When I initially came here, I thought that this would be a place where I could ask genuine questions and get genuine answers.


And there have been some people who have tried to be helpful and nice since I've been here. But by-and-large, it's becoming a Bible-and-Christian-Bashing session time and time again. Now, we have people like Rehmat who, in my opinion, is just the type of person to confirm people's distrust and hatred for Muslims by his evil words and personal attacks and justification of the likes of bin Ladin.


I feel like I spend more time here defending my own faith than learning about Islam. That's the way these discussions always seem to go.


I didn't come here bashing Muhammad or calling him evil, ugly names. Nor did I come here with statements as stupid as "Islam is a terrorist religion". There is all kinds of information in books, on radio, on the Web that attack Islam, it's prophet, it's Book, etc. and some of the issues seem to be very valid to me. But my intent was not to come here with such things because I knew it would be offensive.


Apparently others do not have the same concern regarding us "kaffirs"; they don't care who they hurt or offend.


I didn't come here expressing myself in an evil way. That is nonetheless what <b>I</b> have been getting.


Anything I've said, I've been willing to back up with sources and with proof, yet the same people who demand such things of me are not willing themselves to do the same. That is what is called hypocricy.


I do not like it here anymore and in fact, the attacks on my faith have actually caused me to research, study, read and pray and my faith is now stronger than it was before. Perhaps certain individuals should change their tactics and methodologies.


Thanks to those who did not exhibit such behavior.


Unfortunately, it is time for me to make my exit, because I cannot and will not tolerate such incorrect and ugly things to be said about my or my faith <b>ESPECIALLY</b> when people can't back it up.


So long.

Wants to embrace Islam but has been advised to wait


I have been researching Islam for the past month and have also started to read the Quran. I personally feel that I am ready to take the Shahaada but some of my Muslim friends do not feel the same way. They are warning me of making a lifelong commitment so hastily but I feel that I am ready. Could you please advise me on what I need to do so that I can readily accept and declare Allah as the one and only true God with a clear conscious that I did not do anything too soon? Thank you.


Praise be to Allaah.


Congratulations to you. We could not conceal our joy when we read your question expressing your readiness to enter Islam. The advice you have received from some people to wait is rather strange, but perhaps they are afraid that you may return to disbelief after embracing Islam if you are too hasty. But isn’t death possible at any time? If your answer is yes, do you not see that the best thing to do is to go ahead and enter Islam immediately, so that if your time should come soon, you will meet Allaah as a follower of His religion, Islam, besides which He accepts no other religion. The best of good deeds is the one that is done without delay. Moreover, you have, al-hamdu Lillaah, read about Islam and read the Qur’aan for a reasonable period, so make haste, and do not deprive yourself of the reward which you will earn the sooner you enter Islam. We ask Allaah to help you and make things easy for you, to open your heart to the truth and help you to adhere to it. And Allaah is the source of strength.


(al-Mawsoo’ah al-Fiqhiyyah, 2/309).

That’s what Israel does. It’s Mossad carry out false flag operations and deceives others into attacking its enemies. In short they get others to fight and die their wars.


Israel is in the midst of its plan to use the United States military, which it controls, to conquer Iraq and divert Iraqi oil to the Haifa refinery via the Mosul to Haifa pipeline. The U.S. has built airbases at H2 and H3 (which stand for Haifa 2 and Haifa 3) to protect this strategic pipeline. The pipeline is intact, fully operational, and is being used to covertly send oil to Israel. Paid for with the blood of American soldiers that die in Iraq.


http://www.csmonitor.com/2003/0423/p11s01-coop.html


Today, in occupied Iraq, Israeli special forces are teaching the Americans how to "wall in" a hostile population, in the same way that Israel has walled in the Palestinians in pursuit of the Zionist dream of an apartheid state.


http://www.nowarforisrael.com/

If a Muslim lives in an area where there is no access to hallal (sp?) meats (and cheeses?) what are they to do? Must they simply not eat meat or is there a way they can continue eating meat? Also, this is just a shot in the dark, but is there any relation between the word "hallal" and the prophet "hillel"? Just curious.

Masters of war


By Pepe Escobar


In "Masters of War", Bob Dylan sang, "Hide behind desks" but "we can see


through your masks". Now, applying their version of grassroots democracy,


the US has declared that Fallujah has been "liberated". But the virtual


ghost town is celebrating with no cries of joy - with no cries at all: only


with the stench of tons of explosives, and the stench of decomposing bodies.


Baghdad sources close to the resistance tell Asia Times Online that in


essence the Americans control only northern Fallujah and the main


boulevards; the resistance controls the narrow alleys, and the southern part


of the city. At night, anyone is a target - either to the resistance or to


American snipers. What the resistance is stressing is the Mesopotamian


version of a rapper in urban black America: "The man control the day; we


control the night."


A hard rain's gonna fall


What the US has achieved with Fallujah reduced to a pile of rubble and


hundreds of thousands of new refugees is unprecedented Sunni anger. A slow


stream of residents who managed to escape from Fallujah to Baghdad tell of


women and children killed by shrapnel or hit by US bombs. According to


trader Aamir Yusouf, who remains in town after smuggling his family out,


"there will be nothing left of Fallujah by the time they finish".


Baghdad is swirling with rumors and conspiracy theories and many people do


not know the extent of the horror in Fallujah - some blame the Arab media


for talking obsessively about Yasser Arafat and forgetting about Iraq.


Baghdad airport remains closed. A lot of anger exploded at last Friday's


prayers. At the al-Jilani mosque, Sheikh Mahmoud al-Isawi said that "the


start of this war during the holiest nights of the month of Ramadan proves


how much they hate Islam and Muslims". At the Umm al-Qura mosque, the


headquarters of the powerful Association of Muslim Scholars, Sheikh Mohammed


Bashar al-Faidi told a crowd of thousands that "all of Iraq will turn in the


next few days into one Fallujah whether America likes it or not", adding


that any election under the occupation would be illegitimate.


Mosul remains under control of the resistance, which is protecting banks,


shops, hospitals, schools and fire stations from looters. The US base in


Mosul - a former Saddam Hussein presidential palace - was looted this


weekend by local citizens, not by the resistance. Now, apart from the Sunni


triangle, even the Shi'ite holy city of Najaf is also under martial law.


An assistant cleric to Sheikh Abdullah al-Janabi, the head of the Fallujah


mujahideen shura (council) that controlled the city before Operation Phantom


Fury, said that "maybe [the Americans] will take it [Fallujah]. But it is


not the end. There are 18 provinces in Iraq and the resistance will continue


to grow tougher ... America has taken its last breath." This is something


that will never be reported in mainstream US media - which keeps hammering


the "humanitarian" approach of the US onslaught. And it won't be reported in


the Iraqi press either, because under martial law everybody has to parrot


the interim government's position - this operation is a major success - or


else go to jail.


There were unconfirmed reports last week that al-Janabi was killed by US


bombing, but the shura's cleric insisted that "the sheikh is still in


Fallujah leading the resistance".


Qasim Dawud, interim Premier Iyad Allawi's version of US National Security


Adviser Condoleezza Rice, said for his part that more than 1,000 "Saddamists


and terrorists" had been killed, and 200 captured. Of those 200 only 14 are


believed to be "foreign fighters", most of them Iranians. The notion that


Shi'ite Iranians would be defending Sunni Fallujah is ludicrous - one more


crude neo-conservative plot to implicate Tehran. Later Allawi talked of 400


captured - and a non-specified number of foreigners being mostly Syrians,


Saudis, Afghans and Moroccans. As for the elusive, perhaps non-existent, Abu


Musab al-Zarqawi, the alleged main reason for the US razing Fallujah, Dawud


said "he has escaped".


Dawud said that only "malignant pockets" remain in Fallujah. That's not what


the resistance and independent observers are saying. Abu Saad al-Dlimi, the


spokesman of the Fallujah mujahideen shura, told al-Jazeera that "US forces


are still outside the [northwestern] Julan neighborhood. US forces were not


able to gain one meter of this district." Haza al-Afify, an Iraqi journalist


inside Fallujah, confirmed to al-Jazeera that "fighting is also raging in


the southern and southeastern neighborhoods, particularly al-Shuhada and the


industrial quarter". Al-Afify added that "if these neighborhoods are mere


pockets, Fallujah will be harboring so many pockets".


Al-Dlimi insisted that "if the US forces mean by calling the neighborhoods


of al-Askari, al-Shuhada, al-Sina'i, al-Jughayfi, al-Wihdah and


al-Jumhuriyah ... pockets [of resistance] which they do not control thus


far, I tell you that Fallujah consists only of all these neighborhoods". The


resistance story contradicts the United States' spin. Al-Dlimi said no more


than 100 "martyrs" were killed: with most victims "defenseless civilians,


including those who were run over by the US forces' tanks".


The US won't be pleased by his suggestion that "if [the Americans] say they


have wrapped up operations in Fallujah, we are telling them to allow all


satellite networks to enter the city ... so the world can see what is really


happening in the streets of Fallujah".


On Saturday the Iraqi Red Crescent sent seven trucks and ambulances, 53


volunteers and three doctors to Fallujah to distribute food, blankets,


water-purification tablets and medicine to hundreds if not thousands of


families caught in the crossfire. But the US has prevented them from


entering the city: the Red Crescent was held at Fallujah's general hospital,


"captured" by the Americans early last week, on the left bank of the


Euphrates River. Abu Fahd, one of the volunteers, said that "none of the


injured residents is being allowed to come to the hospital, while those


outside are not allowed to go into town".


The Iraqi Red Crescent knows as much as anyone in contact with Fallujah that


the city has no medicine, no ambulances, no shelters, no power, no water,


practically no food, and that the wounded are left to die while the streets


are already littered with the dead. But although the Americans now insist


they control 80% of the city, they have blocked the Iraqi Red Crescent


because for them there are no Iraqi civilians trapped inside. The Iraqi


resistance is a shadow army: the US military machine bombs it to oblivion,


but rarely sees it. The thousands of civilians caught in the crossfire in


Fallujah are also invisible - but they have even been denied their


existence.


The horror faced by Fallujah's civilians has hardly begun to emerge,


although precision-strike democracy has started to be denounced by some who


managed to escape Fallujah in these past few days.


Blood on the tracks


Not only "invisible" civilians are dead and buried in Fallujah - but the


Geneva Convention as well. "Capturing" a major hospital and turning it into


a military target; preventing civilians and noncombatants from escaping


from, and forcefully returning them to, a war zone: these are war crimes,


according, among others, to James Ross, senior legal advisor to Human Rights


Watch.


Add to these rules of engagement the bombing of three small clinics - in one


of them the medical staff and the patients were killed; highly-trained


American snipers "shooting anything that moves", according to eyewitness


accounts in Fallujah to families and friends in Baghdad; entire Fallujah


neighborhoods reduced to rubble by at least two weeks of air strikes -


killing residents even before Operation Phantom Fury began; the bombing of


the only telecom center linking Fallujah to the rest of the world; and the


scandal of water to Tall Afar, Samarra and Fallujah being cut off during US


attacks in the past two months, affecting up to 750,000 civilians - a case


fully documented by the Cambridge Solidarity with Iraq and a serious


contravention of international humanitarian law.


The .50-caliber machine-gun has became a free-for-all (its use on human


targets is specifically forbidden by the Geneva Convention). Most private


cars in Fallujah have been destroyed (they could be used for suicide


bombings). And ambulances have been grounded.


Tangled up in war


Dr Zafir al-Ani, an Iraqi political scientist, in an extensive interview


with al-Jazeera, has laid out the extent of Sunni anger: "There is now a


general Iraqi agreement that resistance is the only way ... I say that the


Iraqi government is pushing towards a real civil war in Iraq against the


Sunni and the pan-Arab current ... There are many exclamation marks


lingering over the stance of the authority of holy Najaf regarding what is


happening in Iraq, at a time when the Association of Muslim Scholars - and


everyone remembers this - condemned and renounced what happened to our


brethren in Najaf, Karbala and Sadr City. This authority is now also trying


to quell the Shi'ite pan-Arab current. Ayatollah al-Hasani was detained


because he called for boycotting the elections [in January]. There have also


been preparations for some time to oppress the [Muqtada] al-Sadr current and


to contain dealings with the government through a few known parties. The


Iraqi government is oppressing the Shi'ite pan-Arab current and the national


Sunni current."

Islam was the most revolutionary liberalization of women's rights the civilized world has ever seen.


Unlike feminism movements, women's liberation in Islam wasn't started by women but was revealed by Allah to Prophet Mohammad (PBUH) in the seventh century. The Qur'an and the Hadith or Sunnah of the Prophet (PBUH) are the sources from which every Muslim woman derives her rights, responsibilities and duties.


Men and women are equaled in front of Allah; this is in terms of worshiping, obeying, and glorifying Him. Nevertheless they're equally punished when committing any sin. For instance when committing adultery, the man and the woman share the same punishment.


Allah says in the Qur’an:


"O mankind! Be careful of your duty to your Lord who created you from a single soul and from it its mate and from them both have spread abroad a multitude of men and women. Be careful of your duty toward Allah in whom you claim (your rights) of one another, and towards the wombs (that bore you)! Allah has been a Watcher over you." Qur'an (4:1)


Since men and women both came from the same essence, they are equal regarding their human rights. Women cannot be considered evil by nature (as some people may think) or then men would be evil also. Similarly, neither gender can be superior because it would be a contradiction of equality.


Islam also granted women many civil rights; a Muslim woman has the basic freedom of choice and expression based on recognition of her individual personality. First, she is free to choose her religion. The Qur'an states:


"There is no compulsion in religion. Right has been made distinct from error."Qur'an (2:256)


In Islam, women's role is balanced but fair. She has been removed from the burden of supporting herself. Instead men take this responsibility, a woman's father and or brother and even the government, if the other two are not available a responsible to take care of the woman and support her financially. If she does not want to work, she does not have to. She has the freedom to decide to stay at home and spend her time raising her children and tending to her family, social and religious life. However, if she wants to work, she is not forbidden to do so. Actually Islam has encouraged the woman to educate herself and to know Allah and know her duties, so that she can educate her children. She is discouraged from leaving her children without guidance and example. Moreover she is given the most honorable and important job in the universe, she is more encouraged to be a mother.


Muslim women have the right to choose their husbands and keep their names after marriage. Islam also encourages women to contribute their opinions and ideas; there are many examples of women who offered their opinions concerning religion, economics and social matters to Prophet Mohammad (PBUH). Also, a Muslim woman’s testimony is valid in legal disputes.


Prophet Mohammad (PBUH) said:


"Seeking knowledge is a mandate for every Muslim (male and female)."


This includes learning the Qur'an and the Hadith as well gaining knowledge in science and many other fields. Since both men and women have the capacity for learning and understanding, Muslim women must acquire the appropriate education in order to promote good behavior and condemn bad behavior in all spheres of life.


While maintenance of a home, supporting husbands, breading and teaching children are regarded as the priorities for a woman, if she has the skills to work outside her house for the good of the family, then she may do so as long as she doesn't ignore her main family duties.


Moreover Islam gives high respect to motherhood, Prophet Mohammad (PBUH) said:


"Heaven lies under the feet of mothers."


This implies that the success of a society is traced to good mothers. Therefore, a woman must be educated and conscientious in order to be a skillful parent.


Fourteen hundred years ago, Islam started giving women the right to vote .On any public matter; Muslim women may vote their opinion and participate in politics. This established the right of women to select their leader and publicly declare so.


For example, Abdurrahman Ibn Auf consulted many women before he recommended Othman Ibn Affan to be the Caliph.


While guardianship and greater financial responsibility is given to men in Islam, a Muslim woman has the privilege to earn money, the right to own property, to enter into legal contracts and to manage all of her assets in any way she pleases. She can run her own business and no one has any claim on her earnings including her husband.


Allah says in the Holy Qur'an:


"And in no wise covet those things in which Allah hath bestowed His gifts more freely on some of you than on others; to men is allotted what they earn, and to women, what they earn; but ask Allah of His bounty, for Allah hath full knowledge of all things." Qur'an (4:32)


Islam liberated women by giving them rights and duties 1400 years ago that most women do not enjoy up till now, even in the West. These duties and rights were given by Allah and are designed to keep balance in society; what may seem unjust or missing in one place is compensated for or explained in another place because Islam as is a complete way of life.


Allah says:


"And it not of a believing man or a women, when Allah and His Messenger (Muhammad) have declared a matter, for them to have any choice in that matter. And anyone who disobeys God and His Messenger has indeed gone astray into open error." Qur'an (33:36)

To be honest my dear muslim brother and sister and non- muslim i did my Eid on Saturday but i am fed up to see people in UK totally dis-orangnise . half the people did it on Saturday and the other did it on Sunday can someone explain to me why does this happen to US in UK only

asalamualaykum.


eid mubarak everyone .

It Is You Who Delay Muslims’ Victory


by IslamOnline.net


While I was depressed watching the news about Muslims and thinking of the afflictions that befell them, I heard a voice inside me saying “It is you who delay Muslims’ victory. You are the principal cause of all the afflictions that Muslims suffer from.”


I wondered, “How come this while I am an ordinary person and do not have any power over my nation? Had I given the Muslims any order or counsel, they would have never abided by it ...”


The voice interrupted me: “It is your sins and faults, it is your defying Allah’s orders, your negligence of duties, and your keenness to run after temptations that delays victory.”


I replied, “What did I do so that you blame me for delaying Muslims’ victory?”


The voice said, “Oh you! By Allah! Should I numerate your faults? It would take a long a time. For instance, do you observe the Fajr Prayer in congregation?”


I answered, “Sometimes I do, and sometimes I miss it …”


The voice interrupted me again: “See the contradiction! You claim you can fight against your enemy in Allah’s cause. How can you say so while you cannot resist yourself in a simple matter that would not cost you blood or money? You are not able to make yourself stick to observing in congregation two rak`ahs prescribed by Almighty Allah. You, likewise, neglect offering the regular sunnah Prayers, and disregard reciting the Qur’an regularly. You forget saying the morning and evening adhakr. You do not lower your gaze, nor do you obey your parents or observe your ties of kinship.”


The voice continued, “You call for applying Allah’s Law in your country. How do you call for this, while you do not abide by it yourself or enjoin your family to do so? You do not observe your duties towards your family. You do not guide them to the right path or care whether the money you spend on them is lawful or illicit. You, in fact, fall under the category that Allah describes in His Book as those who [love wealth with abounding love] (Al-Fajr 89:20). All this has entailed Almighty Allah’s punishment on you …”


I interrupted, “What does all this have to do with delaying victory? Would the nation’s victory be delayed only because of the faults of one among billions of people?”


The voice replied, “Certainly, yes. There are millions like you in the Muslim world. All follow the same wrong path, neglecting their duties and falling into sins, thinking that victory will come because there are other people in the nation who are righteous. But the bitter truth is that almost all are the same. Do you not know that when the Companions of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) would ask Allah for victory and it did not come at once, they would then realize that there was someone in the army who had committed a sin? Compare this to the condition of the nation nowadays when all, old or young, ordinary or influential, are falling into sins! Is this not enough to bring about all what Muslims suffer around the globe?”


Tears began to flow down my face. I had never thought that I, the man who dearly loves Allah and His Messenger as well as Islam and Muslims, would ever be a cause to Muslims’ defeat or share in this way in shedding rivers of innocent Muslim blood in many places in the world!


It was very easy for me to place the blame on the governments, rulers, and kings of the Muslim countries in this respect, but to ever think of my faults and sins as a cause to Muslims’ suffering, this had never occurred to me. I had not meditated upon Almighty Allah’s words: [Lo! Allah changeth not the condition of a folk until they (first) change that which is in their hearts] (Ar-Ra`d 13:11).


I addressed the voice: “Any way, I praise Almighty Allah that He gave me a self-reproaching soul (like you). What counsel do you give me?”


The voice said, “Take the initiative. Observe your duties, be keen on performing the prescribed Prayers on time, pay zakah, and beware of showing ingratitude to your parents. Get closer to Almighty Allah by offering additional acts of worship. Never lose a chance, even if little, in this regard. Remember that it is a kind of charity (sadaqah) to smile upon your fellow Muslims. Do not call for something while your acts indicate the contrary. For instance, do not call for applying Shari`ah unless you are a living example of abiding by its teachings at home and work. Likewise, do not call for jihad while you are not able to resist your inner weakness. In the same manner, do not blame others for what you are responsible for. Reform yourself and set a good example for others wherever you go. If you are used to criticizing others’ behavior, stop it now, for critics are many. After you abide by all this, you can sincerely ask Allah for help and granting Muslims victory. Then you will be one of the believers about whom Almighty Allah says [O ye who believe! If ye help Allah, He will help you and will make your foothold firm] (Muhammad 47:7). Bear in mind that every sin you commit and every duty you neglect would be a proof against you in the case of the innocent Muslim blood shed in many places in the world.”


Upon this I lifted my head up towards Heaven in repentance and wiped my tears saying “O Allah! I ask You for forgiveness.”


I made up my mind to have a new beginning and I started by offering two rak`ahs for Allah’s sake in the midst of night. May Allah help me stick to this path.