Wesley Ja'far Porter

Expressing Much Disappointment in My Fellow Conservatives

2011-02-03T12:39:00.001-08:00

In the name of Almighty God, Allah, The Most Gracious, the Most Merciful. The entire world, Americans included, have been captivated in recent days by the events unfolding in Egypt. What has been very interesting is to see how political partisans in the US have reacted to these events. You all know that I'm a staunch conservative. I believe in the necessity of personal liberty and limited government. So my natural inclination when seeing such events in Egypt, where the people are rising up against a tyrannical regime, is to whole heatedly support them in their efforts.

To my dismay, many of my fellow conservatives, including many prominent conservative personalities like Bill O'Reily, Sean Hannity and one of favorite conservative personalities Mark Levin, seem to be at least partially SUPPORTING Mubarak (Egyptian dictator). Now don't get me wrong, I completely understand why they are saying that. Mubarak has been a 'friend' to the US, in the sense that he has cooperated with the US in the War on Terror, and he has maintained the peace treaty with Israel. The fear is, and I think its a legitimate fear, is what's going to take his place once he falls? There is a severe fear that the Muslim Brotherhood, an Islamist group that gave birth to Osama Bin Laden and Al Qaeda, will rise to the occasion and take over the Egyptian government. Hosni Mubarak had fought to keep them out of politics in Egypt for a long time.

However, we have to keep a few things in mind. We have provided 1.5 billion dollars A YEAR to the Mubarak regime in order to train their army, and help with combating terrorism in the region. Therefore it is reasonably deduced that Mubarak isn't really our 'friend', he's only our 'friend' because we pay him. Anyone knows you shouldn't have to pay people to be your friends. If we had stopped that funding long ago, it would have been interesting to see how long that "friendship" continued, and frankly the same goes for Israel. I believe Israel has a right to exist, and I condemn groups like Hamas and Hezbollah and the leaders of Iran for suggesting that Israel ought to be wiped off the map, however Israel is not innocent of wrong doing with regard to creating the tense and often violent political climate of the Middle East. They have a right to defend themselves, but they are wrong in their oppression of the Palestinian people and the use of umbrella blame tactics, punishing the entire Palestinian population for the actions of a few. Understandably, Israel is worried about what's going on in Egypt. A leading member of the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt has said recently, "prepare for war with Israel". That wouldn't be good for the Israelis OR the Egyptians OR the Palestinian people.

So there is good reason for fear of the uncertainty of this uprising. However, we must stand for what is right and what is just. The Egyptian people are the only ones who have a right to determine their future. My sincere hope is that the majority of the Egyptian people will reject the Muslim Brotherhood as only a band of thugs who are willing to sacrifice the lives of countless innocent Egyptians to accomplish their theo-fascist goals, and not take them seriously or give them much credence with regard to the new Egyptian government. I pray that the Egyptian people embrace the concepts of freedom; of liberty and justice for all Egyptian men and women, Muslim and Christian.

I am disappointed with many of my fellow conservatives who seem to care only about the interests of the US and Israel in this conflict. A true conservative believer in liberty, justice and freedom should not and can not accept that life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness is justifiably denied to one population of people in order to secure it for another. Our founders said that ALL men are created equal and are endowed by our Creator with certain unalienable rights, and among these are life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. We, as Americans, as the people of this shining city on a hill, cannot be so hypocritical as to profess our own unalienable rights and that of the people of Israel, but yet justify the denial of such rights on others strictly on the basis of our "political or economic interests". If the Muslim Brotherhood takes over, that's bad, but we will deal with that when we get there. We can defend ourselves, and Israel can defend itself as it did during the Six Day War.

We must remember where we Americans come from. When shots were fired and men killed at Lexington and Concord, we didn't yet know what kind of government would rule us once the smoke had cleared. We only knew that we had to get rid of the British as King George III was a brutal tyrant. We didn't really know what kind of government we were going to have until the drafting of the US Constitution in 1787, four years after the end of the Revolution. It turned out ok for us, so there's no reason to think that it can't for the Egyptian people. The key is for us, Israel and every other country to STAY OUT OF IT, and allow the Egyptians to chart their own course. If that means violence, then so be it. Our revolution was indeed violent. But, it has to be left to the Egyptians. It isn't our business to try and influence the outcome. Our trying to influence political outcomes in such countries is what gave us Osama Bin Ladin, Saddam Hussein, and The Ayatollah in Iran.

I pray that the Almighty showers the Egyptian people with divine guidance and divine providence, just as He did our founding fathers, and maybe, just maybe Egypt will be a beacon and symbol of liberty and justice in a part of the world that sees very little of either. Then Egypt will TRULY be a friend to the US, and a friend to Israel.

...And Allah Knows Best...

Response to an Islamist Cleric on Democracy and Islam

2011-01-31T11:30:00.000-08:00

In the name of Almighty God/Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful. To give an example of how Islamists "refute" the ideals of democracy, or at least of true democracy, here is an Islamist cleric named Sheikh Salman al Oadah, a Saudi Wahhabi cleric who is widely read around the Muslim world. To the issue of democracy and its compatibility with Islam, he says this, http://www.faithinallah.org/democracy-in-the-context-of-islamic-law

To this I offer this rebuttal.

What this Islamist cleric misses, as do so many others, is that Allah says in the Quran "let there be no compulsion/coercion in matters of religion" (2:256). Governments only exist for the sole purpose of coercion. Governments create and enforce laws, and the only way to enforce laws is through coercion. That being the case, the very nature of Shariah, or Islamic Law, as per the above verse, is such that it CANNOT be implemented as the law of the land, over the masses, because that would involve religious coercion. Using the Qur'an as a governmental constitution is insulting to the divine nature of the Qur'an, and is indeed insulting to Allah Himself. The Prophet Muhammad, peace and blessings be upon him, ruled the city-state of Medina under the "Charter of Medina". In this charter there is not ONE verse of the Qur'an. Not ONE religious or spiritual 'law'. It established the city-state based on its citizenry, declared all citizens accountable to each other for support and defense, established a union between the various tribes of Medina, and established equality under the law regardless of religion. There was a large Jewish community in Medina at the time, and the charter specifically said, "To the Jews be their religion, and to the Muslims be theirs".

Shariah, or Islamic Law, is only law in the sense that it is the spiritual law that exists between the individual Muslim and Allah. It is what compels me to not eat pork, or not drink alcohol, or to pray 5 times a day, or to fast during Ramadan, etc. It is not and can never be imposed on others, regardless of whether they are Muslim or not. There are many different widely respected interpretations of Islamic Law including that of the Shia, Sunni, Sufi, Salafi, and many sub-groups within each of those. If Islamic Law is imposed as the 'law of the land' it is and will always be according to the interpretation of the predominant group. After all, if you speak to any hard liners within any of these groups they will tell you there's only ONE Islam and only ONE proper interpretation. So this majority will always inevitably oppress minority theological groups under any kind of "shariah law" based government. This has been the proven result in nations that profess to rule by "Islamic Law" such as the Wahhabi Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (where this particular cleric is from), the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, Afghanistan under the Taliban or the Islamic Courts in Somalia, just to name a few.

Muslims need to wake up and think before blindly following hack clerics. The brother is correct in his quoting of Allah, "The rule is only for Allah. He commands that we worship none but Him", and also, "Is it the rule of the times of ignorance that you desire? Who is better than Allah at ruling for a people who have certainty of faith". This is not an order to establish theological government, but it is to say that those who govern should themselves be personally and spiritually governed by Allah. It's no different than John Locke who speculated that an athiest should not be allowed to hold public office, because they are not accountable to anyone (ie God), and it was John Locke who was a primary influence of Thomas Jefferson, an American founding father and particularly the father of the American concept of separation of church (or mosque) and state.

Allah encourages Muslims to think for themselves and not to just blindly follow so-called scholars. Yes, scholars' opinions should be respected because they are people who have dedicated their life to studying our scriptures, however there is NO official magistrate or priesthood in Islam. Every individual Muslim is accountable to Almighty God directly and to no other. Allah says to not be like some of the Christians and Jews who took their priests and rabbis as lords besides God. The prophet explained that they did so not by praying to these people, but by blindly following what they say as the divine will of God. Muslims need to think for themselves, read, study and contemplate God's word in their own minds and hearts. God is nearer to us then our jugular vein, so why must we treat Him as if he is so distant and unattainable by the "lay" Muslims mind.

...And Allah Knows Best...

Liberty in the Middle East

2011-01-28T23:44:00.000-08:00

In the name of Allah, Almighty God, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful. Many of us have been captivated in recent days by the protests happening throughout the Middle East. Most people are encouraged by the events and welcome the overthrow of fascistic dictators. Still, some are only cautiously optimistic. The fear is that even though these calls for democracy are good, there is reason to worry that whatever comes up in place of these fascist dictators may be no better or even far worse.

Most Muslim majority countries, for the past hundred years or so, have been divided between one of two political camps. Either they are nationalistic/fascist dictatorships like Egypt under the current regime, Iraq under Saddam Hussein, or Tunisia, Algeria, or even to some extent Turkey. Or, if not nationalist/fascists, you have theo-fascists like those in Saudi Arabia, Afghanistan under the Taliban, Pakistan, or Iran under the Ayatollah.

The nationalist/fascist movement in the Muslim world derived from influence from European colonialist activity. In essence, these regimes took their ideas from European ideas of nationalism, fascism, and imperialism. In these regimes they largely subvert public displays of religion, for example banning Muslim women's headscarves.

Theo-fascist regimes come from movements such as the Wahhabi movement in what is now Saudi Arabia or movements like the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt, founded upon the teachings of Sayyid Qutb (one of the people who Osama Bin Laden cites as a primary influence). This ideology rose in part out of a rejection of 'foreign' influences (ie the European colonial influences that gave rise to nationalism/fascism), but also in part because of a relatively new and deviant theological ideology that basically claims that, "because the whole of the Earth belongs to God, it is God's right that it be governed by His law, i.e. "Islamic law". It is this ideology that has given us much of what we now know as Islamic terrorism.

Given that these two ideologies have been basically the only two choices that people in the Muslim majority countries have had, it is no surprise that we have such turmoil. In many ways, The Middle East today is very much like Europe prior to the Enlightenment. Europe during the "dark" ages was basically a rotting cesspool of violence and tyranny at the hands of imperialistic monarchs and corrupt and intellectually dead churches. In the Middle East today, we have the same thing, only instead of monarchs we have tyrant dictators, and instead of intellectually dead churches, we have inept, moronic 'clerics' who's only apparent credential is that they have a long beard and wear a turban. So what is the answer? Well, those who don't learn from the mistakes of the past, are doomed to repeat them. So, maybe we should look to what brought Europe out of the dark ages and into the enlightenment.

One of the primary things that brought about what we know today as the enlightenment was the American Revolution. In particular, it was the ideals embodied in that revolution. The great American experiment was essentially, "can man rule himself?". Throughout the entirety of human history, man had always been ruled by either kings or the church. The American founding fathers had the bold idea that man is created to be subservient to no other but God, and that the church did not necessarily represent that. Many of the founding fathers spoke extremely harshly about traditional Christianity as it had been practiced by the Catholic and Protestant churches of Europe. Thomas Jefferson was so full of vitriol for the "church" that if he spoke today he would NEVER be elected. The way that the founding fathers saw it was that every individual is responsible for their relationship with God, and thus, every individual was responsible and endowed with the unalienable right to pursue their life according to their own terms, and to understand their purpose on this Earth on their own terms. This meant that a government that embodied this idea, had to be a minimal government, with as little power over the lives of men as possible. Thus, the US Constitution was born, and to date, America has become the most prosperous, just, charitable and diverse nation in the history of human civilization.

Muslims in the Middle East can and need to learn something from this. Allah, God Almighty says in the Qur'an, "let there be no compulsion/coercion in matters of religion" (Qur'an 2:256). Governments exist only for the purpose of coercion. This may seem odd to some but the fact is that government exists to create and enforce law; that's all. Governments never produce anything, they don't effectively "take care" of people as the failure of communism proved, the only thing that a government exists to do is to coerce people to obey the law. This type of coercion is necessary otherwise you'd have chaos. Therefore, this verse of the Qur'an leaves only ONE feasible option for legitimate government, and that is a government that governs best, is the government that governs the least (roughly a Ronald Reagan quote).

Many Muslims would say that, "in Islam there is no separation of religion and politics" or that "Islam is a complete way of life". They are right in a sense, but often not in the sense that they think. People who say this are usually "Islamists" or people who have been unwittingly influenced by "Islamists"( people who's political ideology is the establishment of Islamic religious law as the law of the land). They are right in the sense that the Islamic scriptures, often known as 'shariah', do mention concepts of government. They mention them in the sense that shariah dictates, as per the above Qur'anic verse, that religious law CAN NOT be imposed as the law of the land. If governments only purpose is to coerce in the name of upholding rule of law, then "matters of religion" or "shariah" cannot be law. Therefore, according to "Islamic law", you cannot make a law that says Muslim woman MUST wear a headscarf. You cannot make a law saying that people must pray. You cannot make a law stating 'Islam' as the state religion or otherwise inhibiting the practice or display of other religions.

This is why "shariah law" based political movements such as the Muslim Brotherhood and the Wahhabis of Saudi Arabia are illegitimate and actually "un-Islamic". Likewise, if there cannot be any compulsion or coercion in matters of religion, as per the Qur'an, then the PROHIBITION of any aspect of religion would also be equally un-Islamic. So making laws banning women's headscarves, or prohibit people from praying, etc, are also equally wrong and "un-Islamic". So that means that the nationalist/fascists regimes are also not acceptable.

In reality, the American concept of "can man rule himself?", is in all actuality the basis of worldly life in the Islamic tradition. Allah also says in the Qur'an, "Say..Shall I seek a Lord other than God, when he is the creator of all things? Every soul draws the mead of its own actions, and no bearer of burdens bears the burden of another. In the end your return is to God, and he will judge between you in that which you disputed" (Qur'an 6:164)

This verse tells us that not only 'can' man rule himself, but he indeed 'must' rule himself. It is for this reason that I would now implore my brothers and sisters from Egypt, Tunisia, Lebanon and all over the Middle East to reach the conclusion that I did, which is that America, embodied in its Constitution, is probably the most "Islamic" nation every to have existed on Earth since the time of the Prophet Muhammad, peace and blessings be upon him. I believe that despite the fact that the American founding fathers were Christians, Allah worked through them in profound ways that even they, as brilliant as they were, didn't truly realize. I believed Allah favored them because they were people who utmost concern was justice, and Allah tells us that He will always support a nation wherein there is justice. To all my brothers and sisters out there in Egypt and other nations who are now rising up to shake off these tyrannical regimes, PLEASE, read the US Constitution, read the federalist papers if you can, understand that the cause of liberty is not just some arbitrary 'American' idea, but it is a universal idea and it is an Islamic idea. Don't rely on anyone else to solve your problems and at the same time do not sit on your hands and do nothing. Don't blame everyone else for your problems, hold yourselves accountable and take your futures and your liberty in your own hands. May Allah guide us all and protect us from evil around us and the evil within our own selves.

...And Allah Knows Best...

The Sick Tragedy of Tuscan, Arizona

2011-01-11T01:09:00.000-08:00

In the name of Allah, Almighty God, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful. My heart felt prayers go out to the victims of the tragedy that befell the "Congress on Your Corner" rally in Tuscan, Arizona, organized by Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords (D-AZ). The congresswoman was presumably the target of an assassination attempt and took a bullet to the head, but lived. Six others did not, including a 9 year old girl and a federal judge. These events are a tragedy for not only Arizona, but indeed for our entire nation. The gunman, was by all accounts, a deranged individual who was a chronic marijuana user, an occultist, and generally a person paranoid about government mind control and other non-sensible rambling ideas.

As if this tragedy wasn't enough, I was utterly horrified, disgusted and appalled by the reaction of main stream media and particularly liberals. Almost immediately, efforts are made to tie this nut-case with the Republican Party, and the likes of Sarah Palin and the TEA Party. First of all, such links are complete fiction. All evidence indicates that if anything, he was an extreme LEFT-WING nut-case, however he wasn't affiliated with ANY political party or political ideology. His own writings indicate that he was a fan of Hitler's "Mein Kampf" and the "Communist Manifesto" by Karl Marx. He had built a cult like shrine in his parents back yard, and reportedly disliked any form of mainstream religion. All of these things are the polar opposite of right-wing nuts, or TEA Party activists.

This reaction actually started with the reaction from the complete hack that is the Sheriff in this jurisdiction in AZ. Pima County Sheriff Clarence W. Dupnik immediately seemed to point blame at "vitriolic rhetoric" in our nation today and in particular, talk radio. When asked if there was specific evidence for such claims, he admits, "that is my opinion". He may be a registered Democrat, however a law enforcement official such as him, the top official in the midst of an investigation of such magnitude, is obliged to stick to FACTS when briefing the press on the investigation. This man's comments are NOTHING but pure political rhetoric that despicably tries to politicize a tragedy that is rooted in no such political ideas, but is instead only rooted in the deranged, paranoid ramblings of a sick man. This man should be REMOVED from this case by the FBI, so that REAL law enforcement officials can proceed with the investigation. This Sheriff is clearly incompetence, and unfit to serve the position he currently holds, and the governor of AZ should demand that he step down.

For those of you who seek to try to link Conservatives and talk radio to this incident, need to check yourself. Such accusations are completely despicable when the evidence is clearly against them. The Fort Hood shooter, who was a Muslim, had clear ideological links to Islamist such as Anwar Al Awlaki, yet when these things were pointed out, all of you on the left were quick to say, "don't jump to conclusions". How about you take your own advise?! In fact, the evidence thus presented, seems to allow us to draw the logical conclusion that this man was nothing more than a NUT! Shame on ALL OF YOU who make such ridiculous accusations, just to try and get in a political "sucker-punch" on those of us with Conservative values that "shellacked" you in November. I've never seen such sore losers. Unfortunately I know many brothers and sisters in Islam who would identify themselves as "liberals". To you brothers and sisters, I remind you of what Almighty God says in the Qur'an...

"Oh you who believe! Stand out firmly for God, as witnesses to fair dealing, and let not the hatred of others cause you to swerve and depart from justice. Be just, that is next to piety, and fear God, for God is WELL ACQUAINTED WITH ALL THAT YOU DO!! (Qur'an 5:8)

You wanna have an open and honest debate about liberal vs. conservative political principals, I welcome such debate, but you are a coward and a hypocrite of you stoop to such a level to defile the legacy of so many heroes of that tragedy, by trying to politicize it for your own sick advantage. It is sick. Just plain SICK! What did Rohm Emanuel say (former Obama chief of staff), "Never let a serious crisis go to waste...its an opportunity to do things you couldn't do before". You people really are sick. I know I'm being a little harsh and not as polite in my criticism as I usually am in my opinions, but I simply cannot be politically correct or polite about this. This sick, vile and pathetic political rhetoric needs to be called out and spit on for what it is.

May God bless those men and women who stopped this man, and may that man be tried and punished to the full extent of the law (hopefully death), and may God bless and comfort the families of those victims, including the father of that 9 year old girl, who's response to the event literally brought tears to my eyes.

....And Allah Knows Best....

New 112th Congress to Open with Recitation of the US Constitution

2011-01-05T20:46:00.000-08:00

In the name of Allah/Almighty God, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful. With Speaker of the House John Boehner (R. Ohio) at the helm, the 112th Congress will open with a complete recitation of the entire United States Constitution. Some call this a stunt, some call it political theatre, some even say that "these crazy conservatives have a fetish for the Constitution". I think its brilliant! It was reported by the media that the Constitution has never actually been read aloud in the history of the Peoples' House. I find this stunning.

With the shift of power many people are talking about "compromise" and the need for Republicans to work with Democrats on key issues. I would say this...

We can debate, find common ground and compromise on issues that are within the bounds of the Constitution (as widely recognized as such by Constitutional scholars, judges and law professionals) however we CAN NOT "compromise" on the legitimacy of the Constitution itself nor can we tolerate any legislator, judge or president trying to circumvent it or twists its obvious meanings and intent. This goes for both Republicans and Democrats but truth be told most of the Constitution bashing comes from the left (i.e. liberal Democrats). Another good start was the House rules bill set forth by Eric Cantor (R-VA) in which it states that in the 112th Congress, every bill presented must demonstrate its Constitutionality. Definitely some good steps forward already.

As I have said, as a Muslim, I respect and revere the US Constitution because it embodies the principals that I also find at the core of my faith. Becoming Muslim six years ago made me a much more patriotic American than I was before because it is that document that ensures that no one in this country will ever be able to tell me that I'm not welcome in this country because of my faith, and that it is that document that secures the God given blessings of liberty to me and my posterity; the liberty to worship God as I see correct, to live in peace and security and allows me the right to protect myself from those who would do me or my family harm, and the liberty to live equally under the law as any other Christian, Jewish, Hindu, Buddhist or Atheist American. No, we cannot, we WILL NOT compromise on that.

I was delighted to see Nancy Pelosi kicked out of the Speaker position. I only hope that John Boehner will give the position the dignity that it has been so long starved of. My guess is that in the half day that he has served he's already given the position 10 times the dignity that the "wicked witch of the west" ever did. Ding Dong Nancy! Ding Dong!!!

...And Allah Knows Best...

NO MORE EXCUSES

2010-12-17T12:01:00.000-08:00

In the name Almighty God, the Most Gracious, The Most Merciful. The prophet Muhammad once warned his followers, and by extension us, about a group of people called the "khawaarij". While it would take a whole book to explain the details of who and what he was talking about, It is recorded in hadiths that the prophet once said of them that "when you see them pray, they will make you feel inadiquate in your own prayer, but when they recite the Qur'an, it will never leave their throats, and that they pass thru this religion in a way like an arrow passing through a game animal".

The meaning of this is to say that these people would appear very religious outwardly, but in fact the Qur'an is never really in their heart. And they only have an outward "residue" of Islam, as the blood left on an arrow after it passes through a game animals body.

He said of them that there would be successive generations of them that will appear amongst his ummah (the Muslims) until the end of time. He even said that the Dajjal (Anti-Christ) will be from among them. Many Muslims therefore don't realize this, but the Anti-Christ will actually be from among the Muslims (or he will claim to be a Muslim). The prophet also said that they are the worst of all creation. He said that they will kill innocents believing that the Qur'an supports them, and he said they will twist verses of the Qur'an around to suit their own desires, in particular applying verses in the Quran referring to dis-believers to believers (ie the process of takfir or calling Muslims kufar or disbelievers, simply because they don't have the same theological views as they do).

Does this sound familiar? Sound like anyone we know today? Sounds a lot like the likes of Al Qaeda, the Taliban, the Muslim Brotherhood and other "Islamist" groups and movements of our time. It amazes me that more Muslims, especially the 'ulema (scholars), don't bring this topic up more often. Ironically I stumbled upon this information through the writings of Sheikh Nasr Deen Al Bani, one of the fathers of the Salafi/Wahabi movement.

Salafis readily refer to these terrorists as "khawaarij", however they fail to realize that terrorism, or violence against non-combatants, is only a symptom of the khawaarij ideology. The root of the khawaarij ideology is in fact a "Muslim-supremacist" ideology that centers around the idea that that they are the "true Muslims" or the Muslims upon real "truth" and all others and all other ideologies or philosophies are inferior.

This is the ideology of the modern day "Islamist". I personally prefer to call them "Muslim-fascists" because I don't like the idea of associating the word "Islam", my faith, with these people. These people have nothing to do with my faith, nor the faith of the majority of Muslims that I know. At any rate, we have to recognize that we don't need to only fight "terrorism", but we need to fight the ideology that breeds it.

Almost all Muslims condemn terrorism. Also, most "Islamists" condemn terrorism. However, in the case of Islamists, it is a very slippery slope from being a passive "Islamist" to being a violently aggressive one. This is because the Qur'an most definitely teaches that Muslims have a responsibility to defend their faith and their brothers and sisters in Islam. If one, who is already indoctrinated into Islamist thinking, is convinced that America ideology is not only inferior to Islam (which is the basic Islamist ideology), but is also convinced that America is actually at war with Islam (as many are led to believe by Al Jazeera, other mid-east media outlets and EVEN at times, American groups like CAIR) then it becomes natural for one to think that engaging in a militaristic jihad against America is incumbent upon them.

Terrorism is a military and law enforcement issue that needs addressed by law enforcement and military personnel. We as Muslims can and do assist them in that. Many Muslims even serve as police officers, FBI agents, soldiers, sailors, airmen and marines. However the real fight isn't a martial one, but an ideological one. That is a fight that only we Muslims can fight. That is a fight that only we Muslims can wage, on the battlefield of the minbar (pulpit) against those that would turn our spiritual and personal relationship with God, into a political ideology that seeks domination over all others under the guise of "establishing God's rights on His earth".

Islam is fundamentally a religion based in personal liberty. God says in the Qur'an,

"Let there be no compulsion/coercion in matters of religion" (2:256)

This is to say that religious law or "shariah" is never meant to be civil law, or the law imposed by government. It is only the "law" that exists between the individual and God. Shariah tells me to not eat pork. It tells me to dress in a modest way. It tells me to pray 5 times a day according to the way of the prophet Muhammad. It tells me to fast during Ramadan and make the Hajj or pilgrimage to Mecca at least once in my life. And, it tells me that I nor any Muslim individual or group has the right to impose it on others, whether they be Muslim or not. This brings us back to the description of the khawaarij that they, "believe the Qur'an to be in their favor, when in reality it stands as a witness AGAINST them", as the prophet Muhammad, peace and blessings be upon him, said.

With all this being said, we as Muslims need to stop making excuses for ourselves and our problems. We need to recognize that it is not a conflict of "us verses them" but indeed a conflict of "us verses us". I am not a scholar nor expert in anything, but I might humbly suggest some actions that need to be taken by the Muslim community to counter these problems.

1. EDUCATION

We need to be educated about the teachings of the Qur'an and the Sunnah (or example) of the prophet Muhammad. Many people point to the fact that the prophet Muhammad was a head of state and head of military during his time, and that many verses of the Qur'an refer to civil law. However, we have to understand the context of those verses and examples of the prophet. The prophet was put into a position of being a head of state by being invited to do so by the people of Yathrib, which later became Medina. So he had to do things, and verses of the Qur'an came as guidance, that were relevant to running a city-state such as that of Medina. Those verses are still just as relevant today, however they have to be understood in that context. Muhammad drafted the Charter of Medina which, while recognizing Muhammad as a prophet and messenger of God, outlined the laws and ordinances of the city-state along mostly secular guidelines. There wasn't a single verse from the Qur'an included in that Charter, and it was that Charter that served as the "Constitution" or legal framework of that city-state.

So if we really want to understand the Islamic ideal for state/national government, we should look to that, the Charter of Medina, as an example. The Charter of Medina can be readily found many places online, but in general the main principles outlined in the Charter are that all tribes, both Muslim and non-Muslims (including a large Jewish population who lived there at the time), are citizens of the city-state of Medina and all are accountable to each other. Jews were not to be treated poorly or in any way differently simply because they were Jewish. It established the death penalty for murderers, and it established that when the city-state is at war, none of the tribes had a right to opt out or to assist an enemy of the state in any way. There isn't a single verse of the Qur'an mentioned in it, thus, separation of mosque and state. THIS was the law of the land during the time that the prophet Muhammad (pbuh) was a head of state. From the time of his death, we have had an almost constant downward slope from that point, away from the liberty based governmental policies of that Charter.

The US Constitution is probably the most "Islamic" constitution/national charter written since that time in terms of most closely representing the principles of individual liberty and the separation of church (or mosque) and state established by the Charter of Medina. Just as the Prophet Muhammad was of course a devout Muslim (along with his followers at the time), the American founding fathers were devout Christians (mostly Unitarians) who recognized that the separation of religious scripture and governmental policies were not only important for protecting people from theological persecution like that seen in Europe, but also that it was necessary to protect the religious tradition itself. Muslims in the US and abroad should study and revere the US Constitution as a supreme example of how rule of secular law can exist, without secularizing the society at large. There has never, in the history of the world, been a nation in which people of so many differing religions and world views have been able to live peacefully side by side, under the rule of law, a secular law, while still maintaining their own religious individuality. This is fundamentally different from fascist-secular regimes like the Soviet Union, Tunisia and others that seek to "secularize" society as a whole (ie destroying religion in the public square). The US truly is a shining city on a hill, and all Muslims, especially American Muslims, should revere and respect that fact, and that comes with good civics education for our kids and new immigrants not only in public schools, but in our mosques and private Islamic schools as well.

2. POLITICAL ACTION

Once we have these most essential education elements, they need to be implemented both within our mosques and Islamic organizations, and in our participation in the political process at large, i.e. voting and running for public office. We have to ensure that our mosques are being administered by people who embody these principles. That goes especially for the imam, who is delivering sermons and providing the congregation with spiritual guidance. We need to be sure that the imam is indeed delivering spiritual guidance, and not spreading Islamist rhetoric. While the vast majority of our imams condemn and most certainly don't preach violence, the number of them that preach "Islamist" ideas is far greater. Be very mindful of who you listen to because I've heard many imams and Muslim preachers who are considered "mainstream moderates" saying things that are very "Islamist" or anti-American in nature. That's not to say that they are themselves raging "Islamists" or "khawaarij", but as I said its a slippery slope and sometimes you can catch yourself on that slippery slope, not having ever realized that you were close to it. The remedy for that is of course understanding the proper meaning of shariah, which is that it is the ties that bind between the individual Muslim, and Almighty God, and it is NOT a matter of civil and governmental law to be imposed on the masses. As God says, "let there be no compulsion in religion".

We Muslims need to also involve ourselves in the republican process that is United States politics. Notice I used the word "republican process" and not "democratic process". These two terms are often used interchangeably, however they are actually very different. A democracy is a system by which the ultimate power comes from the people, and specifically the majority. It is, in a sense, mob rule. That is not what the United States is. The United States is a republic. A republic is a system in which the ultimate power derives from a charter or constitution. Therefore, the city-state of Medina during the time of the prophet was actually a republic. In the United States the Constitution, which is our charter, protects minorities that would, in a democracy, be marginalized by the majority. That's why votes in Congress don't always just take a simple majority vote, but in some cases take 2/3rds majority votes and so on. That is why the US Constitution counted slaves as 3/5ths of a citizen, because making them whole citizens (as per census numbers) would have given southern slave states an unfair advantage in the House of Representatives where representation is based on states population. It is also why the US Senate was created to give smaller population states the same legislative prowess as larger population states in that body.

We Muslims, after vigorously familiarizing ourselves with that Constitution, must exercise our duty, not right but duty, as citizens to vote for candidates that embody and believe in the principles of that Constitution and not for those who seek to undermine it, twist its meanings, or otherwise circumvent it in the name of "progressivism". When one of us has the financial means and most of all knowledge and experience to do so, they should also consider running for office and fighting for those Constitutional principles. Too often today, our Islamic organizations align themselves with the political left, or "progressives" who are not governing or legislating in the interest of the Constitution, but rather are governing in the interests of often foreign ideologies like socialism for example, that is a complete antithesis of the Constitution and of Islam. These organizations only align themselves with such people because the left pays lip service to Muslims and claims to "understand our plight". Our only plight is that we all to often play the victim card and don't get off our own rumps to change and better our situation. The left shares nothing with us in our core values and principles whether on social OR economic fronts. In the 2000 elections, Muslims overwhelmingly supported George W. Bush, and that was because the Muslims at that time found that their views and values seemed to align naturally with Republicans. Then 9/11 happened and all of a sudden we don't want to admit that the cancer, our cancer, of politcal Islamism had at that point boiled over, caused the death of over 3,000 innocent people and left us in the spotlight with our pants down. Instead of brushing ourselves off and and getting to work on the root problem, we deflect blame, deflect accusations, and deflect absolute facts about the Muslim world as if they don't matter. We deflect blame saying that "well those who commit terror are only a small few". Well yes but recent events have shown that those small few can work to great effect, and they will continue to do so until we address the root issue, which is politicized Islamism. Yes it is true that our own American government doesn't help the situation in the Muslim world in the way that they do things, but the problem of political Islamism would be there whether the American State Department and/or military was as well or not. It existed long before America stuck its nose in the business of the Middle East. Those of us Muslims who have the material and intellectual means to do so, should consider running for public office, but in doing that, run on the platform of Constitutional government and the ideal of liberty.

JIHAD

Liberty and freedom always come at a price. The struggle to achieve them is almost never bloodless. The American Revolution represents one of the most glorious struggles and victories for liberty that the world has ever seen. However, for the Americans at that time, there seemed nothing glorious about the horrors of war. There was nothing glorious about turning their guns on people who they only a few years earlier considered their countrymen. There was nothing glorious about having to look upon their former country's flag as now the flag of their sworn enemy. Many soldiers in the Continental Army were veterans of the British Army in the French and Indian wars, and now had to turn their guns at the same red uniforms that they themselves had once wore into battle and drive their bayonets into the bellies of men who they once would have taken a musket ball for. Despite the horrors of that experience, they did what was necessary to establish liberty, to establish justice, and to once and for all end the sectarian violence that had become the norm of Europe. America was and is at its core a living breathing rejection of Europe and all that it stood and in some ways does still stand for.

The word in Arabic, "jihad", literally means to struggle. This can apply to any struggle whether it be intellectual, financial and/or economic, and in some cases can be a martial or military jihad. Almighty God says in the Qur'an, "fight those who fight you, and drive them out of the places where they drove you out, and kill them wherever you find them, for verily oppression is worse than killing..."

To put this verse into context, it was revealed when hostilities first broke out between the Muslims of the city-state of Medina, and the pagan Quraysh tribe of Mecca. The Quraysh had declared war on the Muslims and had vowed to stamp it out. Up until that point Muslims had taken a pacifist stance, and refused to be drawn into violence. However, then these words of the Qur'an came.

The Quraysh had persecuted the Muslims in Mecca before they fled to Medina. In Mecca they had killed and tortured many Muslims who did not have the financial and social status to defend themselves in the tribal system of the Arabs. They persecuted them financially by forbidding anyone from trading with them or doing any kind of business with them. They spat on them and threw dung on them as they prayed at the Kaaba, and even at one point plotted and attempted to assassinate Muhammad.

This eventually culminated in a massive migration or "hijra" to the city of Yathrib, which like I mentioned would later become Medina. It was there that the natives, known as the Ansar or "helpers", together with immigrants from Mecca were able to build a thriving republic, based on equality under the law of the Charter of Medina, where they, the Muslims, were able to practice their faith freely and Islam was able to flourish.

Then, however, because of the threat posed by the flourishing city state of Medina, the Quraysh set out to destroy Muhammad and his religion of Islam, declared war, and marched on Medina to do just that. When these verses of the Qur'an came, the Muslims, despite how much they appalled war against their former countrymen and in many cases against their own family, formed an army and met the pagan Quraysh and ultimately defeated them.

In many ways this story parallels that of the American Revolution. The Americans were mostly people who fled persecution at the hands of European regimes, namely the British. They came to America to make a new way and a new and brighter future, only to find those same tyrannical forces coming to them to destroy that dream, and despite having no desire to do so, they fought, fiercely against the British, and eventually freedom and liberty won out over tyranny.

Both of these stories also parallel the story of Muslim immigrants to the United States. Many Muslim immigrants have come to the US fleeing persecution at the hands of tyrannical regimes of the "old world" (Muslim world). In most cases the core of these tyrannical regimes is politcal Islamism. They have come and found help amongst the "Ansar of the US" (American converts to Islam as well as friendly non-Muslims), to establish a freedom loving and liberty based Islamic community. Now we find those same tyrannical demons of the old world have followed those freedom and liberty loving Muslims to the "new world" and seek to extend their reign of terror and oppression here. Just as the British did to those early Americans. And just like the British had the Boston Massacre, today we have 9/11. Afghanistan and Iraq are our "Lexington and Concord". With 9/11 the war against this oppressive, tyrannical ideology that many of our brothers and sisters fled from, has begun. The only problem is that our situation today is like if the early Americans had just coward in a corner and let the French fight the British for them. That's not what they did. They faught alongside the French yes, but they indeed faught and steered the direction of that war. The non-Muslims of America in our Armed Forces today are like the French in the American Revolution....we can't just sit back and let them do the fighting. Muslims need to be LEADING THE CHARGE into battle against political Islamism! We need more and more and more Muslims joining the US Army, Navy, Marines and Air Force, not just for scholarships and GI grants, but because they WANT to be part of defeating this desease that is afflicting our religious community! We need our intellectuals actively engaged in intellectual battle against their clerics. We need our financiers and economists finding ways to block and destroy their funding that gets funnelled through Islamic banks and charities in the Middle East. We need our Muslim leaders and elected officials and military officers standing with our non-Muslim leaders, elected officials and military officers to plan and direct that battle together! WE, the Muslims of America and like-minded Muslims of the world, need to make a stand and FIGHT this cancer that is political, fascist Islamism. If there is any legitimate jihad, it is that.

I want all to know that I don't say these things with a light heart. I love my brothers and sisters in Islam with all my heart, including those who through misguidance or ignorance find themselves on the wrong side of this fight. It pains me to see those young brothers killed who have been brainwashed by Islamist pigs like Osama Bin Laden, Ayman Zawahiri, Anwar Al Awlaki and others. It pains me to see brothers and sisters killed accidentally by bombs meant for some of these pigs. However it pains me more to see brothers and sisters killed while attending jummah at their mosque on Friday by suicide bombers in Pakistan, or brothers and sisters killed in market places in Iraq by suicide bombers, or little girls having their genitals mutilated in Somalia, or Muslim women executed for adultery after being raped by their brothers and uncles, or seeing small children being dowsed in gasaline and set ablaze simply because they are a "Sunni" or a "Shi'i". This ideology, this barbaric, fascist, satanistic ideology that cloaks itself in my beloved faith must be stopped, stamped out, and destroyed. No more excuses, no more buts.......stand now for justice, stand now liberty, and stand now for Allah and for Islam.

...And Allah Knows Best...

The Culmination of Human Revelation

2010-11-08T12:58:00.001-08:00

In the name of Allah (Almighty God) The Most Compassionate, The Most Merciful. In a recent previous article, I talked about the concept of "the only true religion". As I said then, religions throughout human history were created by people in order to explain things that they did not and could not understand. In some cases they worshipped or revered nature as with many religious traditions of native peoples of Africa, Australia, The Americas, and ancient Europeans. In some cases they worshipped a man or mythical men and women as great powerful deities such as that of the Ancient Egyptians, the Ancient Greeks and Romans and to some extent Roman Catholic Christians. Still others seemed to base worship on the self as in Buddhism. Some say that there is NO supernatural power or if there is it is no consequence to us, such as in Atheism and Secular Humanism. All of these religious traditions have good points, but none contain viable, reasonable explanations for the real and ultimate source of existence. Ultimately, it can be reasonably and rationally deduced, as it was by philosophers such as Renee' Descartes, that finite things, meaning everything in the universe, cannot be ultimately created by other finite things. If so you're left with the concept of infinite regression; a phenomenon by which there is no actual beginning. In other words if life on Earth came from the primordial ooz, and the Earth created the primordial ooze, and the Earth was created of the Sun, and the Sun created out of the center of the galaxy, and the galaxy created in the "big bang" when a small dense bundle of mass exploded.......then what created that bundle of mass, and then what created that, and what created that, and so on, and so on. This is reasonably, rationally and actually physically impossible. Thus there must be an ultimate and infinitely powerful source from which all things originate. This infinitely divine force is thus the only thing worthy of any kind of worship or exaltation because it is therefore the only thing that we truly owe our existence to. So, therefore the conclusion is that all religion is rubbish, except, that which simply calls humans back to communion with that one divine, infinitely powerful source. That is the only thing that can be reasonably, rationally and scientifically sound.

However, we then are left with the question, "Does that infinitely divine power communicate with us?". Deists believe the answer is no. Deism is the belief that there is indeed an infinitely powerful source of creation but that it does not communicate with its creation. This would be a viable argument if it weren't for the fact that human beings, by their very nature, are creatures of faith. Even Atheists have faith, because it cannot be proven "scientifically" that The Divine DOESN'T exist no more than it can't be proven scientifically that it DOES exist. We are thus programmed to engage in some form of faith. Faith comes from someone or something conveying information to us, and then with or without tangible evidence, we believe it to be true. For example no one can see, feel, smell or touch an atom, however because of the effects we see of them, we believe, or you could say, we have "faith" that they exist. In the religious realm, faith comes from someone conveying information about The Divine or the supernatural to the masses and those masses consequently believing or having "faith" in that information. If we take into consideration that all religion is nonsense except for that which calls human beings to understanding and communion with that one infinitely divine source of all that is, then likewise all faith is null and void except for faith based on information that conforms to that ultimate reality.

Almost every religion has a belief in this ultimate infinitely divine source of power, including religious traditions that are understood to be polytheistic or paganistic. In Hinduism there is a belief in Rahman, which they understand to be the infinitely divine source of all creation, and then all of their subsequent gods and goddesses are only different manifestations of that infinitely divine force, and they pray to statues of those gods and goddesses as a way to channel and focus their prayer toward the "real" source of power, Rahman. Native Americans, while they revered many spirits of nature, also knew of the "great spirit" from which all things came.

In the history of human civilization, amidst all of these different religious traditions that arose to explain the unexplainable, there has been one thread that has continued to exist in perpetuity that despite occasional deviation due to the natural flawed nature of humans, has indeed called human beings back to realization and communion with that infinitely divine source of all existence. Evidence of that thread appears in scriptural books such as the five books of Moses, the Psalms of David, the Gospel of Jesus Christ, and others. Because these texts and revelations call human beings toward the worship of nothing besides that infinitely divine force, they are and can only be the true revelation of that infinitely divine force. As I stated earlier many of these texts were corrupted by humans at various points in their history, but the ultimate message still rings through them; There is nothing worthy of worship EXCEPT that infinitely divine force from which all creation originates.

Throughout all of these revealed scriptures, The Divine uses the great miracles of humanity as its medium. The great miracles of humanity could be narrowed down to reason, law, spirituality and language. It may seem odd at first, but really when you think about it these four things are the pillars of humanity. Every human civilization that has ever existed can be broken down into these four categories. It is ultimately these four things that distinguish humans from all other creatures both natural and supernatural.

REASON:

Many millennia ago, a man named Abraham walked the Earth. His father was an idol maker; making idols that people of the time worshipped as gods. Abraham reasoned that this was absurd and illogical. These figures of clay and wood had no real power to help nor harm anyone. His rejection of these superstitious beliefs led to great conflict and eventual exile from his community. One night he looked to the night sky and saw a star and said, "perhaps this is my god". When that star vanished from the sky he said "this cannot be a god because it goes away". Then he saw the moon and again said "perhaps this is my god" but when the moon set he again said, "a true god cannot disappear". Once more when he saw the sun he said, "perhaps this is my god", but when the sun set, Abraham had an epiphany. He realized that the only true "god", was the force that was behind all of these things and indeed everything that existed. He, through the miraculous human gift of reason, came to realization of the existence of The Divine, and upon that realization he not only communed with The Divine but The Divine communed with him. Bestowing on him the gift of prophecy and made him a messenger to his people.

LAW:

Some time after Abraham had long passed, lived a man named Moses. He was a descendant of Abraham through Abraham's son Isaac and of a people known as the "Children of Israel". At the time the Children of Israel were enslaved under the self proclaimed "god", Pharaoh of Ancient Egypt. While Moses was raised in the Pharaohs household, he still was a "Jew", and upon accidentally killing a soldier of Pharaoh who was beating a Jewish worker, was made a fugitive from that land. It was during his days in the wilderness that The Divine chose him to be a messenger, speaking to him through a burning bush. Moses subsequently returned to Pharaoh demanding that the Children of Israel be free and came with miraculous plagues to support his position against the Pharaoh. Upon the freedom of the Children of Israel, The Divine revealed the next major human revelation through Moses; this time based on the next great miraculous gift of humanity...law. These laws found in today's Torah served as the first divinely inspired civic and social legal framework for human kind to live by, including civil, criminal, matrimonial, dietary and martial laws. This would become the greatest legacy of the Prophet Moses.

LANGUAGE

Amongst the Children of Israel there once lived a small boy named David. This small boy, who began life modestly, became the hero of his people upon defeating a mammoth of a man named Goliath from amongst the Philistines, the enemies of the Children of Israel. David eventually became a king, and more importantly, The Divine inspired in him the next major revelation to humanity, the Psalms. This time, The Divine used another of humanity's great miracles, language. The Psalms were song and poetry, that praised, gave thanks to, and explained the nature of The Divine.

SPIRITUALITY

Human beings have always had an attachment and fascination with the supernatural, our existence after death and the spiritual elements of our own selves. Again, from amongst the Children of Israel, came by far the most miraculous of all prophets, and indeed probably the most miraculous of all humans save maybe Adam (the first human). Jesus of Nazareth was born of a pure virgin mother, Mary, in which The Divine created Jesus in Mary's womb without the seed of a human male. Upon Jesus's birth he spoke as an infant in the arms of his mother to defend her honor from wicked accusations of the Jewish aristocracy. As a boy he spent time not learning, but actually TEACHING Jewish law in the Temple of Jerusalem, and as a man set about to bring the Children of Israel back to the spiritual elements of their faith that they had long forgotten. Jewish tradition had become at that time very dogmatic, ritualistic and devoid of inward, spiritual qualities that had been the legacy of great prophets like David. Most importantly, Jesus was the Messiah, prophesied in the book of Isaiah, come to be the savior of the Jewish people. His allegories and parables sparked deep inward reflection, inspired deep and undying love for one's fellow man, and most importantly, drew every individual who reflected upon his words back to communion with The Divine. While his enemies attempted to kill him, Jesus Christ was raised up and saved from their hands, and in the end days he will return to complete and fulfill his duty not only as the Messiah of the Children of Israel, but indeed the Messiah of Humanity.

All of these great prophets came with revelations that were testaments to the glory and majesty of The Divine. But The Divine wasn't done yet. The Divine revealed to Moses in his book of Deuteronomy, "I will raise up a prophet from amongst your brethren, and will put my words in his mouth, and he shall speak unto them all that I command him" (18:18).

And then later, The Divine revealed through Jesus Christ the prophecy of another to come, a comforter and a spirit of truth. Jesus, peace and blessings be upon him said, "Nevertheless I tell you the truth, it is expedient for you that I go away. For if I go not away, the Comforter will not come unto you, but if I depart, I will send him unto you. And when he is come, he will reprove the world of sin, of righteousness and of judgment. Of sin because they believe not in me. Of righteousness because I go unto the Father, and you see me no more. Of judgment because the prince of this world is judged. I have yet many things to tell you, but you cannot bear them now. Howbeit when he, the spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all truth, for he shall not speak of himself but whatsoever he hears, that he shall speak, and he will show you things to come. He shall glorify me, for he shall receive of mine, and shall show it unto you" (John 16:7-14).

It is clear from these prophecies that The Divine's complete anthology was not completed with the Gospel of Jesus Christ. In the revelation to Moses, The Divine notes that this prophet would be raised amongst their brethren. Up until Christ, the main lineage of prophets came from the Children of Israel, who are descended of Abraham through his Isaac. Abraham had another son named Ishmael who is considered the father of the Arabs. The revelation in Deuteronomy seems to indicate that this last great prophet will come from "the brethren" of the Children of Israel, the Arabs. In the mid 7th century in a town called Mecca, in Arabia, just such a prophet was called to the service of The Divine with the initial command, "READ!!! In the name of your Lord who created! Created man from a single congealed clot of blood. READ!!! for your Lord is most bountiful! Who taught the use of the pen, and taught man that which he knows not!!" (Qur'an 96:1-5)

The Prophet Muhammad is also most definitely the "comforter" prophesied by Christ in that Christ himself says, "he will glorify me". The prophet Muhammad praised Christ exceedingly and exposed his followers to honor Christ, AND the followers of Christ in that time period. In both Deuteronomy and in John it is said that this prophet would speak not of himself but what he is inspired to speak, and that was the miracle of the Qur'an.

While previous revelations used various different miracles of mankind to the exemplify the glory of The Divine, the last revelation of the Qur'an utilized ALL of them. The Qur'an constantly implores mankind to "think" and to "reason" and to contemplate the miracle of creation. The story of Abraham quoted above is found in the Qur'an. In Surah al Rahman (The Chapter of Mercy) The Divine says, "The most Merciful, taught the Qur'an, created mankind, and taught him eloquence of speech, the sun and the moon in precise orbits, and the stars and trees prostrate in adoration, and the heaven he raised and imposed balance, that you may transgress the balance. Establish weight with justice, and do not upset the balance. The earth he laid out for his creatures. Therein is fruit and palms with sheaths, and corn with husks for fodder, and sweet smelling plants. So which of the favors of your Lord will you deny?" In this the Divine encourages us to contemplate creation as the signs of His existence. The Qur'an includes law, giving rules for inheritance, marriage, diet, and warfare. It speaks eloquently of the spiritual nature of man and the need for an intimate relationship with The Divine.

Perhaps the most profound element of the Qur'an, is its language. In 7th century Arabia, poets were the rock stars of their day. Their mastery of the Arabic language was second none (in other languages) in the world. The word "Qur'an" means literally "recitation", and the primarily miracle of it was that the entire Qur'an is basically, a long and complex poem. Poetry that none of the great Arab poets could even begin to match. In the Qur'an, The Divine makes the challenge, "And if you are in doubt about what we have revealed to our servant, then produce a chapter like it! And call your witnesses and helpers besides God, if you are true" (Qur'an 2:23).

The entire Qur'an flows together as a poem, weaving in and out of different stories from our past, instructions on how to live, revelations of our afterlife and more, with a constant refrain of coming back to, "And God is Most Great...And God is Most Merciful...And God sees and hears all...etc...". The complexity of the Qur'an is also understood only by understanding it in its original language...Arabic. While English translations are useful for having at least a partial understanding of the message of some verses, it is absolutely impossible to accurately translate the Qur'an into any language. As a native speaker of English, I'm always learning more and more about the Arabic language of the Qur'an, and the more I pick away at that knowledge, the more I realize how truly miraculous it is. The Qur'an came in bits and pieces throughout the life and ministry of the Prophet Muhammad. It could be compared to doing a massive jigsaw puzzle in which the pieces are dumped out on a table, and you have no picture of what its supposed to look like. Gradually piece by piece it comes together, each piece relating to specific topics and issues taking place at that time, and then by the end, when the last piece was put into place only shortly before the prophets death, you stand back and look at this beautiful masterpiece, unmatchable by even the best of artisans in the world.

Another aspect of the miracle of the Qur'an is its preservation. The Divine says in the Qur'an, "We have sent down this reminder, and We will preserve it" (Qur'an 15:9). The Holy Qur'an is today, in its original Arabic, the exact same as it was in the time of the prophet Muhammad. Nothing has ever been added or taken away, and this is confirmed by even secular scholars and scholars of other religions. Moreover, the Qur'an, while it is compiled in book form and other digital formats, is primarily preserved in the minds and hearts of those who have memorized the entire thing....word for word. These people, known as a hafiz, are the primary preservers of the Qur'an.

The Holy Qur'an represents the culmination of The Divine's revelation to humanity. The seal of His message to us on how to understand Him, and to live our lives according to His will. The Qur'an, along with the Gospels of Christ, the Psalms of David, the Torah of Moses and the revelation of Abraham represent The Divine's communication with us, His creation. Our task is to try and understand them in context, and to come to that most important fundamental and indeed ONLY true act of religiosity.....To know the reality of God, and to come to communion with Him.

...And Allah (The Divine) Knows Best...

Muslims Should be Cautious When Voting This November

2010-10-06T12:47:00.000-07:00

In the name of Allah (Almighty God), the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful. In November, most Americans will be voting for Congressional, Gubernorial, and other major federal, state and local political offices. This of course includes American Muslims. Like all Americans, Muslims need to realize the importance of their vote. Many Muslims don't vote at all, and I would caution my brothers and sisters that not voting is one of the worst things we can do for the progress of our community. Some may think that there is something fundamentally wrong with voting in a "non-Muslim" country from a shari'ah perspective. This is of course not true. There is nothing in the Qur'an or the Sunnah to suggest such a thing. In fact the Muslims, led by Ja'far ibn Abu Talib, in the first hijra to Abbassynia, settled in that Christian country, under a just Christian king, and even participated in wars on behalf of the king. They, who were among the best generation of Muslims, didn't seem to have any problem with serving and participating in a non-Muslim nation, in so long as it's leadership was just. In our nation of the United States, we have what is actually in Islamic terms, shurah, or mutual consultation. The people of the United States, voice opinions through votes as to who they feel would best run the country. Whether they be chief executives (president, governor, mayor) or legislators/law makers (congress, state legislatures, city councils).

In voting, it is firstly most important that the voter, Muslim or otherwise, be educated. Not necessarily just educated about "the issues", but primarily educated about the Constitution of the United States, AND the Constitution of the State in which you live. In many cases state constitutions are vastly similar to the US Constitution, but they may very a little from state to state. The Constitution is the most important thing for ANY American citizen to know and understand. The principals laid out in it, in the articles detailing the responsibilities of the three main branches of government, and in the Bill of Rights detailing the basic rights of American citizens, are the backbone, or rather the DNA of our entire nation. Without that structure, America would literally fall into chaos like many other nations around the world who have since adopted Constitutions similar to that of the US. The United States is longest running country in the world to maintain the same form of Government without violent struggles to change it or alter it. The Civil War doesn't count because it wasn't REALLY a Civil War it was a war of Southern Independence that they lost. They weren't fighting to alter the US governmental system. There is a fundamental reason why America has become so successful. It is the Constitution. The Constitution guarantees that the federal government is not the RULER of the people, but rather it exists only to be RULED by the people. The US Congressmen and women are not our superiors or rulers, they are our employees, and the same is true of the President of the United States. If the US was a company, we are the Board of Directors and the Stock holders, so therefore WE are the ones with the ultimate power.

This all being said, we as Muslims, need to be more cautious when exercising that power as American citizens. All citizens tend to focus on issues that directly pertain to them. Gays and lesbians focus on "gay rights". Evangelical Christians focus on moral social issues that pertain to their faith. Recent immigrants and offspring of immigrants tend to focus on immigration issues. This is of course natural, but it is the behavior of a largely uneducated populous. Citizens of course should be concerned about issues that pertain to them, but educated citizens also understands where those issues stand in importance to other issues that face ALL Americans, and sometimes when those issues are obviously less important, we have set aside our personal issues for the greater good. Besides, ultimately if people were educated and voted for whats best for America and not just themselves, it is very likely that those personal issues will be resolved much quicker anyway. For example, immigration reform is a definite issue that affects many Americans, however our present economic situation is an issue that affects ALL Americans, and thus we will never really be able to address the immigration issue until we first address our economic plight including our ever growing national debt which is ultimately the primary source of economic concern. Legal and illegal immigration wont be an issue if the job market completely collapses and there no jobs for ANYONE including immigrants.

Now, having said that, it is becoming quite obvious that the main issue in the minds of soon to be Muslim voters, is the rising tide of "Islamophopia" in America. Generally speaking, the main Islamophobic voices seem to be coming from the political right, while the political left seems more accepting of Muslims within American society. So, consequently, the vast majority of Muslims are most likely going to vote for Democratic candidates in the coming elections. This isn't surprising. However I ask my brothers and sisters to try and think beyond Islamophobia, and think about the bigger issues facing this country. Besides, Islamophobia is only the result of a very uneducated population on the beliefs, tenants, and people of Islam. No politician is ever really going to fix that. Only WE can fix that. Only we can fix that by interacting more with our non-Muslim neighbors and co-workers, and reaching out to other faith communities in common "enjoining of good, and forbidding of evil". Eventually, Islamophobia will subside, as have all such tensions in American history, as mainstream America becomes more familiar and thus more comfortable with their Muslim countrymen and women. If you look at the vast majority of people who hold very Islamophobic ideas, they typically don't personally know any Muslims. Even politically very conservative Americans who have personal connections with Muslims, have much different views; much more accepting views. So I might suggest that voting for candidates based on the issue of Islamophopia is really not the educated thing to do.

Republicans do indeed often support issues that run contrary to basic Muslim (and even Christian) moral values. We seen under President George W. Bush the creation of the Patriot Act, which gives the federal government surveillance authority without warrants on whomever they may deem to be a risk. This is not only immoral but it is fundamentally un-Constitutional. Likewise many Republicans engage in seemingly imperialistic endeavors with such things as "nation building", setting up military installations around the world in various countries, and generally sticking America's nose in the business of other sovereign nations in the name of "protecting our interests". No doubt that these are indeed much more important issues that the issue of Islamophobia in America, and in fact such behaviors of Republican politicians can be directly linked to the ever growing threat of international terrorism.

However, lets then talk about Democrats. Liberal Democrats often also represent fundamentally immoral and un-Constitutional ideas. Democrats typically favor bigger government, and typically have the notion that "we know better what to do with your money than you do". They typically support murder of unborn children through "pro-choice" views which is completely un-Islamic. They favor tax increases, increased funding to welfare programs that only facilitate laziness rather than help people get educated and get back to work. They favor tax systems in which the richer pay more. We may say "well Islamically wealthier people ARE responsible to help those who have less thru zakat". Well that's true, zakat is 2.5% of one's wealth. People making over six figures often pay almost HALF of the income in taxes. That's not zakat, that's robbery. And yes, they, Democrats, also engage in nation building and generally sticking America's nose in the business of other sovereign nations.

We have an ever increasing debt in our nation that WILL eventually destroy us if we are not careful. I would suggest that this is probably the MOST important issue we face. Jobs are hard to come by too, but this is mostly a result of an unsure economy. Employers simply can't afford to take chances to hire new employees when there is such uncertainty about America's economic future. Employers are thus either simply holing-up and not hiring at all or they are outsourcing labor to foreign countries where they can get labor at a fraction of the cost. Such so-called stimulus packages as has been implemented by both Bush and Obama are only giving money that we don't have, to industries in the hopes that they hire. I don't know, to me it seems that the very simple solution is to GIVE PEOPLE THEIR MONEY BACK! Cut taxes to the bare-minimum. I mean I'm talking bare-bones, just enough to pay the utility bills at the Capital building and White House, minimum. If people had more of that money back, particularly business owners who are the one's hiring people, then it just seems to make sense that jobs would start to come back and people would have more confidence in the economy. I just don't see how going into MORE debt by giving money we don't have to construction companies really does that, or passing a health-care bill that basically only requires people to buy health insurance without really addressing the ever growing cost of it, really helps anything. In fact, I tend to think it only hurts us in the long run.

I'm not suggesting that anyone vote Republican or Democrat, I'm just suggesting that we, American Muslims, think BEYOND Islamophobia when we go to the poles in November, to the real issues that face ALL Americans.

...And Allah Knows Best...

The Only True Religion

2010-09-28T21:52:00.000-07:00

In the name of Allah, (Almighty God), the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful. Allah says in the Qur'an,

"And whoever desires a religion other than Islam, it will never be excepted of him, and in the hereafter, he will be one of the losers". (3:85)

This verse is often understood by Muslims to mean that those who are Muslims are in the right, and non-Muslims would likewise interpret this to mean that, according to The Qur'an, non-Muslims are destined for hell. Amongst ultra-conservative Muslim sects it is indeed often seen this way. It has become common place for us to see the world as Muslims vs. Kufar (disbelievers). We readily hear Muslim parents warning their children about "playing with those kufar kids" or worrying about sending their kids to "kufar schools". I once was working in a warehouse in Columbus, and on this particular day I was unloading a truck with two other men. One of them was a middle aged Somali (Muslim) man and the other was an older white American (non-Muslim) man. As the day progressed we engaged one another in conversation as most co-workers do. We weren't talking about anything of great importance really, just small talk to make the day go by faster. We all laughed and joked with each other and got along well. At one point when the non-Muslim American man was away, the Somali man said to me, "you know he's a very nice man, too bad he's a kafir (disbeliever) going to hell".
This small conversation perfectly illustrates the mentality than many of us Muslims have. We have degenerated being a believer in "laa ilaha ila Allah" into just being "part of a club". A club in which we don't eat pork, drink, we pray five times a day, and where woman cover themselves. In many masajid (mosques) around the world, material available to non-Muslims and new Muslims mainly focus on Aqeedah (creed; manners of behavior) more so than tasawwuf (spirituality; ones personal relationship with the divine).
Salafis/Wahabbis expound that the basis of their entire ideology is Tawheed or the absolute oneness of Allah (God Almighty; The Divine). However, simple understanding of this principal is not what is meant by the verse

"And I did not create man and jinn except to worship me" (51:56)

Worship is only worship when the worshipper has three things; Iman (faith and proper belief in Allah), Islam (submission to Allah's will), and Ihsan (sincerity). In a famous hadith or prophetic tradition, the Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him) said that "ihsan" is to "worship Allah as if you see Him, even when you don't see Him, but know that He sees you".

This begs the question 'what does it really mean to worship Allah as if you see Him'? Ultimately it means that in order to truly worship Allah, one must first have a very personal, one on one relationship with Allah. One must see Allah not just as an arbitrary idea that we focus our religiosity on, but Allah is a living being, THE living being that upon whom we all depend, upon whom all the universe belongs and depends, the one who is the owner of all the most beautiful of attributes, and the one who is the ONLY one truly capable of helping you or causing you harm. Allah, to the true worshipper, is one's master, true love and best friend all wrapped up into one. Without this relationship with Allah, worship is hollow. Without this relationship fasting is just starving yourself. Without this relationship Hajj (pilgrimage to Mecca) is just a really gruelling vacation. Without this relationship your salaah (ritual prayer) is just a really boring dance. Without this relationship recitation of the Qur'an is just singing.

So, when we focus our understanding of our religion so heavily on outward things, we must ask the question, are we really worshipping Allah, or are we worshipping our "religion"? Have we actually made the religion of Islam itself an idol besides Allah?

It is funny that in the above verse, "and anyone who seeks a religion other than Islam, it will not be accepted of him..." when we translate this into English, usually we translate every word into English except the word "Islam". Why not translate that word too since it is an Arabic word. When we do it sounds like this

"And anyone who seeks a religion other than complete willful and peaceful submission and subservience to the divine, it will not be excepted of him and in the hereafter, he will be one of the losers".

When we translate the verse in this way, we can get a much different picture of what it really means.

Throughout the history of mankind, there have been many forms of religion that have risen and fallen as ways for man to explain that which he did not understand. Some peoples worshipped nature, a form of religion known as Pantheism. In this form of religion people saw "spirits" in all things around them including animals, trees, mountains and the land itself, wind, water and storms, and saw nature and the "creator" as one in the same. Primitive forms of this kind of religion are found amongst Native Americans, Australian Aboriginals, Native African tribes such as the Maasai, and ancient European cultures such as the Celts, Anglo-Saxons and Normans. Other types of religion are more religious civilizations. Entire civilizations that are built around the worship of some deity. Sometimes this deity could be something like the sun or the moon, and in others it can be a man such as the king himself such as in ancient Egypt where Egyptians worshipped the Pharaoh as a living god. People in ancient times largely believed in these things because proper understanding of science and the natural world had not come to fruition yet. Now that we do understand much about the natural world, we in the developed world know for example that it's not some magical spirit that makes the rain fall from the sky but rather we know that water evaporates off of the earth's surface, the water vapor collects in the sky in the form of clouds, and when the dew point is reached, the water liquefies and falls to earth as rain. We also know that certain stories that are the center of religious civilizations such as the Christian belief that the Earth was literally created in six days, and is only several thousand years old, is not accurate, but rather the Earth is billions of years old and was created over the course of millions of years. This disproving of age old religious traditions created in developed nations religious movements such as Secular Humanism and Atheism. Secular Humanists don't necessarily reject the existence of The Divine but reject supernatural or faith based beliefs as being the basis of morality. Atheists reject the existence of The Divine entirely, as with all other forms of the supernatural, and thus also reject such beliefs and faith as the basis of morality. Both religious traditions rely on ethics and reason as the basis of morality. Such traditions base their devotion to such ideas on the fact that it cannot be proven that God, or The Divine actually exists, and there is no physical, tangible way to test "faith". Thus, they reject faith as an archaic idea that basically only existed as a means for our ancient ancestors to mentally and emotionally deal with the natural world. However, there is one major loophole in this thinking. It is true that faith cannot really be measured nor can it be vindicated through any kind of testable fact and therefore at face value there isn't much difference between what we know as major religious traditions such as Christianity and ancient mythology such as that of the Greek gods and goddesses. However, it likewise cannot be proven in a physically tangible way that The Divine does not exist either. Therefore, Secular Humanists and Atheists also rely on some form of "faith" to justify their beliefs. We can therefore say that we as humans are hard-wired and destined to be people of faith. In reality faith is at the core of what we are because we are a rational being who contemplates our existence in the universe. As such, we will always be subject to faith as being as natural to us as eating and sleeping.

So, how do we know which path is the correct one? Well, that's the million dollar question. But, allow us to reflect on the story of Abraham (peace and blessings be upon him), as told in the Qur'an. It is said that Abraham was the son of an idol maker. His father carved wooded idols that the people of that day worshipped. Abraham abhorred this behavior as he could plainly see that these idols did not serve or protect anyone. They were just wood. His beliefs led to his eventual exile from his home. While alone at night he looked to the sky and saw a star and thought to himself "perhaps this is my god". Then, however, the star disappeared and Abraham said, "truly I don't not like a god that disappears". Then he saw the moon, and how it illuminated the land at night and again said, "perhaps this is my god". Then however the moon disappeared over the horizon and Abraham said, "truly I don't like a god that disappears". Then the next day he saw the sun and how it warmed the earth and he once again said, "perhaps this is my god". When the sun set Abraham said,

"Oh my people! Indeed I am free from all that you join as partners in worship with the truly divine! Indeed I have turned my face to He that CREATED the heavens and the earth, The Divine is and can only be ONE (infinate source of creation), and I am not of those who associate such partners in worship!".
(6:78-79)

What Abraham actually did, in a reasonable and rational way, was he PROVED the existence of The Divine by realizing that all things that we experience in this world and this universe is finite (with beginning and end). He realized that the finite cannot be the ultimate source of other things finite. Only something infinite can be such a source. Another way of looking at it is the phenomenon of infinite regression. If there is nothing infinite, no divine, then the process of finite creating finite, as it does through natural processes, would keep going back and back and back and back, with no beginning...infinite regression. Therefore, there MUST, rationally and reasonably speaking, be an ultimate infinite source from which all of these processes started. Like if we say life was created out of the primordial ooze, then the earth created the primordial ooze, then the earth was born of the sun, and the sun was born of the center of the galaxy, and the galaxy was formed in the big bang, and the big bang happened because the entire universe was once a very small very dense bundle of mass and it exploded, well then what created that bundle of mass? What caused it to explode? Whatever created that bundle of mass, what created it? And then what created that? So on, and so on. It is unreasonable, irrational, and physically impossible for that to be the case. Also, the infinite and divine, MUST consequently be a single force. If there were multiple forces they would simply compete and by there very nature anything that one created the other would destroy. If you have two infinitely powerful forces than one force will always be infinitely capable of annihilating anything the other does and the same visa versa. So, that infinite force, The Divine, not only must only, but CAN only be ONE.

Therefore, the only TRUE religion. Is simply the recognition of that infinitely powerful, Divine force, and recognition of this fact leads one to the only logical action which is to submit oneself to that force. Not just because one wants to, but because one recognizes that we are in that Divine infinite forces grasp whether we recognize it and submit to it or not. If we conclude that the Divine necessarily exists, and that the Divine is and can ONLY be one, then the only true religion that we can credit with being "accurate" is one that directs the rational and thinking human being back to that fact. Any form of religion that calls humans towards anything else, is quite simply....nonsense. That's not to say that there aren't valuable lessons and morals in other religions, but they are deviations nonetheless if they call human beings toward worship or veneration of anything but The Infinitely Divine. So, if the only correct path is that which leads us directly to The Infinitely Divine, then does that path exist today? If so what religion is it? I know Muslims will say ISLAM! ISLAM! (like a kindergartner saying "oooo pick me! pick meeeee!). To that I'll say this......yes and no. What? Blasphemy you say?

Like I said, any and all religion that calls people to venerate or worship anything besides The Infinitely Divine is utter nonsense; whether it's Egyptians worshipping Pharaoh as a living god, Greeks worshipping stories of Zeus, Native Americans worshipping trees, Aboriginals worshipping a mountain, Secular Humanists and Atheists worshipping themselves, Jews worshipping their rabbis and priests, Christians worshipping Jesus Christ (peace and blessings be upon him) or.....ready.....MUSLIMS WORSHIPPING THEIR IMAMS (leaders) AND THEIR RELIGIOUS SYSTEM AS A WHOLE!

This is why you see Muslims rioting in the streets when someone makes a stupid cartoon of the prophet Muhammad (pbuh)! This is why Muslims blow themselves up in mosques during Friday prayers for stupid political nonsense! This is why Muslim women are subjected behind a wall when that was NOT the practice of the prophet! This is why we care more about how long a man's beard is or how short his pants are then how sincere our own prayers are! We have in many ways become a people who worship the "idea of being Muslim". We look to our religious system with its sciences and it's rules and regulations and worship that. All the while, we have forgotten what it REALLY means to worship The Infinitely Divine. By the way the literal translation of the term "The Infinitely Divine" into the Arabic language is "Allah". This is why that infinitely divine being referred to itself with that name in the Holy Qur'an. Allah has communicated the message of His Absolute Oneness throughout human history. As the Qur'an says...

"And for every nation there was a messenger..." (10:47)

From the first man Adam, to all the prophets that we know of and those that we don't know of, Allah has communed with his creation. He has called us back time and again. Through our father Adam, through Noah and the flood, through Lot in Sodom and Gomorrah, through Abraham and his gift of reason, through Moses and his gift of the Law, through David and his gift of song, through Jesus Christ the Messiah and through his mother Mary the most honored of all women, and through Muhammad the seal of prophecy to all mankind, may Allah's peace and blessings be upon them all. All of these individuals toiled their life for only one cause; one idea. To direct their people back to worship and communion with The Infinitely Divine; Allah. Not ONE of them called their people to worship them or anything BUT Allah.

So what was that verse again?

"And whosoever seeks a religion other than complete willful and peaceful submission and subservience to the Divine, it will not be excepted of him, and in the hereafter, he will be a loser"

Look into yourself; as I look into myself. Are we really sure that we are practicing Islam? Are we really sure that we are worshipping Allah and not just the idea of being Muslim? Are we really sure that the people in the church down the street aren't? Or in the synagogue across town? Or, might they actually be doing just that, submitting themselves to that Divine force, in the only way they know how?

About the People of the Book, the Christians and the Jews, Allah says in the Qur'an,

"Not all of them are alike. A party of the people of the book stand for right, they recite the verses of Allah in the wee hours of the night, prostrating themselves in prayer. The believe in Allah and the Last Day. They enjoin good and forbid evil, and they hasten in good works and they are among the righteous. And whatever good they do, nothing will be rejected of them. For Allah knows well those who are God fearing/God conscious" (3:113-115)

Remember my brothers and sisters, that the world is not all black and white. Not all non-Muslims are kufar, and likewise not all those who are called Muslims are really as such. Remember that worshipping Allah is not about our "religious system". It's not about what language we speak or where we come from. It's not even about where we worship. It's about finding that "proof" of Allah in our mind, and then seeking Allah in our heart, and seeking to commune with Allah. Close your eyes and imagine that image of "worshipping Allah as if you see Him". The next time you pray, visualize not only your master and owner, but Allah as your true love (Al Wadud) and your best friend (Al Wali) and feel his comforting embrace, for he tells us that to his servant, he is closer than our jugular vein. (50:16)

...And Allah Knows Best...

Worship God as If you See Him

2010-07-17T09:46:00.001-07:00

In the name of Almighty God, Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful. It is recorded in the Sahih al Bukhari or the most widely recognized authentic collection of prophetic sayings and traditions (aka the Hadith) that one day a man came to the prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him) while he was among his followers and asked the prophet, "What is Islam (complete, willful and peaceful submission to Almighty God)?" To which, the prophet replied, "Islam is to testify that there is nothing worthy of worship besides Almighty God alone with no partner, and that I (Muhammad) am the messenger of God (shahadah), to perform daily ritual prayer (5 times a day) in remembrance and glorification of God (salah), To give a small portion (2.5%) of one's accumulated wealth to needy as a means of purifying one's wealth (zakat), to engage in religious fasting during the holy month of Ramadan (siyam), and to make or have sincere intentions to make the great pilgrimage to the holy city of Mecca at least once in one's life (hajj)." *theses are the actions that make a Muslim a Muslim*

The man then asked, "What is iman (faith)?" The prophet said, "Iman is to believe in Allah (God Almighty), to believe in his prophets (all those mentioned in the Qur'an as well as the Qur'anic notion that there were many more not mentioned; these include but are not limited to Adam, Noah, Abraham, Moses, Joseph, John the Baptist, Jesus Christ and of course Muhammad, peace be upon them all), to believe in his books (the Torah revealed to Moses, the Zaboor or Psalms revealed to David, the Injil or Gospel of Jesus Christ and the Qur'an revealed to Muhammad), to believe in his Angels (those mentioned by name such as Gabriel but also the countless Angels not mentioned by name), to believe in the Day of Judgment (that all people will be judged for their actions in this life), and to believe in qadr (the belief that Allah knows all that is, has been, and will be). *These are the beliefs that make a Muslim a Muslim*

Then the man asked, "What is Ihsan (perfection)?" To this the prophet said, "Ihsan is to worship Allah as if you see Him, even when you don't see Him, but knowing that He always sees you".

After this the man went away and the prophet asked his followers who were present, "do you know who that was?" His followers said "the prophet of God knows better than us". The prophet then said, "That was the Angel Gabriel and he did that to teach you your religion".

This story teaches us, just as it did the prophets contemporaries, what being a Muslim is all about. It outlines what one must believe to be a Muslim and what one must do to be a Muslim, and this hadith is often quoted when teaching the basics of the five pillars of Islam and the six pillars of faith. However, we often don't spend as much time talking about the last part of this hadith "ihsan". The prophet said that it means to worship Allah as if you see Him, even when you don't see Him, and always knowing that He sees you. Etymologically speaking the word "ihsan" means "to perfect" or "excellence". So, in actuality, the prophet is describing here how one perfects their worship of God, i.e., by worshipping Him as if He's right there in front of you, watching you, because in reality, He is, but it's only our tiny stature in relation to Allah, and our limited sensory perception that Allah created us with that prevent us from ever actually "seeing" Allah in this life.

The word ihsan is used also throughout the Qur'an, often times coupled with the words "iman" or "islam" but also is often coupled with the word "taqwa". Allah said in the Qur'an,

"Allah is with those who have taqwa and are muhsinoon (those who have ihsan)" (Surah an Nahl: 128)

The word "taqwa" is often translated as "fear of God". It is the concept that people do good and avoid wrong action and sin, out of fear of the punishment of God. It can also be understand as having a sense of "God consciousness" or being ever aware of God's sovereignty over you and your life.

Ultimately this is the primary ingredient missing in most of our society today. Not just Muslim societies, and not just American society, but BOTH. God consciousness or "taqwa" and "ihsan" are concepts fundamental to Islam, but I believe carry over into ALL divinely revealed faith traditions (i.e. Judaism and Christianity).

The English philosopher John Locke (who was one of the primary influences on the thought of Thomas Jefferson), in speaking about Atheism in in his "Letter Concerning Toleration" (published in 1689) says, "promises, covenants, which are the oaths are the bonds of human society, can have no hold on an atheist". This of course being because atheist, necessarily, have no sense of accountability to anyone but themselves. Thus, atheists, according to Locke, can't be "tolerated" in society.

So many people only pray when others around them are praying. Many only give charity when it is socially "hip". Like when the earthquake hit Haiti. Then, everyone was giving a dollar here a dollar there, but where were they for the YEARS before that when Haiti was the most impoverished nation in the western hemisphere. Many Muslims that I see on my facebook page or in the local community wave Palestinian flags and brandish red, white, green and black colors when something like the flotilla disaster happens, but where are they the rest of the time? The same is true for folks who speak so passionately about Palestine but seem to neglect to mention Somalia, or the persecution of Christians in China, or other social atrocities.

The point is that for Muslims, and for that matter Christians, Jews and other God fearing people, our entire lives revolve around the worship of Almighty God, and when we say worship we're not just talking about dogmatic rituals, we're talking about serving humanity. Muslims are commanded to serve Allah by serving creation, and Christians are obliged to love all, even the sinners for that was the way of Jesus Christ (peace and blessings be upon him). We need not do that only when it is socially savvy or "in" to do so, but we need to remember, "worship God as if you see Him, even though you don't see Him, but know that He SURELY sees you". We ALL need to live knowing that God Almighty sees us both outwardly and inwardly, and when we are along others or alone. If we all did that, this world might be a little better place.

...And Allah Knows Best...

Reflections on Tawheed (The Oneness of God)

2010-06-10T23:11:00.000-07:00

In the name of Almighty God, Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful. Probably the most important part of our aqeedah or theology is the concept of tawheed, or the absolute oneness of Allah, God Almighty. It is the foremost important element of the deen or religion of Islam; more important than no drinking alcohol, more important than avoiding pork, more important than how you dress, and even more important than the daily ritual prayers which are regarded as the most important "act" that Muslims are required by Allah to do.

The original Muslims, meaning firstly the prophet Muhammad himself of course, his contemporaries who followed him (the sahaaba), the generation immediately following the sahaaba (taba'een) and the generation immediately following the taba'een (taba taba'een) are known now as they were then, as the greatest generations of Muslims, known as our righteous predecessors, or as they are commonly referred to in Arabic, the Salafi Saleh. This concept comes from the saying of the prophet himself, when he said, "the people of my generation will be the best (in religion), and then those after them, and then those after them". These Muslims not only knew the concept of tawheed very well, it was the entire essence of their being. Everything they did, said, thought and believed revolved solely around this concept.

As succeeding generations came and went, the concept of tawheed started to become lost in the practice of Islam, as more and more Muslims became more and more distant from those earliest generations. Many Muslims began to mix local custom (which largely contradicted tawheed) with elements of Islam. All of the divinely inspired faiths are unfortunately subject to this phenomenon. A prime example is how so many ancient pagan rituals of Druid Europe made their way into the common practice of Christianity such as Christmas trees and Easter bunnies. As this phenomenon began to influence Muslims, the scholars of the time realized a need to systematically teach the concept of tawheed so that as new peoples and even whole nations entered into Islam, they would have the ability to be educated on this most important of principals. After all, the first pillar of Islam is the declaration of "laa illaha ila Allah" or "there is none worthy of worship except God". So for any worship to be directed at anything besides Allah was fundamentally anti-Islam, and as such was many of the practices of Muslims of the day which included the worship of graves and the veneration of so-called "saints". In order to teach tawheed in a relatively easy to understand way, the scholars broke the concept down into three parts.

1. Tawheed ul Rubbubiyyah (The Oneness of God's Lordship).
This is the element of tawheed which recognizes that everything in existence belongs solely to Allah, and Allah ALONE has dominion and control over it. A common Qur'anic du'a (supplicatory prayer) laa hawla quwata illa billah (there is no power or might except Allah) is a dhikr, or statement of remembrance, that emphasises this element of tawheed. This is emphasised in the hadith or saying of the prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him) that, "if the whole universe came together to harm you, they would not be able to unless Allah has willed it, and likewise if the whole universe came together to benefit you, they would not be able to unless Allah has willed it". This element of tawheed means that anything and everything belongs to Allah; the trees, the animals, us, all of the things we've made like buildings and art and literature, and everything else belongs to Allah. The fourth pillar of Islam, zakat (giving of at least 2.5% of one's wealth to the poor) is actually an act of worship that reflects this element of tawheed. We are required to spend of our wealth on those that aren't so fortunate because doing so is a recognition that your wealth is not really YOUR wealth; it belongs to Allah. You are only entrusted with it. Those who hoard wealth, are actually committing shirk (idolatry) because they are taking their money as lord instead of Allah. They hoard wealth because they believe that the money will benefit them. Remember the above hadith, no amount of money will ever benefit you unless Allah wills it. Therefore, it's not the money that ever benefits you, it's only Allah. So, it is impossible for anyone with true faith in Allah, and true taqwa (God fearing-ness) to be stingy with money. Those that are are either very weak in faith, don't have faith in Allah at all, or are just ignorant of this most important concept of tawheed ul rubbubiyyah.

2. tawheed ul asmaa wa sifaat (the oneness of God's names and attributes):
This element of tawheed basically means that only Allah Himself has the right to describe Himself, and we as His creation have no right apply attributes of creation to Allah and we have no right to apply attributes of Allah to anything in creation. Allah says in the Qur'an,
"All of the most beautiful names belong to Allah, so call Him by them, and leave the company of those who belie or deny his names" (Qur'an 7:180) The reference to names is referring to what we commonly know as the 99 names of Allah. The names of Allah reflect various attributes of Allah. For example one of Allah's names is Al Waduud (The All Loving). The Arabic word waduud is the generic word for love, but when we put the "Al" ahead of it, it then becomes a proper noun and means that Allah is "the all loving, the epitome of love, absolute love beyond any notion of love understood by anything in creation". The principal of tawheed ul asmaa wa sifaat indicates that you can give the name 'waduud' to things in creation but nothing in creation can be given the name "Al Waduud", because that name only belongs to Allah. It is for this reason that Muslims who are often referred to as "Wahhabis" resent that term because "Al Wahhab" is one of the names of Allah. The name of the founder of that movement was named Muhammad ibn Abdul Wahhab meaning "Muhammad, the son of the servant of 'The Giver of All".
In this element of tawheed we CANNOT attribute characteristics to Allah that He does not attribute to Himself. For example, some people believe that Allah, God, is present in everything; present in His creation. Some believe that all elements of creation are essentially "pieces" of Allah. This concept did creep into Muslim thought and some still believe that, but it is a blatant violation of tawheed ul asmaa wa sifaat, because Allah in His own words in the Qur'an, clearly indicates His separation from creation. The famous ayat ul kursi or "verse of the throne" indicates that when it says,
"His throne extends over the Heavens and the Earth and he feels no fatigue in guarding and preserving them".
Also Allah says in Surat al Ikhlaas or "the chapter of purity"

"Say: He is Allah, the ONE. The Eternal, The Absolute. He begets not, nor is He begotten, and THERE IS NONE IN CREATION COMPARABLE TO HIM.

Likewise the prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) once asked a young girl where Allah was and she pointed to the sky. Muhammad (pbuh) then indicated that she was correct.

So, to attribute the notion that Allah is "in" His creation is a violation of tawheed ul asmaa wa sifaat. The key to this element of tawheed is "don't saying anything about Allah that He did not say about Himself, and don't say anything about anything in creation that Allah reserved for Himself".

3. tawheed ul 'uluheeyyah (The Oneness of God's Worship) This element of tawheed "seals the deal" is a sense. We can often get someone to fall in line with tawheed ul rubbubiyyah by them simply understanding that there is no power in all the universe other than Allah. Also we could relatively easily get people to understand that you can't say things about Allah that he didn't say about Himself and so on. However, both of those together don't make a Muslim a believer. Allah says in the Qur'an "Invoke not, nor pray to any Deity but Allah, there is no god but Him". (Qur'an 28:88) This means that our worship cannot be directed at anything or anyone except Allah, and Allah alone. Now, when we say "worship", we often think of ritual prayer, fasting, pilgrimage, sacrificing live-stock, and things like that. However worship is defined in Islam as "any act of invocation, seeking reward or aid from a Deity". Why do Muslims pray? Because Allah orders us to do so, so we do it for fear of His punishment for not doing it. Therefore we do it in order to seek reward or to seek protection in Allah from His anger. However, what about this; why do you obey the law? By law, I'm talking here about the law of the land, established by the government. We obey the law because if we don't we can be locked up right? Wrong. As Muslims, we must obey the law of the land because Allah orders us to do so when he says, "Obey Allah, His messenger, and those in authority over you". If we obey the law strictly in order to avoid being locked up or fined, then we are actually committing an act of shirk, because at that point we are taking the government as a lord besides Allah. This is where a lot of Muslims erroneously claim that we don't have to obey American laws because they are "kafir" laws (such as the law that states a man can only have one wife). This is a grave error because as the above verse states, we are required by ALLAH to obey those in authority over us, and it makes no reference to whether they are Muslims or Kufaar or People of the Book or whatever. As long as the law doesn't prevent you from practicing an essential part of Islam, you must obey (and marrying multiple wives is not 'essential'). Thus, obedience is also worship. We cannot show allegiance or obedience to anyone but Allah because to do so would be shirk (idolatry) and a violation of tawheed ul 'uluheeyyah. However, this is one of the main reasons why being a Muslim is so compatible with being an American. The US Declaration of Independence states that, "All men are created equal, and are endowed by their Creator (Allah) with certain unalienable rights and among these are life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness". As such the American ideology recognizes that rights come from God, not government. In reality, without really knowing it, they stumbled upon the concept of tawheed ul 'uluheeyyah because they recognized that government doesn't give people rights, only God does, and therefore it is not the job of the government to "rule" the people (i.e. the government acting as God) but rather it is only responsible for protecting the peoples' access to those God given rights. In keeping with that the Pledge of Allegiance, which is essentially a bayyah (pledge of allegiance in Arabic/Islamic termonology) say,
"I pledge allegiance, to the flag, of the United States of America, and to the republic, for which it stands, ONE NATION UNDER GOD, indivisable, with liberty and justice for all". Notice the "one nation under GOD" line. Many Muslims claim it is haraam (forbidden) to recite this but I would argue otherwise based on this line, because the pledge recognizes that the republic isn't God, but it exists under God, subserviant to God, recognizing Allah's sovereignty over it, just as the founding fathers realized that government does not exist to "play God" but it exists to protect the peoples' relationship with God (note: there have been moves by many atheist groups to remove the 'one nation under God' line from the pledge. Insha'Allah they will fail, but if they succeed then it would indeed be haraam or forbidden for a Muslim to say it; in my opinion). It is for this reason that I would argue, and Allahu 'Alim I may be wrong, that the United States, at least in it's founding principal, is the MOST Islamic country in existence today, even though it was founded mostly by non-Muslims.
Tawheed ul 'Uluheeyyah is about obeying, invoking, and putting one's trust in NONE but Allah and Allah alone, and then by doing that we also have responsibility to obey those who Allah orders us to obey like the Prophet Muhammad (pbuh), our parents and those in authority over us (our government). If one finds themself unable to practice Islam while still obeying the laws of the land, remember Allah's words

"When the angels take the souls of those who died in sin, they (angels) will ask 'in what plight were you in?' and they (the sinners) will reply 'we were weak and oppressed in this land'. The angels will ask, 'was Allah's earth not spacious enough that you might move away from evil?' Such people will find there abode in Hell; what an evil refuge!" (Qur'an 4:97)

In layman's terms, "if you don't like it here....LEAVE". In some countries like Communist China, Cuba or other nations, many Muslims may indeed have difficulties practicing essential parts of Islam. Unfortunately that is the case in many Muslim majority countries such as Turkey where women are barred from wearing the hijab in public offices and schools, and in the formally Taliban occupied Afghanistan where women were barred from seeking education (which is an obligation on all Muslims). Fortunately, for us in the US, there really aren't any legal barriers to us practicing Islam, but nonetheless if a Muslim feels that they are not able to live "Islamically" here in the US, then as Allah says, they can always leave.

In conclusion, tawheed is indeed the most important concept of all Islamic concepts. It is this concept that should be taught first to new Muslims. I know that it wasn't really among the first things I was taught. It should be the first thing taught because once it is engrained in the mind and heart and soul of the new Muslim, all other elements of Aqeedah (theology, doctrine, lifestyle) will fall easily into place. New Muslim sisters wont have an issue with wearing hijab if tawheed is firmly engrained in their hearts. New brothers wont have problems lowering their gaze from the "poisonous eye candy" of our modern society, and most of all, ALL Muslims will be much more united and focused on our common goals of promoting what is good and preventing evil as opposed to focusing so much on our small and petty differences. I say all this first as a reminder to myself to focus on these concepts of tawheed and to use it to work towards bettering myself and bettering my iman. Insha'Allah I hope that some of you may find some benefit or at least food for thought. And, anything that I have said that is wrong is strictly from my own flawed self, and anything in this that is good is solely from Allah the Most Glorious, and the Most High.

...Allah Knows Best...

Combating Extremism Needs to Become the Muslim Communities Top (or near top) Priority

2010-06-08T08:41:00.000-07:00

In the name of Almighty God, Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful. We are bombarded on a daily basis with news stories of violence in Muslim majority countries. Whether it be the Taliban in Afghanistan and Pakistan, the pirates or Al Shabaab in Somalia, Al Qaeda insurgents in Iraq, or state sponsored terrorism and political intimidation within the borders of Saudi Arabia and Iran. Of course the news media, which is anything but unbias, tends to only show Muslims doing these sorts of things and do little to show Muslims doing anything positive. For example the national news media did absolutely NO reporting on the work of groups like Islamic Relief in Haiti earthquake relief. Of course this is because fear makes for better ratings. The national news media always has to have someone to paint as the "boogie man" in order to keep people watching.

However, even though these stories of indiscriminate violence against largely innocent masses in the Muslim world aren't the whole picture, they ARE still indeed part of that picture. When faced with questions about terrorism and its relationship to Islam, we Muslims often point out the peaceful teachings of Islam; we point out that violence is only permissible in self defense according to Islam; and we point out that the VAST majority of Muslims are peaceful people and that people like those in Al Qaeda are a very small minority. While all these things are indeed true, we are still not really addressing the issue. Yes these terrorist are a small minority BUT they are a small group with BIG consequences. We can't simply ignore that and try to make it a non-issue.

When incidents of terrorism or attempted terrorism occurs in the US or the west in general, groups like ISNA (Islamic Society of North America) or CAIR (Council on American Islamic Relations) will always issues statements that all pretty much say the same thing; "We condemn these actions...we applaud law enforcement...we stand with all Americans against terrorism"and on and on and on. While these responses are indeed necessary, they are nothing but empty words if we don't actually do something to act on those condemnations of terrorism in order to do our part to prevent these incidents from happening in the first place.

Muslims may ask though, "well what are we really supposed to do. Of course we do condemn terrorism but what more are we supposed to do to stop it. Past incidents have shown that virtually no one who is a terrorist or terrorist in training is born and raised in that ideology. Everyone who gets rapped up in this movement gets indoctrinated or "radicalized" at some point in their life but more often than not it's when they are in their teens or early adulthood. That isn't surprising as this is when people are usually the most idealistic and the most impressionable. They usually come from more secular families, not religious ones. After all Osama bin Laden was an engineer and has no formal religious schooling whatsoever. They are usually plucked by terrorist recruiters from Muslim youth from socially, politically and economically disenfranchised backgrounds, which is basically everyone outside the ruling class in most Muslim majority countries and from poorer inner-city areas of the US and other western countries. Bear in mind that there have been Muslim converts from more upper class suburban areas of the US and western countries that have become radicalized but usually become radicalized after falling into radical Muslim groups within inner-city environments. John Walker Lindh or the "American Taliban" is an example of that. They are radicalized using a combination of two basic ideological tactics
1. Terrorist recruiters take possibly legitimate grievances that Muslims generally have against the west and the US and grossly over exaggerate them. They use the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan to say that the US is murdering innocent Muslims including women and children. They use political puppets like Saddam Hussain and Hosni Mubarak to claim that the US is a political colonial power (hearkening the memories of "actual" colonialism by European nations), and they will point to things like MTV and American films and music in general to claim American cultural imperialism. That's ultimately what they paint America as; an imperialist power bent on world domination, akin to Nazism and Communism. They also utilize extreme left-wing socialist ideologies including the hatred of Capitalism and the claim that Americans are fat, greedy hoarders of wealth. By making these gross exaggerations, the newbie is left believing that America is the most evil force on Earth.
2. They have to twist Islamic scriptural doctrines from the Qur'an and the example of the prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him) in such a way that it can be used to justify violence against innocents. For example the Qur'an teaches that taking an innocent life is akin to killing all of humanity. So, they simply twist the facts to convince their recruits that they're not innocent. Osama Bin Laden says in a letter addressed to the American people that because the American people elect those in government, the American people are therefore part of the government, and therefore part of the aggression, and therefore legitimate targets. When recruits ask about the killing of children or other Muslims, they'll simply say they are just casualties of war and that Allah will not judge them unjustly, or they will say (about other Muslims) that's the consequence of living in the Dar ul Harb (land of war). The Qur'an is interpreted willy-nilly based on their own "interpretations" and recruits are NEVER exposed to the 1000+ years of Islamic theological scholarship on the Qur'an which overwhelming condemns all forms of physical aggression, especially against non-combatants.

Once these recruits are convinced of the evil imperialistic intentions of America, and the permissibility within Islam to commit acts of aggression against innocent people, then they are officially "radicalized", and ready for para-military training.

So how can we, the Muslim Ummah, combat these issues. Well I would break down my suggestions as such.

1. EDUCATION: This means both Islamic and secular education. We need to be ever increasing our youths access to quality Islamic education in our Islamic centers. We need to have "hip" and relevant means to keep our youth interested in being at the mosque and learning about the true tenants of Islam while socializing with other Muslim youth, thus building our community leaders of the future. We Muslims in the wealthier nations in the west also need to be financially supporting quality Islamic and secular education in the Muslim majority countries. Muslims in those countries have little to no access to quality education save a few exceptions and we who have the financial advantage in the west need to be supporting the de-radicalization of Muslim youth overseas. What we have right now is actually the exact opposite as many American mosques and Islamic centers are funded thru such entities as the Saudi embassy. Also remember it's not the job of the US government to help "build" good societies in the Muslim countries. We need to take care of our own and the American government needs to focus on economically and militarily protecting and serving the American people.

2. JUSTICE: We have to stand for justice. Allah says in the Qur'an, "O you who believe! Stand out firmly for justice, as witnesses to Allah, even as against yourselves, or your parents, or your kin, and whether it be (against) rich or poor: for Allah can best protect both. Follow not the lusts (of your hearts), lest you swerve, and if you distort justice or decline to do justice, verily Allah is well-acquainted with all that you do." [Sûrah al-Nisâ’: 135] As we can see by this verse we must strive hard to act justly, even when it is against ourselves, even if it be against the poor (we often are against the rich), even if it be against our own families. We can't protest Israel just because they're Israel and they occupy Palestinian lands. There are indeed times when Israel is the aggressor but there are also times when the Palestinians are the aggressor. When that happens we have to defend Israel, no matter how much it may pain us, just as much as we defend Palestine when they are treated unjustly. Like Allah says, follow not the lusts of your heart, lest you swerve (from doing justice). We can't respond to incidents based on emotions. We have to assess the FACTS and not the "sound bites" and "talking points" of a situation before making judgments on people; even people who we normally assume to be wrong.

3. BE POLITICALLY NEUTRAL: Many Muslim organizations in the US claim to be politically neutral but anyone with half a brain can tell that they lean far to the left. It's no coincidence that the first two Muslim US Congressmen were Democrats. I'm not saying that's a bad thing necessarily but we as a community have to be careful to not get to much in bed with either party. We tend to side with Democrats because we don't hear many Republicans saying many nice things about Muslims, but don't let that fool you. Neoconservatives may not really like Muslims, but liberals don't like religion in general, but both will use you to get votes if they can. In keeping with justice, we have hold both parties accountable for their wrongs, and give them both our support in their good. This may be dealing with strictly the American Muslim community but ultimately we are the one's who have the potential to influence the rest of the world. Both parties have the potential to only feed the fire of extremism and radicalization of Muslims. Republicans tend to enrage the Muslim world due to their arrogance, and Democrats tend to make American look weak. The answer is somewhere in between. We need to show our brothers and sisters across the oceans that we are proud American Muslims. We need to show them that America is NOT an imperialistic power bent on world domination, and that even though America has made mistakes, America is ultimately only interested in protecting its citizens and preserving justice. Barack Obama's speech in Cairo was a very good step to dispelling the "over exaggerated" claims by terrorist recruiters.
Also in this same topic, be politically active. Be as informed as you can about political issues, including those not related to Islam or Muslims, and when I say be informed I don't mean just listen to media and politician talking points and sound bites. Actually go and read legislation for yourself. Study and learn the Constitution and understand the "proper" role of government. Register to vote if your a citizen. If your not a citizen and intend to stay here indefinitely, then work towards becoming a citizen. Learn the history of this nation. Know where the things we take for granted come from. Then actually go and vote.

4. ACTION: Once we've done these things (and we have in some ways been working on these things) we need to actually take action against those who are radicalizing Muslims into terrorist behavior. The first and best action is watch where your money goes. There are many good and legitimate Islamic charities but there are indeed some in which money does get funnelled to extremists. I once read a book called "My Jihad" by Aukai Collins, a white American Muslim, who fought as a mujihadeen in Bosnia (one example of a 'legitimate' modern day Jihad) and he tells of how he actually got to Bosnia under the disguise of a worker with an Islamic charity organization and how money and weapons were funnelled through their network. While that fight was a justified one, the same channels are being used by terrorists today. We need to find, as Muslims, what those channels are and rigorously boycott them and shut them down if we can. We need to actively boycott and protest oppressive Muslim governments including and especially Saudi Arabia. Saudi Arabia is a Muslim nation that's official doctrine is that of so-called Wahhabism. This doctrine, while not in and of itself one of preaching terrorism, has many elements that can lead to that type of indoctrination. Muhammad ibn Abdul Wahhab and his protectors from the family of Saud did engage in what they called "jihad" against the other Muslims of Arabia and the world as whole in order to establish their puritanical version of Islam. Don't get me wrong Abd al Wahhab was a great preacher of tawheed (monotheism) and a rejector of saint and grave worship, but the way in which he chose to spread his message, through violent coercion, was and is unacceptable in Islamic theology. Saudi Arabia has many official policies that are blatant violations of traditional Islamic law. Women are forced to wear niqab or a face veil in addition to the traditional khimar or head covering, they are not allow to drive, etc. Christianity, Judaism and other religions are officially banned from Saudi Arabia, including what they see as deviant practices of Islam including that of the Sufis and Shia. There are many stories of women being executed for zina (adultery) when they were in fact rapped. All of these things are blatant violations of Islamic law and represent a dumbed down, over simplified, merciless and compassion less form of Islam that traditional Muslims in more free societies need to be more actively against. Just because they are the "custodians" of the Holy Kaa'ba and the cities of Mecca and Medina doesn't make them any authority on Islam. Firstly, we should not be taking funding from the Saudi embassy for our mosques and Islamic centers. The one who pays the piper calls the tune. So if the Saudis are funding American mosques and Islamic centers then that means they also may expect some homage be paid to them as well in regards to the influence of "Wahhabi" doctrine. The same is true of countries like Egypt or Syria or Jordan as well. Likewise we should oppose and boycott Muslim majority countries that actually prevent people from practicing Islam at all like in Tunisia or even Turkey. Both countries have passed laws actually banning the hijab of Muslim women in public offices. Don't get me wrong, I'm not saying that we distance ourselves from the people of these countries; not at all. There are plenty of good and decent Saudis including many great scholars of Islam who live there. The same is true of Tunisia, Egypt, Turkey and every other Muslim country, but what I advocate is a complete boycott and political opposition to the governments of these countries. We need to do this primarily because it is the oppression of these governments that helps to breed the disenfranchisement that leads to radicalization. Ordinary Muslims are much less likely to be radicalized when they have jobs, when they have freedom of speech and assembly, the freedom to question their government and replace them when they see fit, and when they have the freedom to learn the true tenants of Islam in the midst of the places where that history actually took place. There are many things that I might not even be thinking of but the point is we need to take economic, political and cultural steps to make oppressive Muslim governments aware that the Muslims of the "free world" will no longer tolerate their completely un-Islamic behavior and treatment of our brothers and sisters living under their thumb, and we need to call them themselves back to the true tenants of Islam.

5 BE WILLING TO DEFEND THE DEEN: Even if all the above steps are taken, and even if Islamic governments did reform their ways, and we ended the sort of disenfranchisement that was behind most radicalization, there will still be radical extremists. There were extremists and terrorists in Islams past, even when Islamic civilization was flourishing. The prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him), taught that whenever someone sees evil they have a responsibility to stop it with their hand, and if they cannot to stop it with their tongue, and if they cannot do that then to at least hold hatred for it in their heart, and that that is the least of faith. Likewise he also said that it is the responsibility of every Muslim to support their brother whether they do wrong or right, and when asked how we are supposed to support our brother when they are wrong, he said, "by preventing them from doing wrong". With regards to murder, Allah says in the Qur'an,

"If anyone kills a person, UNLESS IT BE FOR MURDER OR SPREADING MISCHIEF IN THE LAND, it will be as if he killed all of humanity, and if anyone saves a life, then it will be as if he saved all of humanity. " (Qur'an 5:32)

The verse states that killing a person in unequivocally forbidden UNLESS, they are guilty of murder or "spreading mischief in the land". By "spreading mischief" in this case, it means someone oppressing others, starting war, killing innocents, etc. Therefore, by this verse, it is not forbidden, for a Muslim to kill someone who is doing those things. Now this is a very complicated issue as there is very little black/white in these issues, but generally, people like Al Qaeda, the Taliban and other terrorist groups would fall under that category. I'm not a scholar of any kind but it seems to me that that might be a basis for a fatwa of jihad against those groups. After all, the leading killers of innocent Muslims are indeed these groups, not the American or other western military. So, what I'm saying is that true mujtahidoon might be able to look at this issue and issue an official fatwa of jihad against terrorists amongst the Muslims. In the history of Islamic civilization there were examples of Muslims having to fight other Muslims in battle in order to preserve order and prevent oppression being committed by Muslims. Now I want to make this very clear; Violence should never be resorted to as a quick fix to a complicated problem (because then we are no better than them), and all life is sacred, including the lives of these misguided young Muslims who become radicalized by evil forces within these groups. Those responsible for that misguidance need to be captured and brought to justice and exposed for what they are. For this reason Muslims need to support American and other coalition military campaigns to find, arrest, and if necessary kill the leaders of these groups. There is nothing un-Islamic in that. The sad truth is that it shouldn't be the responsibility of the Americans to do this. Muslims should have done this long ago, but unfortunately we have too many problems in the areas of faith and education to understand that responsibility. Right now the Afghan Army is fighting alongside US troops to end this radicalization. The same is true for Iraqi troops and Pakistani troops. I feel that they are the real mujihadeen in the world today because they are fighting the true oppression of the Muslims today. Likewise for this reason, American Muslims shouldn't be apprehensive about joining the US military. The American military and other government agencies need Muslims for the sake of educating troops, translating and helping bridge the cultural gap between the soldiers and those people that they come into contact with on a daily basis. Yes this may mean being put in a situation of having to fight other Muslims, but you have to bear in mind that the Muslims who US troops are fighting mostly are Muslims who are working for, supporting and protecting people who are undoubtedly vile enemies of Islam, regardless of their claimed adherence to it. Many Muslims both in the official army as well as civilian militia are volunteering to fight alongside the Americans because they recognize that threat, and they recognize that threat because they see what many of the rest of us don't; the brutality and ruthlessness of these people who's ideologies have no place in the religion of Islam.

These are a few steps that I might humbly suggest as viable steps towards actually doing something, as the Muslim community, about the terrorist problem. I am no kind of scholar so don't take this as any kind of fatwa and don't think that I'm not open to other notions, ideas, or points of view. I'm not perfect and I'm open to any thoughts on the issue. Anything good in it is from Allah and anything bad or wrong is from my own flawed self.

...And Allah Knows Best...

Fitrah...The Natural State of the Human Being

2010-05-31T14:38:00.000-07:00

In the name of Almighty God, Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful. We live today in a world consumed with an imaginary view of what it means to be "human". An imaginary view fueled by deviant religious traditions and cult-like beliefs as well as years of over saturation of fantasy television and film. At the heart of every religious tradition is a quest for the truth of human existence. Why are we here? What is our purpose? These are questions that have consumed all elements of human civilization since the very beginning.

The prophet Abraham (peace and blessings be upon him), forefather of the three great monotheistic traditions of Judaism, Christianity and Islam, was the subject of one of the most profound and impactful stories of enlightenment and self-realization in human history. A story of one of the greatest human beings ever to live discovering the key to human existence. The Holy Qur'an relates the story...

Thus did We show Abraham the kingdom of the heavens and the earth that he be one of those who have Faith with certainty. When the night covered him over with darkness he saw a star. He said: "This is my lord." But when it set, he said: "I like not those that set." When he saw the moon rising up he said: "This is my lord." But when it set he said: "Unless my Lord guides me, I shall surely be among the erring people." When he saw the sun rising up, he said: "This is my lord. This is greater." But when it set, he said: "0 my people! I am indeed free from all that you join as partners in worship with Allah. Verily, I have turned my face towards Him Who has created the heavens and the earth Hanifan (Islamic Monotheism, i.e., worshipping none but Allah Alone) and I am not of Al-Mushrikeen (those who worship others besides Allah)." Surah 6: 75-79

In this story, we see that Abraham realized that the only thing that can truly be "the Almighty" is the unseen "mover and shaker" that is behind all that can be seen and experienced by man, rather than anything that IS experienced by man. In other words, he discovered Allah.

The word Allah, actually means something a little different than the English word "God". In English, the word "god" simply means something that is worshipped. It can be anything; a statue, a painting, a tree, a rock, a person, a supernatural being, or even just an idea or even one's self. Early English speaking Christians developed the concept of the capitol letter in order to distinguish the "gods" of their ancient pagan ancestors, and the "God" of Jesus Christ (peace and blessings be upon him) and of the Hebrew Bible. The word Allah is a very ancient Semitic word, possibly predating the Arabic language itself, which means "the originator, the creator, the only thing actually worthy of worship/ the only legitimate "god"" and was the word used for the Creator by Arabic and Aramaic speaking Jews and Christians before it was used by Muslims (and still is used by Arabic speaking Jews and Christians). When the Qur'an was revealed to the prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him) it was the word that the Creator Himself used to name Himself. It is for this reason that even us "English speaking Muslims" often use the word "Allah" rather than "God".

While their were prophets before him, their knowledge of Allah was not like that of Abraham. They were simply given knowledge of Allah, whereas Abraham discovered Allah through Allah's greatest gift to humanity; reason. He was able to reasonably deduce, before being given prophecy by Allah directly, the existence of Allah.

What then is our place in relation to Allah?

The Qur'an is, as we believe, the literal speech of Allah to his final prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him). In it, Allah says,
"I only created jinn and man to worship Me" (Qur'an, 51:56)

This tells us more than it seems at first glance. When Allah says that He created us to worship Him, we must understand what "worship" means. It doesn't only just mean the stereotypical ideas of worship such as bowing, prostrating and invocation (although these are included), but it means obeying Allah's law (will) and serving Allah in the way He asked to be served. It means that we are created to serve Allah on His terms; NOT on OUR terms. This means that any religion created by man necessarily cannot and will not ever be accepted by Allah. Allah says in the Qur'an,
"And whoever seeks religion other than Islam, it will never be accepted of him, and in the Hereafter he will be one of the losers" (3:85).

To clarify, the word ISLAM means "to submit to the will of Allah (God)". This does NOT refer exclusively to the religion of the followers of Muhammad (peace be upon him). Today, we as well as non-Muslims know the word ISLAM to be a proper noun referring to a specific group of people, but we must not forget that the word ISLAM is actually a verb in the Arabic language, not a noun. Therefore when Allah says this, He's referring to all human beings who recognize Allah, and strive, according to what knowledge they have, to live and worship on His terms; NOT their own. So this means that a Jew who knows nothing of Jesus Christ (p.b.u.h.) will not be judged for his ignorance nor would a Christian who doesn't know anything about Muhammad (p.b.u.h.). They will however be judged on what they DO know of the will of God. This is why Allah also says in the Qur'an,

"Surely those who believe (Muslims), and those who are Jews, and the Christians, and the Sabians (don't exist today) -- whoever believes in God and the final judgment and does good (in this life), they shall have their reward from their Lord. And there will be no fear for them, nor shall they grieve" (2:62, 5:69, and many other verses).

In the verse, Allah mentions Jews and Christians because both of these religions were divinely revealed, meaning they originated with real Revelation from Allah (although they have deviated since then; actually not unlike many groups of Muslims as well). Then Allah also says "whoever believes in God and the final judgment and does good". The means that even an isolated jungle person who has never heard of the Bible or the Qur'an or any of these divinely inspired religions, they are still judged on what they DO know. This brings us to the issue of fitrah.

The word "fitrah" means "disposition, nature, constitution and instinct". This concept in Islamic theology refers to a persons innate sense of longing for the divine. It is a fundamental part of every human being as Allah creates us strictly for the purpose of worshipping Him.

Our ability to reason, as I mentioned, is one of our great gifts, just as Allah gives great gifts of strength, speed, invisibility, and flight to jinn. And, just like those gifts, our gift of reason is one of our greatest tests in this life. It is our ability of reason that ultimately allows some of us to deny Allah's existence entirely. This is the ultimate miss-use of that great gift. Their are other miss-uses of the gift as well that ultimately result in the many varied religious traditions that we see across the human spectrum today. That ability of reason is what allows us to start making our own terms for worshipping Allah instead of submitting ourselves to HIS terms. It is why some people make statues or trees or rocks or even people to be intermediaries between them and Allah. That's why even polytheistic religions have knowledge of Allah. The Hindus call Him "Rahman" and the Native Americans called Him "The Great Spirit". However, in these religious traditions, they create systems of worship set around certain elements of their culture and surroundings that represent to them the various attributes of Allah. It short, they set up partners with Allah. This is how idolatry works. When left unchecked eventually it can lead to rejection of Allah altogether, or even the replacement of Allah with the self (as in traditional Buddhism).

Our proverbial "jungle man" who knows nothing of the Bible, the Qur'an or any divinely revealed religious scriptures or teachings, still, as all humans do, have the innate knowledge that SOMETHING beyond our physical realm and what we can experience with our senses does indeed exist, and they have the ability, through there capacity of reason, to understand the oneness or tawheed of Allah. Just as the prophet Abraham (peace be upon him) did.

We, as humanity need to get back to understanding our fitrah. It is only the return to this fundamental understanding of our existence that can save us from our social ills. However there are other elements of fitrah. All human beings are born with the fitrah of "submission to and worship of the Almighty". However we are also individually created with unique gifts and talents that make us, individually, who we are in society.

In the Muslim community, it is very common to see this scenario. You have one brother at the masjid who is...lets say....a mechanical engineer. He's a devout Muslim more or less. He makes all his prayers either right on time or within the window of time allotted for them. He fasts every day in Ramadan and whatever he must miss he makes up. He gives his required zakat. Sometimes a little more, sometimes not. He hasn't been to Hajj yet but intends to. He reads the Qur'an but not really as much as he should, and he mostly relies on listening to more qualified scholars when faced with uncertain religious-law questions. On the other hand, he is very successful in his work. He has a deep passion for what he does for a living and has for as long as he can remember, and couldn't imagine himself doing anything else.

Now, you also have another brother. This brother, masha'Allah, not only prays every one of the five fardh ul ayn prayers exactly on time but also makes every sunnah rakaat and makes countless nawafil rakaats throughout the day. Not to mention standing in Qiyam ul Layl every night for hours at a time. He not only fasts during Ramadan, not missing a single day, but also fasts every Monday and Thursday and fasts on other recommended days as well like Yawm ulAshurah. Whatever money he makes he gives most of it (save only what he absolutely needs to survive) to charity. He is seen day and night in the mosque praying and reading and reciting the Qur'an. He also spends countless hours studying tafseer and fiqh books written by the great Islamic theologians of the past, and even has memorized large portions of the Sahih ul Bukhari. He is consequently, someone who is often sought for advise on religious matters. As far as work, he isn't really skilled in any sort of field but works at a warehouse, packing boxes and often goes from one job to another due to layoffs and cut-backs. He is not concerned with this because for as long as he can remember all he's ever wanted to do with his life was devote it to the deen

Here's the question...which one of these brothers would most consider a better Muslim? Most people would consider the second of the two to be a better Muslim. Some might say the first brother as he is more likely to be taking care of his family. The real answer to that question is neither.........or maybe both. Neither one is necessarily better than the other because Allah creates us with unique inclinations to certain fields and careers in this life. In a hadith narrated by 'Abdullah bin Mus'ud, the prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him said, " a human being is put together in the womb of the mother in forty days, and then he becomes a clot of thick blood for a similar period, and then a piece of flesh for a similar period. Then Allah sends an angel who is ordered to write four things. He is ordered to write down his/her deeds, his/her livelihood (what they will do for a living/career), when and how he/she will die, and whether he/she will be happy or miserable in this life. Then the soul is breathed into him."

So as the hadith mentions, when we are but babies in the womb, we are given the fitrah, of what we will do with our lives in terms of career. This of course explains why we all have certain areas of expertise or areas of interest in which we've always been incline to or in which we've always been naturally talented. Allah, in an indirect way, also mentions this concept of the idea of "specializations" in the Qur'an. Allah says in Surah at Tawbah, verse 122...

"And it is not for the believers to go forth [to battle] all at once. For there should separate from every division of them a group [remaining] to obtain understanding in the religion and warn their people when they return to them that they might be cautious."

Thus, in this verse, Allah creates the need for some to specialize in studying the deen (religion) so that they may warn the others. All Muslims are required to seek knowledge as it is reported by Anas ibn Malik that the prophet (p.b.u.h.) said, "It is the duty of every Muslim to seek knowledge", and knowledge of the religion is the best of knowledge as the prophet (p.b.u.h.) also said, according to the narration of Mu’awiyya bin Abu Sufyan, “The one for whom Allah wills good (khayr), He grants him fiqh in the deen.”

However, the truth is that not everyone can be a mujtahid or someone who devotes their life to the study of the deen and is qualified to give fatawa (legal rulings). If everyone did this, as the second brother in the above example, then who would be the doctors, engineers, journalists, artists and so on? Some use this as an argument for following a madhab or an established school of thought. I might cautiously agree but I feel it is extremely important that Muslims avoid taqleed or taking legal rulings from scholars without knowing anything of their sources. A good scholar of Islam, in giving a ruling, will always first quote the Qur'an, then the Sunnah, then the ijma' or consensus of previous scholars and THEN give his/her opinion. If a scholar only gives their opinion without quoting the Qur'an and Sunnah and without paying homage to the scholars of the past, I personally either don't listen to that scholar at all or take their opinion with a whole lot of salt (in other words I'm very cautious about their opinion).

But, inevitably, most of us will not be mujtahidoon or scholars of Islamic law. So, we inevitably turn to people who are mujtahidoon to learn our aqeedah or the "ins and outs" of our deen. But, "that's ok". We should not look to those with more knowledge of the deen as "better Muslims" than those with less. If you are one of those Muslims with more knowledge of the deen, you should never look down on those with less knowledge as being "ignorant" or "less faithful". Also if you are one of those with less knowledge, you shouldn't feel yourself to be less of a Muslim than those who spend all their time in the masjid reading, reciting and praying, and nor should you look down on them as being backward or overly-zealous. We are all created for varied purposes in this life. By finding and fulfilling that fitrah, we who are not mujtahidoon are contributing as much to the ummah as those who are. Because, it is what Allah created us to do. A doctor contributes as much to the Ummah as a scholar of hadith does. A skilled artisan contributes as much as a skilled mufaseer, and a skilled musician or journalist contributes just as much as a skilled da'ee.

I bring this issue up because there tends to be quite an imbalance within the Muslim community in terms of what career fields you see most Muslims doing. Within mainstream Muslim communities you see an over abundance of doctors, engineers, lawyers, etc. If any of you have ever looked at the matrimonial ads in Islamic Horizons magazine you know the joke. Every single ad is a doctor, looking for another doctor, or a lawyer looking for another lawyer. This is very true of the immigrant Muslim community, and I understand why. I understand that most of those immigrants came to become doctors and engineers and such, pressure their children who are born American, to do the same, for the sake of being financially stable. Believe me I understand the importance of financial stability. However, we as the Muslim community in America, suffer severe deficiencies in media, arts, education, military and law enforcement and other "not so high paying" career fields. Those of you who are doctors ought to understand this. The prophet Muhammad (p.b.u.h.) said, "The Muslim Ummah is like the human body, when one part of that body aches, the entire body aches". So comparatively, when a persons body gets A LOT of protein (which is a good thing) but not enough fruits and vegetables, it creates health problems due to the imbalance. We likewise as the Ummah, face problems due to imbalances in how we are not only enriching our own community, but how we are contributing to the larger American melting pot as well. We are slowly starting to see more Muslims in fields like TV and film, music (halaal that is not shake your booty, MTV stuff), journalism, literature, and also necessary fields such as the military and law enforcement, but we need to be encouraging more of it as parents, as community leaders and as brothers and sisters in Islam. May Allah guide us all towards the siraat ul mustaqeem and give us the hidayah to live in this life as a traveller....concerned for our surroundings and those we meet along the way, but always keeping an eye on our ultimate destination.

...And Allah Knows Best...

Memorial Day...What it Means (or should mean) To Muslims

2010-05-19T23:02:00.000-07:00

In the name of Almighty God, Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful. This year, Memorial Day falls on May 31 (a day before my birthday). What do you know about Memorial Day? Memorial Day started as a day to remember those who died in the Civil War, and eventually it was turned into a day to remember all those who fought and died in America's wars, defending the freedom that you and I enjoy. Now of course many of my brothers and sisters in Islam will say things like "many of these American troops died killing our brothers and sisters in Iraq and Afghanistan", and subsequently will argue that we should not recognize such a day or if we do to only recognize it as some kind of day of protest.

We know of course that there is a mass propaganda machine within our mainstream media that is bent on portraying Islam and Muslims as backward, dangerous and un-American. It doesn't matter if your watching conservative leaning Fox News or liberal leaning MSNBC. Many conservatives seem to fear and dislike Islam and liberals just dislike religion in general. So we as Muslims are "damned if we do, damned if we don't". Almost all of us recognize this. However we don't tend to recognize that there are equally fervent propagandists in the Muslim world and some amongst the Muslim community here in the US, who want to portray America as an enemy to Islam. They often point to legitimate grievances that Muslims have with American governmental policy (especially foreign policy), and exaggerate them into this grand conspiracy theory in which the American government is waging a secret war against Islam itself and is purposely targeting innocent Muslims and are trying to undermine Islamic theological scholarship.

Our brothers and sisters who live in the Muslim world, don't have the luxury of free press. I know your saying "well our media isn't unbias" but I'm not talking about Fox News and MSNBC. I'm talking about the internet, books in the library and the ability to actually go to people and hear from them themselves what they think and believe. Muslims in today's Muslim countries don't have this because in most Muslim majority countries, the government controls all aspects of public "information", whether it comes from TV, radio, internet, newspapers and even books and public events. So we, who live in the US, have an advantage that they don't in that we can know the truth if we truly seek it, and have enough of an open mind and enough patience to accept it. We therefore have a responsibility to educate our brothers and sisters back in the Muslim countries about the things that they don't see on their state-run media outlets.

One of the main things they don't see, is the principals that America is founded upon. They are only exposed to skewed images and sound bites of America killing Muslims and others, and basically wreaking havoc in the rest of the world. They don't see that America is intended to be a place where people of all faiths, including Islam, are free to live as they choose and practice their faith without the interference of the government. They don't see that in one of the earliest formal encounters between America and the Muslim world, the founders expressly laid out America's position on Islam.

Treaty of Tripoli, Article 11, 1797 c.e.
As the Government of the United States of America is not, in any sense, founded on the Christian religion; as it has in itself no character of enmity against the laws, religion, or tranquillity, of Mussulmen; and, as the said States never entered into any war, or act of hostility against any Mahometan nation, it is declared by the parties, that no pretext arising from religious opinions, shall ever produce an interruption of the harmony existing between the two countries.

This law is still technically on the books. So, there you have it; the American government is restricted by law from engaging in any war against Muslim nations or people strictly on the basis of religious opinions. America is not, nor will it ever, be at war with Islam itself. Yes there have been those in the American federal government who have either made serious mistakes that have cost Muslim lives, or maybe a few that do actually hate Islam, but for the most part, America tries to do what is in the best interest of it's citizens and what is in the best interests of justice.

Why am I saying all this? I am saying all this because when it boils right down to it, America is the most just, religious (a varying religions), and charitable nations on Earth today. We as Muslims who live in this country, and who enjoy all of the freedoms of this country, need to be more keen to recognize that.
We may say, "Well America is a small percentage of the world's population, yet it consumes the most resources". We may also say "in America, anyone making even 30,000 a year is in the top 7% of the wealthiest people on Earth......spread the wealth!....America is greedy!!!....fat, rich, lazy Americans....raahhhh". Well lets talk about that. How much money did the US send to say Haiti, the western hemispheres poorest nation, in the aftermath of their tragic earthquake? The answer....two days after the quake, President Obama announced an aid package of over $100 million, not to mention we even deployed our military to help them. Okay now how much aid did Saudi Arabia send? $0. Other Muslim countries like the U.A.E. did send something like $500,000 and supplies as well as supplies from Jordan and Turkey and about $1 million from Kuwait. Does any of that even come close to equally what the US sent? No. Ok how bout how much money has been sent to Muslim countries. Egypt receives about $2 billion of American taxpayer dollars every year. Pakistan gets about $7 million annually not including money it gets to supposedly fight Al Qaeda. The US is the biggest giver of aid to Palestine. George W. Bush tripled aid to Africa during his time in office. With America being the most charitable nation in the world, should America then be punished on top of that for being prosperous? The prophet Muhammad, peace and blessings be upon him, said that wealth never decreases with charity. That being the case is it any wonder for us Muslims that America is the most prosperous nation on Earth.
America is also prosperous because of it's commitment to justice and rule of law. In many Muslim countries, corruption runs rampant in government. Elections are fixed, police consistently take bribes rather than uphold the law equally, and government officials consistently make laws and rules that inhibit basic rights of free speech, assembly and religion. In the US, this is not the case. If someone is discriminated against based on their ethnicity or religion, they can find legal recourse thru police and law enforcement no matter their socio-economic status, ethnicity, religion or political affiliation. The president himself is subject to the same laws that normal citizens are subject to and the transition between presidents have taken place peacefully, despite radical political differences, since the very first presidential election. Also America has the most diverse religious population of any nation on Earth. There is no nation on Earth today where people of so many different religions can live alongside each other peacefully as they do in the US. These things don't happen in today's Muslim countries.

So what does this have to do with Memorial Day. America is able to be the free, religious, law abiding and charitable nation that is exactly because of those men and women who have fought and died to keep it that way. They stood up to the oppression of King George of England and freed the "new world" from European tyranny by defeating the British Empire, buying France's claim to North America (thus kicking them out), and defeating Spanish interests as well. They fought both to end slavery and preserve the union on one side of the Civil War, and fought to limit federal power and stand up for states' rights on the other. They fought the Nazi Germans and the Empire of Japan against their plots for world domination and kept the world safe from their tyranny and oppression. They fought the evil ideologies of Communism in Korea and Vietnam which had those ideologies been successful, we certainly wouldn't be enjoying what we do today. Now, many of these soldiers and sailors fight, yes, Muslims, but Muslims who have forgotten or ignored the teachings of Islam, and kill and oppress countless thousands. Allah tells us to stand up for justice even when it be against our own selves. Al Qaeda and their ilk kill many many more innocent Muslims than the American military has. Also bear in mind that Muslims have served in every single American war including the Revolutionary and Civil Wars.

Yes America has made mistakes. We made mistakes in not ending slavery earlier than we did. We made mistakes in our dealings with the Native Americans. We made mistakes against our Japanese citizens during WWII, and we've made mistakes in our dealings with the Muslims of the world, but that's what they were....mistakes; not evil plots of world domination; just mistakes albeit tragic ones that often cost innocent lives. Insha'Allah we will learn from our mistakes, however, the bottom line is that today there is no other country on Earth that I'd rather live. There is no other country on Earth where we can practice Islam as freely as we do here, and I challenge anyone who says otherwise.
We are blessed by Allah to live in this place at this time in history; not only because of the freedoms and liberty we enjoy, but because this is a pivotal time in both the history of America and the history of Islam, and we have the opportunity to positively contribute to both. Non-Muslim Americans can learn a lot from us if they are open, and we can learn a lot from our non-Muslim countrymen if we are open. Open not only to their ideas, but open to the call of Allah as it truly is, not as the "image" of Islam that we have, maybe in error, created in it's place.

Of course it's not necessarily Islamic to "celebrate" Memorial Day, however it wouldn't hurt us to maybe make our way down to the parade or attend Memorial Day ceremonies at local cemeteries to show our respect to those who have risked all and in some cases gave all to allow us to live as we do; as Muslims in America.

...And Allah Knows Best...

On the Birthday of Hajj Malik Al Shabazz (a.k.a. Malcolm X)

2010-05-19T19:50:00.000-07:00

In the name of Almighty God, Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful. Today was the birthday of one of the most famous and influential American Muslims in American history. While most of his life was spent in the racist and frankly blasphemous ideology of the Nation of Islam, he did eventually come to true Islam after his trip to Hajj. Even though he didn't live all too long after that, what little speaking and preaching he did then was profound and contained a spirit of Islamic brotherhood that all Muslims can learn from. I thought I'd share his words from a letter he wrote just after his Hajj pilgrimage...

"There were tens of thousands of pilgrims, from all over the world. They were of all colors, from blue-eyed blondes to black-skinned Africans. But we were all participating in the same ritual, displaying a spirit of unity and brotherhood that my experiences in America had led me to believe never could exist between the white and the non-white.

You may be shocked by these words coming from me. But on this pilgrimage, what I have seen, and experienced, has forced me to rearrange much of my thought patterns previously held, and to toss aside some of my previous conclusions. This was not too difficult for me. Despite my firm convictions, I have been always a man who tries to face facts, and to accept the reality of life as new experience and new knowledge unfolds it. I have always kept an open mind, which is necessary to the flexibility that must go hand in hand with every form of intelligent search for truth.

During the past eleven days here in the Muslim world, I have eaten from the same plate, drunk from the same glass and slept in the same bed (or on the same rug)-while praying to the same God with fellow Muslims, whose eyes were the bluest of the blue, whose hair was the blondest of blond, and whose skin was the whitest of white. And in the words and in the actions and in the deeds of the ‘white' Muslims, I felt the same sincerity that I felt among the black African Muslims of Nigeria, Sudan and Ghana.

We are truly all the same-brothers.

All praise is due to Allah, the Lord of the worlds."

Yet another potential Muslim Terrorist...

2010-05-04T11:28:00.001-07:00

In the name of Almighty God, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful. Last year it was a Muslim soldier who shoots and kills other fellow soldiers. Then it was a Nigerian Muslim college student who tries to detonate a bomb in his underwear last Christmas day. Now, here's a Pakistani Muslim man who is accused (innocent until proven guilty), of trying to detonate a car bomb in Times Square during it's most busy time of the week. As I watched the news just last night and they revealed that they had arrested this Pakistani man, I felt an overwhelming sense of disappointment and anger. I have no doubt that Muslim organizations such as CAIR (Council on American Islamic Relations) and ISNA (Islamic Society of North America) will release statements condemning the actions of this deranged radical and implore non-Muslim Americans to realize that the vast majority of Muslims do not support such actions. This has been the little dance that we do every time something like this happens. Does it help anything? No.
Is it true that the vast majority of Muslims do not support these actions? Yes, most definitely. However, I have experienced first hand that if you go into an average mosque either here in America or in Europe or in Muslim countries, and ask a handful of the average attendees about this phenomenon of indiscriminate violence committed by Muslims, you will hear a few common answers. One of them, is that "I don't really believe it's Muslims doing it". These folks are the conspiracy theorists who think that the Israelis or the American government are actually behind these actions in order to justify waging war on Islam. Another common thing you'll hear is "Yes it's wrong what they did, BUT you have to understand the oppression and despair of the Muslims of the world", "blah blah blah....Palestine", "blah blah blah Americans bomb houses in Iraq", "blah blah blah blah". Basically it's always, "yes it's wrong, BUT...." and fill in the blank. When are we as Muslims going to wake up and REALLY take this issue seriously?
The prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him) said, "support your brother whether he do wrong or whether he do right". After saying this, one of his followers asked, "oh prophet, we understand supporting our brother when he is right, but how are we supposed to support him when he is doing wrong?" Then the prophet said, "by preventing him from doing wrong". The prophet didn't say to make excuses or try to rationalize our brothers and sisters doing wrong just because they say they're doing it in the cause of Allah.
I know a lot of Muslims might cringe at this, but George W. Bush said it best when he said, "Those who kill innocents in the name of Allah, blaspheme the name of Allah". That is absolutely right.
The Muslim community has somehow developed this false sense of superiority over the past century or so. We have a victim mentality where we always try to find someone to blame for our problems, instead of looking at ourselves. We threaten to kill and mame anyone who dares insult the religion of Islam or our beloved prophet (peace be upon him). Now I know it's not the majority of Muslims who are actually committing these acts, but why aren't the majority of us doing more about it???? These stupid little 'statements' that Muslim organizations release don't do anything really. Why is it that the American military is having to deal with Al Qaeda and the Taliban when these deviant groups should have been dealt with but us, the Muslim Ummah, a long time ago. Why was the Taliban allowed to rule Afghanistan according to a such perverted "brand" of Islam? During their reign Muslims around the world knew how they were. Why don't we do anything? What are we doing today for Somalia? Why are the rich and powerful Muslim countries silent when Muslims are killing each other there? Is it just because its Muslims who are doing the killing? Because it seems they don't have any problem saying and sometimes doing something when its the non-Muslim American government or the Jews of Israel.

We, the Muslims people today, are kidding ourselves by not dealing with this blatant dhalaalah (deviant way) being practiced by some of our brothers and sisters. For those of us in America and the west in general, we REALLY need to recognize that there ARE Muslims among us who are capable and maybe even planning to do these terrible things. We need to make it very clear in our khutbahs, in our publications, in our halaqas, and in our day to day conversations in the mosques, halal spots, and work places that we as Muslims will NOT tolerate such deviance in our midst. It's one thing to be deviant in faith and tawheed (monotheism), and we need to deal with that too appropriately, but when it involves the lives of innocents (whether they be Muslims or non-Muslims) we need to have a zero-tolerance policy. We need to be willing to report people to the authorities who might be dangerous. We need to start putting threats into their proper perspectives. Yes of course I realize that there are some bad apples in the FBI and the government has not always done right by Muslims, but generally they are trying to protect innocent lives, even if they sometimes are stupid in how they try to do it. They're not going to get any smarter by us refusing to work with them or telling them to stay out of our mosques. Ultimately people like the Taliban and Al Qaeda have killed many more innocent Muslims then the American government ever has. We need to put pressure on our brothers and sisters 'back home' in Muslim countries to do the same there. We Muslims in the west, who are blessed with constitutional rights to free speech, should speak publicly against deviant policies of so-called Muslim governments in places like Saudi Arabia, Pakistan and others. Why hasn't CAIR or ISNA scolded those governments for not doing more to crack down on violent extremists? We need to wake up and face the reality that this IS a real problem in our communities. Stop worrying about trying to convince non-Muslims that we are not violent. If we spent half the effort trying to stop these extremists as we do trying to convince non-Muslims that we aren't extremists we probably wouldn't be having these issues in the first place. Sorry for the rant but I am just disgusted and sick of seeing these Muslims doing or trying to do terrible things, and the rest of us just sitting there picking our nose saying "well but this, and but that".

...And Allah Knows Best...

What Today's America can Learn from Today's Muslim World

2010-03-16T14:03:00.001-07:00

In the name of Almighty God, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful. Many people raise the question, "How has the Muslim world become the way it is?" Rampant violence, hatred, sensationalist propaganda, gross human rights violations....all of these things are common in the bulk of Muslim majority countries around the world. Why is this? What happened to the Muslim world to make them this way? If you go to your local mosque and ask a handful of worshippers this question, your likely to get a number of possible responses. Some will point to US foreign policy. Many will point to the creation of the state of Israel. Some will point to corrupt dictator puppets who were set up by the American government. Some who are a little more educated will point to European colonization in the late 19th and early 20th centuries as the source of these problems. However, an open-minded student of history can see very well how problems in the Muslim world started; polarization.

The seeds of division between Muslims were actually on the very night of the prophet Muhammad's death (peace and blessings be upon him) when decisions were made about who would be the successor to Muhammad's role as the 'ruler' of the Muslim nation. Most went with Abu Bakr while others believed that Ali should have had the position. There began the long twisted time-line of Sunni/Shia division within the Muslim world. However today, in all reality, the strife between Sunni and Shia is overshadowed by a much bigger threat which exists in the polarization of the Muslims between extreme 'progressivism' (liberalism) and extreme 'conservatism'. When you look at the Muslim world today, we are increasingly seeing less and less 'moderate' Muslims and more and more people who fall on either the extreme right, or extreme left.

Extreme leftist Muslims often refer to themselves as 'progressive Muslims' who see the tenants of Islam found in the Qur'an and example of the prophet (pbuh) as more a 'suggestion' or 'utopian' ideal that when need be, be discarded or altered for the sake of "keeping up with the times". Many governments of Muslim majority countries have implemented laws that are reflective of this movement including Turkeys ban on the wearing of hijab (a Muslim woman's modest dress including a head and sometimes face covering) in public offices and schools.

Extreme right-wing movements amongst Muslims are people like the so-called Wahhabis (and others) which theocratically dominate Saudi Arabia. Based in the teachings of a self-proclaimed scholar Muhammad ibn Abdul Wahhab, this category of Muslims see any and all "western" influences as "un-Islamic" including certain aspects of music, film, democracy, and even simple things such as pants and t-shirts. Some of them (NOT ALL) even resort to and justify violence to "purge" Muslim lands from such influences of the 'kufar' (disbelievers). These types of Muslims often claim to adhere STRICTLY to the Qur'an and the example of the prophet Muhammad (pbuh), however I (and others) would argue that these folks seem to be worshipping an "image" of Islam rather than adhering to Islam as it truly is, which is open to diverse cultural influences excluding anything that is explicitly forbidden or involves idolatry in any way.

The bottom line is that this polarization means more and more people being on the fringes of Islamic ideology, and less and less people being in the middle. The prophet Muhammad (pbuh) famously said that the Muslim Ummah (people) is the 'ummatul wassitin' or the "people of the middle way". So to say the least, we the Muslims of the world are not living up to this ideal.

Now the title of my posting today is "what today's America can learn from today's Muslim world". The reason why I went thru the explanation above is because it is this same polarization that is today taking place in America along political ideological lines. On one hand you have progressive liberals who see the Constitution as more of a 'suggestion' that can be altered or discarded to "keep up with the times" and on the other hand we have so called neo-conservatives who claim strict adherence to the Constitution while at the same time violate it.

Progressive liberals, who have their roots in the ideology of Woodrow Wilson (who created the League of Nations and started America on this 'world empire' course that we've been on), today are increasingly trying to bypass Constitutional principals to accomplish goals similar to the early stages of Communist movements in Russia, China and elsewhere. The health care debate is a prime example of that in that right now Congress is exploring every possible parliamentary trick they can to pass legislation that the overwhelming majority of American people don't want. Even considering bypassing Constitutionally mandated votes by both houses of Congress before sending the bill to the desk of the President.

On the other side, we have so-called neo-conservatives who wail about government spending and the need for smaller government and more adherence to the Constitution, while at the same time supporting American imperial power across the world. Why do we have military bases in Germany, South Korea or Japan? Do they need to be there? No. South Korea might be debatable but the others definitely no. Since we do that how about allowing other countries to have military bases here in our country? Of course no one would even seriously consider that. So why do we impose ourselves into these other nations? They support America's blind support of Israel to the point of even not recognizing completely democratic elections in Palestine. Hamas was elected to power completely democratically by the Palestinian people yet the US refuses to recognize them simply because Israel doesn't. That's utter hypocrisy. I don't like Hamas that much either but it's up to the people of Palestine, NOT the American State Department. These are also folks who wail about how America is a 'Christian' nation and some have even said that the separation of church and state in the First Amendment was only meant to be a 'federal' prohibition and that state and local governments COULD create official religious positions. This is absurd because the first Amendment is there to guarantee that all Americans have the right to worship as they choose and to not have that meddled with by the government.

Most of us recognize the polarization that's happening in our country. The TEA Party movement is evidence of that. The brutal partisan tactics of the Obama administration and Democratic leadership in Congress is evidence of that. I truly fear that if this continues, America will soon look like the Muslim world, especially when it comes to violence.

Educated Muslims living here in the US and other western countries have the advantage of not being consumed by the political and social polarization of the Muslim majority countries. All of them have repeatedly stressed that the only solution for the peoples in the Muslim majority countries is a return to their roots; a return to true Islamic principals. Democracy is in fact an Islamic principal as Almighty God tells us in the Qur'an,

"Those who hearken to their Lord, and establish regular Prayer; who (conduct) their affairs by MUTUAL CONSULTATION; who spend out of what We bestow on them for Sustenance" (Qur'an 42:38)

Freedom, choice and individual liberty is an Islamic principal.

"Let there be no compulsion in religion/way of life. The truth has been made clear from falsehood so whoever rejects the worship of false gods and embraces the worship of the one true God have truly grasped a most trustworthy hand-hold that shall never break". (Qur'an 2:256)

These things are lacking in the Muslim majority countries both in those dominated by so-called progressive Muslims as well as those dominated by Wahhabi and suto-Wahhabis.

Likewise, if we want to survive as a nation, America needs a fundamental return to its roots which is of course the Constitution. For me, after the Qur'an and the example left to us by the prophet Muhammad (pbuh), the US Constitution is probably one of the most profound documents/ideologies in human history. The most fundamental spirit of the Constitution is individual liberty and the power of the people to chart their own destiny. Not only does this make it and Islam perfectly compatible, but it serves as the foundation of the simple fact that America has been since it's beginning, a place where people of all races and creeds can free to live according to their own worldview. Being a Muslim is not about how you dress or who your parents are. Being a Muslim, is about coming to God and worshipping Him according to His terms and His commands and not our own. Likewise, being American is not about pledging to a flag, being of a certain religion, or being a Democrat or a Republican. Being an American is about accepting the American ideal for what it is, not for what we simply 'want' it to be.

...And Allah Knows Best...

A Double Standard If I Ever Saw One

2010-02-23T10:27:00.001-08:00

In the name of Almighty God, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful. Most people by now have heard of the tragedy in Austin where a man who was completely disgruntled with the government flew his small plane into the IRS building, killing one employee. Firstly I'll say that despite the desperately inept and incompetent nature of our current government, and the blatant disregard for certain aspects of the US Constitution by the IRS and federal government as a whole, it is never....let me repeat...NEVER ok to resort to this type of violence to accomplish political goals.
Now of course what I'm saying really isn't a contested issue. Every sane person knows what he did was wrong. However I remember listening to coverage of the incident in my car and the Austin city officials saying "this was not an act of terrorism". Likewise the national news media, for the most part, are not labeling this as a terrorist attack.

HOW IS IT NOT A TERRORIST ATTACK?????????????

Is it just because the guy's name was Joe instead of Muhammad? That's kinda what I suspect. US federal law defines terrorism as,

"premeditated, politically motivated violence perpetrated against non-combatant targets' or as 'the unlawful use of force against persons or property to intimidate or coerce a government, the civilian population, or any segment thereof, in furtherance of political or social objectives."

It most certainly sounds to me that this attack most certainly fits that category. I only bring this up to point out the fact that the term "terrorist" in the minds of many Americans has become synonymous with the term "Muslim".

The bottom line is that it doesn't matter what someones motivation is for committing such atrocity...whether it be a perverted version of jihad (see my post on jihad for what it REALLY is) or some loony tune right wing agenda or loony tune left wing agenda (this guy was kinda both)...no matter their motivation, it is terrorism, plain and simple.

His act of terrorism scares me that the current political polarization of this country could lead to more acts of desperation like this. After all it was similar political polarization that lead to the 'first' civil war. With the current activity of groups like the TEA party movement, as well as the current uncompromising liberalism of the Obama administration and the Democratic leadership in Congress, I'm starting to become really and truly afraid that the two may be on a collision course...and not just politically but even violently.

Both sides have settled for ignorance and have truths to justify their goals. The liberals of the current government bend facts and numbers to make the things they are doing look less abrasive then they are, and snub their noses at people who disagree as being too stupid to see their 'genius'. They are pushing a 'version' of health care reform that the vast majority of Americans don't want, (Americans do want health care reform but not necessarily the progressive liberal nonsense that they are trying to push). They insist on unlimited deficit spending that puts us more and more indebted to other countries. What happens when we default? Is China going to foreclose on California? Then what? World War Three??

The TEA party people and so-called conservatives aren't much better. They call for smaller government, and fiscal responsibility. That's great! However, they also are the people who still justify the invasion of Iraq (a country that had NOTHING to do with 9/11) and seem to promote American imperialism around the world. Ann Coulter, who is seen as a leading conservative voice, said that America ought to go to Muslim countries and forcibly convert them to Christianity!! I personally attended a TEA party event where the pastor giving the invocation said that "really the 9/11 hijackers could be called devout Muslims" as opposed to radicals or extremists. These are the same people who spout ridiculous rumors that Obama is a secret Muslim (which even if he was since when does that disqualify someone for being President?). They are the same people still trying to claim that he's not really a born American citizen.

It seems to me that we as a nation are becoming more and more a nation of either right wing idiots or liberal elitist d-bags. And, if that polarization continues, I really fear for the future of our great nation. Please for love of God...get facts, not half truths, or take opinions (as facts) from the Rush Limbaughs, Ann Coulters, Sean Hannitys, AND the Nancy Pelosis, Harry Reids and Bill Mahrs of the world.

...and Allah knows best...

A Friend in Crisis

2010-02-06T11:44:00.001-08:00

In the name of Almighty God, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful. Yesterday I received an email from a good friend and drummer colleague of mine with an attachment to a New York Post story run yesterday on a Muslim prison chaplain, Imam Zul Qarnain Abdu Shahih had been arrested for bringing razor blades and scissors into the prison where he worked; charged with four counts of promoting prison contraband. The thing is that Zul Qarnain is a good friend of mine. In addition to being an Imam, he's a very talented conguero (conga player) who has toured with Native Deen and Seven8Six alongside me. He is not only a colleague of mine but a very dear friend as well. Though he lives in New York City and I live in Ohio, we have shared many memorable experiences in our travels across the globe playing behind Native Deen.

The article points to the fact that Zul Qarnain actually spent 14 years in prison himself after being convicted of murder and robbery (along with three others) in 1979 for a grocery store robbery in which a customer was shot to death. At that time his name was Paul Pitts. So, understandably, the article begs the question 'how does a convicted ex-con get hired as a prison chaplain?' Well I don't know all the details but I do remember when he got that job and he said that he had volunteered at the prison for so long that he was hired based on their experience with him.

The article also points out that the blades and scissors were discovered when he was going through a security checkpoint and the x-ray machine indicated that metal was in the bag. He was actually at first admitted into the prison because the officers believed that he didn't know that the objects (which to clarify was three injector blades for an injector razor or a typical shaving razor) were in his bag. Then, apparently later, another corrections officer called the authorities and that was all she wrote.

It should be noted that he is NOT being officially charged with anything to do with promoting violence (promoting contraband does not have anything to do with promoting violence) however an anonymous city Corrections source said, "it's a disgrace that taxpayers are funding Muslim chaplains who not only have criminal records, but are promoting violence." This brings me to my point. Because he is a Muslim imam, and the fact that he does have criminal record, he will be crucified in the media as being a 'radical hate preaching, violence promoting' imam. The right wing media outlets such as Fox News (if they pick up on the story) would depict him as such because their agenda is that Muslims are the new 'commies' and all are to be regarded with suspicion, and the left wing liberal media outlets such as CNN (if they pick up on the story) will depict him as such because liberals are anti-religion in general.

As someone who knows this man personally, I would believe that he forgot or didn't even know it was in his bag. I might even believe if it was said that out of mercy to an inmate he might bring something like that in (it would be wrong but I might believe that) but I would never in a million years believe that those things were ever brought in with the intention to facilitate violence against anyone. This man, as far as I could tell, doesn't have a violent bone in his body, at least not anymore. He spoke very positively about Christians and Jews and was frequently involved in establishing relations with them. That's not the behavior of an extremist. Anyone who knows him personally knows that the idea of him promoting violence is just silly. Even the corrections officers who initially searched him at the checkpoint seemed to know him well enough to believe it was an honest mistake. He loves people, all people. He is genuinely one of the most loving and lovable people I've ever met. My heart fell to my feet when I read this story. Insha'Allah (God willing) I will try to contact him, but in the mean time, if he ever reads this, I pray that he knows that we all are praying for him. May Allah give him patience and guidance through this difficult time, and may justice be done. You can see the NY Post story by following the link that I included in the story.

...And Allah Knows Best...

A CALL FOR JIHAD!!!

2010-02-05T12:46:00.000-08:00

In the name of Almighty God, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful. Do I have your attention? I'm sure with that title there are some FBI and CIA agents looking at this so howdy y'all! Although with the Christmas Bomber being able to "slip" past them, I wouldn't be surprised if they weren't. Just as I'm not surprised that they don't really know the meaning of "Jihad", which is my topic today. Jihad has unfortunately become something of a 4-letter word in today's political climate, but in reality, jihad is an important and fundamental part of the Islamic faith, and it is important that non-Muslims, and especially Muslims, understand what it really means.

Firstly let me say this; Many people will say things like ,"there is no violence in Islam" or "Islam is a religion of peace" or "the word Islam means peace". Well I'll let the cat out of the bag and clarify that these statements are not completely true. The word "Islam", actually means "submission" or specifically to submit willfully and completely to the will of Almighty God. The Arabic language is a language based on root words and the root word of Islam is "sa-la-ma" which is the also the root of the word "salaam" which of course in Arabic means "peace". So the words "Islam" and "Salaam" have the same root words, but they don't actually mean the same thing. Islam is a religion, like all other religions, that seeks to establish peace amongst human beings, however true peace comes from justice. As long as there is injustice, there cannot be peace. Even if people submit themselves to an oppressive ruler in order to avoid being killed, that isn't really peace.

So, what is Jihad? Does it really mean 'holy war', or is it strictly an inward spiritual thing? Well it is actually both and yet neither of them at the same time. The word 'jihad' is best translated into English as 'struggle'. There are two basic types of Jihad:

1) Jihad ul Nafs

2) Jihad ul Shayateen

Jihad ul Nafs is "Struggle of the Self". This refers to the inward struggle to discipline our own selves to behave above our base, animalistic instincts. It is to refine ourselves toward the ideal state of the human "self". Nafs has largely been understood by Islamic scholars to refer to the combination of the ruh or 'soul' or 'spirit' of a person, and their physical body. So when someone dies for example they loose their 'nafs' as their spirit and body are separated. As they lay in the grave their body deteriorates while their spirit remains in a state called "barzakh" (a dream like state) in the grave. So the jihad, or the struggle of the self, is the struggle to perfect our selves inwardly. To strive to avert your eyes when presented with images of scantly clad women is a jihad. To strive to be kind to people who you don't particularly like or people who aren't kind to you is a jihad. Even to be able to drag yourself out of bed in the morning to make the fajr (dawn) prayer is a jihad (at least for me it is). The prophet Muhammad peace and blessings be upon him is reported to have said that the Jihad ul Nafs is the greater jihad, while the Jihad ul Shayateen is the lesser Jihad.

Jihad ul Shayateen or "Struggle against Evil Ones", refers to a struggle against outside forces including Iblis (the devil), the evil Jinn (demons) and evil human beings. This type of Jihad can take many forms. The Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him) is reported to have said,

"the best jihad is to speak a word of justice to an oppressive ruler" (Sunan Abu Dawood 2040)

So the first and best form of jihad ul shayateen, is to speak up against rulers who are oppressing people. This hadith is prime evidence of the compatibility of American democracy and Islam. The First Amendment of the US Constitution guarantees the peoples' right to do just that. That is why in Islamic government, the head executive is called a 'khalifah', which doesn't mean a ruler or king, but rather means 'a servant which has been given a trust'. In other words, according to Islam, the people are not the subjects of the government, the government is the subject of the people. So to establish this equilibrium is the best form of jihad ul shayateen. This form of jihad can also come in other forms. For example if oppression is financial, like the oppression of banks and the use of riba (interest) based banking, then the proper jihad against it means hitting the banks in wallet; not putting money in them. However, sometimes, when people are being violently oppressed, then it becomes necessary for the jihad to take on a violent form for the sake of defending the defenseless, and stopping this most awful type of oppression. This is the type of jihad most people have come to associate with the word, that is most people including non-Muslims and Muslims in many cases.

In the Qur'an, God speaks of the use of violence to defend the oppressed. Those who like to claim that Islam is a bloodthirsty, violent religion like to quote these verses in defense of their position. However they often don't quote the entire verse when they do so. For example they like to quote the verse...

"and kill them wherever you find them"

They'll quote this but they wont often quote the rest of the verse. Notice that it starts with the word "and", which of course means that something precedes it. So let us look at the entire verse.

"Fight in the cause of Allah, those who fight you, but do not transgress the limits, for Allah does not love the transgressors. And kill them wherever you find them, and drive them out of the places where they drove you out, for oppression is worse than killing. But do not engage them in combat in the sacred mosque, unless they engage you there. If they do so, kill them. Such is the reward for those who suppress faith, but if they cease, then Allah is oft-forgiving, most merciful. Fight them until there is no more oppression, and justice and faith prevails. But, if they cease, let there be no hostility except to those who cause oppression." (Qur'an 2:190-193).

By quoting the verse in its entirety, it's very plain to see that the permission to use violence in the Qur'an is only against those who fighting and killing you. Notice the phrase "oppression is worse than killing". Upon reading this it reminds me vividly of Patrick Henry's "give me liberty or give me death". In other words it's better to kill me than to oppress me or to take my liberty. Likewise, while killing is never something one should want to do, it becomes necessary when someone is committing violent oppression of others. Also, if you read this verse in it's original Arabic, you will notice that the word 'jihad' is not even used in this verse. In fact the Qur'an never uses the word 'jihad' in connection to violence. The word used for fighting here is 'kitaal'.

Likewise, the prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him) gave many limitations to the Muslim armies in regards to conduct in battle. He forbade Muslims from killing any non-combatants (men, women or children), he forbade them from destroying houses of worship (regardless of religion), he forbade them from destroying civilian infrastructure (water sources, food sources, etc...), he forbade the unnecessary cutting of trees or destruction of crop, and he forbade the killing of livestock.

Like I said, jihad is an important part of Islam. It is largely considered obligatory for Muslims to engage in it in some form at some point in their life (as it is extremely unlikely that one would ever go an entire lifetime without being in a situation when it was necessary). It is important however to realize that there is a lot of confusion as to what jihad actually is.

In order for a violent jihad to be justified, the oppressors must be engaged in violence against a purely innocent group of people. In modern times there have been several justified jihads including the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan and the genocide in Bosnia. Ironically in most cases when violent jihad has been justified, the US has been on the side of the mujihadeen (people who fight jihad). There is no justified jihad against the US as the US is not attempting to occupy any Muslim land nor is the US killing Muslims simply because they are Muslims. There are a lot of silly conspiracy theories amongst Muslims that the US is "secretly" waging war against Islam, but that is about as intelligent those who say that the Jews own ALL the media and that the Holocaust never happened. It's just silly. The US has without doubt made some dumb mistakes in foreign policy over the past several decades that have indeed led to a much lesser quality of life for many Muslims including the propping up of tyrannical dictators such as Saddam Hussein, prolonging civil war in Somalia by not excepting a widely agreed upon Islamic Courts government (even though they weren't the greatest but they did unite many of Somalia's warring tribes), and the blind financial and military industrial support of Israel without regard for how money and weapons were being used.

However despite all the mistakes that the American government has made in these regards, America has never held any fundamental hostility towards the religion of Islam. So those who call for Jihad against the US are wrong, and most certainly those who try to justify the killing of innocents are dead wrong.

I've read a letter to the American people from Usama Bin Laden on the State Department's website, and to be honest 90% of what he says is true. He speaks of how America has lost its way from the principals layed out by its founders. That America has become the very thing that it fought for independence from (a world empire). However it's that other 10% that makes him very scary and dangerous. He says that because the American people choose their leadership, that the American people themselves constitute part of the government, and are therefore a legitimate target. This view is completely un-Islamic and a complete twisting and distortion of the teachings of the Qur'an, as it can be seen from the above quoted verses. Besides, since when have our elected Representatives REALLY ever represented OUR interests?

In truth, if you want to talk about who is real enemy of Muslims of the world today, it isn't America or any other non-Muslim country. It is groups like Al-Qaeda, the Taliban and their ilk. They have killed many many more innocent Muslims then America ever has. Ultimately they don't have any intent on establishing the kind of justice that the Qur'an and our prophet taught. They only want power, and to thrust the extreme, puritanical 'version' of Islam on their under their thumb.

I hope that for some non-Muslims that read this that it would clarify some mis-information they may have on the concept of Jihad amongst Muslims, and I hope for Muslims reading this that they consider the implications of jihad in their own life and ask themselves if they're truly upon the proper understanding of this concept.

...And Allah Knows Best...

Islam and the Paranormal

2010-02-04T15:58:00.001-08:00

In the name of Allah (Almighty God), the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful. Recently my wife and I watched the movie "Paranormal Activity". I have always found stories of such happenings very intriguing. Of course the word "paranormal" is defined in the dictionary as, "of or pertaining to the claimed occurrence of an event or perception without scientific explanation". This of course can pertain to a wide breadth of things; possibly including religion itself (depending upon how you look at it). Most commonly it refers to such things as ghosts, demons, aliens, and some claimed human characteristics such as psychokinesis and telepathy. Allah does not leave us without information about the existence of such things. In short all of these things can be explained by one word, Jinn.

The Arabic word jinn comes from the Arabic root ja-na-a which means "to hide" or "conceal". A jinni is a creature, created by Allah, that is similar to us in that it has free choice or sometimes referred to as free will. Just as humans, there are numerous jinn that occupy the earth, and also jinn that occupy the universe at large as well. Because they are creatures of free will, some choose to obey God and some don't. In fact, like humans, the majority of them do not obey Allah. Jinn were created before humans which is evident in the story of the most famous jinni, Iblis, or also known as Lucifer or Satan. He was at one time, considered a righteous servant of Allah. However when Allah created Adam, the first human being, all the angels and jinn who were present were ordered to bow to Adam in respect for the great power (of reason, logic, the various faculties) that Allah had given to mankind. Iblis, or Satan, in his arrogance, refused to acknowledge Adam as having any superiority over him. The story is related in the Qur'an.

"Call to mind, when we ordered the angels (and present jinn); 'Prostrate to Adam', they all prostrated, except Iblis. He refused and was arrogant, being already one of the disbelievers." (Qur'an 2:35)

"Allah questioned him; 'what prevented you from prostrating when I commanded?' He responded, 'I am better than he. You have created me from fire while you've created him from clay.' Allah said, 'in that case, be gone from this place; your arrogance pleases me not, you are surely of those who are astray. Iblis pleaded, 'Give me respite till the day which they shall be raised up (the day of judgment). Allah said 'you are given respite'. Iblis said, 'Since you have brought about my ruin, I will surely lie in wait for them upon the straight path (of righteousness) and will approach them from the front and from the rear, from the left and from the right, and you will find most of them ungrateful. Allah said, 'get out then, despised and banished. Whoever of them follow you should know that I will fill Hell with all of you". (Qur'an 7:13-19)

As is shown in the last part of the second quoted verse, Iblis himself, and by extension the Jinn in general, are subject to the same judgment and hellish punishment that evil humans are. So the popular image of Satan ruling over Hell and torturing damned souls is really not accurate. In fact, Iblis, other jinn who follow him, as well as humans who have chosen his path will all collectively be tortured in the blazing fire of Hell. The Qur'an relates in another place that in fact it will be a group of terrifying angels that will be in charge of guarding the gates of hell and subject its inhabitants to grueling torment.

"Oh you who believe, save yourselves and your families from a blazing fire whose fuel is men and stones, over which are appointed angels stern and severe who flinch not from executing the commands of Allah, but do precisely what they are commanded". (Qur'an 66:6)

Jinn, as Iblis mentioned, are created from fire.

"He created Man from sounding clay like the clay of pottery and created the Jinn from a smokeless flame of fire" (Qur'an 55:15)

The prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him) also related to us much information on the Jinn as well. Like other prophets including Solomon, David, and Jesus Christ, Muhammad, after becoming a prophet, was given the ability to see and interact with jinn. There was even a time when the prophet witnessed a group of jinn embracing Islam which is related in the Qur'an in Surah Al Jinn.

The Qur'an and Sunnah (or authentic traditions of the prophet Muhammad), basically illustrate to us that while some jinn are good, most are bad and try to mislead us from the path of God, and use there various abilities to do so. Such abilities include flight, telepathy, non-verbal communication (whispers into the mind of humans), audio and visual manifestations (hearing voices or seeing apparitions), and probably the most frightening, possession of human bodies.

In the film "Paranormal Activity", a young couple buys a video camera to try to document strange occurrences that had been taking place in their home. At one point the young woman invites a psychic to their home to seek advise, and she tells him that this did not start in this house but rather she has been experience these things since she was 8 years old. Now, we know from authenticated traditions of the prophet that some human beings can communicate with jinn. Some use this ability to foretell the future such as fortune tellers. The prophet's wife Aisha (May Allah be pleased with her), related that some people asked the prophet about fortune tellers and he said, "they are nothing". To which they replied, "Sometimes they tell us things that come true". The prophet explained, "a jinn snatches that true word (from the whispers of the angels) and pours it into the ear of his friend (the fortune teller) and then the fortune teller mixes it with a hundred lies". (Sahih Al Bukhari 7:657).

So if some people can communicate with jinn for these purposes, they can also communicate with the jinn for other reasons, and in many cases the jinn that they are communicating with is only misleading them. So while we reject the use of physics to resolve problems with jinn, we do recognize that there are people capable of communicating with them. The psychic tells the couple that he specializes in "ghosts" which are believed by some to be souls of dead human beings. Also we know as Muslims that the soul of a dead human being does not walk the Earth, but instead rest in the grave until the Day of Judgment. However, jinn can manifest images to us in many forms, including images, voices, and other characteristics of dead humans. This is why you often see apparitions and so forth of say Civil War soldiers on modern day battlefield parks or possibly a young woman who died violently in a particular house. Jinn will use these images to make us believe that the dead walk the Earth, which is something that is not taught by Islam or even Christianity or Judaism.

The psychic says that while his expertise is "ghosts", he believed that the entity infecting this couple was rather a "demon". Demons, according to him, being not human souls but "something else". This he explained, would be why it was something that had followed her from childhood.

As the film went on the occurrences become more frequent and more violent, until eventually the entity seems to possess the woman. This is also something recognized in Islamic tradition. There are stories from the time of the prophet of people being possessed by jinn for various reasons including the possibility that the jinn has fallen in love with the human. Yes jinn do marry and have offspring just like humans, because they do die. So, because jinn also have a mating urge, they sometimes vent these urges on human beings. This was the theory I came up with in regard to this particular film, because as the story progressed it became more and more clear that the entity was not trying to harm the woman, but rather seemed to want to separate the woman from her boyfriend, and eventually seemed to want to physically harm the man. Ultimately of course, it did.

While the movie is fictitious, the situation described in it does happen. In the case of this couple, they waited too long to seek professional help, and it ended in the death of the woman's boyfriend, and the disappearance of the woman herself. Ultimately it is only a movie, and lately it seems that movies about the paranormal are common. We as Muslims, should remind ourselves that Allah, God Almighty gives us the information we need to deal with these situations. We may not know everything about them, because we also know that there are a lot of things that Allah has created that we know nothing about, but nonetheless we have the tools in the Qur'an and in the example of the prophet Muhammad to deal with the Jinn when we need to. Our brothers and sisters from amongst the Jinn, those who submit themselves to Allah (i.e. Muslims), largely leave us alone, but it is the jinn who are devious and evil that will make contact with us; ultimately only for the purpose to distract us from remembrance of God and obeying His will.

I for one found the movie entertaining not only for the "scream" factor, but also because it served as a nice conversation piece for me and my wife about the importance of having knowledge of the Jinn. I hope it does for you as well.

...And Allah Knows Best...

Music in Islam....Revisited

2010-01-30T07:52:00.001-08:00

In the name of Almighty God, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful. I had posted a blog about a year ago now entitled "Music in Islam". For those who don't know, music is sometimes a controversial issues amongst Muslims.

Scholars of Islam throughout the ages have differed in their understanding of to what extent music is permissable. Some hold that only vocal music is permissable and that musical instruments are forbidden with the possible exception of a simple frame drum similar to a Bodhron of Ireland. Others hold that percussion instruments in general are ok but wind and string instruments are still forbidden, and others hold that there are no restrictions at all on music. I had stated in that blog that while I'm not a scholar of Islamic theology as whole, the subject of 'music in Islam' was something that I have studied quite extensively and felt I could indeed make an informed statement on the issue. However I realized as I read this blog that in actuality all I really did was quote the opinion of Sheikh Yusuf Al Qaradawi. So, God willing, I'll actually tackle the issue in my own words.

As anyone who knows me knows, music is a huge part of my life. Before I became Muslim you could say that music was my life. Islam has taught me that music is not an end in its self but rather a means to an end. The end that is, serving God of course. Allah, God Almighty, gives all of us unique talents in a variety of different fields so that they may be used to serve Him, and serving Him is often done through serving creation. Sacred music has been used in almost every culture and every religion since the beginning, including amongst Muslims from the time of Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him), right up until today. In addition to sacred music, secular music or in other words music that deals mostly with human issues such as love, war, and sometimes not so wholesome subjects, has also been around since the beginning. Again, including amongst Muslims.

Within Islamic law, or the rules that govern Muslims' day to day lives, the guiding principle of the scholars has always been that in matters of worship, every thing is considered forbidden unless proven permissable by the authentic sources of law which are the Qur'an and the tested and proven traditions and sayings of the Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him), or called in Arabic, the Sunnah. The reason for this prohibition of forms of worship not officially sanctioned by God and/or His prophet, is because worship or 'ibadah in Arabic is considered a "right of God". Meaning they are something that actually belongs to God and we have an obligation to carry them out according to His terms, and not according to our own terms and whims. So for example it is forbidden to fast during Ramadan for the day and the night together, because this was never sanctioned by the Islamic scriptures.
On the other hand, the position of the scholars on what are considered matters of every day life, such as diet, clothing, sexual relations, war, and various other issues, is that these things are considered permissable unless they can be proven to be forbidden according to the Qur'an and/or the Sunnah. The need for this position has always been apparent as if we took the opposite approach, it would likely be considered forbidden to drive cars, or use computers or microwave ovens. Music of course falls under the catagory of "every day life" stuff, and therefore the ruling on its permissability is such that the burden of proof would fall on those who claim that it or elements of it are forbidden.
When trying to deduce the Islamic ruling on something, scholars first and foremost start wth the Qur'an, as it is the literal words of God revealed to the Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him). There are no verses of the Qur'an that deal directly with music. However there is one verse that the majority of scholars have held is speaking primarily of music.

"And of mankind are those who purchase idle talks to mislead from the path of God without knowledge, and takes it (the Qur'an) by way of mockery. For them, awaits a painful torment" (Qur'an Surah Luqman vs 16)

It has long been held by the majority of scholars that "idle talks" here refers to music. However, the verse is clearly speaking about a certain kind of music; that is music that encourages debouchery and things that leads people away from living a life pleasing to God. So from right here, without looking any further we can deduce that music like this would be considered forbidden within Islam. In other words there is no place in Islam for Lil' Wayne, Lady GaGa, 50 cent, Fergie, or the like. That is at least not the music they are known for. They may have some "ok" songs. What then, about other forms of music that do not promote debouchery or lead people away from the path of God? It is possible that even a seemingly good song, or even an Islamic song can be harmful if they are distracting a Muslim away from more important things such as prayer, fasting, etc. This concept is illustrated in another verse of the Qur'an.

"But when they spy some merchandise or pastime, they break away to it and leave you standing. Say 'That which Allah has is better than pastime and merchandise, and Allah is the best of providers" (Qur'an, Surah Jumah vs. 11)

This verse came as a response to an incident in which the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) was giving the Friday sermon and a caravan rode into town with beating drums and fanfair. The Muslims in the mosque left the sermon to go join the "party". So in that sense listening or playing music when you should be fulfilling religious duties is indeed forbidden, and one should remember that God is the best provider and that the music and "pasttimes" of Paradise will far exceed anything in this world.

There are no more verses of the Qur'an on this issue, so we would have to look to the Sunnah.

The following is the most common hadith (narration of the Prophet) used in conjunction with the issue of music

"From among my followers there will be some who will consider illegal sexual relations, the wearing of silk, the drinking of alcohol, and the use of musical instruments as permissable. From them, there will be some who stay near the side of a mountain, and in the evening the shepards will come to them for provision and they will, 'go away and come back tomorrow'. God will destroy them in the night and let the mountain fall on them, and God would transform the rest of them into monkeys and pigs." (hadith Sahih al Bukhari 7:494)

Now first and foremost, the authenticity of this hadith (as to whether it can be proven that the prophet Muhammad said this) has been brought into question by numerours scholars in the past and present including classical Islamic scholar Ibn Hazm as well as modern scholar Yusuf Al Qaradawi. However assuming that the hadith is indeed authentic and thus part of the Sunnah, the hadith seems to be illustrating to nature of these people more so than giving verdicts on the listed items. The phrase "consider as permissable" in the Arabic, could have two different meanings.
1. They consider all these listed things as permissable

2. They exceed proper limits in the use of these things.

It is on this hadith that scholars have differed. Some take the first possible meaning as being the most accurate and therefore consider all musical instruments as forbidden with the exception of a small frame drum because it is known that people used that at the time to sing religious songs. People who see musical instruments as being permissable are going off the second meaning.

While I respect the scholars who take the first meaning, and indeed some of them have been the most influencial teachers of mine, the second meaning seems more likely as for the prophet refers to them as "his followers" when if they considered all of those as being completely permissable, then they would not be taking the Quran as God's word or at least part of the Qur'an and therefore would actually be kufar or disbelievers. These things listed here are not always considered a sin but are considered as such "most" of the time. Alcohol is forbidden to be drank for recreation but it is permissable to use it for medicinal purposes such as treating infection, pain, or other ailments when other medications are not available. It is only forbidden for men to wear silk, not women, and a woman (or a man) is not guilty of adultery if they are raped. Musical instruments likewise are forbidden when used to incite sinful behaivior or when they distract from religious obligations (as the above Qur'anic verses indicate) however they are not "always" sinful. After all a gun is just a machine. It can do nothing without a human being with an intention to do harm or to do good. Likewise a musical instrument is just a machine. It can be used for good and for bad.

Upon further review of hadiths contained in the Sunnah, there really aren't any others relating a forbiddance of music. There are however hadith that seem to condone the use of music.

According to one hadith in Sahih al Bukhari, the prophet was speaking to his wife Aisha (may Allah be pleased with her) who was attending a wedding party. He asked her, "have you given the bride a gift?" Aisha said, "yes". Then the prophet asked, "Did you send along a singer with them?" Aisha said no. The prophet then replied, "The Ansar (people of Medina) are a people who love poetry and singing. You should have sent a singer to sing for them."

It is also known that when the Prophet made the long and gruling journey from Mecca to Medina during the Hijra (forced migration), the people of Medina sang the song "ta'ala al badru 'alayna" when they saw him coming over the horizon and they beat drums as they sang.

In another hadith, the Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him) on the day of Eid (holiday), came to the house of his wife Aisha while there were two girls singing a traditional (non-religious) Ansari song and playing tamborines. The prophet Muhammad laid down to rest while the girls were singing. Later, the companion of the prophet Abu Bakr came in and said, "Musical instruments of Satan in the house of the Prophet???", and the Prophet quickly corrected him and said, "Leave Them, for these are the days of celebration".

In another hadith, reported in the Sahih al Bukhari, the prophet was walking past the home of one of his companions and he could hear the companion reciting the Qur'an in the most beatiful of voices. The Prophet listened for a while and then asked the companion, "Were you beautifying your voice because you knew I was listening?", the companion responded, "if I had known that you were listening I would have made it more beautiful". The Prophet then said, "Truly you have been given the flute of David". Now almost all scholars agree that when the prophet used the word mizmar or flute, he wasn't literally referring to a flute but rather to the voice of Prophet David (peace and blessings be upon him). However, why would Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him), compare the voice of one of the God's great prophets to a flute if a flute was something forbidden?

I maybe missing a few additional hadiths that speak favorably about music but nonetheless my point is made I think. If we take the second meaning of the first mentioned hadith, which as I illustrated is the more reasonable and feasable one, then there is no sufficient evidence to suggest that musical instruments or singing is forbidden. There is no evidence that it is forbidden for a woman to be a musician provided that she does not sing, dress or act in a way that incites the lusts of male (and maybe female) listeners. The same applies to a male musician. I encourage all Muslims to respect the opinions of others. As I said before I respect the opinion of those who hold that musical instruments are forbidden and expect nothing more and nothing less in return. Ultimately there are much bigger issues at stake for our people and we need to support each other.
We need Muslims in the arts. We need Muslims in music (not just nasheed but also mainstream music), in film, in mainstream literature, and definately in the media. I hear that the Hollywood producer of "The Matrix" and "Lord or the Rings", is in the beginning stages of making a major Hollywood production about the Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him), and is doing so in conjunction with Islamic scholar Yusuf Al Qaradawi(note...they are not planning to depict the Prophet in the film according to Islamic beliefs). If it makes to the big screen it may very well be the biggest "introduction" to real Islam that mainstream American society has seen. Without doubt there will be Muslims who may not agree with certain elements of the film, or may not even agree with the film being made at all, but for once we have to put aside petty differences of opinion and just be happy that there are any positive images of Islam being produced whether they be by musicians, actors, writers, journalists or what have you.
I hope this may provide some insight into the issue of music in Islam, and that it may benefit some folks who are confused about the whole issue.

...And Allah Knows Best...

Muhammad Ali and Hope for Haiti Now

2010-01-23T18:27:00.001-08:00

In the name of Almighty God, Most Gracious, Most Merciful. I want to send a BIG jazakullah khair (May God reward you well) to brother Muhammad Ali for his appearance on the "Hope for Haiti Now" telethon. In light of the complete lack of so called Islamic countries around the world to respond generously and charitably to the Haiti crisis, this beautiful Muslim brother goes on national television to share with the world, the beauty of the third pillar of Islam, zakat or charity. Muhammad Ali, heavy champion of the world, appear alongside comedian Chris Rock during the telethon. Brother Muhammad was visibly suffering from a prolonged bout with Parkinson's Disease and was unable to speak for himself, but Chris Rock read the words of Mr. Ali.

"In my life, I've been called by many names. There are also many names for the charity that resides in the hearts of all human beings. In my faith, charity is called zakat. Zakat is one of the pillars of my faith. By any name, charity can bring the people of our planet together. Charity crosses borders and eases pain of oh so many. Charity changes lives, and saves lives. There is an old saying that charity begins at home, but it cannot end there. That is why we call upon all the good people in every corner of the world, to help those who cannot help themselves. Whatever you believe, which ever word you choose, zakat or charity, please give now. Go to hopeforhaitinow.org....God Bless".

I would like to thank Mr. Muhammad Ali for being the face and voice of what Islam is really about. Shame on the rich Muslim nations that have so far done nothing. May Allah reward this brother many times over for not only these words but all that he has done in his retirement to help those in need.

Hell in Haiti

2010-01-15T12:37:00.001-08:00

In the name of Almighty God, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful. The western hemisphere's poorest nation, Haiti, has been utterly devastated by a 7.0 magnitude earthquake. The earthquake struck not in a forested area or otherwise loosely populated area, but the quake was concentrated right in the middle of the most densely populated area of the country; in the capitol city of Port-au-Prince. The neighboring country of the Dominican Republic who share the small island was hardly affected. One has to wonder at the chances that such a strong earthquake would hit this desperately poor country in it's most vulnerable of places. As Muslims, we know that human beings cannot always understand why such horrible things happen to seemingly innocent people. The Haitian government estimates that as many as 100,000 may be dead. It is natural and human to ask how a gracious and merciful God allows such things to happen. People who are astray and away from their fitra (natural state of worshiphood to God) are easily convinced at times that there can't be a God when such terrible things are allowed to happen. However these people have simply "failed the test". God created us for one purpose, and that is to worship Him. We worship him in two basic ways
a.) Obey His commands and performing acts of worship such as ritual prayer, fasting, pilgrimage in the manner in which He has commanded us to do.
b.) Serving creation; being beneficial members of society and the human race; loving our neighbors and being generous and charitable to those in need; standing up for the oppressed; and dealing kindly with our fellow human beings (in a way this also falls under "a" because these are things we are commanded to do by God).

God Almighty in the Holy Qur'an says,
"And I did not create Jinn and Mankind except to worship Me" (Qur'an 51:56)

Then God says in another passage,
"And it is He who has made you generations after generations of trustees/custodians upon/to the Earth and has raised some of you above others in rank that you may be tried in that which has been given to you. Indeed, your Lord is swift in penalty, but is also most forgiving and merciful." (Qur'an 6:165)

As I said before we can never really know for sure why tragic events such as this happen, but we do know from the above verse that we are tested in this life. In fact the whole experience of life in this world could be compared to taking a class. We enter the class usually with a clean slate. As we make our way through the material we learn and are subsequently tested on our knowledge. Sometimes these tests we know are coming, and sometimes they are "pop quizzes". At the end of the class you will be given a final exam to determine if you are ready to move on to the next step. In life, we enter it with a clean slate as new born babies. As we attain the age of understanding, we are tested in lessons we learn. Sometimes these tests we know are coming like taking on the responsibility of marriage for example, and other times they are not expected such as dealing with sudden economic losses, deaths of loved ones, or on a larger scale even tragedies like the earthquake in Haiti. In the end, on the Day of Judgement, we will be given a "final assessment". The main difference is that if you fail a class you can go back and take it again, but this is not the case in life. So, events such as the quake in Haiti, could happen as a way to test humanity. Some may say, "how can a loving and merciful God kill innocent people for a 'test'; as if it was a game"? We have to remember that God is our creator. The very concepts of life and death are of his creation, and thus He is not subject to it no more than He is subject to the laws of Physics or Time as they too are among His creations. A finite being can never comprehend the nature of anything infinite. It is simply beyond the capacity of the human intellect. So, for us to superimpose our understanding of life and death, and specifically the negativity of death to God, is not understanding God for what He is. God Almighty best describes himself in the Qur'an as follows,

"Allah (God), there is none worthy of worship but Him, the Ever Living, the Infinate. Neither slumber nor sleep overtakes Him. To Him belongs ALL that is in the Heavens and ALL that is on the Earth. Who is he who can intercede with Him except by His permission? He knows that which shall happen to His creation, and all that has happened, while His creation knows NOTHING except what He allows them to know. The footstool of his throne extends over the whole of the Heavens and Earth and He feels no fatigue in guarding and preserving them. He is the Sublime, the Tremendous." (Qur'an 2:255 "ayatul kursi")

In another place God also says,
"Say, He is Allah (God) the ONE
Allah, the Eternal and Omnipotent
He begets not, nor is He begotten
There is nothing in all of creation
comparable to Him" (Qur'an 112)

So while we are created with a sense of love for fellow humans, and feel a sense of grief at the loss of human life, we must remember that our creator is not bound by the same attributes we are. We are never to take human life without justification through the due process of law. However as His creation, it is God who takes us when it is our time, and only He knows when our time will come. This is why we as Muslims, whenever we hear of someone dying we say a prayer that reads, "To God we belong, and to Him we will return".

So when events like this happen, we have to know what our responsibilities to these unfortunately people are. God Almighty tells us in the Qur'an,

"Speak to my servants who believed that they must establish regular prayer and spend (charity) out of which We have given them, secretly and openly, until there comes a day in which there will be no selling or befriending. It is Allah who has created the heavens and the earth and sends down the rain from the skies and with brings forth fruit to feed you. It is He who has made the ships subject to you that you may sail through the seas by His command, and the rivers have been made subject as well. He has made the Sun and the Moon subject to you, both diligently pursuing their courses, and thus the night and the day have been made subject to you. And He gives you all that you ask for. If you try to count the favors of Allah, you will never be able to number them, yet indeed, man is inclined toward injustice and ingratitude." (Qur'an 14:31-34)

Giving charity is therefore a command by Almighty God. God beautifully outlines the ways in which all of the worlds natural resources have been given to our disposal to use for our benefit. We have a fundamental responsibility to God to spend out of that which we have given to help those who are in need. And, it is important to note as well that even people who don't have money, can still give charity.

The prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him) was known even before being a prophet for his honesty, uprightness, and charity. As God says in the Qur'an that to love God is to obey God and his messenger (Muhammad), we should look also to the recorded sayings of our last prophet Muhammad. He is reported to have said,

"It is imperative that everyone performs acts of charity every day that the sun shines in the sky in order to show gratitude to God for every joint and faculty of their body. It is charity to restore peace between two people with strained relations. It is a charity to give a stranded person a ride and to carry his load. It is a charity to speak kind words. Every step one takes towards the mosque for prayer is charity and removing litter or objectionable things from peoples' path is a charity."

Most certainly now, in their darkest hour, the Haitian people are in state of complete distress and it is imperative that we Muslims, as well as all people of good conscious whether they be Christian, Jew, Hindu, Bhuddist, athiest,etc... come to the aid of these people who are in distress as well as all people that are in distress. Some evil people who claim to servants of God have made comments about this incident. Pat Robertson, a Christian televangelist and host of the "700 Club", said that the earthquake happened because the Haitian people were "cursed" because of some story of them selling their souls to the devil to rid themselves of the French back during colonial years. Thankfully the Christian community at large denounced this filth that all to often flows from this man's mouth.
While thankfully I haven't heard of any Muslims saying anything like that, I wonder though, where is all the humanitarian aid from Saudi Arabia, Egypt or other wealthy Muslim countries? Oh there isn't any. This is yet just another example of the corruption of so-called Muslim countries to do what is most fundamentally Islamic and help their fellow human beings. So far the only Muslim country I know that has pledged aid is Turkey. Good for them, and may Allah reward them for their generosity. As for the wealthy gulf states such as Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Oman, etc... who at least thus far haven't pledged any aid, let me remind them of the words of Almighty God in the Qur'an,

"Have you seen the one who denies the Day of Judgment?
He is the one who drives away the Orphan
He is the one who doesn't feed the poor
So woe to those who pray (Muslims)
But are heedless of their prayer
Those who only make a show of their good deeds
And withhold the most basic of assistance (to the needy)"
(Qur'an 107)

Thankfully many Muslim organizations here in this country have stepped up to the plate to assist the Haitians, who are of course predominately Catholic. A good friend of mine, Naeem Muhammad, singer from Native Deen and also works with Islamic Relief, is on his way now to Haiti to participate in the relief effort. The Islamic Society of North America has also started a relief fund. I encourage all my Muslim brothers and sisters and all my fellow human beings to donate generously to these funds or to other mainstream organizations such as the Red Cross, UNICEF, etc... to help the people of Haiti. May Almighty God ease the burden of the people of Haiti, may He guide them through the darkness of this time, and may He give them peace and prosperity in the time to come.

...And Allah Knows Best....

Conan vs. Leno: Why am I writing about this???

2010-01-13T20:10:00.000-08:00

In the name of God, Most Gracious, Most Merciful. Now let me first say that I don't often concern myself with celebrity gossip or entertainment news. For the most part it's a complete and utter waste of time. After all, they are just people like anyone else. However the recent news of the conflict over time slots on NBC made me think a little.

Apparently Jay Leno, who has commanded (alongside Letterman) the late night comedy/talk scene for years, wasn't satisfied with retirement after handing the show over to Conan O'Brian. So, NBC gives him a show during "prime time", right before Conan's show. Now that Leno's show isn't doing as hot, they want to put Leno back closer to his old time slot, thus pushing Conan back closer to his old time slot. Gee, could it be that maybe the reason why Leno's show wasn't doing so great was because people thought it was ridiculous for him to have yet another show after "retiring". Like I said normally I would never talk about something like this but for one, I like Conan a lot better as a comedian, but also this whole situation brings up another more relevant issue.

Many people who retire do so only to go back into the workforce. Now I completely understand people doing this who retire from low paying jobs or otherwise can't make ends meet on their retirement. However, there are a lot of people who would be more than able to live comfortably off of what they make in retirement, yet still go back to work. I take issue with this. In my hometown I recently saw that the city fire chief was retiring....only to take the director of human resources job in place of it. My former band director from high school, whom I have a great deal of respect and admiration for, retired from Ashland High School, only to take a job at Hillsdale High School (a country school near my home town). The problem with this from what I can see is two fold:
A) It takes jobs away from qualified young people who are currently out of work and needing to support families, pay back loans etc... In a booming job market that might not really be an issue, but now-a-days with the job market as bad as it is, every job counts. For example, I personally know people with music education degrees who actually applied at Hillsdale High School for band director positions and were turned down. Shouldn't those applicants been the first people the school called? As opposed to a retired director who apparently didn't really have any interest in getting back in the game at first anyway. Like I said I love the man but I was severely disappointed when I heard he was now teaching at Hillsdale.

B) It stands in the way of progress. Anyone who is from Ashland, Ohio, my hometown, knows that it can sometimes accurately be described as "boring". Now I personally love my home town. I think it's a great place to live and raise a family, but it is true that the leadership of Ashland is not doing much to bring any kind of progress to it. Gee, I wonder why that is. OH! Could it be because the same people have been running it for decades? Many of those serving on the city council have done so for several decades. The last several mayors of the city have been jokes, because they are lapdogs of the local university which seems to think they own the city, and because they only pander to a select "click" of "Ashland-elite". How about having some mayoral debates at election time? How about debates for city-council seats? And, I don't mean debates that go unheard of until after they happen and only then do you see anything in the local newspaper about them. How about term limits for mayors and city council. I'm a firm believer in the statement... "Politicians and diapers are a lot alike...they both need to be changed often and for the same reason". I would venture to say that one of the most prudent laws the city could pass in terms of creating REAL potential for progress would be creating reasonable term limits for the position of mayor and especially city council. Let's get some fresh faces and fresh ideas in city government instead of people who are still learning to use a computer.

Now, don't get me wrong I'm not trying to be disrespectful to our older generations. Quite the contrary. We owe a lot to what they accomplished. All I'm saying though, is that communities need to be looking toward the future and imagining what places like Ashland "can be" and not focusing blindly on what it once was. I imaging that the problems faced by Ashland are being faced by communities across the country. People who are ready and able to retire should do so, enjoy the time they have to themselves and with their families, and allow the industries and organizations they once so admirably served move forward and progress naturally into a new era; don't try to hoard these positions for whatever benefit you get out of it whether it be money, reputation, or even a distrust of younger generations. So that means you Leno!!!!!
Oh yeah and you too Brett Favre!!!

...And Allah Knows Best...

Muslims in Early America: Part 3: The Founding Fathers on Islam and Muslims

2010-01-11T18:06:00.000-08:00

In the name of God, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful. In the last two posts I have discussed the history of Islam in early American society amongst slaves and minorities as well as amongst the few white Anglo-American Muslims of the time. But what of the Founding Fathers' opinions of Islam and Muslims? Given that they were the authors of the Constitution and thereby the very "creators" of the ideals this great nation was founded upon, it would definitely matter to this conversation what their opinions of the "Mohamatans" was.
I'll start with this; it is a quote from the Treaty of Tripoli, signed between United States (started under the Washington administration and continued and finished under Adams) and the Barbary states of North Africa. It states,

"As the government of the United States of America is not in any sense founded on the Christian religion, - as it has in itself no character of emnity against the laws, religion or tranquility of the Musselman, - and as the said states have never entered into any war or act of hostility against any Mohamatin nation, - it is declared by the parties (the US and Barbary nations) that no pretext of religious opinions shall ever produce an interruption of the harmony existing between the two countries". -Signed into law by President John Adams, June 1797.

This treaty was the initial "official" position of the United States (and it's founding fathers) toward the religion and the people of Islam.
It should also be noted that this came at the end of fierce fighting in the Mediterranean between Americans and Muslims of North Africa. The aggression of some Muslims in North Africa came mostly for two main reasons. A) The Barbary Pirates were just that; "pirates" and like the Christian Pirates of the Caribbean or the Vikings, care about religion only when it serves their plundering interests. B) Because the Muslims of North Africa had not yet understood the distinction between the United States and the Christian European nations who had been at war with Muslims for centuries. That was part of the purpose of this treaty and in particular this specific article; to make the distinction that the United States was not officially a Christian nation and therefore had no intent or interest in religious conflict with Muslim countries.
While this dealt with early American foreign relations, what then of the founding fathers opinions of American Muslims. It is known, as I pointed out before, that there were many Muslims living in America at that time; as slaves that is. There is no sufficient evidence to suggest that the founding fathers knew much of the presence of Islam amongst American slaves, however the founding fathers were not void of opinions of Muslims' place in American society. John Lock (an idol of American founder Thomas Jefferson), once insisted in his "Letter on Toleration (1689) that Muslims and all others who believed in God be accepted and tolerated in England. Thomas Jefferson echoed these sentiments in his view of America. In his autobiography he recalls his time in the Virginia legislature when he struggled to pass his "Bill for Establishing Religious Freedom" (1786). He remembers proudly that the Virginia legislature "rejected by a great majority" a move to limit the bill's scope "in proof that they meant to comprehend, within the mantle of its protection, the Jew and the Gentile, the Christian and the Mohametin". In other words the body of Virginia Representatives recognize the basic right to freedom of religion to all faiths including Muslims. Earlier at the signing of the Declaration of Independence, Richard Henry Lee (one of the signers from Virginia and ancestor of Robert E. Lee, commanding general of the Army of Northern Virginia of the Confederacy during the Civil War) said, "True freedom, embraces the Mohamitin, the Gentoo (Hindu) as well as the Christian religion". Officials in Massachusetts also insisted that the Constitution give "the most ample liberty of conscience...to Deists, Mohametans, Jews and Christians". Chief Justice of the Supreme Court Theophilus Parsons also affirmed this in 1810, being the son of a clergyman and one of the 26 who drafted the Declaration of Independence. It was once wrote in a Boston newspaper that, "A Mohametan, is excited to the practice of good morals in hopes that after resurrection he shall enjoy the beautiful girls of Paradise to all eternity. He is afraid to commit murder, adultery and theft, least he should be cast into hell, where he must drink scalding water and the scum of the damned" (This person has studied Islam and the Qur'anic description of Hell). Benjamin Rush, Pennsylvania signer of the Declaration of Independence, reportedly admired this feature of Islam and said he'd "rather see the opinions of Confucius or Mohammad inculcated on our youth than see then grow up wholly devoid of a system of religious principles".

It is self evident by the statements quoted above that the founding fathers not only indirectly but actually explicitly included the presence of Islam and Muslims in their vision of America. The principals of religious plurality was at the core of their dream for this nation. While they were (for the most part) devout Christians of differing denominations, who of course had their theological differences with Islam, they were wise enough to realize that that Christian idea of God cannot be any "official" concept within the American dream. In reality, the American dream is bigger than the human labels of Christian, Muslim, Jew, Hindu, or any other. The American dream is the dream of one nation, existing under God (by His many names whether God, Allah, Jehovah, Elohim, etc...), where all of His beloved human creation, could live, work and worship in peace, harmony and fellowship. That's what American pluralism is all about. "E Pluribus Unum", "From Many, We are One". This, I would say is summed up by a petition sent to the Virginia legislature by citizens of Chesterfield County, Virginia in 1785 that states,

"Let Jews, Mohametans, and Christians of every denomination enjoy religious liberty...thrust them not out now by establishing the Christian religion least thereby we become our own enemies and weaken this infant state. It is mens' labor in our manufactories, their service by sea and land that aggrandize our country and not their creeds. Chain your citizens to the state by their interest. Let Jews, Mohametans, and Christians of every denomination find their advantage in living under your laws."

"Our society is enriched by our Muslim citizens whose commitment to faith reminds us of the gift of religious freedom in this country"
----------President George W. Bush

...And Allah Knows Best...

Muslims in Early America: Part 2: The Anglo Muslims

2010-01-04T15:23:00.000-08:00

In the name of God, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful. This is the second installment of "Muslims in Early America", in which I am discussing the history and influence of Islam and Muslims in early American history. In the last installment I gave a brief history of the "Black Muslim Movement" dating back to slavery in early America as well as all the way back to early Spanish exploration of the North American continent. Some might subsequently say that Islam's presence in early American history was limited to small minorities within minorities. However that's not entirely true.
The earliest known white-Anglo American known to be Muslim was a man named George Bethune English. G.B. English was born in 1787 in Washington D.C. He was baptised as a baby and raised as a Christian. He attended Harvard College and received a master's in theology there in 1811. In an unexpected move for someone of his background, he then wrote a book called, "The Grounds of Christianity Examined", in which he raises concerns about the validity and thus authority of the New Testament and of modern Christian theology in general. Because of this he was excommunicated by the Church of Christ. He also published several works that were essentially responses to Christian criticism of that book. In 1815, he was nominated and commissioned by President James Madison into the United States Marine Corps during the War of 1812, and was assigned to the Mediterranean. It is said that English became the first American citizen to visit Egypt. It was at some point while he was there that it assumed he embraced Islam. He resigned his commission there to join an Ottoman general named Ismail Pasha as an artillery officer on an expedition down the Nile river to quell rebellions in what is today Ethiopia. While there was no explicit declaration of Islam in any of his published works, evidence of his Islamic faith are found in the narrative of this adventure which he published in London in 1822 called "Narrative of the Expedition to Dongola and Sennar". In one instance he was visiting in the home of some of the Natives he had encountered along the Nile. These particular people were Berbers (Muslims). While staying in their home the mistress of the house offered one of their daughters to him as a "nighttime companion". His exact words from the narrative are, "The family of this Malek (chief) carried their hospitality towards me to a very extraordinary length for people professing Islam. I was offered by the mother and mistress of the house my choice of two of her daughters as a bedfellow. They were both young and the handsomest women I have seen in Berber, but married to husbands whose houses were at the other end of town. When I understood this circumstance, I told the mother that a genuine Mussulman ought to regard lying with his neighbor's wife as a crime almost as bad as murdering him in his bed". He also records the dates in the narrative with the Islamic calender and makes other reference to the teachings of the Qur'an throughout. After his work with the Pasha, he joined the US diplomatic corps, working to establish trade relations between the US and the Ottoman Empire. He returned to the States in 1827 and died a year later in Washington D.C.

George Bethune English was a Muslim but definitely didn't seem to "wear his religion on his sleeve". Although the next known prominent Anglo American Muslim was much more vocal about it.

Muhammad Alexander Russell Webb was born in 1846 in Hudson, New York. He was raised as a Presbyterian. He was a writer and worked as an editor an several news papers, eventually moving to Missouri. His prowess as a journalist was such that he eventually became the assistant city editor of the Missouri Republican, which was the second biggest newspaper in the country at that time. While working at the Missouri Republican he was appointed by President Cleveland as the Consular Representative to the Philippines in 1887.
As early as 1881 he started investigating other religious traditions finding Christianity unfulfilling. He studied Buddhism for a while but didn't find it compelling, and then started studying Islam. In 1888 he formally declared himself a Muslim. In 1892 he resigned his post and toured India before returning to the US to promote Islam in America. In fact, "Islam in America" was the name of his book in which he outlines why he became Muslim, explanations of the five pillars of Islam, issues such as war and polygamy in Islam, and others. In 1893 he was the primary Representative of Islam at the World Parliament of Religions in Chicago. Later he founded Islamic study circles in New York City, Washington D.C., Newark, Kansas City, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh and Cleveland and published an Islamic magazine called "Moslem World". He died in 1916 and his study circles had their final meeting in New York in 1943 and was attended by his daughter Aliyya.
God only knows but it is likely that if these two individuals could find Islam in America in the 1800's, it is likely that other Anglo Americans (who weren't as famous) likely did as well. Especially with the da'wah (outreach) efforts of Muhammad Alexander Russell Webb. It was the work of people like this that has opened the door for some of the most prominent Islamic scholars of today who are "white Americans", such as Hamza Yusuf, Suhaib Webb, Yusuf Estes, and others. These are not only renown for their scholarship and leadership for Muslims in the US, but indeed are respected and admired the world over. Yusuf Estes, a Texan and former Baptist preacher, held the position of National Muslim Chaplain for the federal prison system and today is one of the busiest Islamic preachers in the world. Hamza Yusuf, after having studied with some of the great scholars of the middle east, has illuminated the Muslim people of the world with his intellect and superb command of the Arabic language as it relates to the Qur'an and Islamic tenants. He founded the Zaytuna Institute in California along with African American Imam Zaid Shakr. Zaytune is quickly becoming the first accredited Islamic University in the US. It was also Hamza Yusuf that was called to the White House by President George W. Bush after the 9/11 attacks, to advise the president on proceeding with a response.
One prophesy of the end times in Islam is that the "sun would rise from the west". I once heard it speculated that metaphorically, it could be that the "light" of true Islamic scholarship may come from the west as it largely is today. Today, many of the most respected scholars of Islam are from America and Canada, whether they be white, black, Arab, or otherwise. The success of these modern scholars is the direct result of the struggle of Muslim slaves, explorers, and writers who lived in this great country before them, and it is also due to the very nature of American democracy that allows people to think, speak and worship freely according to their own understanding of God. The founding fathers, who were largely devout Christians, were wise enough to realize that the American dream is simply too big to be confined to any one theology, even if it be there own. God willing in the next and final installment I will explore their views of Islam and the influence Islamic civilization had on that "American Dream".

Muslims in Early America: Part 1: The Origins of the "Black Muslims"

2010-01-04T11:47:00.000-08:00

In the name of God, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful. For many the history of Islam and Muslims in America goes back about as far as immigrants from Muslim lands settling in the US in the early to mid 20th century. For others they may understand some of the history of the "Black Muslim Movements" of the early 20th century. However very few people know much about the existence of Islam in early America, early being pre1776 up thru the late 1800's. In these next few posts, God willing, I will describe some of the influences and history of Islam in early America.
For this installment, I will be focusing primarily of the experience of Muslims within our largest ethnic minority, African Americans. It is known that many (as little as 10% or as many as 40% depending on the study) slaves brought to America from Africa, came from areas of Africa dominated by Muslim Sultanates and were dominantly populated by Muslims. So it is safe to say that many slaves brought to the US were indeed Muslims. However, like most other elements of their being, they were stripped of their Muslim identity. Even Slaves who were originally Christian were stripped of their own brand of Christianity in favor of European Christianity, if any at all. However there were a small few that, because of their extensive Islamic education, retained their Muslim practices and even in some cases instructed fellow slaves in practices such as daily prayer and fasting.
Abdul Rahman ibn Sori was an example of a Muslim slave that gained a lot of notoriety. He was actually a prince from Africa who, upon their learning of his position back home, was freed by then Secretary of State Henry Clay and President John Quincy Adams. His life is fairly well documented and was even the subject of a PBS documentary titled "Prince of Slaves". He was freed in 1828.
Now that would definitely be early in American history but in fact the history of Muslims in America goes back a lot further. The first "well documented" Muslim to come to America was Estevanico of Azamor, or otherwise known as Mustafa Zammouri and many other nick-names such as "Black Stephen", was a Moor from present day Morocco who travelled to America around the year 1527 as part of a Spanish expedition to colonize Florida. He was one of the first early American explorers to chart what is now the U.S. southwest (i.e. Arizona, New Mexico).
Bilali Muhammad was a slave from Sapelo Island, Georgia, arriving there in 1802. He was known for being one of the earlist American Muslim "sheikhs" or theological scholars and wrote several written works instructing Muslims on the proper ways to pray, make ablution before praying, fasting, etc. He earned a great deal of trust from his "owner" and during the War of 1812 commanded the other slaves of the plantation as a militia and guarded the plantation.
Also, Omar ibn Said was a Muslim slave who also wrote several works on Islamic jurisprudence. He spoke and wrote Arabic and at one point received an Arabic translation of the Christian Bible from his owner James Owen. After his death the Bible was found to have an Arabic dedication to the prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him) in it. Today that Bible is housed at Davidson College in North Carolina. In 1991, a mosque in Fayeteville, North Carolina was named "Masjid Omar ibn Said" in his honor.
Muslims also served in early American wars including the Revolutionary War, the War of 1812 and the Civil War. A freed slave named Peter Saleem (Saleem meaning "peaceful one" in Arabic, was a name he adopted after being freed) fought for the US during the Revolutionary War. A Muslim by the name of Muhammad Ali ibn Said fought in the 55th Massachusetts Colored Regiment and fought in the Civil War.
These are only a few examples of various African Americans who not only shaped the history of Islam in America, but indeed have helped to shape the history of America itself. It is these Muslim slave traditions that were the foundation of later "Black Muslim" movements of the 20th century, though these movements were not founded on actual Islamic teachings. It wouldn't be until 1975, upon the death of his father Elijah Muhammad, that Warith Deen Muhammad would take control of the Nation of Islam and lead them into the "real" Islam that many African Americans follow today; this being the largest mass religious conversion in US history. Hajj Malik al Shabaaz (Malcolm X) also was influential in this after he had made the Hajj (pilgrimage to Mecca) and realized that Islam was inclusive of all people, including white folks, which we'll talk about in the next installment insha'Allah (God willing)

...And Allah Knows Best...

Christmas Day Terror...

2009-12-28T15:26:00.000-08:00

On Christmas day, December 25th, I was actually in Chicago doing a gig with Native Deen. We were in a room in the hotel where the gig was at and I noticed the TV was turned to CNN. I was shocked when I read the headline said something like, "attempted terror attack aboard US airline". To be honest my first thought was, "just what we need, another moron with a Muslim name doing some b.s. like this". Then my next thought was, "well this is going to make it a living hell getting back to Ohio the next day".

This incident saddens me as a Muslim, as an American, and as an American Muslim. Without doubt many Muslims will complain about being "randomly" screened at airports. Particularly those who "look the part". As I was flying back from Chicago to Ohio the other day I saw a Muslim sister with her little girl (probably 1-2 years old) being patted down and having the hand-held metal detector run over them. The little girl kept trying to grab the metal detector. I think that's sad but then again what are TSA personnel supposed to do? Screening scary looking Arab guys wearing turbans and long robes wouldn't make sense because what terrorist in their right mind would go to the airport looking like that? It would be logical to assume that actual terrorists probably would not be looking "the part", and actual Al Qaeda terrorist have demonstrated that they really don't have any regard for the lives of women or children. For them life is expendable if destroying it accomplishes there goals, which they see as the will of God. That's the problem with religious fanaticism. When people think they are doing the will of God, they may be capable of doing things they would normally never do, even though every major religion including Islam absolutely forbids the killing of innocents (especially children) and the killing of one's self.

As the details of this story trickle in we find that this event should have been prevented. The man's own father turned him in to American authorities as a possible threat. His name was on a list of people with possible ties to dangerous people, and from what I understand he bought his ticket with cash and had no checked luggage, despite the fact that he said he was staying in the States for 2 weeks. There were definitely a lot of red flags here. The bottom line is that this shows that the system really isn't working. All the talk about being tougher on would-be terrorists seems more increasingly more and more about scoring political points then actually protecting the American people. After all we've gone to war in two different countries, haven't caught Osama bin Laden despite knowing the general area where he is (and we could find Saddam Hussein in a hole), and we've just had what could have been another 9/11 on our hands. Where was Barack Obama? He was in Hawaii on vacation. Granted he knew that the man had been caught and his plan thwarted, but what if there had been others on other planes? I was not impressed with the President's response to the situation.

In general American authorities need to be more efficient in detecting threats, and that doesn't mean screening everyone that looks Arab or has a name like Muhammad or Ahmed or Hussein. It means having better intelligence and being better at sharing information with relevant agencies. Also, it means addressing the source of the threat which is Al Qaeda leadership currently residing in Afghanistan and Pakistan, AND responsibly ending the war in Iraq which has just become a place for Al Qaeda foot soldiers to "practice" killing Americans.

Also, we, the American Muslim community need to work harder at pressuring governments in Muslim countries to address the threat of people like Al Qaeda, and we need to do more in our country to assist authorities in recognizing legitimate threats. There have been stories of Muslim communities lashing out at the FBI for using informants in mosques. Now first of all I don't agree with the FBI using informants in mosques unless there are clear, well documented threats coming from within them. However, we Muslims need to be more open for FBI and other authorities coming into our mosques. After all what do we have to hide? Once I stopped at the Islamic Center of Toledo, which is a huge mosque that you get a great view of if your travelling north on I-75 to Toledo, there was a sign that said "visitation by appointment only". I thought to myself "wow that's really sad". What does that say to people who might see the mosque and say "you know what I'd like to learn more about Islam, I think I'll stop there". After all churches and synagogues don't ask questions about people who come during services. I guarantee that any Muslim wearing a thobe and imama could go to any church on Sunday and not be asked why they're there or to make an appointment for a visit. The problem is that Muslims are under the impression (and often it is a severe over-reaction) that they have to walk on egg shells and at any moment the FBI could come and take them and lock them up forever. Truth be told they learn these fears from the secret police in their own countries like Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Pakistan, and others because they DO do that. Muslims here in the US need to realize that unlike those countries and unlike the European countries, that they have rights and are protected under the law, even when they have done something wrong. The FBI is not above the law. The President isn't even above the law.
Bottom line....I'm just glad no one was hurt on that flight, and we need to do better, as Americans, and as Muslims.

...And Allah Knows Best...

The Day of Ashurah: A day to Remember

2009-12-28T09:05:00.000-08:00

In the name of Almighty God, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful. This past Sunday was the tenth day of the month of Muharram, which is for us Muslims, the holy day of Ashurah. The word "Ashurah" actually just means "ten" as it is the tenth day of the month, but the day had special significance for people who lived alongside the prophet Muhammad, peace and blessings be upon him.
When the prophet and his people made the Hijra, or the migration from Mecca to Yathrib (soon to be known as Medina), they found that the Jewish community in Yathrib commemorated the Exodus on this day. The Exodus for those who don't know was the freeing of Moses (peace be upon him) and the people of Israel from the bondage of Pharoah. The prophet Muhammad in seeing this said somewhat jokingly to the Jewish community "we have more right to Moses than you" (Bukhari, 1865). So, the prophet ordered the Muslims to also observe fasting on this day to remember the Exodus event. Later on when fasting during the month of Ramadan became obligatory on Muslims, fasting on Ashurah became optional.

Fasting on this day is an important source of blessing from Allah, as well as an important way of remembering one His greatest prophets, Moses (peace and blessings be upon him). It is also a day to remember our connection to our Jewish "cousins" in faith. In terms of law and lifestyle we have much more in common with the Jewish community than we do with the Christian community. Yet despite that there is so much animosity between us. People may think that this is an ancient rivalry and it's true there have been a few incidents throughout history. During the time of the prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) there were some Jews who betrayed their agreement with the Prophet and thus were excommunicated and some cases executed as traitors by the Muslims. This was due to the fact that they had made bay'ah or a pledge to Muhammed to obey the laws of the Constitution of Medina (which you can find readily available online). This constitution gave the Jews of Medina equal rights under the law as it did to Muslims and to all who make a pledge to it and agree to help and protect other tribes who also made the pledge to it. Some of these Jews became traitors by assisting and allying with the Quraysh who were at war with the Muslims and other people of Medina.
Despite this, Jews and Muslims have historically got along. In Jerusalem, before Muslim rule there (under Christian rule) Jews were actually exiled from the city and banned from worshipping at the Wailing Wall (remnant of the old temple of Solomon peace be upon him). When Omar ibn Khattab, companion of the prophet Muhammad, rode into Jerusalem as it's new ruler, he respected Christian and Jewish places of worship and re-allowed Jews to live and worship in the city. Generally speaking Jews and Muslims were "on the same side" throughout most of history from that point on, both of which being constant targets of Christian persecution. Muslim, Jewish and Christian scientists and scholars studied and researched alongside each other in Baghdad and Cordoba, and in some cases houses of worship were used for all three religious traditions. It has only been in recent history, as in the past 60 years or so, that there has been significant tension between Muslim and Jewish people due to the founding and expansion of the state of Israel and the subsequent persecution of Palestinians.

Also the day of Ashurah has significance for Shia Muslims in that it is a day when they remember the death of Imam Hussein. Hussein was the grandson of the Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him) and is revered by all Muslims as a great leader of the Muslims and revered by the Shia as one of their twelve Imams. Because of this, Ashurah is a more visibly celebrated holiday for the Shia, and the news media typically covers the Shia traditions that revolve around this day. However, it is indeed a day celebrated and commemorated by all Muslims and I sincerely hope all my brothers and sisters had a good Ashurah!

...And Allah Knows Best...

Christmas: A Muslim's Perspective

2009-12-23T21:47:00.000-08:00

In the name of God, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful. Today is December 24th, known throughout most of the western world as "Christmas Eve". For Muslims and Jews living here in the US, the Christmas season poses to us an interesting paradox; Respecting and even to a certain extent enjoying the holiday season, while maintaining our own identity. For the Jews their lunar calender is such that the Jewish holiday of Hanukkah falls around the same time as Christmas. For us Muslims however, our lunar calender makes all of our important dates approximately 13 days earlier every year. So, while their are times when our high holidays fall around the same time as Christmas and Hanukkah, at other times they fall in summer. This year our biggest holiday, Eid ul Adha, fell on the day after Thanksgiving. So for many Muslims it worked out that most other Americans were celebrating a holiday weekend at the same time.

We as Muslims do not celebrate Christmas. This is not because we don't believe in the miraculous virgin birth of Jesus Christ (peace and blessings be upon him), because we most certainly do. We do not celebrate Christmas for the same reason that early Christians, some modern Christians, and even Jesus Christ himself didn't celebrate it; because from it's inception, it was not souly a celebration of Christ's birth.

Prior to the rise of Christianity, many ancient peoples held various celebrations commemorating the winter solstice. The Romans celebrated a day called "Dies Natalis Solis Invicti" or "The Birthday of the Unconquered Sun" which was basically a celebration of the shortest day of the year, the winter solstice, in which the sun ceased it's southward decent and begins to head northward again as it approaches the summer solstice (the longest day). It was seen as the day in which the sun proved "unconquered" by the "death" of winter. Many early Christian writers made comparisons between this concept and the birth of Christ. John Chrysostom, an early Archbishop of Constantinople said, "they call it the birthday of the unconquered. Who indeed is so unconquered as our lord...". This, according to many scholars, may very well be the origins of the Christian celebration of Christmas.

The ancient pagan peoples of Europe also had winter celebrations centered around the winter solstice. Pagan Scandinavia had a festival called "Yule" held around the time of the solstice and indeed in modern times in Scandinavia Christmas is still called "Jul". When these people became Christianized, they largely kept many of their pagan traditions but simply put Christian "twists" on them. This was also the case when the ancient druid festival of the harvest became "All Hallow's Eve" or "Halloween" for short, or the ancient Germanic month of Eostur Monath (the equivalent to modern 'April'), named for the Anglo-Saxon goddess Eostre, in becoming "Easter". Many Christian puritanical movements forbade the celebration of Christmas for this very reason.

So, when I hear people say that they get tired of the "secularization" of Christmas and loosing the "true meaning" (meaning the birth of Christ), I find it somewhat ironic because in all reality, Christmas has always had "non-Christian" elements. However, without doubt, the miraculous birth of Jesus Christ (peace be upon him) is most certainly on of the most important events in human history. Allah, God Almighty relates the story of his birth and mission in many places in the Qur'an.

"Behold! the angel said, 'O Mary! Allah has chosen you and purified you--chosen you above the women of all nations. Oh Mary! Worship the Lord devoutly; prostrate yourself and bow down with those who bow down. (Qur'an 3:42, 43)

"Behold! the angel said, 'Oh Mary, Allah gives you glad tidings of a word from Him; his name shall be Messiah, Jesus the son of Mary, held in honor in this world and the hereafter and of those nearest to Allah. He shall speak to the people as a child and as an adult, and he shall be righteous.' She said, 'Oh my Lord, how shall I have a son when no man has touched me?' He said, 'Even so, Allah creates what He wills, and when He has decreed a matter, He only has to say "Be" and it is'. And, Allah will teach him the book and wisdom, the Torah and the Gospel, and appoint him a messenger to the Children of Israel. (he will say) 'I have come to you with a sign from your Lord in that a make a bird from clay, breath into it and it becomes alive by Allah's leave. I heal those who are born blind, and the lepers, and I bring the dead to life, by Allah's leave. I declare unto you what you consume and what you store in your houses. Surely this is a sign for you if you but believe. I come to attest to the Torah which was before me, and to make lawful to you part of what was forbidden. I have come to you with a sign from your Lord. So fear Allah, and obey me. It is Allah that is my Lord and your Lord; so worship Him, for that is the straight way." (Qur'an 3:45-51)

Of his birth, and Mary's labor...
"And the pains of childbirth drove her to the trunk of a palm tree. She cried, 'Ah would I have died before this! Would that I had been a thing forgotten!' But a voice cried to her from beneath saying "Grieve not for the Lord has provided a stream beneath you, and shake the trunk of the tree and it will let down fresh dates upon you". (Qur'an 19:23-24)

For us as Muslims, Jesus Christ, the son of Mary, is a beloved prophet and messenger of God. His birth is of the most miraculous events in human history and most certainly worthy of remembering and honoring. However, we do not know exactly when this event took place. We, as well as many secular and Christian historians, are fairly confident that it was not on December 25th. So first of celebrating on that day would not be appropriate; especially considering the origin of the date is rooted in pagan traditions. Besides the date, it is also not common in the Jewish or Islamic traditions to celebrate birthdays at all. Jesus Christ himself (peace and blessings be upon him) most likely did not celebrate it as it was not done in Jewish law and tradition at that time, and Jesus is well known to have been an advocate of Jewish law as he is quoted as saying in Matthew 5:17-19

"Do not think that I have come to abolish the law of the prophets. I have come not to abolish but to fulfill. For truly I tell you until heaven and earth pass away, not one letter, not one stroke of a letter, will pass from the law until all is accomplished. Therefore whoever breaks one of the least of these commandments, and teaches others to do the same, will be called least in the kingdom of heaven. But, whoever does them and teaches them will be called great in the kingdom of heaven."

Some Muslims actually celebrate the birthday of Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him), however the majority of Muslim scholars and laymen, myself included, generally consider this against fundamental Islamic traditions and a bid'ah or wrongful innovation in the religion. I do not celebrate Muhammad's birthday nor do I advocate doing so, although I don't harshly condemn those who do.

With all of this being said, I want to say that I respect and appreciate the spirit of Christmas. As I grew up in a basically Christian environment, I learned to look forward to not only the gifts but also the memorable time spent with loved ones. The spirit of charity, peace and goodwill towards mankind is a spirit that is shared in Islam. On Eid ul Adha, we remember the legacy of Abraham, who is considered the patriarch of the three great divinely inspired monotheistic religions of Judaism, Christianity and Islam. So in addition to remembering the importance of our own religious traditions it is also a time to reflect on our connection to our Jewish and Christian "cousins" in faith. As a Muslim, I appreciate the Christian's spirit of peace and joy during Christmas. I wish to see Christians focus less on the shopping and the materialistic aspects of the holiday, and remember the message of Christ according to their own scriptures. And, if possible, to remember that we Muslims share with them a common belief and love for Jesus Christ (peace and blessings be upon him), even if our theologies may not be exactly the same. I wish all my Christian friends and family a blessed holiday.

...And Allah Knows Best...

Health Care Reform

2009-12-22T20:28:00.000-08:00

In the name of Allah, the Most Compassionate, the Most Merciful. Unless you've been dead for the past several months, you know that the US Congress is in the midst of debating and passing a bill aimed at reforming the health care industry in America. The election of Barack Obama was a momentous occasion in American history. Regardless of your political affiliation, whether Democrat, Republican or otherwise, you can't deny the historic nature of the election of the of the first African American US president, and one of the primary campaign issues that won the support of the American people for Obama was the promise to reform health care once and for all. This issue was one of the primary reasons why I supported and voted for Barack Obama; NOT because his middle name is "Hussein" or because he had family connections to Islam as I imagine many American Muslims had as motivation for supporting him. From the Islamic perspective, it is deplorable that here in one of richest countries in the world, people can actually be thrown into financial ruin simply by getting sick. It is deplorable that people become financial slaves to insurance companies that can drop their coverage virtually at will. Without doubt, the health care system in our nation needs reform, but the sticky issue is how to do it. The bill before Congress right now is designed to do that but is it addressing the issue in the right way? I wanted to take some time to reflect upon this issue.

I'll just get this out of the way.... I do not support this current health care bill. I whole-heartily support health care reform, but in my feeling this bill either does not do what needs to be done, or does things or opens doors for things that are far worse than the current void in health care coverage for American citizens. Below I will outline a few issues that prevent me from supporting this health care bill.

A) ABORTION: Ask any biologist when life begins and they all agree that the life of a creature whether animal or human, begins at the point of fertilization of the egg with sperm, and the embryo begins the fetal development process. That is the point when the living tissue (i.e. the egg and the sperm) become distinct from the male and female participants, or in other words a separate entity. So abortion, at any stage, is the killing of a human being. Allah says in the Qur'an, "Say, 'Come and I will recite to you the what Allah has prohibited for you: Join not anything as equal with Him, be good to parents and KILL NOT YOUR CHILDREN FOR FEAR OF WANT, We provide for you and them. Approach not shameful deeds, whether open or secret. TAKE NOT LIFE which Allah has made sacred, except by way of justice and law. This He commands you, that you might learn wisdom" (Qur'an 6:151) First of all this verse clearly and completely prohibits the abortion of fetuses in situations where the mother will simply be "inconvenienced" by the pregnancy, labor, and raising the child. The pre-Islamic Arabs practiced infanticide on baby girls because of cultural ignorance. Modern day abortions is nothing less than fetus-cide. Also however, this verse also prohibits the taking of human life under any circumstance except "by way of justice and law", which would mean the execution of murderers or the fighting of defensive war for example. As it stands right now there are actually two distinct bills currently in Congress; the House bill which has already been passed, and the Senate's bill which is still being debated. In the House version, an amendment was passed that outlawed the use of federal (a.k.a. taxpayer) funds in abortion coverage. In the current Senate bill, the same type of amendment was voted down. In both cases abortion could be funded in the case of rape, incest, or when the pregnancy and birth could cause harm or even death to the mother. Now I feel as do many people of faith, that abortion should be completely illegal except in the case of rape, incest or risk to mother's health. For me personally, because of my faith in God, I wouldn't approve of abortion for my own wife or family even in these exceptions, however I recognize that not all would hold the same world-view. However at the very least, taxpayer money should not be used to fund abortions. I would be disgusted to the point of being physically ill if I knew that any of my money paid in taxes went to intentionally slaughter an innocent child. There is talk that the final compromised bill between the House and Senate may be free of this amendment, if so it is not something I can support, nor would countless other Americans.

B) INDIVIDUAL MANDATE: The bill in both houses also includes the mandating of all Americans to buy health insurance. I'm not a constitutional scholar, however there is an overwhelming amount of evidence to indicate that such a mandate is unconstitutional. The fifth amendment prohibits people being deprived of "life, liberty or property without due process of law, nor shall private property be taken for public use without just compensation". A person's income is most certainly private property and cannot be taken by the government without just compensation (As a side note this is also a compelling argument for the unconstitutionality of 'income-tax'). According to the current bills, if a person fails to purchase health care insurance, they can be fined hundreds of dollars. The money people are forced to spend on health care premiums amount to no less than a seizure of private property, and in the current bills the mandate takes effect almost immediately, while benefits of the bill may not take effect until years later. This would no doubt be a seizure of property without compensation. Aside from the constitutional argument, it would be unprecedented for Congress to mandate American citizens to buy anything. This amounts to a degree of government intrusion into personal liberty that should alarm everyone. If people are mandated to buy health insurance, what will they be mandated next? Will we be mandated to buy "green" cars or homes?

These are the two main reasons why I couldn't support this bill. There are other aspects of it that I question but are more debatable. Another thing that is very alarming about the bill is the speed at which Democrats are trying to push this legislation through. It seems very much to me that they are just trying to pass "anything" without much concern for what's actually in it. Most likely this is due to the fact that the Congressmen know that mid-term elections are coming up in 2010, and know that they may very well loose control of Congress, especially considering recent opinion polls that indicate Americans are increasingly dissatisfied with their actions. The individual mandate issue is also something that has caused President Obama to loose considerable points with me as well being that during the Democratic primary one of his primary differences with Hilary Clinton on health care reform was that he didn't agree with the idea of mandating people to buy coverage. He has completely reversed on that position. In the end we desperately need reform, but reform needs to be constitutional; it needs to be much more bi-partisan, and it needs to be done carefully and lawmakers need to take their time and get it right.

...Allah Knows Best...

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!

2009-12-17T16:06:00.001-08:00

No you're not delusional it's not January 1st, it's Muharram 1st. That's right it's the Islamic New Year. I can practically see the big ball drop on the top of the minaret of Sulaymani Mosque in Istanbul with a big lit up "1431" under it. Ok so that's a joke they don't really do that, but nonetheless this day commemorates a wonderful event. The Hijra occurred exactly 1,431 years ago, when the Prophet Muhammed and his earliest follows made the treacherous journey from Mecca to Yathrib (later to be known as Medinatul Nabi or Medina for short) a journey of over 200 miles thru the burning Arabian desert. Allah says in the Qur'an,

When the Angels pull the souls from those who die in sin, they ask, "In what plight were you in", and they say, "We were weak and oppressed on the Earth". The angels respond, "Was Allah's Earth not spacious enough for you to move yourself from evil?". Such men will find their place in Hell, what an evil abode".
(Surah an Nisa 4:97)

The early Muslim community faced oppression and persecution in a state of weakness that most Muslims today can't imagine. They were starved, beaten and even killed by the pagan Quraysh. They did what some would consider one of the hardest things a person could do; turn their backs on their home and their kin to seek refuge in a strange place with strangers with a different regional culture than theirs. The event was so monumental that the Muslims marked their calender by it.

Muslims today could learn a lot by this. Today Muslims are persecuted and oppressed in many parts of the world including Europe and even ironically in Muslim countries ruled by either secular dictators, corrupt monarchies (which are un-Islamic in the first place), or radical religious fanatics. While Muslims in America don't go without challenges because of being a minority, Muslims here are guaranteed by law to be able to practice Islam freely without government intervention. Many Muslim immigrants recognize that they are actually able to practice Islam more freely here than even back home in their own Muslim majority countries, not to mention the tremendous economic and educational opportunities they find here in America. Muslims who equate America and Europe as synonymous are dead wrong. Being British, or Dutch or Swiss implies certain ethnic and religious characteristics. Being an American however does not mean being of a particular ethnicity or being of a particular religion. It has only to do with believing in the principals of life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness for all. That all men and women regardless of race, religion or creed are equal under the law. This is a concept that is not only indicative of America, but was pioneered by the prophet Muhammad himself (peace and blessings be upon him). The Constitution of Medina gave equal rights under the law to all including Muslims, Jews and every ethnic tribe living in Medina.

Allah Knows Best. Happy Islamic New Year everyone!!!

Reflections on the Ft. Hood Shooter

2009-12-16T21:38:00.000-08:00

It's been a while since I last blogged but I've been busy and such. One recent event that brought Islam and Muslims into more media attention was the tragic events at Ft. Hood, Texas. Maj. Hasan, who had been an officer in the US Army open fire and killed 13 people in what appeared to be simply a "nut" that had "cracked". However, it was brought up that Maj. Hasan had particular problems with idea of Muslims in the US military going to war in places like Iraq and Afghanistan to fight against other Muslims. So, this begs the question, what is the Islamic position on fighting other Muslims? It prompted me to do a bit of research on the issue and has brought me to a conclusion that some might find unexpected.

Allah says in the Qur'an, "Oh you who believe, stand out firmly for justice, even if it be against your own selves, or parents, or kin, or whether they be rich or poor. It is Allah who protects both. Follow not the lusts of your hearts least they make you stray, and if you distort justice or refuse to do justice, truly Allah knows well what you do" (4:135)

and Allah also says in the Qur'an, "It is not for a believer to kill another believer except for by mistake..." (9:42)

In the second verse, Allah is not necessarily referring to Muslims killing Muslims who have committed crimes punishable by death such as murder, adultery, etc... The kind of killing being referred to here would be killing for an unjustifiable reason or in a war with an unjustifiable cause. Which brings me to my next point; are the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan justifiable? Well in the case of Afghanistan, it was most certainly justified for the US to go to Afghanistan considering the US had been attacked by people planning from that country. Iraq was a different story as we, the American people, were led into that war based primarily on a lie. However even in Iraq we must remember that though going in may have been a mistake, we now have a responsibility to ensure that the people of Iraq can live securely. Likewise the war in Afghanistan has been handled stupidly, but we still have a responsibility to see that things don't just get worse after we leave. Of course I'm drastically over-simplifying a lot of the details of this situation mostly for the sake and time.
The bottom line is that for the most part, the people who American troops are fighting primarily, namely the Taliban in Afghanistan and Al Qaeda in Iraq, are the same people who are suicide bombing market places and mosques across Iraq, Afghanistan, and Pakistan. One must ask the question, "Who have these people killed more of....Americans or Muslims?". By far Al Qaeda and the Taliban have killed many more Muslims than they have killed non-Muslim Americans. So with that in mind I would have to say this... While Muslims should always strive to avoid conflict with other Muslims, we also have a responsibility to protect innocent brothers and sisters from other deviant Muslims who would do them harm for political gains or religious fanatisism. This is something that the more powerful Muslim countries such as Saudi Arabia, Egypt and Jordan etc... should be doing anyway (yet they do virtually nothing to oust these deviants). The American troops that are currently in Iraq and Afghanistan are not there to occupy the land or to rape them of their resources as some conspiracy theorists might suggest, ultimately they are there to secure American safety by ensuring that Iraqis and Afghans can live in peace, prosperity and freedom. This mission is something that a Muslim soldier in the US Army should be proud to be a part of.
Ultimately the problem is that we, the Muslims, have developped a "club" or "gang" mentality in which we protect our own no matter what they do. While most Muslims do recognize that there are extremists that kill innocents in the name of Islam, we don't talk enough about what to do about them, or of taking a stand against them; ideally in non-violent ways, but when necessary, Muslims must be willing to protect innocents Muslims or otherwise even if it means fighting other Muslims. The brave Muslim soldiers (who aren't corrupt) who fight in the Iraqi, Afghan, and Pakistani armies against the Taliban and Al Qaeda know this all too well, and too often don't receive the support they need from the greater Muslim Ummah. We must realize that it is our responsibility to take ownership of our problems and of those who kill innocents in the name of Islam. We must stop constantly trying to blame our problems on others and except that our Ummah is in a sad state and dealing with lunatics who blow themselves up in market places and mosques is one of many things we need to do to help ourselves out of this funk. I can only wish that Maj. Hasan would have come to this realization before he did what he did.

The Three Deadly Sins of Islam!!! pt. 2

2009-01-22T21:02:00.000-08:00

بسم لله الرحمان الرحيم

In the name of Almighty God, the All Merciful, the Beneficent. Last week I discussed two of the "three deadly sins of Islam". These being shirk and kufr. These two are definitely the greatest sins, as they involve our faith, and what is in our heart. However the third deadly sin is also extremely dangerous but not just because of what it does to our faith, but how it affects our behavior towards our fellow man. This is of course nifaq, or "hypocrisy".
The word Hypocrisy is defined in Webster's dictionaries as: an act or a practice of feigning to be what one is not, or to feel what one does not feel; especially, the false assumption of goodness. Therefore, a hypocrite is a false pretender and dissembler to virtue or piety. In the Islamic terminology, the word Hypocrisy is a substitute for 'Nifaq'. This word Nifaq has been mentioned in the Qur'an thirty-one (31) times in different forms.
In the Qur'an, God makes one thing abundantly clear, at that is that for those who leave this world in a state of nifaq, they have been promised a place in the fiery depths of Hell. God says in the Qur'an,
God hath promised the hypocrites, men and women, and the rejecters of Faith, the fire of Hell; therein shall they dwell; sufficient is it for them: for them is the curse of God, and an enduring punishment. (9:68)
Notice that God puts the hypocrites right there on the same level with the "rejecters of faith" or the kefir, one of sins I mentioned last week. So this leaves no doubt that hypocrisy is a tremendously dangerous sin. God Almighty says in another part of the Qur'an,
When the hypocrites come to thee, they say, 'We bear witness that thou art indeed the Apostle of God.' Yea, God knoweth that thou art indeed His Apostle, and God beareth witness that the hypocrites are indeed liars. (63:1)
God says it here that the hypocrites are "indeed liars". Ask yourself now how common is it today to see Muslims lie about things? The prophet Muhammad (sws) said in an authentic hadith,
The signs of a hypocrite are three: when he speaks, he lies; when he gives an agreement, he does not fulfill his commitment; and when he is entrusted, he betrays the trust.
Now honestly we must look around at our Ummah, and seriously ask ourselves the question, how much of these things are we seeing now-a-days in the Muslim world? Quite a bit I would say. The prophet (sws) also said about hypocrites, quote
You will find that the worst person is double-faced; he meets one group of people with one side of his face, while another with the other side.
When we look around our world today we see a lot of this. We see this kind of behavior in markets where goods are bought and sold. We see this in the masajid when people will show up for salah (prayer) on Friday, and on Saturday night their partying it up at the clubs and so fourth. We especially see it in politics. We see these politicians who when talking to one group of people they say one thing, and when talking to another group they say another thing. I mean if the most powerful and richest amongst us Muslims, are acting in such a way that is clearly a sign of nifaq, what does that say about our Ummah. At the time of the prophet (sws) lying was considered a horrible act even by the mushrikeen (pagan Arabs) of that day. This is why it was such a huge insult when they called the prophet (sws) a liar, because at that time in Arabia, lying was considered uncouth, undignified, and cowardly. However, today, lying is so common, that in many arenas it is simply accepted as the norm. In politics it is accepted as fact that lying is just part of the game. If you go into a shop in most Muslim countries and ask how much a shirt or something like that is, it is commonly accepted that the shop owner will tell you at least three times what it's actually worth, because the expectation is that it will be negotiated, when what should happen is that the shop owner should have enough integrity to give a reasonable and accurate price from the beginning, and the one buying the product should understand what would be an acceptable price and not try to short change the shop owner either. So when these things, which are described by the prophet (sws) as signs of hypocrisy, are so common place in Muslim countries that they are accepted norms, then what does that say about the level of iman (faith) of our Ummah (people)? I'll tell you what it says. It says that we as the Ummah of Muhammad (sws) have reached a point that we are utterly failing to uphold even the most basic of Islamic principals. Why is it that many Muslims have to come to the non-Muslim western countries in order to escape economic, and cultural slavery, or even to simply be able to practice Islam freely? Why is it the non-Muslim leaders of the world who are actually "doing something" about the suffering people in Gaza, or in Kashmir, or in Nigeria, or in Somalia? And, by "doing something", I mean actually getting involved, sending food, sending supplies, taking people in, and when necessary standing up against oppressors. Why was it that it was the non-Muslim administration of the United States that eventually committed it's military to stopping the genocide in Bosnia? Where was Saudi Arabia, where was Jordan, where was Egypt? Where were the wealthy and powerful Muslim countries? Sitting on their hands, that's where. Why? Maybe because they stood to loose to much money by doing so. Maybe, they didn't want to risk being seen as radical "jihadists". Whatever their outward reason, ultimately it boils down to the fact that by all indications, and God knows best, we, the Muslim Ummah are in the midst of a disgusting, rancid, blistering plague of nifaq. A plague that dwarfs the black death of Europe, or any other historical plague.
So, I mention again that the prophet (sws) said that the primary indicators of nifaq in a persons behavior are
1. He lies when he speaks ~ We must ask ourselves if we've ever lied to anyone, even a little lie. Lying is a tremendous sin in Islam, even the smallest of lies can be deadly to one's soul and one's akhirah (afterlife). The next time someone asks you about Islam, and if they have any doubt in what your saying, just educate them that lying in our faith is absolutely forbidden and we can go to Hell for doing so.
2. He does not keep promises~ God only knows, but I'd bet that we've all broken a promise at one time or another. We must remember that this can very easily constitute nifaq if it is a common occurrence.
3. He does not take care of that with which he is entrusted~ In other words this is someone who is given something to take care of it, and he abuses that privilege. Again, this also very easily can be applied to some of the so-called "leaders" of the Muslim world, who are entrusted with the lives and liberty of the people of their country, and instead of honoring that amanah (trust) they abuse it for their own personal gain.
We need to start holding ourselves, the Muslim Ummah, accountable to ourselves and to our deen (religion). If we are in this plague of nifaq, then how can we ever hope to be successful in combating the problems we face. God Almighty says in his Qur'an,
The hypocrites, men and women, (have an understanding) with each other: They enjoin evil, and forbid what is just, and are close-fisted with their hands. They have forgotten Allah so He has forgotten them. Verily the hypocrites are rebellious and perverse.
(At-Tawbah 9:67)
One part of this verse really sticks out to me, They have forgotten Allah so He has forgotten them. If we, not necessarily as individuals, but as an Ummah, have forgotten God, and forgotten to put God in His proper position in life, then what do we expect to happen to our brothers and sister in Palestine, or Iraq, or Afghanistan, or Pakistan, or Somalia, or even to brothers and sisters right here in the US? The plight of the Muslims in this day in age is nothing more than a test from Him. A test that I fear, we are failing miserably. I once heard it said, if you want to know where you stand with God, then look to where God stands with you. Where are you putting God in your life? Are you brushing Him under the rug, only to be seen when you go "clean" yourself out spiritually? Are you putting Him in a convenient little drawer where you can go to him when you want but forget him when you don't. Or, are you putting Allah in His proper place, which is at the center of everything. At the center of your life, in the forefront of your mind, and at the core of your heart. Doing this is what protects us from shirk. It is what protects us from kufr, and it is what protects us from nifaq.
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As a final note, everyone by now knows that we in the US have a new President, Barack Hussain Obama. I think it's important that we extend du'a for him, his family, and for his administration that Allah might firstly guide them to the siratul mustaqeem or the "straight path" of Islam. But also, that Allah, God Almighty, guide them to lead this country away from the self-destructive path that we have been on, and to once again make America represent the beacon of freedom and democracy that we profess to be. Ameen.
....And Allah Knows Best....

The Three Deadly Sins of Islam!!! pt. 1

2009-01-15T21:25:00.000-08:00

بسم لله الرحمان الرحيم

In the name of Almighty God, the All-Merciful, the All-Beneficent.

A couple weeks ago I noticed that the History Channel was doing a week long documentary special on the "Seven Deadly Sins", of Christianity. A friend of mine who also saw this asked me if we as Muslims have anything like this in our faith. At first my answer was no, but then I thought about it. We do have something like that, but they would be narrowed down to three rather than seven. These are shirk, kufr, and nifaaq. These three things are sins that are considered extremely dire sins and it is important that we all, from time to time, remind ourselves of these things, and of how easy they sometimes can be to fall into.
The first of these sins is shirk. This concept can be summed up in a riddle a good friend of mine once told me, and I'll share it with you today. What is it that a common man sees all the time, a king sees every once in a while, and God never sees, and God sees all?...........................jeopardy song....................................give up? The answer is, rivalry. God never experiences rivalry because their are no gods except Him, and shirk is to associate ANYTHING else, with God. It is the very foundation of all of Islamic doctrine and spirituality. La ilaha illa Allah, "There is no god, but God"; the utterance of this statement, along with Muhammadun Rasoolullah "Muhammad is the messenger of God", is what makes someone Muslim. To worship anything besides God, to associate any kind of partner with God is shirk. This sin is considered the greatest sin of all, because it is the only sin in which God says that it will NOT be forgiven. God says in the Qur'an,
"Verily, Allah forgives not that partners be ascribed to Him, but He forgives anything except that; and whoever sets up partners with Allah in worship, has indeed invented a tremendous sin". (Qur'an 4:48)
God Almighty also says,
"Then when the trumpet is blown, there will be no kinship among them on that day, nor will they ask of one another.
Then those whose scales (of good deeds) are heavy, these! they are the successful.
The fire will burn their faces, and therein they will grin with disfigured lips.
Were not My verses recited to you and then you used to deny them?
They will say 'Our Lord, our wretchedness overcame us and we were an erring people.
Our Lord, bring us out of this. If we ever return to evil, then indeed we shall be wrongdoers.'
He (Allah) will say, 'Remain you in this with ignominy! And speak not to me!'
(Qur'an 23:101-108)
Then again Allah says,
"And whoever invokes something in worship besides Allah, any other god of whom he has no proof, then his reckoning is only with his Lord. Surely, those who disbelieve will not be successful. (Qur'an 23:117)
Shirk is most commonly associated with polytheistic religions such as Hinduism or ancient Greek or Roman religions. It can also be seen in religions like Buddhism were people may pray to or invoke the presence of the Buddha. Even amongst the Ahl al Kitab, or the "People of the Book" it can be found. Even though the Bible recounts the ten commandments of Moses (pbuh), the first of which is "thou shall have no other gods but Me", still many Christians, not all but some, fall into the trap of calling Jesus Christ (pbuh) God! God talks about the Christians calling Jesus His son in the Qur'an. However many Christians will take it a step further and actually say that Jesus was "God in human form". This is also shirk. Also you can see it in the Nation of Islam. Don't let the name fool you, their beliefs are not Islam. You can go to the Nation's website and see very plainly there the continuation of the teachings of Elijah Muhammad who said that Allah had come to Earth in human form, in the person of Wallace Fard, that Elijah Muhammad was a prophet of Allah, and that the "white man" is the direct physical descendant of Iblis and is fundamentally evil.
There are a couple different manifestations of shirk that we can see demonstrate both in scripture and in present day situations.

SHIRK AL AKBAR (The Major Shirk)
This is the most severe and deadliest shirk, and by deadly I don't mean physically but spiritually. For an example this we can turn to the Qur'an in 29:65.
"And when they embark on a ship, they invoke Allah, making their faith pure for him only, but when he brings them safely to land, behold, they give a share of their worship to others".
This verse reminds me of the saying, "there are no atheists in fox holes". In other words, when people are starring down the prospect of death at any moment, they will turn to God, and say "Oh God please save me!", but then when God does save them, they will turn back to their old ways; showing absolutely no gratitude to God for being sparred.
Also another way that this form of Shirk is manifested is when people render "complete" authority to anything but God. Again when we look to the Qur'an, in 9:31,
"They took their rabbis and their monks to be their lords besides Allah, and also the Messiah, the son of Mary, while they were commanded (in the Torah and the Gospels) to worship none but one God. There is none worthy of worship but Him. Glorified is He from having the partners that they associate with Him."
In this particular case, God is talking about the Ahl al Kitab or the "People of the Book" (i.e. the Jews and Christians). In addition to the worship of Jesus Christ (pbuh), God mentions the rabbis and the monks. This is to say the establishment of a priesthood. This is one of the most beautiful things about Islam, is that there is no concept of priesthood. Every human being is equal to God in terms of their ability to understand his commands and discern right from wrong. However, in Muslim history, a type of "priesthood" has been set up in many ways by both Sunni and Shia groups. Many people will say "I'm a Hanafi" or "I'm a Shafi'i", and they take their religion from these imams, and no one else, even though these imam's themselves never said that they ought to be followed blindly. In fact all of them were quoted as to saying that if anything they say contradicts what can be proven of the Sunnah (way of prophet Muhammad 'pbuh') then we are to disregard it. Being a scholar of Islam means that you have memorized the Qur'an and/or memorized entire collections of hadith, or have mastered one or more of the sciences of Islam, and this is a tremendous accomplishment that should not be downplayed in any way, shape or form. However, none of this necessarily makes you more capable of "reasoning" then any other human being. I have often found that sometimes a major problem with very "educated" people is that they over-think things. God Almighty told us in the Qur'an, that this book has been given to us in plain Arabic, or plain language. Likewise the prophet Muhammad (pbuh) said that he left us two things, The Qur'an and his Sunnah. This means that these two things are all we really need in to be successful in this life and the next. So we must be careful that we do not fall into the same trap that our Jewish and Christian brethren did, by taking our imams as lords, or "authorities" besides God.
SHIRK AL ASGHAR (The Minor Shirk)
This is to perform any act of worship, simply for gaining benefit or praise in this world. This is much more common than folks think. Many people when praying on their own will pray "sloppy". They may rush through it, just "going through the motions". However, when they are with people, they are very serious and hold themselves very confidently and piously during prayer. Why, because they want those other people to think that they are a good religious person. In some cases they may not even pray at all when they are alone. So, this is performing acts of worship that are designed for God alone, for the "entertainment" of others.

The next major/deadly sin, is the sin of kufr. In pre-Islamic Arabia, the word kufr was often used to refer to a farmer, who would plant a seed in the ground and then "cover" in up with earth. This "covering" was called kufr. When the Qur'an came, God Almighty used the word kufr to refer to those who had heard the message of Islam and the message of Muhammad (pbuh), refused to accept it, and "covered" it with their backward sense of reasoning.
One major problem that Muslims have now-a-days, is that many of us are in the habit of using this label, calling someone a kafr, far too lightly. Many Muslims automatically call anyone other than Muslims kafrs. Horribly, some will even call other Muslims kafrs if they don't believe in or practice Islam exactly how they do. This is very bad, both for the Muslim calling people that as well as for the entire Ummah (Muslim people's of the world).
To clarify, kufr, is to "knowingly" disbelieve and/or reject any of the six pillars of faith. which are:
-Believe in God
-Believe in Angels
-Believe in ALL the prophets (Adam, Moses, Jesus Christ, Muhammad, etc)
-Believe in God's revelations (Torah, Psalms, Gospel, & Qur'an)
-Believe in the Day of Judgment
-Believe in Divine Pre-Destination (God knows past, present, future).

Anyone who rejects or disbelieves in these things, who fully and completely understand them is a kafr. If they don't fully understand them, or don't have any knowledge of them at all, they are not a kafr, they are jahil or "ignorant". Remember, in order to "cover" the truth as the kufar (plural of kafr) do, they must first "have" the truth. There are several different manifestations of kufr, just as there are with shirk.
KUFR AL TAKDHEEB- This is to reject or "invent a lie" against any of the fundamental tenants of faith. God says in the Qur'an,
"Then who does more wrong than one who utters a lie against Allah, and denies the truth when it comes to him! Is there not in Hell, an abode for the disbelievers". (Qur'an, 39:32)
KUFR OF ARROGANCE- This is to refuse to obey God's commands when they have been made apparent to you, as Iblis (Satan) did when God created the first man, Adam. God says in the Qur'an,
"And remember when We said to the angels, 'Prostrate yourselves before Adam'. And the prostrated except Iblis, he refused and was proud and was one of the disbelievers." (Qur'an 2:34)
As the prophet Muhammad said, Satan has given up misleading you in large things, so beware the small things. Most of us don't go so far as to deny the obligation of the salah (five daily prayers), or of the obligation to fast, however many Muslims will try to find ways around many of the other commands of God. For example you'll see many Muslim shop owners who sell alcohol and liquor, and when you ask them why do you do this when you know it's haram they say, "well we have to be able to compete with other stores". Or, when you see sisters going without their hijab, they say that "they don't want to stand out", or "they don't want to be harassed". Sometimes they "sheikh shop" for imams or so-called scholars who will say that it's not obligatory. Sometimes Muslims engage in partying, gambling, fornication, and other sorts of activities and when you remind them of their duty to God, they just kind of shrug it off, as if they may live forever and never face God for the things they did in this life. This is arrogance in the face of God, and it to is a form kufr. Not necessarily the kind that completely excludes you from Islam, but nonetheless it is a form of kufr.
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One more form of kufr is Kufr an Nifaaq. This is hypocritical disbelief. God Almighty says in the Qur'an,
"They have made their oaths a screen. Thus they hinder people from the path of Allah. Verily, evil is what they used to do. That is because they believed, and then disbelieved, therefore their hearts are sealed, so they understand not." (Qur'an 16:112)
This form of kufr implies being a hypocrite. Saying that you are a believer only to gain worldly gains, while inwardly still maintaining your disbelief, and this will lead us into the next "deadly sin", nifaaq or hypocrisy, which, God willing, I will continue with next week.
......And Allah Knows Best......

The Pursuit of Happiness

2008-12-26T08:23:00.000-08:00

بسم لله الرحمان الرحيم

In this life, and especially in the materialistic world that we live in, everyone, Muslims included, always seem to be trying to find "happiness". Happiness at work, happiness at home, happiness here and happiness there. I once heard from one of the great American imams of our day, Imam Suraj Wahaj, that one day about ten years ago, a woman had come to him in his office and asked him "imam, do I have the right to be happy?". It's amazing really. Most of us don't ever think about this issue in those terms. "Do I have the right to be happy". Most of us ask questions like "Am I happy?" or "How can I be happier". However, this sister, whoever she was, had enough humility to ask the question, "do I have the right to be happy?". Now in the story I heard related by the Imam he said that this sister then proceeded to tell him about the many struggles that she faced in her life. It was obvious by the imams somber expression that this sister had truly faced some difficult times. Many of us, at one time or another, have faced difficult times, and if we haven't, we could almost bet, that someday in some way or another we will.
If I can I'd like to take a moment to reflect on the very beginning of our creation, when we were in the wombs of our mothers. When we were there, Allah sent an angel down to us and instructed that angel to write down several things that will determine our life on this earth including the kind of work that we will do, how long we will live and, one of these two words "sa'eedun or shaqee'un"; Happy, or Miserable. You see, it doesn't matter how much money you have or don't have. It doesn't matter whether you've been with your spouse for fifty years, or have been divorced more times than you can count. It doesn't matter your social status, your good or bad looks, your education or anything. Whether or not you will generally be happy or miserable in this life is determined right there in your mother's womb, from the very beginning. This is a small part of Allah's Qadr or "Pre-destination", one of the arkaan sitaa' ul iman or the "six pillars of faith".
We know that every human being is born with a pure fitra or "original nature". We all start in jennah. We all start pure, as pure servants and creatures of Allah. But somewhere along the line, sooner or later, we have an encounter with who? Iblis! The devil, cursed Shaitan who refused to bow to our father Adam (as) by Allah's command, because of his wicked arrogance and pride. Allah (swt) tells us in the Qur'an, in Surah Ta-Ha verse 116, "And remember when we said to the angels 'prostrate yourselves to Adam' They prostrated themselves; all except Iblis. He refused." Then Allah continues, "Then we said 'Oh Adam, verily this is an enemy to you and your wife. So do not let him lead you out of Paradise, or you will be miserable".
So you see Allah said to Adam, DO NOT allow Iblis to misguide you and drive you and your wife out of Paradise, because if you allow him to do that, you WILL be miserable. Then, listen to what Allah tells him right after that. He says, "Verily you have a promise that you will never be hungry or naked therein. And you will not suffer form thirst there, nor from the sun's heat." This is what Adam and Hawa (Eve) could have had if they had kept away from the whispers of Shaitan, but then listen to what Allah says happened. It goes on saying, "Then Shaitan whispered to him 'Oh Adam, shall I lead you to the tree of eternity and to a kingdom that will never waste away?'" Then they both ate of the tree, and so their private parts became manifest to them, and they began to cover themselves with the leaves of Paradise. This did Adam disobey his Lord and went astray."
Right now, today, in countless places all over Allah's earth, there are millions of people who die because they can't find enough bread to eat or water to drink. There are people who die from different types of exposure because they don't have proper clothing or shelter to shield them from the elements. There are people who sweat and toil and work their fingers to the bone day in and day out, everyday of their lives, and still barely have enough to get by. Why? Allah tells us right there in the Qur'an, as he told our father Adam (as), that outside the Paradise, we will undoubtedly be miserable.
So now, let us ask OURSELVES that question, "Do we have the right to be happy?" Some 230 years ago, the author of the United States Declaration of Independence said, "We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal. That they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights, and among these are life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness"; The "pursuit" of happiness. He didn't say "life, liberty, and happiness". He said "life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness". Why did he say pursuit? It's because in this life, in this dunya, happiness is not something that is ever truly and completely realized. That's just the nature of this life and of this world. We will never truly know complete and utter happiness until we, insha'Allah, reach that ultimate destination, Jennah or Paradise.
Now, don't get me wrong, I'm not saying that Allah completely deprives us of happiness in this life. If anything, we deprive ourselves. We deprive ourselves by doing what? Evil. Disobeying Allah (swt). Not living up to the responsibilities that we have to our Lord. To the covenant we made when we declared "La ilaha illa Allah, Muhammadun Rasoolullah". Make no mistake that statement is not just a statement. It is a pact that you make with Allah (swt). By making that pact, we have an immense responsibility; to live our lives according to Allah's will, on his terms, and not our own. To pray when He and his messenger told us to pray, not when we feel like it. To fast, not initially because of any benefit to us, but because our Lord commanded us to do so. To accept the fact that the Creator knows much more about the creation than the creation knows about itself, and that the creation must ultimately accept the hikmah or wisdom that comes to it through the Creator's messengers like Muhammad (sws), like Jesus Christ (as), like Musa (as) and like Ibrahim (as). There is a famous quote, and I'm not sure who said it, but it says, " No man chooses evil because it is evil. He only mistakes it for happiness". Eric Hoffer an American social writer and philosopher said, " The search for happiness, is one of the chief sources of unhappiness". This is oh so true.
Many people think that they will find happiness by being successful in their work. Leaving a legacy at their company or organization. Many people think that having a great deal of wealth, and never having to worry about money will make them happy. Still some others might say that they'll be happy when they find that special someone who will love them forever and ever and ever. The truth is that true, complete and utter happiness does not lie in ANY of these things. The only real happiness in this world, the only REAL happiness, is always keeping ourselves ready to leave this world, hopeful of attaining Paradise. By doing what? Peacefully, sincerely, and obediently submitting our own will, to the will of Allah (swt).
We do have the opportunity to catch glimpses of true happiness in this life. We can catch glimpses of it when we get married and enjoy those first precious days with our new spouse. We catch a glimpse of it when we hold our newborn child in our arms for the first time. We catch glimpses of it when we spend quality time with our parents and relatives. We glimpse it when we see people we love enter into the fold of Islam. These are all glimpses of happiness.
But, how can we truly be happy, when marriages end in divorce. Many of us face burying our children, just as our beloved prophet Muhammad did with his son Ibrahim. Our parents die, our relatives die. Those blessed brothers and sisters that we seen embrace Islam, sometimes leave it just as quickly.
Happiness in this life is fleeting as they say. It comes and it goes. The absolute only way to guarantee true happiness in this life and/or the next is to always obey Allah in every way that you can, and when you make a mistake, sincerely make tawbah (repentence) and strive to avoid that mistake again. And remember that Allah (swt) said, as per a hadith qudsi that his mercy prevails over his wrath. And if you are a person who obeys Allah in this life as much as you possibly can, and you still are very unhappy, your still facing tough times, then take comfort in the fact that Allah rewards those who are patient in hardship, just as is illustrated in the story of Ayub (as) (Job) in the Qur'an.
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I'd like to conclude with another story I had heard from Imam Siraj Wahaj. The story was about an incident back in 1972 when a bomb was exploded aboard a commercial jetliner, while it was cruising at 32,000 feet. The plane was full of people, and everyone on that plane died, except for one 22 year old woman. Now can you imagine falling to earth from 32,000 feet in a piece of a blown up plane, hitting the ground, opening your eyes and realizing you were still alive? When people talk about these types of stories they often say they "cheated death". If you've ever seen the Final Destination movies, those films are all about "cheating death". But this is a very wrong choice of words. No one ever cheats death. That woman on that plane didn't die because Allah had not written for her to die in that place, in that time. No soul can die without the permission of Allah. Your life cannot be taken by someone else except by the permission of Allah. You cannot even take your own life, except by the permission of Allah. Just like this A.U. student just a few weeks ago, who plummeted to her death just outside of where we meet for Jummah. People were asking the questions "why would she do such a thing?" and "how could this happen?". It happened because that is what Allah had written for her. Just as Allah had written for that woman on the plane that she would not day that day.
Like I said before this is a part of Allah's Qadr. We cannot escape Allah's sovereignty over us, whether we like it or not. Allah is the Lord of all creation. He is even the God and Lord of the atheist. Whether someone believes in Allah or not is of no consequence. Whether someone really wants to obey Allah or not is of no consequence at least not to Allah. But, if we really care about happiness, then we need to stop investing so much time and resources into things in this life that wont accompany us to the next life. We need to stop running around like chickens with our heads cut off trying to find true happiness in this world, because that is nothing but a wild goose chase. We need to take care of business in this world. We need to take care of our families. We need to do a lot of things in this world. However, we must never, EVER, allow those things to distract us from what really matters, which is our relationship to Allah. We must keep our eye on that ultimate goal of Paradise, so that someday, insha'Allah, we might finally realize true happiness.
...And Allah Knows Best...

The Season of Giving

2008-11-27T20:36:00.000-08:00

بسم لله الرحمن الرحيم

In the name of Almighty God (Allah in Arabic), the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful. All praise be to God, the Lord of all creation. We give him our praise, we seek his guidance, and we seek refuge in Him from the evil Satan, and the evil within ourselves and in our deeds. I bear witness that there is nothing worthy of worship except Almighty God without partners, and I bear witness that Muhammad is the messenger of God.
Yesterday, families across the United States came together around dinner tables, in front of TV broadcasts of football games and passed out on couches from the tryptophan in roasted turkeys. Yes yesterday was Thanksgiving. It is a celebratory feast that has taken place in this country since the very first immigrants landed in the little known, mysterious wilderness known as North America. It has been a day of giving thanks to Almighty God for the bountiful blessing of having reached the "new world", a world of promise, opportunity, and freedom. We as Muslims also have much to give thanks to Allah for. For many of us, having arrived in this land meant being given the tremendous opportunity to make better lives for ourselves then our ancestors had. For others, we have the opportunity to celebrate the progress we've made, having elected the first African American president this year, while there are people alive today who's grandparents were slaves or possibly slave owners. For all of us, we give thanks to Allah to be able to live and thrive in a place where we can raise our families in relative peace, security and dignity. Many of our brothers and sisters around the world aren't so fortunate.
Tonight, insha'Allah (God willing), we will begin the month of Dhul Hijja. It is a month of great significance because this is the month of the Hajj, the great pilgrimage to Allah's house in Mecca. It is also the month of the Eid ul Adha, or the festival of Sacrifice, commemorating the willingness of prophet Ibrahim (Abraham, peace be upon him), to sacrifice his son Isma'il (Ishmael, peace be upon him) by the command of Allah. This season of worship, represented in this holy month, commemorates the beginning of the great Abrahamic tradition extending into Judaism and the Children of Israel and prophets like Musa (Moses), Sulaiman (Solomon), and Dawood (David) to name a few; then leading to Christianity, stemming from the teaching of prophet Isa al Mesih ibn Maryam (Jesus Christ, Son of Mary); and culminating in the final revelation of the Qur'an to Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him) and the establishment of Al-Islam.
The first ten days of Dhul Hijja are so profound that Allah swore by them in Surat al Fajr, when He said "By the dawn, and the ten nights", thus indicating the tremendous importance of them.
The prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him) said "There are no days in which righteous deeds are more beloved to Allah than these ten days." (meaning the first ten days of Dhul Hijja) The people asked, "Not even Jihad (striving spiritually and defending the Muslims from those that seek to harm them) for the sake of Allah?" He said, "Not even Jihad for the sake of Allah, except in the case of a man who went out to fight, giving himself and his wealth up for the cause, and came back with nothing." (Reported by Al-Bukhari)
Just as Christians remember the holiday season, including Advent and Christmas, as a time for charity and giving, so should we remember to think of our fellow human beings who are struggling. If these first ten days are so highly regarded by Allah than we should strive to perform the deeds most loved by Allah.
Allah says, "Righteousness is not turning your faces towards the east or the west. Righteous are those who believe in GOD, the Last Day, the angels, the scripture, and the prophets; and they give the money cheerfully, to the relatives, the orphans, the needy, the traveler, the beggars, and to free the slaves; and they observe the Prayers and give the obligatory charity; and they keep their word whenever they make a promise; and they steadfastly persevere in the face of persecution, hardship, and war. These are the truthful; these are the righteous." (2:177)
During these first ten days of Dhul Hijja, seek the pleasure of mercy of Allah not just by fasting, doing extra prayers or other forms of worship, but by reaching out to those in need. We are now in the midst of not only a national, but a worldwide financial crisis, afflicting people across the spectrum of race, social status and field of work. People are loosing their jobs. They are loosing their homes. They are being overwhelmed by debt and other financial hardships. We've seen it right here in our own community. We've seen the closing of a major factory here in just the past few months, and other major industrial employers here in Ashland are struggling, and workers' futures are uncertain. Even people at Ashland University have lost jobs. Perhaps this year's holiday season, there are more people than ever (in recent history) in need of sadaqah (charity).
Charity, more so than almost anything else, is the essence of faith and piety. Allah says in his Qur'an, "By no means shall you attain righteousness, unless you give of that which you love." (3:92)

"That which you love" refers of course to your wealth and your possessions; things that often give us a false sense of security. Abu Zar Ghifari, a companion of the Prophet, reported that the Prophet, while sitting in the shade of the Kabah wall once said, "They are the losers." Abu Zar enquired, "who are they, O Messenger of God?" The Prophet replied: "Those who pile up heaps of wealth and (pointing in all directions with his hands) do not spend like this and this." (Bukhari and Muslim) Hording wealth is one of the most despicable of human acts, and it isn't just hording money in bank. For example, it can be buying a $500 Iphone, when you could buy a $50 cell phone that functions just as well and give the $450 you just saved in charity. Look around you; at your possessions. Your car, things in your home, your clothes, your various other things, and ask yourself, "do I really need to have to these things? Or, can I live just as well with less?" If you can, then I suspect you are more than capable of giving.
Now of course there are two fundamental types of charity in Islamic doctrine; obligatory, known as Zakat (one of the five pillars of Islam), and optional, known as Sadaqah. Zakat is only due on those who have accumulated a certain degree of wealth. They must, pay 2.5% of their accumulated wealth to the poor. Make no mistake, to neglect this obligation is a severe sin, and to deny the obligation is an act of kufr (disbelief/to cover the truth), and subsequently takes one out of Islam all together. Now many of you as students, may not have any substantial wealth of your own, so Zakat may not apply to you. However, the lessons taught to us by Allah in his Qur'an, and by Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him), in the hadith, in regards to giving Sadaqah, are numerous. So all of us, whether we are eligible to give Zakat or not, should remember that we all can and should give charity, no matter how poor we may seem.
A common misconception is that a person who has little to no money isn't capable of giving charity. This is absolutely not true. Even if you are truly incapable of giving money, there are other ways to give charity. The prophet Muhammad, peace and blessings be upon him, said, "It is imperative on every one to render acts of charity every single day that sun shines in the sky in order to express gratitude to Allah for every single joint or faculty in his body. It is charity to restore peace between two people with strained relations, it is charity to give a stranded person a ride on his mount or lift his load onto it, it is charity to utter a good word, every step one takes towards the mosque for prayer is charity, to remove litter or objectionable things from people's path is charity." Charity, as we see here, is not only giving money, but even the virtue of helping one's fellow man, notice it says nothing about just helping "Muslims", but it applies to not only our brothers and sisters in Islam, but also our brothers and sisters in humanity. The prophet, peace be upon him, on another occasion even said, "even smiling at someone is a charity". This is why charity is such an important concept to us as Muslims, because it's not just about writing a check or dropping a bill into the donation box, it's about truly and whole-heartedly care and loving our fellow human beings. It's about seeing the orphans in the more desperate places on our planet, and feeling real pain in our hearts, whether anyone is watching or not. It is about seeing people who have been oppressed and sincerely praying to Allah that they might be avenged and that their oppressors would face justice. It is about joining people of all backgrounds, Christians, Jews, Hindus, Atheists and Agnostics, hand in hand, to lift up the downtrodden and deprived. Don't allow the bounty of Allah to pass you buy because you were too "busy" or "poor" or whatever other excuse people find not to give charity. Allah says in the Qur'an,
The parable of those who spendof their substance in the way of Allahis that of a grain of corn:It grows seven ears, and each ear has a hundred grains.Allah gives manifold increase to whom He pleases;And Allah cares for all and He knows all things. (2:261)
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Many of you have most likely seen the events unfolding in Mumbai, India this past week. According to reports, a group calling itself the Deccan Mujihadeen, claimed responsibility for these attacks. When I read that a group by this name had claimed responsibility, in made me feel sick to my stomach. I can't imagine a person who believes in Allah, who believes in Muhammad, peace and blessings be upon him, could ever do such a thing as point an AK-47 into a crowded train station and just randomly pull the trigger. I don't care how oppressed Muslims may be in parts of India; I don't care what beef these people may have had with American, Great Britain, or Israel. There is NO JUSTIFACATION for committing these types of atrocities. Not Islamically or otherwise. And, the fact that they would call themselves "mujihadeen". These people are anything BUT mujihadeen. Mujihadeen are people who strive in the cause of Allah against the evil that confronts them. Mujihadeen are people who defend the weak, their faith from those who seek to destroy it, and above all OBEY the teachings of Allah and His messenger, including the command to NOT EVER target non-combatants, and to never take military jihad in their own hands and judgment. These people are not mujihadeen, they are nothing more than terrorists, monsters and murderers, and may Allah curse them in this life and the next.
As the holiday season starts for people all over the world, we all, Muslims and otherwise, need to focus on coming to the aid of people in need and to remember the immense importance of charity in our faith. These events in India show us that as Muslims we are not doing enough to get this message across to our brothers and sisters across the sea. We have a lot of work to do, and we need to not only preach this message of love towards humanity, but we need to be examples of it. So please, for the sake of Allah, take advantage of these holy days in the month of Dhul Hijja, to be that example to our community, to our country, and to humanity. Let's not let those images of India this past week, be the image we as Muslims leave the world with this holiday season.
...And Allah Knows Best...

The Qur'an: The Incomprehensible's Communication with Man

2008-11-07T01:41:00.000-08:00

بسم لله الرحمن الرحيم

In the name of Almighty God, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful. All praise be to God, the Lord of all that exists. We give him our praise, we seek his guidance, we seek his forgiveness, and we seek refuge in Him from the evil within ourselves and in our deeds. No one whom the Almighty gives His divine guidance, can be misguided, and no one whom the Lord allows to go astray, will be guided (except by his grace). I bear witness that there is nothing worthy of worship except Almighty God alone, without partners, and I bear witness that Muhammad is the slave and messenger of Almighty God.
Today Scientists spend a lot of time pondering the wonders of the universe and the origins of all that "is". Millions of dollars have been spent in the pursuit of the quote "truth" of our existence, and the origins of the universe and all that is in it. While doing this no doubt brings about countless amazing discoveries about us as a people, and the world around us, they have never, and can never "scientifically" know the answer to that most fundamental question, "What is the origin of all of "this".
When the word "God" is mentioned to many of these people, many of them will smile, offer an anecdotal "could be", and write off whatever else you say as "legend", "myth", or maybe even "superstition". The fact is that someone with a "scientific" mind (i.e. one that deals with tangible and testable evidence) often times cannot except the simple fact that there are just some things that the human mind is incapable of comprehending.
Civilizations and religions of the past have come up with many ways to explain the unexplainable. Most people's of the Earth have always recognized the existence of a "supreme being", that was ultimately incomprehensive to humans. So, in order to bring the incomprehensive into comprehension, they developed intercessors between them and that supreme being; thus idol worship was born. People would view these intercessors as earthly representations of that incomprehensible supreme being. The Hindus of India have intercessors such as Shiva, and Krishna. The Buddhists have Guatama Buddha, The Mayans had Chac and Yum Cimil, and the Christians have Jesus Christ, peace be upon him. People throughout time have developed these intercessors because the incomprehensible, inconceivable supreme being was to them, too lofty of a concept to grasp in worship. Even the Children of Israel, who, with us, are one of the only true monotheistic faiths, at one time feel into this trap, with the famous story of the Golden Calf. However, that inconceivable incomprehensible supreme being (which in Arabic translates as Allah) has continually, since the first man, communicated with a select few human beings known as prophets, so that mankind might be reminded of the real source of all that "is". While many of these communications have since been distorted, altered, or even lost forever, the last of these communications, sent to a 7th century Arab whom We know as the beloved prophet Muhammad, peace and blessings be upon him, has miraculously survived the ages, through the protection that the Almighty, Allah, promised in the communication itself.
Allah teaches us in this communication, the perfect prayer, in the very first chapter, Al Fatihah or "The Opening". In it, it says,

In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful
All praise be to Allah, the Lord of all the worlds
The Most Gracious, The Most Merciful
Master of the Day of Recompense
You alone we worship, and You alone we ask for help
GUIDE US TO THE STRAIGHT PATH
The path of those whom You have favored
Not the path of those who have earned Your anger
or those who have gone astray.
(1:1-7)
Then, in the beginning of the very next chapter, known as Al Baqarah or "The Cow", He answers this pray when He says,
This is the book wherein there is NO DOUBT,
A guidance to those who seek Allah's favor.
(2:2)
This communication, known as Al Qur'an Kareem, or in English the Holy Recitation, is a book in which there truly is no doubt. It confirms and at the same time corrects previous communications, and unlike manmade works, flows seemlessly without contradiction or flaw. It is through this book that we see, in the words of Allah Himself, how to truly understand who He is.
In the famous verse known as Ayat ul Kursi, or the "Verse of the Throne", Allah, the Almighty, provides us with an emaculate describtion of Himself, that we might be able to start to understand His incomprehensiveness. It says...
Allah! There is none worthy of worship except Him, the Ever Living, the One who sustains all that is. Neither slumber nor sleep overtakes Him. To Him belongs all that is in the Heavens and the Earth. Who is he that can intercede with Him except by His permission. He knows what happens to his creatures in this world, and what will happen to them in the next, and they will never encompass any knowledge except by His permission. His Throne extends over the Heavens and the Earth and He feels no fatigue in guarding and preserving them, and He is the Most High, the Most Great.
(2:255)
In this verse Al Hayyul Qiyuum means "The Ever Living, The One who Sustains all that is". This very concept is beyond our comprehension. We are not able to comprehend something "ever living" because everything in our world has a beginning and an end. We live in a finite world, and as the great French philosepher René Descartes said, "the finite is incapable of understanding the infinite".
Also the verse says "neither slumber nor sleep overtakes him". This is also beyond our comprehension because everything in our world rests and awakes periodically. Even the Earth itself does. Finally it also reminds us that we will never attain any knowledge, except what He, Allah, permits us to attain.
This final communication from Allah, the supreme incomprehensible, inconceivable creator also reveals to us another scientifically unanswerable question, that is the creation of the universe and our planet; the Heavens and the Earth. Allah says in the Qur'an,
Have not those who disbelieve known that the Heavens and the Earth were joined together as one unit, then we cleaved them? And we have made every living thing from water. Will they not then believe?
(21:30)
These are things that science only recently has discovered, and as Allah says, "will they not then believe?" This is the guidance from that one inconceivable, unimaginable God.
This glorious revelation in addition to being divine guidance, is also divine protection. It is recorded in the authentic hadith collection of Imam Bukhari, that once the prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, had ordered Abu Harairah, may Allah be pleased with him, to guard the Ramadan charity stockpiles. That night a man came by and tried to steal from the stock. Abu Harairah caught him and said "I'm going to take you to rasoolullah (messenger of God)." The man replied saying, "Please don't take me to rasoolullah! If you don't I'll tell you something by which you will benefit." The thief went on saying, " If you recite Ayat ul Kursi at night before you sleep, it will serve as a guard against the Devil, and he will not be able to come close to you till morning". Later, Abu Harairah related the story to the prophet Muhammad, peace and blessings be upon him, the prophet replied by saying, "indeed what the thief said was truth, although he is a liar. He was the Devil."
This story shows us the emmense power that this recitation has. If you've ever seen an Islamic exorcism, you'd see this power. When someone has been possessed by a Jinn or Demon, the Ayat ul Kursi is often used as a most effective weapon. When the verse is recited it often burns the Jinn or Demon so severely that they throw the human being they are possessing into harsh and often violent convulsions. This is because this holy verse reminds then that no matter how powerful they may seem to a human being, they are nothing compared to Allah, and they are no match for a true believing human or jinn who has the words and commands of Allah in their arsenal. All praise be to He, who gives us, his servants this emaculate and divine guidance and this most powerful of weapons against the evils we face in this dunya (present life).
We often forget about the truly miraculous nature of the Holy Qur'an. The Holy Qur'an is so much more than words on a page, or utterances in our prayers. It is a code of conduct; an owner's manual for our lives as human beings. It's a sword, mightier than any one made of steel. It is a medicine for any sickness. It is a comfort for sorrow, a celebration in times of joy. During Ramadan we are often reminded of the importance of the keeping the Qur'an, but it is also important to do so the whole year. We go to work and class day after day, week after week, where we read countless things that benefit either our job or our degrees, but how much time do we make for reflecting on this most glorious of books? The best of guidance and the key to Jennah (Paradise/Heaven). This khutbah (sermon) today is nothing more than a reminder firstly to myself, and to all of you to keep this holy book near and dear to our hearts every day of our lives.

...And Allah Knows Best...