My IsLaM

The Knower, Known and Knowing

2012-01-22T02:38:00.000-08:00

The supreme is everywhere and in everything. It is the something that is closest to you and too far away from you too. Since it is subtle, you cannot comprehend it, though it is so close to you.

If at all there is anything you are striving hard to know in this world, it is this supreme alone that you need to know. Pursuit of all other knowledge is futile. Though it is uniformly present in everything, it appears as if it is divided in all inanimate and animate objects. If you are searching through the space in the night’s sky for the brightest of stars, you are never going to find it because the brightest of all the brightest stars is the supreme presence and that is within you and everyone else. That supreme is the knowledge with which we try to understand, the process of knowing and the thing to be known too. Sri Krishna tells Arjuna that the truth of the field of knowledge, knowing of that field and the object that is worth knowing ultimately has been taught and the devotee who knows this reaches that truth eventually. Knowledge of the truth is a sure way to reach that truth, because the knowledge, knowing and the knower here are only the truth. We often have this question, how did this world begin? When did people come? When did we begin feeling with our emotions- happiness or sadness? The Bhagavad Gita answers this question. When? There is no scope for this question because, it has always been existing Anadi- without a beginning and an end. What has been existing? The Purusha, a non-moving expanse which is the seed of all creation, and Prakriti, the nature that has been created out of this Purusha, have ever been there. All the modifications of the thoughts and the qualities that make nature were born out of this Prakriti. While Prakriti brings forth this world of cause and effect, the individual soul experiences the joys and sorrows that emerge out fo it.

The Puusha or the absolute experience teams up with the Prakriti, experiences the objects of nature that are created by the three qualities of Prakrit: Satwa, the quietude; Rajas, the dynamism; and Tamas, the inertia. What is present as the supreme being in this universe is also present in the individual entity. That supreme in you and me is the witness of all events, the guiding light that throws light on our choices, thoughts, words and actions and the one which sustains everything and experiences too. One who is aware of this Purusha, the supreme spirit, and Prakriti and the Three Gunas, is not born again even though he/she has to perform actions in this world.

Taken from

20^th November, 2011

The New Sunday Express-Magazine

Gita Jnana// Swahilya Shambhavi

[swahilya.soulmate@gmail.com]

The Truth

2012-01-05T06:30:00.001-08:00

The Devil was waiting at the crossroads discussing the foibles of man( which, in fact, keep hell going) with his minions when he saw a man passing by. The Devil was pleased when the man bent down to pick up something that was lying on the road.

“What did he pick up?” asked one of the denizens of hell.

“It was a little piece of truth I gave him,” the Devil answered gleefully.

“But ,master, that might save his soul, and if you do such things, we would go out of business.”

“You won’t get it,” said the evil one. “All this man will do with his piece of truth is become a new prophet and create a new religion. He will get many devotees. He will preach his piece of the truth, and that will ensure that more and more people become distanced from the whole truth.”

Taken from

20th November, 2011

The New Sunday Express-Magazine

Pg 11- The Spirit

Parable- The Truth

Is Namaaz the same as Yoga?

2011-12-19T13:40:00.000-08:00

This is a long due post.... I had written somewhere in my other blog 'Jalpari' that I'd be writing on why I dont like being told that Namaaz is just like Yoga....

I received a comment yesterday telling precisely that- This post was written as a comment in reply to that comment but is started gettin lengthy so, i thought of makin it into a blogpost......

I respect your views and agree to the 'cleanliness' aspect of it. But, i fear, i do not conform with most of what you have written with regard to the comparison of Namaz with Yoga.

The points you have mentioned have been told by many many many authors and TV channels that air Muslim stuff have shown many a Zakir Naik lectures on this topic. So, obviously a huge section of Muslims would tell what you wrote and i respect you guys for your intention.

But since i am talkin for myself, lemme say, I personally find this comparison to be degrading to both Namaz and Yoga.

It is very Dawah-centric.

And that too in a silly way.

First coming to Namaz, the very thot of equatin Namaz to any form of 'exercise' irks me big time.

It's almost like telling ppl a better bahana to read Namaz . You know, the kind of ppl who try to combine fasting in Ramzan and 'dieting'.

'ek teer do nishan' can definitely be a good 'outcome' of Namaz but when we PREACH that in the way Zakir Saab does, it's like diluting the intention behind Namaz.

Namaz is a 'conversation' with God. NOT a meditation.

When we read the Fatiha, we are actually 'saying' to Allah ki Allah Paak, saari tareef tumhare hi liye hai. Rabb ho tum pure aalam ke. Rehman ho, Raheem ho. Malik ho tum qiyamat ke roz ke. Hum tumhari ibadat karte hai aur tumse hi madad mangte hai. Hume sahi rah par chalao. Unki rah par jinse tum khush ho na ki unke jinpar tumhari narazgi hai.

And when we are saying THIS to Allah or asking Him to bless Mohammed S.A.W and his progeny as He had blessed Prophet Abraham A.S. and his progeny., THAT IS PRECISELY WHAT WE SHOULD BE DOING.

Speaking to Allah.

I seriously wonder why and how can ppl compare the conversation with the Almighty with 'exercise'. We are the closest to Allah during sijdah, kehte hai. . . and at that time if i am concerned bout the position of my knee joint and ankle joint, am i really conversing with God?

One of my biggest difficulties in Islam has been attaining concentration during prayer. I keep wandering to the work that has to be done, the cat nibbling at something behind my back etc etc. If Namaz is an exercise, why am i even bothered bout the 'concentration'?

Repetitive movements of the Namaz can be a form of 'yoga' ppl say. If we know yoga or any form of exercise, we'd know how the position sense and stretch sense in performing those exercises are important. Definitely not possible in Namaz. In Namaz, we keep track of the VERSES. . . The body floats through the movements that we have been performing a minimum of twenty times, every single day of our lives. I also dont understand the cardio comparison of Namaz. Cardio, i think, is from cardiac. Th little cardio that i have done defines the word properly, it increases our cardiac function. Increases the pumping of the heart. The least form of cardio that i can manage without utter exhaustion is brisk walking. And that too leaves my heart Pumping real hard. Where is 'praying' if we are in a 'high' after a work out?

If we say yoga is 'meditation' and then talk bout Namaz being meditation, again, how can a conversation be meditation as well? It's like now while i am talkin to you, i am 'meditating'. Namaz to me is a conversation. In fact, an obligatory conversation which we do to make our lives easier. Both here and in the hereafter. It is for 'gardens beneath which rivers flow'. It is for meeting Huzur S.A.W. at kausar.

My mummy has been praying since God knows when. She prayed standing when she was young. Then she prayed sitting on the floor. Now she prays sitting on a chair. In fact, her sijdahs are only half sijdahs. Had her intention behind prayin been even partly for exercise, wouldnt she be disappointed now ? And now that she can only sit on a chair and pray, what 'exercise' does the Namaz remain ? She prays to be heard by her God. She wants me to pray properly, pray on time coz God is Hearing. She SPEAKS to Allah and that is why Namaz is alive in her heart. Not coz of any 'yoga' in Namaz.

at times after namaz we find ourselves crying or smiling coz of the dua we made to Allah...

in Namaz, I, Almas, try to concentrate on speaking to Allah.

not on either 'meditating' or 'exercise'.

Now coming to Yoga.

I havent been a student of yoga, leave alone a master and since i have not even followed the Indian group of religions (that is the parent religion of yoga), i wouldnt consider myself in a stable position to really 'opine' on yoga.

still, based on the little i have read on the topic, helped by my fascination for the religion that is Hinduism, i can say that Yoga is beyond... WAY BEYOND exercise alone, meditation alone or even both exercise and meditation combined together.

yoga being used to keep ourselves fit and healthy and to lose weight is the monetary aspect of it... the commercialized side to the discipline that is yoga.

Yoga, keeps us fit...or attempts to keep us fit, beyond doubt, but is more than just that.

yoga is meditation, beyond doubt, but again, is more than just that.

yoga is CONTEMPLATION. yoga is 'BECOMING ONE'....literally....

Hinduism, like Islam, has many branches....and one of the philosophies in Hinduism (the one that is my favourite) is that of MONOISM... unlike the conventional Islamic MONOTHEISM....

Monoism preaches the existence of God and God alone. All that is, is God. Nothing else is.

based on this philosophy, 'Yoga' is the 'becoming one' with 'God' in that.. it is the realization of 'All that is, is God. Nothing else is.'

it is almost like the realization of "Aham Brahmasami".....

i think this is the Advaita Vedanta school of thought .... am not sure, i apologize.

but, i THINK it is the Advaita Vedanta...

ADVAITA meaning 'a' + 'dvaita'

no + second.

One single existence- God.

this concept is considered alien to Islam. The Salafi school of thought, in fact, calls it Kufr.The very first page of Dr. Bilal Philips' "Fundamentals of Islamic Studies" in its discussion of the Tawheed, refutes Monoism.

How then can a Salafi (*self proclaimed Salafis- I am against the branching of Islam)while reading the Namaz, be doing anything similar to 'yoga'????

The story of creation goes that Allah is a Noor and he wanted to share his beauty with a beloved and so he created the Noor Mohammedi S.A.W. ...out of HIS OWN NOOR.

and then everything that existed, exists and will exist was created out of this Noor Mohammedi S.A.W..

meaning we all have the Noor of Noor Mohammedi in us...and indirectly, the Noor of Allah.

this entire story of creation is not accepted in the literal sense by many Muslim authorities. (no wonder, Monoism is also not accepted. i cant see how someone who believes in THIS story of creation wud manage to disbelieve in Monoism)

however, the Sufi school of thought are pretty Monoistic in their beliefs.

(again, no wonder, that they are called kafirs by many 'other' branches of Islam).

The only single thing in Islam that I personally, very personally, think can be compared to Yoga is the Sufi whirling dance....

very different from the Yoga, definitely....

yet, the closest to yoga that Islam has 'officially' got to. This whirling signifies the Muslim mystics' dance of love....love for the Supreme.. the Supreme that is .... and the only thing that is.

In his love for God, the Sufi annihilates himself... and all that remains is God.

otherwise, i find no comparison of any single 'sanctioned' and 'recognized' Muslim act to be akin to Yoga.

of course, we can always say that Yoga belongs to Allah... coz everything belongs to Allah. Every Prophet came with the message of Islam... any knowledge that ever came to man is from Allah.

in THAT way, Islam has yoga???? ok.. it does!

otherwise, in the Shariah of the Prophet Mohammed S.A.W, the last Prophet of Islam, (excluding the return of Jesus A.S. ofcourse), there is no YOGA.

There is Namaz, which is very very monotheistic.

Yoga, on the other hand can range from monotheism to monoism... depending on how far you can go in the 'yog'.

The Bhagawad Geeta mentions 'Yoga' in ways which I have not been able to understand fully. I need to study that in depth.

however, the verses in Bhagawad Gita do make it clear that Yoga is,like i told, beyond exercise, meditation or both.

There are many verses dealing wid yoga in the Gita, you can search it up.

I again write the two verses which I like the most in the Gita:-

"When thy mind leaves behind its dark forest of delusion, thou shalt go beyond the scriptures of times past and still to come.

When thy mind, that may be wavering in the contradictions of many scriptures, shall rest unshaken in divine contemplation, then the goal of 'YOGA' is thine."

P.S- Readers are free to differ in opinion. We are all individuals, we all have our own minds. We can all have our own opinion.

Khidr A.S. and the Madness Water.

2011-12-19T04:59:00.000-08:00

Once upon a time Khidr A.S, the teaches of Moses (A.S.), warned mankind that all the water in the world which had not been hoarded, would disappear. Then different water will appear, which would drive men mad. Only one man listened to Khidr A.S. He collected water and went to live in a cave. On the predicted date, all rivers and wells dried. Then after a While, the rivers filled up. The man drank his safe water and stayed sane. One day curiosity got the better of him, and he was also feeling lonely. He went to meet his fellow men and found that they were thinking and speaking strangely; yet they had no memory of what had happened. When he tried to talk to them, they called him mad, and stoned him. The man's choice was to go back to his solitary hut or drink the tainted water. He drank and became mad and lived happily ever after with his fellow lunatics.

From The New Sunday Express Magazine.
'Stories of Wisdom'

Shikwa - Bad Girls Gone Good!!

2011-12-17T09:13:00.000-08:00

Today my aapa and I had a little 'chat' about that same old thing bout life.

Why are the 'bad' people not punished?

well... at least some of them...

our conversation was mostly about those girls who live their lives 'fully'.... and by 'fully' I mean... fully in the truest sense of the word.... in the sense of the people who oppose hijab and other Islamic tenets in general.

These girls, about whom we were talking, have enjoyed the prime years of their lives....

dressed in the way the world requires...

not really given a second look to the Qur'an...

had boyfriends...lived in wid ppl...

etc etc etc....

they all did things which would make 'ppl' say- "Barbaad ho gayi ladki... koi nai poochhega!"

but, then.. these very girls, they get settled beautifully....

some of them, in fact, get married into very Islamic families.

two of the girls we spoke about are actually wearing the burqa. From shorts to burqa is a BIG transition.

I would be very thankful to Allah Paak had it happened out of a desire to please God.

But, as far as my mortal thinking goes, these girls became Islamic coz they got married into Islamic families.

Did I mention that both these grooms are also pretty rich?

in short, the gals who didnt give an eff to Allah and Islam, both found rich Islamic guys, donned the burqa, will now(be made to) pray five times a day, keep rozas and follow the Sunnat etc and thus have a beautiful Hereafter confirmed.

A beautiful Hereafter.... after a beautiful 'Here'- after pre-marital sex, discotheques, partying and everything that Islam prohibits.

and there are girls, some.. who do everything that God wants them to do, but end up having miserable lives.

If we even keep the 'Islam' out of it, we wud find instances where "Good Girls" get nothing and "Bad Girls" get it all.

of course, I am being judgmental in the "Good" and "Bad" difference. But, obviously I will be... I mean... We are all judgmental. No big deal in that.

I do not understand why God does this.

Some "Good girls"... REALLY GOOD GIRLS... are MADE to go astray. Yes am blaming God.... If I give Him the credit for all the good that exists in the world, cant I blame Him for 'One' of my tears???

We can call it destiny.

I would.

But isnt this just a toooooo fantastic destiny where girls for whom Islam meant nothing are brought to follow the Islamic tenets.

I also wonder if their acts of worship- includin the burqa- would actually bring them ajar, given that they didnt do it for God, but for getting the surname of a rich Muslim guy....given that they didnt do it for a 'Heavenly Hereafter' but a 'Heavenly Here'?

Whatever happened to ajar for Guidance????

Guidance is good.... but this???? Left handed guidance maybe!!! ok.. cool..

You know it's alrite if good things happen to ppl.... so, give these gals Heaven... alrite...

but, why make a good gal go bad?? (i sound so rihanna! :P)

Why deprive a good gal of happiness to such an extent that she ends up doing bad?

A test you'd say...

exactly go on giving tests to the people who have hope in you... and in front of their eyes make the wrong-doers flourish (in Islam!).....

My sister asks, WHEN would these gals be punished for their sins???

I dont know.

I'd be God if I did.

But I still believe that this is what is life all about....

Just goin on doin that which is required of us....

"Karm kar, fal ki apeksha mat kar." as Sri Krishna says in the Bhagawad Geeta.

How much can we ignore/defeat the delusions of this world is the trick....

It is mean of God. ACTUALLY.

But....we always have a choice.

Accept this meanness... or eff it off!

He HAS made us a Fitna to each other....

Just like someone is being a Fitna for us....we too might be Fitna for some others.....

I have no other answer for my sister or for my own doubting self except that we need to first 'feel' what we believe to be right, and then just go on doing it, irrespective of how gr8 the 'wrong' become....

If we cant overcome a Fitna as small as this, how do we think we'd survive the Fitna of the Dajjal???

Allama Iqbal,one of the best poets of our sub-continent, has written both- the SHIKWA as well as the JAWAAB-E-SHIKWA.

I cant say about others, but for me....SHIKWA surpasses JAWAAB-E-SHIKWA in its clarity and feel.

And I think that I know the reason for it. It's coz Iqbal Saab is not really in a position to give the JAWAAB-E-SHIKWA.

The SHIKWA is from the Muslim.

and the Muslim poet wrote it excellently.

Maybe, when we go to Heaven, IF we go to Heaven, we can talk to God Himself....

somewat like Aapa and I spoke today... lying prone on the bed, the TV muted, lost in our talks...

maybe we can talk to God like that someday... THEN we'd get the JAWAAB-E-SHIKWA.....

until then....all we can do is wait and do our 'karm' without 'apeksha'.... and when we cant avoid the apekshas and end up falling victim to the fitna around us...let us all keep our SHIKWA ready.

The JAWAAB-E-SHIKWA will definitely arrive.

Self

2011-12-17T02:03:00.000-08:00

While goin thru a post on Sufism, I came across these beautiful lines---

the opening lines from a ghazal by Mathnavi;

Everyday I meditate upon this, and every night I groan

Why is my own existence to myself the least known?

Whence have I come, why this coming here?

Where to must I go, when will my home to me be shown?

I am in desperate awe, why was I ever created?

For this, my creation, whatsoever was the reason?

Read the complete post HERE.

Jihadi Jew and his G--D...

2011-09-27T13:49:00.001-07:00

There must be hundreds of religions in the world…. How many of them do we really know about??

Well…. Speaking for myself and myself alone, it must be possible to know only those religions to any extent which are really AROUND us.

Am a Muslim, Alhamdulillah! So, obviously I’d know something, at least something, about Islam. Being an Indian, surrounded by Hindus…. I’d know something about Hinduism too. And studying in a Catholic institution for 14 yrs, Christianity too would be somewhat familiar….

However, one religion which every Muslim SHOULD come in contact with has been extra-terrestrial to me…..

And hence, ppl belonging to that religion have also been aliens….

Am talking about Judaism and Jews.

Given the ‘tap-tap-tapakta pyaar’ between Jews and Muslims, it is obvious that the huge geographical distance is only increased because of the 'not-knowing'…

I have never known a Jew in my almost-24 years of life.

The closest I got to Jews was when I went to that little ‘Jewish Town’, a small township in Kochi, Kerala….Azhar and I wanted to visit the synagogue there but, unfortunately, it was a Saturday, and we didn’t know that the synagogue is closed for outsiders on Saturdays. We ended up visiting the St. Francis Church… and got seriously pissed off at the sight of foreigners entering the church with their shoes on…..(culture!!! *rolling eyes*)

Last I heard, there are less than 10 pure Jews remaining in Kochi.

So, obviously… I had no idea about Jews other than the fact that they kill Muslims. (and Muslims try hard to kill them… and finally end up killing… more Muslims :/) I have never hated Judaism as such, nor Jews… but, yes….i have never liked them either.

It’s very difficult to like any people without being in contact with them. Hindus, I know tooooooo many…. And I know there are good and bad people among them, just like there are among Muslims…

Forget about Christians. I believe, the best people in the world are all Christians…

But, knowing Jews only through newspapers and internet sites, i couldn’t really have any opinion about them.

[Change of scene]

All my life… or rather much of it, I have hated Pakistan and Pakistanis. Not like I’d go on my own and start a fight.. but, ya!!! Speak a word against India and you’ll have it!!!!

Recently, a certain incident (about which I’ll mention later) made me re-assess my hatred….. it really had no basis….

Coz at the end, what am I getting in return ??? nothing!!! Maybe some more hatred, some pity and some loath. What else???

I decided to stop hating Pakistanis for whatever non-sense they say… yes, non-sense it IS to me… but, I no longer wanted to hate them for it…. Coz well…. What I say must be equally non-sense to them.

Then I read this poem in Sadia's "Diary of a Muslimah"…. And I decided to try and defeat hatred on all fronts…. Not that I hate anyone else (I was an exclusive Pak hater :P) but still… to try to reduce the negativity in me…..

It was in this ‘striving to beat hatred’ state of mind that I came across a Twitter profile-

“JihadiJew”

[change of scene]

JihadiJew is the Twitter handle of a Jewish guy, Lee Weissman ,who lives in America….

And… he does NOT hate Islam.

Reading his tweets made me feel really nice… he is a true Jihadi… and Jihad, btw, is a struggle… (not equal to suicide bombing!)

One of his posts spoke of how similar Ramzaan is to the Jewish custom of fasting.

Not that I didn’t know about it earlier. I obviously did. Judaism is the first of the three Abrahamic religions and I know it well that Islam is an extrapolated version of the same religion that was…. It is a core belief of Islam…. Without believing in this fact, you are not a Muslim.

But, hearing (reading) it from a Jew made all the difference.

Another of his tweets mentioned how, while travelling, he sits beside the most conservative looking Muslim (I guess he meant the beard, the attire and all) so that they get the ‘stares’ together.. :P (he is a bearded Jew)

I know this only too well… coz ‘appearing’ Muslim is not very accepted in today’s world. I still remember, the first day I wore the headscarf, two of my friends, both Muslims, were behaving in the worst of ways…. They went to the limit of saying that they won’t walk with me and if someone asks them who I was, they’d say that they don’t know me (all this was told with a big smile on their face…. But some smiles are only used as a buffer to say the cruelest of things).

His tweets also show that he receives hate mails from Jews coz apparently; he had mentioned somewhere that the G-D of the Jews is the same as the Muslim’s Allah.

If he had indeed told it, my respect for him would increase all the more coz what do I believe in more than the proclamation that God is One?

I cannot understand how can there possibly be a Jewish God and a Muslim God…. If there is a God, He is One and the Same for all…..

I had written something similar in an article titled AllahHafiz vs Khuda Hafiz….. where I had mentioned that Allah, God, Bhagwaan are all the same. That article was published at TwoCircles.net , following which I, too, had received some negative comments.

He was also the character witness of one of the Irvine 11 brothers. He told this in a reply to one of my tweets to him. I was, obviously, sad that the Irvine 11 had been found guilty. Their crime comes down to voicing their opposition to the Israeli war crimes. [Read about The Irvine 11 ]

Regarding this matter, JihadiJew tweeted that the Irvine 11’s opposition was ‘normal, if not wise’.

As soon as I read ‘if not wise’ the evil in me jumped saying that

“Lookkkk what the Jew is saying… it was an unwise thing to do…”

I quickly had to remind myself, that this same Jew has also shown concern about the impact this would have on the life of the boys and that this same Jew was actually saying that there shouldn’t have been a trial at all…

He wasn’t calling it ‘unwise’ in a wrong way…..

And assuming that he did favour the Israeli war crimes…. I need to remind myself that a person can put himself in another person’s shoes only so much…. Beyond which if he wants to continue wearing those shoes, he’ll actually have to transform into that other person.

So, I need to like people for the good they show and not disregard their goodness by a slight show of something that is not in accordance with my wishes.

It is just like someone telling me that since I have told that I believe in One God, I should start worshipping the idols they worship, coz THAT is what they worship.

At one point, we all NEED to respect the differences and the hatred too.

We need to realize that he (someone) is he coz that’s what he really is…. and though he is what he is, he respects you- THAT is the real respect.

So, I thank Jihadi Jew for the goodness he shows towards my religion- the most tainted religion of the world.

And I thank God that the very first Jew whom I spoke (tweeted) to was a man who loved Him and yet didn’t hate me. This first Jew, and maybe, the only Jew in my life, believes that we both worship the same God. In a world which goes on talking about how bad the Muslim Allah is …. JihadiJew is a person who accepts GOD to be GOD, and all GOD to be THAT ONE GOD. He is a beautiful person indeed!

And a year or two ago I had read somewhere, at huffingtonpost’s site, I guess, that every American should have a Muslim friend so that they come to know that Muslims are as normal as they are...--- that is the gist.

The unknown is what causes fear, and this fear fives rise to hatred.

If only we tried to know, we might just stop hating.

And on that note, a little thing that I learnt about Jewish customs-

they have a tradition that God’s name shouldn’t be taken too casually, and so, they type G-D for God… to bring in the ‘awareness’… this, I found pretty intriguing. The concept of being ‘aware’ of God.

Personally speaking, I believe God is the most casual entity. He is ours. We are His. Then what’s the formality??? Still!!! He’s the Master and we are the slave….and if that be the case, a little pause, a little shift of the keys while typing ‘G-D’ does make us linger a slightly longer at GOD. Makes us a wee bit more aware of Him.

That’s it…

Allahu Akbar!

G-D is the greatest!

P.S.-Today, i'd leave you with an older article in this blog, Allahhafiz vs Khudahafiz, the original piece that I had written for my blog, before it was edited.

Allah hafiz.

The Bhagavad Gita 2:52-53

2011-09-24T23:45:00.001-07:00

I would like to share my most favourite verse in the Bhagavad Gita..

This somehow sums up all that God has ever said to man....

"When thy mind leaves behind its dark forest of delusion,
Thou shalt go beyond the scriptures of times past and still to come.

When thy mind, that may be wavering in the contradictions of many scriptures,
Shall rest unshaken in divine contemplation,
Then the goal of Yoga is thine."

~The Bhagavad Gita

Verses 2:52-53

(Juan Mascaro translation- the one that I have)

The same Verses by another translator :-

"When your soul passes beyond delusion’s turbid quicksands,
Then will you learn disgust for what may yet be heard.
When your soul, by scripture once bewildered,
Stands motionless and still, immovable in ecstasy,
Then you will attain to sameness-and-indifference (yoga)."
R.C. Zaehner, The Bhagavad-Gita 2:52-53

Al-Qur'an .......Notes

2011-09-15T04:55:00.001-07:00

Assalamu alaykum

This post is just to say that I have started studying the Qur'an.... Alhamdulillah :)

My plan is to make notes at the end of every 10 verses. These notes would include key words that we need to inculcate into our lives... Am not exactly following any particular tafseer... a simple google search is wat am relying upon...however, most of the sites I come across are following ibn-Kathir's tafseer which I think is a very pretty nice one....

Filhaal am only in the first Surah....

The problem with searching the net is that the material to study is so vast... and mostly the repetitive nature of the stuff can be made out only after you have done the reading....

still.. this is the most convenient 'source' for me, as of now... so am planning to continue it in this way itself....

newaz....

let's see .. how it goes..

Post Ramzaan Regrets!

2011-09-08T11:15:00.000-07:00

Having wasted my Ramzaan, I have realized that the guilt we feel on realizing our ignorance of God gives way to acts that make us all the more guilty. It is a vicious cycle of inaction and guilt that swallows us into its enormity.
I also remember how my heart had left the Qur’an during the times when I wanted to wear the Hijab but wasn’t able to coz I was scared of wat ppl would say. I used to read the Qur’an like not reading it wud take me to hell, but without absorbing into my heart and mind the essence that the words carried. I was so full of guilt that I couldn’t face God. . . the only remedy I had at hand was, of course, wearing the hijab.
I also had a friend who wasn’t in the habit of reading namaaz and so when his exams approached, when he really needed the peace of mind that only and only namaaz can guarantee us, he never used to pray… coz praying ‘then’ made him feel very ashamed of himself.
And that is precisely why God, Himself, in the Qur’an tells us to remember Him at all times, whether good, whether bad….it is for our own good, coz’ of course, God doesn’t become a lesser God if we turn away from His remembrance.

And soooo….. now, I seriously wish to prepare myself for the coming Ramzaan. I seriously wish to make myself able to read the Qur’an (am again going thru a ‘Can’t face God’ phase)….
I was at the 11th paara. But, I have stopped it there… I think I will start again from the Fatiha and try to live each verse that I read…. Feel it… dissect it…. And gulp it down…
At least I will try to…. inshaAllah.
Also, I will try to really live at least one hadees everyday…

Hopefully, I’d reach a place from where looking at God wud become a jaayaz and halal dream.

Dearest Allah

2011-08-31T01:51:00.001-07:00

Dearest Allah
Today I ask you to bless us all. But, to especially bless the people who are sad.
I ask you to bless the chronically ill patients, for whom Eid might be nothing more than just another day of pain.
I ask you to bless those who have been spending time in the various casualties last night and today and all those who are destined to be brought to the casualties today. They had not expected their Eid to turn out to be like this.
I ask you to bless all those who’ve had their flights/trains cancelled and will nnot be able to spend their Eid where they had planned to.
I ask you to bless those who are away from home and will be celebrating their first Eid alone, be it for studies or for work. The first Eid away from home is difficult.
I ask you to bless the Muslim prisoners who are alone today, whether or not they have committed a crime. Coz we all make mistakes.
I ask you to bless the Muslim prisoners who have been charged of terrorist acts they didn’t carry out. Their only fault is that they are Muslims.
I ask you to bless every person facing persecution and inequality today coz they believe in you.
I ask you to bless the poor for whom there might be no food today just as there had been no food yesterday.
I ask you to bless those who strove for you in the past one month so that they may continue the struggle throughout.
I ask you to bless those who were not fasting, that they may find you and your love.
I ask you to bless those Muslims who were fasting even though their work involved manual labour coz they have shown the greatest faith in your word.
I ask you to bless those who were fasting while working at restaurants and dhabas, coz they have shown so much of self control.
I ask you to bless the ladies who have silently woken up while everyone else slept, so that they may prepare hot and fresh sehri for the family.
I ask you to bless the people who have distributed free iftar for the wayfarers, they have quenched the thirst in your name.
I ask you to bless those who are hungry, not in your name, but coz the food supplies are cut off coz of wars and political reasons.
I ask you to bless the bad that they may become good and the good, that they may become better coz there is no limit to how much we can improve.
I ask you to bless them who are searching for you that they may succeed in their search.
I ask you to bless them who have lost you that they may realize what they have lost.
I ask you to bless them who have found you coz who says you cant be found?
I ask you to bless those with broken relations that they may reunite for the sake of today, by the blessing of today.
I ask you to bless the little children who are excited about collecting eidy today, that they may collect loads of eidy ….
I ask you to bless the little children who will not be given eidy coz they either don’t have anyone to give them eidy or they don’t have anything to be given as eidy.
I ask you to bless the orphans, they are the duty that we shirk away.
I ask you to bless every sad, lonely and troubled person, that he may receive the joy of your heart.
And I finally ask you to bless us- my family and me, that we may realize how lucky we are. Whether lonely, whether sick, whether sad… we are so much better off than so many of our brothers and sisters. Bless us with senses that can really see, hear and feel. Bless us with limbs that can act and lips that can speak. Bless us with a heart that houses your love and a forehead that bends down to no one but you.
This Eid and forever, my Maalik, bless us with the best of your blessings.
Aameen
Me.

My Inability to Pray

2011-08-26T13:59:00.000-07:00

I wasted this Ramzaan. I didn’t worship Him enough. I didn’t worship Him at all. If, worshipping Him is the purpose of Ramzaan, that is.
But, the reason is that I just don’t feel like.
I have always found it difficult to say ‘duas’.
Even namaaz is difficult for me. I read namaaz because it is obligatory, not coz I feel that I can talk to God thru it. I am more of a God-feeler. I write about God. I cant talk to Him.
This is very similar to my nana, who was a Hafiz-e-Qur’an, who knew the importance of namaaz, who kept away from Biddat totally.
And yet found it very difficult to read namaaz.

This attitude is very different from my own mother who can converse with God easily. It’s like the most natural thing to her. She takes it from her mother (step-mother, actually..my nana’s second wife) who too was a lot into namaaz.

For mummy, god is a listener. He listens to her.
I am yet to realize what god is to me. Maybe I feel he is a reader and that’s why I write my ‘Dearest Allah’ posts. Maybe I feel he is a knower…. He just knows.

The truth is that he is all these, and much more.
But for my own convenience, it would be nice if I could find out what god is to me.

I digress.

So, I was saying that I have always found it very difficult to pray….as in ‘dua’. Asking god for things is very difficult for me.
This ramzaan, I have been especially distanced from God. I have hardly prayed. I don’t mean that am not reading my obligatory namaaz. THAT am doin. But I aint ‘asking’ god for anything at a time so very blessed. And my disturbed relations with Allah have affected me in that I haven’t read much of the Qur’an either. I had decided to finish the Qur’an once no matter how lazy or busy I get. And so I started at a pretty good pace. But then I had a little ‘upset’ with one of the doctors and I just kept on sulking over it. Even when that episode was over I just couldn’t get back to really reading the Qur’an. I read the Qur’an daily, Alhamdulillah, Ramzaan or no ramzaan. But that’s not wat I mean. I mean that I wanted to read the whole Qur’an and then in English and then the tafseer.. but I couldn’t even read it in Arabic… I mean I feel just so bad.
I am missing the last ten nights… most of it… as am not in my prayin days…. But even if I cant read namaaz or touch the Qur’an, I CAN pray in other ways and make use of the nights.
But, the problem is – I just don’t feel like.

I, for some reason, have come to believe that Allah can only be found by actually being good. Not that I didn’t believe in it earlier, but it’s just that I had never felt that god would turn me down coz of my shortcomings in the ‘service’ department. This has stemmed from many little incidents that have been occurring, about which I will write later inshaAllah. I get mad at the updates from Islamic pages on FB that stress on how every Muslim should know Arabic. I feel all this is pretty stupid.I really don’t think reading the Qur’an can help if you don’t LIVE the Qur’an. And I, for one, am NOT living the Qur’an. Until I do that, I think, I wont be able to get God. No matter how much I pray in the nights of Decree. I really do believe that God is hidden in little acts much more than his obvious presence in the big ones.
I wrote an update that had we searched for Allah in the days of Moharram, we wouldn’t be stumbling in the nights of Qadr. This is wat I meant. That though Allah Paak Himself has stressed the importance of this night, I wouldn’t find him in this night… until I start finding him in every moment….

I spoke about this to my mother today. And she told me that worship includes amal and aamaal undoubtedly. But, that doesn’t mean that we should leave out the namaaz and the Qur’an. If I wish to be a better person. If I wish to ‘serve’ God by serving his men, that is a very good and noble wish. But, even that wish and the ability to change that wish into a deed, can come from Allah and Allah alone. so, I need to.. just NEED to ask God to help me pray and to help me LIVE the Qur’an as I wish to.
She gave me the example of that incident when Huzur S.A.W’s heart was cleansed by the Angels. She told that even Huzur, whose heart was crystal clear, had to have his heart cleansed by the Angels to achieve that perfection which God requires. That heart had to be different from all the other hearts…. There have been Prophets before but don’t we know how they have been…..
She went on to tell me the story of Moses who had been asked by a woman if she would have children and the fakeer who had given pieces of his flesh for the love of Allah.

She told me to ask God coz asking him is worship and it’s only if I ask him to reduce the distance between us, will the distance b e reduced. The way he chooses to do that could be any… but, he would do it.

Coz’ like I told, mummy’s god is a listener. If you tell him, he listens. :)

I really believe that going back to the basics… the stories that we read as kids…. would help me get back to god. The stories of the prophets. The stories of little boys and girls with a “The moral of this story is” line at the end.

Distanced from God.

2011-08-26T13:54:00.000-07:00

Today was the 26th roza in Kerala, India .. making this one of the odd nights of the last ten nights of Ramzaan and thus, a very special night. But here I am typing in the lap.
Off late, I have been feeling very distanced from Allah. As if He and I are living in different planets. As if He and I are divorced. As if He and I knew each other once upon a time, and now, by some way or the other, we have become strangers.

It’s like one of those friends you had during your school days who used to be so close to you…. But, as you grew up… you took different paths in life…. And you saw each other changing from afar, both of you in your own way. … you looked at each other’s status updates on FB… at the pics you uploaded… at the pages you liked and you realized that now… this person is no longer the friend that you had had.

Of course, God is what He was. He shall always be.
But, I, I guess, have changed. And not in the best of ways.
Am feeling so very empty, so very hollow.
Khokhla.
Like I do not exist.
Or I do exist but should not.
Or I exist and not exist at the same time.

Am feeling as if God is standing somewhere far away and looking at me and seeing how wrong his girl has become…. And waiting for me to turn back and look at Him and run towards Him…. And then He will smile and lift me up in His arms and hold my hands and walk along a beach…. Mine.. completely mine.

Zakaat - our Obligation - The Ramzaan Boutique

2011-07-29T23:37:00.000-07:00

Assalam alaykum,
Ramzaan Mubarak to one and all !! :)
So, it is Ramzaan time again… and soon we will have our eating habits entirely altered.. lol!!!
A lot will be told about fasting and the benefits of fasting to us by our friends and family… but, something that we might, just MIGHT miss talking about is the paying of the ZAKAAT.

Zakaat is an important topic for me, at this point of time, coz this year is the year when I have officially started earning… :) (yipeee!!!!) and so have all my batchmates. Ppl who had taken shorter courses might have started earning a year or two ago and so most of us now are very much responsible for the payment of the Zakaat. And yet, we might not take it as seriously as we should coz until now we have been entirely dependent on our parents and they have been providing everything for us and so obviously the ‘Zakaat’ duties were also on their heads. And it might not strike us that from now on we are earning not only our own food and clothes but also earning our share of monetary obligations towards God.

Zakaat is an obligatory payment made by the believing men and women to the needy. Zakaat is NOT charity alone. coz Charity means the ‘Voluntary’ help given to the needy.
Zakaat, however, is not an option. Zakaat is an obligation upon every person who calls him/herself a Muslim. This payment has its set rules.
There are people whom you CAN give zakaat to, and there are ppl whom you CANNOT give zakaat to.
What can be given as zakaat, what cannot be given.. is all a set of rules…
And even the amount is fixed- 2.5% of your saved wealth in a year.
Of course, any man who desires to please God can and should exceed the 2.5% but, that is not an obligation. THAT is charity and you can give as much as you think is appropriate, to whomsoever you will. And God is merciful to the ppl who are merciful to others.

So, I guess ppl who are newly earning should remind themselves of the payment of the zakaat, i.e., if they have been able to save any money from their stipend. Lol!
But, seriously… we need to start somewhere…. And until we build up our habits now, we’ll never be able to do it later on, even if the desire to please God would arise, coz we wudnt be in the habit of parting with our money. So, I request ppl to give 2.5% of your savings, however small the amount comes out to be, in the name of God.
If you have been giving money and things as charity thru out the year… good! Really good! But THAT cannot be considered Zakaat. Zakaat needs neeyat and adherence to the rules as much as feasible to us.
Just think of namaaz. Namaaz and zakaat are both included in Islam’s ‘paanch satoon’.. the Five Pillars of Islam. Both are obligations. Both are IMPERATIVE in your identity as a Muslim (in the eyes of God). Will you read 200 rakaats of namaaz on any one day and not pray for the next 20 days saying ‘Oh! I have prayed in advance!’ ? similarly, you cant include the charity given generally to be included in the category of zakaat. The difference is of nafil and farz.

And even to those who are not earning…. Remember we all get pocket money, for which we don’t have to answer our parents….it is ours and we can spend it any way we want. If that be the case, I guess, zakaat should be paid on our savings from the pocket money too… coz of course, this is OUR money.
A lot of us have gold that is ours!!! Why not pay the zakaat for this gold by ourselves???? I mean, it doesn’t come to too much, trust me! :) also remember, that the zakaat amount need not be payed strictly during the 30 days of ramzaan… you can take a year to pay your dues…:)
As for charity….. Islam promotes charity in beautiful ways….if you feel you can give more, plz do. Coz Allah loves the merciful :)
Everything is charity.. smile is charity and muslims are recommended to give even ‘half a date’ as charity if that is all that they can.
Remember, Islam does not prohibit us from being rich. We are totally allowed to be rich as long as we are earning in a Halaal way and as long as we r paying our dues to Allah.
Zakaat is not just our proclamation of obedience to Allah’s command, it is a direct way of helping the poor Muslim and also an insurance of our wealth. Coz God has promised to protect us and our property and wealth if we r paying our dues to God by helping the needy.
More from The Ramzaan Boutique later, inshaAllah.

God bless you
And you spread the blessings :)

Allah hafiz

Aye Khuda...

2011-06-21T06:42:00.000-07:00

Aye Khuda, mere Khuda….

Zarre zarre mein Khuda,

Jis taraf dalu nazar…

Har us taraf mei Tu Khuda.

Har Nabi ki boliyon se

Zahirana Tu hua .

Gaibana toh hamesha se…

Tu maujooda Khuda .

Tu toh har pal sang hi hai…

Kaise Tu mujhse juda?

Jitne bhi saansein bharu,

Har saans mei ghulta Khuda…

Aashiqui har aashiqon ki…

Feeki padne si lagi,

Jis ghadi hone laga…

Ye dil fida Tujhpe Khuda.

Aye Khuda, mere Khuda…

Zarre zarre mei Khuda.

Jis taraf dalu nazar,

Har us taraf mei Tu Khuda!

~Almas Kiran Shamim

The woman's aameen, adhaan and iqaamah

2010-08-23T13:05:00.000-07:00

AbdurRahman.org | August 23, 2010 at 6:20 PM | Categories: Salah, women | URL: http://wp.me/p1VJ3-ls

source: silsilat ul-hudaa wa nnoor - the series of guidance and light - tape no. 697

This is great naseeha (advise) and clarification on some matters of the salaah pertaining to women specifically. may Allaah increase our women in such qualities, aameen. here are the words of shaykh al-albaani (rahimahullaah):

"As for, is it proper for the woman to raise her voice with aameen, then there is a detailed explanation with regard to the question. If she is praying with women, then yes. As for if she is praying with men [and] they are strange men (i.e., non-mahram), then no. Because the voice of a woman, I do not say that it is 'awrah (something private to be covered) as many say, because the mothers of the believers and the wives of the first companions (sahaaba) used to speak with men and used to communicate with men, and oftentimes the woman used to come to the Prophet sallallahu 'alayhi wa aalihi wa sallam, and she would ask him in front of the men, and he 'alayhi asalaat wa asalaam would answer her regarding her question.

But [here], it is not from the manners/etiquettes of the woman that she raises her voice with the recitation of the Qur'aan. We are often asked - is it permissible for the woman, when she is learning the recitation from a shaykh [who is] a reciter (of the Qur'aan), to repeat to him the recitation in order to [know] how he corrects [it] - no, the answer is no. Although she learns, her learning is restricted to listening only, as learned the women of all the sahaaba from the Messenger of Allaah sallallahu 'alayhi wa sallam by listening to his recitation, during salaah or outside of salaah.

The woman, if she is praying with women, and she is an imaam, she raises her voice, and the women behind her also raise their voices. That is due to his saying, 'alayhi asalaat wa asalaam: 'Indeed women are the twin halves of men'...i.e., every ruling that came in which the men are being addressed, then the women also are included in this address, except what is made an exception... A woman, for example...it is more excellent for her, in other than the taraaweeh prayer, to pray in her house; while the man, it is obligatory upon him to pray the five prayers in the masjid in congregation. So here, the woman is different from the man. But the origin is, as he said, 'alayhi asalaam: 'Indeed women are the twin halves of men.'

So if the woman prays with the women as an imaam, she does just as the man does as an imaam. She raises her voice with the recitation (of the Qur'aan), and she raises her voice with aameen, and (the women) also raise their voices from behind her with aameen. This is firstly. And secondly, the woman prays as an imaam with the women, and not only that, rather, she (also) gives the adhaan and the iqaamah... Why? Because of the previous hadeeth: 'Indeed women are the twin halves of men.' More than this, asayyida 'Aaisha, the mother of the believers, and the leader of the mothers of the believers in terms of fiqh (understanding of the religion), knowledge and da'wah, and may Allaah bless her and her father, used to give the adhaan and the iqaamah when she prayed with the women as an imaam.

And here there is an admonition which there is no question about - the woman here differs as well from the man, as she does not step up before the row of the women, but rather she stands in the middle as if she is one (of the women) from the row. She does not step up before/lead the women [as the man does]; there has come a text regarding this also. Therefore, in this situation of the woman, she is not included in the generality of his saying, 'alayhi asalaam: 'Indeed women are the twin halves of men.'"

Source : A Series of Benefits from Shaykh al-Albaani

Fear Allah Subhana watala

2010-08-23T12:29:00.000-07:00

by Islamic Quotes, Hadiths, Stories and Tips on Sunday, 22 August 2010 at 17:25

Bismillah ir Rahman ir RahimInnal-Hamdalillahwas-Salaatuwas-Salaam 'alaa RasoolillahAs-Salaamu alaikumwa-Rahmatullahiwa-Barakatuhu

Fear of Allah

Subhana watala

Hadith - Qudsi 22

Let not any one of you belittle himself. They said: O Messenger of Allah Salal Lahu Alehi Wa Alehi Wasalam, how can any one of us belittle himself? He said: He finds a matter concerning Allah about which he should say something, and he does not say [it], so Allah (mighty and sublime be He) says to him on the Day of Resurrection: What prevented you from saying something about such-and-such and such-and-such? He say: [It was] out of fear of people. Then He says: Rather it is I whom you should more properly fear.

Hadith - Al-Tirmidhi #5083, Narrated Abu Dharr

Allah's Messenger Salal Lahu Alehi Wa Alehi Wasalam said to him, "Fear Allah wherever you are; if you follow an evil deed with a good one you will obliterate it; and deal with people with a good disposition."

Ahmad, Tirmidhi and Darimi

Hadith - Al-Tirmidhi #5140, Narrated Hudhayfah

The Prophet said Salal Lahu Alehi Wa Alehi Wasalam, "By Him in Whose hand my soul is, you must enjoin what is reputable and forbid what is disreputable, or Allah will certainly soon send punishment from Himself to you. Then you will make supplication and not receive an answer."

[Transmitted by Tirmidhi]

Hadith - Al-Tirmidhi #5142, Narrated Abu Bakr as-Siddiq Radhi Allah Anhu

You people recite this verse, "You who believe, care for yourselves; he who goes astray cannot harm you when you are rightly guided." I heard Allah's Messenger say Salal Lahu Alehi Wa Alehi Wasalam, "When people see something objectionable and do not change it, Allah will soon include them all in His punishment."

Ibn Majah and Tirmidhi, who declared it to be sahih, transmitted it.

We must humbleourselves

Hadith - Al-Tirmidhi #5186, Narrated Uthman ibn Affan The Prophet said, "The son of Adam* has a right only to the following: a house in which he lives, a garment with which he conceals his private parts, dry bread and water."

Tirmidhi transmitted it.

*human kind*

Hadith - Narrated 'Abdullaah ibn Mas'ood (radhiyallaahu 'anhu)

The Messenger of Allaah (sallallaahu 'alayhe wa sallam) said:

"Verily the most beloved speech to Allah is the servant's saying, 'Subhaanak Allaahumma wa bihamdika wa tabaarakasmuka wa ta'aalaa jad-duka wa laa ilaaha ghayruk.' (Glorified are you, O Allah, and to you is the praise, Blessed is Your Name and Lofty is your Majesty, there is none worthy of worship other than you.)

The most hated speech to Allah is when a man says to another man, 'Fear Allah!' and he replies, 'Worry about your own self!' "

[It was reported by Al-Asbahaanee in At-Targheeb (#739), and Sheikh Albani authenticated it in Silsilatul-Ahaadeethis-Saheehah (#2598)]

Health, Wealth andHappiness

Hadith - Al-Tirmidhi #5290,

Narrated by one of the companions When we were sitting together, Allah's Messenger Salal Lahu Alehi Wa Alehi Wasalam appeared with a trace of water on his head, and when we told him that he appeared to us to be in a happy frame of mind, he agreed. The people then began to discuss wealth and Allah's Messenger said, "There is no harm in wealth for him who fears Allah, Who is Great and Glorious, but for him who fears Allah health is better than wealth, and a happy frame of mind is one of Allah's favours."

[Ahmad transmitted it]

Who do you fear?Mankind? or Allah swt?

The Noble Qur'an At-Taubah 9:13

Will you not fight a people who have violated their oaths (pagans of Makkah) and intended to expel the Messenger, while they did attack you first? Do you fear them? Allah has more right that you should fear Him, if you are believers.

Hadith - Al-Tirmidhi #5306,

Narrated AbuDharr -Ahmad, Ibn Majah and Darimi transmitted it.

Allah's Messenger Salal Lahu Alehi Wa Alehi Wasalam said, he knew a verse which would suffice men if they would but apply it, "For him who fears Allah He will appoint a way out and He will give him provision from an unimagined source.'"

Tears of Fear

Hadith - Al-Tirmidhi #5359, Narrated Abdullah ibn Mas'ud

Allah's Messenger Salal Lahu Alehi Wa Alehi Wasalam said, "If, through fear of Allah, tears--even to the extent of a fly's head--fall from any believer's eyes and drop on some part of his cheek, he will be kept away from Hell by Allah."

Ibn Majah transmitted it.

Must have Knowledge

The Noble Qur'an - Faatir 35:28

And of men and AdDawâb (moving living creatures, beasts, etc.), and cattle, in like manner of various colours. It is only those who have knowledge among His slaves that fear Allâh. Verily, Allâh is AllMighty, Oft Forgiving.

Sayings of the Salaf

'Umar ibn 'Abdul 'Azîz (rahimahullâh) used to say, "None can reach the station of taqwâ until he possesses neither action nor words that can be exposed to his embarrassment either in this world or the Hereafter." He was once asked, "When does the worshipper reach the peak of taqwâ? He replied, "If he put all his thoughts and desires in his heart on a plate and then wandered around in the market, he should not feel ashamed of anything there." He would frequently say, "The sign of the muttaqî (pious person who fears Allah swt much) is to bridle oneself from speaking just like one in ihrâm bridles himself from speaking. The muttaqî need to be a scholar of the Sharî'ah, all of it, otherwise he leaves taqwâ without realising."

Frequently Asked Questions about Zakat

2010-08-23T12:02:00.000-07:00

Sound Vision consulted Br. Ahmad Sakr to find out about some of the frequently asked questions about Zakah and their answers. Ahmad Sakr studied Islam in Lebanon for 12 years with 20 different scholars form all parts of the Middle East. He learned Quran, Hadith, Fiqh, Seerah and Dawa from them.

Sakr is also director of the Islamic Education Center in Walnut, California.

These are the questions and answers he has given. (Please note that Imams differ in detail of some of the answers):

Question #1: What is Zakat-ul-Fitr?

Zakat -ul-Fitr is for fasting Muslims to give food or money on behalf of fasting people. The food or money is equal to one day's meals for one person. The head of the family pays this amount on behalf of each person in the family. If he is responsible for his mother and father, then he has to pay Zakat ul Fitr for them too.

If a person cannot fast permanently in the month of Ramadan (for instance, because of illness) they have to pay Fitra for each fasting day.

Question #2: Who is qualified to receive Zakah?

The Quran describes eight categories of people who are to receive Zakah in Surah 9, verse 60. "As-Sadaqat (here it means Zakat) are only for the Fuqara and Al-Masakin and those employed to collect the (funds); and to attract the hearts of those who have been inclined (towards Islam); and to free the captives; and for those in debt; and for Allah's Cause, and for the wayfarer; a duty imposed by Allah. And Allah is All-Knower, All-Wise."

Ahmad Sakr elaborated on these categories:

1. The poor (Fuqara)-this refers to someone who has no income

2. The needy (Masakin)-this is someone who for instance, may have a job, a house and a car, but their income is below the minimum requirement.

3. Employees of the Zakah. This category is sub-divided into the following:

a. the group of people who are social services workers who go into the community to evaluate who is Faqeer and Miskeen.

b. those who collect the Zakah money

c. the accountant of the Zakah money

d. investors who increase the share of the Zakah

e. the clerical worker or secretary who puts the files in order

f. those who will deliver Zakah to the ones who need it

g. the outside auditor.

4. Sympathizers

These are those people who might enter or who have already entered Islam. Anyone we feel are good friends or ours (non-Muslim or new Muslims) we give them a gift from the Zakah money.

5. To free slaves

Riqab is the term used to describe the group of people who are slaves. The Zakah money is used to free the slaves. Sakr stresses that Islam did not invent slavery, but it gradually abolished it.

6. For the Gharimeen-those who are in debt

-Zakah money is used to pay off debts but these people are not living in luxury, they are living a normal life. For example, someone who has gone bankrupt because of job loss and is overloaded with debt.

7. Fee Sabeelillah (for the Cause of Allah)

This can be anything for the love of Allah. Sakr gave the following examples:

a. for the employment of a Daiyah, Imam, or religious teachers to do Dawa

b. building Islamic schools

c. building Muslim clinics and hospitals

d. providing money to young men who want to marry but cannot afford Mahr

e. to assist poor travelers

f. to establish water springs on streets for those walking or travelers

(please note, these last three things were done by Khalifa Umar ibn Abdul Aziz)

g. to defend Muslims who are under attack

h. For television, radio or newspaper project aimed at doing Dawa

i. to help someone publish a book for Dawa

j. to pay for the studies of a student..

8. Ibn as Sabeel

This refers to a traveler, for instance who has lost his wallet and has to get back to his home.

Sakr stresses that this has to be verified to see if this person is really telling the truth, since there has been at least one case of a man claiming to be a lost traveler in North America who has stolen thousands from Muslims claiming to be a traveler of this type.

Question #3: How much Zakah do we give?

The amounts are the following:

2.5 percent-on annual savings that are Zakatable

5 percent-on agriculture being taken care of by a farmer who is planting and irrigating from his own money. During harvest time, he pays five percent from the total crop.

10 percent-on a farmer's product if it is being irrigated by rain

20 percent-on resources like oil or precious metals (i.e. gold, silver) which you find on a piece of land that you own. Sakr notes that this is "your property, no one has the right to nationalize it". You would pay 20 percent on what you produced in one year.

Question #4: Do I pay Zakah on my house and car

No, as long as you have one house, whether you have paid it off or not. If you have a second house for investment purposes, this is Zakatable. You would pay 2.5 percent on the total saved from the house. This excludes what is spent on maintenance or property taxes and insurance.

It's the same thing for a car. If you are renting a car to someone, this is considered a business entity, therefore, it is also Zakatable at 2.5 percent.

Question 5: Are businesses Zakatable?

First of all, the business should be Halal.

There are three opinions amongst the scholars:

1. If a businessman earns a certain amount from his business, whatever he saves after taking care of his family's needs and his business expenses, he pays Zakat of 2.5 percent on what he has saved.

2. A businessman has to pay Zakah on the commodities in his store. This would require evaluating the purchasing power of the commodity and then paying 2.5 percent on this amount.

3. Everything is from Allah and everything goes back to Allah. The more you give on your commodities, the better, and it does not have to be 2.5 percent.

Question #6: Should Zakah be paid only once a year?

The early Muslims actually paid Zakah everyday instead of paying in a large bulk once a year.

Some scholars have advised that we plan in advance for our Zakah because we might die and our inheritors may not pay the Zakah we owe.

Another group of scholars say for businesses, you should pay in advance. The way you would do this is by estimating how much business you will make and pay 2.5 percent.

If you decide to pay Zakah daily, give a specific amount to one of the eight categories, but nobody but you and Allah should know that you are giving, since some will feel it demeaning and insulting.

Question #7: Should Zakah be paid in Ramadan

Most Muslims prefer to give their Zakah in Ramadan because there are more rewards for doing so, but it is not necessary to pay Zakah in this blessed month.

Sakr noted that Muslims are in need throughout the year, not just in Ramadan, so we can benefit Muslims by paying other times of the year as well.

Sickness According to Quran and Sunnah

2010-08-23T11:56:00.000-07:00

by Islamic Quotes, Hadiths, Stories and Tips on Sunday, 22 August 2010 at 20:28

Bismillah ir Rahman ir RahimInnal-Hamdalillahwas-Salaatuwas-Salaam 'alaa RasoolillahAs-Salaamu alaikumwa-Rahmatullahiwa-Barakatuhu

SicknessAccordingto Quran and Sunnah

Ever wonder whya Muslim is allowedby Allah, subhana watallah, toget sick?

Hadith- Bukhari 7:564

I visited Allah's Apostle Salal Lahu Alehi Wasalam while he was suffering from a highfever. I touched him with my hand and said, "O Allah's Apostle! Youhave a high fever." Allah's Apostle said, "Yes, I have as much fever as two men of youhave." I said, "Is itbecause you will get a double reward?" Allah's Apostle said, "Yes, no Muslim is afflicted with harmbecause of sickness or some other inconvenience, but that Allah willremove his sins for him as a tree sheds its leaves."

Hadith- Muslim & Bukhari

Abu Sa'idal-Khudri r.a. reported that the Prophet Salal Lahu Alehi Wasalam said: Whenever a Muslim is afflicted with ahardship, sickness, sadness, worry, harm, or depression --even athorn's prick, Allah expiates his sins because of it.

Recorded by Bukhari inal-Adab ul-Mufrad (no. 493), verified authentic by al-Albani

"Expectgood, because Allah (s.w.t.) makes a believer's sickness an expiation(for his sins) and a period of repose. As for a disbelieverfalling sick, he is like a camel whose owner ties it and then lets itloose --it does not understand why it was tied, nor why it was freed."

The cure...

Hadith -Sahih Bukhari, Book 25, Number 5466, Narrated Jabir ibn Abdullah

Allah's Messenger Salal Lahu Alehi Wasalam said: There is a remedy for everymalady, and when the remedy is applied to the disease it is cured withthe permission of Allah, the Exalted and Glorious.

Hadith- Muwatta 50:12 Yahyarelated to me from Malik from Zayd ibn Aslam that a man received awound in the time of the Messenger of Allah Salal Lahu Alehi Wasalam. The blood clotted in the wound and the man called two men from the Banu Ammar tribe. They looked at it and claimed that the Messenger of Allah Salal Lahu Alehi Wasalam said to them, "Which of you is the better doctor?" They said, "Is there any good in medicine,Messenger of Allah?" Zayd claimed that the Messenger of Allah said Salal Lahu Alehi Wasalam, "The one who sent down the disease sent downthe remedy."

Narration - Ahmad "Worshippers of Allah, use medicaltreatments."

Hadith - Al-Tirmidhi#2170, Narrated Abdul

Malik ibn Umayr Allah'sMessenger said Salal Lahu Alehi Wasalam, "Fatihat al-Kitab contains healing for everydisease."

[Darimiand Bayhaqi, in Shu'ab al-Iman, transmitted it.]

Severe Trials for those Firm in their Religion

Hadith- Al-Tirmidhi 1562, Narrated Sa'd

When the Prophet Salal Lahu Alehi Wasalam was asked which people suffered the greatest affliction, he replied, "The prophets, then those who come next to them, then those who come next tothem. A man is afflicted in keeping his religion. If he is firm in hisreligion his trial is severe, but if there is weakness in his religionit is made light for him, and it continues like that till he walks onthe earth having no sin."

[Tirmidhi,Ibn Majah and Darimi transmitted it, and Tirmidhi said this is a hasansahih tradition.]

Rewards for those Afflicted

Hadith- Al-Tirmidhi #1570, Narrated Jabir ibn Abdullah

Allah's Messenger said Salal Lahu Alehi Wasalam, "On the Day of Resurrection, when people whohave suffered affliction are given their reward, those who are healthywill wish their skins had been cut to pieces with scissors when theywere in the world."

[Tirmidhitransmitted it, saying that this is a gharib tradition.]

Recorded by Ahmad , verified authentic byal-Hakim, ath-Thahabi, and al-Albani

The ailment is intensified for the righteous. Whenever a believeris afflicted with a hardship, be it a thorn or more, a sin is taken offhim because of it, and he is elevated on level (in Jannah [Paradise]).

Hadith - Al-Bukhari

A traveller's or sick person's deeds are recorded in accordance with whathe used to do when he was resident or well.

Endurance :

Hadith- Al-Tirmidhi, Narrated AbuUmamah [Ibn Majah transmittedit.]

The Prophet Salal Lahu Alehi Wasalam stated that Allah, who is Blessed and Exalted, said "Sonof Adam, if you show endurance and seek your reward from me in thefirst affliction, I shall be pleased with no lesser reward thanParadise for you."

Hadith -Sahih Bukhari, Muslim, and Nasa'i, Narrated 'A'ishah

The Prophet of Allah, upon himbe peace, said, "Do not say, 'Ifeel rotten*.' Instead, say, 'I do not feel well."

*or any expression that involves corruption ofany type

Epilepsy:

Hadith- Bukhari 7:555, Narrated 'Ata bin Abi Rabah

Ibn'Abbas said to me, "Shall I show you a woman of the people of Paradise?" I said, "Yes." He said, "This black lady came to the Prophetand said Salal Lahu Alehi Wasalam, 'I get attacks of epilepsy and my body becomes uncovered;please invoke Allah for me.' The Prophet said (to her), 'If you wish, be patient and you will have(enter) Paradise; and if you wish, I will invoke Allah to cure you.' She said, 'I will remain patient,' andadded, 'but I become uncovered, so please invoke Allah for me that Imay not become uncovered.' So he invoked Allah for her."

Kindness to the sick:

Hadith- Mishkat, Narrated Abu Sa'id

Allah'sMessenger said Salal Lahu Alehi Wasalam, "Whenyou go in to visit an invalid, express a hope that he will live long.That will not avert anything, but it will comfort him.

Hadith- Sahih Bukhari, Volume 8, Book 73, Number 40, Narrated An-Nu'man bin Bashir

Allah's Apostle said Salal Lahu Alehi Wasalam, "Yousee the believers as regards their being merciful among themselves andshowing love among themselves and being kind, resembling one body, sothat, if any part of the body is not well then the whole body sharesthe sleeplessness (insomnia) and fever with it."

Visit the sick:

Hadith -Qudsi 18

O son of Adam, I fell ill and you visited Me not. He will say: O Lord,and how should I visit You when You are the Lord of the worlds? He will say: Did you not know that My servant So-and-so had fallen ill and you visited him not? Did you not know that had you visited him you would have found Me with him? O son of Adam, I asked you for food and you fed Me not. He will say: O Lord, and how should I feed You when You are the Lord of the worlds? He will say: Did you not know that My servant So-and-so asked you for food and you fed him not? Did you not know that had you fed him you would surely have found that (the reward for doing so) with Me? O son of Adam, I asked you to give Me to drink and you gave Me not to drink. He will say: O Lord, how should I give You to drink whin You are the Lord of the worlds? He will say: My servant So-and-so asked you to give him to drink and you gave him not to drink.Had you given him to drink you would have surely found that with Me.

Supplication of an Invalid:

Allah's Messenger said Salal Lahu Alehi Wasalam, "When you visit an invalid tell him to make supplication for you, for his supplication is like that of the angels."

[Ibn Majah transmittedit.]

Taking Medicine:

Hadith- Muslim, narrated Jabir Bin 'Abdillah

TheProphet said: Every disease has a medication: If themedication for a particular disease is found, it will be cured withAllah's (swt) permission.

Hadith- Bukhari 7:610, Ibn 'Abbas and 'Aisha,Radiya 'Llahu 'anhuma

Abu Bakr kissed (the forehead of) the Prophet Salal Lahu Alehi Wasalam when he was dead. 'Aisha added: We put medicine in one side of his mouth but he started waving us not toinsert the medicine in to his mouth. We said, "He dislikes the medicineas a patient usually does." But when he came to his senses he said, "Did I not forbid you to put medicine (by force) in the side of my mouth?"We said, "We thought it was just because a patient usually dislikes medicine." He said, "None of those who are in the house but will be forced to take medicine in the side of his mouth while I am watching, except Al-'Abbas, for he had not witnessed your deed."

Read Qur'an when Sick :

TheNoble Qur'an - Al-Isra 17:82

And Wesend down from the Qur'an that which is a healing and a mercy to those who believe (in Islamic Monotheism and act on it), and it increases theZalimun (polytheists and wrong-doers) nothing but loss.

Ruqyah :

Ruqyah (plural: ruqa) is du'a or dhikr used for protection or cure.

Hadith- Muslim, Narrated 'Awf Bin Malik al-Ashjai

'Awf Bin Malik al-Ashjai said to the Prophet Salal Lahu Alehi Wasalam , "O Allah's Messenger Salal Lahu Alehi Wasalam! We used toapply ruqa during Jahliyyah. What do you think of that?" He replied: "Present your ruqa to me. There is nothing wrong with them as long as they do not involve shirk."

Hadith- Muslim and others

Abu Sa'idal-Khudri r.a. reported that Jibril came to the Prophet and said Salal Lahu Alehi Wasalam, "O Muhammad Salal Lahu Alehi Wasalam, are you sick?" He replied, "Yes." He said: "Bismillahi arqik, minkulli shay'in yu'thik, min sharri kulli nafsin aw 'ayni hasid-- With Allah's Name I shelter you (give you ruqyah), from all that ails you, from the evil of every soul, or that of the envious eyes. May Allah cure you; with Allah's Name I shelter you."

Why will there be more women in Hell than men?

2010-08-23T11:45:00.001-07:00

by Islamic Quotes, Hadiths, Stories and Tips on Sunday, 22 August 2010 at 22:33

Bismillah ir Rahman irRahimInnal-Hamdalillahwas-Salaatuwas-Salaam 'alaa RasoolillahAs-Salaamualaikumwa-Rahmatullahiwa-Barakatuhu

Why will there be more women in Hell than men?

Praise be to Allaah.

It was narrated from the Prophet (peaceand blessings of Allaah be upon him) that women will form the majority of the people of Hell. It was narrated from 'Imraan ibn Husayn that the Prophet(peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: "I looked into Paradise and I saw that the majority of its people were the poor. And I looked into Hell and I saw that the majority of its people are women." (Narrated by al-Bukhaari, 3241; Muslim, 2737)

With regard to the reason for that, the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) was asked about it and he explained the reason.

It was narrated that 'Abd-Allaah ibn 'Abbaas said: The Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: "I was shown Hell and I have never seen anything more terrifying than it.And I saw that the majority of its people are women." They said, "Why,O Messenger of Allaah P.B.U.H?" He said, "Because of their ingratitude (kufr)."It was said, "Are they ungrateful to Allaah?" He said, "They areungrateful to their companions (husbands) and ungrateful for goodtreatment. If you are kind to one of them for a lifetime then she seesone (undesirable) thing in you, she will say, 'I have never hadanything good from you.'" (Narrated by al-Bukhaari, 1052)

(Narrated by al-Bukhaari, 304)

It was narrated that Jaabir ibn 'Abd-Allaah said: "I attended Eid prayers with the Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him). He started with the prayer before the khutbah, with no adhaan or iqaamah. Then he stood up, leaning onBilaal, speaking of fear of Allaah (taqwa) and urging us to obey Him.He preached to the people and reminded them. Then he went over to thewomen and preached to them and reminded them. Then he said, 'Give incharity, for you are the majority of the fuel of Hell. A woman withdark cheeks stood up in the midst of the women and said, 'Why is that,O Messenger of Allaah?' He said, 'Because you complain too much and areungrateful to your husbands.' Then they started to give their jewelleryin charity, throwing their earrings and rings into Bilaal's cloak."

(Narrated by Muslim, 885)

Our believing sisters who learn of this hadeeth should behave like those Sahaabiyaat who, when they learned of this, did good deeds which would be the means, by Allaah's leave, of keeping them far away from beingin cluded in that majority of the in habit ants of Hell.
So our advice to the sisters is to strive to adhere to the rituals and obligatory duties of Islam, especially prayer, and to keep away fromccthat which Allaah has forbidden, especially shirk in its many forms which are wide spread among women, such as seeking one's needs from someone other than Allaah, going to practitioners of witch craft and fortune-tellers, etc.
We ask Allaah to keep us and all our brothers and sisters far away from the Fire and the words and deeds that bring one close to it.

Introduction- "Letters of The Holy prophet (S.A.W)

2010-08-23T10:44:00.000-07:00

Assalam

This is an introduction to the series of posts that I am planning to write for my blog. inshaAllah, I shall try my best. Basically, these posts will be copied from a book.
I had first found the book in the State Library, Port Blair, long ago. I was in the 8th or 9th std., I am not sure. And since it was such a treasure, I had got the book photocopied for myself.
Like I had already mentioned in a previous post, all my plans for Ramzaan and 30 special Ramzaan posts had to be cancelled coz of the excellent condition of my keyboard.
So, I am not sure how far will I be able to copy down this book…..
Still, I shall try as much as I can…..mostly the parts of the book that are most important to maintain the coherence of the subsequent posts….. and I hope Allah Paak helps me with it…..
I will need to show extra patience with this keyboard.. coz trust me, it’s driving me nutssss…..
In any case, I wish that Muslims who are interested in the subject do read the posts (as many posts as I can put up), if they haven’t read it earlier.
This photocopied book is one of my most treasured possessions; not just coz of the stuff it contains but also coz it was the first of “MY OWN” Islamic Book……..We have a lot of Islamic Literature at home, belonging to my grandmother, my mummy and a few belonging to some long lost people in my family tree. But, the problem is that these books are all in Urdu… and my knowledge of Urdu is.. well…. Kind of limited….coz Urdu uses a lot of Persian words and unlike Arabic, the script does not have ‘matras’- the ‘zabars’ and the ‘zers’…..so, on the whole, Urdu is tough for me….especially the Urdu contained in these Baba Aadam ke zamaane ke books.
And so, wen I found “Letters of The Holy Prophet(S.A.W)”, I was in one of my ‘jhinga la la’ moments.
Since then, I have collected some other English Isamic books , yet this remains the crown of all of “MY OWN” books.
I would also like to add that every word is being copied from “LETTERS OF THE HOLY PROPHET (S.A.W)” …. Whenever and wherever I find the need to expres myself, I shall indicate that those are my own words.
AND….. anything written under this Header is NOT OPEN TO DEBATES OR DISCUSSIONS.
Whether you are reading this in my “Jalpari” blog, or any other blog where I would post it… or even when it is transported to Facebook as a ‘note’----- these posts are NOT OPEN TO DEBATES OR DISCUSSIONS.
Plus, I AM NOT THE EPITOME OF ISLAM…… so, what “I” am should not be mixed or confused with what Islam teaches. No further explanations in this regard would be given. Relevant searches in my various blogs would help.

Alrite then….
Allah hafiz.

Allahhafiz vs Khudahafiz

2010-06-08T13:19:00.000-07:00

Assalam

Note: Post meant for Muslims.

If you know me, you surely do know that I am a Muslim, Alhamdulillah…. And I am an Indian, Alhamdulillah.

I was born and brought up in this country, speaking Urdu/Hindi and using terms like ‘Namaaz’ and ‘Roza’.

And I have no desire of suddenly changing my language because ‘some’ people find it inappropriate.

I had written in an earlier post that I absolutely hate the de-Indianization of Indian Muslims. That post dealt with the increasing usage of "Ramadhan Kareem" instead of "Ramzaan Mubarak".

I am still of the same view.

Today, someone told me that ‘Khudahafiz’ is not the correct word to be used. We should rather say ‘Allah hafiz’. The reason being ‘Parsis also use Khudahafiz’.

I have heard the same ridiculous notion earlier as well…..

And I am very sure that a lot of people reading this also have similar views…..

In any case, I make it clear to anyone and everyone reading this post, that I, Almas, will not stop saying Khudahafiz.

Firstly, for the benefit of the readers, ‘Khuda’ is a word incorporated into Urdu from Persian (like many many many Urdu words are). If you do a thorough search, you’d find that the word ‘Khuda’ has a very elaborate meaning- from ‘the powerful one’ to ‘the one to which sacrifices are offered’. To keep it simple, we shall use the commonest meaning for which the term ‘Khuda’ is used- ‘God’.

When I say Khuda, I mean my God, my Creator, the One to whom I shall return.

When I say Khuda, I mean my Allah.

But, obviously, not everyone in the world speaks Urdu, not everyone in the world calls Allah ‘Khuda’.

Just like not everyone in the world speaks English, not everyone in the world would call Allah ‘God’.

But, to remind you, I am not ‘everyone in the world’. I am me. and I do call my God ‘Khuda’. And then it doesn’t matter to me who else uses this word for what else….

For the people who say that ‘Khuda’ shouldn’t be used coz a lot of other people use this term for their God…

Well, yes…. Urdu is a language, so is Persian.. and anyone who speaks in this language can use ‘Khuda’ for his God. A Christian from Pakistan can use ‘Khuda’, a Zoroastrian from Iran can use ‘Khuda’. That, by no means, implies that a Muslim from either Pak or Iran cannot use ‘khuda’.

Because…

When you say that ‘Khuda’ can also mean the Christian God or the Parsi God…or even the Sikh or Hindu God … you are actually trying to say that there IS a Christian God, a Parsi God, a Sikh God, a Hindu God……besides a Muslim God Allah.

Tell me, is this what you believe in?

Does this make you Muslim?

Tell me, what is the most important thing to be a Muslim?

The belief in one God.

Allah.

La ilaha illallah.

There is no God but Allah.

so when anyone says ‘God’ what should come to your mind?

Allah…. Coz who is Allah but Allah????

There is one God who created us all, who provides for us all, whether we be Muslim or Hindu or Parsi or whatever.

Then what exactly dyu mean wen you say that ‘so and so people also call their God ‘Khuda’????

Do you realize that a Christian Arab also uses ‘Allah’ but for him Allah is the father of Jesus…. How cool is that?

So, now shouldn’t I stop using the term ‘Allah’ too?

Do you realize that when Huzur S.A.W. became a Prophet, Arabs belonging to the Jahiliya also worshipped Allah, only that they also worshipped Uzza, Lat, Manat?

So, doesn’t this too mean that I should stop using ‘Allah’ ?

Giving you a very recent example…..

I read this little thing in ‘TeleKids’ which is (or used to be) a supplementary issue with ‘The Telegraph’…at that time I was in ninth std. It told that ShahRukh Khan’s son Aryan points at the statue of Ganapati at home and calls it ‘Ganapati-Allah’.

And a whole lot of Non-Muslims believe that Allah is some ‘other’ God………a God other than their own God.

So, doesn’t ‘Allah’ too conjure images other than what we as Muslims know ‘Allah’ means?

Now, if ‘Allah’ despite being used by other sects means Allah. I am sure ‘Khuda’ too can mean ‘Allah’ for me.

When a Christian says ‘KhudaHafiz’, he mite be leaving you in the protection of God the Father…. But wen I or any other Muslim says Khudahafiz, we are leaving you in the protection of Al-Ilah…. The God.

There are reasons, definitely, why you can tell me to use ‘Allah hafiz’ instead of Khudahafiz.

The best being that Allah calls Himself Allah in the Qur’an.

That saying the ‘word’ Allah itself brings blessings.

That it binds the Ummati in a common thread.

You give me these reasons and I will agree to you.

But you tell me that stupid reason of “A Parsi calling God ‘Khuda’”, and you are seriously going to have a good piece of my mind.

Besides, I would also like to add that Allah created us all different … there are Muslims with golden hair and blue eyes……. Muslims with black skin and crude curly hair….. and then there are Muslims with brown skin and black eyes…

We eat different food, speak different languages and have different cultures.

We are united in our belief and our belief doesn’t include us becoming Arabs.

No, I don’t mean ‘Allah’ is for Arabs alone.

What I mean is that this sudden need among Indian Muslims to switch over from ‘namaaz’ to ‘Salaah’ and the like as also a sudden defilement of ‘Khudahafiz’ have all arisen (I believe) from that same misconception that Muslim and Arab is synonymous.

It is NOT.

I live in Kerala at present and the Muslims here use the term ‘Niskkaram’ or ‘Namaskkaram’ for ‘Namaaz’ / ‘Salaah’. Yet I don’t find huge forums on the internet debating the usage of the term. Nor do I find Keralite Muslims with any sense of shame in their usage of a word which is well known to be of Hindu origin (if I can call it that) to refer to the second pillar of Islam.

Yet, ‘namaaz’, ‘roza’, ‘khuda’ are so vehemently opposed….

The only explanation that I can find for this absurd phenomenon is the huge population of the Hindi/Urdu Muslims…….

Keralite Muslims form a small population and their ‘terms’ are not so apparent to the larger Muslim world nor are they a threat. Whereas Urdu/Hindi Muslims are a bloody huge group of people and with the global community that we all have become the urdu/hindi Muslim ‘terms’ have somehow stood as competitors to their ‘Arabic’ counterparts, at any given place and time.

And with an increasing Western Muslim population due to an unprecedented rise in reversions, Arabic in its chaste form is being embraced as the sole language of Islam.

In such a scenario, naturally, the older Indian/Paki Muslims who use Urdu/Hindi in its various forms, present as the single largest ‘alienation’.

And thus, the need to extol the usage of ‘arabic’ terms… or rather deprecate the usage of Urdu/Hindi terms that the larger Muslim World cannot understand.

In any case, I feel this is so totally ridiculous.

I myself end all my posts with an ‘Allah hafiz’ , yet I use ‘Khuda hafiz’ in my routine language. Not coz one is better than the other but coz both mean one and the same.

And trust me my God can understand all the languages he created. He really does.

The need to de-Indianize us (Urdu/Hindi Muslims) stems from the belief that how can anything Muslim be non-Arab? It is very similar to the Urdu/Hindi Muslim belief that how can anything Muslim be non Urdu/Hindi (within India)?

Since most Muslims in India know one or the other form of Urdu/Hindi, even if their mother tongue be something totally different .. like..say.. Tamil .. there is a common belief that all Indian Muslims speak Urdu… which is NOT true….

I know Keralite Muslims who don’t know the ‘U’ of Urdu and yet are beautiful Muslims.

We need to realize that the pulse of the Ummati… the golden thread that binds us as Muslims is our belief and not our language.

We need to understand that ‘your God and my God and his God and her God and that God and this God and their God’ is for people who believe that there CAN possibly be more than one god.

What makes us Muslims is our proclamation ..

“There is One God.”

Now, if I call him God, or Rabb or Khuda or Bhagwaan or Maalik or Parwar dighaar is not of as much importance as is that I call Him and Him alone.

Coz, after all….

There is only One who can possibly be God

Him---- Al-Ilah--- The God.

Wahadahu la shareek

Allahu Akbar.

P.S.- No offence to the person who told me not to say ‘Khuda hafiz’. You did your part. It’s just that I disagree. Newaz… you are my favouritest.

The Beloved's Beloved---- Imaam Hussain A.S

2009-12-26T12:02:00.000-08:00

Assalam

It’s the 9th of Moharram today and it’s the first of the two rozas for us in Kerala. At home, it’s tomorrow and the day after.

The first thing that I’d like to tell is that the 9th and 10th Rozas are not in remembrance of Imaam’s Shahadat….Huzur S.A.W Himself had observed these fasts and that was long before the Battle Of Karbala.

These two rozas are to mark the day wen the Children of Israel had been delivered by the Grace of Allah under the leadership of Prophet Moses A.S.

It has nothing to do with Imaam A.S. or the Bayt….

Next, just like last year I wish to do a post on Aashura.

"Aashura..... and the Battle of Karbala"

That was my last year’s post on Aashura where I have tried to write a brief account on the history of the Shahadat and I have also copied a very famous song bout the Battle.

Today,

I think I should write bout wat I feel bout the way we shud ‘react’ to Muharram. Meaning my reaction to the Shia-Sunni tussle over the Imaam. I shall not be writing much of new stuff.. I will only copy and paste from posts I have written earlier…. And then link back to them…I think that wud be enuf.

How and why were we divided into Shias and Sunnis is too vast a thing for me to write here. For now, it would suffice to talk bout exactly ‘how much’ have we been divided.

The various ‘struggles’ between the Shias and the Sunnis is for everyone to see. Every now and then we hear of the problems in Iraq…..but I feel {I meaning me meaning the person who’s typing this down meaning the person who’s blog this is meaning Almas Shamim}that the passive resistance between the two sects (can we call it sect???) is way more than the very evident fights.

This can be noticed most vividly during Muharram…the First month of the Islamic calendar. The battle of Karbala was fought during this month and Imaam Hussain (A.S), the Beloved grandson of the Final Prophet of Islam, was martyred on the 10th Muharram at Nainawa, Karbala.

The Battle was fought between Muslims…. Between relatives…between Hussain A.S and Yazeed…

Twas a Battle of principles..of standing for wat was right…. Of upholding what Islam taught.

While the Shias in their love for the Bayt go to the extent of lashing themselves until they bleed, the Sunnis in their strange resistance to “all things Shia” somehow present it in a way that even shedding tears for Hussain is a Biddat.

plz read another post i had written also titled, Aashura..... and the Battle of Karbala

And I quote myself again, “…And nowwwww since Shias give a very huge importance to Ali and the First Family……. Strangely Sunnis retort with a rejection of almost everything that goes in the line of praising Ali or Hussain……..(not everyone.. but a large number of Sunnis)..

It goes to the extent that many Sunnis refuse to hear the story of Karbala on Muharram …. Coz they label it to be a Shiite ritual.

A lot of times you’ll hear Sunnis saying that it’s wrong to ‘cry’ wen you hear the story of Karbala…they somehow relate it to the Shiite practices of lashing themselves and suffering pain on the occasion of Muharram.

Very personally speaking, I think, only a very hard hearted Muslim wudn cry on hearing bout the Battle of Karbala…..

It amazes me wen I find someone not in love with Hussain… I don’t understand how can any sane Muslim not be in love with Hussain. How can you not feel the pain that I do wen I hear of his shaheedi? Everything that happened was for us… then why cant you feel it? it really amazes me………

Yes, a lot of what Shias do in the name of love is Biddat….but wat is not is not.

Don’t go on labeling everythin as a ‘Biddat- Innovation’..

” from my post Ali Maula

Wat I mean is that each time you shed a drop of tear for Imaam Hussain A.S, you’ll find the whole Muslim population (which consists more of Sunnis) surrounding you and imparting knowledge that it is just not done…

Yo brothers!! It is just not done!

When Huzur’s son had passed away, even Huzur’s eyes were filled with tears… you see? ‘crying’ is human. And I recently found a beautiful couplet which points to the fact that when we lose someone in our family, don’t we cry over the loss?? Each time we talk bout that person, don’t we feel the pain? Then how can you not feel the pain for Hussain A.S… it leaves me baffled.. totally!!!

Yeah! I know.. that the pain of Hussain is not to be felt on any one day or any one season.. it’s not a “Happy Mourning Day”.. that we mourn exclusively on one day and then forget bout it altogether.

I aint saying that….of course, the message of Karbala shud be carried with us every single day of our life. But this cannot be made the basis to shrug off the story of Karbala if you get to hear it at least once in a year….

Agar tum pure saal Karbala ko bhulaye baithte ho.. toh tumhara kasoor hai… agar yaad karte toh shayad Ashure ke din kuchh zyada yaad karne mei tumko burai nahi dikhta. Aur burai kyu? Kyuki ye Shia-iat hai?

I remember, before joining college… my mother’s constant complain to me was not to waste water.. and it was usually followed by telling me how our Imam and the Bayt had been martyred thirsty….

Each time mummy and I speak of the ‘Right vs Wrong’ things in life… mummy never fails to mention Karbala…..she says, ‘Usool me sirf 72 khade the.. aur Usool me qayam rehna hi Islam hain’

Kaise nahi yaad karte log Imam ki Shaheedi. Kaise nahi rona aata unko?Aap maatam nahi manate...Mat manao..Par dil ke kis kone mein ishq chhupa rakha hai.. woh toh dikhao...Mat khoon bahao... mat seena peeto..woh Biddat hai....Unka yaad bhar kar lo... toh tumhara kya bigad jayega???

Are haan!!! Shia mei shumaar ho jaoge.. ye bigad jaega…

This is the passive resistance I spoke of… the resistance to the expression of love for the Ahle Bayt…. Coz somehow….Sunnis are scared of ‘overexpression’ of their love..for the fear of doin wat the Shias do….

And this resistance is only widening the gap… this is making the Shias all the more immersed in their ‘way’ …coz weder knowingly, weder unknowingly, Sunnis have only distanced themselves from any overt expression of their feelings.

Of course, you shall say that being a good Muslim is more important than that.. toh bhai.. who toh obvious sa baat hai na??? who toh har ek ko banna hai…aap bas yeh kehte raho as a cover to why u never speak of the Bayt…aap bas kehte raho ki saal mei sirf ek din unko yaad karke kya..toh isse toh koi kaam nahi banta na?..... jo kehte ho..woh karo toh… ache musalman bano toh… pure saal apne zindagi mein karbala ko qaayam rakho toh…aapp toh na yeh karte hai… na who karte hain…. Aur jab koi matam manata hai.. toh unpar pathhar fekte hai…. Haan!! Bohot achhe musalman.!!

Ultimately, with all this hatred in the Sunnis for the Shias and vice versa...wat r we left with??? Each sect calling the other ‘Yazeed ke aulaad’….

Tum isliye maatam nahi manate kyuki tumko unse pyaar nahi, tum yazeed ke aulaad.

Tum maatam isliye manate ho kyuki tumne Hussain ko maara.. tum yazeed ke aulaad

Wow! The whole of Ahmed’s Ummati… yazeed ke aulaad…hmmm.

In any case. I, me, Almas (nothing shud be extrapolated to my family plz) do not wear black on Moharram…. And I do not mourn on this day… this day has been a very blessed day for mankind…..from Noah’s deliverance to the Pharaoh’s end. From Adam’s pardon to Joseph’s freedom. 10th of Aashura is a Blessed day.

The day Allah chose to deliver the Ummati in return for the Exalted Imam’s life.

It will never be a mourning day for me…. but I cant stop my tears wen I think that oh!! Today was the day wen Imam was martyred… and martyred for me….

Royen Wo jo munkar hain shahadat e HUSSAIN k.. ..

HUM zinda o Javed ka matam nahi kartay. . .

ALLAMA IQBAL

Mazloom hi Mazloom ko rote hain jahan mei,

zalim kabhi Mazloom ka Matam nahi karte.

Apna koi Marr jay tu rote hain Tadap kar,

Par aale Nabi (S.A.W) ka Gham nahi karte.

Himmat hai to Mahshar main yeh kehna Paighambar say,...

Ke hum Eid to karte the Par Muharram nahi karte.

(ALLAMA IQBAL.)

P.S-written yesterday..

Allah hafiz

The Muslim Christmas??????????

2009-12-25T14:20:00.000-08:00

Assalam

So… I received many “Merry Christmas” smses today…. I replied to each one of them.

Yes, there are many, esp. in the West who’d claim that it’s wrong to wish people on any non-Muslim holidays…

Cool!

To them be their lives…

I believe that there is no harm in wishing people the happiness that they are wishing me.

And being an Indian, it gets all the more imperative, and more importantly, natural for us to wish each other.. and ‘live in harmony’- to be clichéd…

Well…

Now the thing is that…these friends of mine, who’d wished me.. were all Christians….and just in case u’ve forgotten, Christmas is actually a festival to celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ (A.S.).

So, I guess twas pretty ok that my friends wished me… it was the birth of Christ… a moment of happiness.. so.. well….

This was until I logged on to the net….

I found two scraps awaiting me on Orkut….one had Santa Claus.. and the other had a Merry Christmas note….

Both were sent by Muslims.

And wen I logged on to FB, twas all the more fun… coz apparently Muslims were quite desp on not being able to contact each other to wish Christmas…

Now, I really wonder wat was all this about????

Firstly, we do NOT follow the Solar calendar… we follow the Lunar calendar…. So there is no point in wishing each other the birth of a Prophet on the same day every year….

Secondly, do you wish other on other festivals like Ramnavami or Ganesh Chaturthi??? We wish our Hindu friends, definitely we do… but I have never been wished by a Muslim on any such occasion ….. then y the deal bout Christmas?

Thirdly, as Muslims, how many of u all wish each other on Milad un Nabi?

And finally…. How many of u are even aware that the day after tomorrow is the tenth of Muharram???? The day of the martyrdom of our Beloved’s Beloved…

How many of us have thought of Him even once today? How many of us recall the pains that they went through?

And yet, we are wishing each other on a festival… that is oh-so-not our festival….

And THAT is precisely why I wrote the tweet

“i dnt undrstnd y a Muslim wud wish andr Muslim "Merry Xmas".Wish others,Y Muslims? since wen did v start believin its Eesa A.S's bday today?”

And just in case your vision is defective, lemme elaborate…

I have written that I see no point in why a Muslim, who doesn’t believe that it’s Christ’s bday today should wish ‘Merry Christmas’ to ME, another Muslim who doesn’t believe that it’s Christ’s bday today.

If I need to wish ‘merry Christmas’ I need to wish it to Davis, Deepti, Joseph and other friends…..

Why shud I wish Afzal, Aneesha or Azhar???

Don’t we all share the same belief? The same rules? The same practices?

Then why????

Now, if you are goin to tell me that there is no harm if you do wish… lemme remind you of a few commands where we are expected to be different…

1. the most prominent of all is the Hijab … the 5th component of Hijab includes avoiding any attire that is symbolic of another religion…wearing which clearly indicates that I belong to another religion….. so that we r not known to be that which we r not.

2. another one to do with appearance…the men are commanded to keep beards and shave the moustaches… only to be different from the others who, bear moustaches and shave the beards…

3. we are commanded to keep fast on the 9th and 10th of Moharram… not in remembrance of Imaam Hussain A.S. but in remembrance of the Prophet Moses A.S….. this fasting is prescribed to Jews also.. the difference being that they keep fasts only on one day.. and to be different from the Jews, Huzur S.A.W had prescribed us a fasting of TWO days….

Wat I mean is.. we have been COMMANDED to be different….

Wen we r living among others, it gets imperative that we don’t hurt anyone’s sentiment.

But that by no means implies that u shud stop being ‘different’ and adopt a festival that clearly belongs to some other religion as being your own.

Now, some got worked up coz of my status…

Maybe they misinterpreted it to mean that I do not want to wish Christmas to ANYONE…. Which is not the case.. the status is still there.. go read it.. I wrote that I do not understand the need of ‘two muslims wishing each other’ on Christmas.

Or maybe, they really do feel that ‘TWO MUSLIMS SHOULD or at least CAN WISH EACH OTHER’

Now, to that…

If u r a Muslim, and if u have read the above quoted examples, u know why I told wat I did….

And if u feel that “It has nothing to do with blief and that it is just a time for enjoyment, party n fun....”

As opposed to wat I feel, that “Christmas marks the birth of Christ for Christians”

I wonder who is showing more respect to this festival and to the Faith of the hundreds of Christians whom u call friends.

A little bit of googling will let you know that many devout Christians are themselves pretty sad bout the way Christmas has been reduced to a synonym for ‘party’….

Wen some say, “Jesus is the reason for the season”, they aren’t kidding!

As for people who think that by not wishing A Merry Christmas to another “MUSLIM”, I become any lesser of an Indian…..

I wonder what being an Indian means ????

If to be an Indian, I need to respect people for wat they are. Accept them wid their religions, as a part of my life… love them wid their religions… befriend them .. live wid them wid their religions… not force my religion upon them… I bet you, you wud be glad you ever met me coz in that case, I define India.

But,

If to be Indian is to be “cosmopolitan”…. And going by the word meaning, if it means I need to start becoming a little bit of every religion….. going to the church on Sundays, and the mosque 5 times a day…and establishing a little temple complete with all the pratimas, in my house… if anyone feels that this is required to be an Indian…I can only request two things-

One, plz read the constitution and change ur thinking.

Hold on to ur thinking and change the Constitution.

And once the Constitution changes, I shall think weder or not to continue living in India.

As of now…. In the beautiful land called India,

The matrimonials still carry different sections….

Tamil

Telugu

Hindu

Christian

Urdu

And in one little corner…. Mostly by old divorcees who find it difficult to get a spouse, we see the section labeled “Cosmopolitan”.

And if the need arises for me to publish a matri ad, I am not planning to submit one under “Cosmopolitan”.

Thank You.

P.S- the only purpose of the post- I don’t stand my integrity being questioned...wen I know that I am NOT wrong.

Allah hafiz.

Dua

2009-12-12T11:06:00.000-08:00

O Allah, O Karim,

Please have Mercy on me.

O Allah, O Karim,

Please forgive me for the sins I committed in the past

and those I will commit in the future.

O Allah,

have Mercy on all the Muslimeen, and guide them.

Guide me O Allah, and guide my parents,

my siblings, my cousins,

my aunts and uncles,

my nephews and nieces and so forth.

O Allah,

I ask You to strengthen my iman and those around me.

I ask You to soften my heart and to soften the hearts of the Believers.

O Allah,

forgive me for my shortcomings, for only You are Perfect.

O Allah,

Please Forgive me if I ever got too wrapped in a matter that I didn't have the time to utter Your Name.

O Allah,

Please Forgive me for all the salat I missed because of ignorance or laziness,

Please Forgive me for all the fasts I didn't make up, thinking it was "alright, since I fasted most of the days anyway."

O Allah,

Please Forgive me for the quarter I never dropped into the metal cup for the homeless man begging on the street.

O Allah,

Please spark the love of Islam in my heart and in the hearts of every single Muslim

until it gets implanted in their children and their childern's children and so on.

O Allah,

I ask that You help me for I am weak and will only grow stronger by Your Strength,

so Allah Please Strengthen me to fight Shaitan and his whispers.

And if I ever fell into his trap and followed my desire,

then sincerely forgive me, for that displays not only my weakness,

but Your Greatness as well.

O Allah,

Please lighten the punishment in the grave for those before us and those after us.

Please Allah, lighten the punishment and please shed light into every Muslim's grave.

O Allah,

if I ever was too afraid to stand up for Your Deen

because of what others would think, then Forgive me, for I was a fool for doing so.

O Allah,

Please Protect me and each Musilman, and Protect especially the orphans and the widows.

O Allah,

Please Strengthen the faith of the destitute Muslims around the world,

so they have hope to live.

O Allah,

If I ever forgot to do du'a for even one suffering Muslim,

then Forgive me for then it is as if I haven't done du'a for the entire ummah.

O Allah,

Please be the Light of my eyes, ears and heart.

O Allah,

Please be the Light on the sides of me and the Light behind me

and the light in front of me.

O Allah,

Please Forgive me for all the foul words I spoke either out of ignorance or

because I was trying to be "cool."

O Allah,

Please forgive me if I never stopped to think about You,

due to "other important things."

O Allah,

Please Forgive me for not having enough time

or creating time for reading the Qur'an.

O Allah,

Please Forgive me for listening to music

and watching movies and t.v.

O Allah,

Please forgive me for all the yelling I've done and the arguments I've been in.

For the only time the voice should be raised is for Your Praises!

O Allah,

Please Forgive me for my disrespect towards my family,

elders, siblings and so on.

O Allah,

Please Forgive me for any backbiting I have been accused of,

whether I did it consciously or unconsciously.

O Allah,

Rab al-Alamin, Forgive me, Forgive me for everything.

So for everyone,every single Muslim, dead or alive,

I do du'a that you forgive them for all their sins.

O Allah,

Please Please Please help the suffering Muslims

of Kashmir, Palestine, Chechnya,Bosnia, Gujarat, Nigeria,

Iraq, Afghanistan and everywhere around the world.

Please O Allah, make the Mujahideen victorious,

and let the beauty of Islam reign!

O Allah,Give victory to the Muslims!

O Allah, Please let True Islam reign!

O Allah, Please increase our knowledge of Your Deen and this world.

Oh Allah,

Please Help us all and guide us, for You are Everything to us.

O Allah, I cannot stress how much I ask for Your Forgiveness and Your Guidance.

O Allah, I fear You,

I fear You soooo much words cannot describe.

I fear the day when I will meet You, and I WILL meet You.

When we are one on one, and I have no one's help or support.

No-one can take the blame for me nor I for them.

The only thing I will have is a little book given to me by You

that has my deeds.

O Allah,

Please Forgive me for my thoughts, for even though I get sinned only for my actions,

I cannot help but feel guilty for my thoughts and I ask You to Forgive me for them

and to clear my mind of any impurities until You become the Only thing on my mind.

O Allah,

Please Forgive me if I ever did anything out of gain

for this life and not for Your pleasure.

If I ever did anything to "show off" then Please Forgive me for that.

O Allah,

I do du'a that You grant us all God-Fearing spouses

and grant us righteous children.

Oh Allah,

I do du'a that You continue to strengthen this ummah

until the Day of Resurrection.

O Allah,

Forgive me for whatever I have not mentioned,

for I am bound to forget

....but You,

through Your Greatness...

You Never Forget.

O Allah,

Please Grant all the Muslims

Jannah-tul-Firdaus.

O Allah,

I ask that You shed Your Mercy

on all the Prophets (peace be upon them)

and on all the Angels (peace be upon them).

Lastly, I do du'a You shed Your Mercy on the Prophet Muhammad ,

his family and companions.

I do du'a that you grant Muhammad the Highest Station in Paradise.

Rabinna Aataina

Fiduniya Hasinathow

Wa Fil Akhirati Hasinathow,

Wakina Adhab innaar

Ameen.

- KASHIF KHALEEL

P.S.-Kashif is a brother-in-Faith from Kashmir. He has completed his Engineering from Chennai and now is a student at the University Of Bristol, UK. He's also a gr8 photographer... and from what I have known through Azhar, a gr8 friend too.
May Allah reward him for this very beautiful dua...
Aameen
Summa Aameen

Ha Ha Ha Ha Ha .. Ya Ali Madad!!!!! :D :D :D

2009-11-13T19:57:00.000-08:00

Assalam
I am laughing coz I just read a joke….
Though I have basically stopped replying to comments due to the sheer lack of time added on to the lack of interest, I am doin this post coz I think it set off my day wid a hearty laughter…..

A comedian whoz so modest that he/she doesn’t believe in sharing his/her identity…. Reached my blog searching for “meaning La fatah illa ali La saife illa zulfiqar La fatah illa ali La saife illa zulfiqar Ali, ali, ali, ali…. Himmatein ataa karo”.. from Bombay, Maharashtra.

And cracked a beeeaauuttiiffuull joke…. :D :D :D :D :D

Now….
Thanks to this joke, I have learnt a lot…

Dyu read my blogs regularly??? Know my ‘Dearest Allah’ series posts in Jalpari???
Haannnn!!!
So, now I have learnt that I can even write them as ‘Dearest Ali’ coz’ you see.. Ali is one of Allah’s 99 names…..

Likewise….
I can say,
“I begin in the name of Ali, Most Beneficent Most Merciful”

And I can also say…

“There is no God but Ali and Muhammad is His Prophet”…

Wow!! this is the best of all I think…. :D :D :D :D Muhammad is the Prophet of Ali.. :D :D :D :D :D

In fact …. Everything can change…
Glory be to Ali
All praise be to Ali
If Ali wills….
Ali is the greatest….

:D :D :D :D: :D :D :D :D

Though I still wonder why such a high dose partiality to only ONE of Allah’s 99 names… I mean
Ar-Rehmanu
Ar-Raheemu
Al-Maliku
Al-Quddusu
As-Salaamu……………
Etc etc etc
Are all beautiful names……
Then why am I stuck up wid Al-Aliu?????
Oh sorry!!! not Al-Aliiu..
I’m stuck up wid Ali!!!!!!!!!!
:D :D :D :D :D :D
Ha ha ha!!!!
Ali Himself knows!!!!

And especially Shias... when they say ’Ya Ali Madad’........ and Maula Ali…
They TRULY MADLY DEEPLY mean ‘Ya Allah Madad’ and ‘Maula Allah’……
Again, why don’t they EVERRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR say

‘Ya Fattahu Madad’… or ‘Maula Khaliqu’……..
:D :D :D :D :D
Ask them and of course, Ask Ali the Allah!!!
:D :D :D

But one sec….
If ‘Ali’ used in ‘Ya Ali’ means Allah,, then wat does this song mean????

~~~the song that our dearest comedian was searching for~~~

Ali………………………..
Himmatein ata karo
O madadgaar…
Maulaaaa
Ali maula……
O maula.....

Aap hi ho quwwat-e-parwardigaar
Maula
Ali maula
O maula..........

Jazbaat kya hai Maula
Haalaat kya hai Maula
Ke shaatir iske saare vaar hai..
Har saansein khwahish sile
Saazish hai kuchh hai gile
Ke mushkilaate beshumaar hai

O shah-e-mardaan, sher-e-Yazdaan
Jaan fida Tumpe
Maulaaaaa
Ali maula

La fatah illa Ali
La saif illa Zulfiqar....

Wow!!! :D :D :D :D the meaning becomes quite cool you know!!!
Ab dekho

Himmatein ataa karo O madadgaar Maula Ali…
Ok..
It means ‘O Hlpful Allah, grant me courage’
Not a prob..
Then,

“Aap hi ho quwwat-e-parwardigaar”
Hmmmm.
Here ‘Aap’ refers to Maula Ali…
And parwar digaar obviously means Allah.
And since Ali also means Allah..
This line in the song means

“Allah is the quwwat of Allah”
:D :D :D

“O shah-e-mardaan”
Literally meaning ‘the King of Men’
Of course Allah is the King of all Kings..
But in a more literary way, shah-e-mardaan means “King of the Braves”
And that makes Allah the King of the Braves ,….. coz you see, “Ya Ali” is actually “ya Allah”
So… Allah is brave ..
Hmmmm.
Coollllll!!!!!

“sher-e-Yazdaan”
Meaning ‘Tiger of the Merciful”

And since ‘Ali’ actually means Allah.. coz one of Allah’s names is ‘Ali’….here, the line means.
“Allah is the tiger of Allah”

Ultraaaa cooll!!!!

“La fatah illa Ali
La saif illa Zulfiqar....”

Ye toh too good hai, it means
“There’s no hero like Allah and there’s no sword like Zulfiqar”
Haan bilkul…. Zulfiqar ko thaamkar Allah gaye the Jihaad par.. apne Khud ke naam par mar mitne…!!!!
Waah waah waah waah!!

And alllllllllllllllll this coming from someone who apparently had to google the meaning of ‘La fatah….’

Now isn’t this a mindblowing joke????

Khair… this post was only to get my facts right…..:D :D :D

Baaki those who need ‘STRAIGHTER’ facts bout y do some of us say ‘Ya Ali’ and wat do we mean wen we say that…plz make use of the very popular search engine called ‘Google’… you’ll get to know a lot of views……and then use ur wisdom (if u have it) to choose that which appears most appropriate.

Now shud I end this post wid

Ali Hafiz ???????????

- ---------- no offence intended to My Most Merciful God or to His ‘Tiger’…..
All offence intended to the comedian……

And I think many will take this post to mean different from wat I have written it to mean…. Plz read the previous post and its comments to understand this post better.

And at the end
A BIGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGG

Nauzubillah…….

P.S- You can see the 99 names of Allah in Arabic on the right column of this blog....
Allah hafiz

Ali Maula...

2009-11-01T01:19:00.000-07:00

Assalam

Ali………………………..
Himmatein ata karo
O madadgaar…
Maulaaaa
Ali maula……
O maula.....

Aap hi ho quwwat-e-parwardigaar
Maula
Ali maula
O maula..........

Jazbaat kya hai Maula
Haalaat kya hai Maula
Ke shaatir iske saare vaar hai..
Har saansein khwahish sile
Saazish hai kuchh hai gile
Ke mushkilaate beshumaar hai

O shah-e-mardaan, sher-e-Yazdaan
Jaan fida Tumpe
Maulaaaaa
Ali maula

La fatah illa Ali
La saif illa Zulfiqar....

This is a song from the movie Kurbaan. I have only heard the remix … so if there is a slower version, cant say bout that.. newaz.. the remix is too gr8 …

But the question that again arises is the ‘lyrics’ in the song…

Now…. In general, there is quite a split among Muslims as to whether or not music is allowed in Islam.

I do believe that music is NOT allowed in Islam…. Though.. I am myself not able to quit music…

But keeping this thing aside.. if we only try to judge this song based on its lyrics, I felt that something is definitely amiss…

Or was it just a prejudice that all “Ali” songs are defective….??????????

Well… let’s see…

Sabse pehle….

I don’t believe in sectarian Islam.. not at all… there are a lot of people who say that we need to choose a school of thot and follow it in its entirety.. and they give some very sane arguments favouring it…

Sorry….

I cant do that!

I just cant get myself to believe that anyone can be infallible…

Allah Himself says that the ‘Closest to perfection is Muhammad S.A.W’

And if Huzur S.A.W isn’t perfect…. No mortal is.

And so am not buying everything that any mortal says………… a mortal so far away from Huzur S.A.W.

Of course, I do have a ‘particular’ upbringing… I was brought up as belonging to a particular ‘sect’ of Islam, if u can call it that…., by a father whoz a strong-headed sectarian… and a mother whoz very receptive…

I took after mummy…

I definitely ‘do’ ‘things’ as per my ‘sect’ but I don’t blindly oppose everything that others do (and I don’t).. and if I think its good enuf, I see no reason why I shud be stopped from doin it, if I ever choose to.

That said, lemme get back to the song…

In this song, as in many others, the singer or rather the sawaali is speakin to Ali R.A.

Hazrat Ali R.A. (for anyone whoz reading this and dsnt know anyhtin bout Him) is one of the Holiest people in Islam…

He’s Prophet Muhammad S.A.W’s paternal cousin…. And therefore from the same blood-line.

He married Huzur’s daughter, Fathima R.A….. and they are the parents of Hazrat Imaam Hussain A.S (among others) whoz again a central figure in Islam (w.r.t Muharram)

Ali …. Was the first ‘boy’ to accept Islam… wen Huzur S.A.W had told his family bout the Revelation and that He’s been chosen as a Prophet, the first to stand with Huzur and believe Him was Ali……

Ali is one of the Prophet’s closest 4 Companions…. And after the demise of the Prophet, wen the Caliphate was established, Hazrat Ali became the 4th Caliph of Islam (who ‘shud’ have been the 1st caliph is a different question)

The story of creation of the world (which somehow many reject) goes that Muhammad’s Noor was created from the Noor of Allah and of the first few things created from the Noor of Muhammad were the Noor of the Four Exalted Companions….

So that is a very brief look over how important is Hazrat Ali in Islam.

And ya plz remember .. all the people mentioned above are completely, totally, fully, absolutely Human Beings… and Human beings……..and only Human Beings…..

Ok..

Next. The Shia-Sunni divide is a political divide.. which only later turned into a significant ifference in belief systems. An over simplified view is that Shias believe that the rightful successor to Muhammad was Ali .. not Aboobaker, who actually became the 1st Caliph after Muhammad. Sunnis are not of this opinion.

And nowwwww since Shias give a very huge importance to Ali and the First Family……. Strangely Sunnis retort with a rejection of almost everything that goes in the line of praising Ali or Hussain……..(not everyone.. but a large number of Sunnis)..

It goes to the extent that many Sunnis refuse to hear the story of Karbala on Muharram …. Coz they label it to be a Shiite ritual.

A lot of times you’ll hear Sunnis saying that it’s wrong to ‘cry’ wen you hear the story of Karbala…they somehow relate it to the Shiite practices of lashing themselves and suffering pain on the occasion of Muharram.

Very personally speaking, I think, only a very hard hearted Muslim wudn cry on hearing bout the Battle of Karbala…..

It amazes me wen I find someone not in love with Hussain… I don’t understand how can any sane Muslim not be in love with Hussain. How can you not feel the pain that I do wen I hear of his shaheedi? Everything that happened was for us… then why cant you feel it? it really amazes me………

Yes, a lot of what Shias do in the name of love is Biddat….but wat is not is not.

Don’t go on labeling everythin as a ‘Biddat- Innovation’..

Likewise, Sunnis have this gr8 repulsion to all things ‘ALI’…. They claim that they love Ali a lot… blah blah blah blah….but they don’t need to sing songs to prove that.

Sure as hell! You don’t! then I pray you stop singing the Naats in praise of Muhammad as well…. Cant you prove your love for Huzur S.A.W widout singing praises????/

Yes.. Ali was a human… he’s dead.. he’s gone… he cant hear the songs we sing for Him.

But if Ali was a human, wat was Muhammad????

Huzur S.A.W too is dead.. gone……

However crude it sounds…. Isn’t that the truth???

Then if we still sing Naat Shareefs for Huzur, why cant we sing praises of Ali R.A.????

This is something I really don’t understand!!!!!!!!!!

Newaz…

Having said this much, I now move on to exactly wat I think CANT be told for Ali…

And for that matter CANT be told for ANYONE.

That is PRAYER.

I, as a Muslim, cant pray to humans……

La ilaha illallah Muhammadur RasulAllah………..

And if there is no God but God… how can I pray to anyone but God????

And hence… everything that says “Ali madad” goes crap……….how on earth can Ali help me??????? He cant. [of course, there can be a lot of arguments agnst it... well.. i dont buy any of it]

As a Muslim, I ‘ask’ Allah and Allah alone.

If ‘asking’ others was permitted, I’d have asked Muhammad before anyone……….and if I don’t pray to Muhammad……. Why? Why why why shud I pray to any other mortal????

I wont!

I will not pray to humans…. Wats the diference between a Muslim and a non-Muslim then??? If we too start God-ization of humans, how can we remain Muslims??? That’s against the basic Aqeedah of Islam…..

And HENCE .. a lot of the Ali songs go Islamically wrong…. Coz these songs ask Ali for help……………..

There are people who even sing such Naats…for Muhammad too… strange naats….well… at least I find them strange…coz they go to the extent of shirk………..

Yes……… wen you love someone, it’s very difficult to rein ur love….

But.. wel…there’s no way out…

Wen it comes to Islam, you just have to…

A lot of poets have written a lot in praise of Huzur S.AW. and somewhere they lose it… they go overboard and end up writing something that gives Muhammad attributes that only Allah can have.

Such verses are absolutely wrong.

I myself have read a few poems that just don’t sound rite…..

And apparently the very famous Burda Shareef also has some ‘shirk’ verses… I haven’t read Burda Shareef kabhi bhi.. so I don’t know! [but some Sunnis are absolutely fine wid such verses… and if u tell them that u cant attribute Muhammad with Allah’s attributes, you are labeled a ‘Wahhabi’ :/]

Isi tareh… praying to the khwajas and the various babas etc is equally wrong… I mean c’mon.. if we r not allowed to ask Muhammad for anything, aur kisi ka kya auqaad????? Who is above Muhammad?????

Allah and Allah alone.

Dargaah mazaar mein dua maangna is a very non-Muslim practice………it has nothing Islamic bout it.

We can pray FOR the dead.. not TO the dead……

And hence.. in MY PERSONAL OPINION, therez only one line going wrong in the song above..

“Himmatein ata karo
O madadgaar…
Maulaaaa”

And of course the most beautiful line here is “La fatah illa Ali
La saif illa Zulfiqar....”

meaning 'There's no hero like Ali, there's no sword like Zulfiqar'

Waise if you ask me, I’d rather say…..La fata illa Nabi La saif illa Zulfiqar....

But.. khair………since Huzur himself mentions Ali...who am i to change that?

and lastly two lines from a longer Naat Shareef showing how many a times our love mit take us to the verge of shirk..

"Adab se zubaan thham kar reh gaya main
Habeeb-e-Khuda ko Khuda kehte kehte"

P.S.- Zulfiqar- the Heavenly sword of Prophet Muhammad > Hazart Ali > Imaam Hussain.

Allah hafiz

Hadees Shareef

2009-10-10T00:57:00.000-07:00

The two feet of the son of Adam will not move from near his Lord on the Day of Judgement until..

Taken from Adorning Knowledge with Actions - By Shaykh Husayn al-Awaa'ishah

From the author's book inspired by the last part of the hadeeth:

"The two feet of the son of Adam will not move from near his Lord on the Day of Judgement until he is asked about five (matters):

1.

about his life - how he spent it;
2.

about his youth - how he took care of it;
3.

about his wealth - how he earned it; and
4.

where he spent it; and
5.

about that which he acted upon from the knowledge he acquired." [at-Tirmidhi, As-Silsilah as-Sahihah #946]

Wife-Beating in Islam????

2009-09-30T11:56:00.001-07:00

Assalam

I am writing this post entirely based on my personal beliefs. At this moment, I don’t have time to actually search into the various view points held by all the Muslim scholars round the world…. I am only writing bout the beliefs I ALREADY have inside me.

I read a post at *************** by a sister, Z, who is an Iraqi by nativity (though im not sure bout her present country of residence). The post is bout the Muslim or rather Islamic stand on ‘wife-beating’.
Z has quoted the work by another person (whose name escapes me at the moment, wil add it as a P.S) which says how Wife Beating is NOT suggested by Islam anywhere.

That scholar goes on to quote another verse from the Qur’an Paak where the word ‘beat’ (in Arabic) has been used in the Qur’an , but, where it only means ‘ to leave’ … thus implying that the verse in the Qur’an which deals with Wife Beating also only suggests that the husbands can ‘leave’ their wives and not actually BEAT them, unlike wat majority of us believe.

Then, he quotes many Hadees Shareef by Huzur (S.A.W) where it’s told to be gentle and good in the way we deal with people and to shun anger (anger is actually considered haraam in Islam) and also a Hadees telling that one shud not BEAT his wife.

Now..
Firstly, here is the verse which has become one of the favourite verses of the Islam haters… and also of women who find Islam difficult and so get an excuse in this verse to leave Islam and enter any other religion which ‘apparently’ gives them ‘rights’ *uhum*uhum*.

"4:34-36 "(34). Men are the protectors and maintainers of women, because Allah has given the one more (strength) than the other, and because they support them from their means. Therefore the righteous women are devoutly obedient, and guard in (the husband's) absence what Allah would have them guard. As to those women on whose part ye fear disloyalty and ill-conduct, admonish them (first), (Next), refuse to share their beds, (And last) beat them (lightly); but if they return to obedience, seek not against them Means (of annoyance): For Allah is Most High, great (above you all).

(35). If ye fear a breach between them twain, appoint (two) arbiters, one from his family, and the other from hers; if they wish for peace, Allah will cause their reconciliation: For Allah hath full knowledge, and is acquainted with all things.

(36). Serve Allah, and join not any partners with Him; and do good- to parents, kinsfolk, orphans, those in need, neighbours who are near, neighbours who are strangers, the companion by your side, the wayfarer (ye meet), and what your right hands possess: For Allah loveth not the arrogant, the vainglorious;"
"

Therefore the righteous women are devoutly OBEDIENT, and guard in (the husband’s) absence WHAT ALLAH WOULD HAVE THEM GUARD.

I don’t think there’s an explanation needed to this part of the verse. It says that a wife shud be as her husband expects her to be…AND as Allah expects her to be.

We shud also not forget that wile stating laws and commands to the people, Allah has used ‘Islamic’ standards affirmed elsewhere in the Qur’an and not wat a society or a culture or simply a mindset wud consider as standard.
So….. the husband here also means a STANDARD ISLAMIC husband….
To know wat a ‘standard Islamic husband’ as prescribed by the Qur’an is… we’ll need another post. As for now, we can do by saying that such a husband would be a dream come true for any sane woman…. ( of course, if u r a woman who has perversions and wud like to participate in orgies after u get married, neither is such a man meant for u nor is Islam…we r considering ‘normal’ people here)
And since we r considering a man who’s oh-so-sweet, it’s actually very lame to say things like
‘A husband doesn’t love his wife and still Islam prescribes the woman to obey her husband’
- plz … where exactly in the verse dyu find THAT??? In Islam, a husband SHOULD love his wife. Read up the rest of Islam before u pass judgments.

As for whether or not a woman shud obey a husband who DOESN’T love her, we’ll come to that later.. wait..

So, that’s bout the husband part of it.. that the husband is ‘assumed’ to be conforming to the Islamic standards (based on other sources within Islam) and then his wife is expected to be obedient to the husband.

Now coming to the OBEDIENT part of it…. again… we shud remember that we r still dealing with a verse in the Qur’an… so saying that ‘if a husband want his wife to sleep with another man to earn some profit out of the man, a wife shud do that… that is wat Islam says… a wife shud be Obedient’ would be a testimony to your foolishness.
We r dealing wid the Qur’an. We are still within the boundaries of the Qur’an. We are still within the ‘limits’, ‘laws’ and ‘standards’ set within the Qur’an. No law above the law of God. If a husband tells u to make him a cup of coffe, make it, if he tells u to get him some alcohol, throw the same coffee on his face.
There is no question of going against the Qur’an in any way…
Anything that anyone tells u to do, be it ur husband, or ur parents, if it goes against the Qur’an, you SHOULD NOT DO IT. so, there is no question of obeying ur husband in anything that goes against the other rules of Islam.
And since, like I told, that we r dealing with a ‘standard’ husband… he’s never gonna say some crap like that.

“What Allah wud have them guard” kinds of reaffirms the fact that this has more so to do with things that are morally right…. A better vision is provided by the remaining verse…

“As to those women on whose part ye fear disloyalty and misconduct, admonish them (first), (Next), refuse to share their beds. (And last) beat them (lightly): but if they return to obedience, seek not against them Means (of annoyance): For Allah is Most High, great (above you all).”
‘As to those women on whose part ye fear disloyalty and misconduct’ is the part I concentrate on… do we really need to know the meaning of the word ‘disloyalty’ and especially so in the context of “What Allah wud have them guard”

So if a ‘right’ husband… finds his wife disobeying him on ‘right’ things and being ‘disloyal’, and ‘not guarding’ that which she shud rightly guard.
He can
1.admonish her….
2.refuse to share her bed
3.beat them

This verse thus gives a step by step way to deal wid such a woman.
And I also see that ‘beat’ is taken as a last resort… the resort before ‘divorce’
The very next verse says…
“If ye fear a breech between them twain, appoint (two)arbiters, one form his family, and the other form hers; if they wish for peace, Allah will cause their reconciliation: For Allah has full knowledge, and is acquainted with all things.”

This verse speaks bout divorce and how the family of the couple shud try to get the couple back together…. Divorce happening, only wen none of the above things set things rite.

Thus, ‘beat’ is to be a last resort.

And as per MY opinion …. Beat is to be a last resort means .. BEAT IS TO BE A LAST RESORT….

I totally disagree with the (original) author in that the word ‘beat’ means something else… like ‘leave them’
Coz if it meant ‘leave’ them, I wonder why God wud again go bout teling… “IF ye fear a breech between them” I mean he just told u to leave them as a last resort.. then how does ‘IF’ arise????? You urself brought bout the brech, didn’t u? then y prescribe reconciliation ????
Its like saying

‘admonish them, next refuse to share their beds, next divorce them…but if she gets bak straight, don’t show ur annoyance any longer coz Allah is gr8 (wats the poin?You already divorced her!!!) and if you fear divorce…(I thot u already divorced her!!!) family shud come and get them bak together, and I am gonna help them in reconciliation if that is in their heart (I don’t think u can marry a lady after u divorce her, straightaway….and well, like I told.. u divorced her only moments ago)’

Just doesn’t make sense to me… prolly to many it does.. sorry, not to me!

So I choose to go by the conventional meaning of ‘beat’ which means ‘beat’.

And I think the way the (original) author has compared the ‘beat’ to the English usage ‘beat it’ :/ :/ :/ :/

From wen did Allah get so “Yo man! Don’t worry.. beat it!” with us??????????

As for ‘beat’ being used for ‘desert your wife until she comes to senses’ .. really is it much different from not sharing her bed???? Or divorcing her?? If u cud tel me the border between ‘not sharing her bed’ , ‘deserting her’ and ‘divorcing her’, I mite consider. Filhaal, I don’t. Besides, if u ask me, 'deserting' sounds gross... 'divorce' is way more dignified.

Now……..
I think , very personally, that people who come up with such explanations are those who are too influenced by wat the non-Muslims say, and comment on their blogs { :D :D :D :D :D } …. Since the world is accusing all Muslims to be ‘wife-beaters’… the muslims just want to get off this tag from their shoulders and so try to find new meanings…

[I am saying this coz at present I very surely believe that ‘beat’ means ‘beat’…we’ll see, if I am convinced later that it doesn’t]

Firstly, to such people…
Are u a Muslim? Do you believe in the Day of Judgment??? If u do, why are u so bothered??? Let them say wat they want to… they hate Islam, … they don’t believe in anything that Islam prescribes, that is precisely why they are non-Muslims…. And since the time of the earliest Prophets, Islam has been hated…. Haven’t you read bout the lives of the Prophets??????? From Noah to Abraham… From Moses to Jesus.. who wasn’t hated by the non-Believers???? So well, Huzur’s religion too is hated…
And r u in a doubt weder they’ll be punished for it or not???
If u r not??? y wrong ur own soul ????? let them call u a wife-beater (wen most prolly, their father has beaten the shit of their mom, while my father treated my mom like an angel… but well.. we can let it pass…).. big deal!!! U can only say how Islam says so many other things, and there is a direct hadees telin a man not to beat his wife… if they understand, gud for them.. if they don’t…. :D u see.. THAT is the reason they r not in Islam :D :D :D

Next…. Coming to how rite or wrong is ‘beating’ ur wife?????
Hmmmm… now, here is where things heat up…. Feminism…:D
U see, women concentrate a lot on the word ‘beat’ and not on the rest of the thing… they fail to see that the ‘beat’ is only wen they r not being wat they shud be. The ‘beating’ is the step just before ‘divorce’ and ‘divorce’ IS THE THING THAT ALLAH HATES MOST AMONG ALL THE THINGS HE HAS MADE PERMISSIBLE FOR THE MUSLIMS.
That shud give us an idea of where exactly Allah has allowed ‘beating’ to be brought into a relation.

Of course, you would be able to appreciate this only if you have an eye that is not blind and a mind that is ready to understand.
For one, whatever religion a person belongs to (other than Islam) should first go and read up his/her own texts to know where that religion stands in this matter. You’d either find something worse.. or NOTHING AT ALL….
Second, people who would find NOTHING AT ALL shud remember that ‘wife-beating’ is very much a part of society…
If they say that they have never heard of any non-Muslim man beating his wife or even if they say that they have heard more cases of Muslim men beating their wives than Non-Muslim men.. they are tryin to fool themselves (which is not strange coz they do it all the time). WIFE BEATING exists.. in all countries, all cultures, all religions….
And if your religion has no mention whatsoever bout wife beating,, im happy.. coz I think it only re-affirms that Islam is the religion that can be applied to the narrowest of things…
It mentions things that other religions don’t even wish to consider...

As for others… who do have a mention of ‘wife-beating’ in their texts…u’d know what ur religion says bout beating women.. wen to beat women, how much to beat women..:) :) :) :) :) :) :)

Read up!!!!!! :) :) :) :)

Aint I glad im a Muslim??? :) :) :)

So by sayin this wat I mean is ki…. Maybe ‘beating’ appears wrong, lekin it’s present in every group of people…. And goin by wat ‘some’ say.. Islam is way more lenient in saying that ‘beating’ is the last resort…and adding that ‘beating’ cannot be continued unduly.
Even wen u consider those groups which hav no mention of wife beating, u’d realize that it only sets the men free in doin wat they want… islam actually says u wen to turn to beating and wen to stop it. So a Muslim man who beats up his wife can be reminded of how God wud punish him for doin wat he’s doin…he may stop his misdeed for the fear of God, if he doesn’t .. it gives the wife a reason to divorce her husband (by khula…just in case u didn’t know that such a thing exists) WITHOUT THE AID OF ANY FEMINIST ORGANIZATION.

If there is a woman who continues to be beaten by her husband and doesn’t go for a khula….. her fault .. not the religion’s.

Next question… why on earth God told to ‘beat’ ur wife….he cud have simply told to divorce…. Isn’t God supposed to be Merciful??
Ya… (if u have gone bak and read up ur sacred texts.. u wudn actually be pointing at me.. but then, most prolly u haven’t.. cant help it).. God is supposed to be merciful… so I wud say God shud even not tell anyone to admonish his wife…. Forget bout not sharing her bed…
Y don’t u straight away divorce her???
Easy solution!!!! Rite!!!!

:) :) :)
And sure as hell…. Many religions prescribe divorce at the drop of a hat… :) and many others say divorce is not allowed .. :) :) so u go on living wid the person u don’t like. (psst pssst.. divorce rates by law of the country is highest in the group which is not allowed divorce by the law of their religion :) )

Well… that’s precisely why God (I think) says admonish them…. And finally beat them before u go to the thing that Allah despises the most- Divorce. This reminds of something we say in Hindi.. laato ke bhoot baton se nahi mante..
:D me thinks that is the kind of women this verse deals with.

Next..
Wat if the man goes on beating the wife under the pretext of this verse??????
Well… doesn’t the wife know that this man is doing wrong??? She can either go on living wid this man …. And trust me, every suffering has a reward…. And every sin has a punishment {(and we r not coming back to this world for seven lives to wash ourselves of all our sins…. We have one life, whatever we do wil be accounted for.. we either go to hel or heaven)- that is the BASIC required belief to be a Muslim… I f u don’t believe in this, you are not a Muslim, …. And if u r not a muslim…. U have no obligations towards the Qur'an.. do whatever the hell u want…}
Or she can go for a khula…..
She has a winning edge… if only she believes….

Next,
Wat if a woman is not financially strong and so she has to live with this man even he goes on beating her under the pretext of this verse……

EXACTLYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY

NOWW AND NOWWWW we come to the real thing…
And that is …. This world is so so male dominated. Men beat up their wives…. This is a SOCIAL PROBLEM… not a religious problem. If you care to notice the number of wife beaters in ur own neighbourhod, u’d know for urself if it’s true or false that Muslim men are iwfe beaters….
However the presence of this verse in the Qur’an makes the ‘haters’ jump wid glee…. They shut their eyes to evrythin else (which they are an expert in doing) that the Qur’an says regarding the women… (why ?????/ the chapter from which this verse is taken is Surah Nisa….. a whole chapter for women…. Wid rights to Muslim women that other relgions didn’t care to even acknowledge) and go on blamin Islam to be a violent religion..
Newaz… to them be their mentality. If they so love to be talking shit of Islam wen they are themselves neck deep (am sorry .. not neck deep… SOME are actually submerged) in shit….they are only proving the point im tryin to make…. :) :) :) :)
So, wel..
Wife beating is a social problem… it is seen in all sections of society……
U must have heard of manual labourers getting drunk and beating their wives……..
U must have had maids who complain that their husbands beat them
U must have even seen posh-sosh ladies wearing shades even in the evenings to cover that black eye which was gifted to them in the previous night by their hi-profile husbands…..

And now if u telll me that ALLLL the manual labourers in the world, and ALLLL the husbands of maids…. And ALLLLL the hi-profile husbands in the world, who have beaten their wives are Muslims…:) I wud only say u “Dhanyawaad”…. :) :)
Ur diminished vision is screaming its existence…. And mind you.. screaming way way loud…. :D

So… this is a social problem out of which WOMEN in general, not just a Muslim woman.. but all women… American or Indian, Japanese or Afghani…. Haven’t yet been able to come out coz of their own psyche….. either they haven’t made themselves financially stable enuf to get out of such a relation. Or they are doin it for their children. In both these cases, we r to blame the women and not the religion…

For all we know there are even cases of women workin at top positions being beaten by their husbands and still putting up with it…
I don’t think we can blame anything more than the psyche….
There’s always a choice.. u either put up with it or you don’t.
You either remain in Islam or you don’t….
There’s always a choice.

Next,
Does Islam say that a wife can beat her husband?
No, nowhere…. And I guess that’s coz men obeying his wife does not have much place in Islam….coz it’s a man whos the provider…. He HAS to provide for his wife, in marriage, or in divorce…. A woman cannot actually question a man as regards his doings in these matters.. and coming to disloyalty.. wll, 4 marriages are made permissible in Islam (for anyone who believes that his/her religion does not allow more than 1 wife… plz go and read up :) and also.. don’t confuse laws by the Indian Constitution to be laws by any religion). A woman can either choose to be living wid a second wife or she can go for a khula. If a man is found to be disloyal to his wife, in spite of this provision… the wife can straightway go for khula …. Or the court (to which she approaches for khula) can bring bout the same steps of admonish, leavin the bed and beating on the husband.
And I wud like it that way (being done by the court.. for me thinks that since this husband of mine is not Islamic newaz(otherwise he wudn be disloyal to me) wat guarantee that he wudn hit me harder if I try to hit him :D :D …. And no.. I don’t believe im the strongest woman in the world…Nor wud I wish to marry a husband whoz weaker than me :D)

next
As for why isn’t it directly prescribed for the wife to hit her husband back wen he hits her…. Well, I had read somewhere that God doesn’t want the situation in the house to get worse,,,, ki the husband is beating the wife.. and now wife is also beating the husband….both beating each other.
Hmm. Sounds logical, though.. if u ask me… if my husband beats me, I wont beat him back for fear that he beat me back (again) harder since normally men have more power and strength.

Next
“Better said than done”
…. :) :) :) ya! I know! if my father ever beat my mom, I’d have felt like killing him…
But, well… I wud know that it’s my father’s fault and not Islam’s.

And if someone blames Islam, I wud only say that .. that is PRECISELY WHY HE/SHE is a HATER…..
I, personally, wudn go for finding an alternate meanin to ‘beat’ just coz I don’t want a ‘HATER’ to hate me….
For all I know, a HATER can do no better than that! :D :D :D :D

Now
I wrote this towards the upper end of this page..
“As for whether or not a woman shud obey a husband who DOESN’T love her, we’ll come to that later.. wait..”

Hmmm. Reminding ourselves that we r Muslims… we believe in the after life…. [Not believein in the after life changes everything… actually changes ur religion tooo.. u don’t remain a Muslim if u don’t believe in the after life.]
We shud know that if we don’t get a reward in this life.. we’ll get it there …the place which is the ultimate reason why we r even trying to read this book called the Qur’an, trying to know wat it says and act accordingly…. If we don’t believe in the after life, I see no point in even bothering bout this book.. let it say whatever it says…y bother??

But, assuming we r muslims…we shud know that if a husband is bad to me, I can leave him. OR. I can go on living with him, FOR THE REWARD BY ALLAH.
It’s something like… if a kaafir hurts you, you have the right to hurt him back … u r not wrong (it’s called being ‘defensive’) but if u choose to forgive him … know that Allah is Most merciful.. and know that ur reward has been multiplied many folds.

Ther’s this thing which I have heard many times….ki we shud never break a person’s heart…..coz God lives in the heart. And then God takes it upon himself to break the person who broke his dwelling place.
It’s the same thing…
Another example (which I think my hindi teacher used to say) is that wen someone abuses us….we can abuse back definitely….but we can also choose to remain silent… then this silence acts as a wall….from which our abuser’s words bounce back and hit them back…. Thus they end up abusing themselves.

Soooo, if a woman has the patience, (sorry not me!) and chooses to live wid the pain.. for her, we can say:->

“Allah will admit those who believe and work righteous deeds, to gardens beneath which rivers flow: they shall be adorned therein with bracelets of gold and pearls; and their garments there will be of silk.” [22:23]

There was a lady Rabia Basri…. Her husband beat her like you cant imagine…. And this lady took the command of Allah to love her husband so dearly, that she actually used to keep the sticks and the ropes ready… so that the husband, wen he feels like beating her, shudn have difficulty in lukin for these things…..
This went on forver……………..
The reward: the first woman to ente Paradise wud be Prophet Muhammad S.A.W’s daughter……. Bibi Fatima R.A…….she will be riding on a camel….. and the rope to the camel wil be held in the hands of a lady….. a lady named Rabia Basri…. And wen the gates of Paradise wil be opened, to welcome its dwellers, this lady, shall walk into Paradise bringing the camel with Bibi Fatima, the ‘First’ lady in Paradise, … FOLLOWING BEHIND HER .

And of course…. Alllllllllllllllll this if only you believe…….. :) :) :)

And here are a few hadees which I am takin directly from Z’s post.

Noble Verses and Sayings that support the prohibition of any type of wife beating:

The following Noble Verses and Sayings from the Noble Quran and Prophet Muhammad peace be upon him respectively seem to very well support the above interpretation:

"...Do not retain them (i.e., your wives) to harm them...(The Noble Quran, 2:231)"
Narrated Mu'awiyah al-Qushayri: "I went to the Apostle of Allah (peace_be_upon_him) and asked him: What do you say (command) about our wives? He replied: Give them food what you have for yourself, and clothe them by which you clothe yourself, and do not beat them, and do not revile them. (Sunan Abu-Dawud, Book 11, Marriage (Kitab Al-Nikah), Number 2139)"

Narrated Mu'awiyah ibn Haydah: "I said: Apostle of Allah, how should we approach our wives and how should we leave them? He replied: Approach your tilth when or how you will, give her (your wife) food when you take food, clothe when you clothe yourself, do not revile her face, and do not beat her. (Sunan Abu-Dawud, Book 11, Marriage (Kitab Al-Nikah), Number 2138)"

Abu Huraira (Allah be pleased with him) reported Allah's Apostle (may peace be upon him) as saying: "He who believes in Allah and the Hereafter, if he witnesses any matter he should talk in good terms about it or keep quiet. Act kindly towards woman, for woman is created from a rib, and the most crooked part of the rib is its top. If you attempt to straighten it, you will break it, and if you leave it, its crookedness will remain there. So act kindly towards women. (Translation of Sahih Muslim, The Book of Marriage (Kitab Al-Nikah), Book 008, Number 3468)"
"O ye who believe! Ye are forbidden to inherit women against their will. Nor should ye treat them with harshness, that ye may take away part of the dower [money given by the husband to the wife for the marriage contract] ye have given them, except where they have been guilty of open lewdness; on the contrary live with them on a footing of kindness and equity. If ye take a dislike to them it may be that ye dislike a thing, and God brings about through it a great deal of good. (The Noble Quran, 4:19)"

"And among God's signs is this: He created for you mates from amongst yourselves (males as mates for females and vice versa) that you might find tranquillity and peace in them. And he has put love and kindness among you. Herein surely are signs for those who reflect. (The Noble Quran 30:21)"

"Women impure for men impure. And women of purity for men of purity. These are not affected by what people say. For them is forgiveness and an honorable provision. (The Noble Quran 24:26)"

Narrated Abu Huraira: "Allah's Apostle said, 'The strong is not the one who overcomes the people by his strength, but the strong is the one who controls himself while in anger. (Translation of Sahih Bukhari, Good Manners and Form (Al-Adab), Volume 8, Book 73, Number 135)"

Narrated Abu Huraira: "A man said to the Prophet , 'Advise me! 'The Prophet said, 'Do not become angry and furious.' The man asked (the same) again and again, and the Prophet said in each case, 'Do not become angry and furious.' (Translation of Sahih Bukhari, Good Manners and Form (Al-Adab), Volume 8, Book 73, Number 137)"

Abu Huraira reported: "I heard Allah's Messenger (may peace be upon him) as saying: One is not strong because of one's wrestling skillfully. They said: Allah's Messenger, then who is strong? He said: He who controls his anger when he is in a fit of rage. (Translation of Sahih Muslim, The Book of Virtue, Good Manners and Joining of the Ties of Relationship (Kitab Al-Birr was-Salat-I-wa'l-Adab), Book 032, Number 6314)"

Allah Almighty loves those who restrain anger: "Those who spend (freely), whether in prosperity, or in adversity; who restrain anger, and pardon (all) men; for Allah loves those who do good. (The Noble Quran, 3:134)"

The Prophet forbade striking on the face:

Let us look at the following narrations about Prophet Muhammad peace be upon him:
Narrated Salim: "....Umar said: 'The Prophet forbade beating on the face.' (Translation of Sahih Bukhari, Hunting, Slaughtering, Volume 7, Book 67, Number 449)"

Narrated AbuHurayrah: "The Prophet (peace_be_upon_him) said: When one of you inflicts a beating, he should avoid striking the face. (Sunan Abu-Dawud, Book 38, Prescribed Punishments (Kitab Al-Hudud), Number 4478)"

Plus this one from another site, which though somewat offtopic, reminds us to choose good partners, in the first place… I marry someone for money not bothering bout how gud a person he is .. then he starts beating me and I then start complaining ki seee a Muslim is using Qur’an Paak’s verses to beat me!!!!!!!! What exactly happened to the Qur’an while I was choosin my husband? Huh?

Prophet Muhammad has instructed Muslim husbands that they should not have recourse to these measures except in extreme cases such as open lewdness committed by the wife. Even in these cases the punishment should be slight and if the wife desists, the husband is not permitted to irritate her:

"In case they are guilty of open lewdness you may leave them alone in their beds and inflict slight punishment. If they are obedient to you, do not seek against them any means of annoyance" (Tirmidthi)

Furthermore, the Prophet of Islam has condemned any unjustifiable beating. Some Muslim wives complained to him that their husbands had beaten them. Hearing that, the Prophet categorically stated that:

"Those who do so (beat their wives) are not the best among you" (Abu Dawood).

It has to be remembered at this point that the Prophet has also said:

"The best of you is he who is best to his family, and I am the best among you to my family" (Tirmidthi).

The Prophet advised one Muslim woman, whose name was Fatimah bint Qais, not to marry a man because the man was known for beating women:

"I went to the Prophet and said: Abul Jahm and Mu'awiah have proposed to marry me. The Prophet (by way of advice) said: As to Mu'awiah he is very poor and Abul Jahm is accustomed to beating women" (Muslim).

Newaz
9 pages on MS Word.
:)

P.S.- Z had quoted a certain 'Osama Abdallah'
Allah hafiz

The Most Difficult Thing In Islam...

2009-09-27T08:19:00.000-07:00

Assalam
Im sure each one of us finds something or the other in religion that is ‘Oh-so-difficult’.. ask me and I will say you a hundred million things that I find difficult in religion. Lekin there’s one thing which surpasses all things else in the pain it causes me.
And that thing is “PAAKI”….
Or ‘Purity’ as it wud be told in English.. but I think a more appropriate word wud be ‘Cleanliness’…

A part of this Paaki is VAZU
Ablutions in English
‘Ulu’ or something similarly strange in Malayalam.

The Ablutions area in a mosque

Trust me, there’d be few things that burden me as much as Paaki.
For the ignorant ones, :->
every Muslim is expected to pray 5 Obligatory Prayers (plus as many supplementary prayers as he likes) in a day. And before saying his prayers he needs to ‘clean’ himself in the prescribed way…that is wat is called ‘vazu’. But more important than vazu is keeping urself ‘clean’, again according to Islamic standards, throughout the day… so that twud be easy for u to pray.
Certain things that mite not be considered as ‘unclean’ by non-Muslim standards are considered ‘Unclean’ in Islam. A very common example is the saliva of a dog.
So if u r licked by that cute puppy with a tiny tail, you mite be feeling all mushy inside, but for me…. I have been programmed to avoid all things that luk even remotely like a dog, forget being licked by one.

And again, there are different standards of cleaning for each kind of ‘impurity’. For some ‘impurities’, making a vzu wud suffice before the prayer…like…if u go to the toilet, (and have used water to clean urself), u cannot directly pray, u’ve got to make vazu before that. But for some others, u need to take a bath, a ghusal… washing urself with water from head to toe (including hair---the one that grows on ur head too). For e.g. after sexual intercourse, u cannot just make a vazu, you’ve actually got to make a ghusal..
Yupps!! Each time !
So, if u r newly married, and if u r having intercourse twice or thrice in a day :) … happy bathing to you!

Now this is the part of ‘paaki’ which all muslims in the world practice.
But for some insane ppl, like Almas, the ‘paaki’ has gone one step ahead and turned into an OCD..(Obsessive Compulsive Disorder)……..

You wont believe how crazily I behave regarding this matter….
If I’m wearing a salwar that was too long and CUD hav touched the ground while I walked and the ground CUD have been dirty…I will do either of the following things-
1. Change the salwar before I pray. Not possible wen im at college.
2. Wash the bottom part of my salwar and then go around the college with half wet salwar the rest of the day. yes, I do this strange thing!
3. don’t pray and then keep on cursing urself for not praying until u return to the hostel, wash urself and pray. ----- my most commonly adopted way of the three.

Likewise, I keep myself a hundred feet away from dogs, puddles of water….
On rainy days, wen a passing vehicle blesses me with a spray of microsize water droplets, I feel like jumping down from the Mount Everest and ending my sad life.
Wen I’ve got periods, every single piece of clothing that I wear finds a secluded place in the room, away from all other things coz these clothes can ‘Infect’ the world with their ‘impurity’ (Islam prescribes washing the part stained with blood… that’s all… u don’t even need to wash the whole of the clothe, same goes with the semen of ejaculation.. just wash the part where there’s the semen stain, u can wear it after that and pray)

the steps in Vazu

And vazu?????/ vazu ka to poochho mat.
First of all, I have this thing with ‘Bismillah’ which is another of the abnormalities in me. I just cant get the ‘bismillah’ done… I mean I go on repeating it again and again and again… coz u see.. I don’t get the ‘FEEL’ of it… each time I say ‘Bismillah hirrehmanir rahim’…. I feel ki ‘nai nai… I havent said it properly… I shud say it properly… I shud ACTUALLY begin in the name of Allah’… and I go on and on and on…
Huh!
So finally wen I get thru the Bismillah, I make the vazu.. (plz remember the bathrooms are three thousand miles away from my room- we don’t have attached bathrums in my hostel) I come bak to my rum and then even the slitest of oddity can make me go like ‘arrrreyyyyyyyyyyy mera vazu toot gaya’…. And wow!!! I go thru the entire Bismillah task again… and make vazu again…. Not to mention the three + three= six thousand extra milles that I walk.
:/
:/

I don’t even wear my lens after making vazu coz u see if I touch the lens solution…I will lose the vazu. Hmm…

Sometimes I feel life wud be so easy if there was no vazu.
There’d be so many more people whu’d pray , if there wasn’t this criteria of ‘cleanlines’. Imagine …like dekho abhi abhi the maghrib azaan has been called, I cud simply get up and pray but no….. I have to walk the three thousand miles, make vazu (after I manage to say the Bismillah), come back the three thousand miles and THEN pray…
Huh!!!

That’s why I say ki saying prayers is way way way more difficult than fasting.. and I guess this is a part of the reason why we find so many people who fast baraabar but don’t pray.

But I guess, that’s precisely wat the deal is.
The rewards are in proportion to the trouble u take,,
No pains no gains…

Plus we shudn forget that every little thing has a reward…
Making vazu is also considered a kind of worshiping and it comes wid its own sawaab. Then waiting for the call to Prayer is also considered ibaadat and it comes wid its own reward…
Praying of course is ibaadat.
Then making dua is also an ibaadat…
Every little thing has rewards….
So, well that says it…

But seriously, I need to work at my OCD… or am in for biiiiiiiigggggg trouble…yaar I end up missing prayers.. which is so so so bad.
Like yesterday, while walkin back from the hospital to the main road we tuk a short cut where there were shrubs on both sides.. and I started thinking ki wat if someone has urinated here, and wat if that urine drop remains on one of the leaves, and wat if that drop touches my clothes, wat if I have become ‘napaak’………..wat if I go to pray wearing ‘napaak’ clothes…

This is by shaitaan actually… u know there is this thing ki if u r in a doubt that ur vazu is broken, better go and make the vazu again than ssay ur prayers wid a feellin that u were unclean. So I think shaitaan outs this feelin in my heart all the time, taaki I keep skipping my prayers..
Shaitaan bhi sala ek number ka kutta hai.

Actually there’s a hadees that Huzur S.A.W had told that Religion is easy so we shudn make it difficult…
Im sure if Huzur S.AW. was here and he came to know of my madness, I wud get achha dose from Him… :(
Im makin religion difficult.. and since I am a woman.. I mite just transmit it to my kids.. sory im not getin a beter word in place of ‘transmit’.

Newaz…
Chalo.

Read more bout Vazu atRevert Muslims
Allah hafiz.

Hungry? ? ? ? Have some more!!!

2009-09-16T09:16:00.000-07:00

Assalam

Not liking the food you have daily ???????

How about some pizza????

No??? OK....... Pasta?
No?? .. How about Taco?

Not in taco mood today? ... ok.. Trying this Mexican Food?

No again? No probs.. we have more choice..
Hmmmmmmm... Chinese???????

Ok.. lets try Indian..
South Indian Food?
Naaaaa??? North Indian?

Junk food mood?

Or some diet food today?

The choice we have is endless.......
Tiffin?

Non-Veg?

Large Quantity?

Or just some bites of chicken?

You can have any of these... or try out little from all....
But..
.
.
.
.
..
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
..
.
.
.
.
.

They have No choice..

They just need some food to survive..

Think of them next time you throw the cafeteria food saying, its not tasty!!

Think of them next time you say .. Roti here is too hard to eat...

Please DO NOT WASTE food

If you have a function/party at your home in India and food gets wasted , don't hesitate to call 1098 (only in India ) - child helpline. They will come and collect the food. Please circulate this message which can help feed many children.

YES "Helping hands are better than Praying Lips"

[This was sent to me by mail--
Imran--- Jazakallah Khair]

Special ovation for Amrit, student of IIT-M (Indian Institute Of Technology- Madras)
Read bout his posters Here

A reminder to all of us..

Allah hafiz

The Thief And The Three Homes...

2009-09-04T09:30:00.000-07:00

The Thief and The Three Homes!

An Important Excerpt from Ibnul Qayyim's Book on Remembrance (Al Wabilu Sayyib)

Indeed the servant is able to strengthen his concentration in prayer and focus on his Lord (during it) if he is successful in overcoming his desires and cravings. However if his heart has been conquered, his desires have taken him captive, and the Shaytan is able to find a place within it, then how can this individual escape the whispers and thoughts (that disturb him during prayer)!

Verily the hearts are of three types:

1. The heart which is void of Eeman and all types of good, this is the dark heart. The Shaytan no longer needs to confront this heart with whispers because he now dwells in it. He decrees what he wishes in it and has taken complete control of it

2. The heart which has been illuminated with the light of Eeman. Faith has kindled its lanterns within it, but at the same time there is still present some darkness of desires and winds of disobedience. The Shaytan approaches and retreats from this category of hearts, and at times he takes advantage of opportunities. The war (in this heart) is sometimes severe and at other times calm.

The affair of the individuals who fall into this category of hearts varies between many and few. Some possessors of this category are usually victorious over their enemy, while others regularly allow their enemy to get the upper hand. A third group are those who have equal moments of defeat and victory.

3. The heart which is filled with faith. This heart is illuminated with the light of Eeman and the veil of desires and darkness has been lifted from it. The light of Eeman is glowing within the chest and that glow contains flames. If desires attempt to approach the heart they are burned by the flames (of Eeman). This heart is protected similar to the protection of the sky by the stars. If the Shaytan attempts to advance toward the sky to steal (information) he is flogged with a star and he burns. The sky is not more precious than the believer and Allah's protection of the believer is greater than His protection of the sky. The sky is a place of worship for the Angels, it is also the place of revelation (The Quran was brought to the last sky and then revealed to The Prophet (sallallaahu alayhi wasallam) piece by piece), and in it (the sky) are the rays of obedience. But the heart of the believer is the place of Tawheed, love (of Allah, the Prophet ýMay the peace and blessings of Allah be upon him-, Islam, etc...), understanding and faith. In it are the rays of the previously mentioned elements, and therefore it is befitting that it is protected from the plots of the enemy. As a result of this, he (the enemy) can not obtain anything from it (the heart of the believer) except by deceitfully seizing it.

A good example of this has been made with the example of 3 homes:

1. The home of the king: In it are his treasures and precious jewels and belongings.

2. The home of the slave: In it is his wealth and precious jewels and belongings, but indeed his belongings are much less (in value and quantity) than that of the king's.

3. The empty home: There is nothing present in it.

A thief approaches with the intention of stealing from one of the homes, which one would he burglarize?

If you say that he would rob the empty home, this is something impossible because the empty home possess nothing for him to steal. Based on this (reality), it was mentioned to Ibn Abbass (May Allah be pleased with him): Verily the Jews claim that they do not experience whispers (distractions) in prayer. Ibn Abbass thereupon commented: "What would the Shaytan do to a heart that is already destroyed"

If you said that he would steal from the home of the king, this would also be impossible due to the strong presence of guards, consequently the thief can not approach this home. How could he, while the king himself is protecting his own home! How could he come close while this home is surrounded and guarded by an army!

Consequently there is nothing left for the thief except the third home. This is the home the thief attempts to approach.

It is incumbent for the intelligent individual to reflect upon this example with true reflection and contemplation, and apply this example to the hearts for indeed it is applicable.

Mustafa George
Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
http://salafitalk. net/st/viewmessa ges.cfm?Forum= 11&Topic=8057

21 Common Misconceptions About Zakaat

2009-08-30T08:46:00.000-07:00

21 Common Misconceptions about Zakaah
by Asma bint Shameem

Misconception # 1

I pray, dont I?Whats the big deal if I dont give Zakaah?

Zakaah is one of the PILLARS of Islam and NOT an option. It is just as important to ones faith as Salaah. In fact, anyone who denies it is a Kaafir and the Prophet (pbuh) and his Sahaba waged war against such persons even though they uttered the Shahadah and prayed Salaah.
About such people Abu Bakr said: "By God! I shall certainly wage war against the people who discriminate between Salaah and Zakaah." (Bukhaari, Muslim)

Misconception # 2:

But it will decrease my wealth!

Abu Hurayra said that the Prophet (pbuh) said,

"Whoever is given wealth by Allaah and does not pay the Zakaah due thereupon shall find that on the Day of Arising it is made to appear to him as a hairless snake with two black specks, which chains him, and then seizes him by his jaw and says, -I am your wealth! I am your treasure!'

Then he recited the verse, Let not those who are miserly with what God has given them of His bounty think that this is good for them. Rather, it is bad for them. That which they withhold shall be hung around their necks on the Day of Arising. [3:180] (Bukhaari)

Misconception #3:

I dont have to pay Zakaah every year.

Zakaah is an obligation that must be paid each year. The Prophet (pbuh) used to send the zakaah-collectors to the tribes and cities, and they did not differentiate between those who had paid their zakaah the previous year and those who had not, rather they used to take the zakaah that was due on all the “zakaatable” wealth that people possessed.

Misconception # 4:

I never paid Zakaah before.

I will just repent and that should be enough

The one who never paid Zakaah before should repent to Allaah first. Then he should estimate the amount of Zakaah that was due on him over the years as best he can, and pay it as soon as possible

Misconception # 5:

I dont have to pay Zakaah if I owe a debt

The one who has any “zakatable” wealth must pay zakaah on it, when one year has passed since he acquired it, even if he has debts, according to the more correct of the two scholarly opinions. The Prophet (pbuh) used to command his agents to take zakaah from those who owed zakaah, and he did not tell them to ask them whether they had any debts or not. (Majmoo Fataawa -Abd al-Azeez ibn Baaz)

Misconception # 6:

I will waive my debt and count that as Zakaah

The Prophet (pbuh) said to Muaadh ibn Jabal, when he sent him to Yemen: “Teach them that Allaah has enjoined upon them zakaah on their wealth, to be taken from their rich and given to their poor.”

He (pbuh) explained that zakaah is something which is to be taken and given, so on this basis it is not permissible to let off someone who owes you money and count that as zakaah, because letting someone off a debt does not involve taking and giving.

(Fataawa Manaar al-Islam by Shaykh Ibn Uthaymeen)

Shaykh al-Islam said: “letting someone off a debt does not relieve one of the obligation of zakaah, and there is no scholarly dispute on this matter. But you can give this needy person some of your zakaah and he can meet his needs using what you give him as zakaah; and Allaah will help him to pay off his debt in the future, inshaAllaah.”

Misconception #7:

I have lent someone some money. I dont have to pay Zakaah on it.

In this situation, there can be two scenarios;
1. If the borrower is rich and is known to repay debts promptly: The lender has to pay Zakaah annually on the money lent, because it is possible to recover the money readily and it is like money that is in ones possession.

2. If it is unlikely that the lender will get his money back or the borrower is known to delay repayment: Then the lender does not have to pay zakaah before he gets the money back, because it is not readily accessible and is not like money that is in ones possession.

Misconception # 8:

I pay my taxes so I dont have to pay Zakaah!

The taxes we pay are to Uncle Sam/govt , not to Allaah to Whom the Zakaah is due. And this Zakaah money is to be only spent according to the rules of Shareeah in certain specific ways. Thus, it is not permissible for the taxes we pay on our wealth to be counted as part of Zakaah. The obligatory Zakaah must be paid separately.

Misconception # 9:

I will use the money that I receive from my bank as interest to pay off Zakaah

First of all, putting money in the bank in return for interest is a kind of riba which Allaah and His Messenger have forbidden, and it is a major sin. The Prophet(pbuh) cursed the one who consumes riba and the one who pays it. (Muslim)
This money cannot be used to pay Zakaah or other kinds of charity since it is impure and a haraam form of wealth.

Misconception # 10:

I will pay Zakaah on whatever is OVER the Nisaab

If ones wealth surpasses the amount of nisaab, then Zakaah is due upon it ALL, and not upon the surplus only.

Misconception #11:

Zakaah is due on precious gems, stones and diamonds

No zakaah is due on gems, precious stones, diamonds, etc. unless they are prepared for trade, in which case they come under the same ruling as all other trade goods

Misconception # 12:

I will buy diamonds so that I dont have to pay Zakaah

Some people try to get out of Zakaah by investing in diamonds, since no Zakaah is due on them, and think they can outsmart Allah.

Doesnt Allaah know whats in our hearts and minds?

They forget that Zakaah is due on them if they are prepared for trade. “They seek to deceive Allah and those who believe, but they deceive none except themselves, though they do not sense it.“ (Surah al-Baqarah: 9)

Misconception # 13:

The husband HAS to pay Zakaah on the wifes jewelry and wealth

It is NOT the husbands duty to pay Zakaah on his wifes jewelry, wealth, etc. Rather, it is her responsibility, since she is the possessor of the wealth. If her husband or someone else pays zakaah on her behalf with her permission, that is o.k., and he will be rewarded for this voluntary action.

Misconception # 14:

I only have gold, but I do not have any money. So, I dont have to pay Zakaah….

Shaykh Ibn Uthaymeen said:“ Zakaah must be paid on jewelry if it reaches the nisaab (minimum threshold), which is 85 grams. If it reaches this amount, zakaah must be paid on it. If she has other wealth and pays from that, there is nothing wrong with it. If her husband or one of her relatives pays it on her behalf, there is nothing wrong with that. If neither of these options is available to her, then she should sell some of it and pay zakaah with that money.”

Misconception # 15:

I will use my Zakaah money on my immediate family

Shaykh Ibn Baaz said: “The Muslim cannot give his zakaah to his parents or to his wife and children; rather he is obliged to spend on them from his wealth if they need that and he is able to spend on them.”

Misconception # 16:

I cannot give Zakaah to my poor relatives

It is actually preferable for a person to give their zakaah to a brother, sister, paternal uncle, paternal aunt or to any other relative, if they are poor. This is because, giving zakaah to them is both an act of charity and upholding family ties.

The Prophet (pbuh) said: “Charity given to the poor is charity and charity given to a relative is charity and upholding of family ties.” (Ahmad, al-Nasaa’i)

Misconception # 17:

A woman cannot give Zakaah to her Husband

It is okay for a woman to give zakaah to her husband, if he is qualified to receive zakaah, because she is not obliged to spend on him. Also, the Prophet (pbuh) gave permission to the wife of Abd-Allaah ibn Masood to give her zakaah to her husband

Misconception # 18:

Zakaah can be given to Non-Muslims if they are poor

It is not permissible to give Zakaah to any kaafir except the one who is inclined towards Islam, in the hope that he will become Muslim if you give him zakaah (al-Tawbah:60) .

Misconception # 19:

I will use Zakaah to build hospitals, masjid and orphanages

That is not permissible, because this is not included in the eight categories on which zakaah may be spent.

Allaah tells us that Zakaah may be spent on the following:
“As-Sadaqaat (Zakaah) are only

for the Fuqaraa (poor),

and Al-Masaakeen (the poor)

and those employed to collect (the funds);

and to attract the hearts of those who have been inclined (towards Islam);

and to free the captives;

and for those in debt;

and for Allaah’s Cause (Mujaahidoon — those fighting in a holy battle),

and for the wayfarer (a traveler who is cut off from everything)” [al-Tawbah:60]

But if the intention in giving the money to an orphanage is so that this money will be spent on the poor orphans, then this is permissible, if the orphans are poor.
Similarly, Zakaah cannot be used to print Quraans and other Dawah material.

Misconception # 20:

Zakaah is the same as Zakaat ul-Fitr

Zakaat al-Fitr is NOT the same as Zakaah. These are two separate entities and whoever paid Zakaah is NOT relieved of paying Zakaat al-Fitr and vice-versa.

Misconception # 21:

I have to inform the one I am giving, that it is Zakaah

You do not have to tell the recipient that it is zakaah.

Ramzaan Mubarak

2009-08-22T21:53:00.000-07:00

Assalam alaykum

Ramzaan Mubarak to all :) :)

May Allah bless us all and help us to beat our senses this Ramzaan and forever..
Aameen

Allah hafiz

Solar Eclipses in Islam...

2009-07-21T03:28:00.000-07:00

Assalam
Today I had a little argument with abbu regarding solar eclipses.... He told me that we r supposed to pray during an eclipse.. and i was like.. no... we dont need to pray and all... it is the most natural thing that can happen and its only superstitious people who feel ki the sun wont return after an eclipse and so start praying....

well.. in any case...
Praying during an eclipse is a confirmed Sunnah of Huzur S.A.W...

i found it on the net...
it's actually kind of proclaiming the gr8ness of God and remembering the Last Day.. here are the hadees...and explanations..

Muslims recognize that everything in the heavens and on earth is created and sustained by the Lord of the universe, Allah Almighty. Throughout the Qur'an, people are encouraged to look around them, observe and reflect on the beauties and wonders of the natural world - as signs of Allah's majesty.

"Allah is He, who created the sun, the moon, and the stars -- (all) governed by laws under His commandment." Qur'an 7:54

"It is He who created the night and the day and the sun and the moon. All (the celestial bodies) swim along, each in its orbit." Qur'an 21:33

"The sun and the moon follow courses exactly computed." Qur'an 55:05

In remembrance and gratefulness for all of His favors, Muslims all over the world bow down in prayer five times each day. At a time of a solar or lunar eclipse, there is a recommended prayer (salatul-kusuf) that is performed by the Muslim community in congregation.

The Prophet's Tradition (peace be upon him)

During the lifetime of the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him), there was a solar eclipse on the day that his son Ibrahim died. Some superstitious people said that the sun eclipsed because of the young child's death and the Prophet's sadness on that day. The Prophet corrected their understanding:

Narrated Al-Mughira bin Shu'ba: On the day of Ibrahim's death, the sun eclipsed and the people said that the eclipse was due to the death of Ibrahim (the son of the Prophet). Allah's Apostle said, "The sun and the moon are two signs amongst the signs of Allah. They do not eclipse because of someone's death or life. So when you see them, invoke Allah and pray till the eclipse is clear."

Reasons that Muslims should be humble before Allah during an eclipse

* An eclipse is a sign of the majesty and power of Allah.

Narrated Abu Masud: The Prophet said, "The sun and the moon do not eclipse because of the death of someone from the people but they are two signs amongst the signs of Allah. When you see them, stand up and pray."

* An eclipse can cause people to become frightened. When frightened, Muslims turn to Allah for patience and perseverance.

Narrated Abu Bakr: Allah's Apostle said: "The sun and the moon are two signs amongst the signs of Allah and they do not eclipse because of the death of someone, but Allah frightens His devotees with them."

* An eclipse is a reminder of the Day of Judgment.

Narrated Abu Musa: The sun eclipsed and the Prophet got up, being afraid that it might be the Hour (i.e. Day of Judgment). He went to the Mosque and offered a prayer with the longest Qiyam, bowing and prostration that I had ever seen him doing. Then he said, "These signs which Allah sends do not occur because of the life or death of somebody, but Allah makes His worshipers afraid by them. So when you see anything thereof, proceed to remember Allah, invoke Him and ask for His forgiveness."

How the Prayer is Performed

* The eclipse prayer is offered in congregation.

Narrated 'Abdullah bin 'Amr: When the sun eclipsed in the life-time of Allah's Apostle an announcement was made that a prayer was to be offered in congregation.

* The eclipse prayer is two rakats (cycles of prayer).

Narrated Abu Bakr: In the life-time of the Prophet the sun eclipsed and then he offered a two Rakat prayer.

* Each rakat of the eclipse prayer has two bowings and two prostrations (for a total of four).

Narrated Aisha: The Prophet led us and performed four bowings in two Rakat during the solar eclipse, and the first Raka was longer.

Narrated 'Aisha: In the life-time of Allah's Apostle, the sun eclipsed, so he led the people in prayer, and stood up and performed a long Qiyam, then bowed for a long while. He stood up again and performed a long Qiyam but this time the period of standing was shorter than the first. He bowed again for a long time but shorter than the first one, then he prostrated and prolonged the prostration. He did the same in the second Raka as he did in the first and then finished the prayer; by then the sun (eclipse) had cleared. He delivered the Khutba (sermon) and after praising and glorifying Allah he said, "The sun and the moon are two signs amongst the signs of Allah; they do not eclipse on the death or life of anyone. So when you see the eclipse, remember Allah and say Takbir, pray and give Sadaqa (charity)."

In modern times, superstitions and fear surrounding solar and lunar eclipses have diminished. However, Muslims continue the tradition of praying during an eclipse, as a reminder that Allah Alone has power over all things, in the heavens and on earth.

Actually the topic came up coz tomorrow's a hol for Faaris and Fiza (playschool) coz of the eclipse... and well... today is something called 'Karkata****' ( i don know wat) and it's considered a very inauspicious day for Hindus... it's a public holiday in Kerala today (don know bout the rest of india).. and that is why our classes and even seniors' exams start tomorrow// coz the inauspicious time shud be over... newaz...
so thats how we got talkin bout eclipses...

well...
so people... pray during an eclipse :)

Allah hafiz

Reminder ::::: Did you read ur prayers today???

2009-07-20T09:31:00.000-07:00

Assalam
A reminder----Namaaz ki paabandi karo...

and now my favourite :)

Allah hafiz

The Man And The Snake

2009-06-26T03:20:00.001-07:00

Assalam

A man returns home from his shop on a winter night and finds his wife and children sitting in the veranda. He asks them surprizingly, "why are you sitting in the veranda in this cold weather?" His wife replies, a long black snake has entered the room in the evening.

The man then enters the room with a big stick and searches everywhere for the snake, but couldn't find it. The wife says, I have seen the snake entering the room with my own eyes, and the children bear witness to it.
Upon hearing this, the man enters the room again and takes out everything from the room until the room is completely empty. Then he searches everything thoroughly and keeps it back in the room one by one, but still there is no sign of any snake.
He consoles his wife and children saying that the snake might have left the house from this drain and you might not have seen it go out. Hearing this, their fear is curtailed and they enter the room.

Now they have their dinner as usual and prepare to sleep. The man sits on his bed and starts checking his shop's account. Suddenly he sees his shirt which was hanging on the wall moving slightly even though the fan is off due to cold and doors and windows are tightly shut. He thinks that the snake is hiding behind the shirt. Terrified, the man takes a stick and touches his shirt. Then he shakes it vigorously with the stick, but there is no snake. He picks up the shirt and hangs it inside the cupboard and returns to his bed.

Now he feels he is not interested in the shop's account. So he switches the lights off and lies on his bed. He alone was awake in the house and everyone else had slept already. Suddenly the empty cup on the cupboard falls down on the floor. He again imagines the snake curled on top of the cupboard. He switches on the light while sitting on the bed itself. Then stands on his place and looks at the cupboard.

Once again he takes up courage and searches the room for the snake, but to no avail. Tired, he lies down again for sleeping without switching off the light this time.

To his astonishment, whenever he closes his eyes, he sees a long black snake in front of him. He opens his eyes out of fear. He spends his whole night turning from one side to other and could not sleep due to the fear of the snake...

His wife had informed him of a snake entering the room due to which he searched the room thrice but couldn't find any trace of a snake. His wife might have lied to him, and used to lie at him sometimes. But believing in her report, he scanned the room thrice and could not sleep due to fear. Any small sound would make his hairs stand on their ends.

But the most truthful of all, our Prophet Sallallahu Alaihi wa Sallam has seen with his own eyes and informed us of various stages in the Hereafter. Let alone Jannat, Jahannum, Sirat, the Day of Resurrection, the Punishment of the Grave, etc and let alone the Power of Allah, His hidden Treasure, and His hidden System (of governing everything), if we only take the report that every human has two angels (Kiraman Katibeen) on their shoulders who record each and every deed; how many of our nights were spent sleepless due to the fear of these Kiraaman Kaatibeen?

Just due to the report of his wife seeing a snake he spent his whole night in fear, how many nights have we spent in fear due to these angels informed by our Prophet Sallallahu Alaihi wa Sallam? Let alone spending sleepless nights, how many times did we ever think of these angels continously monitoring us and our hairs have stood on their ends?

--

think it over

Allah hafiz

Patience in Hardship

2009-06-13T06:09:00.000-07:00

Assalam
A beautiful story i got as an e-mail...

THE OLD MAN'S JOY AFTER EXTREME HARDSHIP

Ibn Jarir At-Tabari (d. 310H) narrates: I was in Makkah during the season of Haj and I saw a man from Khurasan calling out to the people, "Pilgrims, people of Makkah, I have lost a pouch that contains a thousand dinars. So whoever returns the pouch will be rewarded by Allah with good and saved from the Hellfire, and His bounty and favors will be acquired on the Day of Accounting."

An old man from the people of Makkah approached him and said, "Khurasani, our city is in very tough condition, and the days of Haj are few, and its season is appointed, and the doors of profit-making are closed. This money might fall into the hands of a believer who is poor and old in age. Maybe he plans to give it back if you promise that you will give him a little bit of money that is Halal (permissible) for him to use."

The Khurasani asked, "How much does he want?"

"He wants one-tenth of the money."

The Khurasani replied, "No, I will not grant him the money. Instead I will take my case to Allah and complain to Him on the day we meet Him, and Allah is sufficient for us and the best one to trust in."

I realized that it was the old man who was poor, and he was the one who had taken the pouch of dinars and wished to have a little portion of it. So I followed him until he returned to his home. My assumptions were confirmed. I heard him calling onto his wife, "Lubabah!"

She said, "I am at your service, Abu Ghayth."

The old man said, "I found the owner of the dinars calling for it, and he does not intend to give any reward to the person who finds it. I said to him, 'Give us a hundred dinars,' and he refused and said he would take his case to Allah. What should I do, Lubabah? I must return it, for I fear my Lord and I fear that my sin is multiplied."

The wife replied, "Oh man! We have been struggling and suffering from poverty with you for the last 50 years, and you have four daughters, two sisters, my mother and me, and you are the ninth. Keep all the money and feed us, for we are hungry, and clothe us, for you know better our situation. Perhaps Allah the Almighty will make you rich afterwards and you might be able to give the money back after you have fed your children, or Allah will pay the amount you owe on the day when the kingdom will belong to the King (Allah)."

The old exclaimed, "Will I consume Haraam (unlawful) after 86 years of my life, and burn my organs with fire after I have been patient with my poverty, and become worthy of Allah's anger, even though I am close to my grave? No, by Allah, I will not do so!"

I left amazed at his condition and that of his wife.

Later I heard the owner of the pouch calling out again, and the old man repeated his advise. This time he asked for 10 dinars instead of a hundred.

The Khurasani refused.

The people dispersed and left. Later, once again, the Khurasani made the same call.

The old man came again and said, "Khurasani, I said to you the day before yesterday to reward the finder a hundred dinars and you refused. Then I advised you to give him ten dinars and you refused. So will you give only one dinar so that he can buy with half of it things he needs and with the other half sheep's milk so that he can give to the people and feed his children?"

The Khurasani again refused.

The old man said angrily, "Come and take your money so that I can sleep at night, for I have not been in a good mood ever since I found this money."

So the old man went with the owner of the money and I followed them until the old man entered his house, dug a hole, and pulled out the money and said, "Take your money and ask Allah to forgive me and bless me from His bounty."

The Khurasani then said, "Old man, my father died may Allah have mercy on him and left behind three thousand dinars and said to me, 'Take out a third of this money and give it to a person from the people who is most deserving of it.'

By Allah, I have not seen a person since I left Khurasan until now, who is more worthy of it than you. So take it, may Allah's blessing be upon you, and may He reward you for the trust you kept and your patience during poverty."

The Khurasani man left without the money.

The old man wept and prayed, "May Allah bless the owner of the money in his grave, and may Allah bless his son."

I left after the Khurasani but Abu Ghayth, the old man, brought me back. He said, "I have seen you following me since the first day; you have come to know of our situation yesterday and today. So this is a gift from Allah to all those attending.."

The old man called his daughters, his sisters, and his wife and her mother, and sat down and made me sit down. We were 10. The old man gave out the dinars one by one in order until he reached me and said, "Here is a dinar." The process continued until the bag was empty and I received a hundred dinars.

So joy filled my heart because of the provision they received, more than the joy I had because I received a hundred dinars.

When I was leaving the old man said, "Young man, you are blessed. Keep this money with you, for it is Halal. And know that I used to wake up for Fajr Prayer with this wet shirt. After I was done I would take it off and give it to my daughters so that they could pray, one by one. Then I would go to work between Zuhr Prayer and Asr Prayer and then I would come back at the end of the day with what Allah has given me of dates and dry pieces of bread. Then I would take off my clothes for my daughters and they would pray Zhuhr and `Asr, and the same would happen for the Maghrib and `Isha' Prayers. And we did not ever expect to see this kind of money. So may Allah make us make good use of them, and may Allah bless the person in his grave and multiply the reward for him."

So I told him goodbye and took the hundred dinars and used them to write knowledge for two years. I used it to buy paper and pay rent, and after 16 years, I returned to Makkah and inquired about the old man. I was told that he had died a few months after the incident that occurred between us. His wife had died, along with her mother and his two sisters. The only ones that remained were the daughters, who, I found upon asking, were married to kings and princes. I dropped by and they honored me as a guest and treated me kindly until they died also. So May Allah bless them in their graves.

"...And whosoever fears Allah and keeps his duty to Him, He will make a way for him to get out (from every difficulty). And He will provide him from (sources) he never could imagine. And whosoever puts his trust in Allah, then He will suffice him..." (Qur'an, 65:2-3)..

Allah hafiz

Where does the Satan live?

2009-05-30T05:02:00.000-07:00

Assalam
I was searching google for Satan's dwelling place...
I remember having heard somewhere that he lives in that place in the heart from where blood is pumped to the rest of the body...or something like that...i also remember that I had taken that place to mean the SA node (at that time)... so, well.. I was searching for it... and cudn find anything to do with the SA node (though a lot of results of 'South Africa' popped up...)nor cud i find anything to do with Islam.... but i hit across a Christian site... where many had written their answers as to where do they think the Satan lives....
here's an answer that i liked a lot...

Th devil lives wherever he is welcome to stay! Ocasionally he tries to extend his welcome by offering alluring gifts and goodies and quite often he is very successful with his ruses! So watch and pray. He may be after you today!
---pierr7958 on 9/7/05

So read the Auzubillah...

and ya... the Aayatul Kursi.... it keeps the shaytaan away...
there's no limit to how much one can read these...
but, well... i read the Aayaatul Kursi before leaving home... (as many times i leave home).. mummy tells me to read it before goin to bed too.... but... i forget and zyaadatar to i fall asleep while reading a novel ...so, again that ways... i forget...
but khair...

Allah hafiz

Do Not Reveal Your Sins

2009-05-27T06:37:00.000-07:00

DO NOT REVEAL YOUR SINS
orginally posted by laila_sultan

Bismillah Walhamdulillah Was Salaatu Was Salaam 'ala Rasulillah
As-Salaam Alaikum Wa-Rahmatullahi Wa-Barakatuhu

From among the teachings of Allahs Messenger (peace be upon him) is to keep sins a secret matter. If someone commits a sinful act which is against the Commandments of Allah, or is against the moral character, or is such an act that may cause harm to ones honor, then he should keep it a secret and seek forgiveness from Allah in the darkness of night.

The Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) said: "My entire nation is safe, except al-Mujahirin (those who boast of their sins). Among the Mujaharah is that a man commits an (evil) act, and wakes up in the morning while Allah has kept his (sin) a secret, he says: "O so- and-so! Last night I did this and that." He goes to sleep while Allah has kept his (sin) a secret but he wakes up in the morning and uncovers what Allah has kept a secret!" [Saheeh al-Bukhari]

Abdullah Ibn Masoud (May allah be pleased with him) related, A man came to the Prophet and said: O Messenger of Allah! I have mingled with a woman in the far side of al-Medina, and I fulfilled my desire short of actually having sexual intercourse with her. So, here am I, judge me according to what you decide. Umar Ibn al-Khattab (May allah be pleased with him) then said: `Allah had kept your secret, why did not you keep your secret ?' [Sharh Muslim]

Similarly, if one becomes aware of somebody elses sin, he should keep it a secret. Allahs Messenger (peace be upon him) said: "He, who relieves a hardship of this Dunya (world) for a believer, Allah will relieve (from him) a hardship of the Day of Resurrection; he who makes easy an indebted person, Allah will make it easy for him in the Dunya and the Hereafter; he who covers a Muslim (meaning his mistakes and shortcomings) , Allah will cover him in the Dunya and the Hereafter " [Sahih Muslim]

Today, there are also many novel channels through which sins are propagated in the society, such as books, magazines, and television programs that mention the crimes of others, illicit acts, and immorality under the name of creating awareness among the people. These programs "which are meant to help the people against the crimes" are in reality, helping the crime to spread faster in the society! Crimes, which were previously unknown to people have become common offenses! It is therefore necessary for the Muslims to avoid all such avenues which may lead to the destruction of our Muslim Ummah.
Do not reveal your sins (whether major or minor), not even to your close ones such as your spouse or parents. Ask Allah for the forgiveness for the sins you committed and also ask Allah to help you to save from the same in the future. Hide and do not reveal the sins of your Muslim brothers and sisters, and non-Muslims, to others.

References:
Qawaaid wa-Fawaaid min al-Arabeen an-Nawawi by Shaikh Nathim Sultan, Tafseer Ibn Katheer, and others.

Permission is granted to circulate among private individuals and groups, to post on Internet sites and to publish in full text and subject title in not-for-profit publications.

That means the recent post in Jalpari bout music was not something that shud have been written.. oops!

Justifying the commands...a mail i wrote for someone..

2009-05-23T10:12:00.000-07:00

Assalam A
i am sending you a mail i received long back when i was in 12th, it's bout "music in islam"... i remembered having read such a mail, but, didn't tell that day coz i wasn't sure if it's still in my inbox...i found it though...

this explains a lot bout the stand of Islam on music... it also mentions that all the four schools of thought are one in their opinion (people here follow Imaam Shaafi (RA) and we at our place follow Imaam Abu Hanifa (RA)).

if you remember we had also spoken bout why Islam says us to do many things... you had told there is always some benefit for mankind...i had said it's simply because we should obey coz if we really look there are many things that don't make sense...you told that you don't doubt anything...
it's not bout doubting dear... when i say that many things don't make sense i dont doubt islam...it's just that God Himself says so,and there are many hadees which say that Huzur (SAW) refused answering many questions of the Ashaabis (RA) saying that 'don't go to enquire so deep bout religion.Allah knows best.' I know this coz whenevr i ask mummy something which i find strange,she mentions this hadees. I will try searching for the source of this hadees and then send you.
This mail reminded me of the best example, the change of qibla.. it had no reason, rite? still we are supposed to believe.. hope you know that incident.

i also remember one more... the alphabets in the Qur'an.. Ya Seen, Aleef Laam Meem....the meanings are hidden from us...
Likewise, many rulings in Islam are difficult to interpret... we try to soothe ourselves by finding out reasons that suit best coz we know God is infalliable, and so we feel we shud justify all that God says... when God Himself says that there is no need for Him to justify things...
i hope after reading this mail you have understood what i meant that day and didnt take me otherwise....i was only telling what i have understood from my study of Islam, i wasnt simply trying to contradict you.
tc
tatas

My IsLaM

The Knower, Known and Knowing

The Truth

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Khidr A.S. and the Madness Water.

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Self

Jihadi Jew and his G--D...

The Bhagavad Gita 2:52-53

Al-Qur'an .......Notes

Post Ramzaan Regrets!

Dearest Allah

My Inability to Pray

Distanced from God.

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Aye Khuda...

The woman's aameen, adhaan and iqaamah

Fear Allah Subhana watala

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Sickness According to Quran and Sunnah

Why will there be more women in Hell than men?

Introduction- "Letters of The Holy prophet (S.A.W)

Allahhafiz vs Khudahafiz

The Beloved's Beloved---- Imaam Hussain A.S

The Muslim Christmas??????????

~~Dua~~

Ha Ha Ha Ha Ha .. Ya Ali Madad!!!!! :D :D :D

Ali Maula...

Hadees Shareef

Wife-Beating in Islam????

The Most Difficult Thing In Islam...

Hungry? ? ? ? Have some more!!!

The Thief And The Three Homes...

21 Common Misconceptions About Zakaat

Ramzaan Mubarak

Solar Eclipses in Islam...

Reminder ::::: Did you read ur prayers today???

The Man And The Snake

Patience in Hardship

Where does the Satan live?

Do Not Reveal Your Sins

Justifying the commands...a mail i wrote for someone..

Dua