http://english.aljazeera.net/NR/exeres/51B...9C8B756C177.htm

Guantanamo guards embrace Islam

Tuesday 14 October 2003, 9:46 Makka Time, 6:46 GMT

Could contact with prisoners be having an effect?

A number of the US troops guarding the 660 suspected al-Qaida and Taliban detainees in Guantanamo Bay have converted to Islam, according to an Algerian mediator.

Hasan Aribi, who chairs his country’s committee on the Guantanamo question, has negotiated the release of 18 detainees from the heavily-guarded detention camp at the eastern tip of Cuba.

He claimed that the freed detainees told him that some of their American guards had converted to Islam as a result of daily interaction with Muslim prisoners for the past two years.

The US military refused to comment when contacted by Aljazeera.net on Tuesday.

Release of prisoner

Aribi made his claims at a seminar in Egypt recently which was covered by Islam Online.

Speaking to the Cairo seminar, he said his negotiations, held in Washington before the Iraq war, resulted in the release of eight Algerians and ten other detainees.

"They told me that the American guards were very sympathetic with them to the extent of buying the detainees’ needs (with) their pocket money," Aribi said.

Aribi appealed to other Arab governments to act immediately for the release of their citizens, held without charges in Guantanamo.

He said 90% of those held had "no relation whatsoever with al-Qaida or Taliban. They were working with humanitarian relief agencies and were only arrested as part of an American campaign against possible suspects."

The detainees are being held outside US legal jurisdiction

A New York representative of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) said he had also heard reports of US guards converting to Islam in Guantanamo.

Arrests

No comment was immediately available from the camp. US military officials have imposed stricter reporting limits since the arrests of a Muslim army chaplain and two interpreters.

The arrests involved civilian interpreter Ahmad Mihalba, a naturalised US citizen from Egypt, allegedly found with classified documents from Guantanamo and Air Force Airman Ahmad al-Halabi, an interpreter accused of espionage for allegedly sending classified information about the camp to an unspecified "enemy."

Army Capt James Yee, a Muslim chaplain, has been charged with disobeying orders. He is accused of leaving the base with a layout of the prison block.

All three say they are innocent.

Red Cross speaks out

The International Committee of the Red Cross has complained on Friday that the camp denies prisoners basic rights and is leading to mental health problems among them.

"We've witnessed growing anxiety and a rather serious deterioration in the psychological health of the detainees, linked very much, we believe, to their ongoing uncertainty," said Amanda Williamson of the ICRC's office in Washington.

The public protest is highly unusual for the ICRC, which traditionally raises concerns about such conditions privately.

Aljazeera

Salam

I would like to share a story with you all which i remember i heard. A long time a ago there was a man who used to drink alcohol alot. Day and night he just used to dink and drink. One day he bought a slave girl. A couple of months later she gave birth to a baby girl. The man still carried on drinking as usual. When his daugther was about 2 , when her dad used to drink she used to push the cup / bottle out of his hand. She done this quite a few times.

A couple of months later the little girl passed away. He was even more upset because of his daughters death but it didnt stop him from drinking.

One night the man had a dream. " I was running away from sumthing i was running so fast. I looked up and i was running from a very big horrible dragon which was blowing out fire. I was so scared of it. I carried on running until i came to stop at a Shayk. I asked him why is that dragon after me, caan you please help me. The shayk replied i cant do anything to help you. Yoy are on your own. I carried on runing and running. The dragon was still after me.

I again came and stopped at the same Shayk again.I again asked him to help me this time he said to me to carry on going ahead and behind that place you will find your answers there.

I ran all the way there. When i gt there i stopped. That place was full of dead children. Amongst them was his little girl. He asked her y the dragon was after him. She replied that dragon is all your bad deeds put together. The flame fire the dragon is blowing out shows how strong ur bad deeds have become.

He asked about the Shayk, she replied that Shayk is your good deeds but thats how weak they have became that he cldnt help you.'

The man woke up the next day and asked Allah for forgiveness. He gave up drinking and became a great Shayk in his time.

I heard this story and it really touched my heart for sum reason. I liked it alot so i though i would share it with you.

I know the moral of this story but i was wondering if after reading this if you do?

Asalam~O~Alykum

I want 2 change my signature. What do I do to change it? Thanx

Salam~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Masriahmuslimah

السلام عليكم

Assalamu alaikum all!

In my locality there was this discussion that raised some heat about tarawih{taravih}/tahajjud prayers.

Are the two the same in Ramadan or two seperate entities? I will like brothers and sisters to contribute giving evidence{s} from the Sunnah and references. If the ahadiths are quoted in arabic it is okay, but i will love for them to be translated also in English for the benefit of all.

Asalam~O~Alykum

BY:Shaykh Muhammad Nasir-ud-Deen al-Albani

Laylat ul-Qadr is the most blessed night. A person who misses it has indeed missed a great amount of good. If a believing person is zealous to obey his Lord and increase the good deeds in his record, he should strive to encounter this night and to pass it in worship and obedience.

If this is facilitated for him, all of his previous sins will be forgiven.

Praying Qiyaam

It is recommended to make a long Qiyaam prayer during the nights on which Laylat ul-Qadr could fall. This is indicated in many hadeeths, such as the following:

Abu Tharr (radhiallahu `anhu) relates:

"We fasted with Allah's Messenger (sallallahu `alayhi wa sallam) in Ramadaan. He did not lead us (in qiyaam) at all until there were seven (nights of Ramadaan) left. Then he stood with us (that night - in prayer) until one third of the night had passed. He did not pray with us on the sixth. On the fifth night, he prayed with us until half of the night had passed. So we said, 'Allah's Messenger! Wouldn't you pray with us the whole night?' He replied:

'Whoever stands in prayer with the imaam until he (the imaam) concludes the prayer, it is recorded for him that he prayed the whole night.'?" [Recorded by Ibn Abi Shaybah, Abu Dawud, at-Tirmithi (who authenticated it), an-Nasa'i, Ibn Majah, at-Tahawi (in Sharhu Ma`an il-Athar, Ibn Nasr, al-Faryabi, and al-Bayhaqi. Their isnad is authentic.]

Point of benefit:

Abu Dawud mentioned: "I heard Ahmad being asked, 'Do you like for a man to pray with the people or by himself during Ramadan?' He replied, 'Pray with the people' I also heard him say, 'I would prefer for one to pray (qiyaam) with the imaam and to pray witr with him as well, for the Prophet (sallallahu `alayhi wa sallam) said: "When a man prays with the imaam until he concludes, it is recorded that he prayed the rest of that night." [Masaa'il]

Abu Hurayrah (radhiallahu `anhu) narrated that the Messenger (sallallahu `alayhi wa sallam) said:

"Whoever stands (in qiyaam) in Laylat ul-Qadr [and it is facilitated for him] out of faith and expectation (of Allah's reward), will have all of his previous sins forgiven." [Al-Bukhari and Muslim; the addition "and it is facilitated for him" is recorded by Ahmad from the report of `Ubaadah Bin as-Samit; it means that he is permitted to be among the sincere worshippers during that blessed night.]

Making Supplications

It is also recommended to make extensive supplication on this night. `A'ishah (radhiallahu `anha) reported that she asked Allah's Messenger (sallallahu `alayhi wa sallam), "O Messenger of Allah! If I knew which night is Laylat ul-Qadr, what should I say during it?" And he instructed her to say:

Allahumma innaka `afuwwun tuh.ibbul `afwa fa`fu `annee - O Allah! You are forgiving, and you love forgiveness. So forgive me." [Recorded by Ahmad, Ibn Majah, and at-Tirmithi. Verified to be authentic by Al-Albani]

Abandoning Worldly Pleasures for the Sake of Worship

It is further recommended to spend more time in worship during the nights on which Laylat ul-Qadr is likely to be. This calls for abandoning many worldly pleasures in order to secure the time and thoughts solely for worshipping Allah. `A'ishah (radhiallahu `anha) reported:

"When the (last) ten started, the Prophet (sallallahu `alayhi wa sallam) would tighten his izaar (i.e. he stayed away from his wives in order to have more time for worship), spend the whole night awake (in prayer), and wake up his family." [Al-Bukhari and Muslim]

And she said:

"Allah's Messenger (sallallahu `alayhi wa sallam) used to exert more (in worship) on the last ten than on other nights." [Muslim]

Asalam~O~Alykum

Yesterday a friend was surfing the web found this cool article about names that r not suppose to be named to Muslims. I think its really good so I thought i would share it with all of u.

Salam~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Masriahmuslimah

The prohibited names are of two categories: those which are forbidden in the Sharee'ah and those which are either disapproved of due to the Sharee'ah, or due to manners and good taste.

Firstly : Forbidden Names :

(1) Names indicating servitude to other than Allah - the Most High such as: 'Abdun-Nabee (slave of the Prophet), 'Abdur-Rasool (slave of the Messenger) and 'Abdul - Muttalib - and whatever is like these names.

(2) Using these names which are particular names of Allah - the One far removed from all deficiencies - like: al-Ahad.

(3) From the names forbidden for our sons and daughters particular to other religions, i.e.: Jews and the Christians, like: George, David, Michael, Joseph, Diana, Jaclyn etc., since we - the Muslims - have been forbidden to imitate them.

(4) From the names which should also be avoided are the names of tyrants and despots like: Fir'awn (Pharaoh), Qaaroon, Aboo Jahl and their like, also the names of the leaders of Kufr and the heads of atheism such as Marx, Lenin and so on.

Secondly: Names disapproved of in the Sharee'ah or disliked due to bad manners or bad taste :

(1) Giving names which are meant to show servitude to Allah but using names not known to be from Allah's perfect names - like 'Abdul-Mawjood, 'Abdul-Maqsood and 'Abdus-Sattaar. This is because nothing can be affirmed as one of Allah's names without an authentic text.

(2) From these names are those which carry meanings of pessimism, or blameworthy characteristics which will be disliked or cause aversion or cause the possessor of the name to feel degraded, humiliated and such as will kill his personality - like Harb (war), Himaar (donkey), and Kalb (dog).

(3) From good manners is to avoid naming children with names which are suggestive or offend one's meaning of shame - such as: Huyaam (one passionately in love), Nuhaad (A young woman with full and raised breasts), Sahaam (summer heat)!, Wisaal (sexual union), Ghaadah (delicate young woman), Faatin (temptress), Fitnah (temptation), Shaadiyah (female singer) and names with similar meanings.

(4) It is also disliked to give names which amount to a declaration of a person's being pious like: Barrah (pious / piety) and the like - due to this meaning the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) changed the name of one of his wives from Barrah to Zaynab, as he used to hate that it be said: "He left/went out from 'Barrah' (piety)."

(5) From these names which it is disliked to use for naming are the names of the Angels- Particularly if they are used for females - such as Malaak since it is to be feared that this involves imitation of the pagans who gave feminine names to the angels.

(6) Just as it is disliked to name with the names of soorahs of the Qur'an such as: TaaHaa, Yaaseen and other names of soorahs. This is the saying of Imaam Maalik- rahimahullaah- Ibnul- Qayyim also said: "The saying of the common people that Yaaseen and TaaHaa are from the names of the Prophet (peace be upon him) is not correct, there is no 'saheeh' hadeeth about it or any 'hasan' hadeeth, nor anything 'mursal', nor any narration from any Companion, but rather they are letters like 'Alif Laam Meem', 'HaaMeem', 'Alif Laam Raa' and the like".

السلام عليكم

الشيئ الوحيد الذي اقدر ان اقوله هو صبحان الله العظيم

سلام~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Masriahmuslimah

AssalaamUalaikum!

I have a spanish speaking person who needs the five pillars of Islam is spanish. and their meaning, along with our ways of life, all in spanish. Can anyone help me with this? I will need to print it out and can U put it in my private box?

Now i will not know what is says: so could U give it to me in engish as well, so that I can go over it as they point it out to me. So that I will be more understanding??? :confused: :confused:

Anything U offer that will help. What they need to know about our way of life.

Islam is just so wonderful.

Shurquan

ASA

Haneefah

الذكر

1- قال الرسول – صلى الله عليه وسلم- "من لزم الاستغفار جعل الله له من كل ضيق مخرجا ومن كل هم فرجا ورزقه من حيث لا يحتسب".

2- قال الرسول – صلى الله عليه وسلم- "استغفروا الله وتوبوا إليه فإني استغفر الله في اليوم 100 مرة".

1- استغفر الله.

قال الرسول – صلى الله عليه وسلم- لأصحابه " أيعجز أحدكم أن يكسب في كل يوم 1000 حسنة! فسأل سائل من جلسائه: كيف يكسب1000حسنة؟ فقال: يسبح 100 تسبيحة فيكتب له 1000 حسنة أو يحط عنه 1000 خطيئة" – رواه مسلم

2- سبحان الله.

1- قال الرسول – صلى الله عليه وسلم-:"من قال سبحان الله و بحمده في يوم 100 مرة حطت خطاياه وإن كانت مثل زبد البحر" –متفق عليه. <

2- قال الرسول – صلى الله عليه وسلم-:"من قال سبحان الله وبحمده غرست له نخلة في الجنة" – رواه الترمذي

3- سبحان الله وبحمده.

قال الرسول – صلى الله عليه وسلم-:"كلمتان خفيفتان على اللسان ثقيلتان في الميزان حبيبتان إلى الرحمن: سبحان الله وبحمده سبحان الله العظيم" – متفق عليه

4- سبحان الله وبحمده, سبحان الله العظيم.

1-قال الرسول – صلى الله عليه وسلم-:"خير ما قلت أنا و الأنبياء من قبلي لا اله إلا الله."

2-قال الرسول – صلى الله عليه وسلم-:"جددوا إيمانكم فإن الإيمان يبلى كما يبلى الثوب. فقالوا: ما نقول يا رسول الله؟ قال: قولوا لا إله إلا الله".

5- لا إله إلا الله.

قال الرسول – صلى الله عليه وسلم-:"من قال لا إله إلا الله وحده لا شريك له, له الملك وله الحمد وهو على كل شيء قدير, في يوم مائة مرة كانت له عدل عشر رقاب, وكتبت له مائة حسنة, ومحيت عنه مائة سيئة, وكانت له حرزا من الشيطان, ولم يأت أحد بأفضل مما جاء فيه إلا رجل عمل أكثر منه" – متفق عليه

6-لا إله إلا الله وحده لا شريك له, له الملك وله الحمد وهو على كل شيء قدير.

عن أبي موسى رضي الله عنه قال, قال لي رسول الله – صلى الله عليه وسلم-:"ألا أدلك على كنز من كنوز الجنة؟ فقلت بلى يا رسول الله, فقال: لا حول ولا قوة إلا بالله". متفق عليه

7-لا حول ولا قوة إلا بالله.

قال رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم:"لقيت إبراهيم عليه السلام ليلة أسري بي فقال: يا محمد أقرىء أمتك مني السلام, وأخبرهم أن الجنة طيبة التربة, عذبة الماء, وأنها قيعان, وأن غراسها: سبحان الله والحمدلله ولا إله إلا الله والله أكبر." – رواه الترمذي.

8- سبحان الله والحمدلله ولا إله إلا الله