By Jeff Gates, Staff Writer/Editor

Ordinary Americans need the assistance of Islamabad now more than at any time in the past six decades. That aid lies not in combating “Islamo fascism” but in countering the influence inside the U.S. of Israeli war-planners known for their expertise at provoking extremism.

To grasp what must be done requires a review of three related developments. First is a policy-making legacy from the era of Zulfikar Ali Bhutto. Second is a little known account of an Israeli attempt to corrupt policy-making in Indonesia, home to the world’s largest Muslim population. Third is confirmation that, by its steady growth in influence over the past six decades, Israel is now shaping U.S. policy to advance a Judeo-fascist agenda.

The Bhutto Legacy

Soon after Richard Nixon was elected president in November 1968, Dr. Glenn Olds traveled to Dubrovnik to meet with Zulfikar Ali Bhutto. The popular Bhutto knew China’s Chou En-Lai with whom he had studied in Moscow. Dr. Olds traveled on Nixon’s behalf to ask that Bhutto intercede with China.

Dr. Glenn Olds

As a young foreign minister for President Ayub Khan, Bhutto forged stronger Pakistani ties with China after the Sino-Indian war of 1962. That relationship led to a large number of Sino-Pakistan industrial and military projects.

When he signed the Sino-Pakistan Boundary Agreement of March 1963, the father of Benazir Bhutto (then age 10) emerged as one of the most visible Pakistanis on the world stage. By the 1968 meeting in Yugoslavia, the politically ambitious Bhutto had been arrested and released by Ayub, sparking political unrest that led to Ayub’s resignation and Bhutto’s ascendancy to the presidency in December 1971 and prime minister in 1973.

The Dubrovnik meeting marked America’s first step in the normalization of relations with China. Bhutto’s assistance also helped hasten the end of the U.S. war in Vietnam. Following the Nixon inaugural in January 1969, Dr. Olds was appointed U.N. Ambassador after he helped recruit more than 1,000 people for Nixon, including Henry Kissinger, Donald Rumsfeld and Dick Cheney.

As Executive Dean of the 64-campus State University of New York for Governor Nelson Rockefeller, Dr. Olds crafted a memo for the governor urging that he campaign for the presidency in 1968 on a platform promising to end the Vietnam War and normalize relations with China. One key challenge: making contact with Mao Tse-Tung who had never left China. Thus Dr. Olds’ strategy proposed Bhutto as the intermediary to Mao through Chou En-Lai.

When Nelson Rockefeller opted not to run in 1968 (at least initially), he urged that Dr. Olds share the strategy with others. When Pepsi Chairman Don Kendall brought the memo to Nixon’s attention, the candidate agreed to include the strategy in his campaign and, should he win, asked that Dr. Olds help form an administration. Henry Kissinger received the Nobel peace prize in 1973 for advancing policies that began with that memo for Nelson Rockefeller.

Dr. Olds conveyed to me this account in 2003. Since 1994, he had served as the senior adviser to James M. (“Mel”) Rockefeller. An adviser to four presidents (two of each party) and four of the five third-generation Rockefeller brothers, Dr. Olds died in March 2006 after describing his dismay at “the depth of the treason” uncovered by Mel Rockefeller. That treason remains ongoing-a key reason Americans need the assistance of Pakistan.

Guilt By Association marks the first release in the Criminal State series of books. This series documents a deeply imbedded criminality coordinated through the same trans-generational network of Jewish Zionists granted nation-state recognition in 1948 by Harry Truman, a Christian Zionist president.

As these facts become transparent and the perpetrators apparent, Pakistan-as an ally of the U.S.-must play a leadership role in the Muslim community by insisting that the U.S. withdraw its recognition of this extremist enclave as a legitimate nation-state.

Absent that withdrawal, Americans will continue to be endangered by those who believe that U.S. behavior reflects the policies of our government rather than the policies of Zionist extremists imbedded inside our government. See:

• Make the Real Terrorists Accountable
• A Closer Look at Israel’s Role in Terrorism’

The Indonesian Connection

Dr. Olds knew about Mel Rockefeller’s meetings in Jakarta in mid-March 2001 with Arie Kumaat, Director of Indonesian Intelligence. The defense minister of India had just been toppled by a bribe involving an Israeli defense firm. Malaysian intelligence had just discovered a similar attempt by Tel Aviv to discredit its defense chief-likewise six months prior to 9-11.

Kumaat had uncovered a multi-billion dollar Israeli bribe to the Indonesian parliament to push the U.S. out of the region in favor of China. Kumaat balked at reporting his findings to the U.S. embassy for fear that he was also reporting to Israel. From 1986-1989, the U.S. Ambassador to Indonesia was Zionist war-planner Paul Wolfowitz.

Not until the mass murder of 9-11 did Dr. Olds fully grasp how Mel Rockefeller’s lengthy experience could prove the common Judeo-fascist source of much of the world’s violence. After that murderous provocation, Kumaat agreed to arrange a meeting for Mel Rockefeller with former Indonesian president Abdurrahman Wahid, a respected religious leader for 80 million moderate Muslim men. A follow-on meeting was anticipated with Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir who has long opposed the geopolitical manipulations of Jewish extremists.

That Islam-focused strategy for blocking the March 2003 invasion of Iraq was stymied when, in January 2002, Kumaat died of a heart attack-the plausible reason given for his death though an autopsy by his wife detected the drug used to induce a heart attack. An interview of his son, Henrie, confirmed the details.

We now know that 911-related intelligence was “fixed” around a preset agenda for Greater Israel long sought by Israelis and pro-Israelis with the help of Iraqi liar Ahmad Chalabi, an asset developed over decades by Zionist war-planners Richard Perle and Paul Wolfowitz.

Pakistan must realize that the same mental and emotional manipulation deployed to induce a U.S.-led invasion of Iraq is now being used to provoke an invasion of Iran. By destabilizing Pakistan and portraying its western provinces as a haven for Al Qaeda, Zionists will make it appear that Islamabad’s nuclear arsenal is insecure. That perception heightens the plausibility of an attack on the Islamic Republic of Iran, citing a nuclear risk.  See:

• The Nuclear Riddle
• Israel Gets Its Way

That perceived insecurity also strengthens the rationale for an Israeli operation-flying the U.S. flag-to take over the government of Pakistan. What could soon happen to Islamabad directly is what happened to the U.S. over decades indirectly. See:

• How Israel Lobby Controls US
• At What Cost the Israel Lobby?

The Depth of the Duplicity

Pakistan must quickly realize-and candidly acknowledge-that the Obama presidency is even more thoroughly staffed by Zionists than the Bush administration and even the notoriously pro-Israeli Clinton presidency.

In 2003, Dr. Olds shared an insight about Clinton Secretary of State Madeleine Albright who claimed an epiphany in 1997 that she was Jewish-after she became our top diplomat. In 1951, while serving as chaplain at the University of Denver, Dr. Olds was dispatched as the university emissary to welcome to Denver the wife and daughter of Soviet Bloc defector Josef Korbel, a former Czech diplomat and then professor of international studies.

Dr. Olds described how the future Mrs. Albright-then a pigtailed teenager with braces-stepped onto the train platform carrying the family menorah.  He knew the family well. He dismissed her “epiphany” decades later as “simply not believable.”

Josef Korbel emerged as the mentor to Condoleezza Rice when she entered the University of Denver at an impressionable age 15 and he guided her into Russian studies. In September 2000, Albright named the State Department building after Harry Truman, the president best known abroad for overruling his Secretary of State George C. Marshall in 1948 when the former WWII general strenuously objected to our recognition of an extremist enclave as a legitimate state.

Jeff Gates

Jeff Gates: A widely acclaimed author, attorney, investment banker, educator and consultant to government, corporate and union leaders worldwide, Jeff Gates’ latest book is Guilt By Association—How Deception and Self-Deceit Took America to War (2008). His previous books include Democracy at Risk: Rescuing Main Street From Wall Street and The Ownership Solution: Toward a Shared Capitalism for the 21st Century. For two decades, an adviser to policy-makers worldwide. Counsel to the U.S. Senate Finance Committee (1980-87)

He is also the author of the new book Guilt by Association: How Deception and Self-Deceit Took America to War.  His previous books include Democracy at Risk: Rescuing Main Street From Wall Street and The Ownership Solution: Toward a Shared Capitalism for the 21st Century.

He resides in Tempe Arizona. jeffgates2@gmail.com. Visit his web site, www.criminalstate.com

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].

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

A good friend of mine shared this YouTube video of 20 year old nightly news piece on his elementary school alma mater, Orange Crescent School in Garden Grove, California (“OCS”).  OCS is an Islamic school, part of the Islamic Society of Orange County, and shares a campus with the local mosque.  My friend Hassan, who appears in the piece as an adolescent, has always stressed to me that the Muslim community is very American, sharing in our values of self-reliance, hard work, virtue, and personal responsibility, and that they have long desired to become more accepted into the American culture.  Sadly for them, in the 20 years or so since this piece aired, Americans seem more wary of Muslims than ever.

The likes of Andy McCarthy and Geert Wilders characterize Islam as not a religion, but a political ideology, and that there is no such thing as “radical Islam,” but instead the atrocities we see people committing in the name of Allah are simply dutiful Muslims following the letter of the Koran.  The Fort Hood tragedy was not a freak accident—it was an inevitability given our irrational toleration of Islamic ideology.  Islam, McCarthy and Wilders would have the Western world understand, is anathema to free society.

Interestingly, Edward Gibbons, author of the seminal The History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire, concluded something similar about Christianity.  According to Gibbons, Christianity poisoned the pluralistic, secular fabric of the Roman empire, and instead made claims to a singular, universal Truth.  They stressed the temporal quality of the physical world, and focused on the otherworldly.  Rather than committing themselves to the protection of the Roman empire from the barbarians and swearing fealty to the emperor, Christians were committed to personal salvation and swore fealty to the God.

Edward Gibbons's The History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire

Today, by contrast, it is the view of many Americans that America is founded upon Christianity. What changed?  Not the core tenets of Christianity.  It is not Christianity’s message that determines its cultural impact. Religion and political regimes have a symbiotic relationship.  The Roman empire was pagan.  America was deistic and at least loosely Christian at its founding.  Religion—whether Christianity or Islam or just about anything else—is inherently dangerous to political systems if not suitably integrated in the respective society’s cultural fabric.

Most religions can be used to either support or tear down political society.  The culprit is not religion qua religion. We should not be so naive as to explain terrorism and anti-Americanism as the inexorable conclusion of a religious view.  And until we more fully understand the deep sociological and historiographical reasons that actually underlie modern ethnic and religious tensions, we ought to refrain from alienating that segment of our society that shares so many of our most important values and that wants to become part of our society.  Terrorism is a great evil.  We do a disservice to the cause of eradicating it by including so many false positives.

PakAlert

When waging war “by way of deception,” the motto of the Israeli Mossad, well-timed crises play a critical agenda-setting role by displacing facts with what a target population can be deceived to believe. Thus the force-multiplier effect when staged crises are reinforced with pre-staged intelligence. In combination, the two often prove persuasive.

That duplicity was on display when U.S. lawmakers were induced to invade Iraq in response to the mass murder of 9-11. That crisis alone, however, was insufficient. Military mobilization required a “consensus” belief in Iraqi WMD, Iraqi ties to Al Qaeda, Iraqi mobile biological weapons, Iraqi meetings in Prague, and so forth. Though all were false, those “facts” proved sufficient to induce an invasion of Iraq.

Such agent provocateur operations typically include collateral incidents as pre-staging for the intended main event. Ongoing incidents suggest a follow-on operation is underway. Recent history suggests we’ll see an orgy of evidence that plausibly indicts a pre-staged Evil Doer. Though Iran is an obvious candidate, Pakistan is also a possibility where outside forces have been destabilizing this nuclear Islamic nation with a series of violent incidents.

The Indo-Israel Alliance

December 2007 saw the murder of former Pakistan Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto. Mark Siegel, her Ashkenazim biographer and lobbyist, assured U.S. diplomats that her return was “the only possible way that we could guarantee stability and keep the presidency of Musharraf intact.”

President Pervez Musharraf had announced that resolution of the Israel-Palestine conflict was essential to the resolution of conflicts in Iraq and neighboring Afghanistan. That comment made him a target for Tel Aviv.

During Bhutto’s two terms as prime minister, Pakistani support for the Taliban—then celebrated as the freedom-fighting Mujahadin—enabled her to wield influence in Afghanistan while also catalyzing conflicts in Kashmir. By fueling tension with India, she also fueled an Indo-Israel alliance as Tel Aviv provided New Delhi an emergency shipment of artillery shells during a conflict over the Kirpal region of Kashmir.

In January 2009, Israel delivered to India the first of three Phalcon Airborne Warning & Control Systems (AWACS) shifting the balance of conventional weapons in the region. That sale confirmed what Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had earlier announced: “Our ties with India don’t have any limitation….” That became apparent in April when Israel signed a $1.1 billion agreement to provide India an advanced tactical air defense system developed by Raytheon, a U.S. defense contractor.

In August 2008, Ashkenazim General David Kezerashvili returned to Georgia from Tel Aviv to lead an assault on separatists in South Ossetia with the support of Israeli arms and training. That crisis ignited Cold War tensions between the U.S. and Russia, key members of the Quartet (along with the EU and the UN) pledged to resolve the Israel-Palestine conflict.

More Game Theory Warfare?

Bhutto’s murder ensured a crisis that replaced Musharaff with Asif Ali Zardari, her notoriously corrupt husband. By Washington’s alliance with Zardari, the U.S. could be portrayed as extending its corrupting influence in the region.

On August 7, 2008, the Zadari-led ruling coalition called for a no-confidence vote in Parliament against Musharraf just as he was departing for the Summer Olympics in Beijing. On August 8, heavy fighting erupted overnight in South Ossetia. As with many of the recent incidents in Pakistan, this violent event involved armed separatists.

But for pro-Israeli influence inside the U.S. government, would our State Department have installed in office the corrupt Hamid Karzai in Afghanistan, leading to record-level poppy production? Is the heroin epidemic presently eroding Russian society traceable to Israel’s infamous game theory war-planners? [See “How Israel Wages Game Theory Warfare” and “Israel and 9-11” .]

In late November 2008, a terrorist attack in Mumbai, India’s financial center, renewed fears of nuclear tension between India and Pakistan. When the attackers struck a hostel managed by Chabad Lubavitch, an ultra-orthodox Jewish sect from New York, Israeli Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni announced from Tel Aviv: “Our world is under attack.” By early December, Israeli journalists urged that we “fortify the security of Jewish institutions worldwide.”

Soon after “India’s 9-11” was found to include operatives from Pakistan’s western tribal region, Zardari announced an agreement with the Taliban to allow Sharia law to govern a swath of the North West Frontier Province where Al Qaeda members reportedly reside.

Pakistani cooperation with “Islamic extremists” created the impression of enhanced insecurity and vulnerability for the U.S. and its allies. That perceived threat was marketed by mainstream media as proof of the perils of “militant Islam.”

With the Taliban and Al Qaeda portrayed as operating freely in a nuclear-armed Islamic state, Tel Aviv gained traction for its claim that a nuclear Tehran posed an “existential threat” to the Jewish state. Meanwhile Israel’s election of an ultra-nationalist/ultra-orthodox coalition further delayed resolution of the Israel-Palestine conflict.

More delay is destined to evoke more extremism and gain more traction for those marketing the “global war on terrorism.” Israeli Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni argued after the assault in Mumbai: “Israel, India and the rest of the free world are positioned in the forefront of the battle against terrorists and extremism.”

In announcing that list, Islamabad was indicted by its exclusion even though Pakistan is dominantly Sunni and, unlike Iran’s Shi’a , abhors theocratic rule. The fact patterns suggest that Pakistan, not India, was the target of the murderous terrorism in Mumbai.

Advised by legions of Ashkenazim, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton’s recent mission to Islamabad was a diplomatic disaster. Abrasive and arrogant, America’s top diplomat reinforced Pakistani concerns that it is surrounded by hostile forces and that the nation is being set up to fail by Jewish nationalist advisers to a nation it considered an ally.

In a climate of heightened tensions, Clinton undermined U.S. interests, boosted the Israeli case for a global war on “Islamo-fascism” and lent credence to the Clash of Civilizations.

Destabilization as a Prequel to Domination

As Afghanistan and Pakistan join other nations being destabilized by outside forces, key questions must be answered:

Was India’s 9-11 a form of geopolitical misdirection meant to serve both the tactical goals of Muslim extremists and the strategic goals of Jewish nationalists? Who benefits—within Pakistan—from humiliation at the hands of India and the U.S.?

With Bhutto’s murder and Musharraf’s departure, the crisis in Mumbai drew Pakistani forces to the Indian border and away from the western tribal region. Was that the geostrategic goal of these well-timed crises? What role, if any, did Israel play?

Is delay in ending the occupation of Palestine part of an agent provocateur strategy? Was the latest assault on Gaza part of this strategy?

Each of these crises incrementally advanced the expansionist agenda of Colonial Zionists. Do these collateral incidents trace their origin to a common source? Is that source again using serial events to pre-stage a main event?

The public has an intuitive grasp of the source of this oft-recurring behavior. An October 2003 poll of 7,500 respondents in member nations of the European Union found that Israel was considered the greatest threat to world peace.

Is terrorism limited to “Islamo-fascists”? Are mass murders also deployed—from the shadows—as a strategy of geopolitical manipulation by those who Ashkenazim philosopher Hannah Arendt described as “Jewish fascists”?

Author, educator, attorney, merchant banker and adviser to policy-makers worldwide and U.S. Veteran

Jeff was counsel to the U.S. Senate Committee on Finance (1980-87) working for Democrat Russell Long, son of Louisiana Governor and U.S. Senator Huey P. Long. Specialist in employee benefits law—pensions, 401(k) plans, stock options, employee stock ownership plans (ESOPs), et.al. Tax-qualified employee benefit plans accounted for $17 trillion in assets (April 2007) and more than half the funds in the hands of institutional investors. As of 2007, ESOPs were in place in 11,500 firms nationwide, covering 10% of the U.S. workforce and holding $800 billion in assets. Law practice w/ former Senators Russell Long, Democrat of Louisiana and Paul Laxalt, Republican of Nevada, chairman of Ronald Reagan’s presidential campaigns.

Brigitte Gabriel & Glenn Beck – Islam teaches Hatred

Brigitte Gabriel & Glenn Beck

Here an excerpt from a recent Monkey Smashes Heaven blog, http://monkeysmashesheaven.wordpress.com/2009/11/10/fragging-statement-msh-and-anwar-al-awlaki/ MSH may be intended as NMH (Nidal Malik Hasan), but we acknowledge the possibility that usage and apocryphal  meanings  exist beyond our sphere of operation…That Anwar al-Awlaki has chosen to comment on the event is revealing in and of itself..

“The bourgeois media has condemned the horror of the shootings. However, capitalism-imperialism is the real horror. The continued existence of the US and other imperialist countries is the real horror. The US was born of the greatest genocide in human history. Amerikans exterminated a continent of Indigenous civilizations to make way for its racist empire. Millions of Blacks and Africans were killed and enslaved to make the US what it is today: the most murderous country that has ever existed. There is not a corner of the Third World that escapes the murderous grasp of US imperialism. Billions of people in the Third World barely survive, making less than 2.50 dollars a day, exploited by the US and First World. Billions live in poverty so that US and other First World populations live in luxury. Billions live under constant military threat from the imperialists. In Iraq alone there have been 100,000 to 600,000 violent deaths since 2003. In Afghanistan, there have been 12,000 to 32,000 civilian deaths since 2001.

Those who strike out against the real horrors of imperialism should be applauded, not condemned. Fragging has a long histoy. In the last century, fragging was a form of resistance practiced by Russian troops against their Czarist officers during World War 1 and the Bolshevik revolution. Fragging was also a form of protest against the genocide waged by the US against Vietnam.

Fragging is still a valid form of resistance today.  Not only does fragging hurt imperialist forces in a very direct way, fragging strikes a strong psychological blow against the enemy. Fragging demoralizes and destroys the enemy from within.

Islamic cleric Anwar al Awlaki, who knew Hasan earlier in life, had this to say about the events:

“Nidal Hassan is a hero. He is a man of conscience who could not bear living the contradiction of being a Muslim and serving in an army that is fighting against his own people. This is a contradiction that many Muslims brush aside and just pretend that it doesn’t exist. Any decent Muslim cannot live, understanding properly his duties towards his Creator and his fellow Muslims, and yet serve as a US soldier. The US is leading the war against terrorism which in reality is a war against Islam. Its army is directly invading two Muslim countries and indirectly occupying the rest through its stooges.

Nidal opened fire on soldiers who were on their way to be deployed to Iraq and Afghanistan. How can there be any dispute about the virtue of what he has done? In fact the only way a Muslim could Islamically justify serving as a soldier in the US army is if his intention is to follow the footsteps of men like Nidal.

The heroic act of brother Nidal also shows the dilemma of the Muslim American community. Increasingly they are being cornered into taking stances that would either make them betray Islam or betray their nation. Many amongst them are choosing the former. The Muslim organizations in America came out in a pitiful chorus condemning Nidal’s operation.

The fact that fighting against the US army is an Islamic duty today cannot be disputed. No scholar with a grain of Islamic knowledge can defy the clear cut proofs that Muslims today have the right -rather the duty- to fight against American tyranny. Nidal has killed soldiers who were about to be deployed to Iraq and Afghanistan in order to kill Muslims. The American Muslims who condemned his actions have committed treason against the Muslim Ummah and have fallen into hypocrisy.

Allah(swt) says: Give tidings to the hypocrites that there is for them a painful punishment –

Those who take disbelievers as allies instead of the believers. Do they seek with them honor [through power]? But indeed, honor belongs to Allah entirely. (al-Nisa 136-137)

The inconsistency of being a Muslim today and living in America and the West in general reveals the wisdom behind the opinions that call for migration from the West. It is becoming more and more difficult to hold on to Islam in an environment that is becoming more hostile towards Muslims.

May Allah grant our brother Nidal patience, perseverance and steadfastness and we ask Allah to accept from him his great heroic act. Ameen” “

Thanks to Brother Monkey Smash and Brother Anwar…thanks so much for this lesson in tolerance, scholarship, and  political correctness….May Allah grant you what you deserve.

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.)

First and foremost, this essential truth:  The war on terror is not a war on Islam.

In their article titled “Counterterrrorism: Shifting from Who to How” (Stratfor.com, 11/04/2009), Scott Stewart and Fred Burton warn that,  to better thwart detection, the Islamist leadership now  emphasizes  individually initiated attacks over those planned by groups.

In the 11th edition of the online magazine Sada al-Malahim (The Echo of Battle), just released to jihadist web sites last week, Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP)  leader Nasir al-Wahayshi (the ethnic Yemeni, serving as lieutenant to bin Laden in Afghanistan) wrote an article that called for jihadists to conduct simple attacks against a suggested variety of targets.  They included, “any tyrant, intelligence den, prince or minister and any crusaders wherever you find one of them, like at the airports of the crusader western countries that participate in wars against Islam, or their living compounds, trains, etc.”

Having conducted his operation and (unexpectedly) survived (fortunately for us), Nidal Malik Hasan the  Islamist mole, will now, as planned,  receive cover from his associates who will blame his actions on “stress” and pronounce him innocent while they celebrate among themselves.

The attack at Ft. Hood is the first of many we can expect to follow.  “Normalcy” became something different today.  The sooner we understand this, the better. Welcome to the new era of “grassroots” terror.

http://www.stratfor.com/weekly/20091104_counterterrorism_shifting_who_how?utm_source=SWeeklyA&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=091104&utm_content=readmore

Again, from  www.TheReligionOfPeace.com

List of Islamic Terror Attacks For the Past 2 Months

More Previous Attacks Continued

We are tired of the arrogance, excuses, and whiny demands.
It’s time for Muslims to take responsibility and end the violence.
LPCC Fraud Ohio
Previous Years:

Islamic Terror Attacks for First Part of 2009

Islamic Terror Attacks for 2008

Islamic Terror Attacks for 2007

Islamic Terror Attacks for 2006

Islamic Terror Attacks for 2005

Islamic Terror Attacks for 2004

Islamic Attacks from September 11th, 2001 through 2003

This article is at  TheReligionofPeace.com

We present a small portion of it here, however please read it at their site by clicking the link above.

Introduction
Why the Violence?  Why the Indifference?

When Islamic terrorists massacred 186 children and 148 other non-Muslims on the morning of September 3^rd, 2004 at a schoolhouse in Beslan, Russia, very few Muslims celebrated the high-profile event and some even took the time to denounce it.  But, in a community renowned for its peevishness, there was very little passion over the routine slaughter of innocents in the name of Islam.

While rumors of a Qur’an desecration or a Muhammad cartoon bring out deadly protests, riots, arson and effigy-burnings, the mass murder of non-Muslims generally evokes yawns. In the six years following 9/11 more than 10,000 acts of deadly Islamic terrorism were perpetrated, yet all of them together fail to provoke the sort of outrage on the part of most Muslims that the mere mention of Abu Ghraib or Guantanamo inspires.

Geert Wilders Speaks at Columbia University

Part I

Part II

Part III

Part IV

Questions & Answers

Simon Deng and Pamela Geller at Geert Wilders, Columbia University

The radical Islamic state of Iran is leading a global movement calling for a second Holocaust — the elimination of Israel from the face of the earth. The Islamic terrorist organizations Hizbollah and Hamas are calling on Muslims to destroy the Jewish state and kill the Jews in those exact words. And on campuses across the United States, radical professors and student groups are lining up to support the genocide.

The day Israeli troops left Gaza – a territory that has been used as a launching pad for three aggressive wars against the Jewish state – Hamas terrorists began a three-year campaign of rocket attacks on Israel that was only halted by an Israeli counter attack, which began in December 2008.  As Israel was defending itself from these Hamas attacks, University of California Sociology professor William Robinson assembled pictures university administrators described as “lurid” of Nazis persecuting Jews and emailed them to all the students in his course on globalization along with a diatribe about how the Israeli soldiers fighting Hamas terrorists were no different from fascist troops in World War II destroying the city of Warsaw.

Robinson’s propaganda message had no educational context, was unrelated to the subject of the course, and allowed for no alternative viewpoints.  It had nothing to do with education. It was purely an act of aggression, part of an intensifying war against the Jews that has broken out on many fronts across American higher education:

• A University of Rochester sit- in during Israel’s defensive war in Gaza intimidates school administrators into backing a demand for the university to divest from companies doing business with “the Israeli war machine.”
• During Israel’s war to defend itself from 7,000 unprovoked rocket attacks launched at civilian targets from the Hamas-run Gaza strip, “teach-ins” were held on campuses across the country whose theme was that Israel is a Nazi apartheid state and the Hamas terrorists are freedom fighters.
• An event at UCLA’s Center for Near Eastern Studies encourages the audience in a “Zionism is Nazism” chant and portrays the genocidal terrorists of Hamas as peace-seeking, unjustly provoked victims.
• At University of California Irvine graduation ceremonies, members of the Muslim Students Union wear green stoles mimicking those of suicide bombers with Arabic word shahada (“martyr”) printed on them.

The campus war against Israel and the Jews, with its ominous overtones of the 1930s, is both a reflection of the Middle East conflict and something much more: an effort by radical groups to stigmatize America and the west by stigmatizing Israel.  This campus conflict has been building for several years, as radical professors and student groups have targeted Israel and the Jewish students who defend it. But in the aftermath of 9/11, as Israel became a front line state in the war on terror, this campus war has intensified.  Students, particularly Jews, who refuse to join the attack on Israel are not only criticized; they are subjected to hatred and intimidation.

At one level it is a war of symbols: campuses are adorned with banners in which the Star of David is joined to the swastika by an equal sign; as Israel is the only Jewish state and was created against the backdrop of the Nazi Holocaust, this is a hate crime in itself; student governments and academic senates push measures for disinvestment based on the blood libel that Israel – the only democratic state in the Middle East — is morally equivalent to the racist apartheid regime of South Africa; in a cynical reversal of the Biblical story, the genocide inciting Islamic world, enabled becomes David and tiny and outnumbered Israel becomes Goliath.

The conflict increasingly features the threat of real, as opposed to merely rhetorical violence. Pro-jihad groups such as the Muslim Students Association, an organization that supports Hamas and is part of the Muslim Brotherhood network which now has hundred of campus chapters and regularly sponsors fundamentalist Islamic prophets of hate, have dropped the pretense that it is only Israel and not Jews that are in their gun sights.  In demonstrations at UCLA, its members showed that there is no such distinction as they chanted “Death to Israel!” in almost the same breath as “Death to the Jews!”  At a pro Palestinian demonstration at UC Irvine, MSA members threaten Jewish students with violence and chase them off campus.

Stopping the Campus War Against Israel and the Jews

Until now, the unholy campus alliance of Muslim supporters of the Islamic jihad and secular radicals at war with America, have been winning these battles. In large part this is because of the support they receive from faculty members who use their classrooms to reinforce the virulent anti-Israel and anti-American messages of the jihad. They are abetted by administrators, who otherwise rigorously punish even the suspicion of  “hate speech” but are so cowed by the campus left that they refuse to apply similar standards to the Jew-haters on their faculties and among their campus organizations. But the real problem is that this campus war has been going on for so long now and has been so one-sided that it has created a culture of stigma for Israel and the Jewish students who support it or who criticize the genocidal ambitions of Hamas and other Islamo Fascist groups involved in the Palestinian cause.

During the week of October 12-16, 2009 the David Horowitz Freedom Center is organizing a nationwide  protest whose theme will be “Stop the Campus War Against Israel the Jews.” We intends to attack the culture of stigma that has placed a target on the back of every Jew attending a college and to support students who are standing up to the hate and fighting back. We will do this in several ways:

• In a series of pamphlets and flash videos, we will document the fact that the all out, totalitarian attack on Israel is in fact a blatant form of anti Semitism.  These publications will show the full range of the left’s anti Semitic assault —in classrooms, in administrative decisions, and especially in the abusive arena of campus politics.
• We will report on the bigotry Jewish students on campuses experience as part of their every day academic and social lives in a series of first person accounts that will dramatize the crushing way in which the virulence of the hatred against Israel affects individuals, especially when they speak up in or out of class with an opposing view.
• We will establish alliances with Jewish student groups under attack and with Christian groups defending Israel. We will also reach out to Scholars for Peace in the Middle East, an embattled faculty organization that attempts to promote an even handed discussion of Israel and Palestine on campus, and increase their visibility and influence.  We will do the same with individuals such as Alan Dershowitz, who has waged an often lonely struggle against the “divestment” movement that has become one of the left’s most potent weapons in its offensive against Israel.

The centerpiece of the Freedom Center’s campaign to “Stop the Campus War Against Israel and the Jews” will be a week-long series of demonstrations .  Based on the Center’s successful “Islamo Fascism Awareness Weeks,” these teach ins will feature films, lectures, and panel discussions with figures such as Nonie Darwish, Yossi Ohlmert, Robert Spencer, Daniel Pipes, and myself. By revealing the irrational hatred of the left’s attack on Israel, and documenting its anti Semitic overtones and its support for terrorist groups, this week of demonstrations will win space for an honest discussion of Israel and the Middle East conflict and of the objectives of the campus left in our universities.

For more information, go to www.terrorismawareness.org

TERRORISM

The word terrorism was first time used in 1970s during the french revolution!! It was used to describe the french regime!!

Starting with the 19th century!!

hardly any terrorist attacks have been done by Muslims!!

I would just mention some attacks!!

Year:1881

Tsar Alexander2 was assassinate in a bullet proof carriage.

location: st peter’s berg street

innocent people killed: 21

involvement: Ignacy (non muslim)

Year:1886

Bomb blast took place during the labout rally.

location:Haymarket chicago

innocent people killed: 12

involvement: 8 anarchist(not Muslims)

20th century..

Year:1901 (6 sept)

US president William McKinley was assassinated.

involvement: Leon (anarchist not Muslim)

year:1910 (1st October)

Bomb blast in Los angles newspaper building.

Location: Los angles

innocent people killed:21

Involvement:James and Joseph (Christians)

year:1914 (28th june)

Archduke of Austria and wife were assassinated which precipitated the world war 1.

Involvement:young Bosnia(terrorist group),who were serbs(non Muslims).

year:1925 (16th April)

Bomb blast in st.Nedelya church

Location: Sofia (capital of Bulgaria)

innocent people killed: more than 150 (more than 500 injured)

Involvement: Bulgarian communist party (non Muslims)

year:1934 (9th October)

King Alexander1 of yugoslavia was assasinated.

Involvement:Vlada Georgeiff (non muslim)

Year:1961

The first American plane hijacked.

Involvement:Ortiz (non Muslim)

year:1968 (28th august)

The US ambassador to Guatemala was assassinated.

Involvment: non Muslims.

year:1969 (30th july)

The US ambassador to Japan was assassinated.

involvement: non Muslim Japanese.

year:1969 (3rd september)

The US ambassador to Brazil was kidnapped.

Involvement: Non Muslim Brazilian.

year:1995 (19th April)

Federal building was bombed.

Location:Oklahoma city

innocent people killed: 166

Involvement:Initially the media showed in the news “Middle east conspiracy”and created a hype later we came to know it were 2 right winged activists Timothy and terry(Christians) who were responsible but the media just showed it for a couple of days!

year:1941-1948 (after world war)

259 terrorist attacks were conducted by Jewish terrorists.

involvement:  Ignun, stern gang, Hegana (terrorist organizations)

eg:

year:1946 (22nd july)

Bombing of king david hotel

involvement:Ignun (leader menachem Begin)

innocent people killed: 91(28british 41 arabs 17jews 5 others)

The person responsible “menacham begin later on became the president of isriel aftr som more years.he gets a nobel prize for peace lolzz!!

Before 1945 Israel did not exist these Jewish groups kicked the Palestinians and formed Israel and now when Palestinians r fighting for there land they say Palestinians are terrorists !!

year:1968-1992

Baader meinhoff gang killed hundreds of innocent ppl.

location: Germany

killing of hundreds of people.

kidnapping of the prime minister of Italy and killing him.

Location:Italy

involvement:Red brigades (non Muslims)

year:1995 (20th march)

tried to kill thousands by the nerve gas in Tokyo subway.

Location: Tokyo (japan)

innocent people killed:12 (more than 5000 injured)

involvement: Aum shinrikyo ( Budhdhist)

The IRA Irish republican army is conducting attacks in UK for 100 yrs they are Catholics but they are not called catholic terrorists but only IRA.

Year:1972

3bomb blasts were done.

innocent people killed: 1st attacks-7,2nd-11 . 3rd-9.

Location:UK

Involvement:IRA

Year:1974

2bomb blasts were done.

Location:Guild for club,Birmingham club.

Innocent prople killed:5 killed (more than 40 injured), 21 killed (182 injured).

Involvement:IRA

year:1996

a bomb blast wa done!

Location:London

Innocent people killed:2 (more than 100 injured)

Involvement:IRA

year:1996

bomb blast in shopping center.

Location:Manchester

innocent people injured: 206

Year: 1998 (august)

Banbridge bomb blast

People injured:35

Year: 1998 (august)

Omag bomb blast

Innocent people killed:29 killed (more than 330 injured)

In Spain and France Terrorist organization is ETA conducted more than 36 attack!

In Africa there are many terrorist groups but the most dangerous is the “Lord’s salvation army” (a christian group) they train young children to do terrorist attacks.

In sri lanka we have LTTE (tamil tigers, hindus) supposed to be the most notorious most violent.but no one calls them Hindu Terrorists.

In India we mostly hear of  Kashmir militants, people only know the Muslim terrorist, no one knos the other groups, Why?? because of the media!!

In India there are almost terrorist organizations of every religion!!

Sikh organisation-brindan vala group.

Indra gandhi was assasinated by a sikh…Rajiv gandhi was assasinated by hindus!!

If you go on “south asian terrorism portal” largest website on terrorism(run by non muslims) you will find muslim Terrorist attacks in minority.But that is nevr highlited in the media.

North east India:

ATTF(all tripura tiger force) christian group.

NLFT(national libration front o tripura)christian

they have killed hundreds of hindus

Year:2004 (2nd october)

innocent people killed:44 Hindus

Involvement:christian groups

In Assam

Ulfa(Hindu group):From 1990 to 2006 have conducted 749 terrorist attacks.(trained to target Muslims) But in the news paper we just come to know about the Kashmiri militants..

The Moists (biggest terrorist in India)

In nepal:Moists have conducted 99 terrorist attacks in seven years(1999-2006), they are present in 150 districts o India and have conducted attacks in 1/3 parts o India.

Times of India report: 875 rockets and 30 rocket launchers which were supposed to be supplied to the moists were intercepted by the police.

Martin Luther King was assianated By NON muslim..

“Hitler” Who was a christian killed 6 million jews.

“Joseph stalin also called Uncle joe” who is a christian has killed 20million people including 14 million who were starved to death.

“Mao Tse Tsung” in china has killed more than 15 million people.

The brutality on millions of black pplz and making them slaves, treating them more worse than animals,, was done by NON muslims..

“Benito Mussolini” has killied around 400,000 people in italy.

“Maximilien Robespierre” after whom the french revolution is named has starved and killed more than 200,000 people and executed more than 40,000.

“Ashoka” in the battle of kalinga alone killed more than 100,000 people.

“George Bush” the Biggest terrorist has killed Half a million children in Iraq and millions of more in Iraq Afghanistan etc.

These are just a FEWWWW examples…!!

IF terrorism mean terrorising innocent human beings then no muslim shud be a terrorist because it is prohibited in islam.

Quran, ch5 v32 :If any human being kills another human being(muslim OR non muslim both) unless it be for murder or for creating corruptionm in the land it is as though he has killed the whole of humanity.

and If you save a single life it is as though you have saved the whole humankind.

And

act righteously with parents, and also with your relatives and the orphans and the needy and the neighbors who are related to you and [also] the neighbors who are not related to you, and the companions by your side and the travelers…” (Al-Nisa’ 4: 36)

It must be noted that the Qur’an has directed us to act righteously with all those that have been mentioned in the verse without any qualification of their religion or beliefs.

see,,

Islam is against HATE AND terrorism.!!

Jihad (Fighting for the Cause of GOD Almighty) started with the Bible..

“All who would not seek the LORD, the God of Israel, were to be put to death, whether small or great, man or woman. (From the NIV Bible, 2 Chronicles 15:13)”

- *IM*

What Quran says about Quran?

Who Sent Quran?

“And this Quran is not such as could be forged by those besides Allah, but it is a verification of that which is before it and a clear explanation of the book, there is no doubt in it, from the Lord of the worlds.”

[10. Surah Yunis: Ayah 37]

“Do they not then meditate on the Quran? And if it were from any other than Allah, they would have found in it many a discrepancy.”

[4. Surah Nisaa: Ayah 82]

On Whom Quran is Descended?

“Surely We Ourselves have revealed the Quran to you revealing (it) in portions.”

[76. Surah Dahr : Ayah 23]

“And thus have We revealed to you an Arabic Quran, that you may warn the mother city and those around it, and that you may give warning of the day of gathering together wherein is no doubt; a party shall be in the garden and (another) party in the burning fire.”

[42. Surah Ash-Shura : Ayah 7]

“Say: What thing is the weightiest in testimony? Say: Allah is witness between you and me; and this Quran has been revealed to me that with it I may warn you and whomsoever it reaches. Do you really bear witness that there are other gods with Allah? Say: I do not bear witness. Say: He is only one God, and surely I am clear of that which you set up (with Him).”

[6. Surah Al-An'am : Ayah 19]

For Whom Quran is Descended?

“A Book of which the verses are made plain, an Arabic Quran for a people who know.”

[41. Surah Fussilat : Ayah 3]

“Therefore remind him by means of the Quran who fears My threat.”

[50. Surah Qaaf : Ayah 45]

When Quran is Descended?

“The month of Ramazan is that in which the Quran was revealed, a guidance to men and clear proofs of the guidance and the distinction; therefore whoever of you is present in the month, he shall fast therein, and whoever is sick or upon a journey, then (he shall fast) a (like) number of other days.”

[2. Surah Al-Baqarah : Ayah 185]

Why Quran is Descended?

“We have sent it down as an Arabic Qur’an, in order that ye may learn wisdom.”

[12. Surah Yusuf : Ayah 2]

“We have not revealed the Quran to you that you may be unsuccessful. Nay, it is a reminder to him who fears.”

[20. Surah Ta-ha : Ayah 2-3]

“And it is a Quran which We have revealed in portions so that you may read it to the people by slow degrees, and We have revealed it, revealing in portions.”

“Surely this Quran guides to that which is most upright and gives good news to the believers who do good that they shall have a great reward.”

[17. Surah Bani Israel : Ayah 106,9]

AISHA bint Abu Bakr

Gradually the Muslims who remained in Mecca left the city and traveled to Medina to join their beloved Prophet, and amongst them was a little girl called ‘A’isha, the daughter of Abu Bakr.

Soon after arriving in Medina, ‘A’isha, who was now nine years old, as married to the Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him), who was now fifty-four years old. It was at this point that she left her family’s household and joined that the Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him).

‘A’isha later reported that the Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) had told her that Jibril came to him and showed him a picture of her on a piece of green silk and said, “She is your wife in this world and in the next world.”

About her wedding,

she related that shortly before she was to leave her parents’ house, she slipped out into the courtyard to play with a friend. “I was playing on a seesaw and my long streaming hair became disheveled,” she said. “They came and took me from my play and made me ready.” They dressed her in a wedding dress made from fine red striped cloth from Bahrain and then her mother took her to the newly built house where some women of the Ansar were waiting outside the door.

They greeted her with the words, “For good and for happiness, may all be well.” Then, in the presence of the smiling Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) a bowl of milk was brought. The Prophet drank from it himself and then offered it to ‘A’isha.

She shyly declined it, but when he insisted she drink as well and then offered the bowl to her sister Asma’ who was sitting beside her. The others who were present also drank from it, and that was all there was to the simple and solemn occasion of their wedding.

Her marriage to the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) did not change ‘A’isha’s playful ways, and her young friends continued to regularly come to visit her in her own room.

“I would be playing with my dolls,” she once said, ‘with the girls who were my friends, and the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) would come in and they would slip out of the house and he would go out after them and bring them back, for he was pleased for my sake to have them there.”

Sometimes he would say, “Stay, where you are,” before they had time to leave, and would also join in their games.

“One day,” ‘A’isha said, “the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) came in when I was playing with my dolls and said, “‘A’isha, whatever game is this?’ ‘It is Solomon’s horses,’ I replied, and he laughed.”

On another occasion, during the days of the Id al Adha, two young girls were with ‘A’isha in her room, singing a song about the famous battle of Bu’ath and beating a tambourine in time.

“The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) came in,” said ‘A’isha, ‘and lay down with his face turned away.

Then Abu Bakr came, and scolded me, saying, ‘What is this musical instrument of Shaytan doing in the house of the Messenger of Allah?’ The Messenger of Allah turned towards him and said, ‘Leave them alone, for these are the days of the ‘Id.’”

After a while, ‘A’isha asked the girls to leave, and the Prophet asked ‘A’isha whether she would like to watch the Abyssinians who were giving a fighting display with their weapons in the mosque and she said yes. “By Allah,”

said ‘A’isha, “I remember the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) standing at the door of my room, screening me with his cloak, so that I could see the sport of the Abyssinians as they played with their spears in the mosque of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him). He kept standing for my sake until I had enough and then I went back in, so you can well imagine how a young girl enjoyed watching this display.”

Some might have viewed the marriage of Muhammad and ‘A’isha as an exceptional marriage, but then the two partners were exceptional people.

The Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) was the last of the Prophets and the best of creation; and ‘A’isha was a very intelligent and observant young girl with a very good memory.

‘A’isha (may Allah be pleased with her) spent the next nine years of her life with the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him), and she grew into womanhood, she remembered all that she saw and heard with great clarity, for to be the wife of the Prophet was even more than extraordinary. So much happened around him – the Quran continued to be revealed, ayat by ayat, and people’s hearts were constantly being turned over and transformed, including hers and she was a witness of so much of all that took place.

It is not surprising, therefore, that a great deal of the knowledge that we still have today, about how our beloved Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) lived and behaved, was first remembered and then taught to others by ‘A’isha.

It is thanks to this exceptional marriage, between a man nearing the end of his life and a woman still near the beginning of hers, that we know so much about the both of them, and this is what makes it so much easier for those who wish to follow in their footsteps to try and follow their example.

Whereas Khadijah was already a wise and mature woman when she married the Prophet Muhammad, ‘A’isha was a spirited young girl who still had a great deal to learn when she married the Prophet, (may Allah be pleased with her, and peace be upon him) she was very quick to learn, however, for she had a clear heart, and a quick mind and an accurate memory.

She was not afraid to talk back in order to find out the truth or make it known, and whenever she beat someone else in argument, the Prophet would smile and say,

“She is the daughter of Abu Bakr!”

Musa ibn Talha once said, “I have not seen anyone more eloquent than ‘A’isha.” ‘A’isha (may Allah be pleased with her) became so wise that one of her contemporaries used to say that if the knowledge of ‘A’isha were placed on one side of the scales that of all other women on the other, ‘A’isha ’s side would outweigh the other.

She used to sit with the other women and pass on the knowledge that she had received from the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) and long after he had died, and as long as she lived, she was a source of knowledge and wisdom for both women and men. Abu Musa once said, “Whenever a report appeared doubtful to us, the Companions of the Prophet, and we asked ‘A’isha about it, we always learned something from her about it.”

On one occasion, the Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said to her, “O ‘A’isha, here is Jibril giving you greetings of peace.” “And on him be peace.” She said, ‘and the mercy of Allah.” When she was telling Abu Salama about this, she added, “He (meaning the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) ) sees what I do not see.”

As well as being extremely intelligent, ‘A’isha became a very graceful young woman. When she first came to live in the Prophet’s household as a young girl, a strong and lasting friendship grew up between her and Sawda, and Sawda took care of her along with the rest of the household.

When ‘A’isha grew up, Sawda, who was by then an old woman, gave up her share of the Prophet’s time in favor of ‘A’isha and was content to manage his household and be Umm al Mumineen – ‘The Mother of the Believers’ – a title of respect that was given to all of the wives of the Prophet, (may Allah be pleased with them), which confirmed what the Quran clearly states that no man could marry any of them after they had been married to the Prophet for:

The Prophet is closer to the believers than their ownselves, and his wives are as their mothers. (Qur’an: 33:6)

O you wives of the Prophet, if any of you is openly indecent, the punishment for her will be doubled – and that is easy for Allah. And whoever of you submits to Allah and His Messenger has right action, We shall give her a reward twice over and We have prepared a generous provision for her. O you wives of the Prophet, you are not like any other women. If you are fearful of Allah then do not be soft in yspeech, lest someone whose heart is sick is attracted to you, but speak words that are wise. And stay quietly in your houses, do not make a dazzling display like that of the time of ignorance before and establish prayer and pay the Zakat and obey Allah and His Messenger. Surely Allah wishes to remove impurity far from you, O People of the House, and to purify you completely. And remember that ayahs of Allah that are recited in your houses and the wisdom. Surely Allah is Alpervading, All Aware. (Quran 33:30-34)

It is sometimes difficult to picture what life must have been like for the wives and the Companions of the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) because the light that emanated from him and through them was so unique.

The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) had no shadow because he was light and this light illuminated the hearts and minds and understanding of his followers, giving them insight without blinding them.

The Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) was truly a mercy to all the worlds, and no one with a clean heart could possibly forget this, least of all the Prophet himself.

O Prophet, surely We have sent you as a witness and as a bringer of good news and a warner; and one who calls the people to Allah by His permission, and as a shining light. (Quran 33:45-46)

It is said that people were awed by the Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) when they were in his presence, and that they sat and listened to his words with their eyes lowered, as if they had birds perched on their heads, and that they would do anything for him, so great was their love for him. It was because of the perfection of the Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) that everyone was commanded to ask blessings on him:

Allah and His angels pray blessings on the Prophet; O you who believe! Pray blessings of him and ask for peace for him. (Quran 33:56)

It was because of the Prophet Muhammad’s unique station with Allah that his wives and his Companions were expected by Allah to behave with such respect and courtesy towards the Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him); and that his wives could not possibly marry anyone else after having been married to him:

When you ask his wives for something, ask them from behind a screen. That is purer for your hearts and for their hearts. It is not for you to cause injury to the Messenger of Allah, or ever marry his wives after him. To do that would be something dreadful in the sight of Allah. (Quran 33:53)

During the nine years that ‘A’isha was married to the Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) she witnessed many of the great events that shaped the destiny of the first Muslim community of Madina al Munawarra: It was during the course of their marriage that she direction of the qibla was changed from Jerusalem to Mecca, thereby more clearly distinguishing the Muslims from the Jews and the Christians, and it was during the course of their marriage that she must have listened to many of the Jews and the Christians an the idol worshippers who came not to listen to the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) but to argue with him, in the hope that they could find a plausible excuse to justify their rejection of him. It was through exchange such as these that ‘A’isha learned to distinguish what was true from what was false. As the prophetic guidance continued to be revealed through the Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him), ‘A’isha’s way of life – along with that of all the Muslims – was gradually reshaped and refined: It was during the course of their marriage that drinking alcohol was finally forbidden, that it was made clear what food was halal and what food was haram, that it became necessary for women to wear the hijab in public and when praying, that the guidance as to how to fast was revealed, that paying the Zakat became obligatory on all Muslims, and that all rites of the hajj were purified and clarified.

In fact every aspect of life, from birth to death and everything that happens in between, was illuminated by the way in which the Prophet behaved – and it was this way of behavior, the Sunna, that ‘A’isha helped to preserve and protect, not only by embodying it herself, but also by teaching it to others. ‘A’isha was once asked to describe the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him), and she replied that he was ‘the Quran walking’, meaning that his behavior was the Quran translated into action. She did all that she could to do likewise. Thus she not only knew and embodied the Sunna, but also she memorized the Quran by heart and understood it. It was during the course of their marriage that, amongst others, the battles of Badr, and Uhud, and Al-Khandaq (the Ditch) were fought. These were the three major battles against the Quraish, that shifted the balance of power out of the hands of the kafirun and into the hands of the Muslims. Although she was still very young, ‘A’isha participated in them all, bringing water for the Muslims warriors, and helping to look after the wounded. She witnessed life, and she witnessed death – both in the way of Allah and in the way of the kafirun – and she understood both. Indeed one of the meanings of her name, ‘A’isha’, is ‘life’.

It was during the course of their marriage that the Jews plotted and tried to kill the Prophet on more than one occasion, without success, and were punished for this. First the Banu Qayunqa and then the Banu Nadir were expelled from Medina; and then Banu Qurayza – who had broken their agreement with the Muslims during the battle of al-Khandaq and conspired to exterminate all of them – were subjected to the punishment that was decided by the man whom they themselves had chosen to judge their actions, Sa’id ibn Mu’adh. In accordance with the commands contained in their own book, the Torah, all the men were killed – with the exception of four who accepted Islam and all the women and children were taken as slaves. It was after this event that another tribe, the Banu al Mustaliq began to prepare to fight the Muslims, and accordingly the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) led an army against them. Often when the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) went to war, he took one of his wives with him. He did not choose anyone in particular, but simply drew lots and took the wife whose name came out. When he went to fight the Banu al-Mustaliq, the lot fell to ‘A’isha, and she it was who traveled with him.

‘A’isha who was now thirteen years old, was small, slim, and graceful, so that it was difficult for the men who carried her litter to know for certain whether or not she was actually inside it when they lifted it up. On the way back to Medina, after the Banu al Mustaliq had been subdued, the Muslim army stopped for a rest, but then the Prophet unexpectedly ordered the army to continue the march back. Unknown to everyone else, ‘A’isha had stepped out of her litter for a few minutes and had left the camp, seeking some privacy. On her way back she had noticed that her onyx necklace was missing and so she retraced her steps to try and find it. When she had at last found it finally returned to the camp, it was to find that everyone had gone. The men who had been carrying her litter had thought she was still in it, and had picked it up, strapped it to the camel and marched on. ‘A’isha, who trusted completely in Allah, sat down, and waited, hoping that someone would notice her absence and come back for her. Fortunately she did not have long to wait, for a young Muslim man named Safwan ibn al-Mu’attal, who had fallen behind the army after taking a rest, reached the camp during the night and found her lying fast asleep. Safwan immediately recognizing her, because he had seen her in the early days before Allah had commanded Muslim women to wear the hijab.

“Inna lillahi wa inna ilayhi raji’un!” – “Surely we come from Allah and surely to Him we return!” he exclaimed in surprise, waking ‘A’isha up with the loudness of his voice. He did not say anything else, and a’A’isha put the scarf that had fallen off her head while she was asleep back on, Safwan made his camel kneel down close to her so that she could climb up on to it; and then, leading the camel with his hand, he set off on foot after the army, hoping that they would soon catch up with it which they eventually did later the next morning, since the army had halted for a rest during the hottest part of the day.

Unfortunately, some hypocrites who had seen Safwan and ‘A’isha arrive alone together began to gossip and spread slanderous lies about them. Eventually the story reached the Prophet himself (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) and by then the whole community was talking about what might or might now have happened before the two young Muslims. Naturally the muminun were certain that noting bad had happened, but the munafiqun thought otherwise and were not afraid to insinuate that was the case.

As a result of all this gossip, the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) and his household came under a great strain, and in fact ‘A’isha herself fell ill, not because she was aware of what the hypocrites were saying about her, but because the Prophet did not seem to care for her as much as he had done before the campaign against the Banu al Mustaliq. Finally, someone told her what some people were saying. This made ‘A’isha even more ill, so with the Prophet’s permission, she went to stay at the house of her parents. When she arrived, she said to her mother, Umm Ruman, “Mother! What are the people saying?” She replied “O my daughter! Do not make too much of the business. By Allah, seldom has there been a woman of beauty with a husband who loves her and who has co wives but that people say a lot against her.” A’isha said, “Glory be to Allah! The people have really been saying this?” ‘A’isha said, “I have spent the entire night until morning unable to stop weeping and could not sleep at all. Morning found me still weeping.” In the meantime, when Safwan was confronted with the allegations that had been made, he replied, “Glory be to Allah! By Allah, I have never removed the veil of any woman!” Since there had been no revelation to clarify the matter, the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) asked Barira, who was ‘A’isha ’s maid servant, if she had seen anything in ‘A’isha’ s behavior that was at all doubtful. “By Him who sent you with the truth,” she replied, “I have not seen nothing wrong with her, other than that she is a young girl and sometimes she falls asleep while she is kneading the dough and a lamb comes along and eats it!” Some of the companions who were present scolded Barira and told her to come to the point. “Glory be to Allah!” she replied. “I know as much about her as a jeweler knows about a piece of pure gold!”

The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) also asked Zaynab bint Jahsh for her opinion, since he valued it highly. Although she and A’isha were frequently at odds with one another and Zaynab’s sister Hamna, was the one of those who were actively gossiping and spreading the rumor, she replied without hesitation, “O Messenger of Allah,” she said, “I will not repeat anything that I have not heard with my own ears and seen with my own eyes. By Allah, I find nothing in her but goodness.”

The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) then tried to vindicate A’isha’s honor by calling everyone to the mosque and publicly defending her reputation, but the hypocrites who had started the trouble in the first place only made matter worse, so that arguments broke out all over the mosque, and people had almost come to blows over the matter before the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) calmed them down and silenced them.

The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) then came to Abu Bakr’s house, where A’isha had been crying her heart out, and in the presence of her parents said the shahada, and then continued,

“If you are innocent, then Allah Himself will protect your honor, and if by accident there has been a lapse on your part, then seek the forgiveness of Allah and He will pardon you, for when a slave admits a fault and turns to Him in repentance, then Allah also turns and accepts that repentance.”

A’isha said, “When the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) finished what he was saying, my tears stopped so that I was not aware of a single tear. I said to my father, ‘Answer the Messenger of Allah for me regarding what he has said.’ He said, ‘By Allah, I do not know what to say to the Messenger of Allah,’ I said to my mother, ‘Answer the Messenger of Allah for me regarding what he has said.’ She said, ‘By Allah, I do not know what to say to the Messenger of Allah.’”

A’isha said, “I am a young girl who does not yet recite much of the Qur’an. By Allah, I know that you have heard this story that people are saying and it has become fixed in yourself and you have believed it. If I were to say to you that I am innocent, you would not believe me. If I were to confess to something to you and Allah knows that I am innocent you would believe me. By Allah, I can only say what the father of Yusuf said, Patience is beautiful, and Allah is my protection against what you describe. (Quran 12:18)”

Then I turned over on my bed, Allah knowing that I was innocent and hoping that Allah would proclaim me innocent. However, by Allah, I did not think that any relation would be sent down regarding me. I thought too little of myself that something would be said in the Qur’an regarding me, however I hoped that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) would have a dream in which Allah would exonerate me. She had hardly finished speaking when the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) received a direct revelation of some more ayahs of the Qur’an, and when it was over, he smiled and said, “Do not worry, ‘A’isha, for Allah has revealed proof of your innocence.”

A’isha’s mother, who had been standing next to her, said, “Get up and thank him.”

“By Allah,” exclaimed A’isha, whose title, ‘Siddiqa’, means ‘the truthful one’, “I will not thank him and praise him but rather Allah Who has given the revelation that has protected my honor!” Then the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) went to the mosque and recited what had just been sent down:

Surely those who fabricate the lie are a group from among you. Do not think it is bad thing for you; no it is good for you. Every man will receive what he has earned for this sin, and whoever had the greater part in it will have a great punishment. Why did the men and women believers, when they heard it, not think good in their selves and say: ‘This is clearly a lie?’ Why did they not produce four witnesses? Since they did not produce witnesses, they are certainly liars in the sight of Allah. If it were not for the grace of Allah, and His mercy on you in this world and in the next world, an awful doom would have overtaken you for what you repeated. Since you received it with your tongues, and repeated what you did not know anything about with your mouths, you thought it was a trifle, but in the sight of Allah it is serious. Why, when you heard it, did you not say: ‘It is not for us to repeat this, Glory be to You (O Allah), this is a serious rumor.’ Allah warns you to never repeat anything like this again, if you are indeed believers and Allah makes the signs clear to you; and Allah is Knowing, Wise. Surely those who love to spread around slander about those who believe will have a painful punishment in this world and in the next world; and Allah knows and you do not know. (Quran 24:11-19).

A’isha forgave those who had let themselves be caught in the slander and in later years would not hear anything bad said about them. The fact that A’isha’ s honor and reputation had been protected by a revelation from Allah could not be ignored by anyone, and from then on everyone was more aware of her high station with Allah. It was also during the course of A’isha’s marriage with the Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) that the Muslim commexpanded so rapidly that Mecca was eventually conquered by the Muslim army, and preparations were made for the first of the many battles that were successfully fought against the Greeks and the Persians after the letters from Muhammad inviting Heraclius and Choroes to embrace Islam and worship Allah alone had been contemptuously ignored.

This extraordinary expansion – even the idea of which would, at the time of Khadijah’ s death (may Allah be pleased with her) have seemed like a wild dream was heralded, in 6 AH, by the treaty of Hudaybiyya, by virtue of which peace was declared between the Quraish and the Muslims for ten years, and the right of the Muslims to enter Mecca and do ‘umra unharmed was recognized by the Quraish.

Although the Muslims had to wait for a year before they could do umra, that year was not long in passing, and in the interval the Jews of Khaybar, who like the other Jews around Madina had attempted to destroy the Muslim community by breaking their peace agreement with the Muslims and supporting the idol worshippers were fought and defeated. After the Jews of Khaybar had been defeated, a Jewess managed to serve the Prophet some poisoned meat, which itself informed him that it had been poisoned, so that he only had a small taste of it. Even though one of his companions who had already eaten some of the meat subsequently died, the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) forgave the Jewess and let her go free.

The Jews of Khaybar were permitted to stay on their land provided that they paid a yearly tribute to the Muslims. As a result, some of the Muslims began to grow more wealthy than they had been in the past. Indeed on one occasion, the Prophet’s wives, led by ‘A’isha and Hafsa, asked him for some money that he did not have for there was never one night that he lay down to sleep with any money in his possession. The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) was distressed by this not because he did not have the money to give to them, but rather because it was this that apparently they desired.

At this time, both Abu Bakr and Umar visited him and they found the Messenger of Allah seated, surrounded by his wives who were all silent. Abu Bakr said to himself, “By Allah, I will say something to cheer up the Messenger of Allah!’ So he said, “Messenger of Allah, if I were to see the daughter of Kharija asking me for money, I would strike her on the neck!” The Messenger of Allah smiled and said, ‘These ones you see around me have asked me for money.” SO Abu Bakr went to grab A’isha and Umar went to grab Hafsa, both exclaiming, “DO you ask the Messenger of Allah for something he does not have!” The women said, “By Allah, we would never ask the Messenger of Allah for something he does not have!”

This was not the only marital problem which he experienced at this time. There was a great deal of rivalry between some of the wives and also Hafsa had told A’isha something which the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) had told her not to disclose because it was something which would increase the friction between the wives. Some sources say that he had told her that Abu Bakr and Umar would rule after him. In any case, he stayed away from them for a whole month, during which many of his Companions began to think either that he was going to divorce them or that he had already done so.

IT is related by Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) that he went to visit the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) who was staying alone in a small upper room, in order to find out what was happening. First of all he visited his daughter Hafsa, who was weeping, and asked her if the Prophet had divorced his wives. “I don’t know,” she sobbed. Then he went and asked to see the Prophet. After he had been given permission to enter, Umar climbed up the ladder and into the small room: “I visited Allah’s Messenger (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) and he was lying on a mat. I saw down and he drew up his lower garment over him. He had nothing else on, and the mat had left its marks on his sides. I looked around at what stores Allah’s Messenger (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) had, and saw only a handful of barley equal to one sa’ and an equal amount of mimosa leaves in the corner of the room and tanned leather bag handing nearby, and I as moved to tears. HE said, ‘Ibn al Khattab, what is making you cry?’ I replied, ‘O Messenger of Allah, how can I not cry? This mat has left marks on your sides and I can only see what I have seen of your stores. Caesar and Chosroes are leading their lives of plenty, while you are the Messenger of Allah, His Chosen One, and look what you have!’ ‘Ibn al Khattab,’ he answered, ‘isn’t it enough for you that for us there is the next world, and for them there is this world?’ ‘Yes,’ I said. Then I said, ‘O Messenger of Allah, what has happened with your wives? If you have divorced them, then truly Allah is with you, and His angels, Jibril and Mika’il, and Abu Bakr and I and the believers are with you.’ And seldom have I talked like that and hoped that Allah would testify to the words that I uttered. And so it happened that the ayahs of choice were revealed:

If you both turn to Allah in repentance, then that is what your hearts desire; and if you help each other against him then surely Allah Himself is his protector, and Jibril, and the righteous from among the believers, and as well as that, the angels will help him. It maybe, if he divorces you, that his Lord will give him wives who are better than you, who submit, who believe, who are devout, who are repentant, who worship, who fast, whether they have been previously married or are virgins. (Quran 66:4-5)

In fact the Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) never divorced any of his wives, and as we grow more aware about how they lived, may Allah be pleased with all of them, it is clear that they possessed all of the qualities of the women described in the last ayat. Perhaps this ayat served as a reminder to them, a reminder that they would remember for the rest of their days which for most of them lasted long after the Prophet’s (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) death.

Returning to Sayyiduna Umar’s account of his visit to the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) during the month of separation from his wives, Umar then asked, “O Messenger of Allah, have you divorced them?” and he replied, “No.” So after talking for a while longer and how in Mecca the men tended to dominate the women, whereas in Medina the women tended to dominate the men, which is what the womenfolk from Mecca had learned to do after they had made hijrah to Medina – Umar climbed down and stood at the door of the mosque and called out at the top of his voice: “The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) has not divorced his wives!” After the month was up, the Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) first went to A’isha’s room. She was delighted to see him, but grew more serious when he said that some ayahs had been revealed to him which required him to put two options before her. “Do not make a hasty decision,” he said, “and consult your parents first.” He then recited these verses:

O Prophet, say to your wives: ‘If you desire the life of this world and its adornments, then come, and I will make you content, and I will release you with a fair release. But if you desire Allah and His Messenger and the abode of the next world, then truly Allah has prepared an immense reward for those of you who do good.’ (Quran 33:28-29)

“Is there any need to consult my parents?” replied A’isha. “Indeed I desire Allah and His Messenger and the abode of the next world.” And her response was followed by all of his other wives. A’isha remained true to her word both during the lifetime of the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) and afterwards. Once, when the Muslims were favored with great wealth, she as given a gift of one hundred thousand Dhirhams. She was fasting when she received the money, and distall of it to the poor and needy, even though she had no provisions in her house. Shortly after that, her maid servant said to her, “Couldn’t you have brought a dirham’s worth of meat with which to break your fast?” “If I had thought of it,” she replied, “I would have done so!”

After a year had passed following the treaty of Hudaybiyya, the Muslims traveled to Mecca and they were able to complete all the rites of the umra, doing everything as the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) did it. In accordance with the terms of the treaty, the Muslims left after three days, when their umra had been completed. Not long after this, the Prophet sent an army of three thousand Muslims northwards to the borders of the Byzantine territories in what is now Palestine to chastise the tribes there for killing the messengers whom he had sent to call them to Islam. The tribes called on the Emperor Herclius for support, and when the Muslim army arrived at Muta, they found themselves facing an army of two thousand men. Many of the Muslims died as shahids on the day of the battle, but thanks to the tactics of Khalid bin Walid, the Greeks withdrew the next day, and so the Muslims were able to return to Medina relatively unscathed. When the news of the battle of Muta finally reached Mecca, the Quraish mistakenly believed that the Muslims had been thoroughly defeated by the Greeks and decided to renew their opposition to the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him). In doing so, they deliberately broke their treaty that they had made at Hudaybiiya, by allowing their allies to attack and kill some of the allies of the Muslims who lived near Mecca.

Accordingly the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) marched on Mecca at the head of an army of ten thousand Muslims. Despite everyone’s fears, he conquered it with hardly a drop of blood being spilled. As always, the mercy and forgiveness that he displayed towards those who had relentlessly opposed him for so many years changed people’s hearts, and many of the people of Mecca now embraced Islam as a result. Having pardoned all of the Quraish, with the exception of four men who had all committed murder for personal reasons, the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) smashed all the idols and destroyed all the paintings that had been placed inside the Ka’ba by the idol-worshippers. The sanctity of the sanctuary of Mecca had been restored, and at long last the Muslims were free to come and go in Mecca as they pleased.

In the midst of the peace and rejoicing, however, news came that the tribes of Hawazin and Thaqif were preparing to attack the Muslims. The Muslim army that had conquered Mecca, swelled to twelve thousand by some of the men from the Quraish who had just embraced Islam, marched to a place called Hunayn. For the first time in their experience, the Muslims actually outnumbered the enemy, of whom there were only about four thousand. This nearly proved to be the Muslims’ undoing, for many of them felt secure because of their large numbers rather than because of the reliance on Allah. When the enemy suddenly attacked at dawn, showering down arrows from the hills, the Muslims were taken by surprise and many began to flee. A small group stood firm with the Prophet, one of whom was Umm Sulaym bint Milhan, the wife of Abu Talha. Although she was pregnant at the time, she had armed herself with a dagger to use against the kafirun.

Fortunately the strong Muslims rallied round the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) and although there were only six hundred of them, their concerted effort, fighting valiantly in the way of Allah, turned the tide of the battle until those who had turned away in the initial panic and confusion had returned and the battle was won. After the battle of Hunayn, the only continued resistance to the Muslims was from the north and north-east, from the Byzantine and Persian Empires. Having heard that the Greeks were preparing a huge army of thirty thousand men and marched out in the heat of the late summer to do battle with them. After a long, hard, hot march, the Muslim army reached Tabuk, and here they learned that the Greeks had retreated back to their own territory. Accordingly, having made peace treaties with all the border tribes, the Muslims returned to Medina, in time for many of them to go on the pilgrimage to Mecca. Those who had made weak excuses in order to avoid going on the expedition to Tabuk now felt great shame and regret.

The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) himself did not go on the pilgrimage this year, for people were coming to Medina from all over the Arab lands to embrace Islam and to pledge allegiance to him. It was this year that came to be known as ‘the Year of the Delegations’, during which, at one point, the Prophet became so exhausted from seeing people that he had to pray sitting down. So instead, Abu Bakr (may Allah be pleased with him) led the pilgrims. It was during this hajj that the ayat in the Quran that forbade the idol worshippers from ever entering the sanctuary of Mecca again were revealed; they were made public during the hajj by Ali ibn Abi Talib (may Allah be pleased with him) who was sent straight from Medina to Mecca as soon as they had been revealed, so that as many people as possible would hear them. The following year, when the time for the pilgrimage drew near, the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) announced that he was going on the hajj, and as a result everyone wanted to do it with him. The Muslims who did not live in or near Medina either first traveled to Medina in order to accompany him on the journey to Mecca, or else traveled to Mecca from every part of Arabia and joined him there.

Amongst the people on what has become known as ‘the Farewell Pilgrimage’ of the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) was A’isha, for the Prophet asked all of his wives, may Allah be pleased with them, to accompany him, to ensure that they all fulfilled this particular obligation that every Muslim owes to his or her Lord. It was an extraordinary pilgrimage. There never had been, and there never has been, and there never will be, another hajj quite like it, for at its heart was the Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) and around him were his family and Companions, may the blessings and peace of Allah be on them, and during it the ayat of the Qur’an was revealed:

This day I have perfected your deen for you and have completed My blessing on you, and have chosen Islam for you as your deen. (Quran 5:3)

It was also during this hajj that the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) gave his famous Farewell Khutba, whose words still ring in our ears and echo in our hearts all these centuries later. When he had finished speaking to the thousands upon thousands of Muslims who were gathered around him on the plain of Arafa, he raised his voice slightly and asked, “My Lord, have I delivered the message?” And thousands upon thousands of voices from all around him answered his question: “Yes, you have.” And many of those who were present passed on that message to those who ere not present, and so it has continued, right up until today. And one of those who was present was A’isha, of whom the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) once said, “Learn some of your deen from this red haired lady.” Meaning A’isha.

This is not surprising, for she is one of the four people who have transmitted more than two thousand hadiths, the others being Abu Hurairah, Abdullah ibn Umar, and Anas ibn Malik. Many of these are about some of the most intimate aspects of personal behavior and hygiene which only someone in A’isha’s position could have learned. It was during the course of his marriage with A’isha that the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) married several other wives, usually to strengthen ties between important families and tribes, or to relieve the hardship of a woman who had been unexpectedly divorced or widowed, or in order to clearly demonstrate whom it wapermissible for a Muslim to marry, but above all because all of his marriage had been decreed by Allah, and because all of his wives were exceptional women.

SOURCE: WIVES OF THE PROPHET MUHAMMAD (SAW) BY: IBN KATHIR

In the 21st Century, we live in a world where sadly, the essential ingredients of trustworthiness and honesty are no longer a part of the character of many people, Muslim and non-Muslim alike.  Whilst the two qualities are inextricably entwined, for the purposes of this article trustworthiness, particularly fulfilling promises shall be the focus.

Being trustworthy implies being honest, fair in dealings and punctual, as well as honouring trusts and keeping promises and commitments.   This is known as amanah in Arabic. The meaning of amanah is exactly trustworthiness, or, it is something or someone left to another to protect or keep.  The opposite of amanah is betrayal or even treason.  That is, to fail to keep the amanah in the way the person who left it expected  and wanted it to be.

In Islam every believer is a brother or sister to the another; we are one body, one nation.  The right hand must be able to trust the left hand. The commands and rules from Allah SWT are designed for our benefit and Islam holds people’s rights in high esteem.  Furthermore, Islam encourages its believers to trust each other and to assume that the intentions of others are good. It is important to think positively about others unless proven otherwise because such feelings of certitude give individuals inner peace.  However, sadly nowadays people are increasingly finding it difficult to trust others because broken promises, pledges and vows result in a loss of confidence in one another which is detrimental to society as a whole.

If we sit and ponder over how easy it is to say ‘I promise’ we soon realise that guarding those promises and living up to them is the difficult part of the equation.  This is why a promise should only be made if we are absolutely sure that we can fulfil it. More often than not, we find excuses to explain away why we did not keep that promise, while the party to whom we made the promise awaits impatiently, in the belief and hope that we will fulfil it.  As a result of breaking the promise we hurt our brother or sister beyond words and the fragile walls of trust and confidence begin to break down.

We also forget that a delayed promise is also a denied promise! When we say ‘Insha Allah’s, we drag the Name of Allah in vain, and make Allah a witness, to a promise we really did not intend to keep in the first place. We may also be so irresponsible and forgetful and be oblivious to the fact that fulfilling a promise is indeed a debt on us, which is witnessed by none other than Allah SWT!!  Furthermore, shockingly these days we see more and more individuals who are not only careless about keeping promises but consider treason (betrayal of trust) to be clever and some people may even brag about their actions to others.

Both promises and covenants involve saying something about an issue to confirm that you will uphold the trust.   Allah SWT praises the believers by promising them Paradise:

“Those who are faithfully true to their amanah (all the duties which Allah has ordained, honesty, moral responsibility and trusts, etc.) and to their covenants…these indeed are the inheritors.  Who shall inherit Paradise.  And dwell therein forever” (Quran 23:8, 23:10-11)

Allah SWT orders the believers to fulfil their covenant time and time again in the Quran:

“And fulfill (every) covenant. Verily! The covenant will be questioned about.” (17:34)

“And fulfill the Covenant of Allah (Bai’ah: pledge for Islam) when you have covenanted.” (16:91)

“O you who believe! Fulfill (your) obligations.” (5:1)

“O you who believe! Why do you say that which you do not do? Most hateful it is with Allah that you say that which you do not do.” (61:2,3)

“Whoever fulfills his promise and guards (against evil), Surely Allâh loves those who guard (against evil).” [3:76]

“…Surely every promise shall be questioned about.” (17:39)

Furthermore there are a number of ahadith in which Prophet Muhammad (s) described those who go around breaking promises, as one having a characteristic of a Nifaaq (hypocrisy).

On the authority of Abdullah Ibn ‘Amr (may Allah be pleased with him) reported that the Prophet (s) said:

“Four traits whoever possesses them is a Munaafiq (hypocrite) and whoever possesses some of them has an element of hypocrisy until he leaves it: the one who when he speaks he lies, when he promises he breaks his promise, when he disputes he transgresses and when he makes an agreement he violates it.” [Bukhaari, and Muslim]

Hypocrisy, involves deception, scheming and presenting an outward appearance of good while concealing its opposite.

In the Shari’a, hypocrisy is of two types:

a) Greater (An-Nifaaq Al-Akbar):

To present an outward appearance of belief in Allah, his Angels, his books, his messengers, the last day, etc. while concealing within that which negates all or some of that.

This is the hypocrisy, which the Prophet (s) confronted during his life and the ones who Allah said in the Qur’an that they are in

“the lowest depth of hell-fire”.

b) Lesser (An-Nifaaq Al-Asghar) or hypocrisy of action:

To present an outward appearance of good and good deeds while concealing within that which negates that. This form of hypocrisy is built on the things mentioned in the above hadith.

In another tradition Prophet Muhamed (s) has said:

“There are three signs of a hypocrite: when he talks he speaks untruth, when he makes a promise he does not keep it, and when he makes a contract he deceives, although he may be offering prayers, observing fast and calling himself a Mus1im.”

Fulfilling promises is essential for a person who wishes to live a social life; it is the basis for social happiness, development, and success. Islam so greatly condemns the violation of promises that it has made it illegal and unethical for its followers to violate their oaths even if they were made with tyrants and desolates.

Promises can be intentionally and unintentionally broken.

Intentional promises are those that are made by an individual knowing full well that he/she intends to break it. They are lies and lying is a punishable sin in Islam. Making promises to children, for example, and then not fulfilling them falls under this category. To no other group of individuals are broken promises more devastating, than to children. Children are like elephants, they almost never forget. If you promise a child something, they will remember that promise, even though they may not verbalise it to you. The promises themselves may seem silly or unimportant at the time but they do count on our record of evil deeds.  Extreme caution should be taken when uttering a promise whether it is to an adult or a child. As the above verse says a liar falls under the pale of hypocrisy.

Therefore, the Messenger of Allah (s) prohibited men from breaking promises to their children. He said:

“And a man shall not make a promise to his child and not fulfill it.”

Abdullah said:

“Lies are of no use in either seriousness or jest. Also, it is not right for someone to promise something to his/her child/children and then fail to fulfil that promise.” (Related by Abu Dawood.)

Below is an extract by a Doctor illustrating the tragic events, which can occur if promises are broken:

“A sixteen year old boy who robbed every day was brought to me for treatment. I discovered that when the boy was seven or eight years old, his father had forced him to give his toy to an aristocrat’s daughter, for whom his father worked. That toy, to the boy, represented an ultimate dream for he had worked hard to get it. The boy’s father promised to buy a substitute toy but had unintentionally forgot. The hopeless boy sought revenge by stealing a piece of candy from his father’s pocket. A day later the boy broke into a house and stole some item.    It was not difficult to treat the boy when he was brought to me. It is possible that the boy would have come to be a dangerous criminal if he was not properly treated. But now his chances of becoming a reasonable and self-confident individual are much greater.” (Dr. Alindi)

This illustrates that by keeping our promises to our children, we are also teaching them the importance of honour and commitment. By keeping our word to them, they will in turn learn to keep promises made to us and to their peers, inshaa Allah.

Unintentional promises are ones that you make in good faith. You plan to fulfil them but then you either forget to do it or lack the means to follow through with it. In this event, breaking these promises is not punishable as Allah SWT judges us by the intention we carry in our hearts. For example, you promise your sister you will buy her new clothing for doing well in exams but find that you cannot afford to do so when the time comes around to doing so. You have no choice but to break the promise.  It is still, however, best to try your hardest to fulfil these promises because breaking one’s promise is despicable and contrary to the spirit of Islam.

Allah SWT says in the Quran:

“And keep the promise; the promise is a responsibility.” (17:34)

Oaths to Allah – these are vows or oaths that you make directly to Allah Almighty. There are two types of these as well. The first being a ‘conditional oath’, which means that in times of distress or fear you make an oath to Allah. For example, you swear to Allah that if He heals you of a malady that you will fast every Monday for the rest of your life. And once the malady passes you might fulfil the oath or neglect it. The second is an ‘unconditional oath’ which means that you simply decide to do something for the sake of Allah. For example, you promise Allah to give a certain percentage of your salary each month to a special charity for two complete years. Again it is up to you whether or not you keep the oath. No one knows you made the oath but Allah right? Both of these types of oaths are obligations and must be fulfilled as they are considered to be acts of worship. Breaking a covenant made to Allah Almighty is very grave indeed.

In a narration, a group of Khawarij were captured during the time of Hajjaj, who reviewed their cases and sentenced them as he wished. When the last man was standing in front of Hajjaj waiting for his sentence, time for prayer arrived. Hajjaj heard the call for prayer and turned the prisoner over to a noble man and told him to bring him back in the morning. The noble man left the palace with the prisoner.

As they were walking the prisoner said:

“I am not one of the Khawarij. I ask Allah by His Mercy to prove my innocence, for I am an innocent hostage in their hands. I ask you to let me spend the night with my wife and children so I can leave my will with them. I promise that I will return before the roaster crows in the morning. After a moment of silence, the noble man agreed to the man’s insistence and permitted him to go home for the night. A short time later the noble man fell victim to his fear and imagined that he would be the subject of Hajjaj’s fury.

That night the man woke up terrified and was astonished to hear the prisoner, who he had given permission to go home, knocking at his door as he had promised.

This noble man was overwhelmed with surprise and could not help but exclaim:

“Why have you come to my door’?

The prisoner replied: “He who recognizes Allah’s greatness and power, and makes Him a witness to his oath, must fulfil his promise.

The noble man proceeded with the prisoner to the palace of Hajjaj, and narrated to him the complete story. Hajjaj, who is known for his ruthlessness, was so moved by the man’s honesty that he allowed him to go free.

So in conclusion, we should commit ourselves to the noble character and behaviour of our Rasool (s) and his companions in every way in every aspect of our lives.  This includes good conduct, remembrance, recitation of the Quran, honesty and truthfulness, being humble towards others, enjoining good and forbidding evil, feeling bad for one’s sins, giving sadaqah and seeking Allah SWTs forgiveness all the time.  We must be aware that we cannot just take one part and abandon another part of the religion.  As a final remark in relation to this article is that people should always remember that quite simply, broken promises hurt individuals and can erode relationships. Trustworthiness is too valuable of a characteristic to own.

DON’T GIVE IT AWAY AND DON’T FORGET that keeping a promise, even if it seems SMALL, as the verses of the Quran show, is an adequate reason to gain the most bejewelled of all things; the love of Allah, Almighty.

May Allah SWT guide us all to the truth, help us to be just with one another, to be mindful of the vows and promises we make to one another and keep us on the Straight path.   May Allah’s peace and blessing be upon our beloved Prophet Muhammad (s) and upon his family and companions and all those that follow him, and all praise is due to Allah.

AMEEN.

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