Bismillah


Abu Hurayra reported that Allah's Messenger said: "After the people of Paradise enter Paradise and the People of the Fire enter Hell, Death will be brought foreward in the form of a spotted ram. It will be on the wall which seperated the people of Paradise from the people of the Fire. Then it will be said: 'O people of Paradise!' Thereupon they will raise their heads and stare apprehensively. Then it will be said: 'O people of the Fire!' Whereupon its inhabitants will raise their heads in hope of intercession. After this the people of Paradise and the inhabitants of the Fire will be addressed thus: 'Do you know what this is?' They will all reply: 'We know it; it is Death, which was assigned to us.' Thereupon Death will be placed on its side and slaughtered on the wall. Finally, it will be said: 'O people of Paradise, only eternity and no more death. O people of the Fire, only eternity and more death.'"

Peace.


I just wanted to say hello to everyone. I haven't posted since last year. (sooo sorry).


I've read a few posts... I'll be keeping many people in my prayers.


God Bless.

http://edition.cnn.com/2004/US/09/21/plane...d.ap/index.html


http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=stor...1/ny13209220146


Flight diverted after Cat Stevens found on watch list


Wednesday, September 22, 2004 Posted: 0218 GMT (1018 HKT)


Yusuf Islam, formerly Cat Stevens, addresses those gathered at the annual meeting of the Islamic Society of North America in 2003.


WASHINGTON (AP) -- A plane bound for Washington from London was diverted to Maine on Tuesday after passenger Yusuf Islam -- formerly known as pop singer Cat Stevens -- showed up on a U.S. watch list, federal officials said.


United Airlines Flight 919 had already taken off from London en route to Dulles International Airport when the match was made between the passenger and the watch list, said Nico Melendez, a spokesman for the Transportation Security Administration.


The plane was met by federal agents at Maine's Bangor International Airport around 3 p.m. ET, Melendez said.


Federal officials, speaking on condition of anonymity, identified the individual as Islam.


One official said Islam, 56, was identified by the Advanced Passenger Information System, which requires airlines to send passenger information to U.S. Customs and Border Protection's National Targeting Center.


TSA was then contacted and requested that the plane land at the nearest airport, the official said.


"He was interviewed and denied admission to the United States on national security grounds," said Homeland Security spokesman Dennis Murphy. He said the man would be put on the first available flight out of the country Wednesday.


Islam, who was born Stephen Georgiou, took Cat Stevens as a stage name and had a string of hits in the 1960s and '70s, including "Wild World" and "Morning Has Broken."


Last year he released two songs, including a re-recording of his '70s hit "Peace Train," to express his opposition to the U.S.-led war in Iraq.


He abandoned his music career in the late 1970s and changed his name after being persuaded by orthodox Muslim teachers that his lifestyle was forbidden by Islamic law. He later became a teacher and an advocate for his religion, founding a Muslim school in London in 1983.


Islam recently condemned the school seizure by militants in Beslan, Russia, earlier this month that left more than 300 dead, nearly half of them children.


In a statement on his Web site, he wrote, "Crimes against innocent bystanders taken hostage in any circumstance have no foundation whatsoever in the life of Islam and the model example of Prophet Muhammad, peace be upon him."

Bismillah Ar Rehman Ar Raheem ... Salaam Alaikum, peace and Masa Al-Khair


While all of us absolutely condemn all forms of terrorism , we ought to do more. We need to be more perceptive by analysing the core reasons of this problem. Peace would be much less elusive if a few powerful leaders humbled themselves a little for the sake of the multitudes across our planet and began dealing with the deep-rooted causes of militancy rather than just the 'symptoms' of it. No one is born a rebel or a militant. Neither does anyone like to kill or get killed. Unjust occupations and constant political extremism push communities over the edge. Their acts of frustration result in reprisals from their occupiers .. spiraling endlessly into a vicious cycle of violence in which mostly the innocents end up getting hurt on both sides. Such episodes are often 'spiced up' by the right-wing reporting of certain medias that only helps in deepening the hatred. The depth and duration of suffering of innocent civilians in places like Palestine, Chechnya, Iraq, Kashmir and many more places, should to be completely against the civilized values of the modern society. Yet the world seems to be oblivious. It's this kind of political extremism that has resulted in militancy gradually over the past years. Islam is undoubtedly the clearest message of peace, love and harmony. This entire episode of today's terrorism is political and has nothing to do with Islam. Whenever we do see the 'label' of Islam on such militant activities, it's done with a purpose. The rebels like to use Islam as a tool but, it's certainly not the cause. And those governments who are fighting terror prefer to give this conflict an Islamic 'touch' (or a clash between two cultures), basically to cover up the serious flaws of their own foreign policies. If only the governments & policy makers of powerful countries became a little more selfless and a little less egoistical by realizing the harshness and lack of ethics of modern day occupations, and implementing their reformed policies pomoting the concept of sovereignty, terrorism would become history without a single shot being fired from either side.


For a lot of 'onlookers' far away from the places of turmoil, it's nothing unusual to be critical about the stories of militancy and the awfulness of revenge that invariably get huge coverage in the media. However, expressing the importance of rationality during a comfortable living room conversation is easy enough especially as long as one hasn't been violated or brutalised personally. If any of these people saw their own loved ones being tormented or butchered before their eyes in their own homes, would they still feel as rational and composed towards their violators ? Surely most of them wouldn't regardless of the situation ... and that's but natural. This is a basic trend of human psychology which is true of every society in the world.


Needless to mention, the entire Muslim community has expressed it's deepest sympathy for the bereaved relatives of those hundreds of innocent children and adults killed recently in the cruel hostage crisis in Beslan, Russia. It's just as important to know the miserable history of Chechnya, and the brute force that has been used against it's people to keep their country a part of the Russian federation for the past half a century or more .... and violence breeds violence. Ignoring the cries of the oppressed can certainly create no link to peace. One only has to look into history to know how often this has been proven true.


Perhaps it would be beneficial for some governments to learn from certain wiser systems in the world. For instance, in Canada, Quebec is a separatist province that has been asking for independence since the last several years. But uptil now there has not been any incident of violence carried out by either side over this issue. The credit goes entirely to the wise, realistic and fair policies of the Federal government. Despite the demands for separation by the people of that province, the Government has never initiated any moves that might even remotely violate the rights of the common people. To resolve the issue, referendums have been freely & fairly allowed and the results accepted in a cordial & peaceful spirit. Canada is indeed a wonderful example of promoting mutual respect, peace and freedom for many governments and communities of the modern world.


Caring for humanity becomes genuine only when sympathy & concern are expressed and implemented for every oppressed or suffering soul without any ethnic or political discrimination. It was heart wrenching to see so many children at the school gymnasium at Beslan with their hands behind their backs. It has been just as disturbing and painful to watch the images on television of the little boys and girls in Iraq between the ages of 4 and 8, with their tiny hands above their shoulders, their faces filled with horror and helplessness .. watching the heavily armed coalition soldiers storming into their homes, blindfolding the adult members of their families and taking them away in handcuffs, some never to return. Not to mention those hundreds ( if not thousands) of young children who have been killed or maimed by the widespread indiscriminate bombings carried out by the occupying forces in the recent Iraq war. We have heard much about those 1,000 US soldiers who have been killed in Iraq since the war began. But we hear little or nothing about the 12,000 civilians who have lost their lives during the past 17 months.


You'll find below some important informtion pasted from the website created by various human rights' groups about the situation in Chechnya. Most reporters are barred from entering Chechnya, and websites are the basic source of information, which are also often hacked by Russian authorities. Therefore, please send this message to all your relatives, friends and acquaintances for information.


Allah Bless. Ma'salaama


Zainab ..


*******************************


Economic View Point


Russia's real GDP amounts to only $400 billion but, despite that, the production of oil in Chechnya doesn't contribute much to the Russian economy -- it doesn't quite justify the current war that Russia is waging. Of course, the oil pipelines through Chechnya have a much greater role to play, but I still wonder whether war can be justified on the basis of cost-benefit analysis. Russia is spending billions of dollars on the war and earns only a few million from the region. Further, the pipelines are continuously atacked and require more funds for repair. The main pipeline hasn't even been completed and with the current unstable state of security, it seems unlikely it will be completed any time soon. Russia needs to re-examine its economic benefits from keeping Chechnya in the federation.


Endless Brutality


For more than a year, Russia's federal forces have inflicted wanton violence on civilians in Chechnya in violation of international human rights and humanitarian law. While the most intense period of the war in Chechnya ended in the spring of 2000 with the occupation of the capital, Grozny, and most other areas, the behavior of Russia's forces toward the civilian population continues to be brutal, corrupt and illegal.


Physicians for Human Rights documents that, as of December 2000, Russia's forces continued to engage in arbitrary arrests, unlawful detention, torture, murder, attempted murder, disappearances, bribery, and shelling of population centers. Civilians are arrested on flimsy pretexts, interrogated, beaten, and sometimes thrown into pits in the ground, only to be released when relatives pay significant bribes. Some disappear. Russia's military units sweep through cities and villages ostensibly in search of fighters on the Chechen side, arrest civilians, shoot into homes, take property, and leave. Travel within Chechnya requires civilians to run a gauntlet of checkpoints, where they also may experience extortion, arrests or beatings.


Although there was considerable variation in the details provided by witnesses in their accounts to PHR of human rights violations, common elements appear throughout: The violations committed by Russia's forces came suddenly, often without warning or reason, to people merely trying to survive in a war-devastated country. Individuals were arrested and detained while walking on a road in their villages or towns, standing in their front yards, shopping at a market, driving, crossing a checkpoint that they had navigated hundreds of times before, or just sitting in their homes with their families. One man was arrested because he could not produce a case of vodka, another because he protested the arrest of his son. Sometimes individuals were arrested en masse, especially during 'sweeps' through the villages by Russia's soldiers.


During the first six months of the second Chechen war of the decade, which began in September 1999, war crimes by Russia's forces were documented and condemned by numerous organizations. In February and March 2000, Physicians for Human Rights assessed patterns and prevalence of abuse and found extensive evidence of war crimes and other human rights violations. PHR conducted a random survey of 1,143 persons displaced from Chechnya by the war. Respondents and members of their households alone witnessed almost 200 killings of non-combatants. 46% of the 1,143 surveyed reported witnessing at least one killing of a civilian by Russia's federal forces. Survey respondents reported 77 instances of torture.1 The survey was accompanied by corroborated witness case testimonies of massacres at Katr Yurt and Aldi, and atrocities at the Chernokozovo filtration camp.2


In April, 2000, the United Nations Commission on Human Rights demanded that Russian President Vladimir Putin conduct an independent investigation of serious breaches of human rights by Russia's forces and hold accountable those responsible for them. But when Russia failed to perform the demanded investigation or to end impunity, it suffered no consequences. Instead, Russian authorities continued to block the entry of human rights monitors from international bodies including the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe and the United Nations, preventing them from investigating ongoing violations or preventing new ones. Other than eliciting verbal protests, the international community, including the United States, took no effective action and declined to use tools at its disposal to require President Putin to stop Russia's massive violations of human rights and humanitarian law. The abuses continue into the present day.


SUMMARY


The recent PHR investigation was designed to document human rights violations in the last five months of 2000 and evaluate changes in the scope of abuses since PHR's earlier investigation.3 From December 8 to December 24, 2000, PHR Executive Director Leonard S. Rubenstein and Ondrej Mach, M.D., a consultant with extensive experience in the region, investigated violations in Chechnya. They interviewed more than 50 witnesses to human rights abuses that took place during the last five months of 2000, focusing especially on events in October, November and December.


The violations documented in this report take place in the context of widespread violence. Although by the spring of 2000, Russia's federal forces claimed to occupy all of Chechnya, they were unable to stop hit and run attacks against them by fighters on the Chechen side and suffered serious losses when Chechen fighters blew up trucks, armored personnel carriers and other vehicles. In some areas of Chechnya, including Grozny, Russia's federal forces responded to these losses by shooting at and killing civilians in their homes and on the streets; by shelling villages where rebels are suspected of operating; by illegally arresting, detaining, and torturing Chechen men, causing some to disappear; and by extorting money from civilians to permit the release of loved ones or to allow them to cross checkpoints.


Arbitrary Arrests and Disappearances


The circumstances and manner of the arrests suggest that they are often executed by units without any pretext of legal authority or regularity. Although some of the men arrested were brought to conventional detention facilities, others were thrown into pits in the ground or held in fuel dumps or cellars. Local military commanders sometimes did not know men had been detained or where; in other cases the commanders helped secure release. Some men simply disappeared after arrest.


Beatings/Torture


Individuals interviewed by PHR who were arrested were always beaten, often repeatedly and severely. Some of the men PHR interviewed were tortured with electricity. One was shot while riding on a truck. Another was mutilated. Their documents were confiscated, creating new risks when they were finally released. While detained they were deprived of food for days at a time and sometimes kept in cells or pits so small that all of the men could not sit down.


Arrests as a Form of Extortion


The men interviewed were released only when families paid a bribe demanded by the unit holding them or when families used whatever political influence they could muster to secure the release.


**************************


For more indepth information on human rights violations in Chechnya, please visit: http://www.phrusa.org/research/chechnya/chech_rep.html


For information on the history and struggle of Chechnya, click: http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/wor...ar/chechnya.htm

In the last years, televisions newspapers started to talk about the Signs of the Las day. For example it was not talked ten or fifteen years ago. According to the Hadith, there are definite signs for the Last Day. And professionals of this subject tells that these signs are being seen. I have read a book which has detailed information about the Hadith and the Signs about this subject, its name is The Signs of the Last Day at Webpage

Dear brothers and sisters


Assalam o alaikum


Today Jihad is a farz which is strongly forced by kuffar and munafiqeen. It is need that every muslim in the world learn about Jihad. This is the only way to remain live muslims in the world. Our Prophet Hazrat Muhammad (SAW) did Jihad himself 27 times in his Madani life. Which is only 10 years. In our Holy Qur'an there are about 484 Ayaath contains on Jihad topic. Its make our duty by Allah.


Therefore I invite every muslim member of yhis forum to learn about Jihad and share it with us in this forum.


Thanks

I always hear a lot of talk about how the Qu'ran dictates that Jews and Muslims will be engaged in a holy war and the Jews will perish da da da da. However, what about the fact that it is mostly Christians who are wreaking havoc on the Muslims lands right now? The U.S., possibly the biggest terrorizer of the middle-east, has never had a Jewish president, not even a non-christian president!


So what is everyone's take on this?

<b>SISTERS BUKHARI COMPLETION & GRADUATION 2004</b>


<b>Date:</b> Saturday 25th of September 2004


<b>Times:</b> First Session: 09:30 - 12:30


Second Session: 01:30 - 05:00


<b>Venue:</b> Madinatul Uloom Al Islamiyyah


Butts Lane, Summerfield


Kidderminister, DY10 4BH.


The students of United Kingdom’s foremost sisters-only Islamic University, Jaamiatul Imaam Muhammad Zakaria, are nearing the end of their academic year and will shortly be completing the teaching of the six most authentic books of hadeeth. A completion and graduation ceremony has been organised so that sisters from across the UK may have an opportunity to participate in the final lesson of hadeeth. Such a gathering is held annually, and in previous years it has been one of the largest gatherings of sisters in the UK.


Amongst the activities that take place during this ceremony are lectures by fully qualified and capable female scholars on a variety of important subjects. Lectures will be delivered in English and Urdu.


The annual gathering is a unique opportunity to get away from the hustle and bustle of daily life and spend time in a purely Islamic environment in the company of the pious thereby increasing one’s iman and knowledge. Great benefit can be derived during the course of the day from the intellectual input and spiritual guidance of female scholars.


Please come yourself and invite others for the Holy Prophet, may peace & blessings be upon him, said: <b>‘Whomsoever guides towards a goodness, will get virtues equal to the one who performs that goodness.’ </b> [Muslim]


There is <b>no charge </b>for the conference with <b>meals provided free</b>.


During the day there will be opportunities to purchase a large variety of Islamic goods such as audio lectures, books, clothing, including hijabs.


<b>About Jaamiatul Imaam Muhammad Zakaria</b>


Jaamiatul Imaam Muhammad Zakaria caters for the Islamic education needs of Muslim sisters in the UK wherein Islamic education is taught alongside secondary education. The Islamic education is taught as a five year course on Islamic theology. The syllabus includes Tafseer of the Qur’an, Hadeeth, Tajweed, Fiqh, and classical as well as modern Arabic. All lessons are taught in a professional manner by learned and qualified female scholars in a traditional but adaptable way, observing all requirements for hijaab as a priority.


Alhamdullilah, many graduates of Jaamiatul Imaam Muhammad Zakaria have established study circles and classes around the UK. Such classes have and continue to benefit many sisters.


<b>NOTE THAT THIS GRADUATION CEREMONY IS FOR FEMALES ONLY</b>


<b>PLEASE ADHERE TO SHARIAH GUIDELINES WHILST TRAVELING</b>


To accommodate the large numbers of attendees the ceremony is NOT HELD at the sisters university, rather at Madinatul Uloom al Islamiyyah, Kidderminster. Those sisters who require any further information can contact the sister’s university directly using the details below:


Jaamiatul Imaam Muhammad Zakaria,


Thornton View Road


Off Pasture Lane


Clayton


Bradford BD14 6JX.


Tel/Fax: 01274 882 007


Alternatively, you can visit the sites (you can download the poster and view the directions to the venue at the sites):


www.inter-islam.org


www.shariah-institute.org


For the brothers who wish to drop off their wives, sisters and other family members a section has been cordoned off for them to wait till the close of the conference. Facilities for the men to pray, rest and eat will be provided.

<b>SISTERS BUKHARI COMPLETION & GRADUATION 2004</b>


<b>Date:</b> Saturday 25th of September 2004


<b>Times:</b> First Session: 09:30 - 12:30


Second Session: 01:30 - 05:00


<b>Venue:</b> Madinatul Uloom Al Islamiyyah


Butts Lane, Summerfield


Kidderminister, DY10 4BH.


The students of United Kingdom’s foremost sisters-only Islamic University, Jaamiatul Imaam Muhammad Zakaria, are nearing the end of their academic year and will shortly be completing the teaching of the six most authentic books of hadeeth. A completion and graduation ceremony has been organised so that sisters from across the UK may have an opportunity to participate in the final lesson of hadeeth. Such a gathering is held annually, and in previous years it has been one of the largest gatherings of sisters in the UK.


Amongst the activities that take place during this ceremony are lectures by fully qualified and capable female scholars on a variety of important subjects. Lectures will be delivered in English and Urdu.


The annual gathering is a unique opportunity to get away from the hustle and bustle of daily life and spend time in a purely Islamic environment in the company of the pious thereby increasing one’s iman and knowledge. Great benefit can be derived during the course of the day from the intellectual input and spiritual guidance of female scholars.


Please come yourself and invite others for the Holy Prophet, may peace & blessings be upon him, said:<b> ‘Whomsoever guides towards a goodness, will get virtues equal to the one who performs that goodness.’ </b> [Muslim]


There is <b>no charge </b>for the conference with <b>meals provided free</b>.


During the day there will be opportunities to purchase a large variety of Islamic goods such as audio lectures, books, clothing, including hijabs.


<b>About Jaamiatul Imaam Muhammad Zakaria</b>


Jaamiatul Imaam Muhammad Zakaria caters for the Islamic education needs of Muslim sisters in the UK wherein Islamic education is taught alongside secondary education. The Islamic education is taught as a five year course on Islamic theology. The syllabus includes Tafseer of the Qur’an, Hadeeth, Tajweed, Fiqh, and classical as well as modern Arabic. All lessons are taught in a professional manner by learned and qualified female scholars in a traditional but adaptable way, observing all requirements for hijaab as a priority.


Alhamdullilah, many graduates of Jaamiatul Imaam Muhammad Zakaria have established study circles and classes around the UK. Such classes have and continue to benefit many sisters.


<b>NOTE THAT THIS GRADUATION CEREMONY IS FOR FEMALES ONLY</b>


<b>PLEASE ADHERE TO SHARIAH GUIDELINES WHILST TRAVELING</b>


To accommodate the large numbers of attendees the ceremony is NOT HELD at the sisters university, rather at Madinatul Uloom al Islamiyyah, Kidderminster. Those sisters who require any further information can contact the sister’s university directly using the details below:


Jaamiatul Imaam Muhammad Zakaria,


Thornton View Road


Off Pasture Lane


Clayton


Bradford BD14 6JX.


Tel/Fax: 01274 882 007


Alternatively, you can visit the sites (you can download the poster and view the directions to the venue at the sites):


www.inter-islam.org


www.shariah-institute.org


For the brothers who wish to drop off their wives, sisters and other family members a section has been cordoned off for them to wait till the close of the conference. Facilities for the men to pray, rest and eat will be provided.

http://www.usatoday.com/news/education/200...ead-scarf_x.htm


WASHINGTON (AP) — A sixth-grade Muslim girl in Oklahoma can wear a head scarf to school under a settlement between the school district and the Justice Department, officials announced Wednesday.


The six-year agreement, filed in U.S. District Court in Oklahoma, also requires the Muskogee Public School District to change its dress code to allow exceptions for religious reasons.


"This settlement reaffirms the principle that public schools cannot require students to check their faith at the schoolhouse door," said R. Alexander Acosta, assistant attorney general for civil rights.


The government filed suit in March on behalf of 11-year-old Nashala Hearn. She had been suspended twice by the district for wearing a head scarf, or hijab, to class. School officials said her clothing violated a dress code banning hats and other head coverings.


Hearn and her family said she wore the scarf as part of her observance of Islam. The department's complaint charged with the district with religious discrimination.


Acosta told reporters that school officials raised their initial objections on Sept. 11, 2003 — exactly two years after the terrorist attacks in New York and Washington — even though Hearn had worn the scarf for several weeks. The officials, Acosta said, told her that other students were "frightened" by her scarf.


"It is un-American to fear and to hate," Acosta said.


The settlement requires the district to put in place a training program for all teachers and administrators about the new dress code and to publicize the change.


A recently passed law in France forbids conspicuous religious symbols and clothing in schools. The law was enacted mainly to defuse controversy about Muslim head scarves but also applies to such things as the Jewish yarmulke and large Christian crosses.


The Justice Department has taken pains after the Sept. 11 attacks to address complaints of discrimination and hate crimes brought by Arab-Americans and other Muslims. Some Muslim groups have been critical of government anti-terrorism efforts as singling them out for harsh treatment and extra scrutiny.