NEWS OUTRAGE!

Islamic mosque built at 9/11 Ground Zero

Muslim business leader: ‘This has hand of the divine written over it’

Posted: December 17, 2009
8:10 pm Eastern

By Chelsea Schilling
© 2009 WorldNetDaily

Wreckage from plane that hit the twin towers fell on the same building that may serve as an Islamic cultural center.

 

A new Islamic mosque will open its doors just steps from Ground Zero where Muslim terrorists murdered 2,751 people in the name of Allah on Sept. 11, 2001 – and its leading imam, who conducts sensitivity training sessions for the FBI, has reportedly blamed Christians for starting mass attacks on civilians.

The five-story building at Park Place, just two blocks north of the former World Trade Center site, was the site of a Burlington Coat Factory. But a plane’s landing-gear assembly crashed through the roof on the day 19 Muslim terrorists hijacked the airliners and flew them into the Twin Towers in 2001.

Now Muslim worshippers currently occupy the building, and they plan to turn it into a major Islamic cultural center.

“The men and women stand up, raise their hands on either side of their head, murmur ‘Allahu akhbar,’ bow and kneel again,” reports Spiegel Online.

“Only in New York City is this possible,” Daisy Khan, executive director of the American Society for Muslim Advancement, or ASMA, told the magazine. Khan is the wife of Imam Feisal Abdul Rauf, founder of ASMA.

They have leased the new prayer space as an overflow building for another mosque, Masjid al-Farah, at 245 West Broadway in TriBeCa, where Rauf is the spiritual leader.

The building – vacant since that fateful day when time stood still as millions of Americans grieved the loss of loved ones, friends, family members, co-workers and strangers – was purchased in July by real-estate company Soho Properties, a business run by Muslims. Rauf was an investor in that transaction.

Just down the street, the Museum of Jewish Heritage honors victims of the Holocaust, and St. Peter’s Church, New York’s oldest Catholic house of worship, is located around the corner.

Rauf has announced his plans to turn the building into a complete Islamic cultural center, with a mosque, a museum, “merchandising options,” and room for seminars to reconcile religions, “to counteract the backlash against Muslims in general, ” Speigel reports. The project may cost as much as $150 million.

Rauf told the New York Times purchasing the building “where a piece of the wreckage fell sends the opposite statement to what happened on 9/11.”

“It was almost obvious that something like this had to arise from the ashes of 9/11,” Khan told Spiegel. “In some way, this has the hand of the divine written over it. It’s almost as if God wanted to be involved.” 

(Story continues below)

Feisal Abdul Rauf

 

The move is supported by the city. The mayor’s director of the Office of Immigrant Affairs, Fatima Shama, told the Times, “We as New York Muslims have as much of a commitment to rebuilding New York as anybody.”

The city’s Department of Buildings records show the building has been the focus of complaints for illegal construction and blocked exits in the last year. Recent entries from Sept. 28 and 29, 2009, indicate inspectors have been unable to access the building. One complaint states, “Inspector unable to gain access – 1st attempt – No access to 5 sty building. Front locked. No responsible party present.” The second, just a day later, states, “Inspector unable to gain access – 2nd attempt – no access to building. No activity or responsible party. Building remains inaccessible at Park Place.”

Agency spokeswoman Carly Sullivan told the Times the complaints were listed as “resolved” under city procedures since the inspectors were unable to gain access.

Imam Rauf, born in Egypt, has written three books: “What’s Right with Islam: A New Vision for Muslims and the West,” “Islam: A Sacred Law” and “Islam: A Search for Meaning.”

WND reported in 2003 when, at least four times that year, the FBI’s New York field office held all-day sensitivity training sessions, not far from Ground Zero, featuring Rauf.

Speaking for about two hours each session, “he gave an overview of Islamic culture and some of the differences between what fundamentalist terrorist groups say are the teachings of the Quran and what he believes, as a student of religion, the Quran actually says,” said special agent James Margolin, spokesman for the FBI New York office.

Rauf asserted that the Quran “certainly doesn’t counsel terrorism, murder or mayhem,” Margolin said. And he said terrorists have misinterpreted the Quranic term “jihad” to mean violent, or armed, struggle against nonbelievers. Rauf claims it means internal struggle.

Rauf was invited to speak in Sydney, Australia, by Premier Bob Carr in 2004. According to the Sydney Morning Herald, he said the U.S. and the West must acknowledge the harm they’ve done to Muslims before terrorism can end.

He said the West must understand the terrorists’ point of view – and he blamed Christians for starting mass attacks on civilians.

“The Islamic method of waging war is not to kill innocent civilians. But it was Christians in World War II who bombed civilians in Dresden and Hiroshima, neither of which were military targets,” he said.

Imam Feisal Abdul Rauf (center) poses in a photo with attendees at a 2006 Muslim Leaders of Tomorrow conference in Copenhagen, Denmark. On the far left is Sultan Muhammad, communications coordinator for the Council on American-Islamic Relations in Chicago. (photo: CAIR Chicago)

 

According to the report, Rauf said there would be little progress until the U.S. acknowledged backing dictators and the U.S. president gave an “America Culpa” speech to the Muslim world.

On June 4, 2009, President Obama gave a speech to the Muslim world from Cairo, in which he stated:

I have come here to seek a new beginning between the United States and Muslims around the world; one based upon mutual interest and mutual respect; and one based upon the truth that America and Islam are not exclusive, and need not be in competition. Instead, they overlap, and share common principles – principles of justice and progress; tolerance and the dignity of all human beings. … So I have known Islam on three continents before coming to the region where it was first revealed. That experience guides my conviction that partnership between America and Islam must be based on what Islam is, not what it isn’t. And I consider it part of my responsibility as president of the United States to fight against negative stereotypes of Islam wherever they appear.

Rauf praised Obama for “embracing Islam in the peacemaking process” in his speech to the Muslim world. He wrote in the Washington Post:

The historic significance of President Obama’s speech to the Muslim world in Cairo cannot be overstated. Never before has an American president spoken to the global Muslim community. His speech marked a major shift in American foreign policy. … In just a few sentences he demolished the phony theory of the ‘Clash of Civilizations,’ which insists that Islam and the West must always be in conflict. Instead, he declared the United States is not at war with Islam and outlined a plan for how the conflict can be resolved. … He captured the attention of Muslims because, unlike most politicians, he was willing to critique both his own country and Muslims where they fell short of their ideals.

In an interview with Beliefnet on Islam and America, a reporter asked Rauf, “Some Islamic charities are being investigated for terrorist ties. Have you seen what you consider to be reputable Islamic charities being financially damaged?”

“We believe that a certain portion of every charity has been legitimate,” he responded. “To say that you have connections with terrorism is a very gray area. It’s like the accusation that Saddam Hussein had links to Osama bin Laden. Well, America had links to Osama bin Laden – does that mean that America is a terrorist country or has ties to terrorism?”

In 2004, Rauf participated in a 30-second advertisement, broadcast on Arabic television, in which he apologized for alleged abuses at Abu Ghraib prison.

The Times reported Rauf said he believes “Islamic terrorists do not come from another moral universe – that they arise from oppressive societies that he feels Washington had a hand in creating.”

Readers of various blogs are outraged at the news of the mosque. Comments include the following:

• Muslims are doing this only to see if they get away with it. It’s the way Islam spreads in every country these days, like a cancer – through incremental totalitarianism. In this case, they’ll quietly open the mosque, then, as they get away with it, they’ll ramp up their outrages until someone finally points it out. At that time, their lawyers, backed by the ACLU and various liberal organizations, will pounce.

• This is not different than allowing the Nazis to establish their headquarters and propaganda office in NYC in 1938. How come people could tell right from wrong then and not now?

• What bonehead allowed this to happen?

• That’s disgusting. That truly is low. I feel bad for the people who lost family members.

• This is outrageous. I just don’t have word. 

• This is called “staging” for the KSM trial.

• You’ve got to be kidding me. If this is true, our beloved country is already gone. We no longer have the America I know and love.

• Who wants to bet this place becomes a “tourist attraction” for Muslims? This mosque will become one of Islam’s holiest shrines as it sits upon the site of their greatest modern military victory.

• Good idea. Maybe terrorists will be less likely to bomb this area if there’s a mosque there.

 

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“And whatever you may give out of usury so that it might increase the people’s possessions will bring no increase in the sight of God, whereas all that you give out in purification, seeking God’s countenance, for it is they, those shall have their recompense multiplied.” (Q30:39)

It is incredible that more than 14 centuries have passed since the revelation of the Quran, that every successive Muslim generation is faced with the challenge of giving new dimensions and a fresh economic meaning to this term, for want of a better word, may be rendered as usury. The uncertainty of this subject is evidenced by the voluminous juridical literature on this subject, and until today the Islamic scholars have not yet been able to reach an absolute agreement on the definition of riba, a definition, that is, which would cover all conceivable legal situations and positively respond to all the exigencies of a variable economic environment. This subject remains ambiguous and very much a guesswork, more so as the people with vested interest in the financial system will obscure the truth for their own gains. The Quranic condemnation of the concept and practice of riba is unequivocal and absolutely final, yet people today, especially the Muslims are content in their ignorance and indifference, which, in all probability, are leading their lives in and around a system, which is abhorred by God.

In the new millennium, and perhaps the last for humans on Earth, the biggest perpetrator of  the Divine Order is none other than the billionaire Shaikhs of Dubai. The grandiose rapid development of this tiny desert state in the Arabian peninsular revealed that greed and money easily turn desert Bedouins into Wall Street-like gangsters and murderers. Dubai is probably the only country that I know, that criminalized loan defaulters and sends one to prison if one is unable to repay a loan.

The Arabs are supposedly devout Muslims, pray five times a day, fast 30 days in a year, do not consume alcoholic drinks and the meat of swine, and supposedly lead their lives in accordance to their holy book – the Quran.

I suppose money is too hard to resist even for pious desert wanderers who are willing to trade off poverty for a glittering life of luxury, even if it means with lies and deceit, as long as the end justifies the means.

The Quran contains clear lines and guidance on debts and loans:

“If the debtor is unable to pay, then wait for a better time. If you give up the debt as a charity, it would be better for you, if you but knew.” (Q2: 280)

The law in Dubai if you get into debt and you can’t pay, you go to prison >>. As far as the Sheikhs are concerned nobody gets away with their money, God or no God. As a result of this oppressive law, many investors and borrowers who are caught in the current financial crisis in Dubai are either in jail, or working like slaves with their passports confiscated, and are living in their cars parked in car parks.

The dark side of Dubai

Dubai was meant to be a Middle-Eastern Shangri-La, a glittering monument to Arab enterprise and western capitalism. But as hard times arrive in the city state that rose from the desert sands, an uglier story is emerging. Johann Hari reports. Read the full article >>

“O you who believe, beware of God, and refrain from all outstanding gains from usury, if you are truly believers. If you do not, then know that you are at WAR with God and His messenger…” (Q2:278-279)

“O you who believe, you shall not eat from usury compounded manyfolds and observe God, that you may succeed.” (Q3:130)

“Muhammad is no more than a messenger like the messengers before him. Should he die or get killed, would you then turn back on your heels? Whoever turns back on his heels never hurts God, while those who are appreciative will be rewarded.” (Q3:144)

“No; but they have cried lies to that whereof they comprehend not the knowledge, and whose interpretation has not yet come to them. Even so those that were before them cried lies; then behold how was the end of the evildoers!” (Q10:39)

Islamic law is becoming more popular in Indonesia now because of increased corruption in the country.

For the past three years, the Aceh Research Training Institute (ARTI), has trained young scholars from academia, government, and the non-profit sector in social science research methods. After two selective short courses, ARTI awards small 6-month research grants to the most promising proposals. I have had the great pleasure of mentoring four women in the program. As ARTI concludes its program (for now), the Australian director of the program together with the Director of Gadjah Mada University’s (UGM) Graduate School (Sekolah Pascasarjana) decided to showcase this year’s ARTI researchers together with some UGM students at a day-long seminar at UGM’s grad school campus in Yogyakarta. The seminar preceded UGM’s first ever graduate student conference, and some of the ARTI researchers presented there as well. Altogether, it was three full days of Indonesian academic discourse for young and emerging scholars in the social sciences, with maximum attendance and plenty of interesting research content. ARTI supported eight researchers from Aceh to come to Yogya and take part in these events. Their research covered a range of topics such as:

• Participation of Women Candidates in Provincial and District Level Legislative Elections in Aceh
• The 2009 Legislative Elections in Post-Conflict Aceh
• Child Abuse During and After the Conflict at an Orphanage in Aceh Utara District
• Perceptions of Exclusive Breast Feeding Among First-time Mothers in a Suburban Village on the Outskirts of Lhokseumawe, Aceh
• College Students in Banda Aceh and Their Efforts to Quit Smoking
• The Politics Behind the Khalwat Legislation in Aceh
• New Urban Sufism Practices and Institutions in Banda Aceh

Their presentations were great, as good if not better than the other researchers from Yogya and other parts of Indonesia. I advised three of the presenters and felt especially proud of their performance and the way they handled both positive feedback and constructive criticism during the Q&A.

The questions from the audience unwittingly revealed, one after another, the peculiar stereotypes and misperceptions that non-Acehnese Indonesians still hold about Acehnese society five years after the tsunami, and more than four years after the peace agreement that ended 30 years of separatist conflict against the Indonesian state. Here are three examples:

1. Two presentations on the same panel covered aspects of GAM’s transformation from armed insurgency into a political machine that, following recent elections, now dominates the provincial government and many district governments. This prompted a woman in the audience to share her concern and ask whether GAM has a hidden agenda to resume their struggle for independence though internationalization. Indeed, the Acehnese diaspora did a terrific job of lobbying the international community, promoting GAM’s struggle, during the conflict. Furthermore, it was no small victory for GAM to hold the peace talks in Helsinki instead of in Indonesia. She worried that GAM still employs this strategy and her evidence was the provincial government’s international scholarship program for dozens (if not hundreds) of Acehnese to pursue graduate studies abroad. Never mind that the scholarship program began before Partai Aceh (GAM’s local political party) was even established let alone won any elections. Never mind that the program is a smart investment in Aceh’s future now that the provincial government finally enjoys access to revenue from its natural resources (thanks to the peace agreement). Never mind that such investments are necessary after the conflict kept Acehnese society closed to the world of ideas for at least a generation. And never mind that investing in education is all the more urgent after the tsunami killed thousands upon thousands of Aceh’s most productive and skilled citizens in Banda Aceh and other urban centers along the coast. Her question about the scholarship program had nothing to do with the elections, the main subject of the presentations. Concerned Indonesian nationalists do wonder if Partai Aceh will pursue independence for Aceh through the political process now that they run the provincial government, but that’s not what she asked. She thinks GAM is sending out Acehnese missionaries to schools around the world to promote Aceh’s independence and she told us this after two talks about the elections. What.
2. After a fascinating and deeply concerning presentation about the stack of problems that first-time mothers face in exclusively breastfeeding their babies during the first six months after childbirth, a woman asked whether Arab influence (arabisasi) is responsible for the decrease in breastfeeding mothers. The presenter already covered the far more proximate and convincing roles played by midwives, nurses, families, Acehnese beliefs about women and childbirth, postpartum diet, the baby milk formula and advertising industries, and basic health education. This woman felt that the Arabisation of Aceh should be added to the list, because, well, she once heard that Arab culture is not supportive of women and childbirth. Ya Allahhh (read: OMG)… OK, to be fair, the Arabisation of Indonesian society at large has been a subject of contentious public debate for at least the past ten years. And Aceh, after all, is known as “Mecca’s Verandah” (Serambi Mekkah), and was Islam’s point of entry into the Malay archipelago so many centuries ago. More recently, the formal implementation of Islamic law in Aceh this decade is held up as one of Indonesia’s most troubling examples of Arabisation. The woman who asked the question is tapping into the widely accepted notion that Aceh is full of Islamic fanatics and therefore must be prone to Arab influence, paving the way for the rest of Indonesia to follow suit. Arabisasi in Indonesia is a debatable phenomenon to begin with, a catch-all term to name the rapid changes in Islamic practice in Indonesia that feel inconsistent with local practice, even more so in Java than in Sumatra. But even if we accept Arabisation at face value, I wonder if she would ask the same question if the case study on breastfeeding was conducted in a suburban village on the outskirts of Yogya instead of Lhokseumawe? Let’s be clear: Indonesians think Acehnese are fanatics because Snouck Hurgronje said they were, 100 years ago! Post-colonial Jakarta inherited and perfected Batavia’s convenient othering artifice that first justified Dutch and then Indonesian military oppression in Aceh. I could go on and on about this, but the point here is that young Acehnese mothers have so much more to worry about when trying to breastfeed their babies than the Arabs.
3. In Aceh, the word qanun means regional laws (peraturan daerah or perda in other provinces). There are a few qanun in Aceh that define a provincial-wide criminal code based on Islamic law. One of the presentations told the history of the khalwat qanun and the political and religious interests that surrounded it. I’m no expert in Islamic law, but the khalwat law forbids various sexual and other kinds of vice, and defines the corporal punishments for breaking the law which include caning with a rattan whip. After this presentation, a man asked the presenter whether or not “qanun” in Aceh (by which I think he meant various Islamic laws ratified and implemented in Aceh and not qanun in general) can survive when ganja farming and ganja use are such a huge problem in Aceh. Huh what? I guess he was implying that Acehnese society would never by pious enough to live by Islamic law if everyone in Aceh smokes ganja. To my knowledge, there are qanun based on Islamic law that deal with alcohol consumption, but I’m not sure if they cover ganja use. Anyway, setting aside ganja for the moment, many Acehnese still drink alcohol, gamble, cheat on their spouses, and enjoy pre-marital sex… and these are all clear breaches of Islamic law codified in qanun. This guy thinks that real world vice practices are actually a threat to qanun on the books. He even thinks that real world practices possibly not even covered in qanun will also threaten the qanun’s existence. Or maybe he just wanted to remind the presenter and everyone in the seminar room that Aceh has a well established, but illegal, ganja production and trade industry, and that reflects poorly on the people of Aceh and puts a stain on Indonesia’s reputation. Ganja has been a cooking ingredient in Aceh for generations, and the seeds are often crushed and used as a kind of “natural MSG” as well. I don’t believe this actually makes anyone high, but people like to joke that it does. Since the crop has always been a part of the local agriculture, it was exploited, especially as a source of black market revenue during the conflict, and developed into a lucrative industry, supplying the demand for ganja throughout Indonesia and possibly throughout Southeast Asia (I’m no expert on this either). These are real issues, but to call ganja a threat to the very survival of qanun based on Islamic law is quite imaginary.

To the credit of the presenters, none of them even bothered to answer these three questions. The questions were so fantastically disconnected from the content of each presentation that the presenters probably didn’t even know how to begin a much more fundamental and complicated conversation that breaks down the assumptions and stereotypes that non-Acehnese Indonesians still hold against Aceh. Like the questions themselves, such a conversation is off-topic from the research findings they came to discuss. At a graduate conference, full of graduate students (and their professors), at least three people in this educated group couldn’t let go of their bias and fear, and sadly allowed themselves to ask foolish questions.

On the flip-side, an Acehnese graduate student (not from our ARTI group, thank goodness!) from Nagan Raya district stood up and embarrassed himself as well. Following a presentation about women’s participation in local politics in Aceh Utara and Lhokseumawe delivered by a very smart and articulate woman from Malikusaleh University, this guy from Nagan Raya told her that she really should have checked the election results from Nagan Raya in 2004, when he was on the elections oversight board (panwaslu) there, because a lot of women won in his district. He embodied the worst in Aceh gender dynamics, challenging the presenter more rudely than he would have if the presenter was a man. Again, he was off-topic, as she had clearly demarcated her research to the 2009 elections in Aceh Utara and Lhokseumawe, completely on the opposite coast of Aceh from Nagan Raya. The panel moderator had told the audience very strictly and clearly that each person could ask only one question, but this dude wanted to ask four! A friend of mine who was sitting next to where he was standing reached over and turned off the microphone because everyone in the auditorium was protesting the number and length of his questions. Our Aceh delegation from ARTI was pretty embarrassed, because as the above examples illustrate, Acehnese have enough negative perceptions stacked against them. This Acehnese guy from Nagan Raya spoke publicly at UGM in a way that confirms and diminishes other Indonesians’ image of Aceh.

Since I started working in Aceh in 2005 I have become familiar with many of the assumptions and stereotypes that people in Jakarta and other parts of Indonesia (in Java and Bali especially, where the majority of Indonesians live anyway) hold against Aceh, but this conference demonstrated many of them in concentrated and instructive form. Their assumptions interfered and prevented them from carefully listening to the young scholars from ARTI and understanding local dynamics in Aceh as they were reflected in the ARTI scholars’ presentations. Beyond this seminar, the ways that powerful people in Jakarta and in Indonesia’s most distinguished halls of academia like UGM misperceive Aceh has more sinister consequences. My advisor has had the surreal experience of presenting findings at UGM from our research about levels of violence and psychological disabilities in conflict-affected communities in Aceh. The numbers are powerful and scary, and there is an implicit message about Java’s complicity in the violence that occurred there. Reactions from the audience vary, but a common response is a somber “we never knew.” Such ignorance may be largely attributed to an orchestrated disinformation and obfuscation campaign by the government, but such an effort is so much easier when you can rely on century-old discourses about Aceh that always and already make sure that you never wanted to know in the first place.

In just two days after world powers united in condemnation of Iran’s nuclear activities in a rare show of international consensus on the threat posed by Tehran’s continued nuclear defiance, Iran’s Government today announced plans to build ten new uranium enrichment plants and said work would start within two months.

Iran had been caught covering up the existence of one more uranium enrichment site recently, so this is a new strategy for them to pursue, as it is the first time they have announced their nuclear plans to the world.

Western powers say Iran is trying to develop nuclear arms. Iran says its nuclear programme is peaceful.

Each site will be the size of the existing Natanz plant with the aim of producing between 250-300 tonnes of uranium a year.

China and Russia joined the United States, Britain, France and Germany in backing an International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) resolution censuring Iran and ordering it to halt construction of a secret uranium enrichment plant near Qom.

China, which has shared Moscow’s reluctance to take a hard-line with Tehran, was reportedly persuaded to support the resolution after an emergency meeting with the US National Security Advisor in Beijing last week.

The answer from Tehran was to cut back on cooperation with the UN and any other world league,and prepare to arm itself against the world.

I wonder how long it will take Israel to answer this aggressive move by their hostile neighbor in their region, via the Monroe Doctrine,it is clear what the United States would do if Cuba suddenly ramped up with 12 Nuclear missile sites.

My question is…is it ever possible to win a nuclear war…and what do you think will happen next…

Follow more on this story by clicking on these trusted sources…

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/8385275.stm

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/middle_east/article6936798.ece

Suicide Bombing

Al-Nisa (The Women) Sura 4: Verse 29 (Partial)

“… And kill yourselves not, for God is truly Merciful to you.”

People who are driven to despair are thus reminded to have faith in God’s mercy in the hope that they may be relieved of their suffering. Since suicide is prohibited, anyone who tries to facilitate it, or acts as an accomplice, is also liable to a deterrent punishment that may be quantified by the court while taking into consideration the material circumstances of the case. Commentators have, moreover, drawn a five-point conclusion from this verse as follows:

1. the obvious meaning is that suicide is forbidden;

2. the text also stipulates that ‘you may not kill one another’ nor facilitate suicide;

3. one may not undertake a task which is likely to cause his own death, even if it be in lieu of a religious obligation;

4. no one should deprive himself of the necessities of life to the point of self-destruction; and

5. the text covers cases of self-destruction regardless of the manner in which it is done.

The manuals of Islamic law are silent on the issue of suicide bombing, a disturbing phenomenon of our time that became frequent in connection with Israeli-Palestinian conflict, especially when Israel unleashed a new wave of aggression on the street processions of unarmed Palestinian youth in 2000-1. The aftermath of 11 September 2001 and more recently the horrendous violence in Iraq and Afghanistan, added new dimensions to the incidence of suicide bombing among Muslims.

Suicide bombing in the name of Islam is a ’sociopolitical phenomenon, not a theological one’. And any long-term solution to the problem must also address the causes that have brought so much pain and hopelessness to many Muslim societies.

It would be simplistic to lump the Palestinian suicide bombing with Al-Qaedah terrorist activities. One can hardly deny the genuine suffering of the Palestinian people and legitimacy of their struggle against sustained Israeli brutalities. It would appear equally simplistic, however, to equate suicide bombing with martyrdom and jihad. This is because suicide bombing contravenes two fundamental principles of Islam: prohibition against suicide, and deliberate killing of non-combatants. The argument that proceeds over reciprocity and retaliation is also flawed by the involvement of innocent non-combatants in suicide bombing.

Those who have raised the issue of ‘collateral damage’ in this context have also exaggerated their case, simply because non-combatants are chosen as the direct target of suicide bombing. They are, as such, neither collateral nor incidental.

The Muslim fighter who is motivated by the spirit of jihad enters the battle, not with the intention of dying, but with the conviction that if he should die, it would be for reasons beyond his control. Martyrdom in Islam does not begin with suicidal intention, let alone the linkage of that intention with the killing of non-combatants.

To justify suicide bombing under the banner of retaliation, or as a form of jihad, is therefore questionable, simply because it begins on an erroneous note, which goes against the essence both of just retaliation and justified jihad.

Compiled From:

“Shariah Law – An Introduction” – Mohammad Hashim Kamali, pp. 283-288

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The Sunnah in Performing “Ablution”

1.  Mentioning the name of Allah-In the Name of Allah, the Most Beneficent, the Most Merciful [saying: bismillah ar-Rahman ar-Rahim]

2.  Washing the hands thrice.

3.  [Starting by] Rinsing the mouth and nose before washing the face.

4.  Rinsing the nose by one’s left hand. This is because it is mentioned in the hadith that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), “washed his hands thrice, then he rinsed his mouth and washed his nose with water by putting water in it and blowing it out, and he washed his face thrice…) [Narrated by Bukhari and Muslim].

5.  Exaggerating in rinsing one’s mouth and nose if not fasting by moving water around the mouth and snuffing water to the end of one’s nose. This is because of the hadith, “…and snuff with water well except when you are fasting”. [Sunan al-Tirmidhi, Abu Dawoud, ibn Maja and An-Nasa'i].

6.  Rinsing one’s mouth and nose with the same handful of water. This is because of the hadith, “He [the Prophet] put his hand [into the vessel containing water] rinsed his mouth and his nose”. [Bukhari and Muslim].

7.  Using tooth stick [Ar. Siwak] before rinsing one’s mouth. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him says, “Had I not thought it difficult for my Ummah, I would have commanded them to use the Siwak (tooth-stick) before every Prayer.”[Narrated by Ahmed and An-Nasa'i].

8.  Running one’s wet finger through the beard upon washing the face. It is mentioned in the hadith that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him used to run his wet finger through his beard while performing ablution. [Al-Thirmithi].

9.  Wiping over one’s head. This is performed as follows: passing one’s wet hands over the head from front to back and so forth. As for obligatory wiping over one’s head, it is to wipe over one’s head in any way. It is narrated that the Messenger of Allah used to pass his hands over his head [in ablution] from the front to the back. [Bukhari and Muslim].

10.     Running wet fingers between the fingers and toes. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said, “Perform your ablution perfectly and let water to run between the fingers [and toes]“.

11.     Washing the right [limb] before the left. It is narrated in the hadith that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him): “Used to start from the right side on wearing shoes, combing his hair, cleaning or washing himself and on doing anything else” [Bukhari and Muslim].

12.     Performing the actions thrice when washing the face, hands and foot.

13.     Saying the two testifications of faith [Ar.Shahadatan] after finishing ablution. Meaning, to says, “I testify that there is no god except Allah and that Muhammad is His Messenger”. It is narrated that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said, ” If anyone amongst you performs the ablution perfectly and then says: I testify that there is no god but Allah and that Muhammad is the servant of Allah and His Messenger, the eight gates of Paradise would be opened for him and he may enter by whichever of them he wishes”. [Muslim]

14.     Performing ablution in one’s house. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said, “Whoever purifies in his house and walks to the mosque to perform obligatory prayer, his steps are counted as one expiates a sin and the other raises his rank” [Muslim]

15.       Passing one’s hand over the limb while or after washing.

16.     Using little amount of water. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) used to use little amount of water in ablution. [Narrated by Bukhari and Muslim]

17.     Washing above the limits of the four limbs [hands and foot]. It is narrated that Abu Huraira (may Allah be pleased with him) performed ablution, he washed his arm up to the elbows and his feet up to the ankles and said: this is how the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) performed ablution”. [Muslim]

18.     Performing two rak’ahs [Eng. Units of prayer] after ablution. The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said, ” He who performs ablution like this of mine and then stood up (for prayer) and offered two rak’ahs of prayer without allowing his thoughts to be distracted, all his previous sins are expiated” [Narrated by Bukhari and Muslim]

In a report by Muslim through ‘Uqba ibn ‘Amir: “He will be rewarded by nothing except Paradise”.

19.     Perfecting one’s ablution: washing each part perfectly. Muslims vary in times of performing ablution during the day, and everyone has to observe these Sunan in every time he performs ablution.

   Virtue of observing the above Sunan:

The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said, “He who performed ablution perfectly, his sins would come out from his body, even coming out from under his nails.” [Muslim].

The    Primary   Divine   Objective  [Reason]   for

  the  Revelation  of  the  Qur‘aan

by  Sha‘hiid  Aa’ya’tul’laah  Baa’qir  Sadr  and  

Sha‘hiid Aa’ya’tul’laah  Mu’ham’mad  Baa’qir  al’Ha’kiim

Translator:  Maulana  munir  hassan  (Maulawi,  Aalim,  Faazil)

Khaliifah  Rashiid  of  Maulana  Saalih  Salaahuddiin

© copyright on translation 27 August 1999

That  we  serve  JUSTICE  (ADL)  fully  and faithfully

That  we  Never  leave  TRUTH  (HAQQ) destitute

Motto on Maulana Saalih Salaahuddiin’s emblem

! Nb. This lecture by Hazrat Shaahid’s was is a delivered in most difficult circumstances, he was harassed, repeatedly imprisoned, tortured, by the saddam regime, proxy of xxx. He spoke always surrounded by INFORMANTS of xxx. Hazrat Shaahid his sister and her daughter were executed by saddam husayn. With utmost humility i, munir hassan, entreat that as you read this translation  i,  Maulana  munir  hassan,  beg   please  listen  to his words.  

|| Page 45 ||  The  Primary  Divine  Objective [Reason]  for  the  Revelation  of the  Qur’aan  by  Sha’hiid  Aa’ya’tul’laah  Baa’qir  Sadr  and  Aa’ya’tul’laah Mu’ham’mad  Baa’qir  al’Ha’kiim

[translation of Chapter 4 of U'luu'mul Qur'aan by Sha'hiid Aa'ya'tul'laah Baa'qir Sadr and Sha'hiid Aa'ya'tul'laah Mu'ham'mad Baa'qir al'Ha'kiim, 3^rd edition, publishers Maj'ma'ul fik'ril is'laa'mi]

Important: Any reader is free to compare with the original to judge if i have been faithful to the martyred Aayatullaah’s work or not.   

Introduction: The importance of this Topic

Before we discuss the actual topic “The Primary Divine Objective [Reason] for the revelation of the Qur’aan” it is necessary that we deal with the importance of exploring this topic.

That is: Why are we talking about this topic?

We may refer briefly to the following points:

1. one’s understanding of the quraan is affected by a number of factors:

1.1 whether one looks at the quraan from an Islamic standpoint, that is from the point of view a Muslim      

1.2 whether one looks at the quraan as a Divine [Allaah's] revelation or solely the product of a human being

1.3 whether one knows the circumstances in which the quraan was revealed: text ßà context, milieu  

Your understanding of the quraan will depend on whether you know the Primary Divine Objective [Reason] for the Revelation of the Quraan.    

Your understanding of the Qur’aan is contingent upon your  Knowledge of the Primary Divine Objective. 

The Primary Divine Objective [Reason] for the Revelation of the Quraan has an impact the quraan’s meaning, its message.

The Primary Divine Objective is the Reason why Allaah Revealed the quraan – did He Reveal it as an entertaining story book, did He reveal it as a book full of magic tricks, did He Reveal it as a song book, did He Reveal it as book for only a few people…

The Primary Divine Objective [Reason] for the Revelation of the Quraan runs through the entire quraan. It, the Primary Divine Objective [Reason] for the Revelation of the Quraan, affects the way you understand and interpret the quraan.     

|| Page 46 ||   2. Knowledge of the Primary Divine Objective [Reason] for the Revelation of the Quraan will play a crucial role in 

explaining (tafsiir) the quraan,

interpreting the quraan,

making sense of a number of terms, concepts, ideas, ideational movements,  and the quraan’s characteristics,

implementing the qur’aan, especially in a time after the demise of Nabi Muhammad

Terms:

Concepts:

Idea:

Ideational movement:

Characteristics of the Qur’aan:  

————————————–

3. The Muslim community has looked upon the quraan with a sense of holiness and has devoted a great amount of time to its study. [The world of qur'aan scholarship.]  

Muslims have endeavored to keep alive this relationship with the quraan at various levels with varying degrees of quality during their history.

For example, this concern and interaction can solely be on the level of memorizing with understanding the text of the qur’aan,

or this concern and interaction can solely be on the level of understanding the contents of the qur’aan,

or this concern and interaction can solely be on the level of using the quraan as a distinguishing but ornamental feature of Muslim life – the quraan is read every morning and evening on radio and television broadcasts, on special occasions(weddings, birthdays, maulids, karbala commemorations, jalsas…)

The desired level of concern and interaction should be on the level of making a reality the true motive for Divinity’s having revealed the quraan. The qur’aan itself wants of us to bring to reality the reason why it was revealed.                             

[Important: the qur'aan is personified as a sentient, intelligent being in ha'diith]. This concern and interaction – bringing the qur’aan to reality – is one that will be authentic (correct) and fundamentally truthful to the qur’aan itself. 

|| page 48 || [ now (coming to the point) ]  It is probably best to search the qur’aan itself to identify the Primary Divine Objective [Reason] for the Revelation of the Qur’aan. This we may do by studying those verses| declarations of the qur’aan which explain and announce the revelation of the qur’aan.

When we make a comprehensive study of the qur’aan we find a large number of verses [statements| declarations] can shed light on the Reason behind the revelation of the qur’aan. However these statements and declarations of the qur’aan appear as if they are announcing different and separate reasons for the revelation of the qur’aan. We will point to examples of these declarations and the different possible interpretations to these verses, we will thereafter deduce – through a comparison of these verses – the Primary [Divine] Objective for the revelation of the quraan.

1. In several verses the qur’aan gives information with regard to identifying the Reason for the revelation of the qur’aan. These verses demonstrate that the qur’aan was revealed for the purpose of Warning and Reminding:

1.1

2. In other verses we are told that the qur’aan was revealed to present metaphors, similes, parables, proverbs (am’thaal), warnings (i’bar), lessons (du’ruus):

2.1

2.2

3. At other places in the qur’aan it appears as if the Reason for the Revelation of the qur’aan is to establish proofs and arguments and miracles (extraordinary)??? 

3.1

3.2

4. From some passages it appears that the qur’aan is a legal document and an explanation of legal rules:

4.1

4.2

5. Other passages of the qur’aan show that it is revealed for the purpose of final judgment over all matters, to solve disputes and to distinguish between truth and falsehood.

5.1

6. We also find from other statements and declarations of the qur’aan that the for the revelation of the qur’aan is to confirm the truthfulness of the previous cycles of prophecy, to continue those cycles, to correct their application where necessary and then to direct them from a position of authority. The qur’aan has a role that is corrective and one that perfects (completes) the previous cycles:

6.1

These Aims which we have mentioned (nos. 1 to 6) appear to be varied, however after careful study of the qur’aan as a whole we find that these aims fall under the Primary Divine Objective [the Reason] for the Revelation of the Quraan and they actually serve this Primary Divine Objective [Reason] for the Revelation of the Qur’aan.   

|| page 49 ||  After a comprehensive study of the qur’aan we note that the quraan seeks through its revelation the realization of one major aim (which has three dimensions 1 à 1.1, 1.2, 1.3). The other supportive aims (nos. 1 to 6) are complementary and serve to bring to reality this Great Aim.

The quraan itself points to the supportive role that these aims have in relation to the Primary Divine Objective, as we progress we will explore the supportive role that these aims (nos. 1 to 6) in relation to the Primary Divine Objective. 

This Primary Divine Objective is To Bring About a Fundamental, Radical, Organic, Social Change for the good of humanity at large. The quraan seeks to bring about this Primary Divine Objective by

v   explaining a methodology, a manner, a way, a modus operandi for achieving this Fundamental, Radical, Organic, Social Change for the good of humanity at large 

v   creating a revolutionary basis, a will to change which is a distinctive characteristic of this abovementioned methodology.

The Three Dimensions of the Primary Divine Objective for the Revelation of the qur’aan

* Grassroots change (fundamental social readjustment, reconstruction)

This dimension is spoken about in contemporary language as “revolution”, || 50 || the quraan expresses this dimension as the task of taking people out of layers of darkness towards light:

1.1 “…he takes them out of darkness* into light …” [*darkness - negative ways of life – smoking, drinking, stealing, rape, prostitution, living under oppression, blocked thinking]

This declaration is governed by the fundamental qur’aanic principle

1.1.1 “…verily Allaah does not change the condition of a people until they change their own condition [intra level within the individual and inter-relationally between people].” Important:  this is a fundamental quraanic law, learn it, ponder deeply over it, discuss ways to apply it and implement it, then think about your success at application … this is called Praxis.

1.1.2  ” that is because Allaah has never changed for the worse the blessing that He has granted a People until and unless they change for the worse their own condition by deviating from the correct path.“    

The qur’aan has referred to this dimension (grassroots change) in numerous verses which deal with the Primary Divine Objective for the Revelation of the Qur’aan.

“…verily a [brilliant] light and a Book that sheds light on your problems has come to you from Allaah. Allaah will surely guide whoever follows the path He is pleased with to the ways of peace and he [the Prophet] will remove them from the many layers of darkness* towards the Brilliant Light by His permission and he (the Prophet) then guides you to the Correct Way of Living.“

*(darkness upon darkness – apartheid -> racism, Bantu education, shabeens, poverty ßà prostitution ßà STD’s| STI’s, hungerßàcrime, unemployment ßàmeaninglessness…)

[Important: etymology of the word kaffir / caffir  – Latin ! for beast of burden, colonialists saw the native, indigenous people as animals, donkeys…to work for them, not of Arabic or Islamic origin]

See also declarations: 

In these declarations (singular – aayat –  plural – aayaat – signs to a better way of living) the qur’aan demonstrates that the great task of Grassroots Change (which the qur’aan refers to as taking people away from one pole to the other pole – darkness to light) is not just an aim to which the quraan strives but rather this great task is the Primary Divine Objective [Reason] behind  for the Revelation of the Qur’aan.   

|| 51 || Hence to guide to the Light is to bring about a fundamental change which links the human to Allaah.

“Allaah is the Light of the Skies and the Earth…He is light upon light. He guides to His light whoever wishes to be guided to His Light…“

The Idea of Opposites is fundamental to the qur’aan. Another pair of opposites in the qur’aan is the Allaah ßà Taaghuut [false gods(=false ideas) that stand between Allaah and humanity, that is they prevent people living according to the way shown to them by Allaah, the oppressive social system]. 

” Those who seek to establish peace [al'la'dhii'na aa'ma'nuu, the mu'mi'noon] fight in the path of Allaah and those who reject [al'la'dhii'na ka'fa'ruu, the  kaafiruun*] fight in the path of Taaghuut that is they defend and fight for the oppressive social system… “                                

* al‘la‘dhii‘na ka‘fa‘ruu, the  kaafiruun - those who wish to bury society, those who wish to keep society buried in layers of darkness

The quraan informs us that the task placed on the shoulders of all the Prophets was to guide people from Darkness to light, to free them from the oppressive systems of the Taaghuut and live according to the Correct Path, the path of perseverance (Siraat al Mustaqim):

[Important: Siraat al Mustaqim does not mean easy path]  

 ”We sent to all people a Messenger who said to them, “Follow (worship) Allaah  (the way of Allaah) and shun and keep away from the Taag‘huut…“

…  || 53 ||  the second objective:  

An Appropriate Method to Bring About Real Change

Obviously this Real Change (the 1^st dimension) requires a method by which it can be realized. This method is called Hikma in the quraan:  

|| 54 ||

 “…the Prophet teaches them the qur’aan and the hikma.“  Hikma refers to the deep understanding of the truths of nature, human nature, history, the movement and development of human history…

The quraan calls this dynamic method of striving in All spheres (areas) of life as‘Si‘raa‘tul Mus‘ta‘qiim:

 ”Guide us along the correct path (as‘Si‘raa‘tul Mus‘ta‘qiim) the Path of those you have blessed [by virtue of the success they have achieved by following your guidance] , not the path of those on whom your anger has descended    [by virtue of their not following the correct path] nor those who are astray.”

The third objective

Creating the – the Commitment to Internal Change and Societal Change

One needs to be committed to social change in order to bring about Social Change, this commitment to self and social change is the 3rd dimension of the Primary Divine Objective. The quraan refers to this dimension of CREATING commitment as tazkiya| yu‘zak‘kii‘him.

The quraan endeavours to create this Commitment to Internal Change and Societal Change. The quraan did not hesitate, waver or shy away from any problem, it boldly took stands on various issues in order to achieve its Fundamental Aim. 

[Important: as you read the quraan keep this point in mind and study how the quraan deals with the various obstacles facing human progress]

The task of Creating the Commitment to Internal Change and Societal Change and to articulate (to act out) this Commitment in society is a most difficult and complex mission, however at the same time this task of Creating the Commitment to Internal Change and Societal Change is most important to the future of the Prophet’s Mission, his Risaala, and the ability of the Mission(Risaala) to sustain itself, to continue, to achieve, to succeed, to expand, to bring in more people, to deal with new and greater challenges…

In creating and sustaining Societal Change, together with the Methodological Dimension (Dimensions 1, 2 and 3) there is the Quantitative Dimension. This means that after the passing away of Nabi [S] it is imperative that from the First Group that Nabi [S] has created it would be possible for the Din of Islam to continue and spread. The quraan lays great emphasis on this Quantitative Dimension. We observe this concern over Quantity in various statements of the quraan. The Prophets task is to take Islaam to as people possible.  

|| 56 ||  The quraan gives special attention to the inhabitants of the Arabian Peninsula,

  “This Book which We have Revealed is a Blessed Book, it confirms what is before you that you may warn (the people of) the Mother City and those around it…[S 6 : V 92] “ the Prophet is to reform the people of Makkah in order to create with them a Group Committed to Social Change, which will continue the Mission. This special concern with the people of the Arabian Peninsula does not imply any superiority over other people, rather this special concern is in order to achieve the Quantitative (amount, numbers) goal.

  “He (Allaah) sent into the People of Makkah a Great Prophet from amongst themselves, he teaches them deeply the messages of Allaah … [S 62 : V 2]“

The quraan also emphasises the importance of continuing the Prophetic Project of Societal Betterment (Improvement) to new heights.             

|| 57 ||  Important: read these verses very carefully in light of the above statement.  

  “Allaah has decreed(?) – I and my Messengers will triumph – Allaah is mighty and overpowering.[S 58 : V 21]“

 ”Surely We Help our Messengers AND [time factor, duration]  those who work to establish peace…[ S 40 : V51]“ 

  “We have Declared in the Zabuur… that the Righteous Workers (ibaad) shall inherit the earth.“ 

It is important to realise that this task of continuing the Prophetic Project is not confined to any group or person, nor is it the privilege of, any group, or any person.       

  “O you who strive to establish peace, whoever flees from his task (yartaddu) know that Allaah will bring forth another people…[S 5 : V 53]“  …

It is hence a great possibility that one of the reasons why certain issues and terms are used in the quraan is the special concern for the people of Arabia. It is possible to observe this characteristic of address in the emphasis on Ibraahiim [S], in the manner of the emphasis on wahy and its treatment, in the rejection of idols. The Arabic language and the style used in the qur’aan, in the light of the fact that the first (not primary|main) addressees of the qur’aan were a highly oral people deserve special attention. The short Suraas show the need for this special attention.       

…

The quraan achieves the Primary Objective for its revelation.

When we study the conceptual and ideational [issues, tone…] development of the qur’aan we find that the qur’aan was successful in achieving its objective of Societal Change in all three dimensions. It was successful in creating an Islaamic Umma which was an example in method and achievement and one that carried the burden of the message to the World.

وَمَن يَهْدِ اللَّهُ فَهُوَ الْمُهْتَدِ ۖ وَمَن يُضْلِلْ فَلَن تَجِدَ لَهُمْ أَوْلِيَاءَ مِن دُونِهِ ۖ وَنَحْشُرُهُمْ يَوْمَ الْقِيَامَةِ عَلَىٰ وُجُوهِهِمْ عُمْيًا وَبُكْمًا وَصُمًّا ۖ مَّأْوَاهُمْ جَهَنَّمُ ۖ كُلَّمَا خَبَتْ زِدْنَاهُمْ سَعِيرًا

And he whom Allah guides, he is led aright; but he whom He sends astray, for such you will find no Auliya’ (helpers and protectors), besides Him, and We shall gather them together on the Day of Resurrection on their faces, blind, dumb and deaf; their abode will be Hell; whenever it abates, We shall increase for them the fierceness of the Fire.

[Al Isra : 97]

A rare and most comprehensive documentary on Abdul Rasheed Ghazi and massacre in Lal [Red] Masjid including all relevant events.

Part 1 of 7

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Brought to you by our friends at Conservative For Change, President Obama just can’t seem to stop bowing to leaders of the world.  http://www.conservativeforchange.com/2009/11/obama-bowing-before-more-royalty.html

Just couldn’t resist sharing a bit of humor.

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Dhul-Hijjah

The month known as Dhul-Hijjah. Our hearts and prayers are with those undertaking the difficult pilgrimage during these days. For those of us who are not performing the Hajj, there are still many ways to make the most of this blessed time!

Virtues of the first 10 Days of Dhul-Hijjah

How many times have we heard Surat Al-Fajr recited, be it in our homes, while memorizing, or in the mosque? As a shorter surah, it may be a frequent part of our prayers, but taking the time to reflect on even a part of the first verse reveals a treasure of meaning. In the first two ayahs (verses) of Surat Al-Fajr Allah says:

وَالْفَجْرِ وَلَيَالٍ عَشْرٍ

“By the dawn; And the ten nights…”

According to scholars of the Qur’an, the days mentioned as significant enough for Allah to swear by them are the first ten days of Dhul-Hijjah.

Describing how these ten days are among the best, the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said:

“There are no days on which righteous deeds are more beloved to Allah than these ten days.” They said: “Not even jihad for the sake of Allah?” He said: “Not even jihad for the sake of Allah, unless a man goes out himself for jihad taking his wealth with him and does not come back with anything.” [Bukhari, 2/457]

The Prophet (peace be upon him) also said: “There is no deed that is better before Allah or more greatly rewarded than a good deed done in the (first) ten days of al-Adha.” He was asked: “Not even jihad for the sake of Allah?” He said: “Not even jihad for the sake of Allah, unless a man goes out himself for jihad taking his wealth with him and does not come back with anything.” [Al-Daarimi, 1/357]

Thus, the ten days are better than all other days of the year, with no exception, even the last ten days of Ramadan. (The last ten nights of Ramadan, however, are understood to be better than the nights of Dhul-Hijjah, because they include Laylat al-Qadr (the night of power), which is better than a thousand months [Qur'an, 97:3]).

Therefore, whoever is not able to go to Hajj should use this blessed time to complete even more righteous deeds than usual. These can include anything such as giving charity, honouring one’s parents, upholding the ties of kinship, and enjoining what is good and forbidding what is evil. Fasting and remembrance are particularly recommended:

1. Fasting Nine days, especially on the Day of ‘Arafah:

It is Sunnah for the Muslim to fast on the first nine days of Dhul-Hijjah, because fasting is one of the best of deeds. In a hadith qudsi, Allah says: “All the deeds of the son of Adam are for him, except fasting, which is for Me and I shall reward for it.” [Bukhari, 1805.]

The Prophet (peace be upon him) used to fast on the first nine days of Dhul-Hijjah. The Prophet (peace be upon him) said, “The Prophet used to fast on the first nine days of Dhul-Hijjah and the day of Ashura, and three days each month, the first Monday of the month and two Thursdays.” [Abu Dawood 2/462]

The ten days of Dhul-Hijjah include Yawm al-`Arafah (the Day of `Arafah), on which Allah perfected His Religion. The Prophet (peace be upon him) said:

“Fasting the day of `Arafah expiates the sins of two years: the past one and the coming one. And fasting the day of Ashura expiates the sins of the past year.” [Muslim]

2. Remembrance

It is Sunnah to recite remembrances known as the takbeer, tahmeed, tahleel, and tasbeeh during the first ten days of Dhul-Hijjah, saying these words out loud in the mosques, homes, streets and every place in which it is permissible to remember Allah:

* Takbeer: Allahu akbar (God is most great)
* Tahmeed: Al-hamdu Lillah (All praises be to God)
* Tahleel: Laa ilaha ill-Allah (There is no god but Allah)
* Tasbeeh: Subhaan-Allah (Glory be to God),

The Prophet (peace be upon him) explained how,

“There are no days that are greater before Allah or in which good deeds are more beloved to Him, than these ten days, so recite a great deal of tahleel, takbeer and tahmeed during them.” [Ahmad, 7/224]

While there are different versions, the takbeer can also be recited as follows:

Allahu akbar, Allahu akbar, laa ilaaha ill-Allah, Allahu akbar, wa Lillaah il-hamd.

Allah is Most Great, Allah is Most Great, there is no god but Allah; Allah is Most Great and to Allah be praise.

The Best Days of this World

The Virtues of the first 10 days of Dhul Hijja:

1. Ahadith of the Prophet (s):

قال النبي –صلى الله عليه وسلم-( مامن أيام العمل الصالح فيها أحب إلى الله من هذه الأيام قالوا يا رسول الله : ولا الجهاد في سبيل الله قال ولا الجهاد في سبيل الله إلا رجل خرج بنفسه وماله فلم يرجع من ذلك بشئ) رواه البخاري

The Prophet (s) said: “There are no days in which good deeds are more beloved to Allah than during these days. The Sahaba said: Oh Rasul Allah, not even jihad in the path of Allah? He (s) said: Not even jihad in the path of Allah except for the man who goes out in the path of Allah with his life and his wealth and returns with neither of them.”

وقال ( أفضل أيام الدنيا أيام العشر) رواه البزار وصححه الالبانى.

And he (s) said: “The best days of this world are these ten.”

2. Allah swears by these 10 days in the Qur’an:

قول الله تعالى: ((وَالْفَجْرِ، وَلَيَالٍ عَشْرٍ)) سورة الفجر (1-2)، قال ابن كثير رحمه الله: المراد بها عشر ذي الحجة

Allah says: “By the dawn, and by the 10 nights” [Qur'an, 89:1-2]. Ibn ‘Abbas, Ibn al-Zubayr, Mujahid and others of the earlier and later generations said that this refers to the first ten days of Dhul Hijjah. Ibn Katheer said: “This is the correct opinion.”

قال تعالى: ((وَيَذْكُرُوا اسْمَ اللَّهِ فِي أَيَّامٍ مَّعْلُومَاتٍ)) سورة الحج(28)، قال ابن عباس: أيام العشر

Allah says: “…and mention the name of Allah on appointed days…” [Qur'an, 22:28] Ibn ‘Abbas said these are the ten days.

3. These ten days are better than Ramadan:

قال المحققون من أهل العلم: أيام عشر ذي الحجة أفضل الأيام، وليالي العشر الأواخر من رمضان أفضل الليالي.

Most scholars adopt the opinion that these days are better than the last ten days of Ramadan. However, what holds the last ten days of Ramadan at a higher status is the Night of Power (Laylat ul-Qadr) which is equivalent to one thousand months (83.33 years).

تضاعف فيها الحسنات قال ابن عباس”: العمل فيهن بسبعمائة ضعف”

The rewards are multiplied in these days. Ibn ‘Abbas said: “(The reward for good) deeds are multiplied seven hundred times in these days.”

قال الاوزاعى: “بلغني أن العمل في أيام العشر كقدر غزوة في سبيل الله يصام نهارها ويحرس ليلها إلا أن يختص امرء بشهادة”

Al Awzaa’i said: I was informed that good deeds during the ten days are the equivalent (in reward) to a battle in the path of Allah, in which the day is spent in fasting and the night in safeguarding, except if one is bestowed with martyrdom.”

In Ramadan doing good deeds and struggling in worship, especially during the last ten nights, is easier than during these days for a few reasons. Firstly, the atmosphere of the month of Ramadan, whether culturally, spiritually, or traditionally, makes it easier to focus and strive. Secondly, the shayateen are chained. So, to get that drive and direction we had in Ramadan, is much harder when we have most likely fallen out of “Ramadan mode.” However, since the `ibada is more difficult, the reward is greater. So let’s keep this in mind and get ready to really work hard.

The Plan of Action for these 10 days:

1. Really feel this blessing and realize that it is an opportunity of a lifetime, because none of us know if we will witness these 10 days again.

كان خالد بن معدان يقول( إذا فتح لأحدكم باب للخير فليسرع فاءنه لا يدرى متى يغلق عنه

Khalid bin Mi’dan used to say: “If the door for good is opened for one of you, then rush (to take advantage) because you don’t know when it will close.”

2. Have high aspirations in your worship and use the examples of the ijtihad of the saliheen as motivation.

3. Take advantage of the opportunities to get the reward of hajj while being elsewhere.

قال-صلى الله عليه وسلم-( من صلى الفجر في جماعة ثم قعد يذكر الله حتى تطلع الشمس ثم صلى ركعتين كانت له كأجر حجة وعمرة تامة تامة تامة

The Prophet (s) said: “Whoever prays fajr in congregation and then sits in remembrance of Allah until the sun rises, then prays two rak’aat, he has the full reward of hajj and `umrah.”

4. Perfecting the fara`idh (obligatory actions):

Often times we become busy trying to do extra deeds, but neglect the fact that perhaps maybe what is obligatory upon us is not at the level it should be. There is no way for a person to become close to Allah other than through the obligatory actions, as is apparent in the famous hadith qudsi in which Allah says: “My servant does not become closer to me by anything more beloved to me than what I have obligated upon him.”

Reasonable Goals:

1. Khatm of Qur’an: equivalent to more than half a million hasanaat during these days. Let’s try to complete the recitation of the Qur’an during these days, ending by ‘Asr time on the day of ‘Arafah and spending from ‘Asr to Magrhib in du’aa.

2. Qiyam al-Layl:

Rasulallah (s) said: “Whoever stands in prayer, reciting 1,000 verses is written among the muqantareen.” A qintar is equal to 70,000 dinar. The recitation of the last two ajzaa` of the Qur’an is equivalent to 1,000 verses.

3. Extra Salah during the day: The Prophet (s) said: “There is not a Muslim who prays twelve raka’at per day, other than the obligatory prayers, except that a palace is built for him in paradise.”

4. Dhikr: The best form of worship to do in these ten days as apparent in the hadith:

Ibn `Umar said that the Messenger of Allah (s) said, “There is no day more honorable in Allah ’s sight and no acts more beloved therein to Allah than those in these ten days. So say tahlil (There is no deity worthy of worship but Allah: La ilaha illAllah), takbir (Allah is the greatest: Allahu akbar) and tahmid (All praise is due to Allah: alhumdulillah) a lot.” [Ahmad, 7/224]

The Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said, “The best du`a’ is du`a’ on the day of `Arafah, and the best thing that I or the Prophets before me have said is ‘There is no god but Allah, alone, without any partner’ (La ilaha illa’llah, wahdahu la sharika lah)” [Muwatta, Malik].

7. Reviving the Sunnah of Takbir:

Ibn `Umar and Abu Hurairah (ra) used to go out in the marketplace during the first ten days of Dhul-Hijjah, reciting takbeer, and the people would recite takbeer when they heard them.

8. Fasting:

The reward of fasting is great, so imagine how much that reward would be multiplied in these days. If one can’t fast all of the 9 days, then at least on the day of `Arafah as it is the greatest day.

Abu Qatadah reported that the Messenger of Allah (s) said, “Fasting on the day of ‘Arafah is an expiation for two years, the year preceding it and the year following it. Fasting the day of `Ashura is an expiation for the year preceding it.” [This is related by "the group," except for al-Bukhari and at-Tirmidhi]

The Prophet (s) said “There is no day that Allah will free people more than the day of `Arafah.”

`Ali (ra) used to advise people to say “Oh Allah free my neck from the fire” on the day of `Arafah.

9. Du`a’:

Especially on the day of `Arafah, but also at anytime. Keep in mind the times where du’aa is more likely to be accepted and ask during those times.

* The last third of the night
* Between the adhaan and iqaamah
* During the rain
* In sujood
* Friday
* While fasting

10. Sadaqa (charity):

Give sadaqa during these days, since the reward is multiplied tremendously.

11. Tawba (asking for forgiveness):

Continually renew repentance.

12. Establish ikhlas in `ibada.

13. Check and renew intentions at all times

The Day of `Eid

On the greatest day, remained focused as it is still part of the first 10 days which are the best days of the year! Try not to get too caught up in celebrating that you stop doing the worship that you were doing the first 9 days.

The day of ‘Eid: a day for visiting family and performing the sacrifice for one who is able.

By Zahra

  Guest Editorial by Mike Duminiak 

Somalia is “ruled” by a large number of armed groups. In the classic ‘might makes right’ story, any group of yo-yos with a large amount of fire power can stake out some territory and then ‘rule’ that scrap of land. The people living in that area are forced to conform with whatever arbitrary rules are instituted by whichever group of losers has control at any given moment.

Even the capital city of Mogadishu (capital in name only as there is no real government) is ruled by multiple armed bands much like inner city gangs holding neighborhoods hostage. The difference in Mogadishu is that there is no 911 to call to bring in law enforcement when the thugs get out of hand. The thugs are the law.

One area of Mogadishu is run by Islamic Radicals under the name Al Shabaab. Reports indicate that they are related to Al Qaeda. In a way, I hope those reports are accurate. Why? Simply because these morons in Al Shabaab are doing themselves more harm than anyone else could do to them. The idea that Al Qaeda could be so poorly run is a good sign.

Al Shabaab has declared war on immorality in their little corner of the land of anarchy. They have banned dancing, watching movies, playing soccer and ringtones on cell phones. Yes, ringtones are banned. Listening to music is forbidden and that includes ringtones on cell phones. All cell phones are required to use only the reading of verses from the Koran for their ringtones.

Unfortunately for these rocket scientist radicals, people can’t answer their phones at all now. You see, it is a violation of Islamic Law to interrupt the reading of the words of the Prophet. So, when your phone ‘rings’ and some cleric starts reading the verse from the Koran, you’ll be in violation of Islamic Law if you interrupt the reading to answer the call.

It is this kind of inability to think through their asinine radical moral crusade that is doing them more harm than armed opposition. The people are being shown just how impossibly moronic fundamentalist Islamic law is and they’re learning a valuable lesson in the process. If Somalia ever does have a government again someday, experiences like this one will ensure that it won’t be based on Islamic Law.

CAIR speaker to Muslims: OK to attack Fort Bragg.

MUSLIM MAFIA
CAIR speaker to Muslims: OK to attack Fort Bragg
Exhorts Islamic faithful to target planes carrying ‘82nd Airborne’

Posted: November 11, 2009
1:48 am Eastern

© 2009 WorldNetDaily

Imam Zaid Shakir

A Council on American-Islamic Relations adviser and regular speaker at its events has suggested Islamic law permits Muslims to attack C-130 military transport planes carrying the 82nd Airborne out of Fort Bragg, N.C., according to a stunning new book exposing Washington-based CAIR’s inner workings.

Radical Islamic cleric Zaid Shakir, a frequent guest speaker at CAIR events, tells his Muslim audiences: “Jihad is physically fighting the enemies of Islam to protect and advance the religion of Islam. This is jihad.”

Acceptable targets of jihad, he says, include U.S. military aircraft.

“Islam doesn’t permit us to hijack airplanes filled with civilian people,” Shakir once told a Muslim audience. However, “If you hijack an airplane filled with the 82nd Airborne, that’s something else.”

The 82nd Airborne Division’s elite paratroopers fly out of Fort Bragg, N.C., which is part of North Carolina state Sen. Larry Shaw’s district. Shaw is CAIR’s new chairman.

The recording of the lecture, which Shakir gave earlier this decade to a Muslim audience in the San Francisco Bay area, was obtained by the authors of the bestselling “Muslim Mafia: Inside the Secret Underworld That’s Conspiring to Islamize America.”

The bombshell revelation comes in the wake of the worst military massacre at a domestic U.S. military base in American history, and the worst Islamic terrorist attack on U.S. soil since 9/11.

Last week, Army Maj. Nidal Malik Hasan allegedly gunned down in cold blood more than 50 of his fellow soldiers preparing to deploy to Iraq and Afghanistan from Fort Hood, Texas. Eyewitnesses say before opening fire, Hasan jumped up on a desk and screamed, “Allahu akbar!” like the 9/11 hijackers. The suspect fatally shot 13, including a security guard. The death toll is actually 14 when a slain unborn child is counted.

Imam Shakir also gives his blessing to the use of bombs as a weapon of jihad, as long as the explosives hit “select” targets and are not indiscriminate in their destruction. Civilians can be a legitimate target, he says, if “there’s a benefit in that,” according to “Muslim Mafia,” co-authored by former federal agent P. David Gaubatz and investigative journalist Paul Sperry, author of “Infiltration.”

Even “old elderly men” and “women who are conscripted” – including Israeli and American women in uniform – are eligible enemy combatants in jihad. “This is Shariah,” Shakir asserts in a CD recording of one of his lectures in 2001, which the authors obtained from a radical mosque bookstore in Brooklyn, N.Y.

Shakir, a black convert, has been portrayed as a moderate in the mainstream media, including the New York Times, which recently ran a positive profile of him. His pro-jihad statements revealed in “Muslim Mafia” have not been previously reported. CAIR has sued and obtained a temporary restraining order to censor the book’s documentary evidence detailing CAIR’s support of terrorism and obstruction of FBI investigations.

Longtime CAIR advisory board member and chief fundraiser Siraj Wahhaj echoes his friend Shakir’s interpretation of jihad.

“If we go to war, brothers and sisters – and one day we will, believe me – that’s why you’re commanded [to fight in] jihad,” the imam has told his flock in Brooklyn. “When Allah demands us to fight, we’re not stopping and nobody’s stopping us.”

World Trade Center bombing

CAIR has invited Shakir back to speak at its events even after the FBI questioned him about a copy of one of his incendiary pamphlets found in the apartment of a suspect in the first World Trade Center bombing. The pro-jihad pamphlet lauded the “armed struggle” that brought about the rule of the Taliban in Afghanistan, where U.S. troops are dying in record numbers from Taliban and al-Qaida ambushes.

Shakir, who recently confided to the New York Times that he’d like to see the U.S. “become a Muslim country” ruled by Islamic law, is a regular speaker at CAIR as well as Islamic Society of North America events. (Federal prosecutors say CAIR and ISNA are fronts for the terrorist group Hamas and its parent the radical Muslim Brotherhood, and the sister organizations were recently listed as unindicted terrorist co-conspirators in the largest terror finance case in U.S. history.) Recently, Shakir helped host workshops and delivered keynote speeches at banquets held at CAIR chapters in Chicago, Orlando and San Diego, among others.

“Imam Zaid’s speeches are very practical and bring the best out of his listeners,” said former CAIR official Ibrahim Moiz, a close personal friend who invited Shakir to speak to Muslims in Maryland, according to “Muslim Mafia.”

The cleric has not tempered his jihadist views.

“I don’t regret anything I’ve done or said,” Shakir has insisted.

Shakir holds little, if any, respect for law enforcement, particularly the FBI, according to “Muslim Mafia.” He constantly belittles the bureau in speeches to Muslims, even warning them that the FBI frames Muslims for terrorism – terrorist acts that he contends the FBI secretly commits.

“The World Trade Center bombing of course was aided and abetted by our good friends at the FBI,” the imam has claimed, in just one of the many wild-eyed conspiracy theories he peddles.

‘State within a state’

The American Muslim cleric also preaches treason against the United States, according to the book, which hit No. 5 on Amazon.com’s non-fiction best-seller list the day after it was released last month. It currently ranks No. 1 in books on terrorism and Islam.

Shakir advises the Muslim community in America to wage a cultural jihad now, and a violent jihad later – once the proper “infrastructure” is in place.

He says Muslims should respect American democracy insofar as it can be exploited to help the Brotherhood one day assume power here.

And the only thing that could stop the Islamization of America, he notes, is if its people rose up and denied the subversive movement the unbridled freedom it’s heretofore enjoyed.

However, if Americans were to do that, Muslims would then be obligated, he says, to exercise their supposedly “divine legal right” to rise up and wage violent jihad, reveals the book “Muslim Mafia.”

“What a great victory it will be for Islam to have this country in the fold and ranks of the Muslims,” sermonized Shakir, who continues to be a marquee speaker at CAIR functions.

For now, he said, following the radical Muslim Brotherhood playbook, Muslims must continue to “create a state within a state.”

I’m working on a paper for my philosophy class on what a natural lawyer would say about Islamic law and what Islamic law, on the flip side says about natural law.

Philosophical question of my day: Can human rights be protected under a law that depends on religion, in this case Islam?

Follow up: Can a legal system ever be fundamentally changed as long as law is considered divine and sacred?

These are interesting to think about.

It was reported last week that Faleh Hassan Almaleki, an Iraqi immigrant living in Peoria, Arizona killed his daughter for becoming too “Westernized.” Almaleki ran his daughter, Noor Faleh Almaleki, and her boyfriend’s mother down in his Jeep this past October.

Reason he gave; “his daughter had brought shame on him and his family.” An “honor killing.”

What is truly disturbing is the fact that these “honor killings,” which are sanctioned under Sharia or Islamic Law, are becoming more and more prevalent in the West and here in the United States. There is actually a movement to have Sharia Law incorporated and accepted with western legal systems.

And they’ll use our own Constitution to do it. You know that part about Freedom of Religion.

I strongly urge every American to familiarize themselves with Sharia and the Islamic religion. Go to the web site Jihad Watch. (http://www.jihadwatch.org/)

Learn what it is that fundamental Islam is all about. Educate yourselves.

And some advice to future Faleh Hassan Almaleki’s, it’s very simple.

If you don’t want your family, your sons, your daughters to become “Westernized,” STAY IN YOUR OWN COUNTRY AND DON”T COME HERE!

It’s really that easy. Not much thought involved.

The Prophet Sallallaahu alaihi wasallam has said, “Whoever is the first to give another person the news about the month of Rabi-ul-Awwal, the fire of hell is Haraam for them”. Is this Hadeeth authentic? If it is not, could you explain the warning for those who circulate fabricated Ahadeeth?

We have not come across a Hadeeth in which it is mentioned that the fire of Hell is Haraam upon the first person who gives the news about Rabi’ul Awwal.

If this Hadeeth is fabricated and was not mentioned by Rasulullah Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam, the person who fabricated the Hadith as well as all those who convey the Hadeeth are deserving of the severe warning of Rasulullah Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam. Rasulullah Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam said, “To fabricate my words is not like fabricating any other person’s words. The person who fabricates my words should prepare an abode for himself in the fire of hell.” (Sahih al Bukhari, Hadith #: 1291).

Unfortunately, due to wide spread ignorance, e-mails containing false information and fabricated Ahadeeth are widely circulated. The creators of such e-mails as well as those who forward them to others should take heed of the severe warning of Rasulullah Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam. It is therefore imperative that one exercises caution when one receives e-mails of such a nature wherein there is no authentic reference mentioned. Such e-mails or pieces of information should be referred to reliable and learned scholars for verification.

And Allah Ta’ala Knows Best.

Islamic Guidelines for Visitors to the Prophet’s Mosque

Praise be to Allaah.

O you who come to the City of the Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him), you have come to a good place and you are going to earn great reward. May Allaah accept your righteous deeds and fulfil your greatest hopes. Welcome to the land of Hijrah and victory, the land of the Chosen Prophet, the land to which the righteous Sahaabah migrated and the home of the Ansaar.

There follow a few words of advice to those who want to visit the Mosque of the Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him):

1 – O you who come to Madeenah, you are in a place which, after Makkah, is the best and noblest of all places, so respect it as it should be respected; honour its sanctity and holiness and observe the best etiquette therein.

Know that Allaah has warned of the severest punishment for those who commit evil therein. It was narrated from Abu Hurayrah (may Allaah be pleased with him) that the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said:

“Madeenah is a Haram (sanctuary), so whoever commits evil therein or gives protection to an evildoer, the curse of Allaah, the angels and all of mankind may be upon him. Allaah will not accept any obligatory or naafil deed from him on the Day of Resurrection.” Narrated by al-Bukhaari, 1867; Muslim, 1370.

So whoever commits any evil action or offers protection to any evildoer who seeks his help is exposing himself to a humiliating punishment and the wrath of the Lord of the Worlds.

One of the most serious of evil deeds that violate its purity is openly doing acts of bid’ah and spoiling its atmosphere with myths and false ideas, and contaminating its pure land with the spread of articles which promote bid’ah, books which contain shirk, and all kinds of reprehensible and haraam actions which go against Islamic sharee’ah. The evildoer and the one who gives him protection are equally guilty of sin.

2 – Visiting the Prophet’s Mosque is an act that is Sunnah; it is not an obligatory action and has nothing to do with Hajj, nor is it an action that is required in order for Hajj to be complete.

All the ahaadeeth which say that it is connected to Hajj or that say that visiting the grave of the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) is  connected to Hajj are fabricated and false. Whoever travels to Madeenah for the purpose of visiting the Mosque and praying therein, his intention is acceptable and his efforts will be rewarded.  Whoever travels there only for the purpose of visiting the graves and seeking the help of their occupants, his intention is haraam and his actions are reprehensible.

It was narrated from Abu Hurayrah that the Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said:

“Do not travel to visit any mosques except three: al-Masjid al-Haraam [in Makkah], this Mosque of mine [in Madeenah] and al-Masjid al-Aqsa [in Jerusalem].” Narrated by al-Bukhaari, 1189; Muslim, 1397.

It was narrated from Jaabir (may Allaah be pleased with him) that the Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said:

“The best places to which a person may travel are this Mosque of mine, and the Ancient House (i.e., the Ka’bah).” Narrated by Ahmad, 3/350; classed as saheeh by al-Albaani in al-Silsilah al-Saheehah, 1648.

3 – Prayers offered in the Mosque of Madeenah bring a multiple reward, both obligatory and naafil prayers according to the more correct of the two scholarly opinions.

The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said:

“One prayer in this Mosque of mine is better than one thousand prayers offered anywhere else, except al-Masjid al-Haraam.” Narrated by al-Bukhaari, 1190; Muslim, 1394.

But offering naafil prayers at home is better than offering them in the mosque, even if the reward for offering them in the Mosque is multiplied, because the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said,

“The best prayers are those that a man offers in his home, apart from the prescribed [obligatory] prayers.” Narrated by al-Bukhaari, 731; Muslim, 781.

4 – The visitor to this great Mosque should note that it is not permissible to seek blessing (barakah) from any part of the Prophet’s Mosque, such as the pillars, walls, doors, mihraab or minbar, by touching or kissing them.

It is also not permitted to seek blessing from the Prophet’s hujrah (chamber) by touching it, kissing it, or wiping one’s clothes against it or to circumambulate it. Whoever does any of these things has to repent and not repeat it.

5 – It is prescribed for the one who visits the Prophet’s Mosque to pray two rak’ahs in the Rawdah or whatever he wants of naafil prayers, because it is proven that there is virtue in doing so.

It was narrated from Abu Hurayrah that the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said:

“The area between my house and my minbar is one of the gardens (riyaad, sing. rawdah) of Paradise, and my minbar is on my cistern (hawd)” Narrated by al-Bukhaari, 1196; Muslim, 1391.

And it was narrated that Yazeed ibn Abi ‘Ubayd said:

“I used to come with Salamah ibn al-Akwa’ and he would pray by the pillar which was by the mus-haf, i.e. in the Rawdah. I said, ‘O Abu Muslim, I see that you are keen to pray by this pillar!’ He said, ‘I saw that the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) was keen to pray here.’” Narrated by al-Bukhaari, 502; Muslim, 509.

Being keen to pray in al-Rawdah does not justify being aggressive towards people or pushing the weak aside, or stepping over their necks.

6 – It is prescribed for the visitor to Madeenah and for the one who lives there to go to the Mosque of Quba’ and pray there, following the example of the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) and seeking the reward of ‘Umrah.

It was narrated that Sahl ibn Haneef said: The Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said:

“Whoever goes out until he comes to this mosque – meaning the Mosque of Quba’ – and prays there, that will be equivalent to ‘Umrah.” Narrated by Ahmad, 3/437; al-Nasaa’i, 699; classed as saheeh by al-Albaani in Saheeh al-Targheeb, 1180, 1181.

According to Ibn Maajah:

“Whoever purifies himself in his house, then comes to the Mosque of Quba’ and prays there, he will have the reward of ‘Umrah.” Narrated by Ibn Maajah, 1412.

In al-Saheehayn it is narrated that the Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) used to go to the mosque of Quba’ every Saturday, walking or riding, and he would pray two rak’ahs there. Narrated by al-Bukhaari, 1191; Muslim, 1399

7 – For the visitor to Madeenah, it is not prescribed to visit any other mosques in the city apart from these two, the Mosque of the Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) and the Mosque of Quba’.

It is not prescribed for the visitor or anyone else to head for a particular spot, hoping for blessing or to worship Allaah in that place, when there is no evidence from the Qur’aan or Sunnah concerning visiting that place and no evidence that the Sahaabah (may Allaah be pleased with them) did that.

It is not prescribed to go to the places and mosques in which the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) or the Sahaabah prayed in order to pray there or to worship Allaah by offering du’aa’s there etc., because the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) did not enjoin that or encourage people to visit these places. It was narrated that al-Ma’roor ibn Suwayd (may Allaah have mercy on him) said:

We went out with ‘Umar ibn al-Khattaab, and we passed by a mosque on the way.

The people hastened to pray there, and ‘Umar said, “What is the matter with them?” They said, “This is a mosque in which the Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) prayed.” ‘Umar said, “O people, those who came before you were doomed because they followed such practices, until they established places of worship in such locations. If a time for prayer comes when you are there, then pray, and if it is not the time for prayer, then move on.” Narrated by Ibn Abi Shaybah in al-Musannaf, 7550.

When ‘Umar ibn al-Khattaab heard that there were people who came to the tree under which the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) had received the bay’ah (oath of allegiance), he ordered that it be cut down. Narrated by Ibn Abi Shaybah in al-Musannaf, 7545.

8 – It is prescribed for men who are visiting the Prophet’s Mosque to visit the grave of the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) and the graves of his two companions Abu Bakr and ‘Umar (may Allaah be pleased with them), and to send salaams upon them and make du’aa’ for them.

But for women it is not permissible for them to visit graves according to the more correct of the two scholarly opinions, because of the hadeeth narrated by Abu Dawood (3236), al-Tirmidhi (3236) and Ibn Maajah (1575) from Ibn ‘Abbaas (may Allaah be pleased with him), according to which the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) cursed the women who visit graves.

The way in which the grave of the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) is to be visited is that the visitor should come to the grave and face it and say “Al-salaamu ‘alayka ya Rasool-Allaah (Peace be upon you, O Messenger of Allaah).” Then he should move about a yard to his right and say salaams to Abu Bakr by saying, “Al-salaamu ‘alayka ya Aba Bakr.” Then he should move a little further to his right, about a yard, and say salaams to ‘Umar ibn al-Khattaab, by saying, ‘Al-salaamu alayka ya ‘Umar.”

9 – It is prescribed for men who are visiting Madeenah to visit the people buried in Baqee’ al-Gharqad and the martyrs of Uhud, to send salaams on them and to make du’aa’ for them.

It was narrated that Buraydah (may Allaah be pleased with him) said:

The Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) used to teach them, when they went out to the graveyards, to say, “Al-salaamu ‘alaykum ahl al-diyaar min al-mu’mineen wa’l-muslimeen, wa innaa in sha Allaah bikum laahiqoon. Nas’al Allaah lana wa lakum al-‘aafiyah. (Peace be upon you, O dwellers of these abodes, believers and Muslims. We will, when Allaah wills, join you. We ask Allaah to grant salvation to us and you).”

10 – Visiting the graves is prescribed for two great purposes:

(i)    So that the visitor may receive a lesson and reminder.

(ii)  So that the person visited will benefit from the du’aa’s and prayers for mercy and forgiveness that are offered for him.

Permission to visit graves is subject to the condition that no false words are spoken, the worst of which are shirk and kufr. It was narrated from Buraydah from his father that the Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said:

“I used to forbid you to visit graves, but now whoever wants to visit them let him do so, but do not utter any falsehood.” Narrated by al-Nasaa’i, 2033; classed as saheeh by al-Albaani in al-Silsilah al-Saheehah, 886.

Muslim narrated this also (no. 977), but without the phrase, “but do not utter any falsehood.”

It is not permitted to circumambulate these graves or any others, or to pray towards them or amongst them, or to perform acts of worship beside them such as reading Qur’aan, making du’aa’, etc, because these are means of associating others in worship with the Lord of all creation and taking them (graves) as places of worship , even if no mosque is built over them.

It was narrated that ‘Aa’ishah and ‘Abd-Allaah ibn ‘Abbaas (may Allaah be pleased with them both) said: When death was approaching the Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him), he put a cloak over his face, and when he felt hot he removed it and said,

“May Allaah’s curse be upon the Jews and Christians, for they took the graves of their Prophets as places of worship” – warning against doing what they did. Narrated by al-Bukhaari, 436; Muslim, 529.

And he (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said:

“The most evil of people are those upon whom the Hour will come when they are still alive and those who take graves as places of worship.” Narrated by Ahmad, 1/405. It is also narrated by al-Bukhaari in a mu’allaq report in Kitaab al-Fitan, Baab Zuhoor al-Fitan, 7067. Also narrated by Muslim in Kitaab al-Fitan, Baab Qurb al-Saa’ah, 2949, without mentioning the taking of graves as places of worship.

It was narrated that Abu Marthad al-Ghanawi said:

I heard the Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) say, “Do not sit on graves or pray facing towards them.” Narrated by Muslim, 972.

And it was narrated that Abu Sa’eed al-Khudri (may Allaah be pleased with him) said: The Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said,

“All of the earth is a place of prayer apart from graveyards and bathrooms.” Narrated by Ahmad, 3/83; al-Tirmidhi, 317; classed as saheeh by al-Albaani in Irwa’ al-Ghaleel, 1/320.

According to a hadeeth narrated by Anas (may Allaah be pleased with him, the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) forbade people to pray between graves. Narrated by Ibn Maajah, 1698. Al-Haythami said in Majma’ al-Zawaa’id (2/27), Its men are the men of saheeh.

It is not permissible to prostrate on graves, rather that is a kind of idolatry and ignorance, and a sign of intellectual deviation and backwardness. It is not permissible for the visitor to those graves or anyone else to seek blessings from them by touching them, kissing them, clinging with any part of the body to them, or to seek healing from its dirt by rubbing one’s hands or face with it or to take anything from them in order to dilute it with water and wash oneself with it.

It is not permissible for visitors to the grave or others to bury any part of their hair or body or handkerchiefs in them, or to put their pictures or anything else that they may have with them in their soil in order to seek blessing (barakah).

It is not permissible to throw money or any kind of food such as grains etc. on them. Whoever does any of these things has to repent, and not do it again. It is not permissible to perfume them, or to swear to Allaah by their occupants. It is not permissible to ask of Allaah by virtue of their occupants or their status, rather that is a haraam kind of beseeching Allaah and is one of the means that lead to shirk. It is not allowed to build up the graves or erect any structure over them, because this is a means of veneration that leads to shirk. It is not permissible to sell food or perfume etc to one who it is known will use them for such seriously wrong actions.

Seeking the help of the dead or asking them for support or calling upon them and asking them to meet needs and to help alleviates calamity and to bring benefits and ward off hardships are all forms of major shirk which put a person beyond the pale of Islam and make him a worshipper of idols, because no one can relieve a person of worries and distress except Allaah alone with no partner or associate. Allaah says (interpretation of the meaning):

“Such is Allaah, your Lord; His is the kingdom. And those, whom you invoke or call upon instead of Him, own not even a Qitmeer (the thin membrane over the date stone).

If you invoke (or call upon) them, they hear not your call; and if (in case) they were to hear, they could not grant it (your request) to you. And on the Day of Resurrection, they will disown your worshipping them. And none can inform you (O Muhammad) like Him Who is the All‑Knower (of everything”

[Faatir 35:13-14]

“Say (O Muhammad): ‘Call upon those — besides Him whom you pretend [to be gods like angels, ‘Eesa (Jesus), ‘Uzayr (Ezra) and others]. They have neither the power to remove the adversity from you nor even to shift it from you to another person.’

Those whom they call upon [like ‘Eesa (Jesus) ‑ son of Maryam (Mary), ‘Uzayr (Ezra), angel and others] desire (for themselves) means of access to their Lord (Allaah), as to which of them should be the nearest; and they [‘Eesa (Jesus), ‘Uzayr (Ezra), angels and others] hope for His Mercy and fear His Torment. Verily, the Torment of your Lord is (something) to be afraid of!”

[al-Isra’ 17:56-57]

Written by Shaykh Salaah al-Budayr (Imam and Khateeb of the Prophet’s Mosque.)

This is life under Islamic law -sharia- the blessings of which the jihadis of al Qaeda, the Muslim Brotherhood, and other allied salafist groups want to bring to us all:

Abas Hussein Abdirahman, 33, was killed in front of a crowd of some 300 people in the port town of Merka.

An official from the al-Shabab group said the woman would be killed after she has had her baby.

Islamist groups run much of southern Somalia, while the UN-backed government only control parts of the capital.

This is the third time Islamists have stoned a person to death for adultery in the past year.

Al-Shabab official Sheikh Suldan Aala Mohamed said Mr Abdirahman had confessed to adultery before an Islamic court.

“He was screaming and blood was pouring from his head during the stoning. After seven minutes he stopped moving,” an eyewitness told the BBC.

The BBC’s Mohammed Olad Hassan in Mogadishu says that if the woman is also killed, her baby would be given to relatives to look after.

Al-Shabab’s concern for the welfare of the child is touching.

The President of Somalia (or, what’s left of it) decried the stoning:

Meanwhile, President Sheikh Sharif Sheikh Ahmed has accused al-Shabab of spoiling the image of Islam by killing people and harassing women.

“Their actions have nothing to do with Islam,” said the moderate Islamist…

Bunk. Just ask the Iranians, who stone women and execute gays as prescribed by sharia law. Just ask the Saudis, who whip rape victims. Just ask the Jordanians, who refused to pass a law against honor killings because it would go against religion. (And they meant Islam, in case you didn’t guess.) It is part and parcel of Islam, as attested by the hadith in the Sahih Buhkari, one of the most revered collections of hadiths in Islam:

Narrated Ibn ‘Abbas:

‘Umar said, “I am afraid that after a long time has passed, people may say, “We do not find the Verses of the Rajam (stoning to death) in the Holy Book,” and consequently they may go astray by leaving an obligation that Allah has revealed. Lo! I confirm that the penalty of Rajam be inflicted on him who commits illegal sexual intercourse, if he is already married and the crime is proved by witnesses or pregnancy or confession.” Sufyan added, “I have memorized this narration in this way.” ‘Umar added, “Surely Allah’s Apostle carried out the penalty of Rajam, and so did we after him.”

(What is a hadith?)

The difference between “moderate” Islamists and full-throated Islamists is one of degree, not kind.

(hat tip: The Jawa Report)