Re: Bismillah [IslamCity] A Size 10 memorabilia............
Very nice mail. but may Allah swt save Malaysia and all the other muslim countries from becoming like Iraq..may Allah swt give freedom again to the people of Iraq. Ameen. --- On Tue, 12/16/08, r...@yahoo.com r...@yahoo.com wrote: From: r...@yahoo.com r...@yahoo.com Subject: Bismillah [IslamCity] A Size 10 memorabilia To: eGroup For Muslims Around The World islamcity@yahoogroups.com Date: Tuesday, December 16, 2008, 6:50 PM Show me your shoe and I shall surely show no shame. George W. Bush has, indeed, declared after that shoe-incident that this projectile ( The shoe) was actually a Size 10 shoe. Size 10 means in European-standards, a size 45 shoe . (No offence for our US colleagues and US readers but here in Europe we are more advanced, we reached the 45 ) George Bush must have measured that shoe because he obviously has kept it as corpus delicti for the next invasion ..of Malaysia or France. or as a memorabilia to show it to his grand-children, later on. And, symbolically , this pair of shoes are : the only honest thing which George has got out of Iraq. (or, also, the only thing which George has earned or deserved , so far ) The Smithsonian- Museum would like to have them too, and Larry King shall interview them next Friday.. Oprah Winfrey declined them , due to some unpleasant odours because that Journalist was very recently in a prison without showers for 45 days , while being investigated by Black-Waters . (true!) It is a bit ironic that The Neo-Cons brought to us democracy and got back some used -smelly-old- shoes , in return !!! Eng. Moustafa Roosenbloom orthopaedic- hygienic- consultant 16Th. of December 2008
Bismillah [IslamCity] read and think
ASalam alikum when i read this verse of Quran i was shocked that today muslim is not behaving like deaf and dumb 18 Deaf, dumb, and blind, they will not return (to the path). surah bakara Dont you think today muslim is behaving like blind deaf and dumb islam is present in our mosques only or it is in out hearts and home if it is in our homes why our home are not look like home of RAsool(Allah bless him)and his companion? where is the leaders like HAZRAT umar (Allah bless him) who awoke in night in search of people problums ? where is people who die for islam ?
Bismillah [IslamCity] Milestones of successful Marriage - Saturday Special session and New Tel. Number
IMPORTANT NOTE = This week we have New Tel Number and Access code for Conference Calling System. Seek knowledge Directly from Scholars: Senior Scholars Mashaykh of Ahli-Sunnah wa Al-Jamaah www.seekKnowledge.org www.studyIslaam.org = www.albaseerah.org - Schedule- Weekly Lectures - Online Intensive Courses http://www.albaseerah.org/audio/schedule.htm Methods of Broadcasting: http://www.albaseerah.org/course/broadcast.htm You may listen to the lectures via following options, Absolutely FREE !!! 1- Masaajid, Islamic Centers and Groups = Use our Telephone Conference Calling system. Use telephone number listed below. Please email ph...@albaseerah.org for more details. 2- Individual Listeners = Live Broadcast from our website www.albaseerah.org/live.htm 3- Pal-Talk = Religion Islam Live Senior Scholars of Ahli Sunnah English Arabic For monthly schedule (Date + Time) please visit http://www.albaseerah.org/audio/schedule.htm Telephone Number: 1-218-486-7200 Password = 302367
Bismillah [IslamCity] Gaza families eat grass as Israel locks border
Gaza families eat grass as Israel locks border
Marie Colvin
The Sunday Times UK December 14, 2008
AS a convoy of blue-and-white United Nations trucks loaded with food waited
last night for Israeli permission to enter Gaza, Jindiya Abu Amra and her
12-year-old daughter went scrounging for the wild grass their family now lives
on.
“We had one meal today - khobbeizeh,” said Abu Amra, 43, showing the leaves of
a plant that grows along the streets of Gaza. “Every day, I wake up and start
looking for wood and plastic to burn for fuel and I beg. When I find nothing,
we eat this grass.”
Abu Amra and her unemployed husband have seven daughters and a son. Their tiny
breeze-block house has had no furniture since they burnt the last cupboard for
heat.
“I can’t remember seeing a fruit,” said Rabab, 12, who goes with her mother
most mornings to scavenge. She is dressed in a tracksuit top and holed jeans,
and her feet are bare.
Conditions for most of the 1.5m Gazans have deteriorated dramatically in the
past month, since a truce between Israel and Hamas, the ruling Islamist party,
broke down.
Israel says it will open the borders again when Hamas stops launching rockets
at southern Israel. Hamas says it will crack down on the rocket launchers when
Israel opens the borders.
The fragile truce technically ends this Thursday, and there have been few signs
it will be renewed. Nobody knows how to resolve the stalemate. Secret talks are
under way through Egyptian intermediaries, although both sides deny any
contact.
Israel controls the borders and allows in humanitarian supplies only
sporadically. Families had electricity for six hours a day last week. Cooking
gas was available only through the illegal tunnels that run into Egypt, and by
last week had jumped in price from 80 shekels per canister (£14) to 380 shekels
(£66).
The UN, which has responsibility for 1m refugees in Gaza, is in despair. “The
economy has been crushed and there are no imports or exports,” said John Ging,
director of its relief and works agency.
“Two weeks ago, for the first time in 60 years, we ran out of food,” he said.
“We used to get 70 to 80 trucks per day, now we are getting 15 trucks a day,
and only when the border opens. We’re living hand to mouth.”
He has four days of food in stock for distribution to the most desperate - and
no idea whether Israel will reopen the border. The Abu Amra family may have to
eat wild grass for the foreseeable future.
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/middle_east/article5338014.ece
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/middle_east/article5338014.ece
__
PoEtEsS
Prayer is the stepping stone of rewards and success when my life has its
trials and my eyes has its tears…Zohra Moosa (Deaf Poet)
***
{Invite (mankind, O Muhammad ) to the Way of your Lord (i.e. Islam) with wisdom
(i.e. with the Divine Inspiration and the Qur'an) and fair preaching, and argue
with them in a way that is better. Truly, your Lord knows best who has gone
astray from His Path, and He is the Best Aware of those who are guided.} (Holy
Quran-16:125)
{And who is better in speech than he who [says: My Lord is Allah (believes in
His Oneness), and then stands straight (acts upon His Order), and] invites
(men) to Allah's (Islamic Monotheism), and does righteous deeds, and says: I
am one of the Muslims.} (Holy Quran-41:33)
The prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said: By Allah, if
Allah guides one person by you, it is better for you than the best types of
camels. [al-Bukhaaree, Muslim]
The prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) also said, Whoever
calls to guidance will have a reward similar to the reward of the one who
follows him, without the reward of either of them being lessened at all.
[Muslim, Ahmad, Aboo Daawood, an-Nasaa'ee, at-Tirmidhee, Ibn Maajah]
--
Recommended:
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http://www.islamonline.net
http://www.islam-guide.com
http://www.prophetmuhammadforall.org
--
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Bismillah [IslamCity] Fw: IslamOnline NewsLetter
ABDUL WAHID OSMAN BELAL
--- On Tue, 16/12/08, newslet...@islamonline.net newslet...@islamonline.net
wrote:
From: newslet...@islamonline.net newslet...@islamonline.net
Subject: IslamOnline NewsLetter
To: awobe...@yahoo.co.uk
Date: Tuesday, 16 December, 2008, 11:47 AM
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#H1l{color:#00;font-size:10pt;font-family:Verdana;}News Letter
ISLAM-ONLINE. NET - http://www.islam-online.net
18 th Dhul-Hijja 1429 ,16 th November 2008
Newsletter Volume 8, Number 47
=
Assalamu aleykum Islam-Online Members!
===
In this issue:
1) Live Fatwa Live Dialogues
2) News: AROUND THE WORLD.
3)Politics in Depth-- US Power on Decline.
4)Rieding Islam--Religion and Violence..
5) Youth 4 the future -- Identity Crisis?
6) Family --The Sexualization of Young Girls .
7) Art Culture-- Welcoming Pilgrims Back in Your Cultures..
8)Helth Science ---I Am My Own Brand..
9) European Muslims--The Positive Presence of Muslims in Europe..
1) Recent Sessions
Guest: Wael Shihab
Subject : General Fatwa Session
- Recent Sessions
Guest : Zienab Mustafa
Subject : Marriage for Euro Muslims: Hopes and Difficulties
2) News : AROUND THE WORLD
Besieged Gazans Turn to Painkillers
Liberal Netherlands in Identity Crisis
Cash-Strapped Americans Turn to Pawn
Christian Missionaries Eye Morocco
Mumbai Muslims Fear Backlash
Iraqis Celebrate Bush Shoe Hero
Pakistan Bans Charity Over Mumbai
Muntadar Zaidi... Proud Iraqi, US Critic
World in Pictures.
More News..
3) Politics in Depth-- US Power on Decline.
It seems that proposed US economic rescue plans render ineffective solutions
exacerbating further US economic and hence political power. Cosmetic changes on
the surface will be certainly unable to lift the United States out of the
quagmire it had created.
4) Rieding Islam--Religion and Violence.
.Religion is often regarded as a set of rules and regulations that govern one's
relation with God and with fellow human beings. Some argue that humanity is
good by nature and doesn't need religion that restricts freedoms.
5) Youth 4 the future -- Identity Crisis?
I do not know much about psychology, but I do know that when you study it,
one of the things taught and discussed is the nature-nurture argument. In other
words, do we develop as people due to our “innate qualities” or our “personal
experiences”? ...
6) Family -- The Sexualization of Young Girls.
The report by the American Psychological Association: Report of the Task
Force on the Sexualization of Girls focuses on the media culture and its
impact on young American women over a long period of time. As a part of
everyday life, for many the connection has not been made between the messages...
7)Art Culture--Welcoming Pilgrims Back in Your Cultures.
The spiritual season of Hajj is almost over and pilgrims are heading back to
their countries after completing the rituals of this very special act of
worship. Welcoming the pilgrims back to their homelands is as significant as
their departure to the holy land. In your culture, how do you welcome the
pilgrims h...
8)Helth Science--I Am My Own Brand.
. Often when writing about science and technology, matters of faith tend to
take a backseat. But with the sayings of Prophet Muhammad more than 1400 years
ago the correlation, at least to me, is striking. One such correlation might be
the internet of things, and its marketing implications might be revolutionary.
9) European Muslims--The Positive Presence of Muslims in Europe.
Germany's largest mosque was opened recently in Duisburg, an old industrial
city in the west of Germany, formerly best known for its steel. The mosque
belongs to DITIB, an organization connected to Turkey's Ministry of Religion.
It is not situated in the city centre or in a central, visible place, rather in
the m...
Feedback
We designed
Bismillah [IslamCity] Arabic Language Lesson 3.4: Definite and Indefinite Article Practice 2
If you are unable to see arabic text please go to main menu of your internet browser and follow the steps: View -- Encoding -- More -- Unicode (UTF-8). Inshallah this will help you. If you are still unable to see the arabic text please click below for this lesson: http://www.madinaharabic.com/Arabic_Language_Course/Lessons/MB1_Lesson_003/MB1_L3_section_004.htm (٣) الدرسُ الثَالِثُ - LESSON 3 تمـرين - Questions In the next section we will have multiple questions Insha' Allah (God-Willing) to test your understanding of the principles we have learnt. To answer the questions: Click on the question number you would like to answer (this will be highlighted in blue once you click to show that it is the active question). Click on the letters on the keyboard in the lower frame to type in the answer in Arabic automatically under the question. The joining of letters is automatic, hence focus on simply spelling the letters and familiarise yourself with how the letters are joined. Click on the next question and use the keyboard again to enter the answer. Upon completion of all questions click on the Mark Answer button to obtain your mark. Please enter the answers to the questions below using the keyboard and mark your answers as per commentary (above). (۲) اِقْرأْ وَكْتُبْ : The Arabic sentence above means Read and write. In each of the sentences below simply type the words again using the keyboard as in the previous questions and including the vowel-marks which have been omitted. Once again, upon completing the exercise you can click on the speakers by each sentence to hear the correct pronunciation and hence answers. الـمدرس جديد الـمكتب مكسور اللبن بارد القميص وسخ الـحجر كبير الـمسجد مفتوح الإِمام جالس والـمدرس واقف اللبن بارد والـماء حار الـمنديل نظيف القمر بعيد
Bismillah [IslamCity] All�h Calls To The Home Of Peace
Bismillah Hir Rahmaan Nir Raheem Assalaamu alaykum wa rahmatuallahi wa barakatuhu Surah Yunus 10:24. Verily the likeness of (this) worldly life is as the water (rain) which We send down from the sky, so by it arises the intermingled produce of the earth of which men and cattle eat until when the earth is clad with its adornments and is beautified, and its people think that they have all the powers of disposal over it, Our Command reaches it by night or by day and We make it like a clean-mown harvest, as if it had not flourished yesterday! Thus do We explain the Ayât (proofs, evidences, verses, lessons, signs, revelations, laws, etc.) in detail for the people who reflect. 25. Allâh calls to the home of peace (i.e. Paradise, by accepting Allâh's religion of Islâmic Monotheism and by doing righteous good deeds and abstaining from polytheism and evil deeds) and guides whom He wills to a Straight Path. 26. For those who have done good is the best (reward, i.e. Paradise) and even more (i.e. having the honour of glancing at the Countenance of Allâh Ìá ÌáÇáå) Neither darkness nor dust nor any humiliating disgrace shall cover their faces. They are the dwellers of Paradise, they will abide therein forever. Best reward for good doers,Neither darkness nor shame will cover 27. And those who have earned evil deeds, the recompense of an evil deed is the like thereof, and humiliating disgrace will cover them (their faces). No defender will they have from Allâh. Their faces will be covered, as it were, with pieces from the darkness of night. They are dwellers of the Fire, they will abide therein forever. Surah Isra 17 verse 80 Say: O my Lord! let my entry be by the Gate of Truth and Honor and likewise my exit by the Gate of Truth and Honor; and grant me from Thy Presence an authority to aid (me). Ameen,Thumameen. Transliteration :Wa qur rabbi adkhilni mudkhala sidqiw wa akhrijni mukhraja sidqiw wa-j'al li mil ladunka sulta_nan nasira_(n). Check out the all-new face of Yahoo! India. Go to http://in.yahoo.com/
Bismillah [IslamCity] The African Walk to Makkah by Isma'il Kushkush
The African Walk to Makkah * By Isma’il Kushkush Freelance Writer http://www.islamonline.net/servlet/Satellite?c=Article_Ccid=1228489966826pagename=Zone-English-ArtCulture%2FACELayout A caravan sent by Darfur sultan, Ali Dinar, to Makkah in 1904. (Picture is taken from the Sultan Ali Dinar Museum in El Fashir, Darfur.) Performing the pilgrimage to Makkah has captivated the minds of West African Muslims for centuries. Imbedded in history are the legendry pilgrimages of West African Muslim rulers such as Mansa Musa, the sultan of Mali, and the pilgrimage of Askia Muhammad, the ruler of Songhai. Ali Dinar, the last sultan of Darfur was famous for his annual caravan to the holy land that always included a kiswa, a covering for the Kabah. West African pilgrimage routes were many including one through the Sahara, to Cairo and onward to Makkah. But another famous route was one through the Muslim Sudanic belt, which included the savannah areas that stretch from the Atlantic Ocean to the Red Sea. An unknown fact about this pilgrimage route to many is the fact that West African Muslims in the past walked their way to Makkah. Walking to Makkah From the advent of Islam in West Africa in the fourteenth century to the mid-twentieth century, devout West African Muslims could be found traveling on foot to and from Makkah anywhere between Senegal and Sudan. This, according to Professor Al-Amin Abu-Manga of the Institute of African and Asian Studies in Khartoum, was due to a prevalent understanding among many West African Muslims that the pilgrimage, hajj, should be performed with difficulty as to maximize the divine reward. West African Muslim also held a romantic view of and spiritual attachment to the east as a place where the divine revelations were revealed in the cities of Makkah, Medina and Jerusalem. This pilgrimage route took West African Muslims from places as far west as Shinqit, Timbuktu and Sokoto through the savannah grasslands to Darfur, and then to Sinnar or Shendi along the Nile in modern day Sudan. There, pilgrims split in route to the Red Sea ports of Sawakin or Massawa, and then to the port of Jeddah in Arabia, and finally to Makkah. Ten Years of Adventures! The road to Makkah was not a safe one. Dr. Umar Ahmad Saeed of the International University of Africa in Khartoum explains that the long road to Makkah was filled with challenges and dangers such as bandits, slaver raiders, wild beasts, diseases and the threat of running out of water and food. At times, some pilgrims would abandon their dream to reaching Makkah and return to their homelands heartbroken. Such trips at best took several months. But for most, it took not less than two years to reach the holy land. Many pilgrims would temporary settle in towns and villages on the way to work and to generate income to aid them in their journey. A trip to Makkah and back took an average of ten years. This is why at times a person going on the pilgrimage would offer his wife the option of divorce so she would not have to wait for his return. They worked as farmers, cattle herders, skilled craftsmen, says Dr. Mahdi Sati of the International University of Africa in Khartoum. Many were also teachers of Qur'an and taught in khalwas (schools teaching Qur'an). Others, however, unable to continue, would end up settling permanently in newly adopted homes. Communities of West Africans, especially members of the Fulani, Hausa, and Takarur ethnic groups, can be found all along the route of the hajj road as far east as Sudan. Exchanging Cultures and Traditions Villages, such as Mayerno, south of the city of Sinnar in central Sudan today, are mainly composed of West Africans who migrated from northern Nigeria on the path to Makkah. In many of Sudan’s main cities, it is not uncommon to find neighborhoods made up of ethnic Fulanis and Hausa who eventually chose to settle in these towns. These migrants brought with them their traditions, economic expertise and cultures. Thus, the road to Makkah had become a means of cultural and economic exchange between the peoples of the Sudanic belt. The pilgrims that eventually returned to their original homelands, however, where greeted with elaborate celebrations. Pilgrimage to Makkah elevated one’s social status tremendously, who became known as al-hajj. Today, this African pilgrimage route is no longer. By the 1950s, colonial borders, political tensions and airplanes had contributed to the demise of this once vibrant route. But the legacy of this pilgrimage route remains in the cultural impact that many West Africans have left in the areas they eventually settled in, and more importantly, in the imagination of historians, poets and future pilgrimage goers. * References: -Abu-Manga, Al-Amin. “Hajj Voyages and their Social and Economic Impact in the Nile Valley Sudan.” 2008. (In Arabic). -Saeed, Umar Ahmad. “Social and
Bismillah [IslamCity] hadith: Prophets' eyes sleep, not their hearts
Narrated Sharik bin 'Abdullah bin Abi Namr: I heard Anas bin Malik telling us about the night when the Prophet was made to travel from the Ka'ba Mosque. Three persons (i.e. angels) came to the Prophet before he was divinely inspired was an Aspostle), while he was sleeping in Al Masjid-ul-Haram. The first (of the three angels) said, Which of them is he? The second said, He is the best of them. That was all that happened then, and he did not see them till they came at another night and he perceived their presence with his heart, for the eyes of the Prophet were closed when he was asleep, but his heart was not asleep (not unconscious). This is characteristic of all the prophets: Their eyes sleep but their hearts do not sleep. Then Gabriel took charge of the Prophet and ascended along with him to the Heaven. Sahi Bukhari, Volume 4, Book 56, Number 770
Bismillah [IslamCity] On Extremism
On Extremism By Khalid Baig POSTED: 6 SHA'BAN 1423, 13 OCTOBER 2002 Thus have We Made of you an Ummah justly balanced [Al-Baqara 2:143] Ummatan Wasatan can be translated as the middle nation, the best nation, and an Ummah justly balanced. The Phrase captures the essence of Islam, which is to shun all excesses. At other places [e.g. Al-Maidah 5:12] the Qur'an refers to the path it shows at as Sawaa-As-Sabil. Abdullah Yusuf Ali explains: The Arabic word Sawaa signifies smoothness as opposed to roughness; symmetry as opposed to want of plan; equality or proportion as opposed to want of design; rectitude as opposed to crookedness; a mean as opposed to extremes; and fitness for the object held in view as opposed to faultiness. Our physical well-being requires that we eat a well balanced diet …Our total well-being requires finding the path of moderation for our entire life. Extremism is a product of ignorance. Given two extreme points on a straight line, anyone can point out where the middle point lies. But a person that cannot see the entire line will also miss the middle point. He may be sitting on an extreme edge, yet congratulate himself for being in the middle. Unlike the line, real life is not one-dimensional. As individuals, we find ourselves being pulled in so many directions by myriad internal and external forces. In a society the complexity increases manifold as these forces intersect in complex ways. When you add their dynamic interrelationship over time, the complexity becomes mind-boggling. Our own instruments of observation and intellect, wonderful as they are, are simply not up to the task of finding the proper course in this complex, ever-changing, multidimensional maze. There are no satellite observatories, no imaging systems, no super computers that can help us find a solution. Yet we know that we do need to find it. Our physical well-being requires that we eat a well balanced diet and follow the course of moderation. Our economic, social, and spiritual well-being similarly demands finding the balanced approach and the moderate course in all these spheres. Our total well-being requires finding the path of moderation for our entire life. For this we need Divine Guidance. No one is more conscious of this than the believer who turns to Allah five times a day with this supplication: Show us the Straight Path. The Path that avoids the extremes of Ifraat (excess) and Tafreet (insufficient action). Is there another group that seeks the path of rectitude and moderation with the same fervor? That this is the Ummah justly balanced can be seen by looking at its beliefs and practices. Islamic monotheism is the truth. Atheism and polytheism are extremist distortions of this central truth. A large number of followers of other religions who accepted Islam have been impressed by the simplicity, profoundness, clarity, and logical soundness of its belief system. It is in religious belief systems that extremist tendencies take their greatest toll. On the one hand there have been people who worshiped animals, celestial bodies, and forces of nature; on the other are those who deny even the existence of God. Avoiding these extremes are the shining teachings of Islam. The sun, stars, fire, water, and wind are mere creations of One Almighty God. He alone created the entire universe and He alone is its Lord and Master. Islamic monotheism is the truth. Atheism and polytheism are extremist distortions of this central truth. Similar is the case of belief in prophets. On the one hand are people who attributed divinity to prophets, declaring some of them to be son of God; on the other are those who considered these chosen people as ordinary human beings who committed all sorts of sins. There are still others who knowingly persecuted and killed the prophets. Again the truth stands in the middle --- as taught by Islam. Allah chose messengers from among human beings to convey to them His guidance. They were all humans as they were meant to be exemplars for humanity. Yet they were best of all humanity and they spoke with Divine Authority. They deserved the deepest love, devotion, and obedience from other human beings. One only needs to contrast the depiction of the prophets in the Qur'an with that in other scriptures to appreciate this difference. The latter shows the distortions produced by human imagination. It shows the extremism that can creep in when God's words and teachings are no longer preserved. Extremism is inherently unstable. Its injustices invoke a rebellion and a counter trend. It is the same story with religious practices. We see two extremes in Christianity and Judaism. In the former Love replaced Law; in the latter Law turned into a straitjacket that made life unbearable and from which Reformist had to seek escape --- thereby going to the other extreme. If one were to borrow the language the media uses, routinely and inappropriately, when
Bismillah [IslamCity] Big Business, Muslim Rap
Big Business, Muslim Rap By Khalid Baig POSTED: 16 SAFAR 1424, 27 MARCH 2005 When the pagan Makkan army was marching to Badr in 2 A.H., it included not only fighting men, weapons, camels, and horses, but also the means of inciting the fighters: singing-girls and musical instruments. At every rest stop along the way these cheerleaders plied their craft, spitting venom against the Muslims and promising their favors in the most enticing ways to those who would destroy them. The army had been summoned to protect their trade caravan. When they learnt that the caravan had escaped and some of them wanted to turn back, Abu Jahl insisted on continuing: No, I will not return to Makkah, until we have refreshed ourselves at Badr, and spent three days in feasting, drinking wine, and listening to the singing and playing of the singing-girls. In the end, the unequal war in Badr did not turn out to be the picnic he had imagined. Abu Jahl was slain, as were many other prominent leaders of Makkah. The decisive victory at Badr by the ragtag Muslim army remains a constant source of inspiration and education. It changed the course of history, for if Muslims had been defeated, the magnificent Islamic civilization would not have seen the light of day and the jahilyah society would have continued uninterrupted. At Badr Muslims drastically lacked the weapons of war. But it was the absence of a particular weapon of war that symbolizes the moral edge that gave them the victory. Unlike their adversaries the Muslim army did not include bands of singing-girls and musical instruments! There is no doubt that such bands could and did stir up emotions. At Uhud, the chant of the singing girls was: Move forward and we will embrace you. Turn back and we will abandon you. In countless pagan wars before and since, the promise has been the same. It works for the lowly beasts seeking the sensual pleasures of this world, fanning the fires of their basest emotions and bringing out the animal from within them. No wonder battlefields have historically showcased the worst of human behavior and character. Islam came to rid the humanity of such decay. It produced soldiers who fought to establish justice and morality and sought nothing but the pleasure of Allah. Their weapons were piety, sincerity, fear of Allah, an unshakable commitment to right the wrong, and an unwavering willingness to sacrifice even their lives for it. Quite naturally it removed the filth of singing girls and musical instruments from its side of the war zone. There were also other uses of music that Islam abolished in its revolutionary remaking of society. While in other religions music and singing have been an integral part of worship, Islam's acts of worship do not require or permit music. What about the argument that sacred music can bring one to a state of ecstasy and union with God? Well, salat brings one closer to Allah. (There are historical accounts of earlier Muslims some of whom reached such a state of absorption that they could not feel even physical pain of surgery during salat.) It is very significant that this closeness is achieved without any sacred music. Music has also been a means of indoctrination and glorification. Trumpets were blown to announce the arrival of His Majesty and to make people bow to his pomp and glory. If this had been a legitimate use, then the person most deserving of this honor would have been no one other than the Prophet . But to a world used to the courts of monarchs with musicians always ready to glorify them, he introduced a drastically different court. No pomp, no musicians, no music. Historically music has also been associated with magic and superstitions. When faced with disasters or epidemics, pagan people resorted to dance and music to get rid of the evil spirits. The legend of the Pied Piper, popular in the West for centuries, attests to the belief in the magical powers of music. In Arabia singing girls called dajina (from dajana meaning cloudiness) sang to conjure rain when clouds gathered. Islam instead taught its followers to turn to Allah in salatul istasqa to pray for rain. And of course music has also been used as a distraction and mindless entertainment. This is what Nadr ibn Harith did to keep people from paying attention to the Qur'an. He bought a singing girl and used her to win the hearts and minds of anyone who appeared to be leaning to Islam. He was condemned in Surah Luqman (31:6). Islam did permit some singing and use of a simple instrument like duf (a small one-sided drum) for weddings or Eid celebrations. It permitted rajaz singing for jihad. These were exceptions to the general rule. Thus if we draw a graph of music activity in the Muslim world against time, we will find it to be at its lowest during the time of the Prophet and the Khulafa Rashidoon. Its subsequent rise during the Umayyad and Abbasid Khilafah was a result of external influences:
Bismillah [IslamCity] Voltaire and I
Dedicated to Dr. I. Alloush an Arab-Knight.! Faress el Arab !! The end of the year 2008, is getting closer and equally the end of Bush , as President. I shall not repeat what I think of G.W.Bush but shall only remind you that the USA has voted for him twice. They tried him out the first 4 years ...and then they did not mind having him another 4 more years. One says, that Democracy is ,among other things, : the accountability of the elected- Leaders I say that Democracy is also : the accountability of the electors , themselves !! The population of Iraq was not to be held responsible for having President Saddam Hussein ,one could argue that, in a Western way of political-logic... and yet the Iraqi were bombed , starved, invaded and occupied because their leader was President Saddam Hussein . And then , what should be the punishment for the US-citizens for having chosen and voted for a monster called G.W.Bush ???...twice !! Voltaire once said : The ideal ruler would be a humane-Tyrantunquote I say : G.W.Bush was not at all humane nor does he qualify , theoretically , to be called Tyrant . Conclusion : Monsieur Voltaire and myself , do not agree to G.W.Bush and both of us would, rather, have a President like President Saddam Husseininstead of Bush if and when we are allowed to choose our leaders . Raja Chemayel 17Th of December 2008
Re: Bismillah [IslamCity] A Size 10 memorabilia............
THE ARKOF NOAH SEMINAR The topics are Holding onto the Sunnah with your Molars, The importance of Tawheed, The life of Nuh and The Revival of Islam in the 21st Century The invited speakers are: Abu Usamah at-Thahabi Abu Hasnayn Murtaza Khan, Waseem Kempson and Muawiyah Tucker. At Masjid THE ARKOF NOAH 398 Highstreet North, Manorpark, LondonE13 6RH LondonUnited Kingdom. On 20th 21st December 2008after Maghrib at 4.30-8.30pm. Luton– Masjid al-Ghurabah Winter Conference 2008 THE LIFE TRIALS OF THE FOUR IMAAMS Friday 26, Saturday 27 and Sunday 28 Dec 08 Scholars: Abdur Rahman ash-Shatreer Abdul Malik Ramadanee Abdul Aziz as-Sudhan Faisal Jasim Khalid al-Anbari Trans: Abu Usamah adh-Dhahabi Abu Imran Masjid al-Ghurabah 116 BURY PARK ROAD LUTONLU1 1HE 01582 724 647 www.calltoislam.com 'Lessons Of Mu'atta Imam Malik Every Friday at 6:30 pm By Shaykh Suhaib Hasan Tafseerl Qur'an Every Saturday at 6:30pm By Shaykh Su'haib Hasan Masjid at-Tawheed 80 High Road Leyton LondonE15 2BP Explanation of Kitab at-Tawheed Sunday 4th Jan 09 @ 7pm Every other Sunday By Abu Suhaib Bassam Masjid al-Hudaa 91 MILE END ROAD LONDONE1 www.islamicknowledge.co.uk
Bismillah [IslamCity] Reminding Of Fasting
Alsalamo alikom wa rhmat ALLAH wa barakatoh hows everybody doing hows everything going on think of fasting thursday may ALLAH reward you all
Bismillah [IslamCity] London from above, at night
1Big Ben, above the Houses of Parliament. 2Commuters and traffic at Oxford Circus. 3The financial district, featuring the tip of 30 St. Mary's Axe, known by the nickname The Gherkin 4A lonely curve of a city street. 5A busy roundabout junction. 6The Lloyd's Building, well-lit. 7Building site at St George Street and Maddox Street. 8The River Thames, featuring Tower Bridge. 9Waterloo and Eurostar terminal. 10The London Eye on the River Thames 11London's financial district, featuring the Lloyd's Building and The Gherkin. 12A junction on the M25 motorway. 13The view above Canary Wharf. 14Tower Bridge and the Thames. 15 Canada Tower and neighboring office buildings at Canary Wharf. 16Emirates Stadium, home of Arsenal Football Club. 17Piccadilly Circus with the famous Statue of Eros. 18Waterloo Bridge and the River Thames, also featuring the London Eye (center, seen from the side), the Royal National Theatre, and Waterloo Station.
Bismillah [IslamCity] Pak News
US: India gearing up for Pakistan attack The Pentagon says that India becomes ready to attack Pakistan in retaliation for the recent Mumbai attacks that killed about 200 people. Washington has information that India's air force began preliminary preparations for a possible attack, three Pentagon officials told CNN on Monday. Full story: http://pakalert.wordpress.com/2008/12/15/us-india-gearing-up-for-pakistan-attack/ Mumbai Unites Pakistanis ISLAMABAD - Indian accusations of a Pakistani involvement in Mumbai attacks and threats of troops build-up on the borders are uniting all political and religious parties, even Taliban tribesmen, against a possible threat from arch rival India. Full story: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Khabr/message/614 India Want A War? Let's Give Them One Politics aside, India must be confronted now. The National Security Conference is a welcome step but the government must shun its apologetic attitude when it clearly knows that the nation stands united. We should be prepared for the worst. Pakistani military should be re-deployed to the eastern borders immediately. Patriotic Pashtun tribesmen and military reserves should be called in to make up for the shortages on the western frontiers. If they want a war, let's give them one. Full story: http://pakalert.wordpress.com/2008/12/15/india-want-a-war-lets-give-them-one/ Indians Shaken By A Pakistani's Vow To Make India Pakistan Going by the Pakistani leaders, the Indians believe that ordinary Pakistanis are a weak, defeated people. That's why they are stunned to hear a bold voice from Pakistan like Zaid Hamid, who's blunt style is reviving their worst fears. See what this Indian blog had to say about Zaid Hamid's remark, 'We'll make India 'Pakistan'. Full story: http://pakalert.wordpress.com/2008/12/15/indians-shaken-by-a-pakistani/
Bismillah [IslamCity] Shoes at Bush
These are my views on the shoe incident. It appeared in the Daily Mirror, Sri Lanka on December 18, 2008. Ameen Izzadeen Just get into Iraqi shoes http://www.dailymirror.lk/DM_BLOG/Sections/frmNewsDetailView.aspx?ARTID= 35429 The official US interpretation of the historic shoe incident on Sunday was that the journalist Munthazer al-Zaidi would have been a dead man, if he had thrown his shoes at Saddam Hussein, the Iraqi tyrant. Many would not disagree. The Iraqis, however, did not publicly insult Saddam. Some may point to the incident where Iraqis hit the statue of Saddam at Baghdad's Firdouse Square with their shoes. But this incident was highly stage-managed, not spontaneous. The crowd that participated in this incident was brought there by America's Iraqi stooges such as Ahmed Chalabi. The Iraqis did not throw their shoes at Saddam when the dictator was ruling them with an iron fist and jackboots - either because they feared for their lives or because they did not feel like doing so. After all, Saddam was an Iraqi and there was Iraqiness in his tyranny. It was tyranny, no doubt, but there was no humiliation in it for the Iraqi people. The matrix changed with the US invasion of Iraq. Dictator Saddam was replaced by another dictator -- US President George W. Bush -- who showed little respect for international law or opinion. The dictator title suits Bush because democracy does not promote invasion or tolerate occupation, unless there is a humanitarian crisis in a country. The Iraqis see Bush's tyranny, which has led to the deaths of more than 1.2 million Iraqis since the 2003 invasion, as an affront to their dignity. To Arabs, or for that matter to any people who zealously guards their self-respect, occupation of the motherland by a foreign power is the ultimate insult. The Iraqis have been living in shame, and suffering the psychological trauma of being humiliated by the US since 2003. To understand the present Iraqi psyche, the Americans must put themselves in Iraqi shoes. How would an American feel if Iraq had invaded the United States? Imagine Iraqi troops setting up huge bases in New York, Los Angeles and Chicago and a massive green zone in Washington. How would the Americans feel, if Iraqi troops manning a checkpoint at Manhattan's Fifth Avenue, had stopped a limousine and ordered its occupants to get out of it to be body-checked at gunpoint? Imagine an American mother going to the office of an Iraqi official and pleading for the release of her son. Imagine an Iraqi soldier molesting an American teenager at a checkpoint. Imagine Iraqi troops arresting some Americans in Texas, putting them in dungeons and forcing them to make sexually explicit nude human pyramids - like some American soldiers did to Iraqi detainees at Abu Ghraib? Won't the Americans then think that occupation is abhorrent, and an affront to their dignity and a humiliation? The problem with a majority of the Americans was that they were incapable of understanding that occupation was the ultimate insult to a people who, like the Iraqis, hold self dignity and national pride at high esteem. At least, it appeared to be the case when Bush invaded Iraq in 2003. How gullible a majority of the Americans are. They believed the wholesale the lies of the Bush administration. One of the thousands of lies, with which Bush and his hawks misled the Americans, was that the Iraqis would welcome the US troops with rice and rose water. It did not happen. Instead, some five years and nine months after the invasion, the commander-in-chief of the US armed forces was shamed with a shoe attack, which is an extreme form of insult in the Arab and Asian culture. The Americans must at least now sit back and take stock of their folly. They supported the US invasion of Iraq. According to a USA Today/Gallup poll conducted in 2003, three in four Americans supported the war or felt the Bush administration was right in invading Iraq. These Americans believed the load of crap the Bush administration poured out in justification of its invading an independent sovereign state that had nothing to do with the 9/11 attacks. If an American comes to know that his father is a burglar, what should he or she do? He or she could either support him and join him in his burglaries or do nothing or tell the police. A majority of the Americans joined in the plunder while others, except for a handful, remained silent. If they had wished, they could have stopped Bush and his invading Army, by holding massive people-power demonstrations. It is true there were anti-war demonstrations in the US but they lacked the force to compel the Bush administration to roll back its Iraq plans. Therefore, a majority of the Americans are morally culpable for the death and destruction the Bush administration has caused in Iraq. It is time for penance. The act of penance should not come in the form of suffering. They must do good acts. The Americans should exhort the next administration
