, he said that it wasnt him I was speaking to in the previous conversation...it was his WIFE. OKaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay. So apparently she came online using his email, pretended to be him and just picked me out of his friends list to have a talk about wanting two wives. Ya Allah! I don't even want to think about what kind of person would do that.

Now I said dejavu because a couple of years ago, I met a brother online on a muslim marriage website. We were communicating by email and instant massages and things were going pretty well. One day he starts acting weird telling me all sorts of things, that he wasnt good enough for me, that I should find another brother, that his ex wife paid all the bills and that he got her in trouble with the police and lots of crap, so I got upset and told him I couldnt deal with this anymore, he apologized and stuff and that was it. Later I get an e-card like everything is okay. So I send a message asking what kind of crap is this first he's breaking off our relationship, then next he is sending e-cards. Turns out it was his EX-WIFE pretending to be him and sending me messages and email. Why oh why do people give access to their emails to their wives/husbands...especially if they clearly have mental issues....

This is clearly a wake up call to be careful on the internet, chat messages and emails may not be from who you think they are, but from someones crazy wife, or ex-wife or whatever.

Recap on Islamic Awareness Week

2009-06-03T13:56:00.009-05:00

Bismillah,

Assalamu alaikum wa rahmatullahi wa barakatuh,

First let me apoligize for not posting in a while. Right after Islamic Awareness week, I got the flu, I think my immune system was low due to the lots of driving around and of course it rained in Montego Bay. But Alhamdullilah, I'm fine now, just been a little busy with some projects at work.

The seminars were excellent MashaAllah. Brothers Abu Khadeejah of salafipublications and Abu Hakim Bilal Davis are really vibrant speakers MashaAllah. This was the first event of this kind being held in Jamaica and InshaAllah there will be more to come.

They said they have never travelled to any country where the people were more open to dawah as here in Jamaica, they loved it here, and may be coming back to do more seminars in the near future InshaAllah.

There was good turnout at the seminars in Kingston, Montego Bay and Mandeville Alhamdullilah. They also held small classes in St. Mary but I was not able to attend those.

They spoke on various topics including Islam's solution to crime and violence and achieving security, death and the day of judgment and the importance of knowledge. The lecturers were inspiring, upliftibg, educational and especially in the case of the lecture on death and the day of judgement, heart wrenching. It really helped to put things in perspective for me and others who attended. MashaAllah all in all it was pretty good and I look forward to more InshaAllah.

In fact tonight (June 9th, 2009) there will be a recording of their Interview with Ian Boyne on the TV programme 'Religious Hardtalk' InshaAllah. All of you here in Jamaica, be sure to tune in to TVJ at 9:00 pm.

Rumour has it that another overseas speaker may be coming later in the Summer InshaAllah.

Islamic Awareness Week begins today in Kingston

2009-05-22T11:05:00.005-05:00

UPDATED !

Happy Jumuah!

Brothers Abu Hakeem Bilaal Davis, and Abu Khadeejah Abdul Waahidalam from the UK are in Jamaica for a series of lectures and seminars starting today. The khutbah today at the masjid I attend, will be given by one of them InshaAllah and tommorrow there will be a seminar InshaAllah. The topics look interesting especially the one about 'Islam's Solution to crime and violence'. I think that one is very needed in our society, the crime rate here is terrible. I'll let you all know what I thought of the khutbah when I get back from Jumuah InshaAllah, and will keep you posted about the seminar tomorrow InshaAllah.

UPDATE ! The Khutbah was excellent MashaAllah. It was mainly about dawah, that all the Messengers of Allah (pbut) called to Allah first, they called to tawheed first and foremost. The rules and laws came afterwards. In the time of Prophet Muhammad Sallalahu alaihi wa salam, none of the laws were revealed in Makka, they were revealed in Medina after the people had accepted tawheed (the oneness of Allah) and had a love for Allah in their hearts. Even the prohibition on alcohol came gradually, first they were told not to approach prayers while intoxicated. Then they were told not to come near to khamr (alcohol and intoxicants) whatsoever. So if someone had wanted to drink they couldnt drink at Dhur time because they would be intoxicated at Asr, and they couldnt drink at Asr time because they would be intoxicated at Maghrib, and they couldnt drink at Maghrib time because they would be intoxicated for Isha Prayer. So the only time they could drink without fearing that they would go to the prayer intoxicated was after Isha. So it was a gradual phasing out, then when the verse was revealed that they should not come near to alcohol, they discarded all their alcoholic beverages, their hearts had become attached to Allah and it was now easy for them to give up alcohol alltogether.

This reminded me of something I had read recently by Ibn Qayyim..

'...The smart one does not command people to abandon the dunya, because this is impossible for them. Rather, he has them abandon sins while they are established in their dunya. This is because abandoning the dunya is an optional virtue while abandoning sins is an obligation. So, how can he command them with something optional while they have not even fulfilled what is obligatory?

If it is difficult for them to abandon sins, he should then strive to get them to love Allah by reminding them of His signs, blessings, Kindness, perfection, and Loftiness. This is because the hearts are naturally designed to love Him, and if they become attached to loving Him, it then becomes extremely easy to abandon sins and to detach oneself from them.

Yahya bin Mu'adh said: 'The intelligent one seeking the dunya is better than the ignorant one abandoning it.'

The smart one calls the people to Allah from their dunya, and this makes it easier for them to respond to him. The zahid calls them to Allah by way of abandoning the dunya, and this makes it hard for them to respond, since it is very hard to pull someone away from the breast that he has developed his mind while suckling on...'

[al-Fawa'id; p. 233-234]

Sometimes when we give dawah (to Muslims and non-Muslims we dont realize the stage the person is at, one of the most important things we can do is to listen, not just speak, really listen and try to understand people. We need to start at the beginning, with love of Allah Subhana wa ta'ala, not associating partners with Him, whether it is other people, our job, money or whatever else we believe that we cannot do without, then and only then will we be able to accept and follow the 'rules'.

Let's make more babies !

2009-05-17T21:50:00.001-05:00

Er...was that politically correct to say? :)...

Swine Flu?

2009-05-16T19:18:00.002-05:00

Now that's just nasty !

Don't Diss the Trying Muhajabah !

2009-05-08T10:16:00.009-05:00

Some Muslim women (and some men too) have the tendency to criticize sisters for how they wear hijab, for them not fully covering, even for not covering their feet. Many women are simply not ready for hijab, they have accepted Islam but they are not ready to take the next step. They may take baby steps, wearing a small scarf every now and then, wearing a long blouse over jeans, but are not ready to take the plunge into being a full time muhajabah. This may take time, as everyone is different, it may even take some sisters YEARS to wear hijab full-time.

Be patient with them dear sisters, be kind to them, be supportive, be a good example, do not repel them with harshness and they may eventually come to wear proper hijab full-time InshaAllah. You could also prepare a 'new hijabee' package for them, give them a couple of nice hijabs, maybe...and we might not have even thought about it....maybe they can't AFFORD to buy hijabs or more modest clothing. There is one sister here who stopped coming to the masjid because persons were harsh to her...she cannot afford to buy the modest clothing, her family is against her being a Muslim, then she comes to the Masjid and gets dissed :( Where is our compassion?

As for those who used to wear proper hijab and you notice them slipping, again be supportive, talk to them with kindness, encourage them to wear proper hijab again, they may be going through a trial and you may be able to help them InshaAllah.

I came across the following post at Muslimah2Muslimah and am re-posting it here, its very relevant to all of us. The next time we see someone trying to wear hijab, be supportive, don't diss them, a lot of them DO know what proper hijab is but are just not ready yet. And those who do not know what it is, you teach them...I didnt say lecture or demand that they do it, just be subtle and gentle, let them know, preferably not in front of a bunch of people so as NOT to embarrass them, and most of all BE PATIENT.

May Allah Subhana wa ta'ala fill us with love, mercy, humility and generosity, and rid our hearts of arrogance and pride Ameen!

Below is the post from Muslimah2Muslimah, reposted with permission. JazakAllah Khair Sisters.

-----------------------------------------------------------------

It had been ten years since she had set foot in a mosque. Being away in college had broadened her mind in many ways; one of them being her reconnecting with Islam. She had begun praying five times a day a month ago, and now felt ready to pray in public, at the university's Jumu'a prayer. She paused and stood a few feet away from the women's entrance. Taking a deep breath, she pulled the silk scarf out of her purse and tied it carefully on her head. Her ponytail stuck out a bit. She smoothed the creases on her long-sleeved beige shirt and tugged at the bottom of it to make it longer over her pants.

The prayer was great. She had never felt this sense of inner peace.

Afterwards, she tried mingling with the sisters, but nobody even looked her way. A few of them even pretended not to hear her greeting. The only sister who did talk to her said in a huff: "You know your prayer is not accepted in those pants and that tiny thing you pass for a Hijab. I suggest you get more Islamic knowledge and dress properly before coming back here." The words stung her like a million bumble bees. Too numb to respond or speak, she charged out of the hall. Never again would she associate with these people, she told herself. And never again would she return to Jumu'a.

Are you shocked reading about this incident? Don't be. It has been a reality in almost every Muslim community in North America. This harsh judgment and intolerance shown towards Muslim women who do not wear Hijab can lead to at least some Muslim women to become alienated from the Muslim community, and could lead to a complete loss of Islamic practice.
While Hijab is an obligation clearly ordained in the Quran and Sunnah, the above-mentioned method of its enforcement and encouragement is not Islamic, according to Muslim scholars, researchers and activists. Muslims have to start seeing the issue from a different perspective, they say.

SOME ARGUMENTS IN SUPPORT OF NON-HIJABI SISTERS
"I would say that the overwhelming majority of Muslim women I have met who don't cover and who believe in God, believe they should cover, but believe they're not ready yet," says Sharifa Alkhateeb, vice-president of the North American Council of Muslim Women, in an interview with Sound Vision.

This reality indicates there is a seed of faith that needs to be nurtured and encouraged. As well, it means these women need all the support they can get. Abdalla Idris Ali is a member of the Islamic Society of North America's (ISNA) Majlis Shura, which debates Islamic issues and establishes policy for the organization. He says what also has to be remembered is that many Muslim women are coming from cultures where the Hijab is not practiced, for whatever reason. These sisters should not be condemned. Rather, Islamic concepts like Hijab, should be explained to them.

Another possibility is that Muslim women who do not wear Hijab are coming from families which are either not practicing Islam, or are downright hostile to it. In this situation, "it's actually a celebration that a young Muslim woman wants to pray Jumu'a," says Kathy Bullock, who started wearing Hijab two weeks after she converted to Islam. "I think that's where the tolerance comes in."

Another reason some Muslim women may find Hijab difficult is because of the often negative ideas surrounding Hijab. For instance, that wearing Hijab kills marriage and job prospects. Muslim activists must seek to dispel such myths. "There needs to be a lot more support for the women who decide to cover," says Bullock, who completed a PhD. about The Politics of the Veil from the University of Toronto in January. Bullock also gives a chilling warning to those who condemn non-Hijabi Muslim women: "We might be wearing Hijab but we might be doing something incredibly wrong which cancels out the reward [for wearing it]." One of these things she mentions is arrogance.

WHY ARE SOME MUSLIMS SO SENSITIVE ABOUT THE HIJAB?
Some Muslims seek to condemn non-Hijabis out of their understanding of the Quranic injunction of enjoining the good and forbidding the evil. Yet, they fail to take the right approach in doing it, in accordance with the example of the Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him), which was one of kindness, gentleness and patience. Interestingly, some Muslim men and women who criticize non-Hijabi Muslim women seem to have different reasons for doing it and varying ways of approaching a sister who does not wear Hijab.

"Unfortunately on the brothers' side there is a push to make Hijab the marker of Islamic identity," says Bullock. She also emphasizes the hypocrisy of many Muslim men criticizing Muslim women who do not wear the Hijab, while they themselves wear no beards, images on their shirts, or ill-fitting jeans. These forms of dress are strictly prohibited for men in Islam. Yet, go to any Jumu'a or Jamaah prayer, and these forms of unIslamic dress can be easily seen. Also, the lowering of the gaze is rarely ever practiced.

"I think some of the men put too much emphasis on the women instead of looking at their own selves," she says. However, Alkhateeb thinks most of the men are less vigilant than the women about Hijab, partly because they figure the women are going to take care of it.
She argues that the majority of the Muslim men who are over concerned about with the issue of Hijab because they don't trust themselves sexually, and fear their own reaction to a woman who is not covered Islamically.

For women, weak self-identity and faith could explain the harshness shown towards non-Hijabi Muslimas. "It is so difficult to maintain the practice of covering, emotionally, psychologically on the job and in everyday life, you get so much negativity from other people that the reaction of most of the practicing women and activists is to develop a cocoon, a protective cocoon, and part of that protective cocoon is in continually, verbally and in other ways rejecting what is unlike yourself," explains Alkhateeb.

"And that is to shore up your own self-identity. I think that part of the reason they are so negative is because this is part of shoring up their own self-identity and because there is a hidden fear that if they let down their guard that they'll stop covering. And if they allow any space in their mind to alternative ways of thinking that their thinking will fall apart. And that means that the underlying precepts and concepts are not strong."

WHERE DOES HIJAB FIT ON THE ISLAMIC LADDER?
"While it is correct to say that Hijab is correct in the teaching of Islam we tend to forget that there are many other basic issues, why the over obsession?" asks Jamal Badawi, a member of the North American Fiqh Council.

Part of the reason some Muslims treat non-Hijabis so harshly is because of their lack of understanding about where the obligation of Hijab ranks on the Islamic ladder.
A more correct approach would be gradual and would mean implementing more important aspects of Islam, like Iman (faith), and praying five times a day before moving on to requirements like Hijab.

"We fail to see any Ayah (verse of the Quran) pertaining to Hijab in the entire Makkan revelation that was given to the Prophet, that's almost 13 years. The injunctions about more detailed aspects relating to the righteous Muslim community were revealed during the Medinan period. Some in the middle, and later part of that period," explains Badawi, "This is a revealing lesson for us because it shows that Allah knew in advance what injunctions He wanted to reveal," he adds. "Yet He delayed the revelation of those matters until many, many years of preparation on the level of Iman, submission to Allah, love of Allah and the sincere desire to voluntarily obey Allah and His Messenger. Once that base was established it wasn't difficult at all for the believing women to willingly abide by the injunctions of Allah. "

Badawi says this is similar to how the Islamic commandment forbidding intoxicants was introduced. "The same process of preparation took place to the point that when the final prohibition of intoxicants was revealed it wasn't difficult for men to abide by that willingly and immediately." He explains this was especially difficult for Muslim men, who were the ones reported more likely to consume alcohol than women at that time.
"Some well-intentioned Muslims seem to miss these lessons from the gradual revelation and become too legalistic to the point of doing more harm than benefit, notwithstanding their good intentions," adds Badawi.

WRONGLY USING THE "BASEBALL BAT" APPROACH TO THE HIJAB
"Muslims gain a little bit of knowledge and they want to run around with a baseball bat and beat people over the head with religion. That's exactly what [has] made many young people leave the mosque," says Alkhateeb. Using the right method to tell Muslim women about Hijab is crucial, just as it is in advising Muslims to implement any other requirement of the faith. "In the Prophet's whole life he led by encouragement not pressure," she says. "The way he behaved is the opposite of how most Muslims who are practicing Muslims behave towards each other in terms of giving advice. His way was not carrying around a religious baseball bat."
The thinker and writer, who has also been an activist for the last 35 years points out the "baseball bat" methodology is in full swing when many Muslims encounter non-Hijabis.
"Instead of inviting her and embracing her, they're immediately trying to think about what they can criticize her about," says Alkhateeb.

The Prophet also did not use"vigilantes" to impose a religious requirement like Hijab.
"When we deal with the Sunnah, we find that he never appointed vigilantes to go around to reinforce something that believing Muslim women were encouraged to do, or use any harsh words or actions to arrive at that desired situation or desired setting," says Badawi. "The approach that he followed which we should follow as our example was not to focus on issues like Hijab before Iman and psychological and spiritual preparation was in place." Badawi stresses inviting to Hijab and other Islamic requirements should be done in a way "that would motivate people to respect the moral values of society rather than simply forcing them to do so. In fact that goes back to the definition of Islam which is willing trusting and loving submission to Allah and obedience to His Messenger."

As an example, he cited an incident from the lifetime of the Prophet when a Bedouin man urinated in the mosque. When other Muslims saw this, they became very angry and wanted to rebuke him harshly. The Prophet on the other hand, stopped them and told the man gently what he was doing was incorrect. "That story is a classic example of the contrast between the attitudes of some well-intentioned Muslims who want to correct the wrong immediately and by any means and the approach of the Prophet of kindness, gentleness, persuasion and wisdom," he explains.

TEMPORARILY TOLERATING THE WRONG: A RULE OF USUL AL-FIQH
"The other aspect which is frequently missed is another rule of ordaining the good and forbidding the evil which was addressed by many scholars especially by the famous Shaykh ul Islam Ibn Taymiyyah," says Badawi. "The rule basically is that if in a given situation, attempting or trying to forbid the wrong may result in greater harm than benefit, then it is better to tolerate the wrong on a temporary basis."

"I think the classic example that Ibn Taymiyyah is referred to is when the Tatars invaded Muslim lands," explains Badawi. "He was told that some of these soldiers were drinking and that they should be stopped because this is part of forbidding the wrong yet, he advised that they should be left alone. His reasoning was that if those soldiers become sober, they might go on killing more people which is a greater harm than drinking".

"This is not a new rule," he emphasizes. "It is a basic rule in Usul al-Fiqh, the roots of Islamic law, that if some harm is inevitable then it is better to tolerate the lesser harm in order to prevent great harm." Badawi demonstrates how this rule could apply to a situation where a Muslim sister who does not wear Hijab attends Jumu'a prayer. "For example, if that sister is approached in a harsh way she may not come again which could hurt her and hurt the community at large. But if she's welcomed first and there's demonstration of brotherhood and friendship, then in a gentle and wise way that is suitable for her, she can be encouraged, then of course it would be a far better result than the confrontational, harsh approach."

INVOLVING NON-HIJABI SISTERS IN ACTIVITIES
"It's only by mixing in the right company that someone who is contemplating Hijab will have the strength and courage to make the final act," says Bullock. This means women offering friendship, as well as involving the sisters in Islamic activities through organizations like Muslim Students' Associations. Bullock notes that if a Muslim woman wants to do something for Islam she should be applauded "because she could be out there doing something else."
"Muslim organizations have a duty to say what is right and to invite in the best of manner women to cover and to support them when they do so but that doesn't mean individuals should be judgmental when women are not covering," she adds.

INVOLVEMENT, BUT NOT LEADERSHIP
However, Ali and Badawi draw the line of involvement of non-Hijabi Muslim women in Muslim organizations at the leadership level. They both say that any Islamically-oriented organization will select a person to be their leader who reflects their goals and aspirations. That means a Muslim woman who does not wear Hijab would not be selected because she is not fully following the precepts of Islam. Similarly, a Muslim man who is not fulfilling Islamic obligations like prayer, chaste behavior, etc. would also not be selected for a leadership position in such a milieu.
Badawi says this is not exclusion. Rather, it is the natural outcome in any milieu which aims to be Islamically-oriented. Its leadership will represent the precepts of Islam as much as possible.
"I'm against the term exclusion because if we apply the Islamic Shura (consultative) method then the leadership would emanate from the people, will be chosen by the people. And if the community or Islamic organization in a given setting are truly Islamically oriented, one would expect that the person chosen to be the spokesperson and symbol of that organization should reflect their conviction and values in the best possible way."

A POSITIVE APPROACH
Badawi gives an example of how he, "with my weaknesses" approached an aggressive non-Hijabi sister and the result. Many years back, during a visit to Australia, one sister, during one of his lectures, a non-Hijabi Muslim woman asked questions about Hijab, in a disapproving manner. He talked to her kindly and give information without harshness. Two years later, he returned to Australia, and a sister in full Hijab approached him, asking if he recognized her. He did not.
"I am the one who was arguing with you about Hijab two years ago," she told him. "But it is the approach and information that you gave me that helped me to study more, to educate myself and to make up my own decision and I am happy with what I decided."

Leaving a legacy - Muahmmad AlShareef

2009-05-07T16:40:00.001-05:00

Self Assessment of your prayer

2009-05-07T00:32:00.004-05:00

By Ibn Il-Qayyim (d.751H) who said,

"And mankind, with regard to their performance of prayer are in five levels:

The First: The level of the one who is negligent and wrongs his soul. He is the one who falls short in performing ablution properly, performing the prayer upon its time and within its specified limits, and in fulfilling its essential pillars.

The Second: The one who guards his prayers upon their proper times and within their specified limits, fulfils their essential pillars and performs his ablution with care. However, his striving (in achieving the above) is wasted due to whisperings in his prayer so he is taken away by thoughts and ideas.

The Third: The one who guards his prayers within the specified limits, fulfils their essential pillars and strives with himself to repel the whisperings, thoughts and ideas. He is busy struggling against his enemy (shaytaan) so that he does not steal from the prayer. On account of this he is engaged in (both) prayer and jihaad.

The Fourth: The one who stands for the prayer, completes and perfects its due rights, its essential pillars, performs it within its specified limits and his heart becomes engrossed in safeguarding its rights and specified limits, so that nothing is wasted from it. His whole concern is directed towards its establishment, its completion and perfection, as it should be. His heart is immersed in the prayer and in enslavement to his Lord, the Exalted.

The Fifth: The one who stands for the prayer like the one mentioned above. However, on top of this, he has taken and placed his heart in front of his Lord, the Mighty and Majestic, looking towards Him with his heart with anticipation, (his heart) filled with His love and His might, as if he sees and witnesses Allaah. The whisperings, thoughts and ideas have vanished and the coverings which are between him and his Lord are raised. What is between this person and others with respect to the prayer, is superior and greater than what is between the heavens and the earth. This person is busy with his Lord, the Mighty and Majestic, delighted with Him.

The first type will be punished,

the second type will be held to account,

the third will have his sins and shortcomings expiated,

the fourth will be rewarded,

and the fifth will be close to his Lord, because he will receive the portion of one who makes his prayer the delight and pleasure of his eye.

Whoever makes the prayer the delight and pleasure of his eye, will have the nearness to his Lord, the Mighty and Majestic, made the delight and pleasure of his eye in the hereafter. He will also be made a pleasure to the eye in this world since whoever makes Allaah the pleasure of his eye in this world, every other eye will become delighted and pleased with him."

Source: Al-Waabilus- Sayyib pp.23-24.
From: The Path to Guidance, trans. by Amjad Rafiq

Prophet Muhammad's Last Sermon

2009-05-04T22:57:00.006-05:00

The last sermon of the Prophet (Sallalahu alaihi wa salam) is known as 'Khutbatul Wada'. It is mentioned in almost all books of Hadith. The following Ahadith in Sahih Al-Bukhari refer to the sermon and quote part of it, Hadith 1623, 1626, 6361. Sahih of Imam Muslim also refers to this sermon in Hadith number 98. Imam al-Tirmidhi has mentioned this sermon in Hadith nos. 1628, 2046, 2085. Imam Ahmed bin Hanbal has given us the longest and perhaps the most complete version of this sermon in his Musnad, Hadith no. 19774.

This Khutbah of the Prophet (Sallalahu alaihi wa salam) contained much guidance and instructions on many issues. The Prophet (Sallalahu alaihi wa salam) gave this sermon in front of a large gathering of people during Hajj. It is a great khutbah and we should all pay attention to its message and guidance. (excerpt from soundvision.com)

The following are the basic points mentioned in this khutbah:

This sermon was delivered on the Ninth Day of Dhul Hijjah 10 A.H. in the 'Uranah valley of Mount Arafat' (in Mecca).

After praising, and thanking Allah (Subhana wa ta'ala) he said:

"O People, lend me an attentive ear, for I know not whether after this year, I shall ever be amongst you again. Therefore listen to what I am saying to you very carefully and TAKE THESE WORDS TO THOSE WHO COULD NOT BE PRESENT HERE TODAY.

O People, just as you regard this month, this day, this city as Sacred, so regard the life and property of every Muslim as a sacred trust. Return the goods entrusted to you to their rightful owners. Hurt no one so that no one may hurt you. Remember that you will indeed meet your LORD, and that HE will indeed reckon your deeds. ALLAH has forbidden you to take usury (interest), therefore all interest obligation shall henceforth be waived. Your capital, however, is yours to keep. You will neither inflict nor suffer any inequity. Allah has Judged that there shall be no interest and that all the interest due to Abbas ibn 'Abd'al Muttalib (Prophet's uncle) shall henceforth be waived...

Beware of Satan, for the safety of your religion. He has lost all hope that he will ever be able to lead you astray in big things, so beware of following him in small things.

O People, it is true that you have certain rights with regard to your women, but they also have rights over you. Remember that you have taken them as your wives only under Allah's trust and with His permission. If they abide by your right then to them belongs the right to be fed and clothed in kindness. Do treat your women well and be kind to them for they are your partners and committed helpers. And it is your right that they do not make friends with any one of whom you do not approve, as well as never to be unchaste.

O People, listen to me in earnest, worship ALLAH, say your five daily prayers (Salah), fast during the month of Ramadan, and give your wealth in Zakat. Perform Hajj if you can afford to.

All mankind is from Adam and Eve, an Arab has no superiority over a non-Arab nor a non-Arab has any superiority over an Arab; also a white has no superiority over black nor a black has any superiority over white except by piety and good action. Learn that every Muslim is a brother to every Muslim and that the Muslims constitute one brotherhood. Nothing shall be legitimate to a Muslim which belongs to a fellow Muslim unless it was given freely and willingly. Do not, therefore, do injustice to yourselves.

Remember, one day you will appear before ALLAH and answer your deeds. So beware, do not stray from the path of righteousness after I am gone.

O People, NO PROPHET OR APOSTLE WILL COME AFTER ME AND NO NEW FAITH WILL BE BORN. Reason well, therefore, O People, and understand words which I convey to you. I leave behind me two things, the QURAN and my example, the SUNNAH and if you follow these you will never go astray.

All those who listen to me shall pass on my words to others and those to others again; and may the last ones understand my words better than those who listen to me directly. Be my witness, O ALLAH, that I have conveyed your message to your people".

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

This khutbah is just as relevant now as it was then. Imagine if we all paid heed to this message. Let us pass it on, and may we all benefit from it, Ameen!

We need to mind our own business!

2009-04-27T23:18:00.018-05:00

Bismillah,

O you who believe! Avoid much suspicions, indeed some suspicions are sins. And spy not, neither backbite one another. Would one of you like to eat the flesh of his dead brother? You would hate it (so hate backbiting). And fear Allâh. Verily, Allâh is the One Who accepts repentance, Most Merciful. (Quran, Surah Al-Hujurat 49:12)

Suspicion is a natural human instinct but in this verse Allah (Subhana wa ta'ala) tells us to avoid it so we do not fall into other destructive areas. Suspicion and distrust can destroy brotherhood and sisterhood and hence we need to eliminate it.

Prophet Muhammad (Sallalahu alaihi wa salam) warned us of the dangers of suspicion by saying "Beware of suspicion, for verily it is the most deceptive form of speech" Reported by Aby Hurayrah and collected by Bukhari, Muslim and Abu Dawood

Suspicion can lead to backbiting, gossiping and slander when it is spoken about. Even if you have suspicious thoughts you should try your best not to act on it or speak about it since this can lead to those grave sins, so the best thing is to avoid suspicion all together.

The Prophet Sallalahu alaihi wa salam said "Allah overlooks the evil thoughts of the Muslim nation as long as they do not speak about it or act on it" Reported by Abu Hurayrah and collected by Bukhari and Muslim

Caliph Umar radiallahu anhu is reported to have said "If your Muslim brother makes an ambiguous statement to you, you should only think the best and you will find a good explanation for it" Ibn Katheer and Imam Malik

Suspicion and curiosity about others can lead to spying. The invasion of privacy is opposed by Islam, and the Prophet (Sallalahu alaihi wa salam) advised us to stay out of other peoples business to the point where it is one of the qualities that complete a Muslim's Islam. He said "Among the things which complete a man's Islam is his avoiding things which do not concern him" Tirmidhi
and "Blessed is he who is so busy with his own faults that he becomes unaware of the faults of others" Reported by Anas, collected by al-Bazzar

Eavesdropping is haram, and severe punishments have been described.
The Prophet (Sallalahu alaihi wa salam) said "One who eavesdrops on the conversation of others and hears what they would not like him to hear will have molten brass poured in his ears on the Day of Judgement" Collected by Tabarani and authenticated by al-Albani

On another occasion he (Sallalahu alaihi wa salam) is reported to have said "The habitual eavesdropper will not enter Paradise." Reported by Hudhayfah, colected by Bukhari, Muslim and others.

Even if you suspect someone is doing something wrong in their home, it is not allowed to spy on them. Islamic law rejects any evidence obtained by spying and snooping. Ibn Mas'ood said "We have been forbidden from spying, but if any evidence appears in the open we will use it" Collected by Abu Dawood

Nowadays suspicion and backbiting have become so common that we don't realize that we are backbiting when we talk about others. We all need to stop it, there is absolutely no good in it.

The Prophet (Sallalahu alaihi wa salam) was asked "O Messenger of Allah, what exactly is Gheebah (backbiting)?" He replied, "It is mentioning something about your brother which he dislikes." The man then asked, "What if what I said were true?" The Prophet answered, "If what you said were true, you have backbitten and if it was not, you have slandered." Reported by Abu Hurayrah in Bukhari and Muslim

The Prophet (Sallalahu alaihi wa salam) chastised even his family "Once a woman visited Aishah (radiallahu anha) and when the woman got up to leave, Aisha made a sign with her hand indicating to the Prophet Aishah (Sallalahu alaihi wa salam) that the woman was short of stature. The Prophet immediately chastised her, saying, 'You have backbitten!'" Reported by Hasan ibn al-Makhariq, collected by Ibn Jareer.

Backbiting is haram except in the protection of a muslim's welfare such as evidence in a court case, and when advice is sought for business dealings or marriage. For example, Fatima bint Qays came to the Prophet (Sallalahu alaihi wa salam) seeking marital advice after both Mu'awiyah ibn Abi Sufyan and Abu Jahm had proposed to her, the Prophet (Sallalahu alaihi wa salam) said "Mu'awiyah is stingy and tight fisted and Abu Jahm beats his women, so marry Usamah instead" Reported by Fatima bint Qays, collected by Muslim, Abu Dawood, Tirmidhi and others.

If someone has cheated you in business and another muslim is about to do business with the person, you should warn them by telling them your experience, but keep it to the point, don't embellish and add other irrelevant things.

We should not seek to show up the faults of others, there are great rewards for covering each others faults. The Prophet (Sallalahu alaihi wa salam) said "In this life and the next Allah will cover the faults of one who covers a Muslim's faults" Reported by Abu Hurayrah and collected by Tirmidhi

He (Sallalahu alaihi wa salam) also said "On the Day of Ressurection, Allah will deflect fire from the face of one who defends his Muslim brother's honour in the latter's absense." Reported by Abu al-Darda , collected by Tirmidhi

Suspicion and slander can break apart friendships, families and destroy communities and business relationships. They and their related behaviours are very dangerous.

The Prophet (Sallalahu alaihi wa salam) said "Do not envy each other, harbour ill-will towards each other or make false bids against each other (during sales in order to increase the prices of goods), nor boycott each other, or spy on each other; but instead, be true servants of Allah and brothers. A Muslim is the brother of a Muslim, he does not harm him, humiliate him or scorn him." He (Sallalahu alaihi wa salam) then pointed to his chest and said "Fear of Allah dwells here, fear of Allah dwells here. It is very evil that a Muslim look down upon a brother Muslim. Everything of a Muslim is forbidden to another Muslim; his blood is sacred, so are his honour and his property" Reported by Abu Hurayrah, collected by Muslim

We should not only avoid suspicion and backbiting, we should try to prevent others from doing so. The Prophet (Sallalahu alaihi wa salam) said "Whoever perceives an evil should prevent it with his hand, but if he is unable let him do so with his tongue and if he remains unable let him hate it in his heart for that is the lowest form of Eeman" Reported by Abu Sa'eed al-Khudri, collected by Muslim and Abu Dawood

Let us all make an effort to avoid being suspicious of each other and to avoid backbiting, and to stop others from backbiting in our presence. I remind myself before anyone else.

Polygny thoughts - Did I mess it up?

2009-04-22T11:16:00.005-05:00

A brother who was interested in marrying me over a year ago (it didnt happen), contacted me online today out of the blue. He asked how I was and what I was up to. I had a feeling he was married by now because I saw a pic on facebook, but anyway I didnt ask just yet. So we had a nice conversation, he has made Hijrah now and he asked if I was married. I'm not, so i told him so, and asked if he was. it turns out that he has been married now for a year and has a son, MashaAllah. But....he says he is thinking of having another wife, and wondered what I thought about that (implying me as being the new co-wife).

He says he doesnt know if his wife will accept it.

Now I know nothing is wrong with Polygny, but I tried to put myself in the other sister's shoes, as a new wife, only one year married, new baby, living in a new foreign country.....would I be excited about my husband taking another wife at this time? more than likely, NO, I would not be too thrilled. His reason is that he wants a big family (6 children) and she only wants to have three children. WHOA...I told him to be patient, maybe she would have more than three, and that I thought it was too soon for him to be thinking about another wife right now, and that she might not be too happy with the idea at this time. He thanked me for my advice and that was it.

Did I shoot myself in the foot, or did I do the right thing? I think he is a good Muslim MashaAllah, and Allah Subhana wa ta'ala knows best, so did I sabotage myself? Aaargh, I feel so confused, and today was going so well :-(

Answers to questions you may encounter during dawah

2009-04-15T16:07:00.020-05:00

Bismillah,

Assalamu alaikum,

There is nothing in this world where Islamic guidance can not apply.

Dr. Bilal Philips has a video series called 'Contemporary Issues' on halaltube.com

Homosexuality? See the explanation here

Apostasy? See the explanation here

Test-tube babies ? Sexchange operations? Organ donation? See the explanation here

Euthanasia/Mercy Killing ? See the explanation here

Capital Punishment/Criminal Justice? See the explanation here

Terrorism? See the explanation here

Interest free Islamic Banking? See the explanation here

Marriage to a Non-Muslim? See the explanation here

Music, Art, Photography? See the explanation here

InshaAllah I hope you find these videos as helpful as I have.

Objectives, pretty simple?

2009-04-08T11:51:00.007-05:00

Bismillah,

The following was taken from the Appendix of an older copy of 'The Prophet's prayer described' with a few slight modifications. I wanted to share it as it has general principles that we as Muslims should try to attain to. All the evidences presented are from the Quran and authentic hadith.

Our Objectives

A return to the sublime Qur’aan and the authentic Sunnah of the Prophet(sallallaahu’ alaihi wasallam) and to comprehend them both according to the understanding and way of the Pious Predecessors (as-salafus-saalih) –may Allaah be pleased with them all- acting upon the saying of our Lord – The Majestic.

“If anyone contends with the Messenger even after the Guidance has been plainly conveyed to him, and follows a path other than that of the believers, We shall leave him in the path he has chosen, and land him in hell, what an evil refuge !” (an-Nisa 4 :115)

And the first to embrace Islâm of the Muhâjirûn (those who migrated from Makkah to Al-Madinah) and the Ansâr (the citizens of Al-Madinah who helped and gave aid to the Muhâjirûn) and also those who followed them exactly (in Faith). Allâh is well-pleased with them as they are well-pleased with Him. He has prepared for them Gardens under which rivers flow (Paradise), to dwell therein forever. That is the supreme success. (At-Tawbah 9:100)

and His – (The One free of Imperfections) saying:

“So if they believe as you believe, they are indeed on the right path..” (al-Baqara 2:137)

and the sayings of the Messenger (sallallaahu’ alaihi wasallam)

It was narrated on the authority of Abu Najih al-Irbad bin Sariyah, radiyallahu 'anhu, who said:

The Messenger of Allah, sallallahu 'alayhi wasallam, delivered an admonition that made our hearts fearful and our eyes tearful. We said, "O Messenger of Allah, it is as if this were a farewell sermon, so advise us." He said, "I enjoin you to have Taqwa of Allah and that you listen and obey, even if a slave is made a ruler over you. He among you who lives long enough will see many differences. So for you is to observe my Sunnah and the Sunnah of the rightly-principled and rightly-guided Rashidite Caliphs, holding on to them with your molar teeth. Beware of newly-invented matters, for every invented matter is an innovation and every innovation(bid'ah) is a going astray.”

[Abu Dawud & Al-Tirmidhi, who says it is an authentic hadith

and

Abdullah reported: It was asked from Allah's Apostle (may peace be upon him) who amongst the people were the best. He said: (People) of my generation, then those next to them, then those next to them…, [Sahih Muslim]

To purify everything related to the life of the Muslims from Shirk in its various forms – and to warn them against the wicked innovations (Bid’ah) in the creed (Aqeedah) and acts of worship (Ibaadah) and false ideas introduced from outside, and to cleanse the Sunnah of the weak and fabricated narrations which have tarnished the pure nature of Islaam, and have been a cause of prevention of the progress of the Muslims, in realization of the responsibility due to knowledge and due to the saying of the noble Messenger: (sallallaahu’ alaihi wasallam)

“This knowledge will be carried by the trustworthy ones of every generation – they will expel from it the alterations made by those going beyond bounds, and the false claims of the liars, and the false interpretations of the ignorant.”

(Saheeh – reported by Ibn’ Adiyy, Ibn, Asaakir, Aboo Nua’im and al-Khateeb)

and in obedience to the order of Allaah – The Mighty and Majestic:

“..Help you one another in righteousness and piety, but help you not one another in sin and enmity.” (al-Maa’idah 5:2)

To educate and cultivate the Muslims upon their true Deen, and calling them to act according to its rulings, and to cultivate in themselves its morality and manners – which will ensure Allaah’s pleasure and result in their welfare and honour – being in agreement with the Qur’aanic description of the group who are saved from ruin

“…And (join together) in the mutual teaching of Truth, and of patience and constancy.” (al-Asr 103:3)

and due to His order:

“On the contrary (He would say): “Be you people of wisdom and knowledge for you have taught the Book and you have studied it earnestly.” (Aal-Imraan :79)

To revive true Islamic thought in the light of the Book and the Sunnah and upon the way of the Salaf (Pious Predecessors) of this Ummah, and to remove the stagnated blind following of Madh-habs (schools of thought) and blind adherence to parties – which has overcome the minds of many Muslims and distracted them from clear and pure Islamic brotherhood/sisterhood – as demanded by the order of Allaah – The Majestic and Most High:

“And hold fast all together, by the rope of Allah, and be ye not divided among yourselves…” (Aal-Imraan 3:103)

and the saying of the Prophet (sallallaahu’ alaihi wasallam)

“Be worshippers of Allaah(and) brothers !” (al-Bukhari and Muslim)

To provide practical Islamic solutions for the present day problems and to strive for returning to a true Islamic way of life upon the way of the Prophet (sallallaahu’ alaihi wasallam) – and to bring about a society guided by the Revelation, and for Allaah’s laws to be applied upon the earth – beginning this process with correction (tasfiyah) and education and cultivation (tarbiyah) – as Allaah, the Most High says:

“And instruct them in Scripture and Wisdom, and purify them” (al-Baqarah 2:129)

whilst remembering the saying of our Lord – the One free of all imperfections – to His Prophet (sallallaahu’ alaihi wasallam)

“…And whether we show thee (in this life) some part of what We promise them, or We take thy soul (to Our mercy before that), - (in any case) it is to us that they shall (all) return.”(Ghaafir 40:77)

and realizing the Sharee’ah principle: “He who seeks to hasten to bring something about before its appointed time – is punished by being deprived of its achievement.”

To cordially invite all those who have not yet been blessed with that true Knowledge and Guidance of Islam which is the perfect final revealed Message of Allaah to His Creation, so that they may realize the peace and contentment of this life and the eternal bliss of the Hereafter.

This is our call- and we call all of the Muslims to assist us in shouldering this responsibility which will awaken and uplift them, and to spread the perpetual message of Islaam to all corners of the earth – in sincere brotherhood/sisterhood and love, having full confidence in Allaah’s aid and that He will indeed establish and grant authority to His righteous servants:

“…But honour belongs to Allaah and His Messenger, and to the Believers...” (al-Munaafiqoon 63:8)

“It is He who has sent His Messenger with the Guidance and the Religion of Truth. That He makes it prevail over all religion, even though the pagans may detest (it).” (as-Saff 61:9).

MashaAllah, very straightforward and to the point, and most importantly with daleel(evidence) from Qur'an and Sunnah. InshaAllah we as Muslims can accomplish these objectives, and I remind myself first before anyone else.

A New Leaf

2009-04-01T14:45:00.009-05:00

After reading a very inspiring blogpost I decided to turn over a new leaf. I have deleted all unrelated males from my facebook friends list, and have decided to try to do some good deeds and dawah each and every day , no matter how small, InshaAllah.

I have been giving dawah to my co-workers , showing them dvds, sending them website links, sharing books and pamphlets, but I have gotten complacent. I think its a lack of patience on my end, it just seems incomprehensible to me how someone exposed to the facts of Islam could not just accept it. I use the word facts because persons who have been exposed to the media propoganda and lies as representation of Islam would be less inclined to do so. Then again, propaganda seems to make people want to know more and do their own research, well at least the open minded people anyway.

So I have decided to step up the dawah. I have classified my coworkers based on their personalities, understanding and knowledge so far.

The Agnostic - believes in God, but does not believe there is just one right religion. Also believes in Darwins theory of evolution, watches a lot of news and associates cultural practices with Islam, however is keen to ask about things pertaining to the religion as seen on tv or in the news. Has a strong personality and you have to have the facts straight up to deal with the questions. Willing to learn more about Islam.

The Preacher - Masters in theology (Christian Theology of course), filled with blind faith that the Bible is THE word of God, believes the Nicean council was inspired by God to make the changes to Christianity that they did, believes that unless we all accept Jesus (alaihi salaam) as the Son of God, and as God ,we will not be saved. Unwilling to discuss anything to the contrary, no matter how much logic is shown, but will listen when similarities between the Bible and Quran are discussed. Sometimes asks for the Islamic standpoint on various issues for comparison to the Christian standpoint and is more often than not, pleasantly surprised. 'Really????, you believe that tooooo?' :)

The Searcher - Searching for the truth, finding it, but pondering the ramifications of openly accepting it. Accepts that Muhammad (sallalahu alaihi wa salam) is the Messenger of God, Accepts that Jesus (alaihi salaam) was also just a Messenger of God, Accepts that the Quran is the Word of God...But unwilling to accept Islam..Yet. Has read extensively, found the flaws in the bible, discounts the trinity, but wonders if it is actually necessary to declare faith in Islam. Seems the most promising of the group so far InshaAllah and only time will tell.

The Researcher - Bordering on agnosticism, willing to hear all sides of the religious viewpoints. Acknowledges the errors in the bible, acknowledges the truth in the Quran, especially when shown the scientific facts. Unwilling to accept the 'rules' of Islam, has the mentality of , 'I cant follow so many rules, I just want to live life, I will find out the truth when I am dead'. Usually likes to find the facts by themself and will watch and read dawah material on Islam. Learns best by audio and video. Usually speaks up when someone says something negative about Islam and refutes them with some truthful facts Alhamdullilah. Second most promising of the group.

The Silent One - Her attitude is 'We can just follow what we feel is the truth from the bible and disregard the rest' . Will watch the videos and take the literature (not sure if she reads it though), but staunchly believes Christianity is the only way. Usually makes no comment on religious issues.

The method of dawah to each of them has to be different. I just want them to know all the facts and make an informed decision. I am not trying to convert them, that is not my job, only Allah can lead people to accept Islam. So instead of giving up on them as I was doing, or giving them all the same info at the same time, I will try a new individual approach based on their characteristics InshaAllah. May Allah (subhana wa ta ala) open their hearts and minds to the truth , Ameen.

Super Hero

2009-03-24T13:41:00.006-05:00

For a long time I've been obsessed with Super Heroes, Superman, Spiderman, Batman, you name it, I was a fan. I think their unrealistic abilities to right the wrongs and protect the innocent from injustice is what did it for me. Those factors plus their human-ness (although Superman is Kryptonian) made me think twice about judging people at face-value, you never know what hidden potential (or evil) a person has underneath their unassuming demeanor.

A lot of people have been trying to figure me out lately. I have been trying to figure ME out, so I don't blame them. I am not perfect, no one is, and I have never claimed to be. Islam is perfect, Muslims are not, and more and more over the past few months I have come to the' shocking realization' that some of us Muslims are even less than that.

Over the last few months I have seen and heard cases among Muslims of spousal abuse, child abuse, fraud, drug abuse and things that made my head spin and my heart ache. If my faith had not already been shaken to the core and revived, I may have had a relapse. I have been treated unfairly by friends who I was only helping for the sake of Allah, and although I try not to take things personally, I am only human afterall, not Super like Kal-El (Clark Kent) of the TV show 'Smallville'.

I'm aware of my obsession in activities in my life, one day during self defense class, the instructor was recalling incidents where she had to go help women against their abusive spouses. She said that if she had more people like her , she could really do a lot for Jamaica. In my mind, I pictured a JJL (Jamaican Justice League) of women in superhero costumes kicking criminal butt at night and protecting the weak and helpless. She only meant that she could have more classes teaching people how to defend themselves against attackers. Her Motto 'Preserving Life By Any Means Necessary', sounds like a Super Hero code of conduct to me :)

I realize that I have thought of marriage as 'someone saving me' , saving me from myself? saving me from loneliness? saving me from what? Maybe NOT being married is saving me from heartache? abuse? abandonment? . I used to say things like, when I'm married I'll do this, or I'll do that or the other. Wakeup call !!!!......married people are NOT all happy and living in a perfect little bubble, naively I expected it of Muslims, but its not always what it should be. Why should I wait to do all these things that I want to do ?, travel the world, start my own business and other things, why wait? I think I'll try to save me.

So now I am no longer looking for a Superhero-Super husband-Super bestfriend-Super Dad of my Super future kids and I am not trying to be Super Anything, I just have to try my best to be a good Muslim, knowing that I may fall along the way, but the getting back up, dusting myself off, making taubah (repentance), and trying to be better again, knowing that ALLAH (Subhana wa ta'ala) will forgive me once I am sincere, thats Super !.

An-Nawawi’s Hadith No.42

On the authority of Anas (Radhiallahu anhu), who said: I heard the Messenger of Allah(Sallallaahu 'alaihi wasallam) say:

Allah the Almighty has said: “O son of Adam, so long as you call upon Me and ask of Me, I shall forgive you for what you have done, and I shall not mind. O son of Adam, were your sins to reach the clouds of the sky and were you then to ask forgiveness of Me, I would forgive you. O son of Adam, were you to come to Me with sins nearly as great as the earth and were you then to face Me, ascribing no partner to Me, I would bring you forgiveness nearly as great as it.”

Related by at-Tirmidhi, who stated that it was a Hasan (fair) and Sahih (sound) Hadith.

War-Cry ?

2009-03-21T15:10:00.010-05:00

Last weekend we got a flier in the mailbox. An event called War Cry scheduled for today (March 21), arranged by some Christian groups. Their aim according to the flier was to take back the country from the criminal and immoral elements. A good cause? yes definitely. Good execution, definitly NOT. For example, in the road march which followed, there were no banners or placards stating their anti-crime message.

Let me give some background on this little island, we are a Christian country, we have the largest number of churches per square mile than anywhere else in the world. We also have one of the largest crime and murder rates in the world.

During Easter (The Christian holidays), we have Jamaica Carnival (Bacchanal), loud music, half naked people parading and gyrating to this music in a series of build up events culminating in the actual carnival. The carnival involves trucks with lots of loud music (some questionable lyrics, promoting all sorts of promiscuity etc, but that can take up another post), and of course the carnival revellers in glittery bikinis and tight shorts. The Christian community has always condemned the events but have never been able to stop it.

This War-Cry seems to be a pre-emptive response to the upcoming carnival and with all good intentions they have gone wrong. It seems like an 'if you can't beat them, join them' mentality. I am writing this while the music is pounding at my head, since they are just now passing my neighbourhood. The music sounds the same like a carnival or dancehall show, just different lyrics, I mean I heard them mention 'Jesus Christ' and 'war cry' a couple of times but the music itself is overpowering their message. I mean why do they have to imitate the people they are 'condemning'? What do they hope to accomplish? They are apparently trying to get the young people involved by enticing them with music and revelry, but imitation is only a form of flattery. This group, however, unlike their carnival counterparts, was uniformly dressed in modest tee shirt and jeans.

The next point is, what's with the name War-Cry? couldnt they have called it Peace-Cry? That seems more fitting . Imagine if us Muslims staged a march called War-Cry? I'm sure the police, the army and maybe even the CIA would be down on us trying to shut it down.

Christianity started out by trying to cater to the masses by changing the laws of Jesus and Moses to suit the pagan Romans and Greeks of the time, bringing in the concept of 'Son of God' and the 'Trinity' so it wouldnt seem quite so different than what they were used to with their many gods and sons of gods. It continues to pander to popular thought and behaviours to get people on their bandwagon. Come on people this is not a popularity contest. Truth is plain from falsehood and no amount of innovating and pandering will make a lie become the truth.

Like I said I am not condemning their intentions, and well-meaning Christians will say, that at least they are doing something, and ask what the Muslim community is doing in protest of crime and immorality. I am not making any excuses because I do think we need to be doing something, but right now we are less than 1% of the population. I think our best action is to do dawah and let people know that there is an alternative, remembering that the best dawah is our own actions and how we treat other people. Thats all for now, the war-criers have moved on and its quiet again.

Pray as you have seen me praying

2009-03-14T23:57:00.011-05:00

The Prophet's Prayer Described by Shaikh Naasir-ud-Deen Al Albaani, answers all or most questions related to prayer. It is a compilation of the hadith (and their explanations) about prayer. It describes the prayer of the Prophet Muhammad (Sallalahu alaihi wa salaam) step by step with evidences, and refutations of weak hadith. It also gives explanations on various innovations in prayer and shows why they are not to be followed.

A key element of Muslim life is the obligatory, ritual prayer. These prayers are performed five times a day, and are a direct link between the worshipper and God. Prayer in Islam, is the worship of Allah the Almighty, Praising and Thanking Him, acknowledging His Sovereignty and committing oneself to obey and remember Him at all times. It is the central part of a way of life, which is based on submission to the Owner of all and the Lord of the world.

Allah (Subhana wa ta'ala) says in the Quran:
“…..And establish regular Prayer: for Prayer restrains from shameful and unjust deeds; and remembrance of Allah is the greatest (thing in life) without doubt…..” (Quran, 29:45)

The Prophet (Sallalahu alaihi wa salaam) said to:
...Pray as you have seen me praying.. (Sahih Bukhari Book 1 Vol 1, Hadith 604)
and with the information found in this book we can do just that.

Some Prayer issues from the book:

Obligation for a Sutra (Barrier)

He (sallallaahu a'laihi wa salaam) used to say: "Do not pray except towards a sutra, and do not let anyone pass in front of you, but if someone continues (to try to pass) then fight him, for he has a companion (ie. a shaytaan) with him" (Ibn Khuzaimah in his Saheeh (1/93/1) with a sound Isnad)

Placing Hands on the chest

"He used to place the right arm on the back of his left palm, wrist and forearm (Abu Dawood, Nasaai & Ibn Khuzaimah (1/54/2) ) "and he commanded his companions to do likewise" (Maalik, Bukhari & Abu Awaanah), and (sometimes) "he would grasp his left arm with his right" (Nasaai and Daaraqutni)

"He used to place them on his chest" (Abu Dawood, Ibn Khuzaimah, Ahmad & Abu Shaikh)

Going down in Sajdah on the hands

"He used to place his hands on the ground before his knees." (Ibn Khuzaimah (1/76/1), Daaraqutni & Haakim)

He used to instruct likewise, saying, 'When one of you performs sajdah, he should not kneel like a camel, but should place his hands before his knees" (Abu Dawood, Tammaam, Nasaai)

This book is pretty descriptive of the Prophet's prayer from start to finish and is recommended for every Muslim's bookshelf. It is available online at OnlineIslamicStore

Random Ramblings

2009-03-05T13:06:00.006-05:00

The concessionaire at work has been replaced, the last one was Seven Day Adventists so they did not cook pork, and they had vegetarian dishes at times. People complained that there was lack of variety (they wanted Pork), but their food was generally good. Now, this new concessionaire serves pork, I am skeptical of their behind the scenes cleanliness. I mean, is there cross-contamination with the meats in the kitchen, do they cook their rice-n-peas with pig's tail ?( a common occurrence in Jamaica). I think I will be bringing lunch to work more often, or heading out to buy lunch from the seven day adventists vegetarian restaurant, its not too far from where I work Alhamdullilah.

The new Masjid in Kingston is almost complete, Alhamdullilah (I'll post a pic soon InshaAllah). But...and I hope I am sooooooo wrong, although the building is big, the sisters area seems tiny...I hope that what I think is walled off as the sisters area really is like an office or something...InshaAllah. Also, the Prophet (sallallahu alaihi wa sallam) did not have a partition in his masjid separating the sisters from the brothers, sisters were behind the brothers but there was no physical partition...so what's up with that????

My Boss confronted me the other day about what he called the 'Muslim Crusade' in 642CE, claiming that there was no religious tolerance and what not. As the resident go-to person for all things regarding Islam at my office LOL.. I had to do a little research, and this is what I got from a student of comparative religion.. (It's funny how people think that because you are Muslim you are an encyclopedia of all things Islamic and can explain all things that Muslims do...whether Islamic or not..but thats another post)

The two superpowers of the day, the Persian Empire (Sassanid dynasty at the time) and the Roman Empire (the seat of the Byzantiums) noticed the strong build up and growth of Islaam in Egypt and the readiness of the Nestorians and Qobtiyah (Coptic) people's willingness to accept the Monotheism of the Quraan by way of the Nubuwwah (Prophethood) of Muhammad (salla llaaahu alayhi wa sallam).
So they attacked them and Umar [caliphate 634- 644 AC] ordered a RESPONSE to the attack on the EMERGING MONOTHEISTIC society.

Its noted that Akhnaton, Photep, Imhotep and many other EGYPTIAN PHAROAHS were ALL MONOTHEISTS way before many of the 28 prophets mentioned in Quraan. PLUS the ancient scriptures of the BANEE ISRAAEEL were known to the Nestorians and Coptic People before the Quraan's revelation between August 610 to April 632 CE wherein a Prophet was expected to raised up by Allaah from Abraham's seed born at MAKKAH = BACA in Psalms 84 verses 4 - 6 and BAKKAH [Quran ,soorah 3 verse 96].

I and some other Muslims and Muslimahs attended the annual 'Roti Festival' here in Kingston last Sunday. Its a festival that highlights Indian culture and food. For all of you that have never had curried Mango...you are missing out, lol. We had a dawah booth (courtesy of another Muslim sister who had a booth there showcasing her business and food products...big up to homechoicejamaica) and got quite a few visitors and names and numbers for follow up. We gave out many pamphlets and qurans and had lively discussion with many of the patrons. Although the music and noise was unbearable at times it was a good experience bringing Islam to the fore, we were the second booth as you walked on the compound. Since it was mainly an Indian Festival highlighting Indian Culture in Jamaica, we displayed some posters about the Indian Muslims who came to Jamaica as indentured labourers back in the day and were free to practice and spread Islam. All in all it was a good day, and I hope those people are guided to Islam or at least more open minded InshaAllah.
Once again...and if I had a $1 for every time I get asked these questions, or been told these statements, I'd probably be rich...well not quite...but almost. 'When are you getting married?', 'How comes you havent found anybody yet?' , It's your turn next, and it goes on and on. And I get it from Muslims and Non-Muslims, there were a spate of pregnancies at my office....yes I say spate because it seemed like an epidemic...and of course the question always was ...you guess it ..'When are you going to have kids', lol, now half the people who were expecting babies were NOT Married, so it was clearly pick on the single muslim MONTH because it went on for a while. Now when they bring their babies pics to the office, that starts the whole annoying conversation up again. One lady said I'd have to move to Abu Dhabi to get married, its funny sometimes, other times NOT. A week ago a Muslimah friend of mine got married, and another is getting married next week...so the most recent question was 'how do you feel?' AAAAARRRRRRGH. Quit asking !!!!!!!!! I am happy for them...end of convo.

Ok lunch break is up...get back to work people :)

Self defense class update

2009-03-02T09:59:00.005-05:00

Am feeling good, feeling energized, Alhamdullilah. Its been 4 classes so far and Alhamdullilah its been going great. We are learning various self-defense techniques and how to get out of different choke holds, hand grips, and how to block weapons from an overhead attack, and last class we learned how to actually take an axe from the attacker.

The instructor brings actual weapons to class for us to get over the psychological fear of seeing the weapon. We have worked with a knife and a small axe so far, and a fake gun, but in the advanced class we will work with a real gun InshaAllah.

She also gives really good advice, for example, NEVER EVER leave from point A to point B with an attacker, the fact that they want to take you somewhere else means they do not want any witnesses, and you will probably be taken to some remote area where your chance of escape is minimal or none. You have a better chance of survival staying right where you are and making a lot of noise, scream FIRE, people are more likely to respond to a scream of 'FIRE' than to a scream of 'HELP'.

Always be aware of your surroundings, do not walk around on your cell phone all oblivious about what is going on around you, walk confidently like you know where you are going, don't look timid, attackers profile their victims and look for vulnerabilities, sometimes watching them for weeks and observing their habits. Confidence is key, and do not show fear. Only fear Allah.

May Allah Subhana wa ta'ala guide and protect us all. Ameen

Warning about mouthwash products

2009-02-27T12:05:00.002-05:00

Info from NaturalNews.com
"(NaturalNews) The use of mouthwashes that contain alcohol as an ingredient can drastically increase a person's risk of cancers of the mouth, head and neck, according to a study conducted by researchers from the Australia's University of Melbourne and University of Queensland School of Dentistry."

Read More by clicking the link Below...

Common Mouthwash Products Boost Risk of Oral Cancer by 900 Percent

Attack of the flying......

2009-02-26T12:04:00.003-05:00

Boobs......????

Please, please, please, when having an Islamic function, especially one held at the Masjid, and inviting Non-Muslims, let them be aware of the dress code. We have a dress code sign on the gate of the masjid, but alas, a brother was almost assaulted by a giant pair of cleavage that nearly slapped him across the face. Might sound hilarious, but when Muslim men are required to lower their gaze and then they get ambushed by all kinds of body parts at the MASJID, it makes me wonder...who invited these people? did they not make them aware of the dress code? did they know the dress code and choose to ignore it?. What should we do in situations like this...have a guard at the gate to turn back persons for non-compliance? What do you all do at your Masaajid, are non-muslims allowed to come in dressed any way they like? I mean there were mini skirts, tight dresses, bare shoulders, and loads of clevage etc. etc. etc., it was in very poor taste.

Tagged by Sacrifice4Allah

2009-02-21T01:00:00.004-05:00

I've been tagged to say 25 things about myself....I'll try my best.....am kinda shy :)

I love Chocolate

I love Cheesecake, and any combination of chocolate AND cheesecake :P

I love to read, especially Islamic books

Favourite colours are purple and aqua

I've been married once before

I have no children, but would like to have 3 InshaAllah(so I need to find a hubby)

I can speak Japanese (enough to get around)

I love learning about Islam, and I try to learn as much as I can

I have been engaged twice (didn't work out, Allahu alim)

I love Chinese and Indian food

I love Mango ice-cream( Jamaica's Devon House Ice-cream is the best in the WORLD)

I like Peach Iced Tea

I drink at least 8 glasses of water each day, take vitamins and exercise (sometimes I get these bursts of wanting to be healthy)

I'm in the middle of a sewing project which I will post on my fashion blog if it looks 'acceptable' lol

I am artistic and scientific at the same time, la hawla wa la quwata illa billah

I'm shy at first but once I get to know you, I'll have you cracking up with laughter

I have one 'big' little sister, I'm what some people refer to as short, lol

I have a short attention span, and need to multitask so I don't get bored (ADHD???? naw )

Back in the day I knew Vanilla Ice's 'Ice Ice baby' by heart....and MC Hammer's 'Can't touch this' lol

I like knee high socks in different colours to match my outfits, black socks with everything does not cut it for me

I am learning Arabic at home and in a class setting (still not so good though, InshaAllah I will get better)

I have the best Dad in the WHOLE WORLD, Alhamdullilah!

For a long time the Matrix trilogy were my favourite movies

I have a thing for superhero shows, Smallville is currently my favourite (yes I watch TV shows sometimes, I havent reached to that level of 'No TV' yet....working at it , am down to one day a week now...Thursdays for Smallville of course :-), been replacing my need for tv with Islamic lectures

I sleep with two pillows, one under my head and the other I throw my leg over, I don't know why but it feel comfy like that

Etiquettes of Jumuah

2009-02-20T10:31:00.006-05:00

After reading on 'the truth will set you free blog' about a sisters experience at Jumuah with persons gossiping and chatting during the Khutbah, I decided to post some information about the etiquettes and importance of Jumuah. I found the article below on the internet and modified it slightly, I am not sure who the original writer is but it seemes to have come from a khutbah, may it be a reminder for us all InshaAllah.
al-Jumu’ah or Friday is obviously a significant day for Muslims, but do we (as Muslims) know why it’s significant and do we show this day the respect it deserves? In reality, many of us don’t know much about it, except that it’s a day when we gather for salaat al-Jumu’ah/the Friday prayer.

As for the significance and importance of this day, Allaah(SWT) created the Prophet Adam (AS) on this day, the verse in which we are informed that Allaah perfected our religion for us was revealed on a Friday, and the day of Resurrection will occur on a Friday. We learn of these facts and of the importance and significance of this day from authentic ahaadeeth of the prophet (SAW).

Allah’s Messenger (SAW) said: “The most virtuous of your days is Jumu`ah. On that day, Adam was created and on that day he died, (on that day) the horn will be blown and the people will be dumbfounded! Increase your prayers upon me as your prayers upon me will be presented to me” The people said: “O Messenger of Allah, how will our prayers be presented to you when you have passed away?” He said: “Allah has prohibited the earth from eating the bodies of the Prophets”. (Ahmad, Abu Daawood, Ibn Maajah, Ibn Hibbaan & Al-Haakim)

The Messenger of Allah (SAW) also said: “It was Friday from which Allah diverted those who were before us. For the Jews (the day set aside for prayer) was Saturday, and for the Christians it was Sunday. In this order they (Jews and Christians) would come after us on the Day of Resurrection. We are the last (of the nations) among the people in this world and the first among the creatures to be judged on the Day of Resurrection”. (Muslim)

It was the practice of our beloved prophet (SAW) to honor this day and hold it in high esteem by performing certain acts of worship on it either in abundance or on it specifically.

It is preferred to pray for Allah’s blessings on the prophet (SAW) in abundance during the day and night of Jumu`ah as the Prophet (SAW) said: “Make many prayers upon me during the day of Friday and the night of Friday” (Al-Bayhaqi).

The Messenger of Allah (SAW) is reported to have said: "People should not neglect Friday Prayers under any circumstances, otherwise their hearts will be sealed, (the will be deprived of Divine Guidance); they will become one with those who are forgetful (of Religion)." (Muslim)

One should take extra care to clean and purify oneself for saying Friday prayers. Islam lays a great deal of emphasis on bathing and adorning oneself for the day which is full of blessing and auspiciousness.

Abu Sa'eed (RA) reported that the Messenger of Allah (SAW) said:"It is binding upon every one who has attained maturity that he should take a bath (ghusl) on Friday. He should use the siwaak (tooth-stick) and perfume if it is available." (Bukhari)
Salman (RA) reports that the Messenger of Allah (SAW) said: "An individual who bathes on Fridays, performs ablution, oils (grooms his hair), and scents himself, then goes to the mosque in the noon, without disturbing two persons already sitting in the line, offers the prescribed prayer, and listens to the khutba (sermons of the Khatib) attentively, shall have all the sins he may have committed between this Friday and the pervious one pardoned." (Bukhari)

So we should adorn ourselves before going to the Friday prayer, but what do we do once we get to the Masjid? Well, instead of chatting and gossiping, one should keep himself occupied with the remembrance of Allah, supplication, and recitation until the Imaam begins his khutbah. But when the Imam starts his khutbah, one must be completely silent.
Listening to the Khutbah is obligatory, and one should not disturb or talk to others while the Imam is delivering the khutbah. Even saying As-Salamu-Alaikum is not allowed when the khutbah is being delivered.
Allah’s prophet (SAW) said: “When the Imaam is delivering the Khutbah, and you ask your companion to keep quiet and listen, then, no doubt you have done an evil act”. (Al-Bukhaari, Muslim, Maalik, and Abu Daawood)

It is recommended to recite certain surahs/chapters of the Quran on Friday. “The reciter of Surat al-Kahf on Jumu`ah will be blessed with a light that will rise from underneath his feet to the peak of the sky. This will be a light for him on the Day of Resurrection, and he will be forgiven for what is between this Jumu`ah (and the next) Jumu`ah” (Al-Haakim in his Mustadrak, Al-Bayhaqi in his Sunan, and Ad-Daarami in his Musnad).

The messenger of Allah (SAW) also used to recite Surat al-Jumu`ah and al-Munaafiqoon or al-Ghaashiyah and al-A`la during the Jumu`ah prayer. (Muslim, Tirmithi, and Ibn Maajah)

Prophet Muhammad (SAW) said: “A man who performs ghusl on Friday, perfumes himself if he has perfume, wears form the best of his clothes, then goes to the mosque covered with calmness until he reaches the mosque, and offers two rak’ahs of prayer if he wishes, and does not harm/disturb anybody, and then listens quietly while the Imaam speaks until he offers the prayer, all his sins between that Friday and the next Friday will be forgiven”(Ahmad)

There are other matters regarding Friday that many of us may be unaware of. The blazing fire is kindled to intensify its heat everyday, except on Friday. On Friday, there is a spell of time when Allah gives to a Muslim servant whatever he asks for. This is reported in the two Saheeh books of hadeeth. Giving Sadaqah (charity) on that day is preferred to giving it on any other day. In paradise, the believers will see Allah and visit Him on Friday. It is the best day which Allah has chosen from the days of the week, just as he has chosen Ramadan as the best of the months and Laylat al Qadr (the night of decree) as the best of the nights and Muhammad as the best of His creatures.

My dear brothers & sisters; as much as we all know Friday is important, it is sad to see that many of us fail to realize that and don’t give Friday the attention it deserves. Some people even try to find excuses to not go to Friday prayer.
And here in the Quran, Allah (SWT) tells us:"O you who believe! When the call is proclaimed to prayer on Friday (the Day of Assembly), hasten earnestly to the remembrance of Allah, and leave off business (and traffic): that is best for you if ye but knew!" (al-jumu'a 2-)

So, if you are working, you must make arrangements with your employer and take extra time off so that you can make it to prayer. Note that you should not expect a freebie from your employer. Let them know why you need the extra time off and even offer to make it up. If they give you the extra time without asking you to make that time up, then Alhamdulillaah that is a bonus. But you should not expect it for free.

We should make the extra effort to supplicate to Allaah more abundantly on this day, particularly after ‘Asr and before Maghrib prayer. Teach your kids and show them that it is a special day.
I hope this serves as a reminder for all of us to spend Friday as our beloved Prophet (SAW) used to spend it. Do not make it an empty ritual like some may have with their holy days. Instead, let us utilize it a in a way that it serves as a tool for expiating our sins.
I ask Allah (SWT) to help us so that we may thank Him for the blessings and favors He has bestowed on us, remember Him, and worship Him in the best way. I ask Allah to forgive all of us for our mistakes and our sins. (ameen)
NB: It should be noted that it is not obligatory for women to attend the Jumuah prayer, but if we do we should follow all the proper etiquettes, and we should not wear perfume based on the following hadith:
Zainab, the wife of Abdullah (b. 'Umar), reported: The Messenger of Allaah (sallAllaahu alayhi wa sallam) said to us: When any one of you comes to the mosque, she should not apply perfume. (Sahih Muslim, The Book of Prayer #893)

How do they know my feelings?

2009-02-19T10:56:00.004-05:00

For almost all of yesterday and today I have been feeling sad. A friend of mine called me and said she was wondering if I was ok, because she was getting some negative feelings about me...although she had not seen me the entire day, she said she could just feel it.

Another person who was around me for a bit asked if I was ok too, she said I was walking around in a 'cloud'. Another asked me repeatedly if I was ok, that was on the phone, maybe my voice gave it away? I don't know. Am I that close to the people around me that they can just feel when something is not right with me? I love them, they are concerned and I would be too if the shoe were on the other foot. In fact sometimes I get feelings like that too about my friends, I get a sinking feeling in my chest or my heart races and I think something has happened to them or they are going through something. I wonder if this is something instinctually built into us by Allah (Subhana wa ta'ala) ?

I'm not ready yet to share with them (or you) about what's been going on with me. I am just making dua to Allah to grant me what is best for me and make me content with whatever He has decreed for me Ameen.

Be Grateful, Humble and Generous

2009-02-19T06:06:00.004-05:00

Narrated Abu Huraira:
that he heard Allah's Apostle saying, "Allah willed to test three Israelis who were a Leper, a blind man and a bald-headed man. So, he sent them an angel who came to the leper and said, 'What thing do you like most?' He replied, "Good color and good skin, for the people have a strong aversion to me.' The angel touched him and his illness was cured, and he was given a good color and beautiful skin. The angel asked him, 'What kind of property do you like best?' He replied, 'Camels (or cows).' (The narrator is in doubt, for either the leper or the bald-headed man demanded camels and the other demanded cows.) So he (i.e. the leper) was given a pregnant she-camei, and the angel said (to him), 'May Allah bless you in it.'

The angel then went to the bald-headed man and said, 'What thing do you like most?' He said, 'I like good hair and wish to be cured of this disease, for the people feel repulsion for me.' The angel touched him and his illness was cured, and he was given good hair. The angel asked (him), 'What kind of property do you like bests' He replied, 'Cows,' The angel gave him a pregnant cow and said, 'May Allah bless you in it.'

The angel went to the blind man and asked, 'What thing do you like best?' He said, '(I like) that Allah may restore my eye-sight to me so that I may see the people.' The angel touched his eyes and Allah gave him back his eye-sight. The angel asked him, "What kind of property do you like best?' He replied, 'Sheep.' The angel gave him a pregnant sheep.

Afterwards, all the three pregnant animals gave birth to young ones, and multiplied and brought forth so much that one of the (three) men had a herd of camels filling a valley, and one had a herd of cows filling a valley, and one had a flock of sheep filling a valley.

Then the angel, disguised in the shape and appearance of a leper, went to the leper and said, I am a poor man, who has lost all means of livelihood while on a journey. So none will satisfy my need except Allah and then you. In the Name of Him Who has given you such nice color and beautiful skin, and so much property, I ask you to give me a camel so that I may reach my destination. The man replied, 'I have many obligations (so I cannot give you).' The angel said, 'I think I know you; were you not a leper to whom the people had a strong aversion? Weren't you a poor man, and then Allah gave you (all this property).' He replied, '(This is all wrong), I got this property through inheritance from my fore-fathers' The angel said, 'If you are telling a lie, then let Allah make you as you were before. '

Then the angel, disguised in the shape and appearance of a bald man, went to the bald man and said to him the same as he told the first one, and he too answered the same as the first one did. The angel said, 'If you are telling a lie, then let Allah make you as you were before.'

The angel, disguised in the shape of a blind man, went to the blind man and said, 'I am a poor man and a traveler, whose means of livelihood have been exhausted while on a journey. I have nobody to help me except Allah, and after Him, you yourself. I ask you in the Name of Him Who has given you back your eye-sight to give me a sheep, so that with its help, I may complete my journey' The man said, 'No doubt, I was blind and Allah gave me back my eye-sight; I was poor and Allah made me rich; so take anything you wish from my property. By Allah, I will not stop you for taking anything (you need) of my property which you may take for Allah's sake.'

The angel replied, 'Keep your property with you. You (i.e 3 men) have been tested and Allah is pleased with you and is angry with your two companions."

(Sahih Bukhari:Volume 4, Book 56, Number 670)

Sometimes Allah(Subhana wa ta a'la) tests His slaves by giving wealth and property in order to see whether one considers it as a trust from Allah (Subhana wa ta a'la) or one's own treasure. It is, however, a fact that wealth often makes people proud and negligent.

Allah (Subhana wa ta a'la) says in the Glorious Qur’an; “And know ye that your possessions and your progeny are but a trial.” (Qur’an: 8/27)

The greed for earning more and more wealth , has caused widespread immodesty, repulsion from religion, lack of faith and betrayal of conscience. Simultaneously, evil is rampant in every place. Moreover, there is a hadith which affirms this fact that wealth is a source of trial for human beings. The Prophet (Sallallahu alaihi wa salam) says; “Verily for every people there is a trial and the trial of my ummah is wealth.” (Tirmizi: 2/59)

On an occasion, the Prophet (Sallallahu alaihi wa salam) warned his companions saying: "By Allah! I do not fear your poverty, but I fear the worldly materials will be extended to you, they were to the people before you. And you also would compete for the luxuries of life as they did. And consequently you too would perish as they did.” (Muslim; 2/407)

We should always endeavour to be generous with the poor and the deprived for the sake of Allah (Subhana wa ta a'la) .

The above Hadith tells of the consequences of two misers (i.e. the leper and the bald-headed man). Therefore, keeping in mind their fate, we ought to avoid being stingy. A Hadith clearly points out that miserliness is a bad thing. The Prophet (Sallallahu alaihi wa salam) said; "Verily you should avoid miserliness as it had destroyed the earlier people and moreover, it instigated them to bloodshed. It sometimes tempted people to make lawful the unlawful." (Muslim : 2/320)

The Noble Qur’an also throws light upon this subject; So keep your duty to Allâh and fear Him as much as you can; listen and obey; and spend in charity, that is better for yourselves. And whosoever is saved from his own covetousness, then they are the successful ones. (At-Taghabun 64:16)

Allah(Subhana wa ta a'la) has bestowed many favors upon us, and for these we should be thankful by:
1- Recognizing, and affirming Allah's favor upon us.
2- Confirming that His bounties upon us are from Him.
3- Spending of His bounties given to us for His Pleasure and sake (such as giving out Zakat and charity etc.).

When harm touches man, he calls to Us (for help), then when We have (rescued him from that harm and) changed it into a favour from Us, he says: "Only because of knowledge (that I possess) I obtained it." Nay, it is only a trial, but most of them know not! (Az-Zumar 39:49)

Origins of Valentine's Day

2009-02-15T17:53:00.002-05:00

The Festival of Love was one of the festivals of the pagan Romans, when paganism was the prevalent religion of the Romans more than seventeen centuries ago. In the pagan Roman concept, it was an expression of "spiritual love".There were myths associated with this pagan festival of the Romans, which persisted with their Christian heirs.

Among the most famous of these myths was the Roman belief that Romulus, the founder of Rome, was suckled one day by a she-wolf, which gave him strength and wisdom.The Romans used to celebrate this event in mid-February each year with a big festival.One of the rituals of this festival was the sacrifice of a dog and a goat. Two strong and muscular youths would daub the blood of the dog and goat onto their bodies, then they would wash the blood away with milk. After that there would be a great parade, with these two youths at its head, which would go about the streets. The two youths would have pieces of leather with which they would hit everyone who crossed their path. The Roman women would welcome these blows, because they believed that they could prevent or cure infertility.

The connection between Saint Valentine and this festival:Saint Valentine is a name which is given to two of the ancient "martyrs" of the Christian Church. It was said that there were two of them, or that there was only one, who died in Rome as the result of the persecution of the Gothic leader Claudius, c. 296 CE. In 350 CE, a church was built in Rome on the site of the place where he died, to perpetuate his memory.

When the Romans embraced Christianity, they continued to celebrate the Feast of Love mentioned above, but they changed it from the pagan concept of "spiritual love" to another concept known as the "martyrs of love", represented by Saint Valentine who had advocated love and peace, for which cause he was martyred, according to their claims. It was also called the Feast of Lovers, and Saint Valentine was considered to be the patron saint of lovers.

One of their false beliefs connected with this festival was that the names of girls who had reached marriageable age would be written on small rolls of paper and placed in a dish on a table. Then the young men who wanted to get married would be called, and each of them would pick a piece of paper. He would put himself at the service of the girl whose name he had drawn for one year, so that they could find out about one another. Then they would get married, or they would repeat the same process again on the day of the festival in the following year.The Christian clergy reacted against this tradition, which they considered to have a corrupting influence on the morals of young men and women.

It was abolished in Italy, where it had been well-known, then it was revived in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, when in some western countries there appeared shops which sold small books called “Valentine’s books”, which contained love poems, from which the one who wanted to send a greeting to his sweetheart could choose. They also contained suggestions for writing love letters.

The above quotation is excerpted, with slight modifications, from www.Islam-qa. com

As regards the Islamic stance on this festival, Dr. Su`ad Ibrahim Salih, professor of Islamic Jurisprudence (Fiqh) at Al-Azhar University, states the following:

Indeed, Islam is the religion of altruism, true love, and cooperation on that which is good and righteous. We implore Allah Almighty to gather us together under the umbrella of His All-encompassing Mercy, and to unite us together as one man. Allah Almighty says: (The believers are naught else than brothers. Therefore make peace between your brethren and observe your duty to Allah that haply ye may obtain mercy.) (Al-Hujurat 49: 10)

Focusing more on the question in point, I can say that there are forms of expressing love that are religiously acceptable, while there are others that are not religiously acceptable. Among the forms of love that are religiously acceptable are those that include the love for Prophets and Messengers. It stands to reason that the love for Allah, and His Messenger Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him) should have the top priority over all other forms of love.

Islam does recognize happy occasions that bring people closer to one another, and add spice to their lives. However, Islam goes against blindly imitating the West regarding a special occasion such as Valentine’s Day. Hence, commemorating that special day known as the Valentine’s Day is an innovation or bid`ah that has no religious backing. Every innovation of that kind is rejected, as far as Islam is concerned. Islam requires all Muslims to love one another all over the whole year, and reducing the whole year to a single day is totally rejected.

Hence, we Muslims ought not to follow in the footsteps of such innovations and superstitions that are common in what is known as the Valentine’s Day. No doubt that there are many irreligious practices that occur on that day, and those practices are capable of dissuading people from the true meanings of love and altruism to the extent that the celebration is reduced to a moral decline.

Qualities That Allah, the almighty loves

2009-02-13T23:39:00.002-05:00

"Say (O Muhammad to mankind): "If you (really) love
Allah, then follow me (i.e. accept Islamic monotheism,
follow the Quran and the Sunnah), Allah will love you
and forgive you your sins. And Allah is Oft-Forgiving,
Most Merciful." (Quran: 3:31)

Patience
"And Allah loves as-Sabirun (the patient)." (Quran:
3:146)

Justice and Dealing with Equity
"Be just: that is nearer to piety; and fear Allah."
(Quran: 5:8)

Putting Trust in Allah
"Certainly, Allah loves those who put their trust (in
Him)." (Quran: 3:159)

Perfection of One's Work
The Messenger (peace be upon him) said: "Allah loves
that if one does a job he perfects it."

Rescuing
Abu Ya ‘la Dailami and Ibn Asakir narrated: Abu
Hurairah and Anas Ibn Malik said: Allah's Messenger
(peace be upon him) said: "Allah loves rescuing the
one who needs rescue."

Being Kind and Gentle to Others
Baihaqani narrated: Allah's Messenger (peace be upon
him) said: "Allah is kind and gentle (to others)."

Kindliness
"Aisha narrated: The Messenger of Allah (peace be upon
him) said: "Allah loves kindliness in all matters."
(Bukhari)

Repentance
"Truly, Allah loves those who turn unto him in
repentance." (Quran: 2:222)

Piety
"Verily, then Allah loves those who are al-Muttaqun
(the pious)."
(Quran: 3:76)

Good-doing
"Truly, Allah loves Al-Muhsinun (the good-doers)."
(Quran: 2:195)

Body Purification
"And Allah loves those who make themselves clean and
pure [ i.e. who clean their private parts with dust
(which has the properties of soap) and water from
urine and stools, after answering the call of
nature]." (Quran: 9:108)

Humility of the Rich
Muslim narrated: Sa'd Ibn Abi Waqqas said: Allah's
Messenger (peace be upon him) said: "Allah loves the
believer who is pious and rich, but does not show
off."

Belief and Work
Al-Tabarani narrated: Allah's Messenger (peace be upon
him) said: "Allah loves the slave who believes and
acquires a career (or work)."

Reflection of Allah's Grace
Al-Tirmidhi narrated: Allah's Messenger (peace be upon
him) said: "Allah loves from amongst his slaves, the
one who has a sense of zeal or honor."

Magnanimity
Al-Hakim narrated: The Messenger of Allah (peace be
upon him) said: "Allah is All-Generous and He loves
generosity in sale, purchase and judgment."

Virtuosity
The Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) said: "
Allah loves the slave-believer who is poor but
virtuous enough to refrain from begging though he has
many children." (Muslim and Ahmed)

Loftiness
Al-Tabarani narrated: the Messenger of Allah (peace be
upon him) said: "Allah loves lofty matters and
superiority and hates inferior matters."

Justice
Allah's Messenger (peace be upon him) said: "Allah
loves that you be just toward your children even when
kissing them." (Ibn Al-Najjar)

Strength
Muslim narrated: Allah's Messenger (peace be upon him)
said: "The strong believer is better and more loved by
Allah than the weak one, but they are both good."

Love for the Sake of Allah
Al-Tabarani, Ibn Ya'la, Ibn Hibban and Al-Hakim
narrated: Allah's Messenger (peace be upon him) said:
"If two men love each other for the sake of Allah, the
stronger in love to his brother will be more loved by
Allah."

Forgiveness
Ibn Iday narrated: Allah's Messenger (peace be upon
him) said: "Allah is All-Forgiving and He loves
forgiveness."

Continuous Performance of Righteous Deeds
Bukhari and Muslim narrated: Allah's Messenger (peace
be upon him) said: "The best loved deeds to Allah are
the ones that are continuous even if they are not very
many."

Loving and Visiting Believers
Malik narrated: Allah's Messenger (peace be upon him)
said: "Allah said: My love is due to those who meet
for My sake, visit one another and make any effort for
My pleasure."

Exhortation and Advising
Abdullah, the son of Imam Ahmed narrated: It was said:
Allah's Messenger (peace be upon him) said: "The best
loved slaves to Allah are those who exhort their
slaves."

Love of Virtuous Deeds
Ibn Abi Al-Dunya narrated: Allah's Messenger (peace be
upon him) said: "The best loved slaves to Allah are
those who are made to love virtue and loving virtuous
deeds is made lovely to them."

Good Manners and Conduct
Al-Tirmidhi narrated: Allah's Messenger (peace be upon
him) said: "The best loved by me and the nearest to me
on the seats on the Day of Resurrection are those who
have the best manners and conduct amongst you, who are
intimate, are on good terms with others and are
humble, and the most hated by me and who will be on
the furthest seats from me are those who are talkative
and arrogant."

Love of Allah is the basis of worship that should be
directed to Him alone. Any other love should be for
His sake too. The real love of Allah is to do whatever
He ordained and to abandon whatever He forbade, in
addition to following the Prophet's Sunnah.

Whoever obeys someone or something other than Allah
and His Messenger, or follows any saying other than
theirs, or fears other than Allah or seeks the
pleasure of other than Allah, or puts his trust in
other than Him, does not love Allah, nor does he love
His Messenger. Muslims should also love one another
and wish the best for one another. Allah's Messenger
(peace be upon him) said:

"One will not be a true believer unless he loves for
his brother what he loves for himself." (Bukhari,
Muslim, Nasa'i, Ahmed and Ibn Majah)

Imam Malik and Imam Ahmed narrated: Allah's Messenger
(peace be upon him) said: "Allah said: My love is due
to those who love one another for My sake."

Thief in headscarf....

2009-02-03T19:01:00.003-05:00

I hope the innocent muslim women out there do NOT get mistaken for this fraudulent 'hijabi' shoplifter....

The story on BBC "A jewel thief dressed as a wealthy Muslim woman has stolen rings worth hundreds of thousands of euros from dealers across Europe, police say. "

Read the entire story here

Pigs for Organ Transplant?

2009-01-26T13:07:00.006-05:00

I've heard of this idea before (and clearly if we arent supposed to eat them, why should we use them for organ transplants?) but now they are going to genetically modify pigs with six human genes.....

"A British lord and fertility researcher has announced plans to breed genetically engineered pigs, for the purpose of harvesting their organs for transplant into humans."

See the full story here

Phone call and email monitoring....

2009-01-22T17:43:00.003-05:00

Click below....I'm still speechless

U.S. Government Monitored All Americans: Faxes, Phone Calls, Emails and Internet Communications

Self Defense

2009-01-19T19:32:00.004-05:00

I and a few other Muslim sisters went to a self-defense demonstration a few days ago, and I was pretty impressed by the instructor. She has over 30 years experience in martial arts and is proficient in 13 different martial arts. She has formulated her own style called natural-do and is focused on practical self defense techniques, including changing your attitude and psyche so you won't be seen as an easy target.

She showed how simple everyday items like keys and credit cards can be used to defend yourself, the card for example can be swiped swiftly across the attackers eyes of below their nose, keys can be used to jab their eyes. She showed that we should not show fear in our voice and we should shout and scream. If someone tries to kidnap you, do not under any circumstances willingly go with them to another location, your chances of escape on their territory is slim to none, and they rarely leave their victims alive these days

She gave her experiences of being attacked and abused and gave some statistics of how prevalent abuse is from men the women know very well. She demonstrated some techniques that prove you don't have to be physically strong to outwit and overcome an attacker. I am super excited about attending classes with her, she has female only classes and is gonna give our group a discount price :)

Muslim wonen, or rather women in general need to know how to defend ourselves. In my community there were a spate of kidnappings and rapes a few months ago and everyone was pretty much scared to be out and about. We can't be prisoners of fear, I think its a good idea that we Muslim women learn some sort of self defense, because we never know if we might be targeted for robbery or attack because we are women, or because we are Muslim.

May Allah Subhana wa ta'ala protect us all , Ameen !

A letter to my Sister (you know who you are)

2009-01-16T11:11:00.002-05:00

Bismillahir Rahmani Raheem,

Assalamu alaikum wa rahmatullahi wa barakatuh,

I am only writing this out of concern for you as my Muslim Sister, and I love you for the sake of Allah Subhana wa ta'ala.I have been concerned about you for a while now, but I did not know how to put it into words, I also did not want to speak to you about it for fear it would cause an argument and we both say things that we would regret.

After this I will not bring this up again, nor will I ask you for your reasons for doing what you are doing, I will just make Dua to Allah(SWT) for Him to change your heart as HE alone is The Doer. This new decision of yours to withdraw from the dawah class is very worrying for me, especially since you were so enthusiastic about it and the dawah cause.

The withdrawal from the other gathering, I expected it, but I had hoped that you would attend because we are learning of the correct dawah and we need to spread it to our fellow Sisters in Islam. You obviously have very strong opinions *(and many disappointing experiences) about various Muslim individuals, and are very harsh in your judgment of them at times, nobody is Perfect, nobody is the Perfect Muslim, and if you are looking to find one, you are delusional and need to get back to reality.

Hiding is not the answer.

We as Muslims especially in a non-Muslim country (where we are considered weird or worse) need to put aside our differences and bond together, if someone wrongs you, beg Allah(SWT) to forgive them, Allah (SWT) forgives us when we beg HIM, so who are we to hold animosity towards those who have wronged us. I myself find this hard at times but Alhamdullilah I have learned ,and am still learning to overcome it.

We have to look towards Jannah, We need correct knowledge, we need correct Aqidah, and Alhamdullilah I believe I am gaining that knowledge from the dawah course, and I believe that knowledge needs to be propogated to the rest of the Muslim community. I am not going to quote any daleel here, because you I am sure, are more familiar with the various verses and hadith to corroborate what I am saying.

We cannot neglect our responsibility to our brothers and sisters (in our case sisters) and we, and I include myself in ALL of this, we cannot seclude ourselves at every sign of perceived wrongdoing or animosity or incorrect aqidah etc. especially when we know the RIGHT thing. Once we are doing what ALLAH (SWT) loves, HE will love us. I know you will find all sorts of reasons (real or imagined) why you should not follow my advice, you never usually follow advice, at least not mine. I do not expect any thing different this time either.

My advice however is to relax, stop thinking that everyone and everything is so wrong that you do not want to be around them for fear of corruption of your morals, and corruption of your Islam. If something wrong is done, speak against it and move on. Abandonment is not the answer, they will just continue doing whatever wrong that you perceive.

You said once that someone told you that 'you think you are perfect', to be honest sometimes you give that impression in your mannerisms and how you react. Look at the BIG picture, not the tiny sketches that we encounter from day to day, once again I re-iterate that there are NO Perfect Muslims, we can only try our best to do deeds that are loved by ALLAH(SWT) and no more, and help others along the way to do the same, without making them feel lesser of a Muslim.

All this criticism I apply to myself also, many times I have felt like just secluding myself, just running away, even from you my dear sister, but that is what the Shaytaan wants me to do , so I will NOT give him the ACCURSED one the satisfaction of that.

InshaAllah I hope I have not offended you in this letter, and I hope you still love me for the sake of ALLAH(SWT), you are one of the very FEW people that I genuinely consider a friend and I only want the best for you. May ALLAH(SWT) grant us peace of mind, and May HE grant us Jannah. AMEEN, AMEEN, AMEEN YA RABBIL ALAMEEN.

Love always,

Dua for Seeking Allah's Protection

2009-01-15T10:13:00.002-05:00

Peace, Propaganda & the Promised Land

2009-01-14T12:59:00.001-05:00

"The plight of the refugees and those under siege in Gaza has not received fair coverage in the media. It is sad and a poor reflection of human civilization that this is happening today as our world leaders silently look on. This video ("Peace, Propaganda & the Promised Land") provides a perspective rarely shown in the wider media using credible voices.

Listen to the voices of Israelis, military officials, Palestinians, activists and others who talk about what is happening behind the scenes. Amnesty International calls it "war crimes" . Please take the time to watch this and then please try to make people aware about what is happening. Bishop Desmond Tutu (along with many South Africans) has been quite vocal about what he says mirrors the apartheid era of South Africa. This is not an Arab or a Muslim issue...it is a HUMAN issue. Peace and justice should apply to ALL people, not just some"

Watch this video here

Support our fellow Muslims...

2009-01-13T09:19:00.003-05:00

Support for Gaza (Source: AlMaghrib Institute)

There is an online ilminar and fundraiser tonight January 13th, 2009 at 7:15 PM EST(NYC Time) entitled 'Hikmah- Using Wisdom in trying times'.

Click here for more information and to register

On another note
Vote for 'Islamic Interest Free Student Loans' (Source:Halal Buzz)

A group of MBA students at Waterloo University were able to put together a plan for Islamic Interest Free Student Loans and submitted it to the RBC (Royal Bank of Canada).

You can vote once *EVERYDAY* - until January 21st, 2009
Vote Team 3: Interest-Free Student Loans.

Click here to cast your vote

Watching the sun set

2009-01-11T23:57:00.004-05:00

Driving back from St. Thomas a couple of weekends ago, we stopped by the side of the road to take pics of the beautiful sunset. Life is so hectic sometimes that we don't stop to enjoy nature or smell the roses...or watch the sunset over a lake. SubhanAllah, Allah (subhana wa ta'ala) created all this beauty for us and we humans are sometimes too busy to be grateful to Him, the Lord of the worlds. We need to stop complaining, slow down and give thanks for seeing another sunset. Alhamdullilah !!

And Allâh has brought you out from the wombs of your mothers while you know nothing. And He gave you hearing, sight, and hearts that you might give thanks (to Allâh). (Holy Quran: Surah An-Nahl 16:78)

And indeed We bestowed upon Luqmân AlHikmah (wisdom and religious understanding, etc.) saying: "Give thanks to Allâh," and whoever gives thanks, he gives thanks for (the good of) his ownself. And whoever is unthankful, then verily, Allâh is All Rich (Free of all wants), Worthy of all praise. (Holy Quran: Surah Luqman 31:12)

Nay! But worship Allâh (Alone and none else), and be among the grateful. (Holy Quran: Surah Az-Zumar 39:66)

Therefore remember Me (by praying, glorifying, etc.). I will remember you, and be grateful to Me (for My countless Favours on you) and never be ungrateful to Me. (Holy Quran: Surah Al-Baqarah 2:152)

Wherever you are death will find you

2009-01-09T22:59:00.005-05:00

And the stupor of death will come in truth: "This is what you have been avoiding!" (Qaf 50:19)

O Reader take a moral from here,

never know your end may be near,

Change your living and make amends,

for Heaven, on your deeds depends.

This is the tale of an Average Man,

Who acts contrary to Allah's plan,

If you are reflected herein,

Then repent and commit no sin.

It was early in the morning at four,

When death knocked upon a bedroom door,

"Who is there?" The sleeping one cried,

"I am Izrael, Let me come inside."

At once the man began to shiver,

As one sweating in deadly fever,

He shouted to his sleeping wife,

"Don't let him take away my life."

"Please go away, O Angel of Death!

Leave me alone; I'm not ready yet,

My family upon me depend,

Give me a chance, O please perpend!"

The angel knocked again and again,

"Friend! I'll take your life without a pain,

It is your soul Allah requires,

I come not with my own desire."

Bewildered, the man began to cry,

"O Angel, I'm so afraid to die,

I'll give you gold and be your slave,

Don't send me to the unlit grave."

"Let me in, O Friend!" The Angel said,

"Open the door; get up from your bed,

If you do not allow me in,

I will walk through it, like a Jinn."

The man held a gun in his right hand,

Ready to defy the Angel's stand,

"I'll point my gun, towards your head,

You dare come in; I'll shoot you dead."

By now the Angel was in the room,

Saying, "O Friend! Prepare for you doom,

Foolish man, Angels never die,

Put down your gun and do not sigh."

"Why are you afraid! Tell me O man,

To die according to Allah's plan?

Come smile at me; do not be grim,

Be Happy to return to Him."

"O Angel! I bow my head in shame,

I had no time to take Allah's name,

From morning till dusk, I made my wealth,

Never even caring for my health."

"Allah's commands, I never obeyed,

Nor five times a day, I ever prayed,

A Ramadan came and a Ramadan went,

But no time had I to repent."

"The Hajj was already fard on me,

But I would not part with my money,

All charities, I did ignore,

Taking usury more and more."

"Sometimes I sipped my favorite wine,

With flirting women I sat to dine,

O Angel! I appeal to you,

Spare my life for a year or two."

"The Laws of Qur'an I will obey,

I'll begin Salaat this very day,

My Fast and Hajj, I will complete,

And keep away from self-conceit."

"I will refrain from usury,

And give all my wealth to charity,

Wine and wenches I will detest,

Allah's oneness I will attest."

We Angels do what Allah demands,

We cannot go against His commands,

Death is ordained for everyone,

Father, mother, daughter or son."

"I'm afraid, this moment is your last,

Now be reminded, more of your past,

I do understand your fears,

But it is now too late for tears."

"You lived in this world, two score and more,

Never did you, your people adore,

Your parents, you did not obey,

Hungry beggars, you turned away."

"Your two ill-gotten, female offspring,

In nightclubs, for livelihood they sing,

Instead of making more Muslims,

You made your children non-Muslims."

"You ignored the Muezzin's Adhaan,

Nor did you read the Holy Qur'an,

Breaking promises all your life,

Backbiting friends, and causing strife."

"From hoarded goods, great profits you made,

And your poor workers, you underpaid,

Horses and cars were your leisure,

Money-making was your pleasure."

"You ate vitamins, and grew more fat,

With the very sick, you never sat,

A pint of blood, you never gave,

Which could a little baby save."

"O Human, you have done enough wrong,

You bought good properties for a song,

When the farmers appealed to you,

You did not have mercy, this is true."

"Paradise for you? I cannot tell,

Undoubtedly you will dwell in hell,

There is no time for you to repent,

I'll take your soul for which I am sent."

The ending however, is very sad,

Eventually the man got very mad,

With a cry, he jumped out of bed,

And suddenly, he fell down dead.

Source

"Wheresoever you may be, death will overtake you even if you are in fortresses built up strong and high!" ..... (An-Nisa 4:78)

Everyone is going to taste death, and We shall make a trial of you with evil and with good, and to Us you will be returned. (Al-Anbiya 21:35)

Everyone shall taste death. And only on the Day of Resurrection shall you be paid your wages in full. And whoever is removed away from the Fire and admitted to Paradise, he indeed is successful. The life of this world is only the enjoyment of deception (a deceiving thing). (Aali Imran 3:185)

Are we ready?

2009-01-06T15:51:00.007-05:00

To die......

A sister I saw just last week, passed away suddenly on Monday, leaving her husband and kids. Innaa lillaahi wa innaa ilayhi raajiuun (Truly, to Allah we belong and truly, to Him we shall return). May Allah reward her with Jannah, Ameen. When it hits close to home we realize how frail and how temporary the life of this world is. We have to pray every salah like its our last, take care of our parents and family while we can, make a difference in peoples lives, do as many deeds that are pleasing to Allah subhana wa ta'ala as we can before the time comes when we can do no more.

She left behind a teenage daughter. Her christian relatives have since removed her daughter from her Muslim step-father's house, they want her to stop practicing Islam, and want her removed far from anything to do with the religion. She is an orphan now, her father passed away a few years ago. She did not want to leave. They also are refusing to allow her mother to be buried as a Muslim.

Please make dua for Allah subhana wa ta'ala to change their hearts, and for her daughter to hang on to the deen in all of this Ameen, she really needs our duas.

In The News

2009-01-06T11:48:00.004-05:00

Ok........so that I will not be infringing on any copyright laws...here are links to the news I found interesting yesterday

If Obama is Serious he will get tough with Israel

A Plan of Attack for Peace

The Boy and The King

2009-01-04T22:06:00.006-05:00

I just finished watching an animated film "The Boy and the King" on Muslimville.tv, you can scroll down the list of videos to find it.

It is the story of Obaid, a boy who tries to teach his people to worship Allah alone , but is opposed by the powerful and arrogant king Narsis. While Obaid is the apprentice of the evil sorcerer Cinatas, he learns about the oneness of God from a pious monk. His search for truth leads him to accept the Oneness of Allah over the evil sorcerer and the arrogant king who wants all the people to worship him. The boy struggles to teach this truth to others, but the wicked king tries desperately to kill him.

The story is taken from an authentic narration of Prophet Muhammad (salalahu alaihi wa salam) which explains the reference to ‘The People of the Ditch’ (Ashab-ul-Ukhdood’) in Surah Burooj

Allah The Exalted Says:

In the Name of Allâh, the Most Beneficent, the Most Merciful.

By the heaven, holding the big stars .

And by the Promised Day (i.e. the Day of Resurrection);

And by the witnessing day (i.e. Friday), and by the witnessed day [i.e. the day of 'Arafât (Hajj) the ninth of Dhul-Hîjjah];

Cursed were the people of the ditch (the story of the Boy and the King);

Fire supplied (abundantly) with fuel,

When they sat by it (fire),

And they witnessed what they were doing against the believers (i.e. burning them).

They had nothing against them, except that they believed in Allâh, the All-Mighty, Worthy of all Praise!

Who, to Whom belongs the dominion of the heavens and the earth! And Allâh is Witness over everything.

Verily, those who put into trial the believing men and believing women (by torturing them and burning them), and then do not turn in repentance, (to Allâh), will have the torment of Hell, and they will have the punishment of the burning Fire.”

Verily, those who believe and do righteous good deeds, for them will be Gardens under which rivers flow (Paradise). That is the great success.

[Holy Quran, Suratul Burooj(85): 1-11]

Israeli-Palestinian community in Jamaica call for end to the deadly conflict

2009-01-04T16:16:00.003-05:00

Israeli-Palestinian community in Jamaica call
BY KIMMO MATTHEWS Sunday Observer staff reporter matthewsk@jamaicaobserver.comSunday, January 04, 2009
Source

MEMBERS of the Israeli and Palestinian communities in Jamaica have called for an end to the deadly conflict between the Israelis and Palestinians in Gaza where at the weekend the number of persons killed was close to 500.

On December 27, Israel began a series of air strikes on targets throughout the Gaza Strip, an area controlled by Palestinian resistance faction Hamas since the summer of 2007.

Israeli officials reported that the air strikes were in retaliation for rockets fired by Hamas on Israel.

The arguments coming from members from both communities (the Palestinian and Israeli) in Jamaica have varied but have one thing in common - a call for an end to the fighting.

"People are being killed like animals everyday," Osama Ibrahim, a member of the Palestinian community in Jamaica, told the Sunday Observer yesterday. "Women, children and the elderly are falling victims to the attacks on the Gaza Strip. It makes me feel very disappointed; we need the international community to intervene."

The feedback from the Jewish community was also for an end to the attacks, but from a different angle.

"The solution is stop firing the rockets," said Ainsley Henriques from the local Jewish community. "The problem is they (Palestinians) do not respect Israel's right to exist. Once they stop firing rockets and recognise the state of Israel there will be no more conflict."
Henriques disagreed that assistance from the international community would help.
"I do not know what more the international community can do," he said. "Gaza receives the highest per capita aid programme in the world."

"The [international] community has put its money where its mouth is. It has attempted to make Gaza and recognise Gaza as an independent state but Gaza has not developed any real responsibility as a nation," Henriques said.

"Israel has not set out to kill anyone in Gaza. Israel has set out to protect its people after seven years of rockets," Henriques argued.

Ibrahim, however, noted that the "The United Nations in 1947 had divided Palestine, but the Israelis, they are not satisfied with what the United Nations had given them".
"How can a little place attack one of the strongest armies in the world?" Ibrahim asked.
"What is happening in Gaza represents an unprecedented crime against humanity where large military power, featuring the latest weaponry, is being brought to bear against a poverty-stricken and largely defenceless population," said Hussam Ibrahim, brother to Osama.

But Henriques said there was more to the issue than meets the eye.
"What many persons are not understanding is that it is the Iranians who are really behind the conflict; they are providing the rockets that are being fired from Gaza," Henriques said. He said that part of the problem was that the Iranians had decided to create a whole problem in the Middle East and also in Europe and in Pakistan.

"So, the question really is, what is the world going to do about Iran?" Henriques asked.
It is a complex issue. stopping the Hamas. not the people of Gaza but the Hamas, a few thousand terrorists in Gaza that are keeping the people in Gaza in terror themselves is a key part of the solution," Henriques explained.

...Local Muslims pray for Gaza

SENIOR officials from the Muslim community in Jamaica said yesterday that members of the Islamic community were praying for an end to the Gaza conflict.
"Each passing day we are concerned about the news we are hearing and we cannot do anything about it, but we pray for Allah to provide the guidance for our brothers to stop the fighting," said Mustafa Muhammad, head of the Islamic Council in Jamaica.

According to international reports on December 27, Israel began air strikes on targets throughout the Gaza Strip in retaliation for rockets fired by Palestinian resistance factions.The BBC yesterday reported that the attacks had so far left more than 420 people dead.

"Each day that the bloodshed continues the Muslim community prays for it to end," educational officer and director of the Islamic Council of Jamaica, Musa Tijani, told the Sunday Observer.
"Each day when our Islamic bothers pray, for example, the Witr Prayer we pray for peace to return to Gaza," Sheikh Tijani told the Sunday Observer yesterday.

"Oh Almighty God show right as right and assist us to follow, and show us the wrong as wrong and assist us to stay away," Sheikh Tijani said, repeating the prayer.
"For those who are perpetrators of the wrong, we pray, "Oh Almighty God show them the right as right and assist them to follow and show them the wrong as wrong and assist them to stay away," the prayer ended.

Source

Jamaican-Palestinian calls for end to Israeli hostilities in Gaza

2008-12-31T09:37:00.000-05:00

Published: Wednesday December 31, 2008

As Israel continued to pound the Hamas-controlled Gaza Strip with bombs yesterday, a Jamaican of Palestinian descent called on the world to force the Israeli government to end hostilities in the region.
By the end of yesterday, that call by Robert Dabdoub, a businessman, seemed to be heeded as, according to the BBC, foreign ministers from the Middle East Quartet, the United States, the European Union, the United Nations and Russia called for "an immediate ceasefire that would be fully respected".

Contemplating proposal

Indeed, at the end of the day, it was reported that Israel was contemplating a French proposal for a 48-hour ceasefire which would require Hamas to stop its rocket fire and allow humanitarian relief into the Gaza Strip.

Dabdoub described the air strikes, which started on Saturday, as a shame and said he believed the world should follow its conscience and force Israel to stop its aggression.

"It is a disgrace, it is totally inhumane, and it is breaking the Geneva Convention with its use of excessive force," Dabdoub told The Gleaner. He said he believed the long history of conflict between the Israelis and Palestinians has been unfair to the Palestinians and that the latest move by the Israelis was an attempt to gain more land.

While Dabdoub believes an immediate ceasefire is needed, he says more needs to be done to rein in Israel.

"Terror is terror whoever is committing it, whether it is a state such as Israel or an individual," he said.

Israeli attacks on Hamas-controlled Gaza have so far resulted in at least 360 deaths and more than 1,400 people wounded.

Source Jamaica Gleaner

Dr. Mashooq balances business and worship

2008-12-30T12:22:00.002-05:00

Dr. Mashooq balances business and worship

Qualities of the people of Taqwaa

2008-12-29T18:57:00.005-05:00

Hamman ibn Shuraih – a companion of Ali (RA) – asked him to narrate the qualities of the people of Taqwa so that he would be able to see them in front of him. Ali (RA) said:

“When Allah created His creation, He did so while He was completely independent of their obedience towards Him and of their disobedience towards Him. No disobedience can hurt Him and no obedience can benefit Him. Then He distributed amongst them (the creation) their means of sustenance and placed them on earth. The people of Taqwa on earth are those of virtue: their speech is correct (true); their garments are of moderate nature and their walk is one of humility. They lower their gaze when they see something that Allah has forbidden them to see and they give ear to beneficial knowledge. They maintain their integrity in both adversity and prosperity.

Had it not been for the appointed time that Allah has written for them (death), their souls would not remain an extra second in their bodies out of yearning for reward and fear of punishment. The Creator ranks Supreme in their eyes, so everything else becomes immaterial to them. They are with Paradise as if they had already witnessed it and enjoyed its presence. They are with Hell as if they have already seen it and tasted its torment. Their hearts grieve and their evil (if any) is non-contagious. Their bodies are lean, their needs are few and their souls are chaste.

They observe patience for a few days and experience everlasting comfort. This is a profitable exchange that their Lord has made pleasant for them. The world tempts them, but they do not succumb. It imprisons them, but they ransomed themselves in exchange.

During the nights they stand in rows and read portions of the Quran. They recite with proper recitation which grieves their hearts and drink it (the Quran) like medicine. If a verse of yearning comes along, they reach for it and believe it is their destination. If an intimidating verse comes along, they pour their hearts towards it and believe that Hell and its screams are in their ears. They sleep on their foreheads and elbows (i.e. they engage in prayers so much that it is as if they sleep in those postures) and implore Allah to deliver them.

In the day, they are tolerant and learned, kind and God-fearing. Fear has chipped away at their bodies as if they were arrows. Anyone looking at them would think that they were sick. But they are not sick. Some will say that they are confused. A great fear has made them look like that. They are never content to do only a few actions (during the day), nor do they ask for a great deal. They condemn themselves and are apprehensive about their deeds.

If one of them is called “pious”, he fears what will be said of him and says: “I know myself better than you do. My Lord knows me better than I do. O Allah! Do not take me to task for what they are saying about me and (O Lord) make me better than they think. Forgive my sins which they do not know about.” Their signs are that they are strong in Islam, resolute in their softness; firm in their belief. They crave for knowledge and are knowledgeable with tolerance; moderate in richness; pleasant in hunger; forbearing in distress; seeking Halal; active in (pursuing) guidance and they abhor greed.

They perform good deeds in fear (of rejection). They spend the evening in gratitude and the morning in remembrance. They sleep in alarm and they awake in joy. If their carnal selves make it difficult for them to fulfil that which they dislike they deprive them (their selves) of that which they like. The apple of their eyes is in what does not perish and their abstemiousness in what disappears. They combine knowledge with tolerance and speech with action.

You will find their hopes are realistic, their mistakes few; their hearts humble, their selves content; their diet meagre, their matters simple, their Deen safe-guarded, their desires killed and their anger subdued. Goodness is expected from them and evil is shielded against them. If they are among those who are oblivious, they are counted amongst those who remember (Allah). If they are among those who remember, they are not written among the oblivious. They pardon those who wrong them; they provide for those who deprive them, and meet those who severe ties with them. They are never profane and always lenient. Their wrong doings are almost non-existent and their good deeds are always present. They are resolute when the earth quakes, steadfast in calamities and grateful in prosperity.

They are no prejudiced against those they dislike nor do they favour those they love. They acknowledge the truth before it appears and do not lose anything they are entrusted with. They do not call anyone names nor do they hurt their neighbours. They do not curse at the time of difficulties nor do they venture into falsehood.

Silence does not bother them and if they laugh, they do not raise their voices. If they are treated with injustice they remain patient until Allah vindicates them.Their own selves live in toil while others are comfortable around them.

Their abstinence from those who stay away from them is their exoneration (from malice). Their proximity to those who are close to them, is a means of mercy (for those who are close to them).

Their remaining aloof is not out of pride and arrogance and their being close is neither a ploy nor a scheme.

Oppression

2008-12-28T12:16:00.002-05:00

As the news unfolds of the continued oppression of our fellow Muslim brothers and sisters, let us not forget the following two hadiths

Narrated Abu Huraira:
Allah's Apostle said, "Whoever has oppressed another person concerning his reputation or anything else, he should beg him to forgive him before the Day of Resurrection when there will be no money (to compensate for wrong deeds), but if he has good deeds, those good deeds will be taken from him according to his oppression which he has done, and if he has no good deeds, the sins of the oppressed person will be loaded on him."
Bukhari :: Book 3 :: Volume 43 :: Hadith 629

Narrated Ibn 'Abbas:
The Prophet sent Mu'adh to Yemen and said, "Be afraid, from the curse of the oppressed as there is no screen between his invocation and Allah."
Bukhari :: Book 3 :: Volume 43 :: Hadith 628

The Oppressors may think they are safe and secure and in control, but they only fool themselves, ALLAH subhana wa ta'ala knows all that they do.

TGIF !!

2008-12-26T00:34:00.004-05:00

Bismillah,

Thank God its Friday. Not only because it is the day of Jumuah but because the Christmas madness is OVER. Yesterday Alhamdullilah I escaped the madness and attended Muslim camp, it goes on until Sunday InshaAllah, and I may attend again today or tommorrow InshaAllah.

It was so refreshing...until I got back (it was out of town), and I could feel the difference in attitude from some Muslims who took part in Christmas celebrations. I met with one disappointment and then another. It was like I was being egged on to get angry by their comments, but I know it was just whisperings from the shaytaan the accursed.

Instead of getting angry, I just felt a little sad :-(. The day then became 'mixed emotion day'

Maybe next year..they wont take part InshaAllah.

On another note....if you are ever feeling taken advantage of, or that people are being selfish, remember this hadith

Narrated Abdullah:
Allah's Apostle said to us, "You will see after me, selfishness (on the part of other people) and other matters that you will disapprove of." They asked, "What do you order us to do, O Allah's Apostle? (under such circumstances)?" He said, "Pay their rights to them (to the rulers) and ask your right from Allah." (Bukhari :: Book 9 :: Volume 88 :: Hadith 175 )

Sometimes its hard to think like this, especially when people seem to take you for granted, but we should focus on doing things for the pleasure of ALLAH Subhana wa ta ala and seek our reward from HIM alone. HE will never disappoint us, if we focus on pleasing people, they will always disappoint, so we should help people and do good deeds seeking ALLAH's reward and not theirs, and Alhamdullilah contentment will follow.

So we should ALWAYS give people their rights, no matter what, and try to control ourselves from 'reacting' negatively to their attitude.

Should Muslims attend Christmas celebrations?

2008-12-22T22:12:00.008-05:00

Being one of the few people NOT attending my family Christmas dinner, I had to look for the rulings on this , here is what I found on Islam QA.

Attending the festivals of the mushrikeen and congratulating them
Is it permissible to attend the celebrations of Christian festivals and congratulate them?

Praise be to Allaah.

Ibn al-Qayyim (may Allaah have mercy on him) said: it is not permissible for the Muslims to attend the festivals of the mushrikeen, according to the consensus of the scholars whose words carry weight. The fuqaha’ who follow the four schools of thought have stated this clearly in their books…

Al-Bayhaqi narrated with a saheeh isnaad from ‘Umar ibn al-Khattaab that he said: “Do not enter upon the mushrikeen in their churches on the day of their festival, for divine wrath is descending upon them.” And ‘Umar also said: “Avoid the enemies of Allaah on their festivals.”

Al-Bayhaqi narrated with a jayyid isnaad from ‘Abd-Allaah ibn ‘Amr that he said: “Whoever settles in the land of the non-Arabs and celebrates their new year and festival and imitates them until he dies in that state, will be gathered with them on the Day of Resurrection.” (Ahkaam Ahl al-Dhimmah, 1/723-724).

Sheikh Muhammed Salih Al-Munajjid

Can she attend Christmas celebrations in order to greet her relatives?
She says: I want to become Muslim, but my family gather to celebrate Christmas, and I want to go and greet them. This is not with the intention of celebrating or joining in, but simply to make the most of the opportunity of my relatives getting together. Is this allowed?

We put this question to Shaykh Muhammad ibn Saalih al-‘Uthaymeen,who answered as follows:
No, it is not permitted. If Allaah blesses her with Islam, then the first thing she must do is to distance herself from her former religion and its festivals.

And Allaah knows best.
Shaykh Muhammad ibn Saalih al-‘Uthaymeen

It is not permissible to eat foods that are prepared by the kuffaar for their festivals
Is it permissible for a Muslim to eat the foods that the people of the Book or the mushrikoon prepare for their festivals or accept such foods if they are given on the occasion of their festivals?.

Praise be to Allaah.

t is not permissible for the Muslim to eat foods that the Jews, Christians and mushrikoon make for their festivals. It is not permissible either for a Muslim to accept such things that are given to them on the occasion of their festivals, because that implies honouring them and cooperating with them in manifesting their symbols and propagating their innovations and sharing their happiness on the days of their festivals.

That may also lead to taking their festivals as festivals for us too, or to exchanging invitations to meals or to give gifts on one another’s festivals at the very least. This is a kind of deviation and innovation in religion.

It was proven that the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: “Whoever introduces anything into this matter of ours that is not part of it, will have it rejected.” And it is not permissible to give them anything on the occasion of their festivals.
Al-Lajnah al-Daa’imah, 22/398.

Ruling on celebrating non-Muslim holidays and congratulating them
Can a muslim celebrate a non muslim holiday like Thanksgiving

Praise be to Allaah.

Greeting the kuffaar on Christmas and other religious holidays of theirs is haraam, by consensus, as Ibn al-Qayyim, may Allaah have mercy on him, said in Ahkaam Ahl al-Dhimmah: "Congratulating the kuffaar on the rituals that belong only to them is haraam by consensus, as is congratulating them on their festivals and fasts by saying ‘A happy festival to you’ or ‘May you enjoy your festival,’ and so on. If the one who says this has been saved from kufr, it is still forbidden.

It is like congratulating someone for prostrating to the cross, or even worse than that. It is as great a sin as congratulating someone for drinking wine, or murdering someone, or having illicit sexual relations, and so on. Many of those who have no respect for their religion fall into this error; they do not realize the offensiveness of their actions. Whoever congratulates a person for his disobedience or bid’ah or kufr exposes himself to the wrath and anger of Allaah."

Congratulating the kuffaar on their religious festivals is haraam to the extent described by Ibn al-Qayyim because it implies that one accepts or approves of their rituals of kufr, even if one would not accept those things for oneself.

But the Muslim should not aceept the rituals of kufr or congratulate anyone else for them, because Allaah does not accept any of that at all, as He says (interpretation of the meaning):
"If you disbelieve, then verily, Allaah is not in need of you, He likes not disbelief for His slaves. And if you are grateful (by being believers), He is pleased therewith for you. . ."[al-Zumar 39:7]

". . . This day, I have perfected your religion for you, completed My favour upon you, and have chosen for you Islaam as your religion . . ." [al-Maa’idah 5:3]

So congratulating them is forbidden, whether they are one’s colleagues at work or otherwise.If they greet us on the occasion of their festivals, we should not respond, because these are not our festivals, and because they are not festivals which are acceptable to Allaah.

These festivals are innovations in their religions, and even those which may have been prescribed formerly have been abrogated by the religion of Islaam, with which Allaah sent Muhammad (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) to the whole of mankind.

Allaah says (interpretation of the meaning): "Whoever seeks a religion other than Islaam, it will never be accepted of him, and in the Hereafter he will be one of the losers." [Aal ‘Imraan 3:85]

It is haraam for a Muslim to accept invitations on such occasions, because this is worse than congratulating them as it implies taking part in their celebrations. Similarly, Muslims are forbidden to imitate the kuffaar by having parties on such occasions, or exchanging gifts, or giving out sweets or food, or taking time off work, etc., because the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: "Whoever imitates a people is one of them."

Shaykh al-Islaam Ibn Taymiyah said in his book Iqtidaa’ al-siraat al-mustaqeem mukhaalifat ashaab al-jaheem: "Imitating them in some of their festivals implies that one is pleased with their false beliefs and practices, and gives them the hope that they may have the opportunity to humiliate and mislead the weak."Whoever does anything of this sort is a sinner, whether he does it out of politeness or to be friendly, or because he is too shy to refuse, or for whatever other reason, because this is hypocrisy in Islaam, and because it makes the kuffaar feel proud of their religion.Allaah is the One Whom we ask to make the Muslims feel proud of their religion, to help them adhere steadfastly to it, and to make them victorious over their enemies, for He is the Strong and Omnipotent.

Majmoo’ah Fataawa wa Rasaa’il al-Shaykh Ibn ‘Uthaymeen, 3/369)

Muslim woman jailed for wearing headscarf

2008-12-17T20:39:00.005-05:00

And this happened in America... not in some mixed up secular-muslim-majority country

"ATLANTA – A Muslim woman arrested for refusing to take off her head scarf at a courthouse security checkpoint said Wednesday that she felt her human and civil rights were violated. A judge ordered Lisa Valentine, 40, to serve 10 days in jail for contempt of court, said police in Douglasville, a city of about 20,000 people on Atlanta's west suburban outskirts"

Read entire story here

Tagged !

2008-12-17T15:20:00.016-05:00

I've been tagged by Sister Hijabee

5 Things I was doing 10 years ago

Studying for A-Level Exams
Trying to decide on a career
Watching Dawson's Creek
Taking care of a pet cat
Moving

5 Things On My To-Do List

Memorize Juz 30
Complete reading 'Evolution of Fiqh'
Exercise
Spend more time with relatives
Start a home business

5 Snacks I Like

M&Ms
Chewy Chocolate Chip Cookies
Snickers
Plantain Chips
Honey Roasted Cashews

5 things I would do if I was a millionaire

Retire
Build a Masjid
Build a Muslim School
Sponsor Orphans
Start an Islamic Riba free revolving loan fund

5 places I have lived ( for various lengths of times)

Jamaica
USA
Japan
.......thats it :) , I only have 3

5 Jobs I have had

IT Lab Technician
IT WebMaster
Junior Programmer
Programmer Analyst
Senior Systems Analyst

5 people I Tag

Shaytan's Deception

2008-12-16T13:17:00.008-05:00

59:16 (Their allies deceived them), like the Evil One, when he says to man, "Deny Allah.: but when (man) denies Allah, (the Evil One) says, "I am free of thee: I do fear Allah, the Lord of the Worlds!" (Holy Quran, Yusuf Ali Translation)

There were three brothers from Bani Israel who were called upon to go on Jihad. These three brothers had a sister who did not have any one else to be taken care other that by them. They did not know under whose care could they leave the young woman. Then they thought that the most reasonable place to leave her was with the Abid (worshipper) because he was the most trusted man in town. Barsisa, the Abid was a man who used to be in a monastery devoted to worship of ALLAH.

So they went to him and said, ” We are being enlisted to go on Jihad and we want to leave our sister with you. We trust no one in town but you.”
Barsisa replied “Audhu billah, get away from me.” This was an Abid who was not married and he did not want to deal with these problems.
The brothers said, “We have no where else to leave our sister but with you. We don’t trust anyone else.”
So Shaytan came to Barsisa and said, “If u don’t accept, she might be left with somebody who might not be trustworthy.You have to step-up and take this responsibility.”
So Barsisa told the brothers, “Leave her in the empty house.” (which was seperate from the monastery where he was staying).

The brothers then left her there and went on Jihad.
After that, Barsisa the Abid used to leave food at his doorstep and the young woman had to come out of her house and walk all the way to take the food from his doorstep. Barsisa never used to leave from his monastery. Barsisa had never met her and they were not seeing each other. Days passed by like this.

One day, Shaytan came to Barsisa and said, “Somebody might see her when she is walking out. So rather than have her leave from her house. You need to carry it and leave at her doorstep.” So he started leaving the food at her doorstep. This happened for many days.

Again one day, Shaytan came to Barsisa and said, “You can’t just leave the food at her doorstep. Somebody might see her when she opens the door and she is very beautiful. You would have to take the food and leave it inside her room.” So Barsisa would go and knock on the door. She would open and he would walk inside and leave the food there.

That continued for a while. Then again one day Shaytan said, “You can’t leave this poor woman alone without giving her any company. Nobody is speaking to her. So she may be feeling very lonely and that might lead to haram. So why don’t you go and talk to her from behind the door.” Barsisa liked the idea and so for a while he would sit outside and just talk to her for HOURS. Slowly and slowly the relationship was building up and Shaytan was finding it easier to drag him to the next step.

Shaytan then came and said, “You can’t just sit there talking to her, people might see you. You need to go inside, just sit in another room without looking at her and talk to her.” So for sometime that is what he did. Slowly she started getting closer to him and everytime they got more and more close to the extent that eventually he comitted zina (fornication) with her.
So the Abid, the worshipper who devoted his life to service in the monastery comitted zina. Because of that, she became pregnant and delivered a boy.

Then Shaytan came to Barsisa and said,”Now when the brothers come back and find out that their sister has a child you are going to be in big trouble. The only way for you to put an end to this issue is to kill the baby.” Barsisa followed the advice of Shaytan and killed the child.
But it didn’t end there. Shaytan came to him and said, “Do you think that this woman will keep the secret after you kill her own child? The only way out is to kill her.” So Barsisa killed her and burried both mother and child in a certain location inside the house.

Later the brothers came back and inquired about their sister. Barsisa gave some reason and said, “She had passed away and this is where she is burried.” Saying that he pointed to a false grave.

Then Shaytan went to the brothers and made them see a dream. In that dream they were told that Barsisa killed their sister and the proof was that she was burried in a different location (i.e. under the rock inside the house). When the brothers woke up they started talking to each other and found out that they all had seen the same dream. They thought that there must be some truth in it. So they went and uncovered the grave which Barsisa had pointed to and found it empty. Then they went inside the house and found the rock as mentioned in the dream. On digging underneath the rock they found their sister’s dead body along with that of the child.

So they went to Barsisa and forced him to disclose the secret of what happened. He went ahead and told them the whole story. The three brothers took Barsisa to the king’s court and he was given punishment of execution. While Barsisa was being dragged to his execution spot, Shaytan came to him and said, “Listen Barsisa I am Shaytan and it was me who was in communication with you since this whole thing started and not your inner thoughts. Now I can get u out of this trouble if you want. I am the one who put you in this trouble in the first place and I can get u out of it.”

Barsisa asked, “What should I do?”
Shaytan said, “Do sujood to me and I will save you.”
Barsisa did sujood to Shaytan (i.e. committed shirk) and as soon as he did so, Shaytan ran away and Barsisa was executed.
(Taken from Imam Anwar Al-Awlaki’s lecture set “Hereafter”)

31:33 O mankind! do your duty to your Lord, and fear (the coming of) a Day when no father can avail aught for his son, nor a son avail aught for his father. Verily, the promise of Allah is true: let not then this present life deceive you, nor let the chief Deceiver deceive you about Allah (Holy Quran, Yusuf Ali Translation)

This is pretty scary, we all should be wary of whisperings from the Shayateen, and stay away from small sins, these could eventually lead to large sins. Let us always keep in mind that we are being tested and not willingly put ourselves in potentially distructive situations.

Alcohol Shortage? Isn't that a good thing?

2008-12-14T20:06:00.006-05:00

5:90 O ye who believe! Intoxicants and gambling, (dedication of) stones, and (divination by) arrows, are an abomination,- of Satan's handwork: eschew such (abomination), that ye may prosper. (Holy Quran - Yusuf Ali Translation)

Pretty straightforward don't you think?

One would think that in a country with the largest Muslim population in the world, a shortage of alcohol should be a good thing. In fact what the heck are they doing selling alcohol there in the first place? Why can't the government get gutsy and just BAN alcohol sales outright and stop pandering to tourists?

The article below is from BBC

Indonesia drinkers face alcohol shortage
By Lucy Williamson BBC News, Jakarta

They call it "the Bitching Session". Once a week, in the hushed cocktail lounge of Jakarta's Dharmawangsa Hotel, Miranti and her girlfriends gather.
They come for a proper gossip, and several glasses of the hotel's legendary chocolate martini.
We can bitch about work, boys, whatever we feel like, Miranti explained. But it is always at the Dharmawangsa because of that delicious chocolate martini.

Miranti is part of a growing class in Indonesia. She is 34, single, an architect.
Like her friends, she knows how to run a business, deal with jet-lag, and how to mix a margarita.
What she does not know is that she is at the heart of a battle being fought here in Jakarta - over alcohol.

Mostly, it is a battle that has been fought out of sight. But now the wounds are appearing.
On the shiny tables of the capital's five star hotels, little cards have appeared next to the silver dishes of peanuts, delicately warning guests of an embarrassing lack of alcohol.

Menus at some of the best-known cocktail bars on the tourist island of Bali have shrunk to a single page. And the country's top Japanese restaurants are reported to have run out of sake.
Indonesia is facing a nationwide alcohol shortage.
As the bar manager of one international hotel put it: "We'll be dry by the weekend."

'Crisis manager'
At first glance, the reason is an anti-corruption drive. A few months ago, the government decided to clamp down on the huge black market in alcohol, and to stop companies bribing their way through customs. That left the country's sole legal importer trying to meet a demand that is more than four times the size of its legal quotas. And the company's chief executive, Ketut Arnaya, is taking the offensive. On the wall of his office, next to a vast painting of galloping horses and several golf trophies, hangs a certificate. Ketut Arnaya, it says, is the best CEO in the country at "crisis management".

He flicks through a proposal, thick with data, that he handed to the government last month, asking them to increase the quotas on alcohol, and also to cut its import taxes.
A bottle of spirits carries taxes of up to 400% its original price - almost twice as much, Ketut says, as anywhere else in the region. The government stands to make a lot of money from relaxing the rules on alcohol. And to lose it, if it does not.

Controversial customers
The head of Bali's tourist board says his members are getting increasingly worried as the Christmas high season approaches. But the head of fiscal policy at the finance ministry was wary. The government was considering letting more legal alcohol into the country he said, but it was worried about the consequences of doing so. And part of that worry is down to the simple fact of who is drinking the wine and the cocktails served up here. Foreign tourists in Bali, yes. Foreign businessmen in Jakarta too. But as a manager at one five star hotel explained, that is not the whole story. "I have a wine bar here," he told me, "in which I would say 80% are Indonesians. These are the people who are ready to spend good money on alcohol and wines - the local Indonesians."

In a largely Muslim country, that is controversial. One reason, he said, why he believes the government has not accepted it yet, and also why they are unwilling to increase the quotas.
Government officials admit they want to discourage consumption; that they are worried about Indonesians drinking more; that it needs strict regulation.

Miranti - Indonesian and Muslim - disagrees.

"I think it depends on the person themselves," she told me, "because I haven't seen many people staggering out of a bar or restaurant, blind drunk, or throwing up on the street. We don't drink to get drunk."

"But then," she admitted, "I don't know about the younger generation, because when we were younger we were only allowed a very limited stipend."

Was it money that stopped you getting drunk before? I asked her. "Oh totally," she said, "totally."

Indonesia is always treading a fine line on these sorts of issues.
In a non-Muslim state that is home to the world's largest population of Muslims, the answers are never clear. This debate pits the country's economic need against some of its most deeply held social values. It is a debate that is likely to grow - at least while there are still a few bottles in the country's cellars to fuel the discussion.

Half our deen, the search continues.....

2008-12-09T22:28:00.011-05:00

Yes, Yes..I know I know I know........this marriage topic is all played out, we have heard it all before. The worldwide shortage of eligible Muslim men, the overwhelming number of Muslim sisters who can't find a suitable husband, and of course the divorce horror stories.

Here is a summary of a few of my search experiences,

The guy who chatted with me on webcam, but paid more attention to CSI Miami...DURING our conversations, so I mostly just saw the side of his head as he watched TV. Him belching loudly into the microphone and telling me to "get used to it".....NEXT

The guy who dissed me because I was not interested in wearing niqaab (although it is NOT compulsory) .......NEXT

The guy whose first question was "what is your profession?" , and he has no place to live and no stable job....NEXT

The guy who said "I would marry her if she was a little bit younger" ....NEXT

The guy who sounded so desperate, and wanted to get married after speaking to me for a week, he freaked me out .....NEXT

The guy who did not Fast and Pray but said "At least I am Muslim".....NEXT

The guy who was old enough to be my father ...and he already has two other wives (not that theres anything wrong with Polygamy)..but yes...NEXT

The guy who is a 'Practicing Muslim' but plays Guitar (we all know the music debate)....NEXT

The guy who was insistent on his wife covering (and I Do wear hijab) ...but yet he sent me a pic of him wearing shorts and having his arm around the waist of Eryka Badu (who is NOT related to him) and another woman..........NEXT

The guy who divorced his wife (with 5 kids) and refused to tell me the reason...I later found out quite by accident that he had cheated on her......NEXT

The cute guy who could not have an intellectual conversation with me and got into temper tantrums whenever it seemed like I was gonna end our communication.....NEXT

The guy who practically cussed me off, because I have a problem with the Nation of Islam ......NEXT

The guy whose entire conversation was regarding polygamy even though he was NOT married and I had switched the subject numerous times.....NEXT

But at the end of the day.....I don't want to be saying NEXT forever....and although I know there is no one that is perfect, I am yet to find someone I am compatible with. I will continue to make Dua and continue to search..online and offline.

Allah subhana wa ta'ala is the Doer and Istikhara has made things clear for me several times, Alhamdullilah.

I will be patient and content with where I am at but trust me , I'm not putting up with anybodys ignorance and foolishness....so NEXT

The happiness of the son of Adam depends on his being content with what Allah has decreed for him, and the misery of the son of Adam results from his failure to pray istikharah, and the misery of the son of Adam results from in his discontent with what Allah has decreed for him.

Hadith - al-Tirmidhi # 2151. [Classed as saheeh by al-Haakim, 1/699, and al-Dhahabi agreed with him. It was classed as hasan by al-Haafiz ibn Hajar in Fath al-Baari, 11/184]

Changing the condition, one dua at a time

2008-12-07T16:16:00.006-05:00

Bismillah,

Today on the day of Arafat, I sat and I reflected on my condition, I feel like I am at a standstill, and I need to move forward or I will fall into complacency. We all know that Allah subhana wa ta ala will not change the condition of a people until they change themselves.

13:11 For each (such person) there are (angels) in succession, before and behind him: They guard him by command of Allah. Verily never will Allah change the condition of a people until they change it themselves (with their own souls). But when (once) Allah willeth a people's punishment, there can be no turning it back, nor will they find, besides Him, any to protect.
(Holy Quran , Yusef Ali Translation)

A friend called me today and being my mirror as she always is, MashaAllah, she pointed out some of my faults.
“A believer is a mirror to his brother. A believer is a brother of a believer: he protects him against any danger and guards him from behind.” (Related by Al Bukhari and by Abu Dawood.)

After that lengthy discussion, and having been told bluntly what I was doing wrong, I acknowledged my wrongs and made a conscious decision to change InshaAllah.

So this is my dua of this day of Arafat, may Allah subhana wa ta ala accept it.

Oh Allah,

I have been selfish,
I have been arrogant,
I have been proud,
I have been envious,
I have been jealous,
I have been angry and not controlling of my speech under these conditions,
I have been neglectful of the feelings of others,
I have been dis-content with what you have provided for me,
I have wrongly judged others when You alone are the Judge,
I have not been patient,
I have wrongly said I will never do such and such, when I nor anyone else know what the future holds and only You are the Knower of the unseen,

Oh Allah, please forgive me of my faults,
forgive me of my transgressions,
forgive me of that which I associate with You knowingly and unknowingly,
rid my heart of arrogance, pride, boastfulness, haughtiness, jealousy, envy, greed, selfishness, anger and the multitude of other faults that I exhibit at times due to my lack of self control,
Oh Allah, Increase me in Eeman (faith), and Yaqeen (certainty),
Oh Allah, Increase me in Ridaa (contentment and pleasure with what Allah has decreed for me),
Oh Allah, fill my heart with generosity,
Oh Allah, fill my heart with humility,
Oh Allah , Increase me in Ilm, Increase me in knowledge of You,
Increase me in love of You,

Oh Allah without You, without Your forgiveness I will be truly lost.
Please forgive me Allah.

Ameen, Ameen, Ameen, Ya Rabbil Alameen

Back to basics

2008-12-04T17:04:00.008-05:00

Reminder on Tawheed

This book gives a clear understanding of what Islamic Monotheism means.
"Tawheed, the oneness of God, is the core of the Islamic faith" It is the basis of the religion of Islam expressed by 'La ilaha illallah' (There is no god but Allah subhana wa ta'ala), there is only one true God and He alone is deserving of worship.

Tawheed was taught by all the Prophets and Messengers to mankind.

There are three categories of Tawheed

Tawheed ar-Ruboobeeyah - Maintaining the Unity of Lordship, affirming that Allah is one, without partners in His sovereignty. "Allah alone caused all things to exist when there was nothing. He sustains and maintains creation without any need from it or for it, and He is the sole Lord of the universe..." "Nothing happens in creation except what He allows to happen.

"Allah created all things and He is the agent on which all things depend." (Holy Quran 39:62)

"And Allah created you and whatever you do." (Holy Quran 37:96)

"And no calamity strikes except by Allah's permission..." (Holy Quran 64:11)

Tawheed al-Asma was-Sifaat - Maintaining the Unity of Allah's Names and Attributes, belief that Allah is uniquely one in His names and attributes without similitude and comparison. "Allah must be referred to according to how He and His Prophet (peace be upon him) have described Him, without explaining away His names and attributes by giving them meanings other than their obvious meanings." It also involves referring to Allah as "He has referred to Himself without giving Him any new names or attributes", "referring to Him without giving Him the attributes of creation" and "requires that man must not be given the attributes of Allah"

"..There is nothing like Him and He is the hearer and seer of all." (Holy Quran 42:11)

"Nor is there to Him any equivalent" (Holy Quran 112:4)

Tawheed Ulooheeyah/ Ibaadah - Maintaining the Unity of Allah's Worship, the belief that All is uniquely one in His worship or divinity without rival. "Firm belief in the first two categories alone is not sufficient.." "the idolators of the Prophet's time confirmed many aspects of the first two forms of Tawheed" and "Many disbelievers knew of Allah's sovereigntity, dominion and power"

"Say: 'Who is it that gives you sustenance from the sky and earth, Who governs sight and hearing, and Who brings forth life from dead(matter) and death from the living; and plans the affairs of man?' They will all say 'Allah'..." (Holy Quran 10:31)

"If you asked them who created them, they would surely say 'Allah'..." (Holy Quran 43:87)

"Most of them do not believe in Allah except while joining partners to Him." (Holy Quran 12:106)

"All forms of worship must be directed only to Allah because He alone deserves worship, and it is He alone who can grant benefit to man as a result of His worship." "There is no need for any form of intercessor or intermediary between man and God." The main purpose of man's creation is to worship Allah.

"I did not create jinn and mankind except for My worship." (Holy Quran 51:56)

"Verily, We have sent to every nation a messenger [saying], 'Worship Allah and avoid false gods'..." (Holy Quran 16:36)

"You alone do we worship, and from You alone do we seek help" (Holy Quran 1:5)

Dawah-ing

2008-11-27T14:11:00.003-05:00

A funny video about how NOT to give dawah and an idea of what might be a good way to go about it...everybody likes pizza right?

Surah Al-Adiyat

2008-11-26T22:18:00.003-05:00

Jamaican Parliament Death Penalty Vote In

2008-11-26T16:46:00.003-05:00

34:15 - Hangman wanted

published: Wednesday November 26, 2008

PARLIAMENT yesterday gave warm-up instructions to the hangman, telling him through a unanimous conscience vote that he was wanted back at work soon.
However, the Senate will have a say, by way of a similar vote, whether the death penalty should be retained.

Prime Minister Bruce Golding said yesterday's decision, taken by elected members of the House of Representatives, might take precedence if the Senate votes to abolish the death penalty.
"I think a great deal of weight would have to be attached to what the 60 members of parliament said because those were the persons who were elected by the people," Golding told journalists outside Gordon House shortly after the vote.

Provided that the Senate votes in a similar manner to the House, Golding has said he would move an amendment to the Constitution to remove the stricture which requires that the process of appeals through execution takes place within five years of sentencing or a condemned inmate's sentence should be commuted.

The prime minister also said there were no international treaties or conventions that conflict with the vote of MPs to retain capital punishment on its books.

10 mps absent

Thirty-four members, including Golding, voted for the death penalty to remain on the law books, while 15 voted against. Ten MPs were absent. The House speaker did not have a vote.
On the reverse question of whether MPs were in favour of the abolition of capital punishment, 36 MPs said no, while 15 voted to remove the death penalty. The additional votes came from two MPs who had entered the House during voting on the second.

"Provided that the position that the Lower House took today holds, then we are going to stand ready to carry out that penalty whenever any person on death row has exhausted his avenues of appeal," the prime minister said.

Punishment appropriate

Unlike Opposition Leader Portia Simpson Miller, who was absent from the sitting of the House and had never made clear her stance on the death penalty, Golding said he believed the punishment was appropriate.

"... The death penalty, which I think is an appropriate penalty for someone who takes someone else's life in those cases that we define as capital murder, I believe [the judicial system] it can withstand that scrutiny," the prime minister said.

He added: "I have looked at the reviews that have been conducted by the Privy Council in England and I would venture to say that, whatever deficiencies may have impaired a trial here, it is not going to pass the Bar in the Privy Council."

Golding said that as long as the Privy Council "is an avenue of appeal open to the persons, then I am satisfied that once somebody is convicted, then the death penalty should be carried out".

Eight persons on death row

There are currently eight persons on death row and, according to Golding, none have exhausted their appeals.

The condemned man has a right of appeal to the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council and the International Commission on Human Rights.

Yesterday's conscience vote was the second such in the history of modern Jamaica on abolition of the death penalty.

Of the 44 members who voted in the first conscience vote in 1979, a majority of 24 members voted in support of the retention of hanging while 19 voted against. As occurred yesterday, Simpson Miller was also absent then, prompting government members to heckle the Opposition about its leader.

"If you are voting for, then vote for. If you are voting against, then vote against. But don't run and hide," West St Thomas MP James Robertson shouted across the aisle.

Simpson Miller said on Sunday that she had a prior engagement overseas that would prevent her from voting

Source: Jamaica Gleaner

The To-Do List

2008-11-26T10:07:00.004-05:00

I find myself procrastinating a lot these days, I make plans and then I just get lazy. Hopefully I will be able to stick to my list InshaAllah. Here goes...

Memorize Surahs- currently memorizing Al-Adiyat, theres one ayah that is defeating me in this one

Read More Islamic books - currently reading Misconceptions on Human Rights in Islam

Study Arabic lessons and practice vocabulary

Read Makkan Chapters of the Quran (Focusing on these first, reading in English of course)

Practice reading Quran in Arabic

InshaAllah I will complete these and update my list from time to time, some items will always be on the list as on-going activities.

Oops....I forgot to add

Exercise
Eat healthily
Cut down on TV time

The Best Man ruins the wedding

2008-11-24T11:46:00.004-05:00

Krismuss Breeze

2008-11-23T19:35:00.005-05:00

Its that time of year again, where the breeze blows wonderfully, there's not as much need for the fan or the AC, and traffic occurs at odd times of day as people take time off to go shopping. Its that time of year again where people get 'silly' , spending money they don't have, buying things they don't need and of course the crime rate doesnt improve either even though they preach brotherly love.

Its that time of year again where I remember my Mom, and back in the day when I was Christian and we celebrated Christmas with the tree and the gifts and the dinners with the many relatives that we only see once a year. It was my Mom's favourite time of year. I always feel sad at this time because I remember her. She died when I was 15. She died as a non-Muslim.

So for the next few weeks I will enjoy the 'Krissmus breeze', and feel sad and feel happy, feel lonely and feel fulfilled, feel different but feel content and a multitude of other contradictions as I strut about in my Christian country in my hijab with the peace of mind that Alhamdullilah I am Muslim.

Scientific Explanation of Halal and Haram meat

2008-11-21T18:31:00.001-05:00

Islam and Science

2008-11-21T18:19:00.004-05:00

In the Holy Quran, God speaks about the stages of man's embryonic development, 1,400 years before modern day scientists 'discovered' important information on creation of man and his development:

We created man from an extract of clay. Then We made him as a drop in a place of settlement, firmly fixed. Then We made the drop into an alaqah (leech, suspended thing, and blood clot), then We made the alaqah into a mudghah (chewed-like substance)...
[Holy Quran 23:12-14]

Ever wanted to find information relating to the Quran and Science , Evolution versus Creation, Video Comments on the Quran by Top Scientists, Islam's Contribution to Science, and Miracles of the Quran.....well this website is so cool, take a look...

Islam and Science

Status of Sunnah in Islam

2008-11-21T17:34:00.003-05:00

Shaikh Salem Al-Amry talks on a very important subject that every muslim needs to know, - the Status of Sunnah in Islam.

He explains why we should follow the sunnah of the Prophet Muhammad sallallahu alayhi wa sallam as we are to follow the Qur'an, the book of Allah subhana wa ta'ala. Shaikh Salim al-Amry is from the United Arab Emirates. He is a Computer Engineer by profession, however he has spent a major part of his youth studying under different scholars.

He has taken the effort to obtain knowledge of the different sciences of Islam including Aqidah, Usool, Hadeeth, Fiqh, Tafseer, Arabic language and more. His teachers include: Shaikh Ali Khashshan and Shaikh Mahmood 'Atiyyah, who were two of the first students of Shaikh Albani and under both, Shaikh Salim studied Aqidah.

Buy a house without interest?

2008-11-21T17:11:00.002-05:00

Check out this article and video at http://www.halalbucks.com/

The book mentioned is available here

Islamic Banking in a troubled economy

2008-11-21T17:05:00.005-05:00

Non-Muslims turn to Islamic Bank as a safe option

Oct 3 2008 By Anna Blackaby, Business Staff

Growing numbers of non-Muslims are turning to Islamic banking as customers spooked by turmoil in the Western banking system increasingly see the sector as a safe haven.

The Birmingham-headquartered Islamic Bank of Britain said it had seen significant growth in non-Muslim customers since the onset of turbulence on financial markets as Islamic banks, bound by strict religious principles, are largely seen as insulated from the credit crisis.
Islam’s prohibition on the charging or paying of interest - riba - as well as rules on the kinds of investments they can make are among the reasons Islamic banks are coming through the crisis unscathed.

Islamic Bank of Britain head of marketing Steven Amos said: “Our core business will always be Muslims but the numbers of non-Muslims are really picking up.
“We’ve had massive interest and it’s down to the number of reasons why we’re insulated from the credit crunch.

“There were two reasons for the credit crunch. The first is liquidity - banks lending to each other on the money markets - but Islamic banks do not borrow or lend on money markets because interest is not allowed.

“The second reason Islamic banks are insulated is to do with assets - everything has to involve an underlying asset or service and if you are going to trade in an asset you have to own it first.”
The explosion in complex derivative products over the last few years has left Western banks reeling from exposure to toxic assets often far-removed from their everyday activities.
In contrast the more risk-averse Islamic finance system did not embrace this kind of deal.
“Conventional banks didn’t know what they were buying in these derivatives but we have no exposure to subprime as we just don’t deal in it full stop. “That is one of the fundamental reasons we are insulated.” Stipulations that you must own the asset you are trading in also mean practices such as short-selling are not a feature of Islamic banking.

Mr Amos also said the principle of partnership underlying Islamic finance means banks would never enter into the subprime-style agreements behind the current crisis. “For the benefit of the customers and the bank themselves, we enter into a partnership agreement. “Islamic banks don’t just enter into any agreement, we make sure the agreement is right for both partners.”

The growth in ethical investment in the UK over the last few years has also spelled an increase in interest from non-Muslims attracted by the strong ethical tenets of Islamic banking. “We guarantee you we won’t invest customers’ funds in alcohol, tobacco, pornography or in any form of gambling. “These factors are often in keeping with the ethical products that we’ve seen growing in the UK over recent years,” said Mr Amos.

The Islamic Bank of Britain is the UK’s only stand-alone fully Shariah-compliant retail bank.
In July it launched its Home Purchase Plan, billed as “the mortgage alternative,” which enables customers to purchase their homes in an ethical and Shariah-compliant manner.
The plan is based on the Islamic financing principles of Ijara, which means leasing, and Diminishing Musharaka - partnership. For example, the bank contributes 80 per cent of the purchase price and the customer puts in 20 per cent.

Over a period of up to 30 years, the customer will make monthly instalments buying back the bank’s share of the home and with each instalment paid the bank’s share decreases.
Many of the big conventional UK banks have entered into the Islamic finance market in recent years, with big names such as Lloyds TSB offering a Shariah-compliant home finance product.

Source

More reasons to eat halal

2008-11-20T18:19:00.008-05:00

Turkeys Viciously Mutilated at World's Leading Poultry Farm

by Mike Adams, the Health Ranger, November 19, 2008

Undercover PETA workers have once again caught a meat-breeding company viciously abusing animals.This time, it's a turkey farm called Aviagen, a supplier of millions of turkeys for holiday meals.

In the videos, Aviagen workers murder turkeys with 2-by-4s, they drown turkeys to death by shoving their heads under water, and they punch them, stomp on their heads and shove broomsticks down their throats.

These are the actions of American workers in an American meat factory. This holiday season, don't eat animal meat! If you do, you're promoting animal cruelty and rewarding animal meat factories that provide the bulk of the turkey meat sold during the holiday season.

From the PETA press release: PETA's investigator also saw disgusting, cramped conditions. The rotting remains of about 70 hens were left amid live birds—who had to climb over the dead—for more than a day. A supervisor urinated in turkey pens, and workers spat tobacco in the pens as well. The suffering typically found on factory farms was also routine in Aviagen's sheds: Hens' beaks were cut with pliers, massive birds collapsed and died of exhaustion or heart attacks, and turkeys were thrown into transport cages.

Click here to read PETA's report and see the horrible video footage

Islam, Judaism Speak Out

2008-11-20T10:13:00.007-05:00

Islam, Judaism speak out published: Sunday November 16, 2008

Source:http://www.jamaica-gleaner.com/gleaner/20081116/news/news3.html

TO TAKE a life of a murderer is to save the life of many, says Sheikh Musa Tijani of the Islamic Council of Jamaica.
"When someone kills and he knows he will be killed, he thinks twice to do it and that will make people live in peace and harmony," he says.
Tijani, who is head of education and Dawah (which means calling people to the religion), says the Koran teaches that capital punishment is the law of God, and robbery and murder of the innocent are crimes punishable by death.
He says if Jamaica reimplements capital punishment, the island's ghastly murder rate is likely to be reduced.
"That is one thing that can help to solve the problem if they utilise it properly," he comments. By that he means the State must act fairly in carrying out capital punishment.
"In Islam, we believe that everybody has to be under the law; no one should be above the law; everybody has to get the same punishment," he adds.
That the innocent could inadvertently be killed in the process of carrying out capital punishment should be no excuse for discarding the system, Tijani states. He says the occurrences of such cases are minimal and all that needs to be done is to improve the process of investigation to minimise such occurrences.

The rights of the victim

"That is what happens in every country. So, as long as it is not a [deliberate attempt] to kill the person, then you cannot use it as an excuse not to perform it. When you talk about human rights, what about the rights of the victim?" questions Tijani.
The stance on capital punishment is not so clearly defined by the world's oldest religion, Judaism.
Spiritual leader Ainsley Henriques says Judaism strongly advocates preserving life, but will subscribe to the observance of capital punishment if it is the law of the land.
"We acquiesce to the majority consideration in this regard, recognising, however, that as far as we are concerned, life is a sacred blessing," he says.
He adds that modern Jewish thought is opposed to capital punishment, but might support its observance in extreme circum-stances. There has only been one execution in the history of the modern state of Israel for crimes committed against Jews during the Holocaust.

- gareth.manning@gleanerjm.com

Vote Left Hanging

2008-11-20T09:51:00.006-05:00

Vote left hanging - MPs now to decide on death penalty Tuesday
BALFORD HENRY, Observer writer balfordh@jamaicaobserver.com
Thursday, November 20, 2008

THE House of Representatives last night pulled back from the brink of a crucial vote on the death penalty, at the suggestion of Prime Minister Bruce Golding.
Golding, who introduced the motion last week, asked that the vote be delayed until next Tuesday to facilitate more MPs being present. There were 45 members of the 60-seat House present at the time.

The decision was a disappointment for the so-called "hawks", who support retention of the death penalty and who are obviously the majority. But it was welcomed by the opposing "doves", who probably hope to sway some of the "hawks" by Tuesday.The MPs streamed out of the House after accepting Golding's proposal, mostly confident that there would be no further delay beyond the deadline set last night by the prime minister.Minister of Labour and Social Security Pearnel Charles, one of the fiercest supporters of the death penalty, said last night that although he would not be in the island for Tuesday's vote, he was confident that his view would prevail.

Government's chief whip, Andrew Gallimore, who is passionately against the death penalty, said he had resigned himself to be on the losing end of the vote, but hoped that by Tuesday others could be swayed to his view.

The decision to delay the vote came at the end of a marathon debate lasting four days with contributions from over 40 MPs.Yesterday's portion was highlighted by Charles' demand for immediate action against "murderers" including those who he said recently beheaded an uncle of his, and Gallimore, who severely criticised those supporting capital punishment.

At one stage, Opposition MP Phillip Paulwell (East Kingston and Port Royal) criticised Charles for lashing out at those against the death penalty. Another Opposition MP, Dr Peter Phillips, also accused him of imputing motive for criticising MPs who were against the death penalty and had violence-prone communities in their constituencies.

Opposition MP Robert Pickersgill, whose follow-up motion to have the UK Privy Council's five-year stricture on carrying out the death penalty removed, and has already attracted criticisms from human rights activists, proclaimed "I am for the capital punishment".

Among those absent yesterday were: Leader of the Opposition, Portia Simpson Miller, who had indicated Tuesday that she would not be present; cabinet ministers Mike Henry, Clive Mullings and Olivia Grange, who are abroad; Opposition MP Ronald Thwaites, who left after prayers; and Leader of the House, Derrick Smith, who had surgery over the weekend in Florida.

Source:http://www.jamaicaobserver.com/

Deck the Halls....

2008-11-19T13:47:00.009-05:00

Its that time of year again. So this morning my boss comes to my desk and asks if I mind them decorating a tree at the office entranceway. I say no I don't mind. He then asks if I would help to decorate, and that they won't put any 'Christian things' on it, I say nope. Nice of him to ask if I mind though.

Last year they were planning their 'Christmas dinner', and I said I wasn't going. He then had them change it to a 'Family dinner' with no Christmas Carols.Working here is pretty cool, most of the people are open-minded, I am even allowed to pray in the filing room and nobody bothers me, so hey let them have their tree.

By the way, their tree is an articicial banana tree similar to that in the pic :-)

Transitioning

2008-11-18T10:52:00.001-05:00

While making the change to practicing Islam, there were a few things I had to get rid of, gradually. Music was one of them. In my office environment, one co-worker insisted on playing his music for all to hear.

Another co-worker of mine, a Christian lay-preacher and I decided we had to do something about it so we bought him a nice set of headphones as a gift. We were talking one day and we both realized that we were unconsciously memorizing the words of the songs he was listening to , even when he had the speakers turned down. We discovered that we would both be humming these songs to ourselves at home, and were amazed that we had the same issues.

I then realized that I could practically recall word-for-word dancehall and other songs from the 90's when I was a teen, even some from the 80's. I was like if I can keep that nonsense in my head then surely its affecting me subconsciously, and then decided to totally break away from music.

I now play surahs from the Quran in my car, and Alhamdullilah I have been able to memorize quite a few. So it can be done, I listen to lectures and quran on my headphones at work now and find it quite fulfilling. All this from a former music junkie, trust me I had like 10G of music in mp3 format on my PC at home , all genres, filed by artist name, filed by year, you name it. I was hooked. I got rid of ALL of it, I'm not saying it was easy to do but I think it was worth it.

The more things change...

2008-11-17T09:54:00.000-05:00

Obama's election spurs 'hundreds'of race threats, crimes , Racial discrimination still plagues America

Monday, November 17, 2008

Cross burnings. Schoolchildren chanting "Assassinate Obama." Black figures hung from nooses. Racial epithets scrawled on homes and cars.
Incidents around the country referring to President-elect Barack Obama are dampening the post-election glow of racial progress and harmony, highlighting the stubborn racism that remains in America.
From California to Maine, police have documented a range of alleged crimes, from vandalism and vague threats to at least one physical attack. Insults and taunts have been delivered by adults, college students and second-graders.
There have been "hundreds" of incidents since the election, many more than usual, said Mark Potok, director of the Intelligence Project at the Southern Poverty Law Centre, which monitors hate crimes.
One was in Snellville, Georgia, where Denene Millner said a boy on the school bus told her nine-year-old daughter the day after the election: "I hope Obama gets assassinated." That night, someone trashed her sister-in-law's front lawn, mangled the Obama lawn signs, and left two pizza boxes filled with human faeces outside the front door, Millner said.
She described her emotions as a combination of anger and fear.
"I can't say that every white person in Snellville is evil and anti-Obama and willing to desecrate my property because one or two idiots did it," said Millner, who is black. "But it definitely makes you look a little different at the people who you live with, and makes you wonder what they're capable of and what they're really thinking."
Potok, who is white, said he believes there is "a large subset of white people in this country who feel that they are losing everything they know, that the country their forefathers built has somehow been stolen from them".
Grant Griffin, a 46-year-old white Georgia native, expressed similar sentiments: "I believe our nation is ruined and has been for several decades and the election of Obama is merely the culmination of the change.
"If you had real change it would involve all the members of (Obama's) church being deported," he said.
Change in whatever form does not come easy, and a black president is "the most profound change in the field of race this country has experienced since the Civil War", said William Ferris, senior associate director of the Centre for the Study of the American South at the University of North Carolina. "It's shaking the foundations on which the country has existed for centuries."
"Someone once said racism is like cancer," Ferris said. "It's never totally wiped out, it's in remission."
If so, America's remission lasted until the morning of November 5.
The day after the vote hailed as a sign of a nation changed, black high school student Barbara Tyler of Marietta, Georgia said she heard hateful Obama comments from white students, and that teachers cut off discussion about Obama's victory.Tyler spoke at a press conference by the Georgia chapter of the NAACP calling for a town hall meeting to address complaints from across the state about hostility and resentment. Another student, from a Covington middle school, said he was suspended for wearing an Obama shirt to school November 5 after the principal told students not to wear political paraphernalia.
The student's mother, Eshe Riviears, said the principal told her: "Whether you like it or not, we're in the south, and there are a lot of people who are not happy with this decision."Other incidents include:
. Four North Carolina State University students admitted writing anti-Obama comments in a tunnel designated for free speech expression, including one that said: "Let's shoot that (N-word) in the head." Obama has received more threats than any other president-elect, authorities say.
. At Standish, Maine, a sign inside the Oak Hill General Store read: "Osama Obama Shotgun Pool." Customers could sign up to bet US$1 on a date when Obama would be killed. "Stabbing, shooting, roadside bombs, they all count," the sign said. At the bottom of the marker board was written "Let's hope someone wins."
. Racist graffiti was found in places including New York's Long Island, where two dozen cars were spray-painted; Kilgore, Texas, where the local high school and skate park were defaced; and the Los Angeles area, where swastikas, racial slurs and "Go Back To Africa" were spray painted on sidewalks, houses and cars.
. Second- and third-grade students on a school bus in Rexburg, Idaho, chanted "assassinate Obama", a district official said.
. University of Alabama professor Marsha L Houston said a poster of the Obama family was ripped off her office door. A replacement poster was defaced with a death threat and a racial slur. "It seems the election brought the racist rats out of the woodwork," Houston said.
. Black figures were hanged by nooses from trees on Mount Desert Island, Maine, the Bangor Daily News reported. The president of Baylor University in Waco, Texas said a rope found hanging from a campus tree was apparently an abandoned swing and not a noose.
. Crosses were burned in yards of Obama supporters in Hardwick, New Jersey, and Apolacan Township, Pennsylvania.
. A black teenager in New York City said he was attacked with a bat on election night by four white men who shouted 'Obama'.
. In the Pittsburgh suburb of Forest Hills, a black man said he found a note with a racial slur on his car windshield, saying "now that you voted for Obama, just watch out for your house".
Emotions are often raw after a hard-fought political campaign, but now those on the losing side have an easy target for their anger.
"The principle is very simple," said BJ Gallagher, a sociologist and co-author of the diversity book A Peacock in the Land of Penguins. "If I can't hurt the person I'm angry at, then I'll vent my anger on a substitute, ie, someone of the same race."
"We saw the same thing happen after the 9-11 attacks, as a wave of anti-Muslim violence swept the country. We saw it happen after the Rodney King verdict, when Los Angeles blacks erupted in rage at the injustice perpetrated by 'the white man'."
"It's as stupid and ineffectual as kicking your dog when you've had a bad day at the office," Gallagher said. "But it happens a lot."- AP