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The News -
Africa
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Below is a response on Voting from Mufti Ebrahim Desai
In the name of Allah, Most Gracious, Most Merciful
Assalaamu `alaykum waRahmatullahi Wabarakatoh
Voting is an integral part in a democratic dispensation and it determines who will be elected and who will be in power. As Muslims,
if we desist from voting, we will have no option but to be under the
rules of people elected in power. We are living in a non-Muslim country
and we will have to abide by their existing system.
As opposed to that, we could be part of the system to minimize harm
on our selves and vote for such members that will advance our views and
help the course of Islam. We should use the voting system to our
advantage to the best of our ability. Voting does not mean that we
accept and promote all the evils of the country. If we go by that
rationale, then our living in a non-Muslim country will also mean to
support the evils of the country as we pay taxes to the Government
which in turn uses the money to promote its values. By that rational,
we should not be living in a non-Muslim country. In fact, if we oppose
the evils of the Government, use the system available to us to combat
the evils and prepare suitable candidates for positions and campaign to
have them elected.
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Education -
Sahaba
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Before the martyrdom of Uthman (RA.), he spoke to Abu Thaur al-Fahmi (RA.) thus:
I entertain great hopes in my Lord with Whom I have placed ten things as trust:
- I am the fourth person to accept Islam.
- The HOly Prophet (SAW) gave his daughter in marriage to me.
- On her death, he gave me his second daughter in marriage.
- I have never sung a song.
- I have never even thought of wickedness.
- Ever since I took the oath of allegiance to the Holy Prophet (SAW) with
my right hand, I have never touched the genitals therewith.
- Ever since I became a Muslim, I have set free a slave on every Friday.
- I have never committed adultery during the Days of Ignorance or after embracing Islam.
- I have never stolen anything during the Dyas of Ignorance or after embracing Islam.
- I committed the Holy Quran to memory during the life time of the Holy Prophet (SAW).
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Education -
Virtues
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1 Study in Short, Frequent Sessions.
It has been proven that short bursts of concentration repeated
frequently are much more effective than one long session. So, even if
you only have 10 minutes, DO IT. Take a break. Then study another 10
minutes. This “distributed learning” approach is highly efficient
because it honors the way the brain likes to work. The brain needs
recovery and recharging time for “protein synthesis.” The rest periods
are when your brain assimilates your effort. They are a powerful tool
which many teachers do not acknowledge. To sit and study for hours and
hours is not only boring, it creates fatigue, stress, and distraction.
You cannot learn if you are fatigued, stressed, and distracted!
2 Take Guilt-Free Days of Rest.
This follows the same principle as above, but on a longer, daily time
cycle. The reason for resting is to refresh oneself. However, if you
feel guilty (“I really should be studying”) then your precious rest
period has been used to create more stress. The brain will not absorb
new data if it is stressed. On days off from studying, really enjoy
yourself and do not feel bad about not studying.
3 Honor Your Emotional State.
Do not study if you are tired, angry, distracted, or in a hurry. When
the brain is relaxed, it is like a sponge and it naturally absorbs data
without effort. If you are emotionally stressed, your brain literally
repels data. Forcing yourself to sit and study when your mind is on
other things is a complete waste of time!
4 Review the Same Day.
When you learn something new, try to go over the points the same day.
If you wait a few days and then make efforts to review the material, it
will seem much less familiar. However, a quick review later in the day
will tend to cement the information into your brain so that the next
“official” study session, you will recognize it and it will seem easy.
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The News -
Americas
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After reading all of the responses to my previous post I have this to
say: Brothers and sisters before we carry this discussion any further
we must agree on these three points:
1. The American leaders of today are playing the exact role of
Pharaoh and Abu Jahl of yesterday and the American people of today are
playing the role that the Quraish, Aad and Thamud used to play
yesterday. Therefore the verses of Quran and Hadith of Rasulullah that
apply to Pharaoh and Abu Jahl apply to the US leaders and the ones that
apply to the Quraish, Aad and Thamud apply to the American people. The
US is in a state of war with Islam and Muslims and not just against the
so called extremists.
2. Democracy is a system of governance that is different than the
Islamic system of government and is opposed to it and is being spread
by the West in the Muslim world by force as an alternative to the
Islamic Sharia law.
3. It is a duty upon us Muslims to strive through Jihad to establish
the Islamic Khilafah again. This is not a far fetched idealistic
objective but is a tangible realistic one if we but put the effort into
achieving it. Therefore the Muslims in the West should see their stay
there as temporary and not permanent because it is not feasible to
establish such an Islamic state in the West and the Muslims should
strive to make hijra to Islamic lands even though they are not ruled by
Sharia in order to use their abilities and resources to bring back
Islamic rule in Muslim land.
If you do not agree with the above three points then we cannot reach an
agreement on the issue of voting because we are basing our views on two
completely different platforms.
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The News -
Americas
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The Muslim community in the US is busy
with the vote and are debating who the Muslims should pick as their
president. The argument presented is we are choosing between the lesser
of the two evils. In reality it is more about being American and part
of the system than it is about benefiting the ummah because the fact of
the matter is there is no benefit in either candidate whatsoever.
Democracy in an un-Islamic system and we as Muslims should have nothing
to do with it. Whether one looks at the root and history of democracy
or at the reality of democracy today one can realize that it is a
system that is not only different than the Islamic system but is
opposed to it. Can’t you see that the West in its war against Islam is
offering the democratic system as an alternative to Sharia? So if the
West, which is the founder of democracy, sees democracy as an opposing
system to Islam why are some Muslims still insisting on participating
in it and adopting it as their political religion?
Democracy is a Western system that was founded and developed in the
West and today the West, not the Muslims, have full authority and right
to tell the world what democracy is and how it should be practiced and
implemented. We have our own system of government and likewise it is
the Muslims who are going to define it and will not allow non Muslims
to meddle with our religion and teach us what is right from wrong.
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The News -
Europe
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 Switzerland Switzerland, and Geneva in particular, is often associated with emirs and other sheiks who enjoy sumptuous palaces, stroll along the harbor in the shade of the fountain and buy out the luxury shops. True, these visitors from the Gulf do exist, and they are well-known and highly appreciated by our businesses, however the bulk of the
Switzerland, and Geneva in particular, is often associated with emirs and other sheiks who enjoy sumptuous palaces, stroll along the harbor in the shade of the fountain and buy out the luxury shops. True, these visitors from the Gulf do exist, and they are well-known and highly appreciated by our businesses, however the bulk of the Muslim population has little to do with them.
The second largest religion in Switzerland
In 1990, the Muslim population was 152,200, or 2.2% of the
Switzerland’s resident population. A surprising development for those
who know that in the early seventies, there were less than 20,000
Muslims living in Switzerland. Islam is now the second largest religion
in Switzerland, after Christianity.
The Muslim community of Switzerland is comprised of several
nationalities, within which there are different cultures, languages and
ethno-cultural particularities. In 1990, the vast majority (4/5) of the
Muslim community was represented by Turk nationals (65,000 people or
42.8%) and nationals of the former Yugoslavia (55,000 people or 30.4%).
The Muslim community from North Africa (Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia)
represented 4% of the overall community, while the Lebanese community
represented 3.3%.
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Education -
Short Stories
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She smiled at a sorrowful stranger.
The smile seemed to make him feel better.
He remembered past kindness of a friend
And wrote him a thank you letter.
The friend was so pleased with the thank you
That he left a large tip after lunch.
The waiter, surprised by the size of the tip,
Gave part to a man on the street.
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Education -
Virtues
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 An old speech but still important lessons to be learned about
starting mosques in all of our communities, and not only building it,
but maintaining them both physically & spiritually.
In the Name of Allah, Most Gracious, Most Merciful.
(Friday speech delivered by Imam Mohamed Baianonie at the Islamic Center of Raleigh, NC on September 11, 1998)
All the praises and thanks be to Allah (S.W.T.) for his blessings
that He helped us in this community to start the expansion project of
this center. This expansion would add more than 13,300 square feet to
the existing building.
This week, as we can see, preparations are under way to start
building on the land adjacent to the center. The new land is about 2.4
acres, which was purchased about 2 years ago. It was paid off
completely from the donations of local Muslims living in this area. We
ask Allah (S.W.T.) to reward them generously.
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