Islamic Focus Issue 89 Igniting the Spirit of Islam May 2011 Bukhara Publications/Tel: 078 672 7797/Fax: 086 651 2125 Email: [email protected]/Korsten/Port Elizabeth be used in the lamps.’ (Bukhari) The Prophet said, ‘How blessed is al-Sham (area including Palestine)!’ The companions around asked: ‘Why is that?’ The Prophet replied, ‘I see the angels of Allah spreading their wings over al-Sham.’ Ibn Abbas added, ‘And the Prophets lived in it. There is not a single inch in al-Quds (Jerusalem) where a Prophet has not prayed or an angel not stood.’ (Tirmidhi) Among the virtues of Masjid Al-Aqsa are that it is: the station of Isra and Meraj; the place where hundreds of Prophets are buried; the only place on earth where all the Prophets prayed at the same time led by Prophet Muhammad ; the only Musjid mentioned by name in the Quraan apart from the Ka’bah. Glory to (Allah) Who did take His Servant for Journey by night from the Sacred Mosque to the Farthest Mosque whose precincts We did Bless in order that We might show him some of Our Signs: for He is the one Who heareth and seeth (all things). (Quraan) In the Quraan there are many verses implying that the land of Palestine, the city of Jerusalem, the entire environs are set apart as holy and blessed, as they received special divine blessings. The land around Musjid Al-Aqsa is referred to 70 times as the blessed land in the Quraan. The Tradi- tions of the Prophet also refer to the sacredness of Musjid Al-Aqsa. Among them are: It was the first Qiblah of Muslims: See tafsir of Quraan 2:142. It was the second Musjid on Earth: (Bukhari) The Prophet said regard- ing Bait al-Maqdis (Jerusalem): ‘It is the land of gathering and resurrection. Go there and offer prayer. Your prayer will be consid- ered as a thousand prayers.’ (Abu Dawood) ‘... a prayer in Bait al-Maqdis is like five hundred prayers (elsewhere). (Baihaqi) ‘If anyone puts on ihram for Hajj or Umrah from Mas- jid al-Aqsa and then pro- ceeds to the sacred Masjid (Makkah), his former and lat- ter sins will be forgiven, or he will be guaranteed Para- dise.’ (Abu Dawood) Donating to Musjid Al- Aqsa: The Prophet said re- garding the legal injunction about visiting) Bait al- Maqdis: ‘Go and pray there. If you cannot visit it and pray there, then send some oil to P3 Consideration P12 The Barber P4 Usama bin Ladin P7 Saving Jews P8 Arguments P9 Afrikaans
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Islamic Focus
Issue 89 Igniting the Spirit of Islam May 2011 Bukhara Publications/Tel: 078 672 7797/Fax: 086 651 2125 Email: [email protected]/Korsten/Port Elizabeth
b e u s e d i n t h e
lamps.’ (Bukhari)
�The Prophet � said, ‘How blessed is al-Sham (area
including Palestine)!’ The companions around asked:
‘Why is that?’ The Prophet � replied, ‘I see the angels of Allah spreading their
wings over al-Sham.’ Ibn Abbas � added, ‘And the Prophets lived in it. There is not a single inch in al-Quds (Jerusalem) where a
Prophet has not prayed or a n a n g e l n o t
stood.’ (Tirmidhi)
Among the virtues of Masjid Al-Aqsa are that it is:
�the station of Isra and Meraj;
�the place where hundreds of Prophets are buried;
�the only place on earth where all the Prophets
prayed at the same time led by Prophet Muhammad �; �the only Musjid mentioned
by name in the Quraan apart from the Ka’bah. �
Glory to (Allah) Who did
take His Servant for Journey by night from the Sacred
Mosque to the Farthest Mosque whose precincts We did Bless in order that We
might show him some of Our Signs: for He is the one
Who heareth and seeth (all things). (Quraan)
In the Quraan there are many verses implying that
the land of Palestine, the city of Jerusalem, the entire environs are set apart as
holy and blessed, as they received special divine
blessings. The land around Musjid Al-Aqsa is referred to
70 times as the blessed land in the Quraan. The Tradi-tions of the Prophet � also refer to the sacredness of Musjid Al-Aqsa. Among
them are: �It was the first Qiblah of
Muslims: See tafsir of
Quraan 2:142.
�It was the second Musjid
on Earth: (Bukhari)
�The Prophet � said regard-i n g B a i t a l - M a q d i s
(Jerusalem): ‘It is the land of gathering and resurrection.
Go there and offer prayer. Your prayer will be consid-ered as a thousand
prayers.’ (Abu Dawood) ‘... a prayer in Bait al-Maqdis is
like five hundred prayers
(elsewhere). (Baihaqi)
�‘If anyone puts on ihram for Hajj or Umrah from Mas-
jid al-Aqsa and then pro-ceeds to the sacred Masjid
(Makkah), his former and lat-ter sins will be forgiven, or he will be guaranteed Para-
dise.’ (Abu Dawood)
�Donating to Musjid Al-Aqsa: The Prophet � said re-garding the legal injunction about visiting) Bait al-
Maqdis: ‘Go and pray there. If you cannot visit it and pray there, then send some oil to
P3 Consideration
P12 The Barber
P4 Usama bin Ladin
P7 Saving Jews
P8 Arguments
P9 Afrikaans
2 Islamic Focus
WORLD
NEWS
GUANTANAMO - Files obtained by Wikileaks, New York Times and other newspapers reveal that the US believed many of those held at Guantanamo Bay were innocent. At least 150 were innocent Afghans and Pakistanis. (BBC, 25 Apr)
AFGHANISTAN - 470 inmates at a prison escaped through a tunnel. 100 were Taliban commanders, and others were Taliban fighters. (BBC, 25 Apr) INDIA - A senior police officer's sworn statement to the Supreme Court says that Gujarat Chief Minister Modi deliberately allowed anti-Muslim riots in the state. More than 1,000 people were killed in Hindu rioting in 2002. The officer attended a meeting at which Modi said that Hindus should be allowed to vent their anger. (BBC, 22 Apr) PAKISTAN - 25 people, including 5 women and 4 children, killed in a US drone strike in North Waziris-tan. Meanwhile, 13 soldiers died when hundreds of Taliban fighters attacked a checkpoint near the Af-ghan border. (BBC, 22 Apr) PAKISTAN - 18 killed in a bombing in one of the largest gambling dens in Karachi. The attack took place in Lyari, where a number of warring drug and arms gangs operate. (BBC, 22 Apr) YEMEN - 130 killed by security forces since anti-government unrests began in Jan. (BBC, 25 Apr) SYRIA - Army killed 560 people in protests against the repressive rule of President Assad and 2,500 ar-rested. (BBC, 2 May) PALESTINE - One fundamentalist Jew killed and 4 wounded by a Palestinian policeman in occupied West Bank. Fundamentalist Jews regularly defy a military ban on entering the tomb of Joseph, in Pal-estinian territory. (BBC, 24 Apr) NIGERIA - 500 killed after Christian-Muslim clashes following the election of a southern Chris-tian, who defeated a Muslim candidate from the mostly Islamic north. (BBC, 24 Apr) SUDAN - 102 killed in fighting between Christian government forces and rebel militias in South Sudan. There are 7 rebel groups in South Sudan. (BBC, 24 Apr)
EGYPT - 10 killed and 186 wounded in Muslim-
Christian clashes which started after several hundred Salafist Muslims gathered outside a church to pro-test over a Christian woman being held there against her will because she had married a Muslim man and wanted to convert to Islam. (BBC, 8 May) PAKISTAN - 12 civilians killed in US drone strike in North Waziristan. (BBC, 6 May) MALDIVES - Police clashed with hundreds of pro-testers, preventing them from demonstrating over soaring food prices. (BBC, 6 May) AFGHANISTAN - Security forces battled Taliban fighters for 2 days in Kandahar. (BBC, 8 May) UK - Archbishop of Canterbury says the alleged US killing of an unarmed Usama Bin Laden left 'a very uncomfortable feeling'. (BBC, 5 May) LIBYA - Gaddafi's son and 3 grandchildren killed in illegal Nato air strikes. (BBC, 2 May) PALESTINE - Fatah and Hamas signed a deal in Egypt to end their four-year rift. (BBC, 4 May) PALESTINE - Gaza Strip held its first marathon, with the 42km course running the full length of the small coastal territory. (BBC, 5 May) USA - 340 killed in tornadoes that hit the southern US. More than 200 tornadoes were reported across six southern US states in 2 days. (BBC, 30 Apr) SOMALIA - 20 AU-backed troops killed in a battle with Al-Shabab fighters. (PressTV, 14 May) MOROCCO - Security forces beat anti-government protesters injuring 10. (PressTV, 15 May) PALESTINE - Israeli naval forces fired shots at a Malaysian aid ship headed to the Gaza Strip as it was approaching the shore forcing it to withdraw to Egyptian waters. (PressTV, 16 May) PALESTINE - Israeli forces fired on protesters at borders with the Palestinian territories, Syria and Lebanon killing 12 and wounding dozens. In one in-cident, thousands of Palestinian supporters from Syria entered the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights. Egyptian security forces fired warning shots and tear gas to break up protests outside the Israeli em-bassy. (BBC, 16 May) �
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3 Islamic Focus
FINANCE / S
OCIAL
Part 2 on how Islam liberates one financially:
5. Quantity versus Blessing. Having suffi-cient does not mean having a lot. The Prophet
� said, ‘Food for one person suffices two per-sons and food for two persons suffices four
persons, and food for four persons suffices eight persons.’ (Muslim)
6. Contentment. Only you can disturb your contentment: ‘And strain not your eyes in
longing for the things We have given for en-joyment to various groups of them, the splen-
dor of the life of this world that We may test them thereby. But the provision (good reward in the Hereafter) of your Lord is better and
more lasting.’ (Quraan 20:131)
The Prophet � said, ‘Look at those who are at a lower level than you but don't look at those who are at a higher level than you, for this
would make the favors conferred upon you by Allah insignificant in your eyes.’ (Muslim)
7. Financial Insecurity. Financial insecurity is the Devil’s trick of enslavement, leading a
person to commit many injustices and crimes in the pursuit of enough money to secure a
comfortable lifestyle. ‘Satan threatens you with poverty.’ (Quraan 2:268)
8. Fast Bucks. Feeling financially insecure will not speedup your provision nor increase
your income. ‘Feel not your provision is be-lated; for no servant shall die until he re-ceives his final provision. Thus, fear Allah,
and seek with moderation, take the lawful and leave the unlawful.’ (Sahih Al-Jamia) �
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One of the salient teachings of Islam is consid-
eration for others:
Child Crying. The Prophet � said, ‘I stand in prayer and would like to make it long but I hear the crying of a child and shorten my
prayer not wanting to make things difficult for its mother.’ (Bukhari)
Weapons. ‘Whoever enters our Musjid or passes through our market with arrows with
him, he should hold them by their heads lest it should injure any of the Muslims.’ (Bukhari)
Prayer. The Prophet � said, ‘When one of you leads the Salaah he should not prolong it be-
cause the congregation includes those who are feeble, ill or old.’ One version adds: ‘those who
have to attend to work’. While offering prayers alone, you may pray as long as you
like.’ (Bukhari) Abstaining. The Prophet � would sometimes abstain from doing something he wished to do, lest others should follow him and it might be-
come obligatory upon them. (Bukhari) Visitor. The Prophet � would not turn away from his visitor in order to attend to anything until his visitor has turned away to leave.
When he met anyone and shook hands with him, the Prophet � would not be the first to withdraw his hand. He would wait until the
other person withdrew his hand.
Talks. Ibn Masood � narrates that the Prophet � used to take care of us in preaching by se-lecting a suitable time, so that we might not
get bored. (Bukhari 1:68) �
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WORSHIP / SOCIAL
The killing of Usama bin Ladin, if proven to be
true, may either be a coincidence or part of a strategy by the US to justify the adoption of
new tactics in their ‘war on terror’. It may be that he was killed a long time ago but the kill-ing was only now announced as a justification
for the withdrawal of US troops from Afghani-stan. All of these are possibilities that no one
can emphatically confirm. Whatever the case may be, Usama left this worldly life to meet his Lord who is the ultimate judge.
He died as a Muslim and we believe that every
Muslim will eventually enter paradise. Accord-ing to scholars, the Muslim killed by Islam’s enemies is a martyr. Mistakes made by a Mus-
lim fighter in combat do not deprive him of his rights, such as the right of regarding him a
martyr. The Prophet � became very angry at his close companion Usama ibn Zayd � when he killed a disbeliever who had said ‘there is no God but Allah’. However, he continued to appoint him a general of the Muslim army.
Saddam Hussain committed many crimes. However, when he was hung he proclaimed:
‘There is no God but Allah and Muhammad � is his messenger’. Based on this, we have no choice but to ask Allah to bestow mercy on
him as he clearly died a Muslim.
We disagree with any unjustified killing attrib-uted to al-Qaeda, but any amount of people allegedly killed by al-Qaeda has been trebled
by the killing sprees of the US in Afghanistan, Pakistan, Iraq, Libya and other countries. We
should also never forget Usama’s selfless con-tribution to the Afghan Jihad against the Rus-sians when the world stood idly by. �
Adapted from article by: Shaykh Haitham al-Haddad
The current trend is to pass on the message swiftly, to
as many as possible. More often than not the message
passed on is in conflict with Islamic teaching. Here are
some Islamic pointers on remaining silent:
1. Excellence. ‘A sign of one’s excellence in
his Islam, is ignoring what does not concern him.’ (Ahmad, Malik, Tirmidhi) Ibn Rajab said,
‘This Hadith is a basic and important source of good behavior in Islam.’ A Muslim should only participate in what concerns him, such as any-
thing that is his property, right, obligation or under his control.
2. Concealing sins. ‘The servant (who con-ceals) the faults of others in this world, Allah
would conceal his faults on the Day of Resur-rection.’ (Muslim, 32:6267)
3. Good speech. ‘Whoever believes in Allah and the Last Day should speak a good word or
remain silent.’ (Bukhari) The Prophet � in-formed Muadh � of good deeds that would ad-mit him to Paradise and distance him from Hell, then said: ‘Shall I inform you of the foun-
dation of all of that?’ Muadh � said: ‘Certainly.’ The Prophet � took hold of his tongue and said: ‘Restrain yourself from this.’
Muadh � then asked: ‘O Prophet of Allah! Are we held to task for the things we say?’ The
Prophet � replied: ‘May your mother be be-reaved of you, O Muadh! Does anything topple people headlong into the fire of Hell save the
harvests of their tongues?’ (Tirmidhi)
‘… And indeed a servant will speak a word dis-pleasing to Allah that he thinks to be insignifi-cant, but because of it, He (Allah) will consign
1492 found a safe home in the Balkan region of the Muslim Ottoman Empire. They lived
there for 450 years, keeping their traditions, Sarajevo in Bosnia had 10,000 Jews.
Then came World War II and the invading Na-zis. Many Jews lost their lives but there were
others who survived, thanks to the refuge that Muslims in the Balkans gave them. Jews flee-ing to Albania were welcomed into Muslim
homes, not as refugees but as guests. Entire villages would protect them.
Albanian Muslims helped Jews because of a code of honour called Besa, derived from Is-
lamic principles, which compelled the Muslim families to place a stranger's needs above all
else. �
8 Islamic Focus
INTERNET / COMPARITIVE
The disease of arguing over religious rulings in
which there is a difference of opinion among
Ulama, is eating away at the foundation of the
Muslim community. Here are some guidelines:
A man asked Imam Ahmad rahimahullah, ‘I sometimes find myself in a gathering where
the Sunnah is mentioned, but no-one apart from me has more knowledge of it. Shall I speak and say something?’ Imam Ahmad said,
‘State the Sunnah, but do not argue over it.’
Imam Malik rahimahullah said, ‘And if they don’t accept it (the Sunnah) from you, then be silent.’ Mutamir ibn Sulayman said, ‘I heard
my father say: ‘You can never get a man to listen to you when you have just angered
him.’ (Al-Adab al-Shariyyah, pg. 307) Advise people of correct actions but don’t push
them to the point of arguments because get-ting advice to a person in that state is like try-
ing to force back water flowing from a tap. The Prophet � heard the voices of two persons who had an argument with each other about a verse of the Quraan. Signs of anger could be
seen on the face of the Prophet �. He said, ‘Verily, the (peoples) before you were ruined
because of their disputation in the Book.’ (Muslim, 6443)
‘No one who has once found the right way, ever goes astray except through dis-
pute.’ (Tirmidhi) ‘…Allah has hated for you ... to ask too many
questions (in disputed religious matters)…’ (Bukhari 3:591) �
Some tips from the Hadith on winning the hearts of
the people around us, our family, friends and ac-
quaintances:
Smile. It is the first arrow and the fastest of them all. It is like salt for food. It is also regarded as a
kind of worship and charity as mentioned in Hadith: ‘Smiling at your brother's face is
charity.’ Sahaba report they had never seen someone smile at the other's face more than the Prophet � used to do. The Prophet � said: ‘Do not ever waste your good deeds, even by meeting your brother with a frowning face.
Be a good listener.
It is to listen patiently and never interrupt the speaker, as the Prophet � never interrupted a speaker till he ended his speech. He who does
this gains the love of others and their admira-tion.
Express your feelings. If you love someone tell them at once. This of
course excludes impermissible love and refers to love for the sake of Allah. The Prophet � said: ‘If you felt the brotherly love of Islam towards any, you should immediately go and tell him about your feelings.’ He added ‘It is
the way relations are to be strongly indicated.’
Be sociable. It is the art of being social. The Prophet � said: ‘Being sociable is as charity.’ The
Prophet � was asked about the deeds which lead most of the people into Paradise. He re-
plied, ‘The fear of Allah and good man-ners.’ (Tirmidhi) �
Adapted from EveryMuslim.net
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BIO
GRAPHY / M
USLIM
INFLU
ENCE
Afrikaans is a language spoken primarily in
South Africa and Namibia. It evolved from the dialect of Dutch spoken by Europeans who
settled in the Cape in the 17th century. So what does this language have to do with
Muslims? Firstly, Malay slaves from the Cape contributed to the development of Afrikaans.
Secondly, Afrikaans borrows some words from Malay such as piesang for banana, baie for many/very and baadjie for jacket.
Thirdly, Muslims were the first to write Afri-
kaans. The language on the streets of the early Cape was non-standardised. Arabic Afri-kaans was a form of Afrikaans written in Ara-
bic script. This was the first version of written Afrikaans and began in the 1830s in the ma-
drasas in Cape Town. 74 Arabic Afrikaans texts are extant. The earliest, Hidyat al-Islam,
is dated 1845. The oldest surviving manuscript was written by Imam Abdul Kahhar. One of the best examples of this literature was
Uiteensetting van die Godsdiens (Exposition of the Religion or Bayaanud Deen written in
1862) by Sheikh Abu Bakr Effendi, who came from the Ottoman Empire. It was written in the language spoken by the Cape Malays in
their everyday lives. The fact that Sheikh Abu Bakr (and other Ulama) chose to write in this
language was innovative, not just because they wrote in a new language yet to have a literary existence, but they wrote with the
Arabic script. Thus, the first books to be writ-ten in the Afrikaans language were written not
only by Muslims, but also in the Arabic script. There was also a handwritten Arabic-Afrikaans bilingual Quraan, written in the 1880s. �
Sultan Fateh Ali Khan (1750-1799), known as
Tipu Sultan and the Tiger of Mysore, ruled the Kingdom of Mysore (in present day India)
from 1782-1799. Tipu Sultan was a devout Muslim who ruled a majority Hindu country. His father became ruler of Mysore in 1761.
Tipu Sultan was trained in military tactics from
an early age. At 15, he accompanied his father against the British in the First Mysore War. He commanded a corps of cavalry in the invasion
of Carnatic at 16, and distinguished himself in the First Anglo-Maratha War. Most of Tipu Sul-
tan's campaigns resulted in successes. He subdued all the kingdoms in the south, de-feated the Marathas and Nizams and was also
one of the few Indian rulers to defeat the Brit-ish armies several times. The 2nd Mysore War
came to an end with the 1784 Treaty of Man-galore, the last occasion when an Indian king
dictated terms to the British. Tipu Sultan built roads, public buildings and ports along the Kerala shoreline. His trade extended to coun-
tries like Sri Lanka, Afghanistan, France, Tur-key, and Iran. He was the innovator of the
world's first war rocket and deployed as many as 5,000 rocketeers at a time. Tipu intro-duced a new calendar and coinage. He was
well versed in Urdu, Kannada, Persian and Arabic. He strengthened education in Persian
and Urdu among Muslims in Mysore. He wrote ‘Fath ul Mujahidin’, an army manual and ‘Muwaaiz ul Mujahidin’, the collection of his
Friday sermons. He introduced Islamic terms which have been in use ever since and at-
tempted to assign Muslim names to several places. Tipu Sultan was killed defending his capital against the British in 1799. He had 4
wives, 16 sons and 8 daughters. �
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