Monday 1 October 2012

Turn the other cheek

[Have you ever seen an image or picture of prophet Mohammed (s.a.w)? It has been about 1400years since he gave his last sermon and till date there has never been an image or a pictorial representation of Nabiyu Rasullullah (s.a.w), this is not a coincidence and indeed is a miracle for those who have reasoning. Have you wondered why this is so? The reason is because human by our weak nature have tendency to ascribe divine attributes to an item, image or stature of an individual that we depend on for spiritual guidance and leadership in the event that that individual is absent. For an individual such as Prophet Mohammed Ibn Abdullah (s.a.w) who was sent revealation from God himself one can only imagine the sort of divinity that would be ascribed to an image, or stature of him.(whearas he is only a messenger and slave of Allah the one true God that should be worshipped)

Since the time of Prohpet Mohammed son of Abdullah Rasullullah (s.a.w) the unbelivers always plotted against him, often making up stories, mockery and somtimes even by physical abuse when they threw rocks at him.This seemed to be a trend by unbelivers against messengers of God because Jesus Isa Messiah son of Mary also was attacked and mocked. This unruly behaviour has been the trait of the unbelivers throughout history and one does not expect it to change, so when the coptic christian filmaker and promoter Nakoula Bassel aka Sam Bacile and Steve Klien produced and released the controversial movie which morally insults both our beloved Rasullullah (s.a.w) and Isa Jesus (a.s.w) son of Mary, it didnt come as a surprise, rather what surprises me is the manner in which some muslims handled the matter. I will address that later but first I will have u know of a plot by some unbelivers of this present day to ridicule, attack and disunite the muslim ummah.

First it was the Danish cartoons in 2005, now in september 2012 the movie which I describe as a sequel to the cartoons was released. Somtime in between another American pastor tried to burn the Holy Quran, all these acts were carried out by a group of misguided individuals who call themselves christians. One does not need critical reasoning to see that these events are not unrelated. They all have a common aim which is to attack Islam. The only variation is that subsequent attempts seem to be more intense and bolder than the preceeding ones.

I wish to also bring your attention to a series of Danish cartoons where they depict crashing a plane into our Holy Kaaba in revenge for 9/11 and another where they suggest blowing it up. In reply to this I will quote the words of the grandfather of the blessed prophet Mohammed (s.a.w) who said "The Kaaba has an owner to protect it".This was his exact response to the Roman Vassal Governor of Yemen, Abraha, when he tried to attack the Kaaba with his army of elephants. Allah destroyed them with little birds carrying baked clay.(suratul Al Fil).They mock they plan and they scheme but Allah is the best of planners.

They exploit every opportunity to oppress muslims because they know our mode of reaction to such matters. According to steven Klien who claimed he visited several mosques in the US, he identified about 500 to 750 muslims who in his opinion where future suicide bombers. Imagine how one draws such a conclusion upon almost a thousand innocent men, women, and children. Klien who is involved in weapons training in his Los Angeles Church, had no regrets whatsoever promoting this controversial film. He also had this to say in response to the most recent unerest sparked by this movie "do I have blood on my hands? No. Did I kill this guy(perhaps referring to the US ambassador to Libya)? No. Do I feel guilty that these people where incited? Guess What? I didnt incite them, they are preincited they are preprogrammed to do this" his words exactly. Just as predicted and anticipated muslims took to the streets immediately the movie was released, soon after, oppressive murderers in uniforms were deployed .They got their opportunity to beat, detain, imprison, invade and even kill muslims all in the name of restoring law and order.

Now back to the issue of my brothers all over the world. Having in mind that this movie did not spring up overnight, the authorities, the world powers, and muslim nations were not unaware of the intention to make and release this film, had the leadership stood their grounds, put worldly gains aside and threaten to impose diplomatic sanctions or outright cut of crude oil supply to the west in the event that such movies are released, would the movie still have been released? would the unrest in Lybia, Sudan, Yemen have taken place? would the loss of innocent lives in the American embassy in Lybia have been averted? Perhaps, but unfortunately such a bold descision was never concidered.

The American government and their allies are hypocrites,Yes! They come out to speak against the movies but behind the scene they grant safe haven and legal backing to these individuals to such an extent that such a movie which was produced in Denmark got released in America. They thrive on the guise of freedom of speech and expression but ridicule and ban the Burqa, which is a classic case of freedon of expression.
The American government and their allies, Israel especially are part of these plotters.Despite the worlwide condemnation of the events of 2005, In Denmark the German chancellor Merkel Angela went ahead to defend and present the M110 media award in Potsdam, Germany on the 7th of September 2010 to Kurt Westergaard the originator of the controvertial danish cartoon for his "courage in defending freedom of speech". These are the leaders of the plotters against Islam.

Allah is not unaware of our situation and on Allah alone let the belivers rely (Qur'an 14:11/12). To
my brethren in Africa, specifically Nigeria, Allah will not change the condition of a people until they change that which is in their hearts.The prophet (s.a.w) was a tactical and patient leader.Do the majority of muslims today follow this example?
why do we take to d streets without planing or thinking and start to destroy lives and property upon the slightest provocation? This is not the solution. We need to change that which is in our hearts, we need to put the teachings of Islam and the example of the prophet (s.a.w) above, wealth ,culture, ethnic differences tribalism and personal vendetta .We need to educate the younger generation wholesomely on the proper teachings of Islam. We need to overhaul most of our Islamic institutions especially in the north. We need to educate not only our children but we ourselves, on proper Islamic morals so that perhaps when we get to leadership positions we make better decisions than the present Leaders and some scholars. Dont get me wrong, a peacefull and well organized protest has its benefits, but only in a country where the the government is scincerly sympathetic to the cries of its people.We need to behave such that non muslims begin to see the true beauty of Islam and perhaps they will unserstand the religion better and appreciate that such mockery should not be taken lightly.

On a final note I speak against any mockery of any of the prophets of Allah including Jesus Isa (Asw) son of Maryam(Mary) r.a, and also all those that originated, support or are sympathetic to the cause of the plotters.I speak against the muslims who sit idly by and turn deaf ears to these matters.I speak against all hypocrites in this regard.

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posted from Bloggeroid

Tuesday 6 December 2011

Your mother...

Today I met the most insolent little boy. He was about five but he had the disrespect of a 60 year old who as older than everyone could act as he pleased. Those little kids most people can't stand, that u just want to throw out the window, and I wondered how his mother just sits their and watch? But this is not about his discipline or lack of, but the way his mother shielded and protected him when we finally had enough and I graciously offered to throw him away, she protected him.
That what mothers do, only in extremely dysfunctional cases do u find a mother that does not love her child UNCONDITIONALLY. That is the love of a mother, the father may throw u out, but she will still send private messages and duas your way.
When the prophet saw was asked who was more deserving of honor he said " your mother" and he made that response 3 times before he said, "your father". I believe our mothers have earned their spot.

Surah Luqman, Verse 14:
And We have enjoined man in respect of his parents his mother bears him with faintings upon faintings and his weaning takes two years saying: Be grateful to Me and to both your parents; to Me is the eventual coming.

posted from Bloggeroid

Wednesday 14 September 2011

My hair!!

Before I started wearing the hijab, I used to get my hair done, pretty nicely, had weaves and braids on, was a hair diva, somewhat. And now, well my hair is all tied up. :)
The remember the first time my friend showed me this hadith years ago, saying that the Prophet SAW put a curse on any woman that put false hair or lashes and the one that fixes it for her, I thought "ha'an thats a bit harsh" subhanAllah, may Allah forgive me for that,I really wasn't ready for it, so I made myself "unknow" that hadith, I mean whats the big deal??
I didn't understand it till I started wearing the hijab. And more, recently when a sister asked how do we then stop making our hair? I offered, tie your hair in a scarf, it my not be a hijab but its on the way to one inshaAllah.
Fixing your hair has a lot of perks, it makes u feel good for a moment, thats if it doesn't hurt but also has its downsides, it costs money, and these days more and more money is poured down the drain to make ourselves look "pretty", as student, Allah knows I need that extra cash in my pocket so yes am glad am done with that business and most importantly it encourages vanity. I was sitting with a coursemate one time and she was talking about how she needs to get her hair done, and how prices have gone up because of human/Brazilian hair(that is an entire topic on it own!), and how you had to get a fairly good grade of hair ( at that moment I was really glad I was done) and in the end she said you know all this is vanity, vanity upon vanity, I smiled.
Its that vanity that makes us "forget" to cover our hair, or makes the head cover "fall off accidentally" that makes it impossible to wear the hijab/khimar. I mean why make your hair with all that money when you can't show it off right???...
The hijab humbles you, and saves money too, but most especially humbling. Then thing I like about weavons was that my hair was covered and it could grow, the hijab offers me that. When I started with the hijab, I announced to friends I shall not be making my hair anymore, they didn't see why but when it seemed that the hijab was here to stay, they understood the financial reason, covering hair, no point. Also there is no place in Islam for vanity and pride, "a person will not enter paradise if he had even an iota of pride" may Allah save us. But I chose not to make my hair simply coz its haram and I refuse to be one of those women.

posted from Bloggeroid

Wednesday 25 May 2011

My fate..

I used to enjoy reading my horoscope, just for the fun of it, just to see i suppose. Im a pisces. Then i discovered it was haram (prohibited) that it can lead to shirk (associating patners with Allah) actually ive always known this but it was one of those things i choose to ignore, i mean its just horoscopes, not really a big deal. Recently i was watching Avatar, the air bender version, with my niece and nephew or maybe THEY were watching it with me.. Well anyways there was an episode where they went to a village that had a fortune teller. The lady practically ruled that community, never was a decision taken without her consent, the people relied on her for everything, what to where, where to go to, who to talk to, what to sow, EVERYTHING! Aang discovered that there was going to be a volcanic erruption that could wipe the whole village but no one believed him, because it had not been "predicted". Anyway, this may be extreme you may think but is it? Some people do base there lives on those things.
Qadr, one of the five pillars of faith, means believe in divine decree, the complete trust in Alah as Master of our affairs.
Knowing about Qadr, how then does it work with astrology? Am i really live my fate in the hands of Allah? In the Qur'an Allah said, know that if the whole of civilization came to do you a good, they will not succeed without His permission and also should a whole people gather to do you evil, they shall not succeed without Allah.
So this is my truth;
Say. "Never will we be struck except what Allah has decreed for us, He is our protector." And upon Allah let the believers rely. Qur'an[ 9:51 ]
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Tuesday 5 April 2011

Those specs...

Im out on an errand and when we get to the market, immediatly the car parks, theres a rush of children to it (for those who are familiar with the 'almajiri' setting, and if u arent, well..) im really not in the mood, politely excuse myself and go about my business. By the time im done and back to the car, they are on the drivers side talking to my brother. They round up and he hands some change to one and tells him to share with the other, Jamilu. As we drive off i ask "so wat were u guys talking about? "Nothing really, asked them what they were doing and the younger one said "beggin" (how simpistict are children?) And i asked again why? They said "cause we have to pay our Mallam, we give him a certain amount and if theres anything left, we use it to eat. " he asks for their names, Jamilu and Awwal and their from a place that i've never even heard of in a far away state. And then they talked about foot ball...i look at him and i see a whole new person and i say "thats really nice u know, what u did" and he says "its nothing, i was just talking to little kids". That was exactly what they were, little kids, how many times has anyone seen them and thought that? Most times we shoo them in annoyance, but alas heres someone that gave them a minute, somehow i feel they wouldnt forget it quick. I felt ashamed of myself, that i havent even thought of it that way. They have at an early stage been ripped from their homes and made to fend for themselves under the guise or islamic education. Its sad when the person that should know the most appears not to know at all. Children put under your custody to learn have been turned into beggers and a way of earning a living. With over 30 children under his watch paying daily 'penance' he has himself a small fortune and with that the fear of Allah extinguished in his heart. Islamcontrary to popular belief is against begging and sees it as absolute last resort, yet muslim children, grown men and women alike litter the streets everyday, begging. They view it as earning a living. Islam urges us to uphold our dignity and there is nothing dignifying in that.
The prophet (S.A.W) said "I swear it is better for one of you ro get rope and fetch firewood from the bush, carry it on his back, than go to the person Allah had enriched to beg him for something which he might give him or turn him down."
And somehow begging has become a common sight in muslim communities..
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The Last Sermon

This is beautiful mashAllah and it essentially captures the message of islam by our Rasool, (SAW)
THE PROPHET'S (SAW)LAST SERMON. O People, listen to me in earnest, worship God, say your five daily prayers (Salah), fast during the month of Ramadan, and give your wealth in Zakat. Perform Hajj if you can afford to.

All mankind is from Adam and Eve, an Arab has no superiority over a non-Arab nor a non-Arab has any superiority over an Arab; also a white has no superiority over black nor a black has any superiority over white except by piety and good action. Learn that every Muslim is a brother to every Muslim and that the Muslims constitute one brotherhood. Nothing shall be legitimate to a Muslim which belongs to a fellow Muslim unless it was given freely and willingly. Do not, therefore, do injustice to yourselves.

Remember, one day you will appear before God and answer your deeds. So beware, do not stray from the path of righteousness after I am gone.

O People, no prophet or apostle will come after me and no new faith will be born.  Reason well, therefore, O People, and understand wo
rds which I convey to you. I leave behind me two things, the Quran and my example, the Sunnah and if you follow these you will never go astray.

All those who listen to me shall pass on my words to others and those to others again; and may the last ones understand my words better than those who listen to me directly. Be my witness, O God, that I have conveyed your message to your people".

Wednesday 15 December 2010

The turn around..

So I get a call from home (am in school) saying my dad is ill.he's always ill these days, its normal plus he's old, thahts what I thought 2years ago when I got the news of loosing a parent, then it turned out to be my mother, the immortal, somehow I never quite associated death with her. And then she did. Now my father is ill and I'm bothered, he of course has survived many illnesses then why does this bother me so? Today I'm feeling like someone that's got a single parent left. That he's the only one I've got and loosing him gives me shivers. All of a sudden any beep from my phone makes my heart skip a beat and when the call actually was from my siblings, I stopped breathing. I'm scared of loosing my dear old father. I hope like all illnesses pass. I want my father to be there to give me away, to see my children, his grand children...then it hit me, that I may not see those either, why am I worrying about his mortality when I too am mortal?
"Every one that is thereon will pass away.." (Qur'an, Chapter Ar-Rahman, 55:26). Its funny isn't it that daily people die, of all ages, we never consider our own mortality? At this point my thoughts are re-directed, I do worry about my fathers heallth, I do hope he gets better and do know even the illness is a blessing to him for the Prophet S.A.W said no one shall suffer a loss, anxiety or detriment even the prickling of a thorn without a part of his sins being forgiven, I also worry about my own mortality.. I hope I meet my end well, that WE meet our end well, and that we receive the mercy of the Most Merciful. I smile cause I know I'm in good hands..