The Burqa Ban…

The Burqa Ban…

 

Allah, Most Wise says:

 

"They  were planning, and Allah was planning, and Allah is the best planner." [Quran 8:30]

 

France has voted in favour of banning the Burqa . The law has still to be confirmed by the Constitutional Court in France. Modern France was allegedly moulded on the philosophy of Liberty, Equality and Fraternity. The Burqa Ban in no uncertain terms confirms the French Hypocrisy and its deviation from its founding principles. The ban is a form of racism. There is a long history of discrimination against Muslims in France and Europe.The Burqa is just the start. The real aim is to eradicate and annihilate Islam. This Will Never happen Insha Allah…

 

Allah says: "They want to extinguish Allah's Light with their mouths, but Allah will not allow except that His Light should be perfected even though the Kafirun (disbelievers) hate (it)." (At-Taubah 9:32)

 

The Ummah should not loose heart . Behind every dark cloud there is a silver lining!

Let us unite! Remember yesterday it was the Quran, today the Burqa and tomorrow they will try to destroy Islam!

 

Some practical steps we can take:

 

 

Ø      Make Dua(pray) for the Ummah as only Allah can change conditions.

 

Ø      Lets us imbue our lives with true spirit of Islam and display Islam in its pristine and pure way to the people around us. Let us follow the Commands of Allah Ta'ala and the Sunnah of his Beloved Messenger Muhammad[pbuh] in the minutest detail. "Truly, Allah does not change the condition of a people until they change what is in themselves." (Quran 13:11)

 

 

Ø      Make a constructive effort so that more of our Brothers and Sisters adorn themselves in an Islamic attire. Islam is not only in the heart. Both our interior and exterior should be that of a Muslim. What is in the inside will most certainly reflect on the outside.

 

Ø      Lets support our fellow Muslims who are undergoing trials in other parts of the world…only because they are Muslim. The support should be extended in every practical way!

 

 

Ø      Educate and motivate our community on issues relating to the Ummah.

 

The beloved Messenger of Allah Muhammad [pbuh] is reported to have said that, "the ummah is like one body, when one part is injured, the whole body feels its pain."[Hadith]

BOYCOTT THE PROM

Why I Boycotted the Senior Prom

By Dawud Wharnsby Ali

[prominent Nasheed singer] 

 

 

As the school year winds down, many senior students of schools across the nation will not just be commencing another summer of holidays to provide a break during semesters. Many will be leaving their safe havens of senior public school and taking their first step into the world of adulthood. Attending fast paced, crowded colleges or universities, taking up apprenticeships or full-time employment. Many may even move from family homes in their pursuit of educational fulfillment or the "perfect" job opportunity. Many young people are preparing to move on to new lives in the world, with new responsibilities, new environments, new peers and new aspirations.

One ritual that has become synonymous with coming of age has been the senior prom. Closely preceding the graduation ceremonies of many high schools, or following closely behind graduation events, the senior prom (also known as the senior formal or the spring formal) is an opportunity for youth to celebrate the entrance into the world of adulthood with a splash of color and formality. However, there is far more behind the social event than may be initially noticed.

Formal. What is formal? Formal means to present one's self to others in a way which is "with form", with shape, polite, inoffensive and dignified. We see the example of a formal letter, it uses proper grammar and sentence structure in order to be respectful, while simultaneously serving a purpose or getting an important message across.

In our society, what is formal? Very little. On average, clothing, language, behavior - all is very informal. Individuals who are formal (polite, inoffensive, organized) in their daily dealings with people ore often looked upon as square or boring. Yet we see that in certain situations, individuals play with the concept of formality not truly to implement respectfulness and order but because it becomes fashionable to do so. While behavior surrounding a prom may seem, on the surface, like a fun opportunity to behave formally it is actually a flowery version of Halloween.

On the occasion of the spring formal we see blossoming youth taking on the formalities of what is perceived as "adult". Fine dress (most who attend the senior prom rent expensive tuxedoes or purchase high quality suits or gowns for the occasion); elaborate beautification (spending hours in front of a mirror or at a hair salon in order to look just right); frivolous toys (stretch limousines line the streets outside of dance halls on the night of the prom); all become synonymous with being an adult. In many ways, adults in
society should examine their own behavior for wrongly displaying these types of objects as being "adult" to younger people.

In our society we have a very misconstrued idea of what adulthood actually is. It has always been my understanding that adulthood and maturity are not based upon one's ability to hold a cigarette in a certain way, tie a bow tie, tease one's hair or hang out of a limousine sunroof . Adulthood comes with the understanding of one's place in the universe, it comes with the knowledge of how to interact with our fellow human beings, it comes with the ability to take responsibility for one's own actions - whether good or bad.

It was 1990. I was seventeen years old and although the athletic types in my all-male Catholic school saw me as a bit of a runt - small, cocky, seemingly uninhibited, most of my peers and teachers were supportive friends who enjoyed my company and with whom I, in turn, felt very comfortable. I had become very active in my school and very visible because of my involvement in various school events, usually arts-related. It was my senior year.

Young, agile, fashionable (by some standards at least), busy with the thoughts of what I would do with the rest of my life. Decisions that affect the rest of our lives can often become clouded when we are blinded by fear of what others will think of us - whether it be our parents, our friends or our teachers.

Within me was a need to understand the adult world into which I was about to embark. I felt foolish to think I was stepping into the adult world at such an age - in many parts of the world and throughout history, seventeen is within the realm of adulthood, as responsibility is established much earlier in life, following puberty at the age of 12 or 13. There was a great confusion in me to see my society putting such emphasis on acquiring wealth and prestige over acquiring a feeling of spiritual worth and understanding of true responsibility.

The concept of the senior prom frustrated me greatly. Many of my close friends were also disgusted with the idea of wasting their parents' money or their own money earned through weekend work, on a night of preening. To dress up and put one's self on display in a sort of inner-school fashion show seemed degrading.

Across the street from our school was an all-girl Catholic school. Many classes were shared between the two schools and it was not uncommon for students from each school to cross the street and take up a seat as a minority in a class of the opposite gender. Religion classes were almost always co-ed in the senior grades, as well as many arts and sciences classes.

It upset me to see some students behaving superior to others simply because they had girlfriends or boyfriends and others did not. It upset me to see friends quarrelling over who was taking who to the senior prom. It upset me to see peers who normally behaved rudely in class or to their friends, making big plans to put on a cummerbund in a pseudo attempt to be ?adult?. On the one hand behaving romantic and polite, planning to buy a corsage for their date, and on the other hand also planning to smuggle alcohol into the event then rent a hotel room for an opportunity to dishonor their date.

I made a firm intention in my mind to boycott the senior prom for these and other reasons. Adulthood, I felt, was not to come with irresponsibility and excessive waste. It is not synonymous with loud music and dancing. Of course there are those who do attend their senior prom with very pure intentions and hope to have a fairy tale evening, complete with non-alcoholic sparkling drinks and an opportunity to celebrate with close friends the closure of the high school era. However, there are many other more meaningful ways to prepare one's self for the adult world than just dressing up for a night and attending a gala party.

I recall hearing about the senior prom held at my school by peers who did attend. I saw some photographs and some of those pictures are locked forever in the pages of my school year-book. Images of people I once knew - huddled together in tuxedos, singing like drunken barroom buddies. The bow ties are crooked, the shirttails are out, the hair is ruffled. I pray that they eventually did find adulthood, during the many years that have passed since those pictures were taken.

I was not a Muslim when I boycotted my senior prom; Allah brought Islam into my life several years later. I was simply a young man who was tired of being irresponsible. I was tired of witnessing irresponsibility. I was desperate for a feeling of self-worth and fulfillment that I knew could not come from a few hours of loud music, a dance with a beautiful girl and a smuggled bottle of hard liquor. I would never suggest that I demonstrated angelic behavior during my days of jahilliya. We all have baggage in our closets - may Allah forgive us, but I did recognize what steps would lead a person to contentment and made every effort to implement those steps.

After leaving high school I met several other non-Muslim individuals during my travels who had also boycotted their own senior proms. We would sit and laugh about how good it felt to buck the system and refrain from taking part in activities that are based in total frivolity and irresponsibility.

Think of how much more meaningful it would be to spend an evening at a retirement residence with an elderly person who has a million stories to tell but no one to listen. Think of how much more there is to learn about life from volunteering an evening in a hospital ward for children, brightening the face of a child with a story or a song, than simply drinking punch in a dark hall under a disco ball. Imagine the feeling of spending only one hour at a soup kitchen, meeting the many men and women who sleep each night on the street while others waste money on lavish cars and rental clothes.

Allah knows best.

HOW MUSLIM INVENTORS CHANGED THE WORLD

HOW MUSLIM INVENTORS CHANGED THE WORLD

 

 

 

 

From coffee to cheques and the three-course meal, the Muslim world has given us many innovations that in the West is taken for granted. Here are 20 of their most influential innovations:

(1) The story goes that an Arab named Khalid was tending his goats in the Kaffa region of southern Ethiopia, when he noticed his animals became livelier after eating a certain berry.

He boiled the berries to make the first coffee. Certainly the first record of the drink is of beans exported from Ethiopia to Yemen where Sufis drank it to stay awake all night to pray on special occasions. By the late 15th century it had arrived in Makkah and Turkey from where it made its way to Venice in 1645.

It was brought to England in 1650 by a Turk named Pasqua Rosee who opened the first coffee house in Lombard Street in the City of London. The Arabic "qahwa" became the Turkish "kahve" then the Italian "caffé" and then English "coffee".

(2) The ancient Greeks thought our eyes emitted rays, like a laser, which enabled us to see. The first person to realise that light enters the eye, rather than leaving it, was the 10th-century Muslim mathematician, astronomer and physicist Ibn al-Haitham.

He invented the first pin-hole camera after noticing the way light came through a hole in window shutters. The smaller the hole, the better the picture, he worked out, and set up the first Camera Obscura (from the Arab word "qamara" for a dark or private room).

He is also credited with being the first man to shift physics from a philosophical activity to an experimental one.

(3) A form of chess was played in ancient India but the game was developed into the form we know it today in Persia. From there it spread westward to Europe - where it was introduced by the Moors in Spain in the 10th century - and eastward as far as Japan. The word "rook" comes from the Persian "rukh", which means chariot.

(4) A thousand years before the Wright brothers, a Muslim poet, astronomer, musician and engineer named Abbas ibn Firnas made several attempts to construct a flying machine. In 852 he jumped from the minaret of the Grand Mosque in Cordoba using a loose cloak stiffened with wooden struts.

He hoped to glide like a bird. He didn't. But the cloak slowed his fall, creating what is thought to be the first parachute, and leaving him with only minor injuries.

In 875, aged 70, having perfected a machine of silk and eagles' feathers he tried again, jumping from a mountain. He flew to a significant height and stayed aloft for ten minutes but crashed on landing - concluding, correctly, that it was because he had not given his device a tail so it would stall on landing. Baghdad international airport and a crater on the Moon are named after him.

(5) Washing and bathing are religious requirements for Muslims, which is perhaps why they perfected the recipe for soap which we still use today. The ancient Egyptians had soap of a kind, as did the Romans who used it more as a pomade.

But it was the Arabs who combined vegetable oils with sodium hydroxide and aromatics such as thyme oil. One of the Crusaders' most striking characteristics, to Arab nostrils, was that they did not wash.

Shampoo was introduced to England by a Muslim who opened Mahomed's Indian Vapour Baths on Brighton seafront in 1759 and was appointed Shampooing Surgeon to Kings George IV and William IV.

(6) Distillation, the means of separating liquids through differences in their boiling points, was invented around the year 800 by Islam's foremost scientist, Jabir ibn Hayyan, who transformed alchemy into chemistry, inventing many of the basic processes and apparatus still in use today - liquefaction, crystallisation, distillation, purification, oxidisation, evaporation and filtration.

As well as discovering sulphuric and nitric acid, he invented the alembic still, giving the world intense rosewater and other perfumes and alcoholic spirits (although drinking them forbidden, in Islam). Ibn Hayyan emphasised systematic experimentation and was the founder of modern chemistry.

(7) The crank-shaft is a device which translates rotary into linear motion and is central to much of the machinery in the modern world, not least the internal combustion engine. One of the most important mechanical inventions in the history of humankind, it was created by an ingenious Muslim engineer called al-Jazari to raise water for irrigation.

His Book of Knowledge of Ingenious Mechanical Devices (1206) shows he also invented or refined the use of valves and pistons, devised some of the first mechanical clocks driven by water and weights, and was the father of robotics. Among his 50 other inventions was the combination lock.

(8) Quilting is a method of sewing or tying two layers of cloth with a layer of insulating material in between. It is not clear whether it was invented in the Muslim world or whether it was imported there from India or China.

However, it certainly came to the West via the Crusaders. They saw it used by Saracen warriors, who wore straw-filled quilted canvas shirts instead of armour. As well as a form of protection, it proved an effective guard against the chafing of the Crusaders' metal armour and was an effective form of insulation - so much so that it became a cottage industry back home in colder climates such as Britain and Holland.

(9) The pointed arch so characteristic of Europe's Gothic cathedrals was an invention borrowed from Islamic architecture. It was much stronger than the rounded arch used by the Romans and Normans, thus allowing the building of bigger, higher, more complex and grander buildings.

Other borrowings from Muslim genius included ribbed vaulting, rose windows and dome-building techniques. Europe's castles were also adapted to copy the Islamic world's - with arrow slits, battlements, a barbican and parapets. Square towers and keeps gave way to more easily defended round ones. The architect of Henry V's castle was a Muslim.

(10) Many modern surgical instruments are of exactly the same design as those devised in the 10th century by a Muslim surgeon called al-Zahrawi. His scalpels, bone saws, forceps, fine scissors for eye surgery and many of the 200 instruments he devised are recognisable to a modern surgeon.

It was he who discovered that catgut used for internal stitches dissolves away naturally (a discovery he made when his monkey ate his lute strings) and that it can be also used to make medicine capsules.

In the 13th century, another Muslim medic named Ibn Nafis described the circulation of the blood, 300 years before William Harvey discovered it. Muslim doctors also invented anaesthetics of opium and alcohol mixes and developed hollow needles to suck cataracts from eyes in a technique still used today.

(11) The windmill was invented in 634 for a Persian caliph and was used to grind corn and draw up water for irrigation. In the vast deserts of Arabia, when the seasonal streams ran dry, the only source of power was the wind which blew steadily from one direction for months. Mills had six or 12 sails covered in fabric or palm leaves. It was 500 years before the first windmill was seen in Europe.

(12) The technique of inoculation was not invented by Jenner and Pasteur but was devised in the Muslim world and brought to Europe from Turkey by the wife of the English ambassador to Istanbul in 1724. Children in Turkey were vaccinated with cowpox to fight the deadly smallpox at least 50 years before the West discovered it.

(13) The fountain pen was invented for the Sultan of Egypt in 953 after he demanded a pen which would not stain his hands or clothes. It held ink in a reservoir and, as with modern pens, fed ink to the nib by a combination of gravity and capillary action.

(14) The system of numbering in use all round the world is probably Indian in origin but the style of the numerals is Arabic and first appears in print in the work of the Muslim mathematicians al-Khwarizmi and al-Kindi around 825.

Algebra was named after al-Khwarizmi's book, Al-Jabr wa-al-Muqabilah, much of whose contents are still in use. The work of Muslim maths scholars was imported into Europe 300 years later by the Italian mathematician Fibonacci.

Algorithms and much of the theory of trigonometry came from the Muslim world. And Al-Kindi's discovery of frequency analysis rendered all the codes of the ancient world soluble and created the basis of modern cryptology.

(15) Ali ibn Nafi, known by his nickname of Ziryab (Blackbird) came from Iraq to Cordoba in the 9th century and brought with him the concept of the three-course meal - soup, followed by fish or meat, then fruit and nuts. He also introduced crystal glasses (which had been invented after experiments with rock crystal by Abbas ibn Firnas).

(16) Carpets were regarded as part of paradise by mediaeval Muslims, thanks to their advanced weaving techniques, new tinctures from Islamic chemistry and highly developed sense of pattern and arabesque which were the basis of Islam's non-representational art.

In contrast, Europe's floors were distinctly earthly, not to say earthy, until Arabian and Persian carpets were introduced. In England, as Erasmus recorded, floors were "covered in rushes, occasionally renewed, but so imperfectly that the bottom layer is left undisturbed, sometimes for 20 years, harbouring expectoration, vomiting, the leakage of dogs and men, ale droppings, scraps of fish, and other abominations not fit to be mentioned". Carpets, unsurprisingly, caught on quickly.

(17) The modern cheque comes from the Arabic "saqq", a written vow to pay for goods when they were delivered, to avoid money having to be transported across dangerous terrain. In the 9th century, a Muslim businessman could cash a cheque in China drawn on his bank in Baghdad.

(18) By the 9th century, many Muslim scholars took it for granted that the Earth was a sphere. The proof, said astronomer Ibn Hazm, "is that the Sun is always vertical to a particular spot on Earth". It was 500 years before that realisation dawned on Galileo.

The calculations of Muslim astronomers were so accurate that in the 9th century they reckoned the Earth's circumference to be 40, 253.4km - less than 200km out. Al-Idrisi took a globe depicting the world to the court of King Roger of Sicily in 1139.

(19) Though the Chinese invented saltpetre gunpowder, and used it in their fireworks, it was the Arabs who worked out that it could be purified using potassium nitrate for military use. Muslim incendiary devices terrified the Crusaders.

By the 15th century they had invented both a rocket, which they called a "self-moving and combusting egg", and a torpedo - a self-propelled pear-shaped bomb with a spear at the front which impaled itself in enemy ships and then blew up.

(20) Mediaeval Europe had kitchen and herb gardens, but it was the Arabs who developed the idea of the garden as a place of beauty and meditation. The first royal pleasure gardens in Europe were opened in 11th-century Muslim Spain. Flowers which originated in Muslim gardens include the carnation and the tulip. (Courtesy: The Independent)

Voice behind the veil …

A VOICE BEHIND A VEIL

By Khadijah Natalie Arbee

I am a muslim women. I wear the niqaab (face veil).

I'm one of those to whom the new law in France would apply. I'm one of the ones being discussed by politicians, human rights groups and the media.

I'm one of those whom many feel the need to liberate.

I'm one of those you may think is oppressed.

I'm one of those many of you detest the sight of…

I'm one of those whom you may believe is uneducated; one of the ones you may think has no voice.

But I do. So let me speak.
I am not Arab, Asian or even African. I am Australian. No, not 'first generation', 'second generation', or an immigrant. On my mother's side, I'm of French-Canadian descent, and on my father's side; British. I grew up as a Christian, and attended church occasionally. I was in the school swim team, and district netball team. I holidayed with my family in the summer on the Gold Coast, and I'm educated. I have a university degree.

When I was 18 years of age I was introduced to Islam. I studied it, and accepted it a year and a half later. By the time I reached 20, I was wearing the headscarf, and after I married I donned the niqaab.

Because of my husband? No.

My husband did not want me to wear it, although his mother and sister do, and out of respect for his wishes I didn't do so for two years. But I wanted to, and eventually did, and knowing it to be in line with our religion, my husband knew he had no authority to prevent me, and he now greatly admires my strength.

Then, I wore it because of my father? No. He's a catholic.

Because of my brother? Nope, haven't got one.

My uncle? He's an atheist.

Then because of my son? My eldest is only 8 years old. Then why??

Because I want to, that's why.

And seeing as though my niqaab does not hurt anyone, that should be sufficient reason for all of you liberals of a liberal society; I should be able to finish my discussion right here. But although it may be so for any other style of dress, it isn't enough when it comes to niqaab for some reason. You want more. So I will continue.

What makes me want to then? Two things: Faith and experience.

Faith? Yeah, faith. Faith in my Creator , faith in His decisions, faith in Islam. A deep faith. Many wander at the faith of Muslims, at their conviction and their commitment. It's a faith, that if you are not Muslim, is hard to explain or describe. The scripture of Islam, the Qur'an has scientific miracles in it, such that have captivated scientists globally, leading many to accept Islam. Moreover, the Qur'an has not been changed in over a thousand years, since it was revealed; not one letter moved from its place. I dare say there isn't a religious scripture like it, and this lends a clue as to the root of such faith.

In the Qur'an, Allah Ta'ala tells us to cover ourselves, 'so as to be known, but not molested'. So our covering is a protection; a liberation.

Protection? you ask. Liberation? From what?

 This is where I move on to my second reason for veiling. Like I said, I grew up in a Western secular society, in true Western secular style. I dressed secular, lived secular, and enjoyed all the 'liberties' of such a society. Did I feel liberated, free? Suffice to say, we were taught we were, so I never thought to think otherwise. It wasn't until I became Muslim, and started covering , that I really felt liberated, and realised , before that I wasn't.

Yet, time and time again we hear it said that we Muslim women are forced to veil, are oppressed; treated by our men folk as nothing more than 'objects.' And that niqaab, burqa, hijab; whatever term you use, is a form of 'imprisonment'.

But what about the imprisonment of anxiety and depression?

What about the imprisonment of anorexia and bulimia?

What about the imprisonment of frequent rigorous exercise routines?

What about the imprisonment of always feeling the need to look like the super-model on the cover of Cosmo, or the pop-singer in the music video?

What about the slavery to fashion?

What about the entrapment of jealousy??

How many women waste their hard-earned money, destroy their physical and mental health, expose their bodies to vulnerability, abuse and extortion in order to…… in order to what??

In order to gain approval and praise. Who's approval and praise? Men's.

And yes, it seems even other women too. So it seems non-Muslim women are not only slaves to men, but slaves to society as a whole.

Before you scream your disagreement, which many of you may do as a knee-jerk reaction to being told you're also oppressed , stop and think. Look around you, contemplate society today, and its values, its aspirations, its goals, its direction, its past-times, its hobbies….

What good has it done for women to doff more and more clothing?

What good has it done for images of uncovered made-up women to be plastered on every billboard and magazine, on the TV, in the movies, and on the net?

Has it really brought any good for women?

The women in the images may aptly feel good about themselves for a while, but what does it mean for every other women?

Women who look upon these images usually become anxious, jealous, unsure and critical of themselves, or all of these things. Many men who view them will become aroused, or even unhappy, less satisfied with the partners they already have. What can, and does this lead to?

Cheating, dumping, chastisement, and even harassment of other women, and even children by, men who cannot find a legitimate outlet for their constant arousal. And yes, I can hear some of you; 'then the men must control themselves!' Frankly speaking that argument is well spent, not to mention futile, as most men are, inherently, only able to react to that, the same way a hungry lion would react if thrown a juicy piece of steak, and told not to eat it….

Do the uncovered women captured in these images and industries, or parading around, realise or even care how many young girls are starving, purging and stressing themselves trying to mirror their image? No.

It seems they even take perverse pleasure in it. One barely-dressed singer even boldly and crudely sung recently, 'Don't you wish your girlfriend was hot like me?'

What?!

What is this women and her ilk saying??

What are they implying??

What are they doing to their sisters in humanity??!

So many poor girls, eroding themselves physically and mentally as they watch with jealousy and anxiety their partners ogle singers like this. Have the same thing occur to these women, these 'idols'; have their partners swoon over another similarly attired, and witness their reaction! And when their daughters are molested by men they themselves, or women like them, have aroused, will they reflect?

Will they act?

Will society act?

Yeah, we see it reacting: ban the burqa!

It just amazes me how many women especially, despise my choice of dress. Yet, would they rather their husband's secretary to be dressed like me or otherwise?

Would they rather the waitress serving the table at their anniversary dinner, be dressed like me or otherwise?

Is it me and my sisters who are turning their husband's head, or attracting their boyfriends??

Is it me and my sisters who have led their daughters to anorexia, or their sons to pornography?

Is it me and my sisters whose bodies and faces solicit their husband's/boyfriend's attention on every corner? Is it me and my sisters who have aroused that man to rape or harass their sisters?

Whose mode of 'dress' is truly oppressive and harmful to women??

So now I've spoken, and although I am one, I speak on behalf of hundreds. I've explained to you that the majority of us have chosen this mode of dress, especially in the West. I have told you that we love it, we want it, and I've exemplified for you the inherent good in it.

So to those of you who really are so concerned about 'liberating' me, then you will listen to what I have said, and let me and my sisters be.

sin-o-meter

SIN-O- METER

 

 

 

 

Want to know for sure something is a sin?

I don't mean missing Fajr prayer, or back-biting. These are clearly bad.

No, I mean the things that you habitually do, that you maybe know might, perhaps, just maaaaybe wrong. but your mind somehow makes okay.

The litmus test: the month of Ramadan.

If you feel truly uneasy doing this deed in Ramadan, it's most likely a sin.

If you have the self-control to give it up completely, Masha'Allah, it's 99.9999% likely a sin, or at the very least, a waste of your precious time.

So, really, let's reflect on that for a moment. If the above is true, then we should ideally never resume committing those doubtful acts after Ramadan, right? I mean, what's a sin in Ramadan, is still a sin on Eid day, and onwards still.

If gold, and diamonds, and oyster pearls are precious by their rarity alone, then it is clear that every moment we exist, every breath we inhale, then exhale after that, is pure gold dust, if only because they are all rarer than the rarest gemstones; never to be seen again, until the day that our deeds are played back to us on the ultimate cinematic, widescreen, surround sound, ultra high def experience of Yaum al-Qiyamah(The Day of Judgement).

So what makes those acts that seem wasteful in Ramadan, suddenly become a good use of our time after the month has swiftly past through our fingers?

What validation do we put forth for our thinly veiled hypocrisy?

Weakness? Perhaps. We are made weak. But still. We have a month to train hard. To build up our spiritual muscles. Yes, you can get that emaan six-pack you always wanted - and in just THIRTY DAYS, insha'Allah!

So, take another look at that mental list you wrote; the one titled, "What I plan to give up during Ramadan", and ask yourself: "If I can last 30 days without it. and with it, my Ramadan is tainted then is it really that important to me? And do I really want it back in my life ever again?".

The Messenger of Allah Muhammad(peace be upon him)said: "Righteousness is good character, and sin is that which wavers in your heart and which you do not want people to know about." [Muslim]

The Messenger of Allah, sallallahu 'alayhi wasallam, said to his Companion: "You have come to ask about righteousness ?" "Yes," I answered. He said: "Consult your heart. Righteousness is that about which the soul feels tranquil and the heart feels tranquil, and sin is what creates restlessness in the soul and moves to and fro in the breast, even though people give you their opinion (in your favour) and continue to do so." [A good hadith transmitted from the Musnads of the two Imams, Ahmad bin Hanbal and Al-Darimi]

May Allah guide us to the true answer to those questions, and make it easy for us all to do the right thing.! Ameen

Lets make a firm and sincere decision to give up each and every one of those sinful or non-beneficial habits. During this month of Ramadan there are tons of moments when duas are accepted so lets not miss out on this opportunity! Lets ask Allah to assist us in leading a true,pure and noble life according to Allah's commandments and the Sunnah practice of our beloved Prophet Muhammad [peace be upon him] which will truly help us not only in this world but also in the life after death! Ameen

Ramadan: Save the Changes

Ramadan: Save the Changes

 

 Don't Press the "redo" after we "undo" and "save the changes"!!!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 During the Mubarak and beautiful month of Ramadhaan many have navigated themeselves to the Deen of Allah and have brought about substantial positive deeni changes. Now is a critical time to click on the right tab- Save those changes!

 

Nearly everyone in this age of modern technology has at some stage worked with a P.C. We have used it to draft documents, amend these documents, copied and pasted onto documents, used the 'undo' icon, edited documents, just to mention a few of the time saving operations that we find on this device.

After opening a document that we have worked upon previously and made the necessary changes and improvements a little box appears on the screen asking the question: Do you want to save the changes you have made to this document? You are then given the option of selecting the YES tab or the NO tab. Selecting the YES tab will give you the desired results while selecting the NO tab literally takes you back to square one. All the effort made in editing, improving and shaping the document becomes an exercise in futility.

Don't we all find ourselves in a similar predicament when the blessed month of Ramadaan passes us? Just think of your book of deeds like a document on your P.C. During the month of Ramadaan we have done amongst other things the following-

· Increased our Ibaadah and acts of charity;

· Took control of our feelings and emotion;

· Responded with compassion and sensitivity to the needs of other;

· Multiplied our good deeds;

-Repented: we have spent many hours on the Musallah begging for Allah's forgiveness for our sins, errors and transgressions.

The vital question that needs to be asked is :

Do we want to save the changes that we have made in the month of Ramadaan? Are we going to press the YES tab or the No tab?

Pressing the YES tab will leave us with a new, improved version. A version of heightened spirituality, a version of righteousness, a version that is pleasing to our Creator. Pressing the NO tab will take us back to square one; back to our old habits before Ramadaan, back to the life of sin and immorality, back to a life of heedlessness and back to a life subjecting ourselves to the wrath of the Almighty.

How do we improve on this document; the document of our lives, the document of our deeds, the document that we are going to present to Allah the Almighty on the Day of Reckoning? Here are some hints: Copy and Paste from the life of our illustrious master Muhammad Sallallahu alayhi Wasallam.

Use the 'undo' icon by making Taubah immediately after any transgression as the Hadith states "The one who repents from sin is like one who has committed no sin at all"

There may not be a need to do a "spell check" but there is certainly a need to do a "sincerity check" and a "Shari'ah check"? Are we complying?

There may be files and folders that we want to keep while there could be some others we would not even want others to know exist. Many of us begged Allah to "delete" our sins and dark deeds .We cried before Allah, shed tears of remorse and vowed not to commit those sins in future. Going back to the sins that we have asked Allah's forgiveness for would be like making a visit to the "recycle bin".

What about viruses? P.C. users are also very wary about e-mails they receive and the sites that they visit, fearing the admission of a virus that may pollute their system and cause it to malfunction.The environment and people who we associate with could adversely infect us!Why do we then subject our minds and thoughts to immoral sites and dens of vice which would pollute our moral system and cause us to malfunction? What anti-virus software have we installed to ward off the variety of Fitnahs that confront us everyday?

We need to install the right version of the anti-viruses. There is indeed only One version. Without delay install every Commad of Allah and the Sunnah of Rasulullah ( Salallaho alaihe wassallam) onto our hardrives(lives). This will allow us to repel the attemps by shaytaan and other evil forces to infect our PC's(souls).

It s Now time to to Run the Programs...

Begin By:

Connecting ourselves to the right network. When we need an I.T solution we ago to I.T specialist. We also in our lives need to consult with Ulama and pious people so that we are connected to the right network!

Delete ALL harmulful programs Permanetly! Lets Repent over over past evil deeds and make a firm niyyah (intention) NEVER to Redo those evil deeds

Ensure that the service provider provides the installation guide for the following programs to be run on your PC:

Program 1:

Dawat (Inviting ourselves, families,communities and humanity towards Allah and help Allah's Deen by striving for it)

Program 2:

Taalim (Learning and teaching Deen)

Program 3:

Ibaadat-Worship ( Salaah,Haj, Umrah, Quran, Zikr, Dua and all other forms of Ibadat)

Program 4:

Khidmat- Acts of Charity ( All acts Charity including Zakaah especially helping the Ummah in whatever possible way)

Now lets connect ourselves to Deen of Islam and the Amaal (good actions) that takes place in our Musjids...as no one knows when his or her PC will crash(when we will die)! By performing Good Deeds we will have Permanently Backed Up our records in Jannah(Paradise). Be carefull not to engage ourselves in Evil lest we Back-Up our evil deeds in Jahannam (Hell)

Fortunate is the person who has "saved the changes". Extremely unfortunate is the person who has made no changes as he /she has nothing to save.!

IMPORTANT: As we dont know the time when ou PC will shut down ...Make those Change Now and more importnat.........Save it!

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EID-UL -FITR

BEAUTIFUL HADITH ABOUT EID

 

The Messenger of Allah Muhammad [Peace be upon him] is reported to have said: "And then the night of Eidul fitr, the night that is called Laylatul Jaa'izah(night of prize giving), comes along. On the morning of Eid Allah sends down the Malaa'ikah to all the lands of the earth where they take their positions at access points of roads, calling out with a voice that is heard by all except man and jinn, "O Ummah of Muhammad(S.A.W), come forth from your houses towards a Lord thet is noble and gracious, who grants much and pardons the major sins." When they proceed towards the places for their Eid salaah, Allah says to the Malaa'ikah: "What indeed is the reward of that employee who had rendered his services?" The Malaa'ikah reply' "O Lord and Master, it is only right that he should receive his reward in full for his services." Allah then says, "I call you to witness, O My Malaa'ikah, that for their having fasted during the month of Ramadhaan, and for their having stood in prayer by night, I have granted to them as reward My pleasure and have granted them forgiveness. O My servants ask now of Me, for I swear by My honour and My greatness, that whatsoever you shall beg of me this day in this assembly of yours for the needs of the Hereafter, I shall grant you; and whatsoever you shall ask for worldly needs, I shall look at you favourably. By My honour I swear, as long as you shall obey my commands, I shall cover your faults. By My honour and by My greatness do I swear that I shall never disgrace you amoung the evil-doing ones and disbelievers. Depart now from here, you are forgiven. You have pleased Me, and I am pleased with you. The Malaa'ikah an seeing this great reward bestowed by Allah upon the Ummah of  Muhammad (S.A.W) on the day of Eidul Fitr become greatly pleased and happy."                  [Hadith as reported in Targheeb]