06-25-2003, 12:13 PM
Salam alaykum:
How are you doing? How is everyone there? Do you still remember me in your dua? Please ask everyone there to pray for us to continue this important effort for dawah.
I want to share something with you and ask you to read it and then pass it on to as many people (Muslims and non-Muslims) as you can, inshallah.
I was just reading an article in the USA Today paper on page 7D (June 6, 2003). It caused me to really wake up and think. We are not doing our job.
Now more than ever before, we need to carry this message of "Laa elaha illa lah" (there is none worthy ! to be worshipped except the One True Almighty God of the universe) to these people here in the West. They are searching and they are lost. They don't know and we are not really helping them. They don't know about the proof that Almighty Allah (God) does exist, nor do they understand the purpose of this life (to fulfill God's Will on earth as it is in Heaven, by worshipping Him, alone, without any partners). We need to show them the proofs that can help them understand and then be convinced, as I was and many thousands of others have understood on coming into Islam.
We need to tell them and show them the Haqq (absolute truth) of Islam. They need to know about the pure submission to Almighty, The Most High. They are looking in all directions (except Islam) to solve their problems. But they can't find permanent solutions without Allah.
Think about these proofs from the sunnah (way of Muhammad as examples for all humans) for instance:
Allah's messenger, Muha! mmad, peace be upon him, taught us over 1,400 years ago:
* Always wash your hands, wrists, arms, face, etc., after using the toilet.
* Wash hands before and after you eat.
* Always eat with your right hand (use your left hand for dirty and impure things and the right hand for eating, drinking and shaking hands).
* Don't eat until you are hungry.
* Never fill your stomach.
* Divide your stomach into three parts; one for food; one for drink; and one for air.
* Always sit while you are eating or drinking.
This was 1,400 years ago. Today we are so modern. Right? Well, think about this:
1) Public television aired a program dealing with the epidemic level of the spread of hepatitis B, sometim! e back. They proved that it was largely due to those who were food handlers in fast food restaurants. The workers were not washing their hands after going to the toilet. They would handle the food with filth from the toilet still one their hands. Other programs exposed the fact that office workers were spreading many diseases that could have been avoided by washing their hands after using the toilet as well. In one example, tests were conducted on keyboards of computers, telephone receivers and other things that were touched and shared on a regular basis in a large office complex. The study showed that many germs and even fecal matter (human waste) was found everywhere in the office and even in the air that they were breathing. Emphasis was on the fact that the people were not washing themselves after going to the toilet.
2) In a study done by the United States Navy during the time of the Clinton administration, they wanted to determine the effects of cleaning and was! hing after using the toilet. On one ship every single person (around 200 or so, if I remember correctly) were commanded to wash before and after going to the toilet and before eating, etc. The findings? Very clearly, the evidence showed that these men had a definite decline in sickness, headaches, colds, diseases and no mention of any hepatitis at all.
3) There is a series on TV about how they only now are discovering the only way to insure longevity (long life) is not related so much to what you eat, but rather: how much you eat. They are calling for smaller portions; not to eat until you are hungry; not to fill your stomach; even telling people to begin by cutting the amount they eat -- in HALF.
4) Many people, even Muslims today, are saying things against the sunnah of Muhammad, peace be upon him. Some say it is not valid today. Others claim they don't see any value in it or that it is something not important and some are even making fun of his way and his t! eachings as though this is something old fashioned and outdated. (Aouthubillah).
Yet, when the same thing is coming from a non-Muslim doctor in Washington, DC... I'll let you decide about this one:
One night while driving home very late, from a fundraiser in Virginia, I was very tired. So, while waiting for a light to turn green, I laid my head on the steering wheel. When the light turned green, my little daughter started tapping my shoulder and saying, "Daddy, wake up!" "Daddy, you have to drive.." I said, "I'm too tired." She then turned on the radio in the car very loud in an effort to wake me up. There was a man's voice saying, "Never stand up when you eat or drink." He continued; "Never, ever stand up when you eat or drink; always sit down while eating and drinking." By now, I was wide awake and driving again. I thought, "Who could be talking like this?" This was sounding like Muslim preachers telling their followers to emulate the prophet, peace be upon him, i! n sitting while you eat and being careful of your eating habits; not to fill your stomach; always wash your hands. The voice on the radio continued, "If you knew the damage that you are doing to your body by standing while you eat, you would never do it." He then began to name the various parts of the body that are effected by standing rather than sitting while you eat, "Your esophagus, the stomach, kidneys, liver, etc." He was a doctor and he said, "Most of the operations would not be necessary if people would only SIT DOWN WHEN THEY EAT OR DRINK."
Interesting, isn't it?
Of course, now if we were to sit while we eat and take small portions and not eat to our fill, we would have to ask ourselves the question, "Am I doing this for Allah and His messenger, peace be upon him, or am I doing it for my health?"
5) I received an email that was trying to make fun of what Allah mentioned in the Quran about "gardens underneath which rivers flow" in the Paradise. T! hey were saying that it did not make any sense for people to need gardens in Heaven nor did they need rivers, nor fragrances, nor couches to sit on, nor any of the things referred to in conjunction with such teachings. They were ridiculing these references in Quran and claimed it proves Islam is wrong. (Aouthubillah)
Notice however, in USA - Today, an article in on page 7D, Friday, June 6, 2003,: "Tranquility grows well in a garden." It says that Americans are awakening their inner transcendentalist with healing havens -- gardens designed to bring peace to the owner. They call their "sanctuaries" "tranquility gardens." They picture a woman named Molly Matthews as a "horticultural therapist" and she is designing these "tranquil gardens" for people in California. Look also at the terms they are using in the article:
".. sanctuaries, also known as "tranquility gardens"" and "Gardens have always been a safe haven and a place to renew" and ".. bring pleasure, ! and in times of uncertainty and stress.." also, "people are being more mindful of their surroundings.. looking outside and thinking, 'What can I do to make this my palace .. my oasis?'" The so-called horticultural therapist says, "You need to be away from the cement, which is numbing to people." She goes on to include many things straight from the Quran in her theme of peaceful gardens, including "angels"; "jewelry"; "shells from beaches, layered on panels" and man-made ponds. Her instructions for a "tranquility garden" include: "Select a SACRED area... in green space, add COMFORTABLE SEATING"; "colorful and fragrant flowers"; "Embellish with calming elements - water and wind are sensory... soothing"; "Top choices... birdbaths, wind chimes and small water fountains."
Quote: "It's important to feel like you're in an EDEN, a sanctuary." -- Molly Matthews, horticultural therapist.
Why is it when Ms. Matthews says it, it makes USA Today news? But when Allah Almighty sa! ys it, they make fun and ridicule or call it a book of terrorism?
May Allah guide us all, ameen.
Right now I'm in a hotel in Grand Rapids, MI. We have a program planned for today, inshallah, to give dawah to the non-Muslims here in Michigan. Pray for us and for Allah to guide them, inshallah.
Earlier this week we were in Flint, Michigan (2 shahadahs); Merrillville, Indiana (1 shahadah); Chicago, Illinois for two separate nights (2 more shahadahs) and then later today we are heading toward Detroit (Flint again).
Hundreds and hundreds of Muslims are coming out for the events, but the problem is that they are only bringing one or two non-Muslims to attend this things. I pray that Allah will guide us all to do our jobs, before it is too late. Ameen.
Keep up your dawah efforts there and make sure that you hold fast to the rope of Allah (don't let the shayton separate your community).
Let us stay in touch and keep me informed of the! dawah activities there, inshallah.
Jazakalah khair was Salam alaykum,
Yusuf Estes
National Muslim Chaplain
Washington, DC - USA
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