Shia Strength: January 2014

Friday, January 31, 2014

Muslim Unite Shia and Sunni KHUTBAHS : THE ISLAMIC STATE

THE STREET MMBAR

JUM'AH KHUTBAH (31 January 2014)

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It is in such a manner that We make plain Our signs so that the course of the

Criminals may become clear.

Bismillah Ar-Rahmaan Ar-Raheem.

Alhumdulillah. Peace and blessings on Muhammad (sallalahu alaihi wa sallam), his Noble Companions and Family.

Brothers and sisters, committed Muslims…

Audio on http://www.islamiccenterdc.com/apps/podcast/podcast/327484 (11-01-2013)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qr-Fj79qDBo

THE ISLAMIC STATE

In beginning to talk about these ayaat last week we mentioned the chief constituency which, in a general sense, is address by the Qur'an and by Islam and this chief constituency refers to those who have an impact on the way that people think, how they think and how they behave. In short this chief constituency refers to leaders in society. We also talked about the fact that the shortest distance between the model of social justice in the Qur'an and the application of social justice on the ground is the performance of just leaders in society. Lastly, we talked about how important it is for Muslims in particular to correct the relationship of the dominant power culture in society with Allah. So all of this suggests that the concept of leadership is something which is very central to Islam; that leaders and the power that is exercised by leaders is something which is very pertinent and very central to this deen of Islam. Without leaders there is no Islam. Without an Imam or a Khalifah there is no Ummah and without an Ummah there is no Islam. If we look at the world around us there is virtually no Islam and because there is no Islam there is a proliferation of injustice. A famous Muslim- and in this case we are referring to Umar (radi Allahu anhu) the second successor to Allah's Prophet- said there is no Islam except with a consolidated unit that is on the same page and there is no consolidated unit except if it belongs to a leadership and there is no leadership except if it adheres to the obedience to Allah's book and the example of His Messenger. Now it is germane that somebody like Umar said this because those in the Muslim world who claim Umar belong to a theological convention that suggests that the Imamah or Khilafah or leadership is not a faridha in Islam; but Umar's language is very binary. It is very black and white- there is no Islam except with the combination of a jama'ah (and) leadership both of which are obedient to Allah's book and His command and council. Let us simplify this just a little bit.

All of us are familiar with the five pillars of Islam, Islam is founded upon five stabilizing entities or pillars one of these is aqama as salah. Now as far as salah is concerned, as an individual you can go and make salah anywhere but as far as aqam as asalah or muqim as salah is concerned we need leaders to socialise the salah, to make it a pattern of behaviour in society (and) to make it a directional course which reverses social and moral deviation you need leaders. When we talk about a socialising influence (and) when we talk about patterns of behaviour we are talking about behaviour that goes in a certain direction and when we are talking about a directional course we are talking about a key function of leadership. Another pillar- zakah; you can give sadaqah anywhere any time but ita' az zakah requires leaders, requires institutions, requires a structure. When we talk about institutions and socialisations and structure and law and legalislation we are talking about the function of leaders. We can talk about saum, fasting (or) abstinence and you can conduct that anytime in the year. On a personal level you can fast any time you want to but to conduct a Ramadhan we need leaders to identify the time Ramadhan begins- we need an Islamic executive authority. Even as far as the most important pillar is concerned (viz.) I testify that there is no Ilah except for Allah; if there were no leaders then we would not recite the shahadah in this way. We would probably say I testify that there is no provider or there is no sustainer other then Allah; but when we refer to Allah's authority (and) when we refer to Him as an Ilah, as a sole authority (and) as a sole legislator then we have to understand the meaning of leadership for without understanding the meaning of leadership we cannot understand the meaning of authority.

The chief problem in the world today is that man's relationship with Allah is messed up. Man is not cognisant of his relationship to Allah and to correct this relationship it cannot be corrected without the proper functioning of leaders and to this end to (i.e.) correct this relationship between man and his Creator, between man and his Provider (or) between man and his ultimate sole authority Allah sent Messengers and messengers did not come to be part of the rank and file. Messengers came to be leaders of men, to set them on a directional course whereby they inspire each other to correct and maintain a proper relationship with their Lord but we understand this regardless of the side of the aisle you belong on- whether you are a Sunni or a Shi'i you understand this. You understand the necessity of leaders whether you call that leader an Imam or an Emir or a Khalifah (or) what have you. We understand that this Islam cannot function without just leaders but what we don't understand is that these leaders need a constituency that supports them. In order for these leaders to socialise new ideas they need constituencies to support them and they need a management team that drives the new behaviours into the fabric of human relationships. This management team that surrounds the leader at the level of a country or at the level of a society or at the level of a civilisation is what we call a state. The purpose of today's discussion is to describe a relationship between a leader and a state.

We all understand that the Qur'an and Islam were Allah's final dispensation to man (and) that this final dispensation came to complete the guidance that was given in previous scriptures. It came to complete this guidance in such a way as to socialise a moral code into a legal system and to create an executive authority that would maintain an alignment to that system. So what we are saying is that for an Islamic leader, an Imam or a Khalifah to be effective in his responsibilities he cannot do so without the instrument of state. It doesn't matter to us what side of the aisle you come from- whether you call yourself a Sunni (or) whether you call yourself a Shi'i or whether you go back to pre-Islamic history- we want you to go back to any of those histories whether it's Sunni history or Shi'i history or pre-Islamic history (and) identify a leader who was effective without the instruments of state. Go back. How effectives were the Imams when they were not able to utilise the instruments of state? How effective were leaders of Islamic movements when they were not able to utilise the instruments of state? Even when you go back to the history of Prophethood- the vast majority of them were not able to use the instruments of state. What distinguished the prophetic career of Muhammad is that he applied or was successful in the application of this moral code to the instruments of state. The instruments of state were utilised to socialise the people in correcting their relationship with Allah. This is the final piece that he put in place with regard to this Qur'anic revelation. So when we talk about an Islamic state is it the same kind of management team that we see here in corporations? Is it a chief executive officer with a chief financial officer and an operation officer and so on and so forth? Is its motivation to expand its markets its economic interests and to magnify its profits? In a sense are we saying that an Islamic state with an Islamic leadership is the same as a corporate leadership or is it the same with a secular leadership with a President or a Prime Minister? As we begin to explore and understand the difference between an Islamic state and a material or secular state you'll have to also explore the relationship between an Islamic state and an Islamic revolution. What is the connection between an Islamic revolution and an Islamic state? For in order to understand what an Islamic state is you'll have to understand how it is achieved through the transformative process of a revolution. When we mention the word revolution it invokes a lot of different thoughts in the minds of people depending on the background they happen to come from. When we attach the word Islamic to it then it evokes even more different and varied thoughts in the minds of people- Muslims and non-Muslims alike. When the changes that affect a people's outlook, that affect their values (and) that affect their preferences suddenly lead to a change in their collective behaviour then you have a revolution. You can call this an Islamic revolution when the means and the ends that are achieved by those means conform to Allah's Book and to the example of His Prophet. When there is a total change from a previous state of values to a new set of values, from a previous administrative structure to a new administrative structure, from a previous leadership to a new leadership, from a previous system of values to a new system of values then you have a revolution and when that new system of values is the Qur'an and the Sunnah and when that new leadership is the Imam or a Khalifah then you have an Islamic revolution. It is these new institutions, this new leadership (and) this new system of values that forms the basis of an Islamic state. An Islamic state is an alternative world system to the material or the secular world system. If, it could be said, the Islamic revolution is the mother then the Islamic state is the infant new born. The Islamic revolution is the consolidation of power that is necessary to establish the Islamic state. So let us better try to understand what it means to conduct an Islamic revolution that leads to an Islamic state for when you go through the pain and the struggle and the jihad to establish an Islamic state through the agency of an Islamic revolution you want to ensure the longevity of your efforts (and) you want to make sure that what you are doing and what you have set up has a chance to succeed. So in order for an Islamic state to be successful (and) in order for it to have a long life the key issue there is the degree of cohesiveness between the people and their leaders or said in another way it is the responsibility of the Islamic leadership to socialise the people to maintain a correct and proper relationship with Allah. It is this level of social cohesion between the leaders and their constituency that separates the Islamic state from all other states and the secular and the material world. Allah's Prophet said help or assist you brother whether he is an oppressor or an oppressed. So the people around him said OK- we can understand how to help the oppressed but how do we help our brother if he is an oppressor? So the Prophet said withhold his hand from doing injustice. There are two things that we ought to know immediately about this hadith. The first thing is that the relationship between a leader and the people he is leading is a relationship of brotherhood- that they have to be close enough to each other so that the people can suggest to the leader that you are drifting to the domain of oppression without him having to come down on them with an iron fist. The second thing that we ought to note about this hadith is that the degree of social cohesion between the leaders and the led is something that makes both of them part of the same Ummah. The relationship between them is close enough so that they can adjust the behaviour one with the other. So when we say that this is something that separates the Islamic state from all the other models of statehood out there we are saying this based on the claim that Islam makes that it is the finest means of social cohesion amongst the people, that it is the best means of ensuring cooperation and peace amongst all people and that is the meaning of the ayah that was quoted at the very beginning

This Qur'an guides to that which is most upright (or) which is the shortest distance between social justice as a model in the Qur'an and the application of social justice on the ground… (Surah Bani Isra'eel verse 9)

Islam also makes the claim that it sets up the finest government and the finest leadership and it makes this claim because that government and that leadership is dedicated to generic justice and to institutional justice and the hand that guides it is taqwa and in moments of indecision this leadership errs into the domain of rahma and this is a far cry from the kind of state and the kind of government that is set up by superpowers. There is no illusion about the way that they communicate the objectives of a superpower state. They say "we are interested in that national interests, we are concerned about the corporate interests of a certain class of people, we are concerned about preserving the wealth of a group in society that controls the majority of wealth in that society." So there are no illusions about their national objectives and we know that the hand that guides the superpower states is the hand of greed, the hand of ambition and the hand of corruption and the means it uses to achieve its objectives are war and oppression. So this world is in need of an Islamic state with an Islamic leadership that is guided by the council and command of Allah.

Committed Muslims…

Whatever side (or) whatever theological convention you belong to- whether you regard the Imamah to be a pillar of Islam or whether you imply that it is a pillar of Islam, whether you come from the Sunni side or whether you come from the Shi'i side- there is no disagreement, despite what some of our detractors may say, on the fact that Islam is castrated without a leader, that Islam is ineffective without a leader, that Islam is non-functional without a leader. What we disagree on is the how and the who but we don't disagree on the what. We don't disagree on the fact that we need a leader. As far as the who is concerned- that is a historical issue. Who should have been the successor to Allah's Prophet in the past is sealed; that cannot be changed! So there is no point in disagreeing about that. As far as the how is concerned- there is very little disagreement on how we ought to choose an Islamic leader- whether that leader is affirmed by the process of bay'ah, through elections, through a referendum (or) what have you. We know that the consent of the people is demanded for an Islamic leadership to be legitimate regardless of what side of the aisle you happen to be on. As far as the Islamic revolution in Iran is concerned- it occurred as some may think on the Shi'i side of the aisle but as far as that revolution is concerned it was both an end and a beginning. When that revolution occurred in Iran there were lot of people in the world, Sunni and Shi'ahs alike, that were surprised that it occurred inside of Iran. They were surprised because they felt that that would be the least likely place that this revolution would occur; but it occurred over there not by accident. This revolution was a culmination of three hundred years of a reform of Shi'ah political thought. Three hundred years of reform led to the culmination and to the formation of this Islamic revolution. It was a beginning because it helped us identify and point to a contemporary and modern Islamic state. So it was a beginning and an end at the same time but it took over three hundred years of incremental effort to make that revolution happen. Imam Khomeini was the culminating figure of that revolution; but even in the century that he lived he could not have accomplished that revolution were it not for mistakes that were made by his Sunni brothers and sisters. Now even though the Sunni world is about two hundred and twenty years behind the Shi'i world in the reform of their political thought, that reform began in the early part of the last century. It began with the enlightened Salafism of Muhammad Rashid Rida' and Muhammad Abdou that resulted in the formation of Al Ikhwan Al Muslimin and later on the formation of Jamaate Islami in the sub-continent. Now these movements, despite the fact that their ideas moved beyond borders, achievements within their own domain were limited and there-by the dissemination of their ideas were weakened for ideas move much faster beyond borders with achievements behind them. but when your achievements are lacking the movement of your ideas slows down and their achievements were lacking because of the injection of certain forms of nationalism within their Islamic ethic. Brothers and sisters- Imam Khomeini learnt from this experience. When Imam Khomeini was in Iran before he was exiled he was in favour of a constitutional monarchy. Brothers and sisters look this up. He was in favour of a constitutional monarchy. He wasn't in favour of rewriting the constitution or overturning the whole system. It is when he went into exile that his thinking began to evolve and his thinking evolved with the writings of Syed Qutb, his thinking evolved with the experience of the Ikhwan, his thinking evolved with the writings of Syed Abul A'la Al Maududi, his thinking evolved with the experience of the Jamaate Islami in Pakistan and in the sub-continent and he was humble enough, even though he came from a Shi'i background, to understand the faults the other Islamic movements made and to understand their successes that he would incorporate their successes into the program of the Islamic revolution. Thus it became mandatory reading for the Islamic revolutionary guards as far as Syed Qutb was concerned. The writings of Syed Qutb are, up to this day, mandatory reading for the Islamic revolutionary guards inside the Islamic republic in Iran. It doesn't matter if it comes from a Sunni source or from a Shi'i source-if it conforms to the Qur'an and the Sunnah then it is from an Islamic source and he was humble enough to incorporate these successes regardless of the direction they came from but at the same time he was resolute enough to not incorporate the failures. These are lessons that the current Islamic movement ought to be cognisant of. For those who have an elitist understanding of the Islamic movement (and) they think all ideas and all achievements have to come from them are thus not humble enough to identify and to incorporate the successes of other Islamic movements even though they come from what many consider to be a different theological orientation. As we approach the day of Aashura' we are going to celebrate and commemorate the sacrifice of members of the Prophet's family and in particular Al Imam Al Hussein (radi Allahu anhu). We're going to commemorate the sacrifice but we're going to miss the point! The vast majority of Masajid, and Centres and Husseiniyahs and what have you (are) going to miss the point. The point that we are going to miss is that the fastest way to corruption of society is through corruption of its leaders; that is the fastest and shortest way to corrupt your society. The fastest and quickest way to correct what ails your society is to correct the leadership (and) to correct the relationship of the leadership with Allah. This is what he set out to do. He could have used his time to go and give da'wah in Al Madinah or to go and give da'wah in Egypt or to go and give da'wah in Al Basrah and in Al Kufa- he could have used his to do that (and) to go out and give da'wah in an open setting in an apolitical fashion and then allow the critical mass to hundreds of hundred of years to resume to Islamic leadership but it doesn't work that way, brothers and sisters. If you allow the leadership to go corrupt it will corrupt your society. It doesn't work the other way around. You correct the relationship of your leadership with Allah and you correct the relationship of your society with Allah. This is something that Hussein recognised and that is why he went after the corrupt leaders in an attempt to try to correct it in the manner of his grandfather and in the manner of his father. This applies to corrupt leaderships whether you're in Washington, whether you're in Tel Aviv or whether you are in Riyadh. At the time of Hussein the corrupt leadership was saying Laa ilaha illa Allah and today the corrupt leadership in Riyadh is saying Laa ilaha illa Allah and the corrupt leadership right here in Washington is saying "we honour scripture" and the corrupt leadership in Tel Aviv is saying "we honour the scripture that was given to Musa (alayhi as salaam)." If all of them were honouring that scripture there would be social justice on the ground but we all witnessed that social justice and so we know that the chief instrument that drives social injustice into the relationships of man is a corrupt leadership and when you begin your process of correction aim your sights at the corrupt leaders.

This khutbah was presented by Imam Afeef Khan on the occasion of Jum'ah on 1 November 2013 on the sidewalk of Embassy Row in Washington D.C.

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Wednesday, January 29, 2014

[shia_strength] New Website of Jaunpur Aadari Launched

www.jaunpurazadari.com

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Trying To Build Society based on Peace and Justice
The one who love Imam e zaman(a.t.f.s) must be prepared to struggle and
labour his self, his pen and his wealth in the way of Imam e
zaman(a.t.f.s)
I remember the words of Imam (a.s), that we are responsible for the
duty, and not for the result. A warm smile washes away the tension of
confusion, as I thank Allah for the presence of my friend, whom Allah
may protect, and guide
IMAM E ZAMANA (a.f.t.s) Bless you And All Your Family those help others
and learn islam.
Syed Mohamad Masoom Abidi

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Friday, January 24, 2014

[shia_strength] Fwd: Daily Hadith:22nd Rabi al-Awwal 1435 (24th January 2014)

Bismillah Walhamdulillah Was Salaatu Was Salaam 'ala Rasulillah

As-Salaam Alaikum Wa-Rahmatullahi Wa-Barakatuhu

22nd Rabi al-Awwal 1435 (24th January 2014)

Narrated Abu Said Al-Khudri (Radi-Allahu 'anhum):

The Prophet (Sallallahu 'Alaihi Wa Sallam) said, "When the people of
Paradise will enter Paradise and the people of Hell will go to Hell, Allah
will order those who have had faith equal to the weight of a grain of
mustard seed to be taken out from Hell. So they will be taken out but (by
then) they will be blackened (charred). Then they will be put in the river
of Haya' (rain) or Hayat (life) (the Narrator is in doubt as to which is
the right term), and they will revive like a grain that grows near the bank
of a flood channel. Don't you see that it comes out yellow and twisted"

Bukhari Vol. 1 : No. 21

--

Ma'asalaam

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Muslim Unite Shia and Sunni KHUTBAH : UNITY PART 4

THE STREET MMBAR

JUM'AH KHUTBAH (24 January 2014)

webpage: http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=182501078290&ref=ts

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/the_street_mimbar/

PLEASE e-mail Suggestions & Criticisms to khutbahs@yahoo.com

It is in such a manner that We make plain Our signs so that the course of the

Criminals may become clear.

Bismillah Ar-Rahmaan Ar-Raheem.

Alhumdulillah. Peace and blessings on Muhammad (sallalahu alaihi wa sallam), his Noble Companions and Family.

Dear committed brothers and sisters on as sirat al mustaqim…

Audio on http://www.islamiccenterdc.com/apps/videos/videos/show/18400361-unity-part-4-by-imam-muhammad-al-asi-12-13-2013 (12-13-2013)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=743q4K2P-88

UNITY PART 4

And hold firm to Allah's binding matter all of you- no exceptions- and be not divided; and bare in mind Allah's provision, favour and privilege upon you when you (who are now Committed Muslims), were once enemies of each other and then He reconciled your hearts and familiarized and acquainted you with each other and then, due to this provision, favour and privilege you became brethren of each other; you were on the edge of a pit of fire and Allah saved you from it; it is with this is mind and with understanding these dynamics and factors that Allah is going to guide us. (Surah Aal Imran verse 103)

The ayaat that we were listening to obviously are quoted many times when Muslims are thinking about what they generally referred to as unity. The impetus of this tradition is so strong that you have it in the program and then you have the program beginning with the recitation with these ayaat- the ayah beginning 103 in the third chapter in the Qur'an, Aal Imran. Aal Imran is the household from which Jesus (may God's peace and blessing be upon him) was born into. Now we want you to think- really, when we deal with these issues one of the problems is sometimes we take things for granted and therefore we pick up on them where our forefathers left off and sometimes that's not a very accurate thing to do. It requires us to think a little more. The word unity is a very ambitious word. Everyone would like unity. Probably we dream about it, probably some of us are frustrated about that we cannot see any consolidation of this unity even on an elementary stage. Some people won't say this in a lecture but if you sit down with them in a private setting and try to probe their internal thoughts and ideas and feelings they'll tell you "unity is impossible. There cannot be any unity among Muslims much less among others who are supposed to be one human family." Therefore we are forced to scrutinise this issue a little more (and) that requires our thought presence. We have to think a little more about that is what we will try to do in the forty minutes that we have.

Notice that in this ayah and all the other ayaat in the Qur'an do not mention the word "unity." It's not mentioned. We're familiar with Qur'anic terminology- you know that there is wahdah, there's tawheed, there's wahdaniyyah, there's ahadiyyah. There's so many of these words but none of them are mentioned in this context. So be careful next time when someone comes to you or someone wants to tell you "unity is something that we can fulfil." So what does that mean? Does it mean that we are going to be divided? No. It doesn't mean that. Does it mean that we are condemned to internal strife and misunderstandings and bickering and arguments and all of this? It doesn't mean that neither. So what are we talking about? We are talking about togetherness. Unity is one thing and togetherness is another. We're not trying to be philosophical about this or present a polemic along these lines- no, no. These are two different things. Now let us backtrack. Just stay with us. We want your mental alertness- that's all we ask of you.

(In) this ayah that was recited, the key and operative word is fa allafa bayna qulubikum. We don't know if the word ulfah or ilfah has made it to the Persian language; maybe it made it into some scholarly circles pronounced ilfat or ulfat- we don't know. Sometimes when words travel from one language to the next they gain a little flavour of their own in that other language but the key word that you have to zero in on is ulfah. Allafah is the verb (and) ulfah or ilfah is the noun. What we are looking for is

… to reconcile, literally, their hearts together… (Surah Aal Imran verse 103)

When we say the reconciliation of hearts it doesn't mean we don't have differences; we're going to have differences. This is in the nature of our human existence. Difference is built into the nature of humanity. Another ayah in the Qur'an says

Had your Lord willed it, He would have rendered people as one Ummah and if He were to do that they would continue to have their differences except for he who Allah or your Lord and Sustainer has graced; and for that purpose He created them. (Surah Hud verse 118-119)

So for the purpose of the differences that we have we were created. Anyone who wants to omit or to cancel differences from human life is fighting Allah's nature. He's in a war with the nature of things! You can't do it. You have to concede from the beginning that we as Muslims are going to have our differences and we as People of the Book are going to have our differences and we as a human family are going to have our differences. Let's concede that point. If we can develop our psychology to the extent of saying "hey look- it's in the nature of things. That's the way Allah created us and so we have to recognise that we have these types of differences." If we can manage to do that, believe it or not, we have surmounted one of the most major obstacles in our traditions and in our lazy thinking. This is a major thing to do! We concede "we have differences and everyone has differences." These differences can be racial differences, they can be linguistic differences, they can be ethnic differences and they can be mental or intellectual differences and we have to concede that and live with it. When this Qur'an was revealed it was revealed to people who were nomads and who were at war for between one hundred and two hundred years. The first Islamic togetherness was in Al Madinah and the occupants and inhabitants of Al Madinah, before the advent of the Prophet, were at war with each other; animosity ran very deep. Someone would think "how are you going to bring these people together?" And it wasn't a materialistic or an economic or a financial program that brought them together. Another ayah in the Qur'an says

If you were going to spend all the money in the world or all the resources in the world to reconcile their hearts together you wouldn't be able to do so. (Surah Al Anfal verse 63)

So reconciling people's hearts to each other has nothing to do with materialism. Nothing! It's another issue. What is the issue? What brings people together? Why should we be reconciled to each other regardless (or) in spite of our differences? What will bring us together? What brought them together? What brings other societies together? What should it be that brings us, the committed Muslims, who are supposedly in the front line of this historical process, together? Why should we come together? We don't have to go into details. We just have to throw it out there and remind you- people begin to go into these silly arguments (of) "this type of Muslim is this way and that type of Muslim is that way" and very silly things. Therefore, because of very silly things, we should keep our distance from "the other Muslim." Where did that come from? No one has any basis for that anywhere. Nevertheless this is our status quo. (If) we look at the world today we find out that there are Muslims who are victims of their own inability to think. They are victims of their own inheritance of unfiltered traditions and they are victims of real consolidated powers in the world. When we speak about our own internal self, don't think that we are isolated from the larger world around. If our ignorance is working against us there is also a real shoot to kill enemy who is working against us. This is real folks. So you look at today's scenario out there; we're a little hesitant to open this page here but this is a fact of life- you look around at what's happening in today's world in places like Iraq, Syria and Lebanon just to take a few places. Muslims killing Muslims, Muslims killing Christians, Muslims expelling Muslims, Muslims expelling Christians. Where did all this come from? Ask yourself why is all of this happening? Where did all of this come from? We want to tell you that all of this is not happening in a vacuum. None of this is happening in a vacuum. People have thought- think tanks, historians, politicians, strategists (and) ideologues have thought through all of this and they've studied what Islam is all about- they gave it some of their brain power, we don't give it any of our brain power! It's just some type of inherited religion?!

… They say "We found our ancestors on this"… (Surah Al Zukhruf verse 22)

As the ayah says just like was the case with the Mushriks of Makkah "hey look, our ancestors used to do this and we continue to do it." There's no thought process here. The Prophet was inviting them to, (you know), activate their minds even though they're primitive people (and) "give it a thought." So in today's world this is where we are and who we are and that doesn't mean that there are not other people in the world who think, study and analyse who we are. So they found these elements. (We're going to be a little short here). They found that "Islam is an inclusive religion", (we don't like to use the word religion but let's use it). Some of them came out with the conclusion, after thinking and studying and arguing back and forth and all this, "Islam is an inclusive religion. The nature of Islam is that it wants to bind with others." The ayah that are highly recommended to read in salah al fajr and the way we should be addressing Ahl Al Kitab goes something like this

Say: Oh People of Scripture… (Surah Aal Imran verse 64)

This is to address Jews and Christians throughout history. It's not whatever happened to those who designate themselves as Jews and those who designate themselves as Christians in our time frame is one thing and looking at them from beginning to end is another thing. So here the ayah is speaking about our relationship with Jews and Christians from beginning to end.

Say: Oh People of Scripture, let's come to some type of mutual type of wording between us and you (i.e.) that we conform and comply by no one except Allah… (Surah Aal Imran verse 64)

This is ibadah. Ibadah is not worship. We've been covering the territory of the meanings of the vocabulary of the Qur'an for about fourteen to fifteen years very closely and there are some very damaging mis-translations. The word ibadah is not worship (but we don't want to get off on that). So here in this ayah it says

… that we (the Muslims) and you (the Christians and Jews) should not comply with or conform to anything or anyone except Allah and we (as Muslims and Christians and Jews) shall not equate anyone with the authority and the power of Allah Himself … (Surah Aal Imran verse 64)

No one! Nothing!

… and none of us shall over Lord over any of us … (Surah Aal Imran verse 64)

Then it says

… if they decide to move away from this suggestion (or) this proposal then say to them that we are in a state of submission to Allah. (Surah Aal Imran verse 64)

That's an invitation that's an inclusive type of a thing. Here there's no argument about silly things (i.e.) you pray in a certain building that has certain stuff in it and it doesn't have certain stuff in it (or) about issues of God's attributes. None of this! Let's come and agree upon these three different things. If we can agree upon them then the other differences that we have are not very serious differences.

Then there's another ayah

Say (meaning to Christians and Jews, People of Scripture): We (the Muslims) are committed to God and we are also committed to that which has been revealed to us i.e. the Qur'an and we are committed to that which was revealed to Abraham, to Ishma'eel, to Isaac/Jacob and to their extensions… (Surah Al Baqarah verse 136)

We're here trying to have you aware of the fact that Muslims are inclusive. There's a history of revelation here that goes through what is called the biblical old Testament. Whatever was revealed in that history we also are committed to. It doesn't mean what they have today in their own hands and how they explain themselves is correct; but we are committed to that in principle.

… and we are committed to that which was given to Moses and that which was given to Jesus... (Surah Al Baqarah verse 136)

We are committed to that by our definition (and) by our nature.

… and whatever any or all other of the Prophets were given we are also committed to that; we don't discriminate among them and unto God we submit. (Surah Al Baqarah verse 136)

Finished! What more (or) how much more inclusiveness do you want?! We've taken all the history of Prophethood (and) all the history of scripture and we are that. So we go back and we ask- what brings people together if Islam is inclusive like this? We have the divisions that we have, what's going to bring us together in spite of these differences. What's going to bring us together is to seek justice on earth. That brings a Muslim, with a Christian, with a Jew with an atheist, with whoever it is that is suffering from injustice and they are looking to be righted then this is going to bind us together. So these people who have studied us, (they put their minds where we should be putting our minds), said "take a look at how Islam is inclusive," So they came up with a trick and they created this happy-go-lucky Muslim that is "hey- we're all roses and every human being is God's child and all of these things." You're aware of this because you're from Iran because this scheme was hatched in Iran. These are called the Baha'is. Baha'is didn't come from nowhere. They came out of the mental effort that studied the inclusiveness of Islam and they found out "hey, Islam is so inclusive that you can be anything. There is no difference." They've destroyed the principles that are built into Islam that seek out justice. They were the invention of the British to be upfront about this. Now that's one component (i.e.) this type of everything goes stuff without taking into consideration "hey we do have differences." These differences don't make enemies of ourselves, these differences don't shed our blood. We have differences with Jews and Christians (but) those differences don't call for wars between Muslims on one side and scriptural Christians and scriptural Jews on the other side. There are differences not like the Baha'is who are the creation of British colonialism say. That's one side of the issue, the other side of the issue (is) we do have differences. Remember, (we're going to say this again), these differences do not constitute any basis for animosity with people of scripture- whoever they are but there are differences. We believe that God is one in His self which we don't know, we can't absorb, we don't understand (and) we can't understand. God has given us an intellect and a mind and this intellect and mind cannot understand the self the essence of Allah. The ayah in the Qur'an says

… there is nothing similar to Him… … (Surah Ash Shura' verse 11)

Nothing! So some people come and they say no we don't understand God like that.

He is not within the range of our vision but all are in the range of His vision. (Surah Al An'am verse 103)

There is a difference here. Some people's perception of God is different then that. So there is a difference (but) it's not a fight to kill you difference! It's not a difference of hostilities but there is a difference. Then there's the attributes of Allah. He has ninety nine attributes besides His name- Allah. There are people of scripture who agree with these attributes or some of these attributes and people who disagree. We say "Allah is Waahidun Ahad, Samad" some people disagree with us. We say "Allah is one He is singular He is unique" some people's perception of God is different than that. They don't believe that so there is a difference there. So when Muslims have similarities with others they had the Baha'i contraption in our midst- this was thought out. This didn't come out of nowhere. Then when these colonialist thinkers looked at the differences that Muslims had with others they made it an issue of warfare. This is what is happening in today's world unfortunately. That also didn't come from nowhere. It was thought out and so the counterparts of the Baha'is in Iran became the Wahabbis in Saudi Arabia. Both of these are inventions of the colonialists, first and foremost among them were the British who went into our own literature, our own history, our own Qur'an, our own Prophet (and) they studied them very well and they found out "look at these Muslims. They are inclusive (and) at the same time they have their differences between them and the others." So they took both of these elements and they tried to erode the internal fabric (and) the internal glue that is in the nature of our internal Islam provided that we understand what our Islam is. So here you have it today- look at what is happening in the real world; you have some Muslims who want to be so accepted by establishments (and) by militaries of injustice that they bargain away their Islamic identity (and) their Islamic character. They lose sight of it, "hey we are just like you." They want to act like the others. So if you're a Muslim and you are supposed to look and present yourself as a certain character and a certain manner you lose that because you have conceded (and) you've negotiated away the essence of what makes you a Muslim. On the other hand there are those who want to say "we are so Islamic (and) we want to prove who we are and we will do that by targeting the other" i.e. innocent Christians that is going on today's world. The issue of Jews a little more clearer than the issue of Christians because Jews have this Zionist rubric to them and because they haven't taken a public and a frank position against Zionists (and) they identify themselves with Zionism it's easier to understand how they become enemies of Muslims- that's the easy one to understand. In the Christian context what is the crime or the sin of innocent Christians who have lived with Muslims ever since they became Christians? A news item, just this past week, the oldest church in the world which was constructed in the year fifty nine AD in Syria, (it happens to be close to my father's town of origin and is the closest town to his), was ransacked by who? By Muslims! Where did that idea come from? What gave them the motivation to do something like that? If you trace it, it's the Salafi attitude that is born out of the Wahabbi contraption that the British set into motion in the Arabian Peninsula a couple of hundred of years ago. You can trace it to the British but the British are not by themselves culpable for this we also are. How can something like Wahhabism exist among us if we were thinking Muslims? They are known for their anti-thought (or) anti-intellectual trend. They have no thought (and) no ideas- that's exactly what the British want us to be, thoughtless (and) without ideas. So there you go, you let loose people who have been suffering from injustice (and) you define for them who their enemy is and you let them loose. This is basically what is happening. So when we look at this- whether we are looking at it in a historical progression or we are looking at it in contemporary world- is there any hope? Yeah there is hope; yes, absolutely there is but it requires a paradigm shift. It requires the Muslims to focus their attention on justice because this justice itself distils human history. Allah says

We have dispatched Our Messengers, the Prophets with clear evidence and with scripture… (Surah Al Hadeed verse 25)

For what purpose?

… so that people are able to establish social justice… (Surah Al Hadeed verse 25)

That's what brings people together. It will bring Muslims together, it will bring non-Muslims together and it will expose the enemies of Muslims and non-Muslims alike who are trying to divide every human effort that is oriented in that direction. They'll be exposed! When we are justice centred we begin to see the nature of Zionists, the nature of Imperialists, the nature of their stooges all around whether they are in Hollywood or whether they are in military bases in other parts of the world (or) whether they are in think-tanks in the media. Wherever they are, if we are justice centred we can see who they are, what they have been doing and how they want us not only to fight among ourselves as Muslims but also Muslims fighting Christians and Christians fighting Muslims and they are laughing all the way to the cemetery- our cemetery! Look how simplistic and naïve Muslims and Christians are. We're looking at it from the point of view of the administrators of injustice in the world. They are looking at us and saying "look how crazy these people are. They kill themselves in the hundreds of thousands, (if we are looking at history), in the tens of millions. They've been killing themselves because of a theological argument." Now how about that? We have victimised ourselves because of theological differences which we should refer to God. We victimised ourselves. We've had all these wars- speak about Crusades, speak about inquisitions, speak about armies rolling in and out of people's territories with all of the injustice that is done- because of what? Some theological difference? Where is the basis for that? But these people up there in their ivory towers where they thought through all of this they look down "look at these simplistic simpletons. Look how Muslims and Christians are fighting themselves because of a theological difference." The colonialists themselves facilitate these types of differences. We have to go beyond that. We have to mature and we have to concentrate on justice. The world is starving for justice and any theological idea that serves justice is correct or partially correct and any theological idea that undermines justice is wrong or partially wrong.

My time is up. I had to end it like that. Thank you for your patience. I hope you were attentive in your minds because that's all I ask. And peace and blessings of the All Merciful be yours.

Asalaamualaykum wa Rahmatullahi wa Barakatuh.

This khutbah was presented by Imam Muhammad Asi on the occasion of the Annual Conference of the MSA PSG on 21 December 2012. The Imam previously led the daily and Jum'ah prayers inside the Masjid. His speeches were revolutionary and thought provoking, and eventually irritated and threatened the Middle-East Ambassadors who control the Masjid. Finally, the Imam, his family, and other Muslims faithful to the course of Islam were forced out, into the streets. This khutbah originates from the sidewalk across the street from the Islamic Center, currently under seige.

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Sunday, January 19, 2014

[shia_strength] Top 10 Reasons to Turn Off Your TV!

Top 10 Reasons to Turn Off Your TV!

Turning off your television will gain you, on average, about 4 hours per day. Imagine if you took that time to exercise, give your brain a workout and develop strong relationships. Not only would you be adding years to your life, you would become more interesting, energetic, and fun. So take the plunge and try not watching TV for a week. At first it will be strange and awkward, but stick with it and soon you will love all the extra time.

1. Television Eats Your Time

The average U.S. adult watches more than 4 hours of television a day. That's 25 percent of waking time spent every day. Imagine if you suddenly had 25 percent more time -- that's three extra months per year! You could get in all your exercise, cook your meals from scratch and still have time left over to write a novel.

Over a lifetime, an 80-year-old person would have watched 116,800 hours of television, compared to only 98,000 hours of work. As a nation, adults watch 880 million hours of television every day or 321 billion hours per year. Whew! Imagine what could get done if we all just stopped watching TV.

2. Television makes you stressed

With the average of four hours a day gone, it's no wonder everyone is feeling stressed out and overwhelmed. We put aside paying bills, finishing projects, making phone calls and cleaning our homes to watch TV. We feel overwhelmed because of all the things we should be doing (exercising, spending time with family, eating right) go undone.

And when we feel overwhelmed, tired, and exhausted we don't have energy to anything but -- you guessed it -- watch TV. It is a dreadful cycle. So take a break from TV for a week and see what happens to your life.

3. Television Makes You Overweight

Eating while distracted limits your ability to assess how much you have consumed. According to Eliot Blass at the University of Massachusetts, people eat between 31 and 74 percent more calories while watching TV.

This could add, on average, about 300 calories extra per TV meal. Now consider that at least 40 percent of families watch TV while eating dinner. It becomes clear that TV is a big part of the obesity epidemic in the U.S. and that TV, in fact, makes you gain weight.

4. Television Makes You Uninteresting

Many people have whole conversations that are recaps of TV programs, sporting events and sitcoms. When asked about their real lives, there is little or nothing to report and no stories to tell (except the TV shows they have watched).

Life is too interesting and wonderful to spend your time either watching TV or recapping television to your friends. Find something interesting to do: volunteer, read, paint -- anything but watch more TV.

5. Television Ruins Your Relationships

A television is turned on an average of 7 hours and 40 minutes per day in many U.S. households. With the TV on that much, there is little time for you and your significant other or children to spend time together, share experiences, and develop deeper relationships.

Sitting together and watching TV does not grow a relationship. Turn that TV off and find something to do together --cooking, exercising, taking a walk, anything.

6. Television is Not Relaxation

TV is the opposite of exercise. If you are watching TV you are usually sitting, reclining or lying down. You are burning as few calories as possible. All that extra food you eat while watching TV does not get burned off. Your brain goes into a lull.

But you are not relaxing -- your mind is still receiving stimuli from the TV, you are processing information and reacting emotionally. Have you ever found yourself thinking about TV characters? Do you ever dream about TV shows? These are signs that the brain is working hard to process all the TV you have been watching.

7. Television Loses Opportunities

If you are sitting and watching TV, nothing new or exciting is going to happen to you. New opportunities and ideas come from being out in the world, talking to people, and reading interesting things.

Watching TV isolates you. Nothing is going to change in your world if you are watching TV. Turn off the TV, go out into the world, talk to people, and see what happens.

8. Television is Addictive

Television can become addictive. Signs of TV addiction include:

• using the TV to calm down

• not being able to control your viewing

• feeling angry or disappointed in how much TV you watched

• feeling on edge if kept from watching

• feeling a loss of control while watching

If the idea of giving up TV for a week is horrifying, you may be addicted to television. Luckily, TV addiction is a habit and not a physical addiction like smoking. You should be able to control it once you are aware of the problem and make a decision to change.

9. Television Makes You Buy Things

By age 65, the average American has seen 2 million commercials. Your knowledge of products and brands comes from these TV commercials. Your perception of what you need also comes from these commercials.

If you didn't know that your iPod could talk to your running shoes, you wouldn't feel like your current shoes are too low-tech. If you didn't know about vacuums that never lose suction, your current vacuum would seem fine. Our perception of need is determined by what we see. Need less by watching less TV.

10. Television Costs Money

A basic cable package costs $43 per month and many packages cost much more than that. That comes to at least $500 a year spent on TV. For that much money you could: buy a membership to every museum or zoo in your town, get a gym membership, buy a nice bicycle, invest it every year for 10 years at 10 percent interest* and have more than $10,000.

Sources: TvTurnOff.org; US Census Bureau

From Mark Stibich, Ph.D., Your Guide to Longevity.

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Comment:

There isn't much left to say except that for a Muslim home the most dangerous part about the TV is that it corrodes Islamic values. All the sex, violence, bad language and rotten attitudes of characters on TV have turned generations of innocent young children into monsters which even their parents cannot recognize. And then we ask ourselves: where did we go wrong as parents?

Added to that, the TV is without doubt the most powerful propaganda machine ever created by man. Want to make the masses believe in something? Show it on TV. In this way our children accept the worked ideologies of the atheists and liberals without even being consciously aware of it!.

There is only one solution – Get rid of that Shaytaan box immediately, and feel the goodness return to your home.

* Remember that this article is not written by a Muslim, hence the mention of consuming interest. This is obviously incorrect for a Muslim, as interest is Haraam. But the principle behind what the author is saying applies to Muslims as well: save your money and invest in some Halaal way.

MILADUN NABI (SAWW) PROGRAM AT DAR-UL-MUSLIMEEN

On Sunday 17^th Rabiul Awwal 1435 (19^th January 2014), Dar-ul-Muslimeen Education Center arranged Miladun Nabi (saww) program in which more than 350 believers participated.

The program included Qasidahs, Naats, Quiz and lectures on the Seerah of the Prophet Muhammad (saww) presented by different scholars.

While Sheikh Seif Karombo emphasized on the importance of Unity between Muslims, Sheikh Musa Kalasa presented anecdotes on the Akhlaq (morals characters) of the Prophet (saww). The third presentation was done by Sheikh Murtadha Issa who dwelled in length on the connection between love and obedience to the Prophet (saww).

In the end of the program, gifts were awarded to the participants who were able to answer questions from the topics presented, followed by Nyaz and distribution of meat packets to all participants.