Is it better to read Qur’aan whilst looking at the Mus-haf, or to recite from memory?.


Answer : http://63.175.194.25/index.php?ln=eng&QR=32594


Praise be to Allaah.


In prayer, it is better to recite from memory. See question no. 3465.


Outside of prayer, it is better for a person to do that which will increase his khushoo’ (humility, focus). If his khushoo’ will be increased by reciting from memory, then that is better; if his khushoo’ will be increased by reading from the Mus-haf, then that is better. If it is the same in either case, then reading from the Mus-haf is better, because it combines reading and looking, and his eyes will be protected from looking at things that may distract him from reciting and pondering the meaning.


Al-Nawawi said in al-Adhkaar (p. 90-91):


Reading Qur’aan from the Mus-haf is better than reciting from memory; this is the view of our companions and it is well known from the salaf (may Allaah be pleased with them). This does not apply in all cases however; if the reader can focus and ponder the meanings more when reciting from memory than when reading from the Mus-haf, then reciting from memory is better. If it is the same in both cases, then reading from the Mus-haf is better. This is what the salaf meant.


There are weak (da’eef) ahaadeeth narrated from the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) which cannot be used as proof that it is better to look at the Mus-haf. We mention them only to draw attention to the fact that they are weak. These include:


“Looking at the Mus-haf is an act of worship; for a child to look at his parents is an act of worship; looking at ‘Ali ibn Abi Taalib is an act of worship.” This is a fabricated (mawdoo’) hadeeth, as al-Albaani said in al-Silsilah al-Da’eefah, 1/531.


“Give your eyes their share of worship: looking at the Mus-haf, thinking about it and pondering its wonders.” This is also fabricated (mawdoo’). Al-Silsilah al-Da’eefah, 4/88.


“Five things are acts of worship: eating little, sitting in the mosque, looking at the Ka’bah, looking at the Mus-haf and looking at the face of a scholar.” This is a very weak (da’eef jiddan) hadeeth. Da’eef al-Jaami’ al-Sagheer, no. 2855.


And Allaah knows best.


Islam Q&A (www.islam-qa.com)

Tolerance, respect and cooperation some times. Murder, intolerance and hostility on other occasions.


These have been some of the defining features of Muslim-Christian relations throughout history. Here are some examples of the good and the bad.


First the good memories:


1. Habasha and the Negus


It was a Christian king in a predominantly Christian land who gave the small, persecuted community of early Muslims in the beginning of the Prophet Muhammad's mission protection. May Allah's peace and blessings be upon the Prophet.


The Muslims sought refuge in Habasha, modern day Ethiopia, after suffering starvation and torture at the hands of the polytheistic Makkans. The Prophet Muhammad said about the Negus and Habasha: "a king rules without injustice, a land of truthfulness."


Muslims were welcomed, protected and lived in peace with the Christians of Habasha. But this did not sit well with the Makkans, who did not want to see them leave Makkah or want the message of Islam to flourish in peace.They spent special envoys with gifts and lies about the Muslims to convince the Negus to send the Muslims back to Makkah. They told the Negus that this "new" faith took pride in insulting not just ancestral Makkan beliefs, but the beliefs of Christians as well.


Another king may have simply taken their word and automatically kicked the Muslims out. The Negus did not. He ordered that the leader of the Muslim community come to his court and explain Islam's position.


Enter Jafar ibn Abu Talib, early Muslim refugee to Habasha, and cousin of the Prophet.


Not only did he eloquently explain the message of Islam and the persecution of those who accepted this truthful message. He also recited the opening verses of Surah 19 of the Quran, Surah Maryam or Mary, after the Negus asked him to recite part of Quran.


King Negus listened to the recitation of the Quran in focused attention. He cried as he listened, so much so that his beard got wet. When Jafar completed the recitation, Negus said, ‘Surely this Revelation and the Revelation of Jesus were from the same Source.' Then to the two Makkan ambassadors, he said, 'By God, I will not hand over these persons to you.'


But the story does not end here. The Makkans would not give up so easily. They asked the king to find out what the Muslims' view of Jesus and his Divinity were, knowing of course, the difference in the Christian and Muslim positions regarding Jesus.


Again, Jafar responded, with no compromise of principles, just the simple, clear Truth:


'He (Jesus) is God's servant and Messenger; a spirit and a word from God that He bestowed on the Virgin Mary.'


Upon hearing this, Negus picked up a straw from the ground and said:


‘By God, Jesus was not even as much as one straw more than what you have said about him.'


He returned the gifts of the Quraysh. Negus told them he was not used to taking bribes and the Muslims would remain under his protection.


This was an early victory for positive Muslim-Christian relations.


2. Umar ibn al-Khattab and Jerusalem


Jerusalem and its surrounding territory were and remain holy to Muslims, Christians and Jews. It was during the Caliphate of Omar ibn al-Khattab that Muslims first gained leadership of this territory. May Allah be pleased with Omar.


The Muslim reaction to this victory is something to remember.


Omar entered Jerusalem in humility. He walked in with not he, the Caliph, but his servant comfortably riding on a camel. They had been taking turns walking and riding.


At one point in Jerusalem, the Christians asked him to pray in their church but he declined. He said he was afraid that in the future Muslims could use this as an excuse to take over the Church to build a Masjid.


The Christians gave the key of the Church of Resurrection to Muslims to be responsible for its safety. This key is still with the Muslims today as a sign and symbol of the mutual trust.


3. Saladin (Salah el Deen Ayyubi) and the Crusades


It was in response to the horrific oppression in Jerusalem at the hands of the Crusaders in the 11th century and the need to free the area of their control that Sultan Salah el Deen Ayyubi (Saladin) liberated Jerusalem from them in 1187.


His arrival brought relief for the local Christian population, who helped him, after the oppression they suffered at the hands of their co-religionists, the Crusaders.


Not only did Saladin treat the Crusaders with kindness, he ensured that Muslims and non-Muslims lived in peace and harmony with each other.


One particular story about him recounts that some Muslim soldiers were besieging a Christian fortress. Many Christians were seeking shelter inside, including a young couple who was planning to get married, but whose plans had been stopped by the fighting. They decided to get married anyway, even though they were trapped inside the castle.


Saladin was in charge of the Muslim troops at this time. When he heard about the wedding, he ordered his soldiers not to attack the castle where the couple was staying, so that they could enjoy peace and quiet. In return for this respect, the bride's mother sent out trays of food for Saladin and the Muslim army to share in the wedding celebrations.


Indeed the longest period of peace and justice for all in Jerusalem has been the period when Muslims were in control.


Now the bad news


1. The Crusades


During the Crusades (1095 until 1291) European Christians attacked and occupied this Holy land. They oppressed the Muslims, the local Christians and the Jews. These Crusaders killed over 200,000 innocent civilians.


The aim: to wrest control of Jerusalem from the Muslims. This was not only a period of bloodshed, hostility and violence. It was also the beginning of collective Western stereotypes of Islam and Muslims, according to some scholars.


The Crusades ended centuries ago. But today, the remnants of those stereotypes have taken on new meaning. Muslims are still bloodthirsty, violent savages by most of the mainstream media's standard. The propagation of these views on the collective level through the media has affected Muslims globally and locally. Muslims in America, while living peacefully with Christians and other religious groups, are still subject to discrimination in varying degrees, and physical violence and harassment in the worst cases.


While the Crusades were bad news for Muslims and even local Christians living alongside them, one significant outcome of this contact between Muslims and Western Christians was the passage of knowledge from one to the other.


Christians, through the Muslims, were able to access texts like those of Aristotle, for instance. The Muslims clearly passed on an intellectual heritage, which a number of scholars say laid the foundations for the modern Christian West. For more discussion of this, please see the book " Islam and the Discovery of Freedom by Rose Wilder Lane.


2. Muslim Spain versus Christian Spain


Many Muslims look back at Muslim Spain with pride. But Jews also call it their "golden era".


Spain became part of the Islamic world at the beginning of the eighth century. Under Muslims, Spain became the center of civilization. Although many local Spaniards embraced Islam, Christians and Jews were free in all aspects of their lives. The Muslims respected their religion and institutions. The result was the birth of the first true cosmopolitan culture in the West.


Christians studied alongside Muslim scholars to such a degree that in 854, a Christian named Alvaro of Cordoba complained that these students were forgetting their own religion and culture.


The Muslims and Christians of Spain did not live in their ghettos, isolated and not cooperating in various aspects of daily life together.


It was in Spain that Aristotle's works on physics and natural history were translated into Arabic from Greek. Historians generally acknowledge that the Muslim world proved to be a major conduit of ancient scholarship into the West, especially through Muslim Spain.


It wasn't just Muslims and Christians who thrived in Spain, though. Jews, who were reviled and hated elsewhere, were not only living safely and peacefully alongside non-Jews in Muslim Spain, they were learning and contributing to its culture and knowledge which Muslim scholars had established.


But this success in wealth, knowledge and co-existence came to end in a violent and very sad way.


As Christian Crusaders of Spain expelled Muslims, civilization that took centuries to build was destroyed. Muslims and Jews were either expelled or forced to convert to Christianity. Millions died as tolerance was replaced by the Spanish Inquisition. A suspected Muslim was to be killed for the smallest act resembling Islamic tradition - such as taking a bath on Friday.


3. European colonialism (1500s to the early 20th century)


European colonialism was such a powerful force that by 1900, 90.4 percent of Africa was under European or American colonial control. This was a political and economic phenomenon that began in the 1500s. Various European nations "discovered", conquered, and exploited large areas of the world.


In a quest for silk, spices and world domination, European explorers, like Christopher Columbus set out to sea. He ended up in North America. The result: the slaughter and destruction of millions of Natives and the usurpation of their land by Europeans.


In Muslim lands, colonialists wreaked havoc, supplanting Islamic educational systems with secular or Christianity-focused ones, and murdering and/or enslaving the natives of Africa, South Asia and the Middle East, for example.


They also acculturated the "savage" natives to the "refined" customs of Europe. In the Indian subcontinent today, the term "Brown Sahib" is used to refer to a native who is mentally colonized by the West. There are similar stock characters in other Muslim cultures.


4. Armenia-slaughter at the hands of Muslims, early 20th century


The predominantly Christian Armenians consider the greatest disaster in their history to be their murder and deportation from Turkey during World War I.


In 1915 as Turkish Armenians aligned with the pro-Christian Tsarist Russian enemy, the Turkish army reacted strongly against this betrayal. Although, according to Encyclopedia Britannica, statistics are disputed regarding the Armenian population in Ottoman Anatolia at the outbreak of World War I and the number of Armenians killed during this deportation, a large number of Armenians died during this civil war.


Those Turkish Armenians who survived migrated to places like predominantly Muslim Lebanon and Syria, as well as Russia, France, and the United States.


5. Current relations between the Muslims and Christians


Today 70% of all refugees in the world are Muslims. To Muslims, many of these refugees and other conflicts are a result of their powerlessness.


Muslims feel culturally enslaved, in many ways to the predominantly Christian West. The United States, with the new geopolitical reality of uni-polar world, continues to dictate policies to smaller nations of the world.


This new form of colonialism is done with the help of local lackeys in Muslim countries who take their orders about how their countries should be run from Washington, D.C. as opposed to locally.


On a larger level, British, French, American and Russian colonial powers (all Western, and all predominantly Christian) also control Muslim and other Third World countries through international institutions like the World Bank, the International Monetary Fund (IMF), and the Security Council of the United Nations.


This excessive power over the lives of millions is perceived by a number of Muslims as the continuing perpetuation of the colonial era. For most Muslims, colonialism is not about the spread of "refined European civilization". It is about massacre, slaver, and weakness. It is nothing to proudly look back upon.


The fight against tobacco


One example of modern American colonialism can be found in the fight against tobacco in the United States.


In the last eight years, the US tobacco industry has lost business because of public health awareness campaigns against smoking. But in the same period the industry has achieved the record profits. How?


They now have an open market to sell their deadly products to Third World consumers, thanks to the help of the American government. So cancer is bad for Americans, but it's okay for others. Where is the justice?


Despots and dictators: not in my backyard, but fine for yours


A second example of Western neo-colonialism is found in these countries' support for corrupt dictators, totalitarian despots and anti-democratic forces in the Muslim world. Muslims question how sincere the Western belief in justice and democracy really is when this happens.


For instance, the government of France supported the Algerian army when it canceled elections following the victory at the ballot of the Islamic Salvation Front party in 1992. France is the country famed for "liberty, equality and fraternity". It seems this is not what they had in mind for the Muslims in their former colonial baby, Algeria.


The United States, which touts "freedom and democracy" has similarly supported undemocratic regimes in Muslim and other countries. Justice, it seems, is not for all, especially not Muslims.


Muslim minorities in the West versus Christian minorities in Muslim countries


Both of these groups of minorities have been the brunt of stereotypical images in the local media, along with various forms of harassment. For example, several Masjids in America have been burned down and attacked as have chuches in Nigeria, Pakistan and Indonesia. Tribal clashes in Nigeria have taken on a religious color and a number of Christians have been murdered outside churches in Pakistan.


Muslims in Muslim countries must protect the rights of their Christian neighbors to freely practice their religion as well as their freedom of speech, as Prophet Mohamed (peace and blessings be upon him) and the rightly guided Khalifas after him did.The constitution the Prophet drafted in Madinah following his migration from Makkah enshrined the rights of Christians and Jews in the city, including those of worship. These were fully enforced under his leadership. Another example was when Umar ibn al-Khattab was Khalifah. He returned tax money collected from Christians in a town in modern day Iraq after he and the Muslims had to leave it. The taxes had been collected to ensure Muslim protection of the Christians living there. Since the Muslims could no longer do that, they returned the money.


Similarly, Christians in countries like America must stand up for Muslims' rights, especially those of free speech and freedom of religion. This way, both groups can build bridges of understanding and tolerance in a world currently fraught with violence, terror and destruction.


Still Some Examples of Cooperation:


But amid these examples of New World Order colonialism and tense Muslim-Christian relations, there are some bright spots.


In the 1990s, the West did eventually come to the aid of Muslims following massacres, rapes and the oppression of Muslims in Bosnia and Kosova.


On the level of faith, the 1994 United Nations Conference on Population in Cairo, Egypt, became a platform for Muslim and Catholic cooperation against perceived anti-religious bias.


In addition, it is somewhat ironic that while Muslims resent the Western support for dictatorships in their countries, they turn to the West when seeking to escape the oppression in their countries. For example, Iran's anti-Shah revolutionaries were essentially based in the West.


It is not uncommon to find Muslim refugees escaping to Germany, France, Britain, America and Canada. While many of them are economic migrants, seeking a better life for themselves and their families on a financial level, there are also those escaping political turmoil and corruption in their home countries.


The current situation


Although the current "war against terrorism", which has now expanded to include war against Iraq, started off as just that, there is now a general perception amongst Muslims that the war is turning against them, despite US President George W. Bush's assurances to the contrary. First came the reference to the war as a "crusade," then the bombing of innocent civilians in Afghanistan. America's one-sided support of Israel while its president refuses to even see Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat, has only worsened the situation.


In the US at this moment, there are thousands of Arabs and Muslims who have been in prison for the past three months with no charges against them. Even their names are not being released. Racial and religious profiling is the norm today when it comes to Arabs and Muslims in America. Three major charities in the US have been banned without due process of law. Muslims who gave millions of dollars to these charities to fulfill the third pillar of Islam, Zakat, in the month of Ramadan, lost all that money. The abuse of individual freedom, the media's ridicule of Islam and mockery of Muslim beliefs have led to such lawlessness in dealing with Muslims that one Jewish attorney of a Muslim client commented that, "Muslims have become the new Niggers of America."


Terrorism is a real threat. It must be dealt with in a proper and fair manner. If we could wait to try Timothy McVeigh with the due course of law, why not let these individuals and their organizations know what the charges are against them and allow them to defend themselves. It seems that a Christian terrorist has civil rights but a Muslim terrorist has none, although terrorists do not represent their faith. Otherwise they would not do things like this.


But there have been positive actions taken as well since September 11. A number of churches and their leaders have come forward in interfaith gatherings to show support and sympathy for the Muslims of America. The Pope issued a call to Catholics worldwide to fast on the last Friday of Ramadan of 2002 in solidarity with Muslims. Some non-Muslim women have donned headscarves as a way of expressing sympathy for Muslim women too afraid to cover themselves in the backlash that followed the September 11 attacks.


More recently, a number of mainstream Christian groups have been at the forefront of the peace movement that opposed the war on Iraq, as well as the country's occupation by America. This is a very positive step forward, considering that churches did not oppose the Vietnam War until 10 years after it began, nor did Christian groups oppose the internment of Japanese-Americans during World War II, except for the Quakers.


However, with this positive development has come a threat to Muslims from one section of Christian America: certian evangelical groups. Statements made by high profile individuals like Franklin Graham (who described Islam as a "very evil and wicked religion") and Rev. Jerry Vines, a Southern Baptist (who said during a conference in St. Louis last year, that Islam's Allah is not the same as the God worshipped by Christians, and that "Allah is not Jehovah, either. Jehovah's not going to turn you into a terrorist.") have added fuel to the fire.


Although some mainstream churches opposed Graham's and Vines' statements, most adopted a silent or neutral stance towards such false, anti-Islamic propaganada.


In addition, amongst Christian groups, there has been a split in terms of war on Iraq. While most groups oppose the war, the more right-wing groups, like the evangelicals support it.


And so the cycle of positive and negative relations between Muslims and Christians continues. Muslims and Christians must continue to work together for peace and justice for all people. Muslims and Christians in America, especially, are in a unique position to do this and can serve as an example of peaceful co-existence of minorities the world over.


026.083 "O my Lord! bestow wisdom on me,and join me with


the righteous;


026.085 And place me among the inheritors of the Garden of


Delight, (THE HOLY QUR'AN)


MODERATOR


http://groups.yahoo.com/group/islam4all/

CHAPTER TWO:


THE ECONOMIC ASPECT


THE RIGHT TO POSSESS PERSONAL PROPERTY


One aspect of the world-view of Islam is that everything in heaven and on earth belongs to Allah:


To Allah belongs all that is in the heavens and on earth. . .


(Quran 2:284)


As such, all wealth and resources are ultimately "owned" by Allah. However, out of Allah's mercy He created mankind to be, collectively, His trustees on earth. In order to help mankind fulfill this trusteeship, he made the universe serviceable to mankind:


And He (Allah) has subjected to you, as from Him, all that is in the heavens and on earth: behold, in that are signs indeed for those who reflect. (Quran 45:13)


It is the human family that is addressed in the above, and in other verses of the Quran. And since that family includes both genders, it follows that the basic right to personal possession of property (as Allah's trustees) applies equally to males and females. More specifically:


1. The Shariah (Islamic Law) recognizes the full property rights of women before and after marriage. They may buy, sell or lease any or all of their properties at will. For this reason, Muslim women may keep (and in fact they have traditionally kept) their maiden names after marriage, an indication of their independent property rights as legal entities.7


FINANCIAL SECURITY AND INHERITANCE LAWS


2. Financial security is assured for women. They are entitled to receive marital gifts without limit and to keep present and future properties and income for their own security, even after marriage. No married woman is required to spend any amount at all from her property and income on the household. In special circumstances, however, such as when her husband is ill, disabled or jobless, she may find it necessary to spend from her earnings or savings to provide the necessities for her family. While this is not a legal obligation, it is consistent with the mutuality of care, love and cooperation among family members. The woman is entitled also to full financial support during marriage and during the waiting period (iddah)8 in case of divorce or widowhood. Some jurists require, in addition, one year's support for divorce and widowhood (or until they remarry, if remarriage takes place before the year is over).


A woman who bears a child in marriage is entitled to child support from the child's father. Generally, a Muslim woman is guaranteed support in all stages of her life, as a daughter, wife, mother or sister. The financial advantages accorded to women and not to men in marriage and in family have a social counterpart in the provisions that the Quran lays down in the laws of inheritance, which afford the male, in most cases, twice the inheritance of a female. Males inherit more but ultimately they are financially responsible for their female relatives: their wives, daughters, mothers and sisters. Females inherit less but retain their share for investment and financial security, without any legal obligation to spend any part of it, even for their own sustenance food, clothing, housing, medication, etcetera).


It should be noted that in pre-Islamic society, women themselves were sometimes objects of inheritance (see Quran 4:19). In some Western countries, even after the advent of Islam, the whole estate of the deceased was given to his/her eldest son. The Quran, however, made it clear that both men and women are entitled to a specified share of the estate of their deceased parents or close relations:


From what is left by parents and those nearest related, there is a share for men and a share for women, whether the property be small or large—a determinate share. (Quran 4:7)


EMPLOYMENT


With regard to the woman's right to seek employment, it should be stated first that Islam regards her role in society as a mother and a wife as her most sacred and essential one. Neither maids nor baby sitters can possibly take the mother's place as the educator of an upright, complex-free, and carefully reared child. Such a noble and vital role, which largely shapes the future of nations, cannot be regarded as "idleness." This may explain why a married woman must secure her husband's consent if she wishes to work, unless her right to work was mutually agreed to as a condition at the time of marriage.


However, there is no decree in Islam that forbids women from seeking employment whenever there is a necessity for it, especially in positions which fit her nature best and in which society needs her most. Examples of these professions are: nursing, teaching (especially children), medicine, and social and charitable work. Moreover, there is no restriction on benefiting from women's talent in any field. Some early jurists, such as Abu Hanifah and Al-Tabari, uphold that a qualified Muslim woman may be appointed to the position of a judge. Other jurists hold different opinions. Yet, no jurist is able to point to an explicit text in the Quran or Sunnah that categorically excludes women from any lawful type of employment except for the headship of the state, which is discussed in the following chapter. Omar, the second Caliph after the Prophet (P), appointed a woman (Um Al-Shifaa' bint Abdullah) as the marketplace supervisor, a position that is equivalent in our world to "director of the consumer protection department."


In countries where Muslims are a numerical minority, some Muslim women, while recognizing the importance of their role as mothers, may be forced to seek employment in order to survive. This is especially true in the case of divorcees and widows and in the absence of the Islamic financial security measures outlined above.


026.083 "O my Lord! bestow wisdom on me,and join me with


the righteous;


026.085 And place me among the inheritors of the Garden of


Delight, (THE HOLY QUR'AN)


MODERATOR


http://groups.yahoo.com/group/islam4all/

Why We Cannot Win


by Al Lorentz


Before I begin, let me state that I am a soldier currently deployed in Iraq, I am not an armchair quarterback. Nor am I some politically idealistic and naïve young soldier, I am an old and seasoned Non-Commissioned Officer with nearly 20 years under my belt. Additionally, I am not just a soldier with a muds-eye view of the war, I am in Civil Affairs and as such, it is my job to be aware of all the events occurring in this country and specifically in my region.


I have come to the conclusion that we cannot win here for a number of reasons. Ideology and idealism will never trump history and reality.


When we were preparing to deploy, I told my young soldiers to beware of the "political solution." Just when you think you have the situation on the ground in hand, someone will come along with a political directive that throws you off the tracks.


I believe that we could have won this un-Constitutional invasion of Iraq and possibly pulled off the even more un-Constitutional occupation and subjugation of this sovereign nation. It might have even been possible to foist democracy on these people who seem to have no desire, understanding or respect for such an institution. True the possibility of pulling all this off was a long shot and would have required several hundred billion dollars and even more casualties than we’ve seen to date but again it would have been possible, not realistic or necessary but possible.


Here are the specific reasons why we cannot win in Iraq.


First, we refuse to deal in reality. We are in a guerilla war, but because of politics, we are not allowed to declare it a guerilla war and must label the increasingly effective guerilla forces arrayed against us as "terrorists, criminals and dead-enders."


This implies that there is a zero sum game at work, i.e. we can simply kill X number of the enemy and then the fight is over, mission accomplished, everybody wins. Unfortunately, this is not the case. We have few tools at our disposal and those are proving to be wholly ineffective at fighting the guerillas.


The idea behind fighting a guerilla army is not to destroy its every man (an impossibility since he hides himself by day amongst the populace). Rather the idea in guerilla warfare is to erode or destroy his base of support.


So long as there is support for the guerilla, for every one you kill two more rise up to take his place. More importantly, when your tools for killing him are precision guided munitions, raids and other acts that create casualties among the innocent populace, you raise the support for the guerillas and undermine the support for yourself. (A 500-pound precision bomb has a casualty-producing radius of 400 meters minimum; do the math.)


Second, our assessment of what motivates the average Iraqi was skewed, again by politically motivated "experts." We came here with some fantasy idea that the natives were all ignorant, mud-hut dwelling camel riders who would line the streets and pelt us with rose petals, lay palm fronds in the street and be eternally grateful. While at one time there may have actually been support and respect from the locals, months of occupation by our regular military forces have turned the formerly friendly into the recently hostile.


Attempts to correct the thinking in this regard are in vain; it is not politically correct to point out the fact that the locals are not only disliking us more and more, they are growing increasingly upset and often overtly hostile. Instead of addressing the reasons why the locals are becoming angry and discontented, we allow politicians in Washington DC to give us pat and convenient reasons that are devoid of any semblance of reality.


We are told that the locals are not upset because we have a hostile, aggressive and angry Army occupying their nation. We are told that they are not upset at the police state we have created, or at the manner of picking their representatives for them. Rather we are told, they are upset because of a handful of terrorists, criminals and dead enders in their midst have made them upset, that and of course the ever convenient straw man of "left wing media bias."


Third, the guerillas are filling their losses faster than we can create them. This is almost always the case in guerilla warfare, especially when your tactics for battling the guerillas are aimed at killing guerillas instead of eroding their support. For every guerilla we kill with a "smart bomb" we kill many more innocent civilians and create rage and anger in the Iraqi community. This rage and anger translates into more recruits for the terrorists and less support for us.


We have fallen victim to the body count mentality all over again. We have shown a willingness to inflict civilian casualties as a necessity of war without realizing that these same casualties create waves of hatred against us. These angry Iraqi citizens translate not only into more recruits for the guerilla army but also into more support of the guerilla army.


Fourth, their lines of supply and communication are much shorter than ours and much less vulnerable. We must import everything we need into this place; this costs money and is dangerous. Whether we fly the supplies in or bring them by truck, they are vulnerable to attack, most especially those brought by truck. This not only increases the likelihood of the supplies being interrupted. Every bean, every bullet and every bandage becomes infinitely more expensive.


Conversely, the guerillas live on top of their supplies and are showing every indication of developing a very sophisticated network for obtaining them. Further, they have the advantage of the close support of family and friends and traditional religious networks.


Fifth, we consistently underestimate the enemy and his capabilities. Many military commanders have prepared to fight exactly the wrong war here.


Our tactics have not adjusted to the battlefield and we are falling behind.


Meanwhile the enemy updates his tactics and has shown a remarkable resiliency and adaptability.


Because the current administration is more concerned with its image than it is with reality, it prefers symbolism to substance: soldiers are dying here and being maimed and crippled for life. It is tragic, indeed criminal that our elected public servants would so willingly sacrifice our nation's prestige and honor as well as the blood and treasure to pursue an agenda that is ahistoric and un-Constitutional.


It is all the more ironic that this un-Constitutional mission is being performed by citizen soldiers such as myself who swore an oath to uphold and defend the Constitution of the United States, the same oath that the commander in chief himself has sworn.


September 20, 2004


Al Lorentz [send him mail] is former state chairman of the Constitution Party of Texas and is a reservist currently serving with the US Army in Iraq.


Copyright © 2004 LewRockwell.com


Find this article at:


http://www.lewrockwell.com/orig5/lorentz1.html

as salam alykom


PII put some very interesting questions on another thread. We saw to dedicate a special thread to Insh a Allah try and reply to his inquiries. I do seek Allah’s close guidance and support to be able to explain the needed points.


Insh a Allah we will try to give him a reply:


Here are his points:


I don't really believe in death. Nor birth for that matter. I mean, I was never really born. I was a foetus, which was an embryo, which was an egg, which was created when my mother was a foetus, etc. So when I die, I won't really die. I will rot and become eaten by worms and such, thus feeding them and giving them strength to make new life, which will repeate until the United States destroys the earth with nuclear weapons ;-)


Ok, so the United States thing was a joke (a dark joke at that), but the rest is basically true. It's a very buddhist perspective.


If someone wouldn't mind, could you explain (in stupid American speak) the fundamental Muslim belief in death? Or provide me with a link if the basics have already been covered on thie forum? Jolly good then. Cheerio!


-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------


Just as u mentioned, if we are going to talk about the end, we must first look at the beginning.


One starts life exactly as u said as a fetus (a conceived egg) in the mother’s womb. At the age of around 12 weeks, Allah S&T instills the soul into the fetus that is when it starts moving.


At this age, Allah also Sends an angle to record the full profile of the creature. Such as whether believer or non believer, rich or poor, happy or unhappy, and so forth.


The soul actually is the source of life, that is why when it is blown into the fetus, it starts moving and continues to develop, forming limbs, body organs step by step till the embryo is fully grown and ready to come into this world.


Then as u know one comes to life through the delivery process of the mother.


When the time of the person comes, as recorded in Allah’s main ledger (actually it has a special term but I am using this to simplify matters to u), one starts suffering stupor of death, let us call it the departure of the soul.


Actually, it is a departure of the soul which does not die itself, it does not eliminate. When time comes, one suffers different symptoms indicating the pulling out of the soul from the body.


Being the source of life, in other words this ambiguous item which makes all body organs function and is not known to any of us but still leads all vital operations of the body, the organs begin to stop one after the other. Usually the departure of the soul begins from the feet.


Depending on the status of the person, whether a believer or not, the stupor is either painful or smooth.


At this point, the truth is revealed to the person, he/she sees the angle assigned to collect the soul either in a cheerful nice image or a dreadful frightening one.


The angle begins collecting the soul as I said starting from the feet and takes it up through the skies to check its position again depending on the final destination one prepared for.


It is then brought back to the body till it goes into the grave. After being into the grave, the soul is taken into a different world. I call it the waiting area. Sort of a no man’s zone where all of our souls will be waiting for the Day of Judgment.


We can easily say that the soul does not die, or eliminate, but rather only the envelope that is keeping it from meeting the Lord is taken off.


It is set free to wait where Allah Commands it till the time comes.


When the time comes, souls will be returned back to the bodies in their graves, by the Will of Allah of course.


We will resurrect from our graves in a major panic and wait for the judgment.


I was brief and simple as much as possible.


Hope I helped if u need any further explanation, will be more than happy to give. Or if my brothers and sisters have more to say pls do.

As salam alaikum warahamatu ALLAH wabarakatuh


Narrated Talha bin 'Ubaid-Ullah:


A bedouin with unkempt hair came to Allah's Apostle and said, "O Allah's Apostle! Inform me what Allah has made compulsory for me as regards the prayers." He replied: "You have to offer perfectly the five compulsory prayers in a day and night (24 hours), unless you want to pray Nawafil." The bedouin further asked, "Inform me what Allah has made compulsory for me as regards fasting." He replied, "You have to fast during the whole month of Ramadan, unless you want to fast more as Nawafil." The bedouin further asked, "Tell me how much Zakat Allah has enjoined on me." Thus, Allah's Apostle informed him about all the rules (i.e. fundamentals) of Islam. The bedouin then said, "By Him Who has honored you, I will neither perform any Nawafil nor will I decrease what Allah has enjoined on me. Allah's Apostle said, "If he is saying the truth, he will succeed (or he will be granted Paradise)."


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Narrated Ibn 'Umar:


The Prophet observed the fast on the 10th of Muharram ('Ashura), and ordered (Muslims) to fast on that day, but when the fasting of the month of Ramadan was prescribed, the fasting of the 'Ashura' was abandoned. 'Abdullah did not use to fast on that day unless it coincided with his routine fasting by chance.


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Narrated Abu Huraira:


Allah's Apostle said, "Fasting is a shield (or a screen or a shelter). So, the person observing fasting should avoid sexual relation with his wife and should not behave foolishly and impudently, and if somebody fights with him or abuses him, he should tell him twice, 'I am fasting." The Prophet added, "By Him in Whose Hands my soul is, the smell coming out from the mouth of a fasting person is better in the sight of Allah than the smell of musk. (Allah says about the fasting person), 'He has left his food, drink and desires for My sake. The fast is for Me. So I will reward (the fasting person) for it and the reward of good deeds is multiplied ten times.


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Narrated Abu Wail from Hudhaifa:


Umar asked the people, "Who remembers the narration of the Prophet about the affliction?" Hudhaifa said, "I heard the Prophet saying, 'The affliction of a person in his property, family and neighbors is expiated by his prayers, fasting, and giving in charity." 'Umar said, "I do not ask about that, but I ask about those afflictions which will spread like the waves of the sea." Hudhaifa replied, "There is a closed gate in front of those afflictions." 'Umar asked, "Will that gate be opened or broken?" He replied, "It will be broken." 'Umar said, "Then the gate will not be closed again till the Day of Resurrection." We said to Masruq, "Would you ask Hudhaifa whether 'Umar knew what that gate symbolized?" He asked him and he replied "He ('Umar) knew it as one knows that there will be night before tomorrow, morning.


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Narrated Sahl:


The Prophet said, "There is a gate in Paradise called Ar-Raiyan, and those who observe fasts will enter through it on the Day of Resurrection and none except them will enter through it. It will be said, 'Where are those who used to observe fasts?' They will get up, and none except them will enter through it. After their entry the gate will be closed and nobody will enter through it."


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'Narrated Abu Huraira:


Allah's Apostle said, "Whoever gives two kinds (of things or property) in charity for Allah's Cause, will be called from the gates of Paradise and will be addressed, 'O slaves of Allah! Here is prosperity.' So, whoever was amongst the people who used to offer their prayers, will be called from the gate of the prayer; and whoever was amongst the people who used to participate in Jihad, will be called from the gate of Jihad; and whoever was amongst those who used to observe fasts, will be called from the gate of Ar-Raiyan; whoever was amongst those who used to give in charity, will be called from the gate of charity." Abu Bakr said, "Let my parents be sacrificed for you, O Allah's Apostle! No distress or need will befall him who will be called from those gates. Will there be any one who will be called from all these gates?" The Prophet replied, "Yes, and I hope you will be one of them."


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Narrated Abu Huraira:


Allah's Apostle said, "When Ramadan begins, the gates of Paradise are opened."


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Narrated Abu Huraira:


Allah's Apostle said, "When the month of Ramadan starts, the gates of the heaven are opened and the gates of Hell are closed and the devils are chained."


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Narrated Ibn Umar: I heard Allah's Apostle saying, "When you see the crescent (of the month of Ramadan), start fasting, and when you see the crescent (of the month of Shawwal), stop fasting; and if the sky is overcast (and you can't see It) then regard the crescent (month) of Ramadan (as of 30 days)".


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Narrated Abu Huraira:


The Prophet said, "Whoever established prayers on the night of Qadr out of sincere faith and hoping for a reward from Allah, then all his previous sins will be forgiven; and whoever fasts in the month of Ramadan out of sincere faith, and hoping for a reward from Allah, then all his previous sins will be forgiven."


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Narrated Ibn 'Abbas:


The Prophet was the most generous amongst the people, and he used to be more so in the month of Ramadan when Gabriel visited him, and Gabriel used to meet him on every night of Ramadan till the end of the month. The Prophet used to recite the Holy Qur'an to Gabriel, and when Gabriel met him, he used to be more generous than a fast wind (which causes rain and welfare).


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Narrated Abu Huraira:


The Prophet said, "Whoever does not give up forged speech and evil actions, Allah is not in need of his leaving his food and drink (i.e. Allah will not accept his fasting.)"


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http://www.eidmubarak.com/directview2.cgi?...777955196622087

http://www.eidmubarak.com/directview2.php?...247495439603284

As Salam Alykom


As we started this room and dedicated it to matters related to death. We saw to include information needed by all of us. How to proceed with the funeral procedures starting from even when the person is suffering stupor of death.


Insh aAllah we are planning to post them step by step so follow up on here:


source:http://ccminc.faithweb.com/janazah/01intro.html


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<b>Funeral: Introduction</b>


I seek refuge with Allah from the cursed Shaitan


In the name of Allah, Most Gracious, Most Merciful


and say: My Lord! Increase me in knowledge. (20:114)


"Wherever ye are death will find you out even if ye are in towers built up strong and high!" If some good befalls them they say "This is from Allah"; but if evil they say "this is from thee" (O Prophet). Say: "All things are from Allah. But what hath come to these people that they fail to understand a single fact? (4:78)


Every soul shall have a taste of death: and only on the Day of Judgment shall you be paid your full recompense. Only he who is saved far from the fire and admitted to the garden will have attained the object (of life): for the life of this world is but goods and chattels of deception. (3:185)


Every soul shall have a taste of death: and We test you by evil and by good by way of trial: to Us must ye return. (21:35)


Every soul will taste of death. Then unto Us ye will be returned. (29:57)


All that is on earth will perish; But will abide (forever) the Face of thy Lord full of Majesty Bounty and Honor. (55:26-27)

Assalaamualaikum warahmatulahi wabarakatuhuh


Another area of the world where Islam is being misunderstood. Lets do something about it!!


Other areas: http://www.prohijab.net/english/hijabban-news.htm


http://news.independent.co.uk/europe/sto...ory=565756


After French law on Muslim headscarves, Italian village bans the burqa


By Peter Popham in Milan


Italy's reputation for religious tolerance was in the balance last week after a ban on women wearing burqas instigated in a tiny Alpine village began spreading across the country.


An Italian woman who converted to Islam nine years ago and took to veiling her face after performing the Haj, the pilgrimage to Mecca, has received two fines from the authorities in the village where she has lived all her life.


Sabrina Varroni, 34, converted after marrying her Moroccan husband, with whom she has four children. There are 10 other Muslims in the village, but she is the only who wears the veil. The mayor of Drezzo, the 1,000-strong village near the Swiss border where she lives, has strong views on such practices.


A member of the xenophobic and separatist Northern League, Cristian Tolettini found two laws on the books to help him stamp them out: one passed under Mussolini's fascist rule in 1931, banning the wearing of masks in public, and another dating from 1975, at the height of the Red Brigades scare, forbidding the wearing of items that disguise a person's identity. And he has instructed local police to enforce them.


As a result, last week Drezzo's only policeman handed Ms Varroni two penalty notices on successive days, each for about £25: once when she was waiting at the bus stop for her children to come home from school, once in the municipal office.


The following day she seemed likely to get another if she didn't remove her veil. Instead she stayed indoors.


Despite the evident absurdity of a village woman known to all the other inhabitants being fined for setting foot outside her home, Mr Tolettini defends his action. For Ms Varroni to go around wearing the burqa, he said, was "a continual and conscious violation of the law" which was "not a question of principle but of correctness. The law of '75 was enacted in light of the terrorism of the Red Brigades, and today too it seems to me that reasons of security are not lacking."


Through a lawyer, Ms Varroni said: "I have been wearing the veil for years, I am Italian, raised in Drezzo, and I have never done any harm to anyone. Why are they so furious with me?"


The assault on the right to wear the burqa has been condemned as "an ignoble act of persecution" by left-wingers. Michele Ainis, a legal expert, told the newspaper Corriere della Sera that the law enacted under Mussolini was "one of the most fascist laws in 20 years of fascism", and that he was sure Italy's Constitutional Court would overturn this application of it. But this week Mr Tolettini's initiative began spreading.


Mario Borghezio, a Northern League MEP, said the burqa deserved to be banned because it is "a symbol of the most obscurantist type of Islamic fundamentalism" and has become a "symbol of death" because some of the women involved in the Beslan massacre were veiled.


In parliament, the Minister for Parliamentary Relations, Carlo Giovanardi, told MPs that the ban would be enforced. And in a village near Treviso, in the Veneto region, a Bangladeshi woman wearing a burqa was challenged by a policeman in the street and taken to the police station, where she removed it.


http://news.independent.co.uk/europe/sto...ory=565756