Saiful Islam
Messenger of Allah
was a balanced human being, who had all the perfect qualities a man could ever possess. He took each positive quality and exemplified them to its epitome. Be it a husband or neighbour, a general of an army or a businessman, our master Muhammadwas exemplary in each of his duties and roles and was an all-round master.
One of his qualities was that of compassion. The Messenger ofhad immense compassion and mercy for not only man, but for all creation.
CoolnessofHind
I came across an item over the BBC news website purporting as fact that “arabic is hard for the brain”. The item then had little Muslim girls shown in an image. The overall impression I got of the “research” was of extreme bias, especially in the face of millions of children around the globe fluently reading Arabic in the best of books that is the Qur’an. For me this latter point was sufficient to annihilate the so-called findings by Israeli “Professors”. I would have written on this topic until I was forwarded the following enlightening piece, which refutes and exposes the blinding fallacies in the BBC report and the study therein in a comprehensive and academic manner.
Saiful Islam
It has been the Month of Ramadhan and contributions to the blog have been minimal. For this I must apologise. Nevertheless, I hope the following inspirational words make up for the hiatus…
I pray to Allah Almighty that he makes this Month a spiritually beneficial Month for all Muslims. Ameen.
By Saiful Islam
It has come to that time of the year which will (Insha’Allah) rejuvenate our souls for the coming year. A month-intensive recharge of the Iman which has been depleted over the year due to distractions and lapses in practising our Deen.
It is important that we prepare well for Ramadhan so that we may derive maximum benefit from it, and not be the losers who merely empty their bellies and gain only starvation from it.
Below is an audio lecture of the erudite scholar Shaykh (Dr.) Riyad Nadwi who brings unique perspectives and dimensions on a topic most important to us all.
Also viewable at Halal Tube.
By CoolnessofHind
I wrote on the topic of the unique Muslim in the West previously on the ISSM blog. Since then I came across a very insightful interview with a thinker and scholar on a topic most pertinent to the Muslims living the West. I pray it is of benefit to the readers. Ameen
Source: www.ilmgate.org
[Mawlana Khalilul Rahman Sajjad Nu’mani Nadwi is from Lucknow, India and is a prolific scholar and thinker of Islam. He is the son of the distinguished Muslim scholar Mawlana Muhammad Manzur Nu’mani. He studied at the famous educational establishments of Dar al-'Ulum Nadwat al-‘Ulama’ and Madinah University. He is a renowned mufassir of the Qur'an and travels widely for the purpose of da‘wah. Recently, he was invited to South Africa to visit the leading Islamic and educational establishments. Sulaiman Kazi from Batley, West Yorkshire joined him for a week and interviewed him in Cape Town on 20th October 2002. Below is a transcript of his advice for Muslims living in the West.]
Question: What advice would you give to Muslims in the West following the events of September 11, 2001?
CoolnessofHind
Questions are roused predominantly in an environment of fear, exploited by the mass media, and government officials including departments such as the Home Office. These will inevitably become more and more forceful as the intellectual and political education of Muslims becomes more widespread.
After writing on the topic of government funded organisations a few times, the articles have attracted the attention of a writer over at Campusalam – May Allah
raise his rank in this Dunya and Akhira and manifest our errors to us all so that we may rectify ourselves and seek forgiveness from Allah Almighty. Ameen. This article hence, is a response to him.
To accept extremism as an a priori term to describe thought-processes not in tune with the dominant culture or politics in the West with specific applicability to Muslims, is at the least false and unacceptable. For Muslims to adopt the terminology, nay, base entire organisations on the architected and doctored notion of extremism and “countering-extremism” is criminal. When one looks at the academic veracity of claims of extremism in a given community, the evidence and methodology of “studies” and “think-tank” reports (if there are any) are found to be considerably wanting in terms of their scientific rigour. I remember when I was at university, the media went into a frenzy over potentially “thousands” of Muslim extremists on campus. I had an interesting conversation with the then shadow education minister. The first question he asked was “why was there extremism on campus”. I returned the question back to him thus, “who says there is extremism on campus?”. He referred my attention to the now infamous and defunct Glees Report which was based upon anecdotal evidence – evidence drawn from questionable sources in the first instance and from which the grand claim of potentially hundreds and thousands of students on campus being extremists was drawn. After demolishing his “evidence” which predetermined his question, he subsequently did not make any further eye-contact.
By Saiful Islam
Islam has the unique attribute of preserving the sayings of the Prophet in an ultra-refined science. The Hadith act as the secondary source of guidance for Muslims and are an instrinsic part of our Islamic understanding (Fiqh). Without Hadith, the intrinsic preservation and development of principles (Usuls) to protect the Hadith, Islam would have failed to flourish as it has done over the past 1400 years and instead would have headed into infinte and dark abyss of reformations and “enlightenments” developed by the flawed cognitions of mankind.
To truly grasp the extremely high levels of rigourousness in preserving Hadith, one would have to spend several years traditionally sitting at the feet of the scholars and studying day and night the mountainous science of Hadith.
However for a taster the quote below about incident with the great Muhaddith, the scholar, and the author of the most authentic Hadith collection, Imam Muhammad bin Ismaeel al-Bukhari. A man who developed a yearning to learn Hadith went to the great Imam al-Bukhari (May Allah have mercy on him) and explained to him his intentions. Imam al-Bukhari thus advised:
“Son, before you set out to pursue any field, make sure you are well-grounded with its prerequisites and demands. And remember that a person cannot become a perfect scholar in the science of Hadith [muhaddith] until and unless he writes four things with four other things, which are indispensable as four things, which resemble four other things. (He must write these things) in four times, with four conditions, in four places, upon four things, from four types of people, and for four objectives. All of these four-angled things can only be achieved with four things coupled with another four things. Once all of these things have been achieved, four things will become insignificant for him and he will be tried with four other things. If he exercises patience in these four trials, Allah
By Saiful Islam
The Greatness of Allah Almighty cannot be explained in words. When sinful people like us repeatedly disobey Him, commit the worst sins imaginable, where man would never forgive, Allah Almighty is most forgiving – provided we sincerely repent. To demonstrate this the Prophetnarrated the following beautiful Hadith:
“When a servant commits a sin and then says “O my Lord, I have committed a sin, so forgive it, then his Lord says to him: ‘My servant knows that he has got a Lord who forgives and takes to task. I have forgiven My servant’. Then, after as much time as Allah had willed, elapsed, he commits another sin. He then says: ‘My Lord I have sinned, forgive me.’ His Lord says: ‘my servant knows that he has a Lord who forgives sins and who takes to task for them. I have forgiven My servant’. Then he commits another sin. He say: “My Lord, I have committed another sin, forgive it’. He then says: ‘My servant knows that he has a Lord Who forgives sins and Who takes to task. I have forgiven My servant. Let him do whatever he wants’.”
(Bukhari and Muslim)
My Allah Almighty forgive us.
By Saiful Islam
I was at recent fund raising event where there were numerous stalls and “nasheed artists” on display to entice the hoards of Muslims into teasing the dunya from their pockets. A noble cause. No doubt about that. However let me describe to you my brief encounter with this noble-intentioned event before I made my quick exit:
There was free-mixing on a mass scale. Music and I mean the type of music which is virtually indistinguishable from the Western songs was loudly being played. Brothers and sisters were doing acts which completely baffled me: the guys were dancing like idiots around the sisters while the sisters were giggling like 2 year olds. I saw sisters with clown-like makeup on, a scarf wrapped their head and tight jeans walking around with buckets. Other sisters were wearing jilbabs with see-through arms. The entire setting was an orgy of mass disobedience to the commands of Allah and His Messengerand eye-candy for those who are stirred on by their desires. I didn’t even bother heading to the nasheed area where singers and performers were engaged in various poses in front of a mix gender audience.
Saiful Islam
It’s snowing. It’s cold and there is frenetic activity in preparation for it. Personally I love it. Always have. But I know someone who would have loved it even more than I could ever do and for nobler reasons…
Khalid bin al Waleed (radhialla’anhu). The name is sufficient. He needs no introduction. The man was a military genius, a warrior like none who preceded or succeeded him. He was given the title of the Sword of Allah by the Prophet and SubhanAllah! What a Sword he was! How truthful were the words of Abu Bakr (radhialla’anhu) when he said that no woman shall give birth to the likes of Khalid bin Waleed (radhialla’anhu) – the man is unmatched in military history.
He said:
“That I were to marry a beautiful woman whom I love, or that I were given the good news of having a newborn son, it is less beloved and dear to my heart then to be in a cold icy night, in an army waiting to meet the enemy the next morning. “
(Imam Abdullah bin Mubarak, Kitab al-Jihad)
Only someone as charismatic, Allah-fearing and abstinent as Khalid could come out with a statement like that. May Allah be pleased with him.
