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Belief in Qadar (predestination)

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Belief in predestination (qadar) is one of the basic principles of faith; without it a person’s belief is incomplete. ‘Umar (R.A.), described how angel Jibreel (Gabriel), questioned the Messenger (S.A.W.) about imaan (belief), the messenger replied: “It (imaan) is to believe in Allaah, His angels, His books, His messengers, and to believe in divine destiny (qadar), both good and evil thereof.” He (i.e., Jibreel) replied: “You have spoken rightly.” [Reported by Imaam Muslim] 
 
There are many texts, which speak of the qadar of Allaah or command belief in qadar. These texts include the aayaat (verses): 
 
Allaah (S.W.T) says what may be translated as, “Verily, We have created all things with qadar (Divine Preordainments of all things before their creation as written in the Book of Decrees-Al-Lawh al-Mahfoodh).” [surat Al-Qamar, (Verse 49)] 
 
Allaah (S.W.T) says what may be translated as, “…And the command of Allaah is a decree determined.” [surat Al-Ahzaab, (Verse 38)] 
 
Taawoos said: “I met some people from among the Companions of the Messenger of Allaah who said that everything happens by qadar. He said, I heard ‘Abd-Allaah ibn ‘Umar say: everything happens by qadar, even helplessness and resourcefulness.” [Reported by Imaam Muslim] 
 
Imaam An-Nawawi said: “Clear cut evidence from the Qur’aan and Sunnah, the consensus (ijmaa’) of the Sahaabah (the Companions) and the prominent figures of the earlier and later generations, overwhelmingly support one another to prove the qadar of Allaah.” 
 
Belief in qadar (predestination) is one of the basic principles of faith. The Qur’aan and Sunnah explain the concept of qadar (predestination), and the Messenger (S.A.W.) stated that taking action and using any means to reach an objective is part of qadar and does not contradict this idea. He warned his Ummah against those who do not believe in qadar, or who use qadar as an excuse to oppose the commandments of Islaam. 
 
The Messenger (S.A.W.) became very angry when he came out one day and found his companions debating about qadar; he was so angry that his face turned red as if pomegranate had been squeezed over his face. He said: “Is this what you have been commanded to do? Is this why I was sent to you? The people who came before you were destroyed when they disputed about this matter. I urge you not to dispute about this.” [An authentic narration reported by Imaam At-Tirmidhi] 
 
The companions (R.A.) responded to the urgency and directions of their prophet. It is not known whether any of them debated about qadar (predestination), either during his lifetime or after he died. 
 
It has not been narrated whether any of the Muslims debated about qadar during the time of the Rightly Guided Khulafa (caliphs) (R.A.). All that has been narrated is that Abu ‘Ubaydah objected to the fact that ‘Umar went back with the people and did not enter Syria when the plague spread there. He said to ‘Umar: “O Ameer al’ Mu’mineen, are you running away from the decree (qadar) of Allaah? ‘Umar said, “If only someone other than you had said this, O Abu ‘Ubaydah! Yes, we are running away from the decree of Allaah towards the decree of Allaah. Do you not see that if you had a camel and you came to a valley where there were two patches of land, one green and fertile, and the other dry and barren, if you let it graze in the green land, you do so by the decree of Allaah, and if you let it graze in the dry land, you do so by the decree of Allaah." [Reported by Imaam Bukhaari] This is how Umar directed Abu 'Ubaida to the correct meaning of qadar (predestination). 
 
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The pillars of belief in qadar (predestination) 
 
Belief in qadar is based on four pillars. Whoever affirms all of them has attained perfect belief in qadar. Whoever is lacking one or more of them does not have the correct belief in qadar. These four pillars are: 
 
The first pillar: Belief in the all-encompassing knowledge of Allaah. 
 
This great principle is frequently reiterated in the Book of Allaah and the Sunnah of His Messenger (S.A.W.). The knowledge of Allaah encompasses all things: He knows what was and what is yet to come. In regards to that which does not happen, if it were to happen, He knows how it would be. He knows what exists and what does not exist, what is possible and what is impossible. 
 
Allaah, the Almighty, knows about His slaves, how long their lives will be, what their provisions will be, their circumstances, their movements, whether they are doomed or blessed. He knows who among them is from the people of paradise and who is from the people of Hell, even before He created them or the heavens and earth. 
 
All of this is connected to His all-encompassing knowledge and to the fact that He is All-Knowing, All-Aware, All-Hearing, and All-Seeing. 
 
The second pillar: Belief that Allaah has written everything in Al-lawh al-Mahfoodh (The Preserved Tablet): 
 
The text of the Qur’aan and Sunnah indicate that Allaah had written all things in Al-Lawh al-mahfoodh (the preserved tablet). According to a hadeeth ‘Abd-Allaah ibn ‘Amr ibn al-Aas said: “I heard the Messenger of Allaah (S.A.W.) say: “Allaah wrote the decrees of His creation fifty thousand years before He created the heavens and the earth, and He said: His throne is above the water.” [Reported by Imaam Muslim] 
 
And in anther narration, the prophet (S.A.W.) said: “Allaah decreed the decrees fifty thousand years before He created the heavens and the earth.” [Reported by Imaam At-Tirmidhi] 
 
The messenger of Allaah (S.A.W.) said: “The first thing which Allaah created was the Pen. Allaah said, ‘Write! The pen asked, 'What shall I write? He (Allaah) said: “Write the decree (al-qadar) of what has happened and what is to happen, for all eternity.” [Reported by Imaam At-Tirmidhi] 
 
Allaah (S.W.T) says what may be translated as, “Know you not that Allaah knows all that is in the heaven and on the earth? Verily, it is [all] in the Book [Al-Kitaab] [Al-Lauh al-Mahfoodh]. Verily, that is easy for Allaah.” [surat Al-Hajj, (Verse 70)] 
 
Allaah (S.W.T) says what may be translated as, “Verily, We give life to the dead, and We record that which they send before [them], and their traces and all things We have recorded with number (as a record) in a Clear Book (kitaab mubeen).” [surat Yaaseen, (Verse 12)] 
 
The third pillar: Belief that the will of Allaah is All-Encompassing and that His power is overwhelming: 
 
This principle implies the belief that the will of Allaah is unstoppable and that His power is All-Encompassing. Whatever Allaah, the All-High, wills happens and whatever he does not will does not happen. Nothing can move or come to a halt in the heavens or on earth except by His Will, and nothing happens in His Dominion except what He wills. 
 
Allaah (S.W.T) says what may be translated as, “Verily, His Command, when He intends a thing, is only that He says to it, “Be! And it is!”" [surat Yaaseen, (Verse 82)] 
 
The fourth pillar of Qadar: Belief that Allaah is the Creator of all things: 
 
The texts (of the Qur’aan and Sunnah) state that Allaah, the All-Powerful, is the Creator of all things. He is the One who created, formed and brought His creation into being. He is the Creator and everything besides Him is subject to His dominion and control and is created by Him. Allaah (S.W.T) says what may be translated as, “Allah is the Creator of all things.” [surat Az-Zumar, (Verse 62)] 
 
People's deeds are created by Allaah and decreed by Him (S.W.T.): 
 
Allaah (S.W.T) says what may be translated as, “While Allaah has created you and what you make!” [surat As-Saaffaat, (Verse 96)] This belief does not contradict with the actions that humans take, because humans do not know what Allaah has decreed for them. The believer should always use all lawful and available means to reach a lawful objective; whatever results occur have been decreed by Allaah. 
 
A man once asked, ‘O messenger of Allaah, explain our religion to us as if we had only just been created. What should we strive for today? Is it for something concerning which the pens have dried and the decree has been issued, or is it concerning something that is yet to be decided? He (S.A.W.) said, “No, it is for something concerning which the pens have dried and the decree has been issued.’ He said, “Then why should we strive? He said: ‘Strive, for each person will be facilitated to his fate.” [Reported by Imaam Muslim] According to another narration, “Strive, for each person will be facilitated to do his deeds.” Then he said: “Strive, for everyone will be guided, those who are blessed will be guided to do the actions of those who are blessed, and those who are doomed will be facilitated to do the actions of those who are doomed.” Then he (S.A.W.) recited from what may be translated as, “By the night as it envelops. By the day as it appears in brightness. By Him who created male and female. Certainly, your efforts and deeds are divers [different in aims and purposes]; as for him who gives [in charity] and keeps his duty to Allaah and fears him, and believes in Al-Husnaa [the best] We will make smooth for him the path of ease [goodness]. But he who is greedy, miserly and thinks himself self-sufficient, and belies Al-Husnaa, We will make smooth for him the path of evil.” [surat Al-Layl, (Verses 1 to 10)] [Reported by Imaams Bukhaari and Muslim] 
 
The messenger of Allaah (S.A.W.) said: “By the one besides whom there is no other god, one of you may do the deeds of the people of paradise until there is no more than a cubit between him and it, then the decree overtakes him and he does an action of the people of Hell, and thus he enters it (hell). And one of you may do the deeds of the people of Hell until there is no more than a cubit between him and it, then the decree overtakes him and he does an action of the people of paradise, and thus he enters (paradise).” [Reported by Imaams Bukhaari and Muslim] 
 
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Some claim that believing in qadar implies that one does not need to act or seek the means to an end. 
 
Those who made this claim are wrong because believing in does not mean that a person should not strive. They did not recognize the reality of qadar, for Allaah decreed the outcomes and the means; He did not decree the effects without causes. Whoever claims this is fabricating a serious lie about Allaah. 
 
When Allaah decrees that so and so should be given a provision, He also creates the means by which he will earn that provision. Whoever claims that there is no need to strive because whatever provisions have been decreed will come whether one strives or not does not understand the decrees of Allaah concerning His slaves. Allaah (S.W.T) says what may be translated as, “And in the heaven is your provision, and that which you are promised." [surat Az-Zaaryaat, (verse 22)] Also He (S.W.T) commanded us what may be translated as, “He it is who has made the earth subservient to you [i.e. easy for you to walk, to live and to do agriculture on it]; so walk in the path thereof and eat of His provision...” [surat Al-Mulk, (Verse 15)] 
 
Allaah (S.W.T) says what may be translated as, “…And there is no victory except by the help of Allaah." [surat Al-Anfaal, (Verse 10)] Also He (S.W.T) commanded us what may be translated as, “And make ready against them all you can of power, including steeds of war [tanks, planes, missiles, artillery] to threaten the enemy of Allaah and your enemy.” [surat Al-Anfaal, (Verse 60)] 
 
Allaah (S.W.T) is the one who decrees the illness and also the cure; He orders us to use medications so that we may be cured. The prophet was once asked, "Should we use medication, 'O messenger of Allaah? He replied, "Yes, use medication, O' servant of Allaah, surely Allaah did not send down a disease without sending down a cure for it; some people knew the cure and others did not." 
 
If one studies the life of the messenger (S.A.W.) one will realize that the prophet with his complete faith in fate never avoided the means or necessary steps to reach an objective. 
 
The Different Types of Qadar 
 
When we look at various verses from the Qur'aan and authentic ahaadeeth of the prophet, we will find that there are two types of qadar. The first type of qadar is called, 'definite qadar,' which Allaah has written in the Mother of the Book, (al Lawh al-Mahfoodh) and this decree will never change. The second type of qadar, 'indefinite qadar,' Allaah has made His decree, and made His angels aware of it. This type of qadar may change if Allaah wills. Allaah (S.W.T.) says what may be translated as, "Allaah blots out what He wills and confirms (what He wills). And with Him is the Mother of the Book (Al-Lawh Al-Mahfoodh) [Surat Al Ra'id, (Verse 39)]. 
 
Some may ask if a person's provisions and lifespan has already been decided and will not increase or decrease, then how can we interpret the following hadeeth of the prophet, where he states: "Whoever would like his provision to be increased and his life to be prolonged let him uphold the ties of kinship." [Reported by Imaams Bukhaari and Muslim] 
 
Also, how can we interpret the hadeeth which states that Allaah made the lifespan of Dawood one hundred years, when it had originally decreed for him to live for sixty years? In part of a longer hadeeth, the prophet Muhammad (S.A.W) said, "…Adam asked Allaah about the age of David and Allaah answered that his age was 60 years. Adam replied, "O' my Lord, increase his age from my age by 40 years." Later, when Adam lifespan came to an end, the angel of death came [to take Adam's soul] and Adam said, "Isn't there 40 years left of my life?" The angel answered, "Did you not give it to your son David?" So the prophet commented that Adam had denied and therefore his offspring will deny in the same way." [An authentic hadeeth reported by Imaams At-Tirmidhi and Al-Haakem] 
 
In response to these inquiries, Imaam Ibn Taymiyyah said: There are two types of provision and lifespan: the first type has already been decreed and is written in Umm al-kitaab, and cannot be changed or altered. The next type of qadar, Allaah has informed His angels of His decrees. This is the type where provisions and lifespan may increase or decrease. Hence Allaah, the Almighty says what may be translated as, "Allaah blots out what he wills and confirms [what He wills]. And with Him is the Mother of the book." [Surat Ar-Ra'ad, (Verse39)] The mother of the Book (Umm al-Kitaab) is Al-Lawh al-Mahfoodh, in which Allaah has decreed all things as they will always be without change. However, the decrees contained in the books of the angels, such as lifespan and provisions, may increase or decrease according to various circumstances, thereafter, the angels will re-write a person's provision and lifespan. If a person, upholds the ties of kinship, his provisions and lifespan will be extended, otherwise they will decrease."[See Majmoo'al-Fataawa 8/540] 
 
In the same source, Imaam Ibn Taymiyyah said: "Life spans are also of two types: the definite lifespan which is known to Allaah, and the variable indefinite lifespan. Allaah commands the angels to write down the lifespan of His slave. If the person upholds the ties of kinship, He commands the angels to increase his lifespan and provision. The angels only know the original lifespan of humans; however, if Allaah extends a person's life, the angels are unaware of any changes until Allaah informs them. When the appointed time for death comes, nothing can accelerate or delay it; only Allaah knows how matters will proceed during this time. [See Majmoo'al-Fataawa 8/517] 
 
Imaam Ibn Hajar al-'Asqalaani said: "What is known to Allaah from qadar cannot be changed or altered. However, the deeds or actions of a person do change and can be observed. What also changes is the knowledge of the angels who have been entrusted to care for human beings. This is what may be blotted out or confirmed, such as extending people's lifespan and provision. But whatever was previously known by Allaah cannot be blotted out or confirmed, and that knowledge rests with Allaah."[See Fath al-Baari, 11/488] 
 
How should we deal with these two types of Qadar? 
 
Once we believe in both types of qadar, then we should deal with both types as if they were indefinite, because our fates are unknown to us. For those who believe in qadar, they must work to the best of their capabilities to do good and avoid evil when it comes to religious or worldly matters. We should utilize all lawful and available resources to achieve the greatest good. Surely, Allaah (S.W.T) will guide us towards the fate that He has decreed for us. 
 
Two groups that were misguided about Qadar 
 
The first group was called Al-Qadariyyah because they believed that the individual has the power to initiate his own actions independently of Allaah, and they denied that things happen by the decree and will of Allaah. 
 
Imaam Muslim reported that "The first person who spoke about qadar in Basrah was Ma'bad and those who were with him claimed that there was no qadar, and that everything happened without being decreed." 
 
A few companions of the prophet were still alive at this time and launched a series of debates against this group. This opinion of the Qadarriyah's was adopted by the leaders of the Mu'tazilah such as Ma'bad, Waasil ibn Ataa, Amr ibn Ubayd and Gheelaan al-Dimashqi. 
 
The other misguided group, Al-Jabriyyah, claimed that the individual has been forced to do whatever he does without the freedom of choice, and what little power an individual does have is very ineffective. At the end of the Umayyad period, the first person to make such a claim was Al-Jahm ibn Safwaan; from his false claims stemmed widespread misguidance. 
 
This belief spread throughout the Ummah and was adopted by many worshippers, ascetics and Sufis. And some of them have gone to the extreme of permitting things which are forbidden or making obligatory actions no longer compulsory. 
 
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The Benefits of believing in Qadar (Predestination): 
 
1- Helps believers adhere to the true path during times of ease or difficulty. 
 
Belief in qadar makes a person continue to follow the straight path, so that he is not careless at times of ease or in despair when calamity strikes, for he knows that everything good that happens to him comes from Allaah, and is not because of his intelligence or good planning: Allaah (S.W.T) says what may be translated as, “And whatever of blessings and good things you have, it is from Allaah.” [surat An-Nahl, (Verse 53)] 
 
If a person truly believes in qadar, then no matter what trials and tribulations befall him, he always knows that this is happening by the decree of Allaah, as a test from Him, so he does not panic nor despair, rather he seeks the reward of Allaah and bears it with patience, and this faith brings contentment and tranquility to the heart of the believer. 
 
Allaah (S.W.T) says what may be translated as, “No calamity befalls on the earth or in yourselves but it is inscribed in the Book of Decrees [Al-lawh al-Mahfoodh] before we bring it into existence. Verily, that is easy for Allaah. In order that you may not grieve at the things over that you fail to get, nor rejoice over that which has been given to you.” [surat Al-Hadeed, (Verses 21 & 22)] 
 
The prophet Muhammad (S.A.W) said," How wonderful is the case of a believer; there is good for him in everything and this is not the case with any one except a believer. If prosperity attends him, he expresses gratitude to Allaah and that is good for him; and if adversity befalls him, he endures it patiently and that is better for him." [Reported by Imaam Muslim] 
 
2- Another benefit of believing in qadar is that it makes a person very careful. 
 
Peoples' hearts are always changing; this is because our hearts are between two of the fingers of Ar-Rahmaan (Allaah, the All Merciful). He is the One who turns them over as He wills; He is the one who sends down the trials that cause the heart to constantly change. Those who believe in qadar are always careful about bad things that may lure their hearts astray; also, this believer will be careful that his final actions or conditions may lead him to the hellfire. When a believer is careful, he will never be lazy or apathetic; instead, he will be motivated to follow the straight path, to do righteous deeds and to avoid sins. 
 
At the same time, this believer’s heart is always attached to its Creator, calling upon Him, putting its hope in Him, seeking His help and asking Him to make it adhere firmly to the straight path, and to be guided righteously. 
 
3- Another benefit for those who believe in qadar is that they will face difficulties and dangers with a strong heart. 
 
When a person believes that everything that all his provisions, his life, and everything that happens to him are in the hand of Allaah, then he can confront difficulties and ordeals with a strong heart. 
 
The messenger of Allaah (S.A.W.) said: “…And remember that if all the people desire to benefit you united, they will be unable to benefit you except that which Allaah had preordained (for you); and if all of them intend to do harm to you, they will not be able to afflict you except that which Allaah had preordained against you. The pens have been lifted up aside and the ink of the book (of predestination) has dried up.” [Reported by Imaam At-Tirmidhi] 
 
I ask Allaah (S.W.T.) to make us among those people who complete their faith by believing in His qadar and from the people who will benefit from this belief in this life as well as in the hereafter. "Aameen" 
 
Imam Mohamed Baianonie at the Islamic Center of Raleigh, NC, delivered this Friday speech on may24, 2002 
 
<a href="http://www.islam1.org/iar/imam/archives/2007/08/05/belief_in_qadar_predestination.php#more" target="_blank">http://www.islam1.org/iar/imam/archives/2007/08/05/belief_in_qadar_predestination.php#more</a> </div>

Belief in Qadar (predestination)

Belief in predestination (qadar) is one of the basic principles of faith; without it a person’s belief is incomplete. ‘Umar (R.A.), desc...

Wednesday, February 24, 2016

“I will complain about you to God; I will tell him everything!”

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While in the hospital, the little Syrian boy felt that soon he would give his soul to God… 
[Ed. – The article below is from a Russian language website here. It has been translated into English by Nina Sidorova ] 
 
War is a destructive force that spares no one and nothing in its path. Especially scary when the war takes lives and distorts the fates innocent civilians. 
 
Willy-nilly, one wonders: Who gave the right to political leaders to solve their conflicts through ordinary civilians? Why hundreds, thousands, millions of people have to die because of that insatiable politicians who want to catch and take more and more from the world pie. What is terrible in this creepy, inhuman, bloody cycle that this often affects children … 
 
On this sentimental picture shows the three-year Syrian boy. He has received numerous severe injuries that led to internal bleeding. Doctors desperately fought for his life of the crumbs. But, unfortunately, those injuries that this little child received were incompatible with life – to save the baby’s life failed … 
 
While being in the hospital, the boy felt that soon would give his soul to God. Dying, he uttered the words that hooked not only the hospital staff, but also shocked the world. 
 
Choking with tears and exhausted from the incredible pain, the little boy said, “I will complain about you to God; I will tell him everything!”  Shortly thereafter, the baby’s heart stopped beating … Many believe that this cry from the heart a little sacrifices great misfortune was a kind of sign from above that people have thought again. After all, as they say, truth is the mouth of babes. 
 
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<a href="https://richardedmondson.net/2015/04/23/choking-with-tears-dying-syrian-boy-says-i-will-complain-to-god-about-you/" target="_blank">https://richardedmondson.net/2015/04/23/choking-with-tears-dying-syrian-boy-says-i-will-complain-to-god-about-you/</a> 
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“I will complain about you to God; I will tell him everything!”

While in the hospital, the little Syrian boy felt that soon he would give his soul to God… [Ed. – The article below is from a Russian l...

Monday, February 22, 2016

Spying on Muslims By Ustadh Uthman Lateef

Spying on Muslims By Ustadh Uthman Lateef

Sunday, February 21, 2016

An inability to tolerate Islam contradicts western values

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In the 17th century, when some Iranian mullahs were trying to limit freedom of expression, Mulla Sadra, the great mystical philosopher of Isfahan, insisted that all Muslims were perfectly capable of thinking for themselves and that any religiosity based on intellectual repression and inquisitorial coercion was “polluted”. Mulla Sadra exerted a profound influence on generations of Iranians, but it is ironic that his most famous disciple was probably Ayatollah Khomeini, author of the fatwa against Salman Rushdie. 
 
This type of contradiction is becoming increasingly frequent in our polarised world, as I discovered last month, when I arrived in Kuala Lumpur to find that the Malaysian government had banned three of my books as “incompatible with peace and social harmony”. This was surprising because the government had invited me to Malaysia, and sponsored two of my public lectures. Their position was absurd, because it is impossible to exert this type of censorship in the electronic age. In fact, my books seemed so popular in Malaysia that I found myself wondering if the veto was part of a Machiavellian plot to entice the public to read them. 
 
Old habits die hard. In a pre-modern economy, insufficient resources meant freedom of speech was a luxury few governments could afford, since any project that required too much capital outlay was usually shelved. To encourage a critical habit of mind that habitually called existing institutions into question in the hope of reform could lead to a frustration that jeopardised social order. It is only 50 years since Malaysia achieved independence and, although the public and press campaign vigorously against censorship, in other circles the old caution is alive and well. 
 
In the west, however, liberty of expression proved essential to the economy; it has become a sacred value in our secular world, regarded as so precious and crucial to our identity that it is non-negotiable. Modern society could not function without independent and innovative thought, which has come to symbolise the inviolable sanctity of the individual. But culture is always contested, and precisely because it is so central to modernity, free speech is embroiled in the bumpy process whereby groups at different stages of modernisation learn to accommodate one another. 
 
It has also, as we have been reminded recently, become a rallying cry in the escalating tension between the Islamic world and the west. Muslim protests against Rushdie’s knighthood have recalled the painful controversy of The Satanic Verses, and last week four British Muslims were sentenced to a total of 22 years in prison for inciting hatred while demonstrating against the Danish cartoons of the Prophet Muhammad. 
 
It would, however, be a mistake to imagine that Muslims are irretrievably opposed to free speech. Gallup conducted a poll in 10 Muslim countries (including Iran, Afghanistan, Pakistan and Saudi Arabia) and found that the vast majority of respondents admired western “liberty and freedom and being open-minded with each other”. They were particularly enthusiastic about our unrestricted press, liberty of worship and freedom of assembly. The only western achievement that they respected more than our political liberty was our modern technology. 
 
Then why the book burnings and fatwas? In the past Islamic governments were as prone to intellectual coercion as any pre-modern rulers, but when Muslims were powerful and felt confident they were able to take criticism in their stride. But media and literary assaults have become more problematic at a time of extreme political vulnerability in the Islamic world, and to an alienated minority they seem inseparable from Abu Ghraib, Guantánamo Bay and the unfolding tragedy of Iraq. 
 
On both sides, however, there are double standards and the kind of contradiction evident in Khomeini’s violation of the essential principles of his mentor, Mulla Sadra. For Muslims to protest against the Danish cartoonists’ depiction of the prophet as a terrorist, while carrying placards that threatened another 7/7 atrocity on London, represented a nihilistic failure of integrity. 
 
But equally the cartoonists and their publishers, who seemed impervious to Muslim sensibilities, failed to live up to their own liberal values, since the principle of free speech implies respect for the opinions of others. Islamophobia should be as unacceptable as any other form of prejudice. When 255,000 members of the so-called “Christian community” signed a petition to prevent the building of a large mosque in Abbey Mills, east London, they sent a grim message to the Muslim world: western freedom of worship did not, apparently, apply to Islam. There were similar protests by some in the Jewish community, who, as Seth Freedman pointed out in his Commentisfree piece, should be the first to protest against discrimination. 
 
Gallup found there was as yet no blind hatred of the west in Muslim countries; only 8% of respondents condoned the 9/11 atrocities. But this could change if the extremists persuade the young that the west is bent on the destruction of their religion. When Gallup asked what the west could do to improve relations, most Muslims replied unhesitatingly that western countries must show greater respect for Islam, placing this ahead of economic aid and non-interference in their domestic affairs. Our inability to tolerate Islam not only contradicts our western values; it could also become a major security risk. 
 
This article was first published in The Guardian, Saturday July 21, 2007. 
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<a href="http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2007/jul/21/religion.comment" target="_blank">http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2007/jul/21/religion.comment</a> </div>
</div>

An inability to tolerate Islam contradicts western values

In the 17th century, when some Iranian mullahs were trying to limit freedom of expression, Mulla Sadra, the great mystical philosopher o...

Sunday, February 21, 2016

Jews and Christians refused to consider them as part of the Abrahamic family

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Ever since the Crusades, when Christians from western Europe were fighting holy wars against Muslims in the near east, western people have often perceived Islam as a violent and intolerant faith – even though when this prejudice took root Islam had a better record of tolerance than Christianity. Recent terrorist atrocities have seemed to confirm this received idea. But if we want a peaceful world, we urgently need a more balanced view. We cannot hope to win the “battle for hearts and minds” unless we know what is actually in them. Nor can we expect Muslims to be impressed by our liberal values if they see us succumbing unquestioningly to a medieval prejudice born in a time of extreme Christian belligerence. 
 
Like Hindus, Buddhists, Jews, Christians, Sikhs and secularists, some Muslims have undoubtedly been violent and intolerant, but the new exhibition at the British Museum – Hajj: Journey to the Heart of Islam – is a timely reminder that this is not the whole story. The hajj is one of the five essential practices of Islam; when they make the pilgrimage to Mecca, Muslims ritually act out the central principles of their faith. Equating religion with “belief” is a modern western aberration. Like swimming or driving, religious knowledge is practically acquired. You learn only by doing. The ancient rituals of the hajj, which Arabs performed for centuries before Islam, have helped pilgrims to form habits of heart and mind that – pace the western stereotype – are non-violent and inclusive. 
 
In the holy city of Mecca, violence of any kind was forbidden. From the moment they left home, pilgrims were not permitted to carry weapons, to swat an insect or speak an angry word, a discipline that introduced them to a new way of living. At a climactic moment of his prophetic career, Muhammad drew on this tradition. Fleeing persecution in Mecca in 622, he and the Muslim community (the umma) had migrated to Medina, 250 miles to the north. Mecca was determined to destroy the umma and a bitter conflict ensued. But eventually Muhammad broke the deadly cycle of warfare with an audacious non-violent initiative. 
 
In March 628, to general astonishment, he announced that he was going to make the hajj. This meant that he had to ride unarmed into enemy territory, yet 1,000 Muslims accompanied him. The pilgrim party narrowly escaped being massacred by the Meccan cavalry, and eventually entered the sacred territory of Mecca where they simply sat down beside their camels and refused to move. Knowing that they would lose all credibility if they slaughtered pilgrims on this holy ground, the Meccans negotiated a truce and Muhammad accepted humiliating conditions that filled the Muslims with dismay. But the Qur’an proclaimed that this apparent defeat was a “clear triumph” because, like Jews and Christians, the Muslims had acted in a spirit of peace, self-restraint and forbearance. Two years later, hostilities ceased and the Meccans voluntarily opened their gates to the prophet. 
 
Clearly the Qur’an did not despise Jews and Christians; this affinity with “the people of the book” was also central to the Muslim cult of Mecca. The Arabs firmly believed that they, too, were children of Abraham, because they were the descendants of his eldest son Ishmael – a regional view shared by the Bible. It was said that Abraham and Ishmael had rebuilt the Ka’bah, the sacred shrine of Mecca, when it had fallen into disrepair, had dedicated it to their God, and then performed the rites of the hajj. Many Arabs thought that Allah, their high God, was the God worshipped by the people of the book, and Christian Arabs used to make the hajj pilgrimage to the Ka’bah alongside the pagans. 
 
The Arabs had no conception of an exclusive religious tradition, so they were deeply shocked when they discovered that most Jews and Christians refused to consider them as part of the Abrahamic family. The Qur’an still urged Muslims to respect the people of the book and revere their prophets, but decreed that instead of facing Jerusalem when they prayed, as hitherto, they should turn towards the Ka’bah built by Abraham. 
 
Like Abraham, who had not belonged to a closed-off cult, they would take no pride in an established institution and, as Abraham had done, focus on the worship of God alone. Hence the Muslim hajj is all about the Abrahamic family – not Muhammad himself. Pilgrims re-enact the story of Hagar and Ishmael, symbolically returning to the era that preceded religious chauvinism. 
 
Alas, all traditions lose their primal purity and we all fail our founders. But the British Museum’s beautiful presentation of the hajj can help us understand how the vast majority of the world’s Muslims understand their faith. Socrates, founder of the western rational tradition, insisted that the exercise of reason required us constantly and stringently to question received ideas and entrenched certainties. The new exhibition can indeed become a journey to the heart of Islam and also, perhaps, to a more authentic and respectful western rational identity. 
 
Karen Armstrong</div>

Jews and Christians refused to consider them as part of the Abrahamic family

Ever since the Crusades, when Christians from western Europe were fighting holy wars against Muslims in the near east, western people ha...

Sunday, February 21, 2016

Debates about faith are drowned by the Atheists' foghorn voices

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This is Holy Week. It started yesterday with Palm Sunday and continues through Holy Thursday, Good Friday and culminates this Sunday with Easter Day. One can no longer assume most people will be aware of this, let alone the events these days mark; in a recent UK poll, only 22% could identify what Easter was celebrating. What other system of belief has collapsed at such spectacular speed as British Christianity? One can only presume that the New Atheists are organising a fabulous party to celebrate. Richard Dawkins could stump up for the crates of champagne out of his sumptuous royalties from The God Delusion. 
 
But I'm curious as to how many of the country's finest minds would join the celebrations. Increasingly, one hears a distaste for the polemics of the New Atheist debate and its foghorn volume, and how it has drowned out any other kind of conversation about religion: what it is, the loss of it, whether it matters, and what happens in a post-religious society? From sometimes surprising quarters there is an anxiety about the evangelical fervour and certainty of the New Atheists: they are so sure they are right, but there are plenty of people - and many of them would not count themselves as believers - who can't share their contempt for religion. 
 
Just this week, AN Wilson announces in a thoughtful cover article for the New Statesman that he has apostated, abandoning his fellow atheists. Or take another example: in the Third Way, a Christian magazine, the poet Andrew Motion reflects wistfully, "I don't believe in God - though I wish I did, and I can't stop thinking about it so who knows what might happen one day?" Wilson and Motion talk of uncertainty, doubt and faith in terms that are probably far more familiar to the vast majority of the British - many of whom still describe themselves as believing in God, whatever they mean by that - than the certitudes used by Dawkins. New Atheism may come to be regarded as winning a battle but losing the war. 
 
What many argue is that the New Atheist debate has ended up down an intellectual dead end; there are only so many times you can argue that religion is a load of baloney. Ask a philosopher like John Gray or a historian of religion like Karen Armstrong and they are simply not interested in the debate; they bin the invitations to speak on platforms alongside New Atheists. Gray dismisses them as offering "intoxicating simplicity"; Armstrong is appalled by their "display of egotism and arrogance". Both are deeply frustrated by a debate inflated by the media that generates heat but no light. They see the New Atheists mirroring a particular strain of fundamentalist Christianity with no knowledge of the vast variety of other forms of religious faith. In common with their Christian opponents, they share "the inner glow of complete certainty" - as Wilson describes his atheist conversion. 
 
Armstrong and Gray converge again on where they pinpoint the key mistake. Belief came to be understood in western Christianity as a proposition at which you arrive intellectually, but Armstrong argues that this has been a profound misunderstanding that, in recent decades, has also infected other faiths. What "belief" used to mean, and still does in some traditions, is the idea of "love", "commitment", "loyalty": saying you believe in Jesus or God or Allah is a statement of commitment. Faith is not supposed to be about signing up to a set of propositions but practising a set of principles. Faith is something you do, and you learn by practice not by studying a manual, argues Armstrong. 
 
"We need to get away from the endless discussion about wretched beliefs; religion is about doing - and what every faith makes clear is that the doing is about compassion," she argues. To try and shift the debate about faith into more fruitful territory, Armstrong came up with the idea of a global Charter on Compassion for all faiths (and none), which she is drafting and planning to launch later in the year. 
 
From a different perspective, Alain de Botton, the philosopher and writer, has also been trying to broaden the conversation. He has founded a School of Life in London, which runs courses and events reflecting on how to live. He describes himself as "definitely an atheist", but readily admits he borrows plenty from religions. His team have instituted the idea of Sunday sermons, and organise contemporary "pilgrimages". "Even if you're an atheist, there are a huge number of insights in religion," he says. "We're in danger of throwing the baby out with the bathwater." 
 
De Botton argues that the decline of religious faith has left behind a real and widespread need for wisdom and insight; the media offers only a "cruel sentimentality" and gives little space to the most difficult of our life experiences, such as failure, death or envy, nor does it offer ways to deal with them. The author Mark Vernon teaches on some School of Life courses. A former priest and atheist, he now advocates a principled agnosticism rooted in an understanding of the limits of human knowledge. He argues that the most interesting conversations about faith are among those just outside religious traditions and those just inside - along the borders of belief, if you like. 
 
It's a perspective that Gray shares. Describing himself as a sceptic, he looks to another border of belief for deeper insight into the nature of faith: the dialogue between the theistic and non-theistic. Intriguingly, where Gray, Armstrong and Vernon all end up is with the apophatic tradition of theology. Apophatic is a word no longer even in my dictionary, but it's a major tradition of Christian thought, and central to the thinking of St Augustine and St Thomas Aquinas: it is the idea that God is ineffable and beyond powers of description. S/he can be experienced by religious practice, but as Armstrong puts it: "In the past, people knew we could say nothing about God. Certain forms of knowledge only come with practice." It makes the boundary between belief in God and agnosticism much more porous than commonly assumed. 
 
But the modern distortion was to make God into a proposition in which you either did or did not believe. He was turned into an old man in the sky with a long white beard or promoted as a cuddly friend named Jesus. Arguing about the existence of such human creations is akin to the medieval pastime of calculating how many angels could fit on the head of a pin. 
 
So the media has been promoting the wrong argument, while the bigger question of how, in a post-religious society, people find the myths they need to sustain meaning, purpose and goodness in their lives go unexplored. What worries Gray is that we forget at our peril that all systems of thought rely on myth. By junking the Christian myths, the danger is that the replacements are "cruder, less tested, less instructive". At times of crisis - such as the economic recession - the brittleness of a value system built on wealth and a particular conception of autonomy becomes all too apparent, leaving people without the sustaining reserves of a faith to fall back on. The consequences of that will certainly not be cause for celebration, he warns. 
 
m.bunting@theguardian.com 
 
Published: April 2009 
<a href="http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2009/apr/05/christianity-new-atheism-faith" target="_blank">http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2009/apr/05/christianity-new-atheism-faith</a> </div>

Debates about faith are drowned by the Atheists' foghorn voices

This is Holy Week. It started yesterday with Palm Sunday and continues through Holy Thursday, Good Friday and culminates this Sunday wit...

Sunday, February 21, 2016

Duah: Supplication to Allah (Du’a translated it means literally ‘calling’)

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AS-SALAAMU ALAIKUM, WA REHMATUL LAAHI WA BARAKAATUH, 
 
All praise is due to Alláh, the Lord of all the Worlds; may the greetings and peace be upon the best messenger, Prophet Muhammad (SAW), and upon his family and upon all of his companions. 
 
Praise is due to Allah who guided us to the righteous path, and indeed we wouldn’t have attained this state of guidance without Him Allah, 
 
Brothers/Sisters in Islam, Learned Colleagues and Scholars, 
 
The topic of our khutba today is Du’a in so far as people have generally forgotten the power of Du’a translated it means literally ‘calling’. Because, in this technology driven world, people have become too arrogant. They believe that, somehow, they have become masters over their own destinies. So today’s Khutba will concentrate on nothing but the concept of Dua. 
 
This is despite the fact that Dua is the most beneficial type of medicine for healing. It is therefore enemy of illness and affliction and despite the fact that SAW has said, “Dua is the weapon of the believer, the pillar of the deen, and the light of the heaven and earth.” 
There’s a saying that you’ll never find a disbeliever on a sinking ship. This is exactly the same message we find in the Qur’an; when man realises his weakness in the face of a mighty storm, then he knows only ALLAH (AZZA WAJAL) can save him. 
 
Surah Luqman (31): 31 – 33 
“Seest thou not that The ship sail through The Ocean by the grace Of Allah ? – 
“and when any wave befalls them like mountains, They call to Allah, Offering Him sincere devotion, But when He has delivered them Safely to land, there are Among them those that hover Between (right and wrong, keeping to the middle course. )”. 
 
The thing to bear in mind here is that from the Tafsir point of view every Ayaat in the Holy Quran has many meanings and moreover for all times, past present and the future. This whole ayat applies to all of us in this room. Because it goes on to say, “In it are signs for every patient grateful. 
 
Look I’ll prove it. Don’t look at the literal words Ship sailing through. This could be interpreted as the Ship being you my brother, not thanking Allah when all is well and you are sailing through the ocean, the ocean being life in general. Lets look at the second portion of the Ayat, which says that when a wave covers them, They call to Allah, Offering Him sincere devotion, Life is often full of pain and tribulations. A child begins by calling on its Mother, who is often quick to respond. But later on in life, there are times when parents or friends are not there and who do you call on then ? That is the time that a person faces up to his weakness and unfortunately, that is the time when most of us remembers ASWT. “But” the Ayat goes on the say “when He has delivered them Safely to land, there are Among them those that hover Between (right and wrong). 
 
When things are going well, most of us don’t thank ASWT even a small tiny example from our daily lives, the fact that we all had a good meal last night but did we thank Allah, for the inestimate or inestimable pleasures that is on our dinner table daily. You can’t blame the Nassaara or the atheist neighbours who live next to you because they don’t even know whom to thank. But you my dear brothers in this room, exactly how many of you say the Dua either before or after the meal. 
 
So why has there been a despondency amongst many brothers because I have actually heard my own son say, “well the response to my Du’a seemed to be delayed”. 
 
Perhaps you are not aware of the consequences that would result if Allah granted your wish and you attained what you desired, because what you seek might be to your detriment. In this state you are like a child with fever asking for an ice cream. Such is the wisdom of ASWT. We think short term whereas Allah’s thinking is long term and for your own good. 
 
One must become abd meaning a slave of Allah and show utter humility, when making Dua. Allah (azza wajal) mentions repeatedly that you should work for His pleasure. But we do the opposite. The idea is to please ASWT and not yourself. If the Du’a has been slow it is because of our constant wrong doings and wrong actions. If, however, you open the door by developing Taqwa for Allah then the response (to your Du’a) would arrive quicker. 
 
“0 Rooh, be conscious that your Master is more aware about your well-being than you are says Allah azza wajal. And it maybe you will dislike something that is good for You” 
 
Dua is also a cure for illness: 
 
From the hadith of H. Aishah (RA) SAW said that, 
“Dua benefits those things that have occurred and have not yet occurred. For indeed while the tribulation is descending the Dua meets it and they remain struggling with one another until the Day of Judgement.” 
 
Now what are the Merits of making Dua: 
 
Allah says in the Qur’an: Surah Al-Baqarah Chapter 2: Ayat 186 
 
“When my servants Ask thee concerning Me, I am indeed Close to them: I listen To the Dua of every Dua maker when he calls on Me: 
 
The place of Dua is so high to ASWT, that Prophet Muhammad (SAW) has said 
 
“There is nothing more noble in the sight of Allah than Du’a.” [4] 
 
In fact, Allah remembers more those who worship Him than they remember Him. Under the verse Surah Ankaboot: 45 
 
“And Allah’s remembrance is the greatest…” 
 
In Islam, Du’a is considered to be the best act of Ibadah. It is a direct link between man and his Lord (Allah). This can be confirmed by another hadith: That : “The most excellent type of ibadah or worship is Dua.” 
 
The Prophet SAW also said: 
 
“Ask Allah for everything, even the lace of your shoes. 
 
So make Du’a for everything you want, no matter how big or small. 
 
And let no one say: “… my Lord won’t answer my Dua prayer, because of this and that.. or because of so and so..”. No! Indeed Allah is the Most Generous King. Is there anyone who met a king, and praised and glorified him, and then asked, yet the request was not granted? So what about Allah, the King of the Heavens and the Earth -Indeed, our beloved Prophet SAW had said: ” your Lord is so Generous, and when His servant raises his hands to Him in Dua, He is, shy from returning them empty. ‘Indeed, Allah is Shy and Beneficent. He is Shy when His servant raises his hands to Him (in a Du’a) to return them empty, disappointed! ‘ By the way you can find this Hadith in Ahmad, Abu Dawud #1488, at-Tirmidhi #3556, ibn Majah #3865 and others. 
 
Dua is the weapon of a believer. It will protect you from the evils of enemies. Du’a is the shield of a believer. It will increase your sustenance. Du’a is more forceful than a sword. Du’a replaces what has been destined and also creates that what has not been destined. Du’a is a form of ibaadat. Du’a removes both the present suffering and that which will come down later. Du’a and sufferings challenge each other until the Day of Judgment, and Du’a comes out victorious. 
Whoever knocks on a door persistently will be allowed in. If you keep on knocking the door of Divine Mercy, sooner or later it will be opened for you. 
 
Never get tired of Du’a, for Allah Ta’ala has attached much value to it. Allah Ta’ala says “Let My servants know that I have the power to grant My servant’s wishes.” 
If Allah grants someone a chance of making Du’a, He will not deprive him of answer. A believer’s Du’a will increase his good deeds and reward him in the Hereafter as his other good deeds are rewarded. Praise Allah Almighty. Remember Him and thank Him for His blessings. Send Salaat upon the Prophet (SAW). Seek Tauba. Attain Taqwa. That is the right way for Du’a. 
 
It may be that you dislike a thing while it is good for you, and it may be that you love a thing while it is evil for you. 
 
So we must make Du’a to Allah, then be patient, have faith in his unquestionable decision and trust His absolute wisdom. Never have this impression that Allah Almighty has opened the door of making Dua but has closed the door of answering it. Sometimes Allah delays answering the Du’a to give a greater reward and a further blessing. What a catastrophe it would be if Allah answered every prayer at the snap of your fingers. Do you know what would happen? Allah would become your servant, not your Master. Suddenly Allah would be working for you, instead of you working for Allah. Remember, Allah’s delay is not Allah’s denial. Allah’s timing is perfect. Patience and trust is needed. 
 
If I were to summarize the whole concept of Du’a into one single statement, it would be this: 
 
Du’a is a form of Ibaadat, such a powerful Ibaadat that it can create and alter Qismat. 
 
So the moral of the story is that where there is du’a, there is hope. It should always be your pot of shining gold at the end of the rainbow, your hope in times of despair, your silver lining in every dark cloud… 
 
If you want your wishes to come true, career progression, bonus , salary I suggest you throw your head in Sujud, and cry your heart out, asking ALLAH AZZA WAJAL, like you have never asked Him before: I suggest you ask for all the things which are missing in your life, ask him to remove your grief and sorrow, to give you what you always wanted. Above tell Allah that you love Him very much. 
 
Believe me, it will not come all at once, but IA came. Ask from your heart. So in the 2nd Khutba we will recite another new dua from Imam Ghazali’s work: 
 
Conclusion of the First Part of the Khutbah: 
 
We make Duas to ASWT, so that he will accept all our Ibadat & forgive our sins. 
 
Sit down & make a du’a yourself. 
 
Second Khutbah: 
 
All Praise is due to Alláh, We praise Him and we seek help from Him. We ask forgiveness from Him. We repent to Him; and we seek refuge in Him from our own evils and our own bad deeds. 
 
Anyone who is guided by Alláh, he is indeed guided; and anyone who has been left astray, will find no one to guide him. 
 
I bear witness that there is no god but Alláh, the Only One without any partner; and I bear witness that Prophet Muhammad, SAW, is His servant, and His messenger. 
 
“O my Allah! From abundance we desire the abundance of Your blessings 
 
and from purity we desire its permanence 
 
and from Your mercy [we desire] that we be included in all matters] 
 
and from good qualities [we desire] their completion 
 
and from your rewards [we desire] the reward which is the most common 
 
and from your plenitude [we desire] the plenitude which is the sweetest 
 
and from your favours [we desire] the favour which is the most plentiful 
 
and from deeds [we desire] the deed which is the best 
 
and from knowledge [we desire] the knowledge which is the most beneficial 
 
and from the sustenance [we desire] the sustenance which is the most plentiful. 
 
and of protection we desire its duration; 
 
and of health we desire its attainment. 
 
Of livelihood, we ask its increase and its comfort; 
 
and of life; [we desire] its real success and its happiness 
 
and of blessings its totality; 
 
and fulfil for us our hopes beyond expectations. 
 
and enjoin us with well-being and good health 
 
and favour us with the removal of our faults. 
 
In You is our trust and upon You our dependence. 
 
O Allah, strengthen us on the road of sincerity 
 
and righteousness and protect us 
 
in this world from that which will be cause 
 
for regret on the Final Day. 
 
Lighten for us the burden of our sins 
 
and bestow upon us the blessings of those 
 
who had lived a life of Righteousness, 
 
and be sufficient for us and avert 
 
from us the evils of those who do evil. 
 
O Most Mighty, Most Merciful, Most Generous; 
 
the Veiler (of faults), the Gentle One, the Potent. 
 
O Allah… O Allah… O Allah… O Allah… 
 
O Merciful… O Merciful… O Merciful… 
 
O most Merciful of the Merciful… 
 
the First of the First and the Last of the Last. 
 
The Possessor of unshakable Power. 
 
The most Compassionate to the poor 
 
and the destitute. 
 
O most Merciful of the Merciful. 
 
Surah No. 21, Surah Ambiya, Ayat 87) 
 
“There is no God except You, Ya Allah so Glory be to You. 
 
Indeed we are amongst those who have done wrong” 
 
May the blessings of Allah be upon Prophet Muhammmad,(SAW) his family and all of his companions. 
 
Ya Allah, forgive all our Muslim men and women, 
 
Forgive the believing men and women, 
 
Those who are alive and those who died, 
 
You are indeed the One who listens and accepts all supplications. 
 
Ya Allah, accept our Ibadat and forgive us. 
 
Ya Rabb, have mercy on us. Help us obey you and praise you. 
 
Ya Allah, we stand before you having observed all the tenets of Islam, so lead us to prosperity and growth, to triumph and solidarity, to unity and wealth beyond our imagination. 
 
Ya Allah, we beg for your MAGFIRATAK, and ask you for success, health and wealth for all the brothers who are present here and now in this blessed room. 
 
Ya Rabb, increase our love that binds us together now, and in the future to come. 
 
Ya Allah, accept all our duas, fulfil all our righteous wishes, fulfil our dreams,. 
 
Ya Allah, may your rehma and safety encompass all our families, wherever they may be. 
 
Ya Allah, grant these brothers who are present, here and now, SABR that is YUHIB HUM AS SABR. 
 
Ya Allah, make the Prophet Muhammad (SAW) intercede or YASHFAAH on our behalf on YAWM A QIYAAMAH. 
 
Ya, Allah, grant these brothers wealth, beyond their imagination, so that they may spend rest of their remaining life doing your dhikr and ibadah, praising you. 
 
Dr. Zakir Kapadia</div>

Duah: Supplication to Allah (Du’a translated it means literally ‘calling’)

AS-SALAAMU ALAIKUM, WA REHMATUL LAAHI WA BARAKAATUH, All praise is due to Alláh, the Lord of all the Worlds; may the greetings and pea...

Sunday, February 21, 2016

Overcoming Depression - Dr. Uthman Lateef

Overcoming Depression - Dr. Uthman Lateef

Tuesday, February 16, 2016

Bank of England to establish Shari’a-compliant borrowing facilities for Islamic banks

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A new Bank of England consultation, which closes on 29 April, builds on a feasibility study carried out last year and sets out two possible deposit facilities, and two possible liquidity insurance models. The idea behind the proposals is to help firms that are prevented by Shari’a law from undertaking activities involving interest to manage fluctuating liquidity demands and ride out periods of particular stress. 
 
Islamic finance expert Amir Ahmad of Pinsent Masons, the law firm behind Out-Law.com, said that publication by the Bank of England of its plans was a "positive step for the UK Islamic finance market". 
 
"The introduction of the proposed deposit facility models by the Bank of England has the potential to significantly aid those UK firms who cannot engage in interest-bearing activity," he said. 
"The consultation process also highlights the practical steps taken by various UK bodies to attract investment from the 'Muslim world', following prime minister David Cameron's 2013 statement outlining his desire to make London ' one of the greatest centres for Islamic finance anywhere in the world'," he said. 
 
The UK government announced its intention to raise London’s profile as a western ‘hub’ for Islamic financial transactions in 2013. In 2014, the UK became the first non-Muslim country to issue sovereign ‘sukuk’, the Islamic equivalent of bonds. 
 
Islamic, or Shari’a, finance refers to financial products which adhere to the principles of Islamic law. Transactions are often structured in a very different way to conventional western financial products in order to comply with Shari’a principles, such as the ban on allowing one party to make money unjustly at another’s expense. Wealth can only be generated through trade and investment in assets, providing that those assets are not banned by Shari’a. Interest, known as ‘riba’, is also banned. 
 
Read entire article here: 
<a href="http://www.out-law.com/en/articles/2016/february/bank-of-england-to-establish-sharia-compliant-borrowing-facilities-for-islamic-banks/" target="_blank">http://www.out-law.com/en/articles/2016/february/bank-of-england-to-establish-sharia-compliant-borrowing-facilities-for-islamic-banks/</a> 
 </div>

Bank of England to establish Shari’a-compliant borrowing facilities for Islamic banks

A new Bank of England consultation, which closes on 29 April, builds on a feasibility study carried out last year and sets out two possi...

Tuesday, February 16, 2016

America’s First City With a Muslim-Majority City Council

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What’s Life Like in America’s First City With a Muslim-Majority City Council? 
 
While the media highlight “conflict,” residents say there’s not much ethnic tension worth mentioning. 
 
Just after the Paris attacks, right before the San Bernardino shooting, and during a campaign season in which Donald Trump has made bigotry a pillar of his candidacy, Hamtramck, Michigan’s residents voted in the nation’s first Muslim-majority city council in its November elections. 
 
With that news, the international media descended on Hamtramck, a dense and shabby postindustrial town physically surrounded by Detroit. The Washington Post presented a picture of a “tense” city where the “the influx of Muslims…has profoundly unsettled some residents.” CNN asked Hamtramck’s mayor if she’s afraid of her Muslim neighbors, and The Telegraph wrote of the election’s stoking “tensions” in the community. Other news sources recycled and embellished upon those reports, and suddenly Hamtramck became “Shariaville, USA” and “Muslimville, USA,” enacting booze bans and Sharia law. 
 
In reality, there’s not much tension worth mentioning in Hamtramck (pronounced Ham-tram-ick), my home for five years. To the contrary, many of the city’s non-Muslim residents are proud to be a part of a historic first, and reports of tension and conflict are the work of those with an agenda or reporters capitalizing on a hostile national discourse. 
 
Now the elected government’s makeup reflects the changing demographics in the two-square-mile city. Hamtramck’s Polish population rose rapidly when Dodge opened its headquarters in the city in 1914. The plant closed in 1980, and while the Polish represented some 75 percent of the population at its peak in the 1970s, today they make up just 10 percent of the city’s 22,000 residents. As the Polish left for wealthier suburbs, new immigrants moved in. Muslims from Bangladesh, Yemen, and Bonsia now account for around 60 percent of residents, according to the Piast Institute, a local US Census partner that tracks the city’s population. 
 
The only legitimate sources of “tension” are the loud 6:30 am calls to prayer, which many non-Muslims have complained about, and proposals to build mosques downtown, since the law allows imams to block bars from opening within 500 feet of their building. But that’s a state law that applies to churches and mosques everywhere, not a Hamtramck or Muslim law, as reports fail to mention. It should also be noted that a Polish Catholic majority council stamped those projects. 
 
Read entire article here: 
<a href="http://www.thenation.com/article/whats-life-like-in-americas-first-city-with-a-muslim-majority-city-council/" target="_blank">http://www.thenation.com/article/whats-life-like-in-americas-first-city-with-a-muslim-majority-city-council/ </a></div>

America’s First City With a Muslim-Majority City Council

What’s Life Like in America’s First City With a Muslim-Majority City Council? While the media highlight “conflict,” residents say the...

Monday, February 15, 2016

USA: Top Good Muslim News Stories of 2015

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Sure, we could talk about the Paris attacks, Charlie Hebdo, Isis, San Bernardino, Donald Trump, Islamophobia, anti-Muslim rhetoric and other things that made 2015 a difficult year for Muslim news, but why not end 2015 and look to 2016 by focusing on the positive? Because a lot of good things happened in 2015, from charity initiatives to the recognition of Eid as a holiday in various school districts to Muslim heroes responding to terrorism and violence to Muslims taking center stage in Hollywood to a big step forward for women-friendly mosques. It was a year in which we took bad situations and drew something good out of it, as well as several bright lights in our community that shined. In a year when fear was threatening to take over the collective world narrative, hope and good fought back. And we’d always rather end on a positive note. So, in the fine tradition of Altmuslim, here are the top ten Good Muslim Stories of 2015 (in no particular order)! Read, reflect and be happy.  (See altmuslim’s “Top Ten” lists for<a href="http://www.patheos.com/blogs/altmuslim/2014/12/year-in-review-top-ten-good-news-stories-of-2014/" style="color: #0066cc;" target="_blank">2014</a>, <a href="http://www.patheos.com/blogs/altmuslim/2014/01/year-in-review-top-ten-good-muslim-news-stories-of-2013/" style="color: #0066cc;" target="_blank">2013</a>, <a href="http://www.patheos.com/blogs/altmuslim/2011/12/the_top_ten_good_news_stories_of_2011/" style="color: #0066cc;" target="_blank">2011</a>, <a href="http://www.patheos.com/blogs/altmuslim/2010/12/the_top_ten_good_news_stories_of_2010/" style="color: #0066cc;" target="_blank">2010</a>, <a href="http://www.patheos.com/blogs/altmuslim/2010/01/the_top_ten_good_news_stories_of_2009/" style="color: #0066cc;" target="_blank">2009</a>, <a href="http://www.patheos.com/blogs/altmuslim/2008/12/the_top_ten_good_news_stories_of_2008/" style="color: #0066cc;" target="_blank">2008</a>, <a href="http://www.patheos.com/blogs/altmuslim/2007/12/top_ten_good_news_stories_of_2007/" style="color: #0066cc;" target="_blank">2007</a>, <a href="http://www.patheos.com/blogs/altmuslim/2006/12/the_top_ten_good_news_stories_of_2006/" style="color: #0066cc;" target="_blank">2006</a>, <a href="http://www.patheos.com/blogs/altmuslim/2005/12/the_top_ten_good_news_stories_of_2005/" style="color: #0066cc;" target="_blank">2005</a>, <a href="http://www.patheos.com/blogs/altmuslim/2005/01/the_top_ten_good_news_stories_of_2004/" style="color: #0066cc;" target="_blank">2004</a>, <a href="http://www.patheos.com/blogs/altmuslim/2003/12/the_top_ten_good_news_stories_of_2003/" style="color: #0066cc;" target="_blank">2003</a>, and <a href="http://www.patheos.com/blogs/altmuslim/2002/12/the_top_ten_good_news_stories_of_2002/" style="color: #0066cc;" target="_blank">2002</a>.)</div>
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1. Muslims Crowdfund for Black Churches, Water Initiatives and More</div>
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In a year when Muslims were the scapegoats for Donald Trump and much of the GOP, when terror attacks involving a few Muslims put an entire community of billions under the microscope, American Muslims fought to take the narrative back to one of hope and good by involving themselves in charity and crowdfunding initiatives. When more than 31,300 Detroit residents had their water turned off in January of 2013, Islamic Relief USA and the Michigan Muslim Community Council banded together to donate $100,000 to the Detroit Water Fund and Wayne Metropolitan Community Action Agency, <a class="ext-link" data-wpel-target="_blank" href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2015/01/08/muslim-group-detroit-water_n_6437506.html" rel="external nofollow" style="color: #0066cc;" title="">saying </a>“it is important to us in our faith to help our neighbors. It is part of our faith to help our friends.” Later that month, in response to a string of black churches being destroyed by fires and in the days following the shooting of nine people inside the Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church in Charleston, SC, Faatimah Knight started the <a class="ext-link" data-wpel-target="_blank" href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/muslims-raise-over-100000-to-help-rebuild-black-churches-in-the-south_55ad4be7e4b0d2ded39fac57" rel="external nofollow" style="color: #0066cc;" title="">“Respond with Love” campaign</a>, rallying people and three Muslim organizations to raise more than $100,000 to rebuild the churches. And, just last month a campaign organized by Dr. Faisal Qazi in the wake of the San Bernardino shootings — before it was even known that the shooters were Muslims — caught the attention of Muslims across the country. More than $200,000 was raised and donated to the victims’ families. <a class="ext-link" data-wpel-target="_blank" href="http://ktla.com/2015/12/11/american-muslims-fund-help-san-bernardino-attack-victims/" rel="external nofollow" style="color: #0066cc;" title="">Said Qazi</a>, “My faith is the biggest inspiration for the work I do.”</div>
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2. The Year of the Muslim Hashtag</div>
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For too long, Muslim communities have let the media define their narratives, but in 2015, that all changed.  Muslims on social media, from multiple backgrounds and life experiences, took to Twitter to take on current events with hashtags that conveyed far more meaning than their somewhat few letters would indicate.  The #MuslimID hashtag took on 2016 presidential candidate Donald Trump’s suggestion that there be a database of Muslims by <a class="ext-link" data-wpel-target="_blank" href="http://www.cnn.com/2015/11/24/world/muslim-id-hashtag/" rel="external nofollow" style="color: #0066cc;" title="">showcasing the ID cards & badges</a> of American Muslims serving in the military, government, and other forms of public service. The #IStandWithAhmed hashtag <a class="ext-link" data-wpel-target="_blank" href="http://www.theguardian.com/technology/2015/sep/16/istandwithahmed-obama-zuckerberg-internet-rally-texas-student" rel="external nofollow" style="color: #0066cc;" title="">brought global attention</a> (and support from Silicon Valley, Hollywood and the President) to the plight of Ahmed Mohamed, who was briefly detained by police who felt that his hacked clock posed a threat.  Within Muslim communities, hashtags like #BeingBlackAndMuslim sought to tell the stories of Muslims whose life experiences have been <a class="ext-link" data-wpel-target="_blank" href="http://www.buzzfeed.com/muslimantiracismcollaborative/71-tweets-from-beingblackandmuslim-2015-12b87" rel="external nofollow" style="color: #0066cc;" title="">long ignored</a> by larger Muslim audiences.  And, the #OurThreeWinners campaign turned the tragedy of the murder of three young American Muslims in North Carolina into a <a class="ext-link" data-wpel-target="_blank" href="http://www.ourthreewinners.org/" rel="external nofollow" style="color: #0066cc;" title="">showcase of hope, philanthropy, and positivity</a>.  These hashtags not only bring nuance to mainstream news stories (or just get mainstream news to pay attention), but they encapsulate a new way of engaging the public – with humanizing narratives, humorous defiance and a richness that the media has struggled with since the days of 9/11.</div>
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3. Recognition of Eid as an Official Holiday in Various School Districts</div>
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We no longer have to choose between our education and our faith! – tweet. March saw the culmination of a project years in the making – getting New York City to add Eid ul Fitr and Eid ul Adha to the public school calendar. New York City Mayor Bill deBlasio announced that schools in the five boroughs would now be closed for the two major Muslim holidays, <a class="ext-link" data-wpel-target="_blank" href="http://www.patheos.com/blogs/muslimahnextdoor/2015/03/new-york-city-to-add-muslim-holidays-to-public-school-schedule/" rel="external nofollow" style="color: #0066cc;" title="">saying </a>“We’re here today to make good on a promise to our Muslim brothers and sisters that a holiday of supreme importance to the Muslim community will be recognized in our school calendar so that children can honor the holiday without missing school.” Several months later, Montgomery County, Maryland also followed suit when the board of education <a class="ext-link" data-wpel-target="_blank" href="http://www.patheos.com/blogs/muslimahnextdoor/2015/11/maryland-school-board-designates-muslim-holiday-a-day-off-from-school/" rel="external nofollow" style="color: #0066cc;" title="">voted 6-2</a> in support of a measure to schedule a professional work day for administrators and teachers on September 12, 2016 to coincide with Eid ul Adha. “It’s huge,” said Saqib Ali, a former state lawmaker who had been a leader of the effort. Without the change, “my daughters are not equal to all of their little playmates in the neighborhood, their Christian friends, their Jewish friends.” It was a beautiful example of religious pluralism in areas where a significant Muslim population rightly warranted the holiday designations.</div>
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4. Muslim Heroes Respond to Terrorism & Violence</div>
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You wouldn’t know this from what the media focuses on, but Muslims have not only been the primary victims of Islamist violence, but have been on the front lines in trying to discredit, marginalize, and physically fight against them.  Earlier this year, we saw both Muslim police officer <a class="ext-link" data-wpel-target="_blank" href="http://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/jan/13/charlie-hebdo-attack-ahmed-merabet-buried-bobigny" rel="external nofollow" style="color: #0066cc;" title="">Ahmed Merabet</a> give his life to protect others, as well as <a class="ext-link" data-wpel-target="_blank" href="http://www.jewishjournal.com/cover_story/article/lassana_bathily_the_muslim_who_saved_french_jews_in_hyper_cacher" rel="external nofollow" style="color: #0066cc;" title="">Lassana Bathily</a> save the lives of multiple Jewish customers (and subsequently earn French citizenship) at a kosher grocery store in the wake of the Charlie Hebdo attacks. And just last month, Muslims <a class="ext-link" data-wpel-target="_blank" href="http://edition.cnn.com/2015/12/22/africa/kenya-bus-attack-al-shabaab-muslim-christians/index.html" rel="external nofollow" style="color: #0066cc;" title="">shielded Christian passengers</a> from attack by al-Shabaab militants who stopped their bus in Kenya.  In between these two visible examples, you have had Muslim soldiers (Kurds, Iraqis, and others) on the front lines against ISIS and other related groups. Here at home, Muslims have responded to homegrown violence by <a class="ext-link" data-wpel-target="_blank" href="http://time.com/4143416/san-bernardino-shooting-muslims-donald-trump-fundraising/" rel="external nofollow" style="color: #0066cc;" title="">raising over $200,000</a> for victims of the December San Bernadino shootings.  “It’s really all about helping your neighbors here,” explained Meraj Mohiuddin, a 38-year-old trauma anesthesiologist in Phoenix, Arizona who donated $15,000 to the project.  “What we can do as Muslims is be that much more graceful and better versions of ourselves.”  Finally, Muslims are responding directly to ISIS calls to join their fight – by <a class="ext-link" data-wpel-target="_blank" href="http://www.nytimes.com/2015/12/31/world/middleeast/muslims-on-twitter-say-they-have-better-things-to-do-than-join-isis.html?_r=0" rel="external nofollow" style="color: #0066cc;" title="">ridiculing them mercilessly</a> on social media.  “Too busy being part of a civilized society,” <a class="ext-link" data-wpel-target="_blank" href="https://twitter.com/ozzypotato/status/681133102119436288" rel="external nofollow" style="color: #0066cc;" title="">went one example</a> that typifies the <a class="ext-link" data-wpel-target="_blank" href="http://www.newsweek.com/young-british-muslims-use-notinmyname-denounce-isis-272254" rel="external nofollow" style="color: #0066cc;" title="">global Muslim response</a> to ISIS on social media.</div>
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5. Outpouring of Support for Refugees</div>
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In the wake of a flood of refugees coming from Syria in the wake of ISIS, Assad, and related military actions, we have seen another flood – one of support and compassion that <a class="ext-link" data-wpel-target="_blank" href="http://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/sep/02/shocking-image-of-drowned-syrian-boy-shows-tragic-plight-of-refugees" rel="external nofollow" style="color: #0066cc;" title="">accelerated after seeing photos</a> of 3-year-old Aylan Kurdi washed ashore after an unsuccessful attempt by his family to reach safety.  While governments had varying responses to the refugee crisis (Syria’s immediate neighbors take in the lion’s share, Western countries have a more ambivalent stance, and Gulf countries are keeping their doors closed), there have been notable personal expressions of support.  For example, one Turkish couple spent their wedding day <a class="ext-link" data-wpel-target="_blank" href="http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/europe/turkey/11783353/Meet-the-Turkish-couple-who-spent-their-wedding-day-feeding-4000-Syrian-refugees.html" rel="external nofollow" style="color: #0066cc;" title="">feeding 4,000 refugee families</a>, European citizens acted where their governments couldn’t and <a class="ext-link" data-wpel-target="_blank" href="http://www.theatlantic.com/photo/2015/11/the-arms-outstretched/416916/" rel="external nofollow" style="color: #0066cc;" title="">organized relief for families</a> traversing Europe looking for safety, and Hollywood star Sacha Baron Cohen (perhaps trying to make up for portrayals in movies like “The Dictator” and “Borat”) <a class="ext-link" data-wpel-target="_blank" href="http://www.usatoday.com/story/life/movies/2015/12/28/sacha-baron-cohen-isla-fisher-donate-1-million-for-syrian-refugees/77983010/" rel="external nofollow" style="color: #0066cc;" title="">donated $1 million</a>for refugee relief.  Hundreds of U.S. churches – even evangelical ones ones that lean conservative – are <a class="ext-link" data-wpel-target="_blank" href="http://edition.cnn.com/2015/12/11/politics/national-refugee-sunday/" rel="external nofollow" style="color: #0066cc;" title="">actively supporting</a> the effort as well.  With respect to politicians, attitudes toward refugee resettlement grow more positive as you get to the local level (where the impact is felt most profoundly), and mayors around the world are <a class="ext-link" data-wpel-target="_blank" href="http://www.citylab.com/politics/2015/11/governors-who-dont-want-syrian-refugees-versus-mayors-who-are-asking-to-take-more/416718/" rel="external nofollow" style="color: #0066cc;" title="">offering to take in</a> more refugees. “Not allowing refugees makes America look weak,” Houston Mayor Annise Parker told reporters. “It is the only humane thing to do.”</div>
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6. Defense of Muslims in the Wake of Trump Comments</div>
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At first it seemed like a joke – real estate mogul Donald Trump running for presidency? He had mounted campaigns in the past, so most likely his bid in for the 2016 presidency would be the same crash and burn, right? Except it has been far from that. Touching a nerve and thousands in the GOP base, Trump has emerged as the frontrunner for the Republican presidential candidate, much to the horror of the American Muslim community, which has been on the receiving end of his most vicious attacks and anti-Muslim rhetoric. From saying that Muslims are not fit for office to suggesting that American Muslims need to carry identification cards, to finally saying that all Muslims should be stopped from entering the U.S. for a period of time, Trump’s last round of anti-Muslim attacks drew many community responses against him as well as pushback from within the <a class="ext-link" data-wpel-target="_blank" href="http://www.nbcnews.com/politics/2016-election/paul-ryan-denounces-donald-trumps-anti-muslim-plan-n476201" rel="external nofollow" style="color: #0066cc;" title="">Republican Party</a>. Presidential candidate Lindsay Graham <a class="ext-link" data-wpel-target="_blank" href="http://www.motherjones.com/politics/2015/12/lindsey-graham-apologizes-to-muslim-world-for-donald-trumps" rel="external nofollow" style="color: #0066cc;" title="">apologized to Muslims</a> in the last Republican presidential debate, saying “To all of our Muslim friends throughout the world… I am sorry. He does not represent us.” The South Carolina senator went on to say that framing the fight against terrorism as a fight against Islam was dangerous and “counterproductive.” Even House Speaker Paul Ryan, who has been quiet in the past on the Republican presidential candidates, <a class="ext-link" data-wpel-target="_blank" href="http://www.nbcnews.com/politics/2016-election/paul-ryan-denounces-donald-trumps-anti-muslim-plan-n476201" rel="external nofollow" style="color: #0066cc;" title="">broke his silence</a>, saying “This is not conservatism. What was proposed… is not what this party stands for and more importantly, it’s not what this country stands for.”</div>
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7. Visible Muslims take over Hollywood</div>
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2015 saw an unprecedented visibility of Muslim characters on mainstream television, and while many continue to be in roles that are related to geopolitics, several of them portrayed Muslims as everyday citizens.  Yes, you still have the typical portrayals from shows like “Homeland” and “Tyrant”, which aside from a few attempts at balance are still <a class="ext-link" data-wpel-target="_blank" href="http://www.thenational.ae/opinion/comment/im-sick-of-seeing-arab-stereotypes-on-television" rel="external nofollow" style="color: #0066cc;" title="">drenched in stereotypes</a>, but there is a clear pattern of trying to normalize Muslims in society with more complex and – dare we say it? – average roles.  One such role, the African-American Muslim woman Aliyah Shadeed from “<a class="ext-link" data-wpel-target="_blank" href="http://abc.go.com/shows/american-crime/cast/aliyah-shadeed" rel="external nofollow" style="color: #0066cc;" title="">American Crime</a>”, won actress Regina King a <a class="ext-link" data-wpel-target="_blank" href="http://abc.go.com/shows/american-crime/news/updates/american-crime-regina-king-wins-2015-primetime-emmy-supporting-actress-limited-series-150921" rel="external nofollow" style="color: #0066cc;" title="">primetime Emmy</a> for her portrayal.  Other shows that portrayed Muslim characters include ABC’s “Quantico”, which featured <a class="ext-link" data-wpel-target="_blank" href="http://www.npr.org/sections/codeswitch/2015/12/14/459670190/we-asked-young-muslim-women-to-weigh-in-on-quanticos-hijabi-character" rel="external nofollow" style="color: #0066cc;" title="">twin Muslim women</a> who were two FBI agents-in-training (portrayed by Yasmine Al Massri), intrepid journalist Ayla Sayyad on the Netflix series “House of Cards” (which interestingly has <a class="ext-link" data-wpel-target="_blank" href="http://www.commdiginews.com/entertainment/tv-cable-streaming-video/muslim-actors-marno-ali-jaffrey-star-on-house-of-cards-9709/" rel="external nofollow" style="color: #0066cc;" title="">three Muslim actors</a> on its cast), and USA Network’s “Mr. Robot”, which <a class="ext-link" data-wpel-target="_blank" href="http://www.wired.com/2015/07/mr-robot-fact-check/" rel="external nofollow" style="color: #0066cc;" title="">has in its cast</a> a Muslim woman hacker. 2015 also saw an effort by Muslim entertainers to <a class="ext-link" data-wpel-target="_blank" href="http://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2015/apr/21/halal-in-the-family-muslim-american-aasif-mandvi" rel="external nofollow" style="color: #0066cc;" title="">take control of their own narrative</a> with Aasif Mandvi’s “<a class="ext-link" data-wpel-target="_blank" href="http://halalinthefamily.tv/" rel="external nofollow" style="color: #0066cc;" title="">Halal in the Family</a>”, a straight-to-web series that played with a wide range of stereotypes and situations that American Muslims find themselves in.  “The comedy,” explains Mandvi, “comes from the fact that they’re so afraid of being misidentified or misunderstood.”</div>
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8. ISNA’s Women Mosque Inclusion Statement</div>
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Last August, a few weeks before the 52nd annual Islamic Society of North American annual convention was to begin, Patheos Muslim blogger Hind Makki <a class="ext-link" data-wpel-target="_blank" href="http://www.patheos.com/blogs/hindtrospectives/2015/08/a-mosque-the-prophet-would-recognize/" rel="external nofollow" style="color: #0066cc;" title="">wrote a piece</a>imagining a mosque the Prophet Muhammad (saw) would recognize, asking Muslim communities to “learn about women’s mosque experiences during the Prophetic era, to excel at the innovative use of architecture and inclusive space, and to share best practices around good governance. We are rooted in the Prophetic model.” She was referring to ISNA’s <a class="ext-link" data-wpel-target="_blank" href="http://www.isna.net/isna-statement.html" rel="external nofollow" style="color: #0066cc;" title="">Women’s Mosque Inclusion statement</a>, launched a few weeks later at the convention, which laid out a number of points to make mosques more inclusive and women-friendly. The initiative was spearheaded by several hard working Muslim leaders, including Makki, who worked through a less-than perfect system of engagement to bring about this landmark step. And, though it seemed to some like just words, the statement was an important step in showing the <a class="ext-link" data-wpel-target="_blank" href="http://www.patheos.com/blogs/muslimahnextdoor/2015/08/engaging-v-disengaging-when-working-with-isna-means-the-push-for-women-friendly-mosques/" rel="external nofollow" style="color: #0066cc;" title="">power of engagement</a>and the importance of pushing forward on women-friendly mosques.</div>
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9. Islamic scholars declaration on climate change</div>
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The issue of climate change has not been on the front burner for many Muslim communities (save for those who are directly affected such as the Maldives, which may be the <a class="ext-link" data-wpel-target="_blank" href="http://ecowatch.com/2015/05/22/maldives-underwater-climate-change/" rel="external nofollow" style="color: #0066cc;" title="">first country to disappear</a> as a result of changing weather patterns), but that all changed in August when a <a class="ext-link" data-wpel-target="_blank" href="http://www.theguardian.com/environment/2015/aug/18/islamic-leaders-issue-bold-call-rapid-phase-out-fossil-fuels" rel="external nofollow" style="color: #0066cc;" title="">gathering of Muslim scholars</a> in Istanbul issued a call to the world’s Muslims to <a class="ext-link" data-wpel-target="_blank" href="http://america.aljazeera.com/articles/2015/8/18/islamic-scholars-issue-climate-change-declaration.html" rel="external nofollow" style="color: #0066cc;" title="">join in an effort</a> to work towards phasing out greenhouse gas emissions by 2050 and helping push for a 100% renewable energy strategy.  Unlike a<a class="ext-link" data-wpel-target="_blank" href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Muslim_Seven_Year_Action_Plan_on_Climate_Change" rel="external nofollow" style="color: #0066cc;" title="">previous</a> “seven year plan” issued by Muslim leaders in 2000 that went nowhere, this statement joins with <a class="ext-link" data-wpel-target="_blank" href="http://america.aljazeera.com/articles/2015/6/15/popes-climate-encyclical-calls-for-urgent-action.html" rel="external nofollow" style="color: #0066cc;" title="">similar statements</a> made by the Pope and other religious leaders to create a consensus of global religious opinion on the matter.  <a class="ext-link" data-wpel-target="_blank" href="http://islamicclimatedeclaration.org/islamic-declaration-on-global-climate-change/" rel="external nofollow" style="color: #0066cc;" title="">The statement</a> is seen to have helped drive the December 2015 agreement at the Paris climate talks. “Islam’s teachings, which emphasize the duty of humans as stewards of the Earth and the teacher’s role as an appointed guide, <a class="ext-link" data-wpel-target="_blank" href="http://www.theguardian.com/environment/2015/aug/18/islamic-leaders-issue-bold-call-rapid-phase-out-fossil-fuels" rel="external nofollow" style="color: #0066cc;" title="">illuminate pathways</a> to take the right action on climate change,” said UN climate chief Christiana Figueres.  The declaration <a class="ext-link" data-wpel-target="_blank" href="http://www.nature.com/news/can-islamic-scholars-change-thinking-on-climate-change-1.18203" rel="external nofollow" style="color: #0066cc;" title="">calls on</a>wealthy Muslim countries to provide financial and technical support to less-affluent states so they too can work to eliminate pollution, reduce consumption of finite resources, work to stabilize the Earth’s temperature, abandon “unethical profit from the environment” and help create a global green economy.</div>
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http://www.patheos.com/blogs/altmuslim/2016/01/year-in-review-top-ten-good-muslim-news-stories-of-2015/</div>
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USA: Top Good Muslim News Stories of 2015

Sure, we could talk about the Paris attacks, Charlie Hebdo, Isis, San Bernardino, Donald Trump, Islamophobia, anti-Muslim rhetoric and o...

Monday, February 15, 2016

Consumerism is at its peak

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Consumerism - Dr. Uthman Lateef  - A Must Watch Video</div>
 
Consumerism is at its peak 
On one side there’s so much of poverty that even basic amenities are not available to some.  On the other side there’s excess of everything. People get fed up with eating the same kind of food so they go to different restaurants.  Many shop until they drop and come home loaded down with things they don’t really need.  What do people do with so many things? 
 
Consider dresses— the common excuse is, “How can I wear the same dress again and again? The dress worn in one party is seen by all my friends.  I don’t want to repeat it at the next party.” 
 
The same goes for jewelry: “How can I wear the same set again and again?” 
 
People collect personal items from footwear, goggles, handbags, accessories, etc. to furniture, curtains, cushions, and artifacts.  For some, cellphones and other electronic gadgets have to be changed whenever there’s a new one on the market! 
 
A lady who had only two children had such a huge collection of glassware, cutlery, crockery, and dinner sets that her house overflowed.  When asked why she purchased so much, her reply was, “How can I serve my guests the same dinner set every time?  After all, variety is the spice of life.” 
 
With this excuse, people indulge in overspending and accumulating.  Shopping has never been easier; even in the luxury of one’s home, one can shop online and swipe the card to pay. 
 
Unfortunately this disease has spread to Muslims too. 
 
If you’re a shopaholic, how do you stop? 
 
Remember the Qur’anic Verse 
All of us want to achieve the pleasure of Allah (swt).  In surat Al A’raf Allah (swt) says he dislikes some people.  Who are they?  O children of Adam, take your adornment at every masjid, and eat and drink, but be not extravagant. Indeed, He likes not those who commit extravagance.’ [Quran, 7:31] 
 
Do you want to earn His displeasure?  Definitely not!  Then, always remember this ayah!  Just this one verse is enough to keep us away from extravagance.  And remind your friends and relatives about this verse when you see them overspending on unnecessary items. 
 
Impressing People Need Not Be Your Goal In Life 
When someone compliments your dress at a party, you’re on cloud nine.  But think for a moment— did you design it?  Did you weave the fabric? Did you stitch it?  What credit can you take for this dress? All you did was to select the dress and pay for it. If you think along these lines, you won’t always be craving to impress people with your possessions. 
 
Try to Impress Allah (swt), not People 
Allah (swt) says in Surah Mulk, . . .[He] who created death and life to test you [as to] which of you is best in deed. [Quran, 67:2]. 
 
Allah (swt)’s words are deep and meaningful.  He does not judge humans based on their skin color or social status or financial status or qualification or the attire they wear.  He judges them based on their deeds. So, try to do as many good deeds as possible.  We only walk on this earth once; let’s make lasting footprints by serving our creator, fulfilling our duties and by working towards the uplifting of His creation. 
 
Apply the Principle of  Variety in Learning the Deen 
Most of us who are lost in our worldly affairs are satisfied with five daily prayers. In between everyday activities, let’s allot time to read tafseer, the sayings of the Prophet (pbuh), the lives of the pious predecessors, etc.  Let’s reflect upon the verses and implement them in our lives.  Let’s share the knowledge we gain by writing blogs and sending emails, etc.  If you’re a good orator, give weekly or bi-weekly talks in your locality. 
 
Take Time to Memorize the Qur’an 
If we memorize about 10 surahs in childhood, we keep repeating those surahs in our daily salah for many years. No effort is made to memorize more chapters.  When we’re ashamed to present ourselves with the same dress or jewels or accessories in our parties, why are we not ashamed to repeat the same 10 surahs in our salahs even in adulthood? 
 
Bring variety to your selection of surahs 
Memorize and recite them in your salahs to please your creator.  This will give you immense pleasure.  Not only that, there’s nothing equal to the rewards we get in the hereafter.  Let’s see what our beloved Prophet Mohamed (pbuh) has said about the status of a believer who memorized the Qur’an. 
 
Ibn ‘Amr reported that the Prophet (Sallallahu Alaihi wasallam) said: It will be said to the companion of the Qur’aan after he has entered Paradise, “Recite, and rise!” For every verse he recites he will rise one level (in Paradise), until he recites the last verse with him (i.e., in his memory). [Aboo Dawood] 
 
Aboo Hurayrah reported that the Prophet (Sallallahu Alaihi wasallam) said, The Qur’aan will be brought on the Day of Judgement, and it will say,’“O My Lord! Adorn him (the one who read and practised it)!’ So he will be adorned with the crown of glory and honour . It will then say, ‘O My Lord! Increase this!’ So he will be clothed with the clothes of glory and honour. Then it will say, ‘O My Lord! Be pleased with Him! So He (Allaah) will be pleased with him. It will be said, ‘Recite! And rise!’ and every verse he recites will bless him with a good deed. [At-Tirmidhee] 
 
Not only the reciter but the reciter’s parents also stand to gain.  Mu’aadh al-Juhani narrates that the Prophet (Sallallahu Alaihi wasallam) said: Whosoever recites the Quran and practices upon its injunctions, the reciter’s parents will be given a crown on the day of Qiyaamat. The brightness of that crown will be more intense than the brightness of the sun in your actual house. The Prophet (Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam) further said: ‘What do you think will be given to the Hafiz (reciter) of the Quran himself?’ [Mishkaat Vol I.] 
 
It was narrated that Buraydah said: The Prophet (Sallallahu Alaihi wasallam) said: ‘Whoever reads the Qur’aan, learns it and acts in accordance with it, on the Day of Resurrection his parents will be given a crown to wear whose light will be like the light of the sun, and his parents will be given garments which far surpass everything to be found in this world. They will say, ‘Why have we been given this to wear?’ It will be said, ‘Because your child learned the Qur’aan.’ [Narrated by al-Haakim, 1/756] 
 
Subhanallah! Who doesn’t dream of such rewards and honor on a day filled with terror!  May Allah (swt) bless us to be one of those fortunate believers who memorized the Qur’an and acted upon it.  Ameen. 
 
Dear reader, “Variety is the spice of life” – does this have a different meaning for you now? 
 
I pray that we benefit from this article. Ameen. 
 
Ms. A. Samshath 
Chennai, India. 
safanet@gmail.com 
<a href="http://understandquran.com/islam-consumerism.html" target="_blank">http://understandquran.com/islam-consumerism.html</a> 
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Consumerism is at its peak

Consumerism - Dr. Uthman Lateef - A Must Watch Video Consumerism is at its peak On one side there’s so much of poverty that even bas...

Sunday, February 14, 2016

A Reflection: Love Thy Neighbor

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“History is all around us,” I once wrote, “and we are all historians.” 
“The creative ways we choose to preserve history can be used as a catalyst for building community across seemingly intractable divides and as a means to help us grow in our own humanity for the betterment of human interests.” 
 
I was on my way to the bus stop to pick up my daughter on Tuesday, when I saw men bringing a stretcher out of my elderly neighbor’s house. On it was a body covered from head to toe by a velvet, royal blue cloth. Truly a brilliant hue of blue, my mind fixated on it for a second as my heart rejected what the mind already knew: my neighbor had passed away. 
 
The full realization of this was confirmed by the presence of a police car nearby, with an officer inside taking notes, finally making it into my line of sight. Truthfully, the officer and the car were always in my line of sight but the mind sees what the mind wants to see until one is ready to really take traumatizing situations in completely. 
 
I heard high school kids nearby discussing that “the old lady” had a heart attack. 
I immediately said a prayer for her. 
 
Today is Friday, and I still feel a bit of sadness every time I pass her house on the way to drop off and pick up my children from their bus stops. 
 
For years, I had stood directly across from her house in the early weekday mornings and afternoons with my then toddlers when their bus stop was located there. A new mom, with children with special needs, and no other family (beyond my husband of course) or friends in the area, I always felt awkward standing on that corner. If you know anything about children with special needs, you know that (for many of them) you need to be able to control their environment as much as possible. Standing on the corner, or even making it to the corner, with loud noises and cars zooming by, is far from a controlled environment. 
 
Though I never knew my elderly neighbor’s name, she made it easier for me to stand on that corner because she always had a kind word, a warm smile, or a hearty wave depending on what she was doing outside, in her front yard, on any given day when I was also out there. 
 
If someone asked me what I knew about her, I would say that she knew how to make people feel welcome–based on how she treated me. I would say that she loved Christianity–based on the big cross on her front door. I would say that even though she seemed to be about 80, she was far from sedentary given how she was always out manicuring her lawn, bending, kneeling, and raking, and the like. And I would declare that she was dainty, always nicely made up with her hair piled on top of her head. In fact, she reminded me of the character Lila Quartermaine from General Hospital. 
These are some of the things I observed about her over the years. 
 
Today I found her obituary online and learned that she was a flag twirler in high school.  Perhaps that is where the daintiness first made its debut. I also learned that she was a former school bus driver.  Perhaps she knew just how awkward I felt standing on that corner after all. She had also been a property manager at numerous locations until about 2003. That pretty much explains why she refused to let her own property go to the dogs, even at her advanced age! The obituary also named the church she attended and donations were requested to go to the Christian school run by her church, in lieu of flowers. So indeed, she loved her faith and backed it up with good works. 
 
Doesn’t that make you wonder how much what people observe about you will match up with the reality of your history once you are gone? 
 
The most important thing I learned from my neighbor’s obituary was that she will be surrounded by loving family at her funeral. 
 
I think I can stop being so sad passing her house every day because, to tell you the truth, that is what has really been bothering me ever since seeing that stretcher with her body covered by a royal blue cloth. I was worried that maybe no one in her family knew she was gone. 
 
In my moments of worry, I wished that we had gone a bit further as neighbors and gotten to know each other a bit better. Then I could have at least contacted her family to be sure they knew. I am so relieved and happy to know she is loved. 
 
The Bible says, “You shall love your neighbor as yourself. There is no other commandment greater than these.” 
 
Well, my neighbor definitely lived up to this commandment, at least in how she treated me with a kind smile on many a day. 
 
In Islam, a kind smile is considered a form of charity. And her charity is a gift to me that continues to give. 
 
I pray she rests in peace. 
 
Muslim History Detective’s log, 05/3/13 
http://www.patheos.com/blogs/preciousmuhammad/2013/05/a-reflection-love-thy-neighbor/ </div>

A Reflection: Love Thy Neighbor

“History is all around us,” I once wrote, “and we are all historians.” “The creative ways we choose to preserve history can be used as...

Sunday, February 14, 2016