[IslamCity] The Basis of ISLAM is to act upon The Book and The Sunnah
The Basis of Islaam is to Act uponthe Book and the Sunnah By Shaikh Muhammad Sultaan al-Ma`soomoee Source: Hadiyyat us-Sultaan ilaa Muslimee Bilaad al-Yaabaan salafipublications This is the deen of Islaam in truth and its fundamental and its basis is the Book and the Sunnah. So they are the points of reference in every dispute that the Muslims fall into and he who refers back to other than them is not a believer! As Allah the most Most high says: "But no, by your Lord, they can have no faith, until they make you (O Muhammad (saw) judge in all disputes between them and find in the, selves no resistance against your decisions and accept (them) with full submission.[1] Not one of the scholars said, 'follow me in my opinion' rather they said, 'take from where we have taken,' besides, much has been added to these madhabs from the understanding of their later generations[2]. They contain many errors and matters of conjecture, which if the Imaams to whom they are attributed were to see them, then they would absolve themselves of them and from those who said them. All of the people of knowledge from the Pious predecessors clung to the manifest texts of the Book and the Sunnah and encouraged the people to stick to them and act accordingly. This is established from the Imaams from amongst them. Abu Haneefah, Maalik, Ahmad,ash-Shafiee, the two Sufyaans, ath-Tahwree and Ibn Uyaiynah, al-Hasan al-Basree, Abu Yousuf Yaqoob-the Qadee, Muhammad ibn al-Hasan ash-Shaybaanee, Abdur Rahmaan al-Awzaee, Abdullah ibn al-Mubarak, al-Bukharee, Muslim and the rest (ra). All of them warned against innovations in the Deen and against blind following of anyone except the infallible Messenger (saw). As for other than him, then he is fallible whoever he may be, his saying which is in accordance with the Book and the Sunnah is accepted and that which goes against them is to be rejected. As Imaam Maalik (ra) said, "The saying of everyone may be taken or rejected except for the companion of this grave" and he pointed to the grave of the Prophet (saw) [3] The scholars, the four Imaams and the others, all followed this way, all of them warned against blind following! Since Allaah, the Most High, condemned the blind followers in more than one place in His book. Most of the earlier and later people became disbelievers due to their blind following of their priests, rabbis, old people and forefathers. It is established from Imaams Abu Haneefah (ra), Maailik,ash-Shafiee, Ahmad and others (ra) -that they said: "It is not permissible for any one to give judgement with our saying unless they know the source from which we took it" [4] "If the hadeeth is found to be authentic then it is my madhab" [5] "If I say something then compare it to the Book of Allah and the Sunnah of His Messenger and if it agrees to them, then accept it and that which goes against them,then reject it and throw my saying against the wall".[6] These are the sayings of these prominent Imaams, may Allaah enter them into the Home of Peace. Unfortunately, the later blind followers and authors who wrote the books, whom the people think to be scholars and infallible mujtahids, have made it obligatory for the people to blindly follow one of the four Imaams and their well known madhaabs. After declaring this to be obligatory, they forbade taking or acting upon anyone else's saying, it is as if they have made him (i.e. the Imaam) Prophet to be obeyed. It would have been better had they acted upon the sayings of the Imaams. However, most of them know nothing of the Imaam whom they claim to follow, except his name. Further, some of the latter followers invented questions, created new madhabs and ascribed them to the original Imaams. So those who came after them think that it is the saying of the Imaaam or his students and in reality it goes against what the Imaam said and approved;he is free from what they ascribe to him, such as the saying of many of the later Hanafees that it is forbidden to point the forefinger in the tashshuud in prayer [6] or that what is meant by Allah's hand id His power,or that He is present by His Dhaat (self) in every place and not above the Arsh because of this and its like the unity of the Muslims has been destroyed their community has separated, the splits increased and the horizons filled with hypocrisy and disunity! Each of them declaring those who differ from them in the slightest matter to be upon misguidance ,to the extent that some of them declare the others to be disbelievers and some striking the necks of the others to be disbelievers and some striking the necks of the others and have become fitting for what the truthful and trustworthy Messenger, the most noble of us ,Muhammad(saw) said, "My Ummah will split into seventy -three sects,all of them in the fire except one" It was said, 'Who are they O Messenger of Allaah? He said, "That which I and my Companions are upon" [7] FOOT NOTES [1] Sooratun-Nisaa(4):65 [2] The following of
[IslamCity] On arrogance, humbleness and inferiority complex
On arrogance, humbleness and inferiority complex Arrogance has been called the worst spiritual disease. In Arabic, it is called Takabbur or Kibr and dubbed as the 'Ummul Amradh' (mother of all diseases) or the root of all sicknesses of the heart. Prophet Muhammad (Sall Allaho alaihe wasallam) warned that a person having even an iota of it in his heart would never enter paradise. This is the deadliest of all sins. No one likes arrogance, but in others. We never like a person who is haughty, too proud, or condescending. We detest a person who belittles us and has a huge ego. Similarly, we love people who are humble, polite, and easy to talk to. We love people who give us respect and honour. Thus, if we follow the principle of treating others the way we like to be treated, most of these problems might be cured. In reality, the treatment of this worst disease requires a deeper look. For that, we need to appreciate the difference between manners (Adab) on the one hand and morals (Akhlaaq) on the other. While manners deal with one's external disposition, morals as defined by Islam deal with our inner thoughts, feeling and attitudes. In a healthy personality, the manners and morals are in harmony. But it is also possible to have the former without having the latter. The first concerns itself with how a person deals with others. The second is concerned with what a person thinks of himself. Two persons showing humbleness in their dealings with others may have exactly opposite ideas in their minds. One may do it out of his or her generosity, the other may do it because he genuinely thinks that he is not better than the other person. The first person only has a shell of humbleness, which will crumble when tested. It is the second person who is really free of arrogance. Real greatness belongs only to Allah, our Lord, Creator and Master. Human beings are just a creation of Allah, and a very small creation in comparison to the unimaginably vast universe. Anyone who understands this will realise that our proper status is only that of servants of Allah. In fact, for a Muslim, the real human model is none other than Prophet Muhammad (Sall Allaho alaihe wasallam), who is the greatest of all human beings. His greatness lies in being the humblest of all servants of Allah! It is impossible for any person who has this consciousness to entertain any notions of his own greatness. This leads us to the definition of arrogance (Kibr), given in a famous Hadith: Kibr is to knowingly reject Truth and to belittle other people. This Hadith exposes two strains of this deadly disease, both dealing with our exaggerated ideas of self-importance. The first suggests that I am more important than the Truth. The second suggests that I am more important than other people. We know about the Quraish and Jews of Arabia, who had come in contact with Prophet Muhammad (Sall Allaho alaihe wasallam) and who knew from the core of their hearts that he indeed is the Messenger of Allah. Their arrogance, though, kept them from accepting it. History has recorded statements from some of them, who said they knew he is the Promised Prophet, but they would keep on opposing him to maintain their leadership. While that was the most blatant form of arrogance, we can witness the same attitude on a smaller scale in our discussions and arguments. A person realises that he was wrong, but then his pride keeps him from admitting it. No matter how polite or humble that person may appear to be ordinarily, this test shows the presence of arrogance in his heart. It is arrogance that keeps a person from saying I am sorry. The second strain involves our feeling of superiority with respect to other people. Islam's teaching is that one should never consider himself greater than other people, because that judgment will come from Allah, and Allah alone, on the Day of Judgment. None of us knows what our end will be, whether we will end up being a winner or loser over there. The person who appears to be nobody here may end up with eternal bliss because of his goodness that only Allah knew. The person who is a big shot here may end up among the sinners who will be punished there, because of his evil that only Allah knew. How foolish it is then to congratulate ourselves over our fleeting superiority. What if a person does have edge over another person in measurable worldly terms? How then can he not consider himself superior than the other person in that respect? The point is sometimes made in half jest: it is difficult to be humble when you are so great. Islam does not ask us to reject reality and imagine we don't have what we really do. Rather, it asks us to take a deeper look at the reality and not be misled by a superficial perception of it. And the simple reality that escapes many is that our health, wealth, talents and power are not of our own creation. God gave those characteristics to us as a test and He can take them back whenever
[IslamCity] Newsweek Casts Doubts on Quran Report, Questions Unanswered
Newsweek Casts Doubts on Quran Report, Questions Unanswered
CAIRO, May 16, 2005 (IslamOnline.net) Although the Newsweek cast some doubts on its earlier report about the desecration of the Noble Quran in Guantanamo, neither the magazine nor the Pentagon denied it outright, leaving the crucial question of whether the Muslims holy book was desecrated or not unanswered.
Our original source later said he couldn't be certain about reading of the alleged Qur'an incident in the report we cited, and said it might have been in other investigative documents or drafts, wrote Newsweek Editor Mark Whittaker in the magazines latest that hit newsstands Monday, March 16.
In its May 9 edition, the mass-circulation weekly said, quoting an a knowledgeable US government source, that investigators probing abuses at the US military prison in Cuba found that interrogators had placed Korans (sic) on toilets, and in at least one case flushed a holy book down the toilet.
Whittaker said that a top Pentagon spokesman told the magazine on Friday, May 13, that a review of the probe cited in the story showed that it was never meant to look into charges of Qur'an desecration.
The spokesman, however, acknowledged that the Pentagon had investigated other desecration charges by detainees and found them not credible.
Whittaker asserted that top administration officials have promised to continue looking into the charges.
Newsworthy
Whittaker did not backtrack on the original story or offered an apology as international news agencies suggested.
He said that before publishing the original report and for the sake of accuracy, the Newsweek approached two separate Pentagon officials for comment.
One declined to give us a response; the other challenged another aspect of the story but did not dispute the Qur'an charge, Whittaker maintained.
Although other major news organizations had aired charges of Qur'an desecration based only on the testimony of detainees, we believed our story was newsworthy because a US official said government investigators turned up this evidence. So we published the item, he added.
In its comment on the new Newsweek report, Agence France-Presse (AFP) quoted Mark Falkoff, a lawyer for some Guantanamo inmates, as saying that a mass suicide attempt by 23 detainees in August, 2003, was triggered by guard dropping and stamping on a Quran.
Alarmed
Whitaker said that his magazine was alarmed by numerous news accounts blaming worldwide demonstrations last week, which left several people dead, on their report.
we regret that we got any part of our story wrong, and extend our sympathies to victims of the violence and to the US soldiers caught in its midst.
The report sparked angry and violent protests across the Muslim world from Afghanistan , where 16 were killed and more than 100 injured, to Pakistan , Indonesia and Gaza .
It further drew ire from Egypt , Saudi Arabia , Bangladesh , Malaysia , the Arab League and a cohort of international Muslim organizations.
In the face of the widespread protests, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice branded any desecration of the Noble Quran as abhorrent and promised that any offenders at Guantanamo would face appropriate action.
The US has been struggling to rebuild its image in the Muslim after divisions caused by its 2003 invasion of Iraq and outrage over the Abu Ghraib prison abuse scandal.
But the media credibility of the US government was shaken to its foundation after reports that it imposed tight censorship on the coverage of its army activities in many hotspots worldwide, mainly in Iraq and Afghanistan .
CNN's chief news executive Eason Jordan quit on February 11 over remarks he made at the World Economic Forum in Davos in January, in which he accused US forces of targeting journalists in Iraq .
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{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
[IslamCity] Adoption - Voluntary Care and Guardianship
In the Name of God Most Gracious Most Merciful May the Peace Blessings of God Almighty Be Upon You All Adoption: Voluntary Care and Guardianship Question You say that adoption is prohibited in Islam. But in English language, the word "adoption" means what you also say to be permitted in Islam, namely the bringing up of another person's child, and to educate and help that child. In my dictionary, the word is defined as: "to take voluntarily into any relationship, especially that of a son." The operative word here is "voluntarily." There is no sense of anything legal taking place. I have adopted children, and I believe I am bringing them up voluntarily. I have no wish to take away their names from them. Yet I had to go through the legal process of adopting them because without the right sort of papers I would not be able to bring them up and care for them. I would have had to abandon them. I have my work here and I could not have brought these children with me unless they have my name on their passports. To get such passports for them , there is no way other than to go through a lengthy legal process overseas. While I do not disagree with the logic of your reply on adoption, may I point out that you define it in an excessively legalistic way, whereas in English it merely means the voluntary bringing up of children who are not one's own. I am saying this because I realize that simple misunderstanding may often be the cause of major disputes. Answer I am grateful for bringing up this question which has great practical importance. Let me first sort out the linguistic aspect. In the dictionary I have on my computer, which is a Webster dictionary, the word "adoption" is shown to have six meanings. The one mentioned by my reader is the third one. The two that precede it are: "1. to choose or take and use as one's own: to adopt a nickname. 2. to take and rear (the child of others) as one's own child, especially by a formal legal act." These two meanings of the word are the ones which are forbidden in Islam when it comes to adopting children. It is taking the child, whether he has known parents or not, from a hospital, or an orphanage, or an agency, giving the child one's own family name and claiming that he is one's own child. This is followed by a legal process, which can be very lengthy and complicated to ensure that the child is legally recognized as belonging to the adopting couple as their own. On the other hand, people may take into their family an orphan child, or one who belongs to a very poor family, and bring it up, giving that child the sort of care and education they would give to their own children. They have no motive to do so other than to be kind to that child. They do not try to claim the child as their own, nor do they give it their own family name. That is a great act of charity, for which God rewards very generously. My reader points out a practical problem when a family brings up an orphan child. That is the problem of mobility. If the family wants to travel, what would they do with the child in their care? In many countries, they would not be allowed to travel with the child, and many would not give the child a visa, along with the rest of the family. But it is not merely travel that may be an obstacle. There are similar problems that may have repercussions for both the child and the family. Legal adoption, as practiced in Western societies, would put an end to these problems once and for all, because it gives the family the facility to produce documents and papers which would show the child as belonging to that family. I know a childless couple who were keen to do whatever they could to children who had no family. They were regular visitors to an orphanage in their hometown, where they helped the staff and looked after children. On one of their visits, they were introduced to a new child who was brought in after her grandmother had died, with both her parents having died earlier. They immediately fell in love with the child who also seemed to be fond with them. She would not let go of them. They sought permission of the orphanage authorities to take her home for a few days. Then it was emotionally impossible for them to take her back to the orphanage. They decided to bring her up themselves. The idea of legal adoption did not occur to them, because they knew that it was forbidden in Islam. They arranged for special entries in the government offices concerned that they were looking after the child, but that was the beginning of their troubles. Endless formalities at every step meant that they were always going to and from the government offices, seeking one permission to do this and another to do that. They tried hard with the authorities to find a formula where they could be left in peace to look after the child and give her the best upbringing they could, but that was not possible. What added to their problem was the fact that the man was not based in his own country, as he worked
[IslamCity] Must read/US/UK media confirmed desecration of Qur'an before Newsweek did
PLEASE FORWARD: MAINSTREAM US/UK MEDIA *CONFIRMS* DESECRATION OF QUR'AN * Miami Herald * Philadelphia Inquirer * London Times * Many more ___ ___ Assalamu alaykum brothers and sisters in Islam -- PLEASE FORWARD! There are DOZENS of news articles in mainstream US publications referencing detainee allegations that Guantanamo guards desecrated the the Holy Qur'an by throwing it in the toilet.. ... and all were published PRIOR to the Newsweek article that ignited a global furor. See below. ALL CITATIONS CONFIRMED AND AVAILABLE AT LEXIS.COM The Miami Herald March 9, 2005: Yet recently declassified court documents allege that, as far back as 2002, some of Guantanamo's staff cursed Allah, ***THREW KORANS INTO TOILETS***, mocked prisoners during prayers and deliberately took away prisoners' pants knowing that Muslims can't pray unless covered. Imagine a U.S. prisoner of war who is a devout Christian having his Bible tossed into the toilet or his rosary taken away. The U.S. government would rightly denounce such offenses as human-rights violations. The Miami Herald March 6, 2005: Captives at the Guantanamo Bay prison are alleging that guards kicked and stomped on Korans and cursed Allah, and that interrogators punished them by taking away their pants, knowing that would prevent them from praying. Three Kuwaiti captives -- Fawzi al Odah, 27, Fouad al Rabiah, 45, and Khalid al Mutairi, 29 -- separately complained to their lawyer that military police ***THREW THEIR KORANS INTO THE TOILET***, according to the notes of Kristine Huskey, a Washington attorney. Guards also mocked captives at prayer and censored Islamic books, the captives allege. And in one incident, they say, a prison barber cut a cross-shaped patch of hair on an inmate's head. Most of the complaints come from the recently declassified notes of defense lawyers' interviews with prisoners, which Guantanamo officials initially stamped ''secret.'' Under a federal court procedure for due-process appeals by about 100 inmates, portions are now being declassified. Philadelphia Inquirer January 20, 2005 Twelve Kuwaitis held for about three years at the detention center at the U.S. naval base at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, have been physically and psychologically abused, their attorneys said yesterday after their first visit with the detainees. The men were all very thin, almost emaciated, and most were being held in isolation, with 45 minutes of exercise a week, only the Koran to read, and no medical treatment, said Tom Wilner, who visited his clients last week. Some detainees complained of religious humiliation, saying guards had defaced their copies of the Koran ***AND, IN ONE CASE, HAD THROWN IT IN A TOILET,*** said Kristine Huskey, who interviewed clients late last month. Others said that pills were hidden in their food and that people came to their cells claiming to be their attorneys, to gain information. All have been physically abused, and, however you define the term, the treatment of these men crossed the line, Wilner said. Hartford Courant (Connecticut) January 16, 2005 Book review of GUANTANAMO: AMERICA'S WAR ON HUMAN RIGHTS by David Rose In March, the government released five British men from Guantanamo after holding them nearly three years. They had been captured in Afghanistan, where they had gone to offer humanitarian aid. Rose interviewed them the same month, two months before allegations of abuse at Abu Ghraib in Iraq first surfaced, and they described captivity that seems eerily similar. They said they were punched, slapped, denied sleep, had seen other prisoners sexually humiliated, had been hooded, ***AND WERE FORCED TO WATCH COPIES OF THE KORAN BEING FLUSHED DOWN TOILETS.*** Eventually the pressure proved too much -- they gave false confessions that the British intelligence service later showed to be untrue. On their return to the United Kingdom, they were released by Scotland Yard without being charged. Prisoners alleged the same thing happened at the jail in Kandahar in Afganistan: BBC Monitoring International Reports December 30, 2004, Text of report by Khadija Ali Moussa entitled Abdallah Tabarak, the former Guantanamo prisoner, gives Attajdid details of his ordeal from Kandahar to Guantanamo and published by Moroccan Islamic movement Tawhid wal Islah daily newspaper Attajdid on 28 December. Question: What were the detention conditions like out there? Answer: The jail in Kandahar was like a stable surrounded by barbed wire and it had a wooden roof. It was located in a barren land where it was terribly cold. The American soldiers used to order us to lie down on our stomachs and they would start hitting our backs with rifle butts and trampling our bodies underfoot. They would place our heads in dirty bags, and when we went to sleep, lying down on our bellies, they would suddenly wake us up at about three o'clock
[IslamCity] The Bounty of Allah (May 15)
The Bounty of Allah
May 15
I have placed my trust in Allah, who is my Lord and also yours. There is not a living creature whose destiny He does not control. Verily! My Lords is the Straight Path. {Hud 11:56}
Blessed are the ones who rely on Allah and have surrendered themselves before His will, who are grateful in prosperity and patient in adversity. {The Prophet Muhammed, as reported by Shuaib bin Senam, Al-Hadis 1:123}
Asalam Alaikum,
Time to break pace with a recipe. I havent sent one out for a very long time. I hope you like it.
Souladvisor
Cool Recipe!
Yogurt Chutney (Dahi Chutney)
2 Cups Natural Yogurt1 Medium onion, finely chopped2 firm tomatoes, diced1 cucumber, peeled and finely chopped1 hot green pepper, finely chopped, or adjust to taste2 tbsp fresh coriander, finely chopped1 tbsp chives, finely chopped1 tsp salt, or adjust to taste½ tsp garlic powder½ tsp cumin powder
Place all ingredients in a bowl and mix with a whisk or mixer at low speed.Pour into an attractive serving dish. Chill till ready to serve.Dahi Chutney is a nice cool, salad-type accompaniment to almost any dish- particularly rice dishes. Its good chutney to serve with Biriyani.
Source:"Muslim Cookery" Sarwat Humayun, pg. 91
O Allah, O Sufficer of the isolated and weak and Protector against terrifying affairs! Offenses have isolated me, so there is none to be my companion. I am too weak for Thy wrath and there is none to strengthen me. I have approached the terror of meeting Thee and there is none to still my fear. I beg for Your Mercy! AmeenPush On Dua!
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{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]
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