Ramadhan
Salam'
Ramadhan starts on Monday 01/09/2008.
Many Allah swt accept our fast and reward us with Jannah al Ferdous.
Wa-Salam
Sunday, 31 August 2008
Monday, 23 June 2008
Muslim?
‘Why are you Muslim?’
It may sound like an obvious question, but often many of us don’t have a clear answer to it. I remember being asked this question by my elder brother when I was fourteen years of age, my initial answer was ‘Well, our family is Muslim’, his reply to this made me think, he said, ‘If your family were Hindu or Christian, would you be as well?’. I replied with a strong ‘No, Islam is the truth’, the discussion that followed made me question the basis of my life and changed my life for ever. He triggered me to think about how to prove that Islam is the truth rather than just believing it emotionally or blindly. In fact Allah (swt) has condemned people for imitating their forefathers and adopting their belief without clear evidence.In the Holy Qur’an, He (swt) says:“And verily guess is no substitute for the truth.” [TMQ 53:28]“They have no (certain) knowledge. They follow nothing but conjecture. For surely; they killed him not (‘Isa).” [TMQ 4:157]"These are nothing but names which you have devised, you and your fathers, for which Allah has sent down no authority. They follow nothing but conjecture and what their Nafs desire. Even though there has already come to them the Guidance from their Rabb" [TMQ 53:23]"Do you have Ilm (knowledge) for that which you claim so that you provide us with? You follow nothing but conjecture (Zann)." [TMQ 6:148]The followers of other religions have no decisive proof for their belief, therefore they believe in their religions emotionally or through imitation. Some of them think that you just have to have faith without clear proof. However when it comes to normal things in life people apply a lot of thought such as buying a car, house, choosing a University course or which bank to join, so how can it be that when it comes to the most important questions about life; which define the purpose of our lives that we should just have ‘faith’ without being convinced absolutely.It is therefore vital for a Muslim to believe in the existence of Allah (swt) without any doubt whatsoever and to believe in the Prophethood of Muhammad (saw) and that the Qur’an is the final revelation sent by Allah (swt) to humanity. Islam is unlike all the other religions as it has a decisive proof that convinces the mind.Proof of the existence of GodLet us begin by discussing the proof of the existence of Allah (swt). Although we are taught theories regarding the origin of the Universe and origin of the Man such as the big bang theory and the theory of evolution, we should realise that they contradict the clear reality which everyone can sense.The fundamental proof that God exists is that everything that we sense around us whether it is the mountains, the trees, the sun, the moon, the stars or animals and fellow human beings are limited things and are not eternal. By limited we mean that they have restrictions, a starting point and an ending point, and they have definable attributes i.e. they are all finite. Human beings are born and die. There is no-one alive who will not die. During their life span, they will grow to a certain height, weight and volume.It is true that there are differences between the things that exist in the Universe however all of them share the quality of being limited and finite, the earth may be huge but it still has a certain shape, weight, volume by which it is limited, this applies to all planets, stars, solar systems and galaxies. Even though a galaxy may look huge to us as the earth looks huge to us and it is not eternal. Even if all of the galaxies and elements of the Universe are added together they do not become unlimited and therefore require an origin. No scientist could ever prove using hard facts that the universe has no bounds. In fact when they say that the universe arose from the Big Bang and is expanding they inherently admit it is finite in size, otherwise it could not expand! There is nothing in reality which is unlimited. No matter how hard we try, we are unable to find anything unlimited around us. All we can perceive is finite and limited.It is a simple principle that something cannot come from nothing, therefore, where did the Universe come from? It cannot simply exist without having any cause as this contradicts the clear reality which everyone can sense, for example, if we see a car no one would ever think that it simply exists without any manufacturer, this can be applied to anything around us. The following example demonstrates this point well.Imam Abu Hanifa was once asked by an atheist, "Is there any proof that God exists?" he replied, "Forget it! At the moment, I am busy thinking about this ship.People tell me there is a big ship; it contains different goods on board. There is no one to steer it, no one maintaining it. Yet, this ship keeps going back and forth; it even traverses big waves on the oceans; it stops at the locations that it is supposed to stop at; it continues in the direction that it is supposed to head. This ship has no captain and no one planning its trips." The atheist who posed the question interrupted and exclaimed, "What kind of strange and silly thought is this? How can any intelligent person think that some thing like this can occur?"Imam Abu Hanifa said, "I feel sorry about your state! You cannot imagine one ship running without some one looking after its affairs. Yet you think that for this whole world, which runs exactly and precisely, there is no one who looks after it, and no one owns it."The attribute of everything around us is that they are all needy and dependent in order to continue existing. They are not self-sustaining or independent. Man has needs he has to satisfy in order to survive. He has organic needs for example he must eat and drink if he is to survive. If he does not he will die. We see the need and dependency in plants and animals. They depend on other parts of the food chain for their existence. The water cycle is dependent on the sun, which is dependent on the laws of the galaxies and of burning mass, and so on... Nothing we can perceive is self-subsistent. So things exist, but do not have the power of existence. They cannot control when they die or when other bodies die. Thus what we see is that everything around us is limited and finite. Everything that is limited and finite is dependant and everything that is dependant is dependant upon something greater than itself. Applying this to everything we see will bring us to a conclusion. If everything in the universe is dependant because it has not the power of being in existence on its own accord, and is also finite and limited, then what is everything dependant upon for its existence? It must be an unlimited and independent creator.Today the various theories that exist about the origin of the Universe such as the ‘Big bang theory’, ‘Big bang – Big crunch theory’ or ‘dialectic materialism’ they contradict the simple fact of the need for an unlimited creator.One example that highlights this is that of the origin of life. Living things like plants, animals and human beings are different from inanimate or dead things as they have certain features such as independent growth, motion and reproduction. If people believe that the Universe has existed forever or that it evolved from single blast etc, this means that they believe that life also evolved from inanimate or dead matter such as gases, liquids or solids. If this is the case, then they should be able to show us one example at least of non-living things producing life, no such example exists. In fact some of them say that this happened by coincidence millions of years ago when certain amino acids and chemicals mixed together to produce the first life. If this is the case, then they should be able to reproduce this ‘coincidence’ with their billions of dollars worth of technology. But they are unable even to produce the most basic life form; an amoeba, which is a single celled organism. What scientists can do is manipulate the attributes that exist within living cells such as in genetic cloning; however this does not mean that they are creating life from dead matter. They are simply manipulating the attributes that Allah (swt) has placed within life, just as we manipulate metal to produce knives and cars.Therefore, it is a simple fact that this universe must have a creator. The question remains is this creator like the universe i.e. limited or is the creator unlimited and eternal. If the creator was limited like the universe then He would also require a creator as this is the case with every limited thing. So if the universe was caused by a big bang as they claim, what was before the big bang? If it was something else like another universe then what was before that? This chain would continue until there would be a beginning or origin, this could only be caused by something which is uncaused or eternal, which we call God or Allah (swt).Furthermore the amazing design of every part of the universe, man and life are testament to the fact that Allah (swt) exists. Imam Shaa'fi explained this when he said, "The leaves of Toot (berries) are all but one. Each leaf tastes exactly the same. Insects, honey bees, cows, goats, and deer live off of it. After eating these the insects produce silk; bees produce honey; deer give musk (a special kind of scent), cows and goats deliver off-springs. Is this not clear evidence that one kind of leaf has so many qualities, and who created these qualities? It is the Khaliq (Creator) who we call Allah (swt)) Who is the Inventor and the Creator."We see that the Qur’an draws attention to everything around us and to conclude from this pondering the existence of Allah. There are hundreds of Qur’anic ayat expressing this meaning. Such as,إنَّ فِي خَلْقِ ألسَمَاوَاتِ وَالأرْضِ وَاخْتِلافِ ألَّيْلِ وَالنَّهــارِ لأََيــاتٍ لِأُوْلـــىالْبــَابِ"Behold! In the creation of the heavens and the earth and the alteration of night and day, these are indeed signs for men of understanding." [TMQ Al-Imran: 190]وَمِنْ آيَاتِهِ خَلْقُ السَّمَاوَاتِ وَالأَرْضِ وَاخْتِلاَفُ أَلْسِنَتِكُمْ وَأَلْوَانِكُمْ إِنَّ فِي ذلِكَ لآيَاتٍ لِّلْعَالَمِينَ"And of His signs is the creation of the heavens and the earth, and the difference of your languages and colours. Behold! herein indeed are signs for men of knowledge." [TMQ Ar-Rum: 22]أَفَلاَ يَنظُرُونَ إِلَى الإِبْلِ كَيْفَ خُلِقَتْ وَإِلَى السَّمَآءِ كَيْفَ رُفِعَتْ وَإِلَى الْجِبَالِ كَيْفَ نُصِبَتْ وَإِلَى الأَرْضِ كَيْفَ سُطِحَتْ"Will they not look at the camels, how they are created! And the heaven, how it is raised! And the mountains, how they are set up! And the earth, how it is spread!" [TMQ Al-Ghashiya: 17-20]فَلْيَنظُرِ الإِنسَانُ مِمَّ خُلِقَ خُلِقَ مِن مَّآءٍ دَافِقٍ يَخْرُجُ مِن بَيْنِ الصُّلْبِ وَالتَّرَآئِبِ"So let man reflect, from what he is created. He is created fom a gushing fluid, that is issued from between the loins and ribs." [TMQ At-Tariq: 5-7]إِنَّ فِي خَلْقِ السَّمَاوَاتِ وَالأَرْضِ وَاخْتِلاَفِ اللَّيْلِ وَالنَّهَارِ وَالْفُلْكِ الَّتِي تَجْرِي فِي الْبَحْرِ بِمَا يَنفَعُ النَّاسَ وَمَآ أَنزَلَ اللَّهُ مِنَ السَّمَآءِ مِن مَّآءٍ فَأَحْيَا بِهِ الأَرْضَ بَعْدَ مَوْتِهَا وَبَثَّ فِيهَا مِن كُلِّ دَآبَّةٍ وَتَصْرِيفِ الرِّيَاحِ وَالسَّحَابِ الْمُسَخَّرِ بَيْنَ السَّمَآءِ وَالأَرْضِ لآيَاتٍ لِّقَوْمٍ يَعْقِلُونَ“Behold! in the creation of the heavens and the earth and the difference of night and day, and the ships which run upon the sea with that which is of use to men, and the water which Allah sends down from the sky, thereby reviving the earth after its death, and dispersing all kinds of beasts therein, and in the ordinance of the winds, and the clouds obedient between heaven and earth are signs (of Allah's sovereignty) for people who have sense." [TMQ Al-Baqarah: 164]"Were they created of nothing, or were they themselves the creators? Or did they create the heavens and the earth? Nay they have not firm belief." [TMQ At-Tur 35-36]Proof of the Qur’anOnce we have concluded definitively that Allah (swt) exists the next obvious question that arises is that has Allah (swt) sent a revelation for us to follow. It is clear that we are not able to communicate with God and therefore we are unable to know what He wants us to do, how He wants us to worship Him and how we should solve the problems we face in life. All of these questions would remain unresolved unless there the creator has communicated with us and given us a guidance to follow.As Muslims we believe that throughout history, there have been messengers and prophets, men sent from the Creator, bringing laws or revelation on how man should conduct his life. They were given miracles which proved to mankind that they had a communication with God and a revelation from Him. A miracle is something which goes against the laws of nature which is impossible for anyone else to do; by miracles the Prophet’s were able to prove their direct relationship with God. For example prophet Musa (as) had a stick which parted the Red Sea, Prophet Isa (as) had the ability to cure the sick by just touching them.But how do we know if these messengers existed? The miracles performed by the above prophets were only miracles for that specific period of time. But how do we know that they were not just legends or fables? So what miracle do we have right now to convince us and guide us through our lives?The Qur’an itself is the main miracle that the Prophet (saw) brought which is different to the physical miracles of the other Prophet’s as they were limited to their times only. The Qur’an is an intellectual miracle that proves Islam. It was revealed to Muhammad (saw) in the 6th Century, it exists today and has been revealed for all times.It is an established fact that the Qur’an was proclaimed by Muhammad (saw) in Arabia over fourteen hundred years ago. In order for us to prove decisively that it is from Allah (swt), we must first consider the possible sources of the Qur’an and then eliminate these to arrive at its true origin.The only possible sources for the Qur’an are:a) The Arabsb) Muhammad (saw) himselfc) Allah (swt)At the time it was revealed, the pagan Arabs were deeply into poetry. It was an indication of nobility in society. People used to go to the desert for days just to write poetry. The Arabic language has great fluidity and depth of expression, so it was held high in esteem by the Arabs. Allah (swt) in the Qur’an challenged the Arabs to produce something comparable to it in language and they failed to do so.Initially Allah (swt) challenged them to produce ten chapters (surah’s) similar to it:"They may say: He forged it (the Qur’an). Say: "Bring you then ten forged surah (chapters) like unto it, and call whomsoever you can, other than Allah (to your help), if you speak the truth!" [TMQ 11:13]They failed to do so. Allah (swt) then reduced the challenge to something that at first glance may sound easy, He (swt) said:“If you are in doubt of what we have revealed to our messenger, then produce one chapter like it. Call upon all your helpers, besides Allah, if you are truthful” [TMQ 2:23]The smallest chapter in the Qur’an, Surah al-Kauthar is only three sentences long, surely someone in history must have matched this challenge? The Arabs at the time of Muhammad (saw) failed to do so, although they were the best in the Arabic language. Furthermore no piece of Arabic literature before them or after them until today has even come close to matching the language of the Qur’an.For non-Arabs sometimes this may be difficult to perceive as they do not appreciate the language of the Qur’an directly. However, everyone can agree that any piece of literature written by human beings can be matched; people can copy its style and produce something comparable to it in quality. If we look at great English authors like Shakespear no one would claim that they were Prophet’s and that their works are miraculous in nature. Even though they may have been geniuses in language, people can easily write something similar in excellence to three sentences from their books. Despite having the Arabic language, its letters, grammar, syntax and dictionaries available today, the Arabic linguists cannot construct any piece of language that is comparable to the Qur’an. Therefore, it is impossible that the Qur’an was written by any of the Arabs.It is also inconceivable that the Qur’an is the speech of Muhammad (saw). After all he was one of the Arabs. Also, whatever level of genius people may assign to him, he was still a human being and one of his tribe and nation. Since the Arabs failed to bring the like of the Qur’an, this equally applies to Muhammad (saw). Moreover, Muhammad (saw) has left saheeh ahaadeeth (sound narrations) and mutawaatir ahaadeeth (definitive narrations) whose authenticity is beyond doubt. If any of these ahaadeeth were to be compared with any verse of the Qur'an, there would be no similarity between them in style. He (saw) used to utter the revealed verse and say the hadeeth at the same time and yet there is a difference between them in style. Whenever any man attempts to diversify his speech, it will remain similar in style, because it is a part of him. Since there is no similarity between the hadeeth and the verse in style, the Qur'an is absolutely not Muhammad’s speech. It is important to point out that none of the Arabs, who despised Muhammad (saw), particularly at that time, were the most acquainted with the styles of Arabic speech yet never claimed that the Qur’an was Muhammad’s (saw) speech, or even similar to his speech.Since it is proved that the Qur'an is neither the speech of the Arabs nor the speech of Muhammad (saw), it is definitely the speech of Allah as this is the only rational possibility we are left with.The Qur’anic challenge is unique because the Creator, Allah (swt), pushes man to use his ability to undermine the authenticity of the Qur’an. It is such a profound yet simple challenge. Imagine throughout the history of Islam, all her enemies needed to defeat this challenge to destroy the whole basis of Islam. Yet not one, non-Muslim Arab or non-Arab has been able to do this even though all the tools of the Arabic language are at their disposal. The Western government’s hatred of Islam is well known. All they have to do in order to defeat Islam and to make over one billion Muslims apostatise from it, is not to spend billions of dollars in invading Afghanistan, Iraq and launching a mythical ‘war on terror’. They simply have to produce one chapter similar to the Qur’an.To this day Muslim and non-Muslim scholars have not been able to find any contradiction or mistake in the Qur’an. Moreover, if one was to compare word by word a copy of the Qur’an published today to one of the first copies of the Qur’an available then one would find that not a single word has been omitted or added. Copies of the Qur’an dating back to the first century of Islam can be found in Istanbul and Tashkent. Allah (swt) says:"Do they not ponder about the Qur’an? If it had come from other than God they would surely have found therein much contradictions." [T.M.Q 4:82]There are many texts available today claiming divine status from God, like the Bible of the Christians and the Torah of the Jews etc. However, they have no proof that they have been revealed by God, if they are not miraculous in nature then there is no reason to believe in them.As Muslims we believe that Allah (swt) revealed different books through history such as the original Injeel (Bible) and Torah, Allah (swt) informed us of this in the Qur’an this is why we believe these. However, we have also been informed that these books have been altered and therefore the versions that exist today are not that which was revealed by Allah (swt). Besides this, the Qur’an is the final revelation from Allah (swt) which abrogates all others.Allah (swt) says, "Say ye: "We believe in Allah, and the revelation given to us, and to Abraham, Isma'il, Isaac, Jacob, and the Tribes, and that given to Moses and Jesus, and that given to (all) Prophets from their Lord: we make no difference between one and another of them: and we bow to Allah (in Islam)." [TMQ Al-Baqarah:136]Once we have established through rational proof that Allah (Swt) exists and that the Qur’an is the Word of Allah, we must believe in everything that the Qur’an informs us of and commands us with, whether we can perceive them or not. Therefore, we must have Iman (belief) in the Day of Resurrection, in paradise (jannah) and hell, in reckoning and punishment, in angels, in jinn, in Shayaateen and all others that the Qur'an or hadeeth mutawaatir (definitive narrations) have mentioned. To believe in these things is therefore not irrational just because we cannot see them or sense them physically as we have conclusively proved the Qur’an being from Allah (swt) which informs us about all of these.يَا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آمَنُواْ آمِنُواْ بِاللَّهِ وَرَسُولِهِ وَالْكِتَابِ الَّذِي نَزَّلَ عَلَى رَسُولِهِ وَالْكِتَابِ الَّذِي أَنَزلَ مِن قَبْلُ وَمَن يَكْفُرْ بِاللَّهِ وَمَلآئِكَتِهِ وَكُتُبِهِ وَرُسُلِهِ وَالْيَوْمِ الآخِرِ فَقَدْ ضَلَّ ضَلاَلاً بَعِيداً"O you who believe! Believe in Allah and His messenger, and the Book which He sent to His Messenger and the Book which He sent to those before (him). Any who denies Allah, His Angels, His Books, His Messengers, and the Day of Judgement, has gone far, far astray." [An-Nisa: 136]Once the Iman in Allah, His Messenger and the Qur’an has been proven, every Muslim is obliged to believe in the Islamic Shari’ah as a whole. We cannot pick and choose as we like. As the Shariah was revealed in the glorious Qur'an, and the Messenger (saw) conveyed it. If someone disbelieves in this he would be a (disbeliever) Kafir. Therefore, it is disbelief (Kufr) to deny the shariah rules as a whole, or any definite detailed rule amongst them. This is the case whether these ahkam (rules) are connected with worships (ibadaat), transactions (mu'amalaat), punishments (uqoobat), food, etc. So the rejection of the verse:وَأَقِيمُواْ الصَّلاَةَ"So establish regular prayer" [Al-Baqarah: 43]Is the same as rejecting the following verses:وَأَحَلَّ اللَّهُ الْبَيْعَ وَحَرَّمَ الرِّبَا"But Allah has permitted trade and forbidden usury," [Al-Baqarah: 275]وَالسَّارِقُ وَالسَّارِقَةُ فَاقْطَعُواْ أَيْدِيَهُمَا"As to the thief, male or female, cut off his or her hands," [Al-Ma’idah: 38]حُرِّمَتْ عَلَيْكُمُ الْمَيْتَةُ وَالْدَّمُ وَلَحْمُ الْخِنْزِيرِ وَمَآ أُهِلَّ لِغَيْرِ اللَّهِ بِهِ"Forbidden to you (for food) are dead meat, blood, the flesh of swine, and that on which has been invoked the name of any other than Allah." [Al-Ma’idah: 3]We must completely surrender to all the rules revealed by Allah (swt) whether we see rational reasons for them or not.فَلاَ وَرَبِّكَ لاَ يُؤْمِنُونَ حَتَّى يُحَكِّمُوكَ فِيمَا شَجَرَ بَيْنَهُمْ ثُمَّ لاَ يَجِدُواْ فِي أَنْفُسِهِمْ حَرَجاً مِّمَّا قَضَيْتَ وَيُسَلِّمُواْ تَسْلِيماً"But no, by your Lord, they can have no (real) faith, until they make you judge in all the disputes between them, and find in their souls no resistance against your decisions, but accept them with the fullest submission." [An-Nisa: 65]
It may sound like an obvious question, but often many of us don’t have a clear answer to it. I remember being asked this question by my elder brother when I was fourteen years of age, my initial answer was ‘Well, our family is Muslim’, his reply to this made me think, he said, ‘If your family were Hindu or Christian, would you be as well?’. I replied with a strong ‘No, Islam is the truth’, the discussion that followed made me question the basis of my life and changed my life for ever. He triggered me to think about how to prove that Islam is the truth rather than just believing it emotionally or blindly. In fact Allah (swt) has condemned people for imitating their forefathers and adopting their belief without clear evidence.In the Holy Qur’an, He (swt) says:“And verily guess is no substitute for the truth.” [TMQ 53:28]“They have no (certain) knowledge. They follow nothing but conjecture. For surely; they killed him not (‘Isa).” [TMQ 4:157]"These are nothing but names which you have devised, you and your fathers, for which Allah has sent down no authority. They follow nothing but conjecture and what their Nafs desire. Even though there has already come to them the Guidance from their Rabb" [TMQ 53:23]"Do you have Ilm (knowledge) for that which you claim so that you provide us with? You follow nothing but conjecture (Zann)." [TMQ 6:148]The followers of other religions have no decisive proof for their belief, therefore they believe in their religions emotionally or through imitation. Some of them think that you just have to have faith without clear proof. However when it comes to normal things in life people apply a lot of thought such as buying a car, house, choosing a University course or which bank to join, so how can it be that when it comes to the most important questions about life; which define the purpose of our lives that we should just have ‘faith’ without being convinced absolutely.It is therefore vital for a Muslim to believe in the existence of Allah (swt) without any doubt whatsoever and to believe in the Prophethood of Muhammad (saw) and that the Qur’an is the final revelation sent by Allah (swt) to humanity. Islam is unlike all the other religions as it has a decisive proof that convinces the mind.Proof of the existence of GodLet us begin by discussing the proof of the existence of Allah (swt). Although we are taught theories regarding the origin of the Universe and origin of the Man such as the big bang theory and the theory of evolution, we should realise that they contradict the clear reality which everyone can sense.The fundamental proof that God exists is that everything that we sense around us whether it is the mountains, the trees, the sun, the moon, the stars or animals and fellow human beings are limited things and are not eternal. By limited we mean that they have restrictions, a starting point and an ending point, and they have definable attributes i.e. they are all finite. Human beings are born and die. There is no-one alive who will not die. During their life span, they will grow to a certain height, weight and volume.It is true that there are differences between the things that exist in the Universe however all of them share the quality of being limited and finite, the earth may be huge but it still has a certain shape, weight, volume by which it is limited, this applies to all planets, stars, solar systems and galaxies. Even though a galaxy may look huge to us as the earth looks huge to us and it is not eternal. Even if all of the galaxies and elements of the Universe are added together they do not become unlimited and therefore require an origin. No scientist could ever prove using hard facts that the universe has no bounds. In fact when they say that the universe arose from the Big Bang and is expanding they inherently admit it is finite in size, otherwise it could not expand! There is nothing in reality which is unlimited. No matter how hard we try, we are unable to find anything unlimited around us. All we can perceive is finite and limited.It is a simple principle that something cannot come from nothing, therefore, where did the Universe come from? It cannot simply exist without having any cause as this contradicts the clear reality which everyone can sense, for example, if we see a car no one would ever think that it simply exists without any manufacturer, this can be applied to anything around us. The following example demonstrates this point well.Imam Abu Hanifa was once asked by an atheist, "Is there any proof that God exists?" he replied, "Forget it! At the moment, I am busy thinking about this ship.People tell me there is a big ship; it contains different goods on board. There is no one to steer it, no one maintaining it. Yet, this ship keeps going back and forth; it even traverses big waves on the oceans; it stops at the locations that it is supposed to stop at; it continues in the direction that it is supposed to head. This ship has no captain and no one planning its trips." The atheist who posed the question interrupted and exclaimed, "What kind of strange and silly thought is this? How can any intelligent person think that some thing like this can occur?"Imam Abu Hanifa said, "I feel sorry about your state! You cannot imagine one ship running without some one looking after its affairs. Yet you think that for this whole world, which runs exactly and precisely, there is no one who looks after it, and no one owns it."The attribute of everything around us is that they are all needy and dependent in order to continue existing. They are not self-sustaining or independent. Man has needs he has to satisfy in order to survive. He has organic needs for example he must eat and drink if he is to survive. If he does not he will die. We see the need and dependency in plants and animals. They depend on other parts of the food chain for their existence. The water cycle is dependent on the sun, which is dependent on the laws of the galaxies and of burning mass, and so on... Nothing we can perceive is self-subsistent. So things exist, but do not have the power of existence. They cannot control when they die or when other bodies die. Thus what we see is that everything around us is limited and finite. Everything that is limited and finite is dependant and everything that is dependant is dependant upon something greater than itself. Applying this to everything we see will bring us to a conclusion. If everything in the universe is dependant because it has not the power of being in existence on its own accord, and is also finite and limited, then what is everything dependant upon for its existence? It must be an unlimited and independent creator.Today the various theories that exist about the origin of the Universe such as the ‘Big bang theory’, ‘Big bang – Big crunch theory’ or ‘dialectic materialism’ they contradict the simple fact of the need for an unlimited creator.One example that highlights this is that of the origin of life. Living things like plants, animals and human beings are different from inanimate or dead things as they have certain features such as independent growth, motion and reproduction. If people believe that the Universe has existed forever or that it evolved from single blast etc, this means that they believe that life also evolved from inanimate or dead matter such as gases, liquids or solids. If this is the case, then they should be able to show us one example at least of non-living things producing life, no such example exists. In fact some of them say that this happened by coincidence millions of years ago when certain amino acids and chemicals mixed together to produce the first life. If this is the case, then they should be able to reproduce this ‘coincidence’ with their billions of dollars worth of technology. But they are unable even to produce the most basic life form; an amoeba, which is a single celled organism. What scientists can do is manipulate the attributes that exist within living cells such as in genetic cloning; however this does not mean that they are creating life from dead matter. They are simply manipulating the attributes that Allah (swt) has placed within life, just as we manipulate metal to produce knives and cars.Therefore, it is a simple fact that this universe must have a creator. The question remains is this creator like the universe i.e. limited or is the creator unlimited and eternal. If the creator was limited like the universe then He would also require a creator as this is the case with every limited thing. So if the universe was caused by a big bang as they claim, what was before the big bang? If it was something else like another universe then what was before that? This chain would continue until there would be a beginning or origin, this could only be caused by something which is uncaused or eternal, which we call God or Allah (swt).Furthermore the amazing design of every part of the universe, man and life are testament to the fact that Allah (swt) exists. Imam Shaa'fi explained this when he said, "The leaves of Toot (berries) are all but one. Each leaf tastes exactly the same. Insects, honey bees, cows, goats, and deer live off of it. After eating these the insects produce silk; bees produce honey; deer give musk (a special kind of scent), cows and goats deliver off-springs. Is this not clear evidence that one kind of leaf has so many qualities, and who created these qualities? It is the Khaliq (Creator) who we call Allah (swt)) Who is the Inventor and the Creator."We see that the Qur’an draws attention to everything around us and to conclude from this pondering the existence of Allah. There are hundreds of Qur’anic ayat expressing this meaning. Such as,إنَّ فِي خَلْقِ ألسَمَاوَاتِ وَالأرْضِ وَاخْتِلافِ ألَّيْلِ وَالنَّهــارِ لأََيــاتٍ لِأُوْلـــىالْبــَابِ"Behold! In the creation of the heavens and the earth and the alteration of night and day, these are indeed signs for men of understanding." [TMQ Al-Imran: 190]وَمِنْ آيَاتِهِ خَلْقُ السَّمَاوَاتِ وَالأَرْضِ وَاخْتِلاَفُ أَلْسِنَتِكُمْ وَأَلْوَانِكُمْ إِنَّ فِي ذلِكَ لآيَاتٍ لِّلْعَالَمِينَ"And of His signs is the creation of the heavens and the earth, and the difference of your languages and colours. Behold! herein indeed are signs for men of knowledge." [TMQ Ar-Rum: 22]أَفَلاَ يَنظُرُونَ إِلَى الإِبْلِ كَيْفَ خُلِقَتْ وَإِلَى السَّمَآءِ كَيْفَ رُفِعَتْ وَإِلَى الْجِبَالِ كَيْفَ نُصِبَتْ وَإِلَى الأَرْضِ كَيْفَ سُطِحَتْ"Will they not look at the camels, how they are created! And the heaven, how it is raised! And the mountains, how they are set up! And the earth, how it is spread!" [TMQ Al-Ghashiya: 17-20]فَلْيَنظُرِ الإِنسَانُ مِمَّ خُلِقَ خُلِقَ مِن مَّآءٍ دَافِقٍ يَخْرُجُ مِن بَيْنِ الصُّلْبِ وَالتَّرَآئِبِ"So let man reflect, from what he is created. He is created fom a gushing fluid, that is issued from between the loins and ribs." [TMQ At-Tariq: 5-7]إِنَّ فِي خَلْقِ السَّمَاوَاتِ وَالأَرْضِ وَاخْتِلاَفِ اللَّيْلِ وَالنَّهَارِ وَالْفُلْكِ الَّتِي تَجْرِي فِي الْبَحْرِ بِمَا يَنفَعُ النَّاسَ وَمَآ أَنزَلَ اللَّهُ مِنَ السَّمَآءِ مِن مَّآءٍ فَأَحْيَا بِهِ الأَرْضَ بَعْدَ مَوْتِهَا وَبَثَّ فِيهَا مِن كُلِّ دَآبَّةٍ وَتَصْرِيفِ الرِّيَاحِ وَالسَّحَابِ الْمُسَخَّرِ بَيْنَ السَّمَآءِ وَالأَرْضِ لآيَاتٍ لِّقَوْمٍ يَعْقِلُونَ“Behold! in the creation of the heavens and the earth and the difference of night and day, and the ships which run upon the sea with that which is of use to men, and the water which Allah sends down from the sky, thereby reviving the earth after its death, and dispersing all kinds of beasts therein, and in the ordinance of the winds, and the clouds obedient between heaven and earth are signs (of Allah's sovereignty) for people who have sense." [TMQ Al-Baqarah: 164]"Were they created of nothing, or were they themselves the creators? Or did they create the heavens and the earth? Nay they have not firm belief." [TMQ At-Tur 35-36]Proof of the Qur’anOnce we have concluded definitively that Allah (swt) exists the next obvious question that arises is that has Allah (swt) sent a revelation for us to follow. It is clear that we are not able to communicate with God and therefore we are unable to know what He wants us to do, how He wants us to worship Him and how we should solve the problems we face in life. All of these questions would remain unresolved unless there the creator has communicated with us and given us a guidance to follow.As Muslims we believe that throughout history, there have been messengers and prophets, men sent from the Creator, bringing laws or revelation on how man should conduct his life. They were given miracles which proved to mankind that they had a communication with God and a revelation from Him. A miracle is something which goes against the laws of nature which is impossible for anyone else to do; by miracles the Prophet’s were able to prove their direct relationship with God. For example prophet Musa (as) had a stick which parted the Red Sea, Prophet Isa (as) had the ability to cure the sick by just touching them.But how do we know if these messengers existed? The miracles performed by the above prophets were only miracles for that specific period of time. But how do we know that they were not just legends or fables? So what miracle do we have right now to convince us and guide us through our lives?The Qur’an itself is the main miracle that the Prophet (saw) brought which is different to the physical miracles of the other Prophet’s as they were limited to their times only. The Qur’an is an intellectual miracle that proves Islam. It was revealed to Muhammad (saw) in the 6th Century, it exists today and has been revealed for all times.It is an established fact that the Qur’an was proclaimed by Muhammad (saw) in Arabia over fourteen hundred years ago. In order for us to prove decisively that it is from Allah (swt), we must first consider the possible sources of the Qur’an and then eliminate these to arrive at its true origin.The only possible sources for the Qur’an are:a) The Arabsb) Muhammad (saw) himselfc) Allah (swt)At the time it was revealed, the pagan Arabs were deeply into poetry. It was an indication of nobility in society. People used to go to the desert for days just to write poetry. The Arabic language has great fluidity and depth of expression, so it was held high in esteem by the Arabs. Allah (swt) in the Qur’an challenged the Arabs to produce something comparable to it in language and they failed to do so.Initially Allah (swt) challenged them to produce ten chapters (surah’s) similar to it:"They may say: He forged it (the Qur’an). Say: "Bring you then ten forged surah (chapters) like unto it, and call whomsoever you can, other than Allah (to your help), if you speak the truth!" [TMQ 11:13]They failed to do so. Allah (swt) then reduced the challenge to something that at first glance may sound easy, He (swt) said:“If you are in doubt of what we have revealed to our messenger, then produce one chapter like it. Call upon all your helpers, besides Allah, if you are truthful” [TMQ 2:23]The smallest chapter in the Qur’an, Surah al-Kauthar is only three sentences long, surely someone in history must have matched this challenge? The Arabs at the time of Muhammad (saw) failed to do so, although they were the best in the Arabic language. Furthermore no piece of Arabic literature before them or after them until today has even come close to matching the language of the Qur’an.For non-Arabs sometimes this may be difficult to perceive as they do not appreciate the language of the Qur’an directly. However, everyone can agree that any piece of literature written by human beings can be matched; people can copy its style and produce something comparable to it in quality. If we look at great English authors like Shakespear no one would claim that they were Prophet’s and that their works are miraculous in nature. Even though they may have been geniuses in language, people can easily write something similar in excellence to three sentences from their books. Despite having the Arabic language, its letters, grammar, syntax and dictionaries available today, the Arabic linguists cannot construct any piece of language that is comparable to the Qur’an. Therefore, it is impossible that the Qur’an was written by any of the Arabs.It is also inconceivable that the Qur’an is the speech of Muhammad (saw). After all he was one of the Arabs. Also, whatever level of genius people may assign to him, he was still a human being and one of his tribe and nation. Since the Arabs failed to bring the like of the Qur’an, this equally applies to Muhammad (saw). Moreover, Muhammad (saw) has left saheeh ahaadeeth (sound narrations) and mutawaatir ahaadeeth (definitive narrations) whose authenticity is beyond doubt. If any of these ahaadeeth were to be compared with any verse of the Qur'an, there would be no similarity between them in style. He (saw) used to utter the revealed verse and say the hadeeth at the same time and yet there is a difference between them in style. Whenever any man attempts to diversify his speech, it will remain similar in style, because it is a part of him. Since there is no similarity between the hadeeth and the verse in style, the Qur'an is absolutely not Muhammad’s speech. It is important to point out that none of the Arabs, who despised Muhammad (saw), particularly at that time, were the most acquainted with the styles of Arabic speech yet never claimed that the Qur’an was Muhammad’s (saw) speech, or even similar to his speech.Since it is proved that the Qur'an is neither the speech of the Arabs nor the speech of Muhammad (saw), it is definitely the speech of Allah as this is the only rational possibility we are left with.The Qur’anic challenge is unique because the Creator, Allah (swt), pushes man to use his ability to undermine the authenticity of the Qur’an. It is such a profound yet simple challenge. Imagine throughout the history of Islam, all her enemies needed to defeat this challenge to destroy the whole basis of Islam. Yet not one, non-Muslim Arab or non-Arab has been able to do this even though all the tools of the Arabic language are at their disposal. The Western government’s hatred of Islam is well known. All they have to do in order to defeat Islam and to make over one billion Muslims apostatise from it, is not to spend billions of dollars in invading Afghanistan, Iraq and launching a mythical ‘war on terror’. They simply have to produce one chapter similar to the Qur’an.To this day Muslim and non-Muslim scholars have not been able to find any contradiction or mistake in the Qur’an. Moreover, if one was to compare word by word a copy of the Qur’an published today to one of the first copies of the Qur’an available then one would find that not a single word has been omitted or added. Copies of the Qur’an dating back to the first century of Islam can be found in Istanbul and Tashkent. Allah (swt) says:"Do they not ponder about the Qur’an? If it had come from other than God they would surely have found therein much contradictions." [T.M.Q 4:82]There are many texts available today claiming divine status from God, like the Bible of the Christians and the Torah of the Jews etc. However, they have no proof that they have been revealed by God, if they are not miraculous in nature then there is no reason to believe in them.As Muslims we believe that Allah (swt) revealed different books through history such as the original Injeel (Bible) and Torah, Allah (swt) informed us of this in the Qur’an this is why we believe these. However, we have also been informed that these books have been altered and therefore the versions that exist today are not that which was revealed by Allah (swt). Besides this, the Qur’an is the final revelation from Allah (swt) which abrogates all others.Allah (swt) says, "Say ye: "We believe in Allah, and the revelation given to us, and to Abraham, Isma'il, Isaac, Jacob, and the Tribes, and that given to Moses and Jesus, and that given to (all) Prophets from their Lord: we make no difference between one and another of them: and we bow to Allah (in Islam)." [TMQ Al-Baqarah:136]Once we have established through rational proof that Allah (Swt) exists and that the Qur’an is the Word of Allah, we must believe in everything that the Qur’an informs us of and commands us with, whether we can perceive them or not. Therefore, we must have Iman (belief) in the Day of Resurrection, in paradise (jannah) and hell, in reckoning and punishment, in angels, in jinn, in Shayaateen and all others that the Qur'an or hadeeth mutawaatir (definitive narrations) have mentioned. To believe in these things is therefore not irrational just because we cannot see them or sense them physically as we have conclusively proved the Qur’an being from Allah (swt) which informs us about all of these.يَا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آمَنُواْ آمِنُواْ بِاللَّهِ وَرَسُولِهِ وَالْكِتَابِ الَّذِي نَزَّلَ عَلَى رَسُولِهِ وَالْكِتَابِ الَّذِي أَنَزلَ مِن قَبْلُ وَمَن يَكْفُرْ بِاللَّهِ وَمَلآئِكَتِهِ وَكُتُبِهِ وَرُسُلِهِ وَالْيَوْمِ الآخِرِ فَقَدْ ضَلَّ ضَلاَلاً بَعِيداً"O you who believe! Believe in Allah and His messenger, and the Book which He sent to His Messenger and the Book which He sent to those before (him). Any who denies Allah, His Angels, His Books, His Messengers, and the Day of Judgement, has gone far, far astray." [An-Nisa: 136]Once the Iman in Allah, His Messenger and the Qur’an has been proven, every Muslim is obliged to believe in the Islamic Shari’ah as a whole. We cannot pick and choose as we like. As the Shariah was revealed in the glorious Qur'an, and the Messenger (saw) conveyed it. If someone disbelieves in this he would be a (disbeliever) Kafir. Therefore, it is disbelief (Kufr) to deny the shariah rules as a whole, or any definite detailed rule amongst them. This is the case whether these ahkam (rules) are connected with worships (ibadaat), transactions (mu'amalaat), punishments (uqoobat), food, etc. So the rejection of the verse:وَأَقِيمُواْ الصَّلاَةَ"So establish regular prayer" [Al-Baqarah: 43]Is the same as rejecting the following verses:وَأَحَلَّ اللَّهُ الْبَيْعَ وَحَرَّمَ الرِّبَا"But Allah has permitted trade and forbidden usury," [Al-Baqarah: 275]وَالسَّارِقُ وَالسَّارِقَةُ فَاقْطَعُواْ أَيْدِيَهُمَا"As to the thief, male or female, cut off his or her hands," [Al-Ma’idah: 38]حُرِّمَتْ عَلَيْكُمُ الْمَيْتَةُ وَالْدَّمُ وَلَحْمُ الْخِنْزِيرِ وَمَآ أُهِلَّ لِغَيْرِ اللَّهِ بِهِ"Forbidden to you (for food) are dead meat, blood, the flesh of swine, and that on which has been invoked the name of any other than Allah." [Al-Ma’idah: 3]We must completely surrender to all the rules revealed by Allah (swt) whether we see rational reasons for them or not.فَلاَ وَرَبِّكَ لاَ يُؤْمِنُونَ حَتَّى يُحَكِّمُوكَ فِيمَا شَجَرَ بَيْنَهُمْ ثُمَّ لاَ يَجِدُواْ فِي أَنْفُسِهِمْ حَرَجاً مِّمَّا قَضَيْتَ وَيُسَلِّمُواْ تَسْلِيماً"But no, by your Lord, they can have no (real) faith, until they make you judge in all the disputes between them, and find in their souls no resistance against your decisions, but accept them with the fullest submission." [An-Nisa: 65]
Sunday, 1 June 2008
The Railroad
The Hejaz Railroad: A symbol of Muslim Unity
At the turn of the 20th century the Ottoman Caliphate was in a severely weakened state. Nicknamed the “sick man of Europe” much of the Caliphate’s lands were under control of colonial powers Britain and France. Growing discontentment in the Arabs lands was surfacing as the concept of Arab nationalism, first introduced by the western powers, took a strong hold among some of the influentials. This nationalism eventually led to the British backed Arab revolt in 1916 that saw the Arab lands declare independence from the Ottoman Caliphate.Faced with growing disunity and discontentment with the Ottoman Caliphate, the Caliph Sultan Abdul-Hamid II devised an ambitious plan to awaken the feelings of Islamic unity among the Ummah and strengthen the Caliphate’s authority over the Arab provinces. This plan was the building of a railroad from Damascus all the way to Medina for use by the pilgrims travelling for hajj that become known as the Hejaz Railroad. The project was started in 1900 and finally reached Medina in 1908 when the railroad officially opened.Before the railroad the journey between Damascus and Medina usually took two months by camel caravan and was full of hardships. Since the Islamic calendar is a lunar calendar, that moves each year, the hajj changes from season to season. Sometimes it meant travelling through the winter, enduring freezing temperatures or torrential rains. At the height of summer, it meant crossing scorching hot deserts. Towns and settlements were sparse and there were hostile tribes along the way.With the introduction of the railroad the journey time for pilgrims was cut from two months to four days. The arduous journey of travelling by camel through the desert was replaced with a few days travelling in comfort on the train. The cost of the journey was reduced from £40 to just £3.50 for a train ticket.On 1 September 1908 the Hejaz railroad officially opened, and by the year 1912 it was transporting 30,000 pilgrims a year. As word spread that travelling for hajj was now quicker and easier more Muslims were able to perform the hajj. The pilgrims using the railway soared to 300,000 in 1914.The Hejaz railroad linked the Caliphate’s capital in Istanbul to the Arab provinces by extending the existing rail link between Istanbul and Damascus. The Caliphate used the railroad to quickly deploy military units to the Arab provinces when needed and so strengthened the authority of the Caliphate in these areas.Sultan Abdul-Hameed also introduced a sophisticated fax system with fax lines established between Yemen, Hejaz, Greater Syria, Iraq and Turkey. These fax lines like the railroad were heavily used by the pilgrims and paid for themselves in just a few years.Muslims performing the hajj saw that the Caliphate was trying to practically unify the Ummah and aid them in their worship of Allah (swt) through these initiatives. This led to a growing unity and appreciation for the Ottoman Caliphate among the Ummah. Unfortunately, despite the efforts of Abdul-Hameed he was deposed from office in 1908 in a coup by the Young Turks. The conspiracies by the colonialists against the Caliphate accelerated and after the First World War the Caliphate was defeated and finally destroyed a few years later in 1924.The Hejaz end of the railroad was sabotaged during the Arab revolt led by Lawrence of Arabia and Sharif Hussein of Mecca severing its link with Damascus and Istanbul. With the destruction of the Caliphate in 1924 and the carving up of the Arab lands under Sykes-Picot the possibility of such a unity project emerging ever again disappeared. All that remains today are some of the stations and locomotives as a reminder of this bygone era.Although the Hejaz railroad is now discarded to the pages of history it shows just what can be achieved with the authority and power of the Caliphate.Islam is not a religion like Christianity or Judaism that only has laws governing the personal beliefs, worships and morals. Islam is a deen (ideology) that contains sharia rules governing all aspects of life and society. The sharia not only contains solutions to problems but details the practical method (tareeqa) of implementing these solutions on society. This method is the Caliphate that practically implements the Islamic belief of La ilaha ilAllah onto life’s affairs.The Caliphate will not just be Islamic in name or on paper. Rather it will practically show the Muslims and the world the superiority of the sharia and how it resolves life’s problems.When the Ummah sees the oil wealth removed from the personal bank accounts of the Kings and Sultans to the Bait ul-Mal (state treasury) as a public property for the benefit of the entire Ummah, they will see the practical manifestation of the hadith:The Prophet (saw) said: “People share in three things: Water, Pasture lands, and Fire.” [Ahmed] Fire here refers to fire based fuels such as oil.When the Muslims of Darfur and Somalia see the vast natural resources in the Middle East and Central Asia used for alleviating their poverty and building much needed infrastructure, they will see practically the concept mentioned by the Prophet (saw) when he (saw) said in his last sermon:“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 a black nor a black has any superiority over white except by piety and good action.”When the Muslims under occupation in Palestine, Iraq and Afghanistan see the army of the Caliphate marching to protect them and expel the occupiers they will see the practical implementation of the verse of Qur’an:“Fight them until there is no more persecution, and all worship is devoted to Allah alone.” [TMQ 8:39]The Muslim Ummah are sick and tired of the empty promises and inaction of their so-called Muslim governments. These governments who give lip service to Islam or pretend to have secret “Islamic” agendas in order for the Ummah to support them, yet in practise they do nothing for the interests of Islam. Thousands are killed in the occupied lands of Palestine, Iraq, Afghanistan, Chechnya and Kashmir without any Muslim regime lifting a finger to help. Even worse they actively support the occupation through opening up their airspace, lands and borders for the occupiers.Compare this to the Abbasid Caliph Haroon Al-Rashid’s response to Byzantine Emperor Nicephorus refusal to abide by its treaty obligations with the Caliphate.Haroon Al Rashid sent a letter to Constantinople saying: "From Haroon Al Rashid, Caliph of the Faithful to Nicephorus, the Roman dog: I have read your letter. You will not hear, you will see my reply." The Caliph then sent a huge army to the Byzantine Empire and forced Nicephorus to abide by the treaty.The absence of a Caliphate to protect, implement and propagate Islam is at the root of all the Muslim Ummah’s problems today. Only with its re-establishment can we begin to resolve these problems and make Allah’s (swt) word the highest on the earth once again.
At the turn of the 20th century the Ottoman Caliphate was in a severely weakened state. Nicknamed the “sick man of Europe” much of the Caliphate’s lands were under control of colonial powers Britain and France. Growing discontentment in the Arabs lands was surfacing as the concept of Arab nationalism, first introduced by the western powers, took a strong hold among some of the influentials. This nationalism eventually led to the British backed Arab revolt in 1916 that saw the Arab lands declare independence from the Ottoman Caliphate.Faced with growing disunity and discontentment with the Ottoman Caliphate, the Caliph Sultan Abdul-Hamid II devised an ambitious plan to awaken the feelings of Islamic unity among the Ummah and strengthen the Caliphate’s authority over the Arab provinces. This plan was the building of a railroad from Damascus all the way to Medina for use by the pilgrims travelling for hajj that become known as the Hejaz Railroad. The project was started in 1900 and finally reached Medina in 1908 when the railroad officially opened.Before the railroad the journey between Damascus and Medina usually took two months by camel caravan and was full of hardships. Since the Islamic calendar is a lunar calendar, that moves each year, the hajj changes from season to season. Sometimes it meant travelling through the winter, enduring freezing temperatures or torrential rains. At the height of summer, it meant crossing scorching hot deserts. Towns and settlements were sparse and there were hostile tribes along the way.With the introduction of the railroad the journey time for pilgrims was cut from two months to four days. The arduous journey of travelling by camel through the desert was replaced with a few days travelling in comfort on the train. The cost of the journey was reduced from £40 to just £3.50 for a train ticket.On 1 September 1908 the Hejaz railroad officially opened, and by the year 1912 it was transporting 30,000 pilgrims a year. As word spread that travelling for hajj was now quicker and easier more Muslims were able to perform the hajj. The pilgrims using the railway soared to 300,000 in 1914.The Hejaz railroad linked the Caliphate’s capital in Istanbul to the Arab provinces by extending the existing rail link between Istanbul and Damascus. The Caliphate used the railroad to quickly deploy military units to the Arab provinces when needed and so strengthened the authority of the Caliphate in these areas.Sultan Abdul-Hameed also introduced a sophisticated fax system with fax lines established between Yemen, Hejaz, Greater Syria, Iraq and Turkey. These fax lines like the railroad were heavily used by the pilgrims and paid for themselves in just a few years.Muslims performing the hajj saw that the Caliphate was trying to practically unify the Ummah and aid them in their worship of Allah (swt) through these initiatives. This led to a growing unity and appreciation for the Ottoman Caliphate among the Ummah. Unfortunately, despite the efforts of Abdul-Hameed he was deposed from office in 1908 in a coup by the Young Turks. The conspiracies by the colonialists against the Caliphate accelerated and after the First World War the Caliphate was defeated and finally destroyed a few years later in 1924.The Hejaz end of the railroad was sabotaged during the Arab revolt led by Lawrence of Arabia and Sharif Hussein of Mecca severing its link with Damascus and Istanbul. With the destruction of the Caliphate in 1924 and the carving up of the Arab lands under Sykes-Picot the possibility of such a unity project emerging ever again disappeared. All that remains today are some of the stations and locomotives as a reminder of this bygone era.Although the Hejaz railroad is now discarded to the pages of history it shows just what can be achieved with the authority and power of the Caliphate.Islam is not a religion like Christianity or Judaism that only has laws governing the personal beliefs, worships and morals. Islam is a deen (ideology) that contains sharia rules governing all aspects of life and society. The sharia not only contains solutions to problems but details the practical method (tareeqa) of implementing these solutions on society. This method is the Caliphate that practically implements the Islamic belief of La ilaha ilAllah onto life’s affairs.The Caliphate will not just be Islamic in name or on paper. Rather it will practically show the Muslims and the world the superiority of the sharia and how it resolves life’s problems.When the Ummah sees the oil wealth removed from the personal bank accounts of the Kings and Sultans to the Bait ul-Mal (state treasury) as a public property for the benefit of the entire Ummah, they will see the practical manifestation of the hadith:The Prophet (saw) said: “People share in three things: Water, Pasture lands, and Fire.” [Ahmed] Fire here refers to fire based fuels such as oil.When the Muslims of Darfur and Somalia see the vast natural resources in the Middle East and Central Asia used for alleviating their poverty and building much needed infrastructure, they will see practically the concept mentioned by the Prophet (saw) when he (saw) said in his last sermon:“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 a black nor a black has any superiority over white except by piety and good action.”When the Muslims under occupation in Palestine, Iraq and Afghanistan see the army of the Caliphate marching to protect them and expel the occupiers they will see the practical implementation of the verse of Qur’an:“Fight them until there is no more persecution, and all worship is devoted to Allah alone.” [TMQ 8:39]The Muslim Ummah are sick and tired of the empty promises and inaction of their so-called Muslim governments. These governments who give lip service to Islam or pretend to have secret “Islamic” agendas in order for the Ummah to support them, yet in practise they do nothing for the interests of Islam. Thousands are killed in the occupied lands of Palestine, Iraq, Afghanistan, Chechnya and Kashmir without any Muslim regime lifting a finger to help. Even worse they actively support the occupation through opening up their airspace, lands and borders for the occupiers.Compare this to the Abbasid Caliph Haroon Al-Rashid’s response to Byzantine Emperor Nicephorus refusal to abide by its treaty obligations with the Caliphate.Haroon Al Rashid sent a letter to Constantinople saying: "From Haroon Al Rashid, Caliph of the Faithful to Nicephorus, the Roman dog: I have read your letter. You will not hear, you will see my reply." The Caliph then sent a huge army to the Byzantine Empire and forced Nicephorus to abide by the treaty.The absence of a Caliphate to protect, implement and propagate Islam is at the root of all the Muslim Ummah’s problems today. Only with its re-establishment can we begin to resolve these problems and make Allah’s (swt) word the highest on the earth once again.
Monday, 24 March 2008
Battle of Ahzab
Lesson from the battle of Ahzab
We are faced with a harsh reality today; a reality in which the wound of Palestine continues to bleed and the crusaders continue their attack occupation of Iraq, Afghanistan and our other lands. Some from amongst us have begun to feel that the situation has deteriorated with no hope of salvation. The feeling of helplessness has crept into their hearts when they witness the continuous barrage of attack against Islam and the Muslims.We should realise that this hardship that has befallen the Ummah is not the only hardship that it has witnessed. In fact when we look back to history it is apparent that the Islamic Ummah has overcome difficult situations that at first glance would look impossible to overcome. One such example is one of the famous battles of our beloved Messenger Muhammad (Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam), the battle of Ahzab. Allah (Subhnahu Wa ta’aala) chose this name for a Surah (chapter) in the Qur’an. This battle was against an unholy alliance or coalition not too dissimilar to the one we face today. The term “Ahzab” in Arabic means alliance, confederates or coalition. This battle is also known as the battle of Khandaq (the trench).Ali ibn Hussain said, “We used to teach the battles of the Prophet (Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam) equally as we used to teach the Suwar of the glorious Qur’an.” Imam az-Zuhri said, “In studying the battles (of the Prophet) lies knowledge of this world as well as the Akhirah.”Background to the BattleAfter the battle of Uhud there were no less than eight battles. After this there was a period of relative calm for approximately one year. However, the Jews whose treachery and intrigues had made them taste all kinds of humiliation and disgrace had still not learnt their lesson. After they had been exiled to Khaybar, they remained waiting anxiously for the results of the battles taking place between the Muslims and the Mushrikeen.Contrary to their hopes, the events of the war were in favour of the Muslims, therefore they started a new stage of conspiracy and prepared themselves to deal a deadly blow against the Muslims, but they were too cowardly to manoeuvre directly against them, so they laid a dreadful plan in order to achieve their objectives.Twenty chiefs of the Jews with some of the influentials of Banu Nadir went to Makkah to negotiate an unholy alliance with Quraish. They began to goad the people there to attack the Messenger of Allah (Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam) promising them full support and backing. The people of Quraish, who had been languid and had proved too weak to challenge the Muslims at Badr, seized this opportunity to redeem their stained honour and blemished reputation.It was the Jews of Banu Nadir who endeavoured to incite the Arabs against the Messenger of Allah (Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam) in order to exact their revenge for being expelled from Madinah. A number of them had formed a party against the Messenger of Allah (Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam), among whom were Huyai ibn Akhtab, Sallam ibn Abi al-Huqayq and Kinanah ibn Abi al-Huqayq, and from Banu Wa’il were Haudhah ibn Qays and Abu ‘Ammar, and it was this party which approached Quraish in Makkah.The Quraish asked Huyai about his people and he said, "I left them between Khaybar and Madinah hesitating and waiting for you to march with them against Muhammad and his companions." They also asked him about Banu Qurayzah and he said, "They remained in Madinah to deceive Muhammad. They are waiting for you to raid Madinah to help you from within." At that stage Quraish were hesitant, not knowing whether to attack Madinah or not. They considered that there was no difference between them and Muhammad (Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam) except his (Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam) call to Allah (Subhnahu Wa ta’aala) and Islam. They therefore wondered whether Muhammad (Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam) was in the right? To allay their doubts Quraish asked the Jews, "You, O Jews, are the first scripture people and know the nature of our dispute with Muhammad. Is our deen the best or is his?" The Jews replied, "Certainly your Deen is better than his and you have a better claim to be in the right!"The Jews were of the people who supposedly called to the Tawheed (Oneness of Allah) and they knew very well that the Deen of Muhammad (Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam) was the right one, but their burning desire to incite the Arabs against him (Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam) landed them in this despicable blunder. To declare that the worshipping of idols was better than the Tawheed was their eternal disgrace and shame, but the Jews did it and they were to ably demonstrate that they could do even worse.The same delegation set out for Ghatafan, called them to do the same, and they responded positively. The Jewish delegation then started a fresh effort and toured some parts of Arabia and managed to incite a confederation of disbelief against the Prophet (Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam), His Message and those that believed in Allah (Subhnahu Wa ta’aala). Quraish, Kinanah and other allies from Tihama, in the south, rallied, ranked and recruited four thousand men under the leadership of Abu Sufyan. From the east there came tribes of Banu Saleem, Ghatafan, Bani Murrah, etc. They all headed for Madinah and gathered in its vicinity at a time already agreed upon.It was a great army of ten thousand fighters. They in fact outnumbered all the Muslims in Madinah, women, children and elders included. In reality if they had launched a surprise attack against Madinah, they could have exterminated all the Muslims.The Digging of the TrenchThe leadership inside the Islamic state was on the alert and the intelligence personnel managed to reconnoitre the area of the enemies, and reported their movement to the people in authority in Madinah. The Messenger of Allah (Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam) as the ruler of the Muslims summoned an advisory committee and conducted a careful discussion of a plan to defend Madinah. After a lengthy talk between military leaders and people who possessed sound advice, they agreed on the proposal of one of the honourable Sahabah, Salman Al-Farsi (ra), to dig trenches as defensive lines.The Muslims, with the Prophet (Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam) at their head - to encourage, help and remind them of the reward in the Hereafter - actively and diligently started to build a trench around Madinah. Severe hunger, bordering on starvation, could not dissuade or discourage them from achieving their desperately sought objective. Salman Al-Farsi (ra) said; “O Messenger of Allah! When siege was laid to us in Persia, we used to dig trenches to defend ourselves.” It was a plan both unprecedented and wise. The Messenger of Allah (Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam) hurriedly gave orders to implement the plan. Forty yards was allocated to each group of ten to dig. Sahl bin Sa‘d (ra) said, “We were in the company of the Messenger of Allah (Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam), the men used to dig and we [would] evacuate the earth on our backs.”Miraculous EventsThe Muslims were digging this trench in starvation and the biting cold but Allah (Subhnahu Wa ta’aala) provided their Rizq. Allah (Subhnahu Wa ta’aala) in addition showed them many miracles to reassure their souls about the truth and strengthen the Iman of the believers.One Sahabah called Jabir ibn Abdullah (Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam) who was digging the trench could not deal with a rock so he called upon the Messenger of Allah (Subhnahu Wa ta’aala), as he climbed down he noticed that the Prophet (Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam) had a stone tied to his belly (due to hunger). So he asked the Prophet (Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam) for permission to go home. He felt uneasy at what he had seen and desired to return home quickly in order to ask his wife what food they had to feed the Prophet (Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam) with. They only had some grain to make a small amount of bread, which his wife started to make and they possessed a small animal that Jabir (ra) sacrificed and cleaned ready for his wife to cook.Upon returning back to the Prophet (Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam) he said, “O Messenger of Allah I have slaughtered a she-animal of ours and we have ground a Sa’a of barley…So please come, you and another person along with you.”The Prophet (Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam) got up and shouted out to the men,“O people of the trench, Jabir has prepared a meal for us, so let’s go.”Consequently all the men went to the house of Jabir (ra) over one thousand of them. When the Prophet (Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam) arrived he opened the cooking pot and placed some of his saliva into it and invoked the blessings of Allah (Subhnahu Wa ta’aala) upon it then he opened the oven and did the same. He (Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam) told the people to eat and they ate until they were all completely full and yet the shoulder of mutton and dough that was being baked remained as they were undiminished.In another incident a woman brought a handful of dates and passed by the Prophet (Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam), who took the dates, threw them over his cloak and invited his followers to eat. The dates began to increase in number until they dropped over the trim of his robe.Sparks of ProphecyAl-Bara’ (ra) said, “On Al-Khandaq (the trench) Day there stood out a rock too immune for our spades to break up. We therefore went to see the Messenger of Allah for advice. He took the spade, and struck the rock uttering, ‘Bismillah, Allahu Akbar (in the Name of Allah, Allah is Great) the keys of Ash-Sham (geographical Syria) are mine, I swear by Allah, I can see its palaces at the moment.’ On the second strike he said; ‘Allahu Akbar, Persia is mine, I swear by Allah, I can now see the white palace of Madain.’ And for the third time he struck the rock, which turned into very small pieces, he said; ‘Allah is Great, I have been given the keys of Yemen, I swear by Allah, I can see the gates of San‘a while I am in my place’” [Ahmad & An-Nasai].The Prophet (Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam) gave these prophecies of victory whilst the believers were facing a difficult time. Today we have the prophecies of Islam dominating the world however unlike that time we don’t have the Khilafah state to protect us. The prophecies did not deter the Sahabah from struggling to achieve the victory; rather it further pushed them to achieve these victories. Similarly it is not enough for us to wait for the victory to be granted rather we must strive to achieve it with our utmost effort.The Attack The northern part of Madinah was the most vulnerable, all the other sides being surrounded by mountains and palm tree orchards - the Prophet (Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam) understood that the alliance (Ahzab) would march in that direction, so the trench was ordered to be on that side. The Muslims went on digging the trench for several days - working on it during the day and going home in the evening - until it had assumed its full dimensions in front of the huge army of the Mushrikeen (idolaters) that had arrived and settled in the vicinity of Madinah in places called Al-Asyal and Uhud."And when the believers saw ‘Al-Ahzab’ (the confederates), they said: ‘This is what Allah and His Messenger had promised us, and Allah and His Messenger had spoken the truth, and it only added to their Faith and to their submissiveness (to Allah)" [TMQ Al-Ahzab: 22].Three thousand Muslims, with Muhammad (Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam) at their head, came out to encounter the idolaters, with Allah’s (Subhnahu Wa ta’aala) Promise of victory deeply established in their minds. They entrenched themselves in Sila’ Mountain with the trench standing as a barrier between them and the disbelievers.On attempting to attack the Muslims and break into Madinah, the Quraish were surprised to see a wide trench, a new stratagem unknown in Arabia before, standing as an obstinate obstruction. Consequently they decided to lay siege to Madinah and began to manoeuvre around the trench trying hard to find a vulnerable spot through which they could infiltrate into Madinah. To deter their enemies from approaching or bridging any gap in their defences, the Muslims hurled arrows, and engaged in skirmishes with them. The veteran fighters of Quraish were averse to this situation waiting in vain in anticipation of what the siege might reveal. Therefore they decided that a group of fighters led by ‘Amr bin ‘Abd-e-Wudd, ‘Ikrima bin Abi Jahl and Dirar bin Al-Khattab, should work its way through the trench. They did in fact manage to do that and their horsemen captured a marshy area between the trench and Sila’ Mountain. ‘Amr challenged the Muslims to a duel, and Ali bin Abi Talib (ra) was deputed. Ali accepted the challenge and said to him, "I call on you to dismount." ‘Amr replied, "O son of my brother, I do not want to kill you." Ali said, "But I want to kill you." So they fought and Ali killed him and obliged the others to evacuate in a state of panic and confusion. However, some days later, the polytheists conducted fresh desperate attempts but all of them failed due to the Muslims’ steadfastness and heroic confrontation.Missing of the Asr prayerIn the context of the events of the Battle of Ahzab, the Messenger of Allah (Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam) failed to observe some prayers in their right time.Jabir (ra) narrated, “On the Day of the Trench ‘Umar bin Al-Khattab (ra) came, cursing the disbelievers of Quraish and said: ‘O Allah’s Messenger! I have not offered the afternoon prayer and the sun has set.’ The Prophet (Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam) replied: ‘By Allah! I too have not offered the prayer yet.’ The Prophet then went to Buthan, performed ablution and observed the afternoon prayer after the sun had set and then offered the sunset prayer after it." Ali (ra) narrated that on the day of Khandaq, the Prophet (Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam) said, “(Let) Allah fill their houses and graves with fire just as they have prevented us from offering the Asr prayer” [Bukhari].It was narrated by Ahmad and Shafi‘i that the events of that battle detained him from the noon, afternoon, evening and night prayers, but he observed them combined. The different narrations point to the fact that the situation lasted for a few days.It is clear that because of the trench standing between the two parties no direct engagement took place, but rather there were military activities confined to arrow hurling - consequently the fight claimed the lives of a small number of fighters, six Muslims and ten polytheists, one or two of those killed by the sword.During the process of fighting, Sa‘d bin Mu‘adh (ra) was shot by an arrow that pierced his artery. Perceiving his end approaching, he invoked Allah saying: "Oh, Allah, you know nothing is closer to my heart than striving in Your way against those people (disbelievers) who belied Your Messenger and banished him from his town. Oh, Allah, I deeply believe that You have decreed that we should fight them, so if there is still more fighting to go with them, let me stay alive in order to strive more against them. If it has settled down, I beseech you to ignite it again so that I breathe my last in its context." He concluded his supplication beseeching Allah (Subhnahu Wa ta’aala) not to let him die until he had had full revenge on Banu Qurayzah.The Treachery of Banu QurayzahIn the midst of these difficult circumstances, plots and intrigues were in fervent action against the Muslims. The chief criminal of Banu Nadir, Huyai, headed for the habitations of Banu Qurayzah to incite their chief Ka’b bin Asad Al-Qurazi, who had drawn a pact with the Messenger of Allah (Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam) to run to his aid in times of war. Ka’b, in the beginning resisted all Huyai’s temptations, but Huyai was clever enough to manipulate him and managed to win Ka’b to his side and persuade him to break his covenant with the Muslims. Banu Qurayzah then started to launch war operations against the Muslims especially the secluded garrisons that housed the women and children of the Muslims.On the authority of Ibn Ishaq, Safiyah (ra), daughter of ‘Abdul Mutallib happened to be in a garrison with Hassan bin Thabit as well as some women and children. Safiyah said, "A Jew was spotted lurking around our site, which was vulnerable to any enemy attacks because there were no men to defend it. I informed Hassan that I was suspicious of that man’s presence near us, [and that] he might take us by surprise now that the Messenger of Allah (Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam) and the Muslims are too busy to come to our aid, [so I said] why don’t you get down and kill him? Hassan answered that he would not do it, so I took a bar of wood, went down and struck the Jew to death. I returned and asked Hassan to loot him but again Hassan refused to do that.” This event had a far-reaching effect and discouraged the Jews from conducting further attacks thinking that those sites were fortified and protected by Muslim fighters. They, however, went on providing the idolaters with supplies in token of their support against the Muslims.On hearing this bad news, the Messenger (Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam) despatched four Muslim prominent leaders Sa‘d bin Mu‘adh (ra), Sa‘d bin ‘Ubada (ra), ‘Abdullah bin Rawaha (ra) and Khawat bin Jubair (ra) for investigation but warning against any sort of spreading panic amongst the Muslims and advising that they should declare in public that the rumours are groundless if they happen to be so. Unfortunately the four men discovered that the news was true and that the Jews announced openly that no pact of alliance existed any longer with Muhammad (Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam). The Messenger of Allah (Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam) was briefed on this situation, and the Muslims understood their critical position with the horrible danger implied therein. Their back was vulnerable to the attacks of Banu Qurayzah, and a huge army at the front, while their women and children were unprotected standing in between. In this regard, Allah (Subhnahu Wa ta’aala) says, "And when the eyes grew wild and the hearts reached to the throats" [TMQ Al-Ahzab: 10].Response of the HypocritesNow that the Muslims were shut in within the Trench on the defensive, just as the hypocrites today taunt the Muslims saying that the re-establishment of the Khilafah is a dream, the hypocrites then taunted the Muslims.One man, Mu’attib ibn Qushair said, “Muhammad used to promise us that we should eat the treasures of Khosrau and Caesar and today not one of us can feel safe in going to the toilet.”They began to sow the seeds of defeatism, and pretended to withdraw for the defence of their homes, though these were in no way exposed to danger. Allah (Subhnahu Wa ta’aala) then revealed:"And when the hypocrites and those in whose hearts is a disease said, ‘Allah and His Messenger promised us nothing but delusions!’ And when a party of them said: ‘O people of Yathrib (Al-Madinah), there is no stand (possible) for you (against the enemy attack!) therefore go back!’ And a band of them asked for permission of the Prophet saying: ‘Truly, our homes lie open (to the enemy).’ And they lay not open. They but wished to flee" [TMQ Al-Ahzab: 12-13].Response of the BelieversAccording to Ibn Kathir twelve days went by without fighting; only the occasional shooting of arrows. When the condition pressed hard upon the people, the Prophet (Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam) had in mind to conclude a sort of reconciliation with the chiefs of Ghatafan on the basis of donating them a third of Madinah’s fruit crops. He sought the advice of the two leaders of the Ansar, namely, Sa‘d bin Mu‘adh (ra) and Sa‘d bin ‘Ubadah (ra), the leaders of the Aws and Khazraj, whose reply went as follows:They first asked, “Oh Messenger of Allah, is it mere plan for you, or a Divine order”, He (Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam) replied,“It is my plan to protect you against the allied forces”Sa’d bin Mu’adh (ra) then said, “Allah has honoured us with Islam, guided us to Him, and granted us dignity by believing in him and following you. How could we give them our money! By Allah we will give them nothing but swords (fighting) until Allah judges between us and them.”Hudhaifa’s missionOnce a man who was sitting in the company of Hudhaifah (ra) started talking about how if he had been alive at the time of the Prophet (Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam) he would have fought by his side and striven for his causes. Hudhaifah (ra) said, “You might have done that (but do not make a flourish of your enthusiasm), I was with the Messenger of Allah (Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam) on the night of the battle of Ahzab and we were gripped with a violent and severe cold. The Messenger of Allah (Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam) said, ‘The man who brings me news of the enemy shall be ranked with me in the Day of Judgement by Allah, Most High.’ We all kept quiet and none of us responded to him. He said it again and again and all kept quiet, then he said it again, and again no response, then he said, ‘Stand up, Hudhaifah bring me the news of the enemy and do nothing that may provoke them against me.’”Hudhaifah said that as he walked over to the enemy camp he felt warm as if he was walking in a heated bath, then he saw Abu Sufyan and pointed an arrow at him then remembered the instructions of the Prophet (Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam) so he didn’t shoot. When he walked back he felt warm as if he was walking in a heated bath and gave the information to the Prophet (Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam) and then he felt cold again.The Victory In this terrible situation with all of these problems internally and externally let us see how Allah (Subhnahu Wa ta’aala) fulfilled his promise of victory.Relief came in the form of Nu’aym ibn Mas’ud. He had already embraced Islam though his own people did not know it and he came to the Messenger of Allah (Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam). Nu’aym proposed to the Messenger of Allah (Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam) a way in which he could awaken distrust amongst the disbelievers. So Nu’aym was instructed by the Messenger of Allah (Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam) to go to Banu Qurayzah, with whom he had been a companion in Jahiliyyah days, and remind them of his affection and the special ties that existed between them; remarking to him in a most famous statement, "For war is deceit." [Muslim]Nu’aym thus set about achieving this by speculating what would be their fate should things go badly for them and Ghatafan together with Quraish were to leave them to face Muhammad (Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam) alone. He emphasised that Quraish and Ghatafan might not bear waiting for a long time because they were not inhabitants of that land and hence had much less motivation to stay. He told them that if they were left to face Muhammad on their own they would not be able to do so. Finally, he suggested to them not to fight alongside the Allies until they had taken hostages from their chiefs who would remain in their hands as security. Only then should they fight Muhammad (Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam) with their allies until they made an end of him. Qurayzah thought that this was excellent advice. Nu’aym then went to Quraish and told them that the Jews of Qurayzah had regretted their action in opposing Muhammad (Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam) and that they had sent him to tell them so. He stated that they were prepared to make it up with him by handing over some chiefs of the two tribes, Quraish and Ghatafan, so that he could cut their heads off. He said to them, "So if the Jews send to you to demand hostages, do not send to them a single man." Then he went to Ghatafan and told them the same story that he had told Quraish.The Arabs’ suspicion of the Jews grew and Abu Sufyan sent for Ka’b informing him that they had been besieging Muhammad (Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam) for a long time and that they should make ready for battle the next day. Ka’b replied that it was the Sabbath, a day on which they did nothing, no fighting and no work. Abu Sufyan was enraged and he came to believe what Nu’aym had told him. He sent an envoy back to Qurayzah to tell them to make another Sabbath instead of this one for it was essential to fight Muhammad (Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam) the next day. The envoy also told them that if Quraish and Ghatafan went out to fight and they were not there, their agreements would be cancelled and they might be fought before Muhammad (Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam). When Qurayzah heard Abu Sufyan’s comments they asserted their stand that they would not violate the Sabbath, then they mentioned the hostages whom they should hold as security. When Abu Sufyan heard this he had no doubt left concerning what Nu’aym had told him. He began to think of a new strategy and he liaised with Ghatafan only to find out that they too had second thoughts about fighting Muhammad (Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam). That night Allah (Subhnahu Wa ta’aala) sent a bitter wind and a thunderous storm which overthrew their tents and upset their cooking-pots. They were panic-stricken and thought that the Muslims would seize the chance to direct their onslaught against them, so Tulayha arose up and shouted, "Muhammad has come after you, so run for your lives". Abu Sufyan said, "O Quraish! Be off, for I am going." So they grabbed hurriedly whatever they could carry and fled. Ghatafan and the rest of the Allies did the same. In the morning they were all gone.Allah (Subhnahu Wa ta’aala) says, “O you who believe! Remember the grace of Allah, on you when there came down on you hosts (to overwhelm you). But we sent against them a hurricane and forces that you did not see. But Allah sees (clearly all that you do)” [TMQ Al-Ahzab: 9].The battle of Ahzab should make us realise that no matter how difficult our present predicament is, Allah (Subhnahu Wa ta’aala) will definitely provide us with the victory. We have to remain strong, patient and work for this victory.
We are faced with a harsh reality today; a reality in which the wound of Palestine continues to bleed and the crusaders continue their attack occupation of Iraq, Afghanistan and our other lands. Some from amongst us have begun to feel that the situation has deteriorated with no hope of salvation. The feeling of helplessness has crept into their hearts when they witness the continuous barrage of attack against Islam and the Muslims.We should realise that this hardship that has befallen the Ummah is not the only hardship that it has witnessed. In fact when we look back to history it is apparent that the Islamic Ummah has overcome difficult situations that at first glance would look impossible to overcome. One such example is one of the famous battles of our beloved Messenger Muhammad (Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam), the battle of Ahzab. Allah (Subhnahu Wa ta’aala) chose this name for a Surah (chapter) in the Qur’an. This battle was against an unholy alliance or coalition not too dissimilar to the one we face today. The term “Ahzab” in Arabic means alliance, confederates or coalition. This battle is also known as the battle of Khandaq (the trench).Ali ibn Hussain said, “We used to teach the battles of the Prophet (Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam) equally as we used to teach the Suwar of the glorious Qur’an.” Imam az-Zuhri said, “In studying the battles (of the Prophet) lies knowledge of this world as well as the Akhirah.”Background to the BattleAfter the battle of Uhud there were no less than eight battles. After this there was a period of relative calm for approximately one year. However, the Jews whose treachery and intrigues had made them taste all kinds of humiliation and disgrace had still not learnt their lesson. After they had been exiled to Khaybar, they remained waiting anxiously for the results of the battles taking place between the Muslims and the Mushrikeen.Contrary to their hopes, the events of the war were in favour of the Muslims, therefore they started a new stage of conspiracy and prepared themselves to deal a deadly blow against the Muslims, but they were too cowardly to manoeuvre directly against them, so they laid a dreadful plan in order to achieve their objectives.Twenty chiefs of the Jews with some of the influentials of Banu Nadir went to Makkah to negotiate an unholy alliance with Quraish. They began to goad the people there to attack the Messenger of Allah (Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam) promising them full support and backing. The people of Quraish, who had been languid and had proved too weak to challenge the Muslims at Badr, seized this opportunity to redeem their stained honour and blemished reputation.It was the Jews of Banu Nadir who endeavoured to incite the Arabs against the Messenger of Allah (Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam) in order to exact their revenge for being expelled from Madinah. A number of them had formed a party against the Messenger of Allah (Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam), among whom were Huyai ibn Akhtab, Sallam ibn Abi al-Huqayq and Kinanah ibn Abi al-Huqayq, and from Banu Wa’il were Haudhah ibn Qays and Abu ‘Ammar, and it was this party which approached Quraish in Makkah.The Quraish asked Huyai about his people and he said, "I left them between Khaybar and Madinah hesitating and waiting for you to march with them against Muhammad and his companions." They also asked him about Banu Qurayzah and he said, "They remained in Madinah to deceive Muhammad. They are waiting for you to raid Madinah to help you from within." At that stage Quraish were hesitant, not knowing whether to attack Madinah or not. They considered that there was no difference between them and Muhammad (Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam) except his (Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam) call to Allah (Subhnahu Wa ta’aala) and Islam. They therefore wondered whether Muhammad (Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam) was in the right? To allay their doubts Quraish asked the Jews, "You, O Jews, are the first scripture people and know the nature of our dispute with Muhammad. Is our deen the best or is his?" The Jews replied, "Certainly your Deen is better than his and you have a better claim to be in the right!"The Jews were of the people who supposedly called to the Tawheed (Oneness of Allah) and they knew very well that the Deen of Muhammad (Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam) was the right one, but their burning desire to incite the Arabs against him (Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam) landed them in this despicable blunder. To declare that the worshipping of idols was better than the Tawheed was their eternal disgrace and shame, but the Jews did it and they were to ably demonstrate that they could do even worse.The same delegation set out for Ghatafan, called them to do the same, and they responded positively. The Jewish delegation then started a fresh effort and toured some parts of Arabia and managed to incite a confederation of disbelief against the Prophet (Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam), His Message and those that believed in Allah (Subhnahu Wa ta’aala). Quraish, Kinanah and other allies from Tihama, in the south, rallied, ranked and recruited four thousand men under the leadership of Abu Sufyan. From the east there came tribes of Banu Saleem, Ghatafan, Bani Murrah, etc. They all headed for Madinah and gathered in its vicinity at a time already agreed upon.It was a great army of ten thousand fighters. They in fact outnumbered all the Muslims in Madinah, women, children and elders included. In reality if they had launched a surprise attack against Madinah, they could have exterminated all the Muslims.The Digging of the TrenchThe leadership inside the Islamic state was on the alert and the intelligence personnel managed to reconnoitre the area of the enemies, and reported their movement to the people in authority in Madinah. The Messenger of Allah (Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam) as the ruler of the Muslims summoned an advisory committee and conducted a careful discussion of a plan to defend Madinah. After a lengthy talk between military leaders and people who possessed sound advice, they agreed on the proposal of one of the honourable Sahabah, Salman Al-Farsi (ra), to dig trenches as defensive lines.The Muslims, with the Prophet (Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam) at their head - to encourage, help and remind them of the reward in the Hereafter - actively and diligently started to build a trench around Madinah. Severe hunger, bordering on starvation, could not dissuade or discourage them from achieving their desperately sought objective. Salman Al-Farsi (ra) said; “O Messenger of Allah! When siege was laid to us in Persia, we used to dig trenches to defend ourselves.” It was a plan both unprecedented and wise. The Messenger of Allah (Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam) hurriedly gave orders to implement the plan. Forty yards was allocated to each group of ten to dig. Sahl bin Sa‘d (ra) said, “We were in the company of the Messenger of Allah (Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam), the men used to dig and we [would] evacuate the earth on our backs.”Miraculous EventsThe Muslims were digging this trench in starvation and the biting cold but Allah (Subhnahu Wa ta’aala) provided their Rizq. Allah (Subhnahu Wa ta’aala) in addition showed them many miracles to reassure their souls about the truth and strengthen the Iman of the believers.One Sahabah called Jabir ibn Abdullah (Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam) who was digging the trench could not deal with a rock so he called upon the Messenger of Allah (Subhnahu Wa ta’aala), as he climbed down he noticed that the Prophet (Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam) had a stone tied to his belly (due to hunger). So he asked the Prophet (Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam) for permission to go home. He felt uneasy at what he had seen and desired to return home quickly in order to ask his wife what food they had to feed the Prophet (Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam) with. They only had some grain to make a small amount of bread, which his wife started to make and they possessed a small animal that Jabir (ra) sacrificed and cleaned ready for his wife to cook.Upon returning back to the Prophet (Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam) he said, “O Messenger of Allah I have slaughtered a she-animal of ours and we have ground a Sa’a of barley…So please come, you and another person along with you.”The Prophet (Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam) got up and shouted out to the men,“O people of the trench, Jabir has prepared a meal for us, so let’s go.”Consequently all the men went to the house of Jabir (ra) over one thousand of them. When the Prophet (Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam) arrived he opened the cooking pot and placed some of his saliva into it and invoked the blessings of Allah (Subhnahu Wa ta’aala) upon it then he opened the oven and did the same. He (Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam) told the people to eat and they ate until they were all completely full and yet the shoulder of mutton and dough that was being baked remained as they were undiminished.In another incident a woman brought a handful of dates and passed by the Prophet (Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam), who took the dates, threw them over his cloak and invited his followers to eat. The dates began to increase in number until they dropped over the trim of his robe.Sparks of ProphecyAl-Bara’ (ra) said, “On Al-Khandaq (the trench) Day there stood out a rock too immune for our spades to break up. We therefore went to see the Messenger of Allah for advice. He took the spade, and struck the rock uttering, ‘Bismillah, Allahu Akbar (in the Name of Allah, Allah is Great) the keys of Ash-Sham (geographical Syria) are mine, I swear by Allah, I can see its palaces at the moment.’ On the second strike he said; ‘Allahu Akbar, Persia is mine, I swear by Allah, I can now see the white palace of Madain.’ And for the third time he struck the rock, which turned into very small pieces, he said; ‘Allah is Great, I have been given the keys of Yemen, I swear by Allah, I can see the gates of San‘a while I am in my place’” [Ahmad & An-Nasai].The Prophet (Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam) gave these prophecies of victory whilst the believers were facing a difficult time. Today we have the prophecies of Islam dominating the world however unlike that time we don’t have the Khilafah state to protect us. The prophecies did not deter the Sahabah from struggling to achieve the victory; rather it further pushed them to achieve these victories. Similarly it is not enough for us to wait for the victory to be granted rather we must strive to achieve it with our utmost effort.The Attack The northern part of Madinah was the most vulnerable, all the other sides being surrounded by mountains and palm tree orchards - the Prophet (Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam) understood that the alliance (Ahzab) would march in that direction, so the trench was ordered to be on that side. The Muslims went on digging the trench for several days - working on it during the day and going home in the evening - until it had assumed its full dimensions in front of the huge army of the Mushrikeen (idolaters) that had arrived and settled in the vicinity of Madinah in places called Al-Asyal and Uhud."And when the believers saw ‘Al-Ahzab’ (the confederates), they said: ‘This is what Allah and His Messenger had promised us, and Allah and His Messenger had spoken the truth, and it only added to their Faith and to their submissiveness (to Allah)" [TMQ Al-Ahzab: 22].Three thousand Muslims, with Muhammad (Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam) at their head, came out to encounter the idolaters, with Allah’s (Subhnahu Wa ta’aala) Promise of victory deeply established in their minds. They entrenched themselves in Sila’ Mountain with the trench standing as a barrier between them and the disbelievers.On attempting to attack the Muslims and break into Madinah, the Quraish were surprised to see a wide trench, a new stratagem unknown in Arabia before, standing as an obstinate obstruction. Consequently they decided to lay siege to Madinah and began to manoeuvre around the trench trying hard to find a vulnerable spot through which they could infiltrate into Madinah. To deter their enemies from approaching or bridging any gap in their defences, the Muslims hurled arrows, and engaged in skirmishes with them. The veteran fighters of Quraish were averse to this situation waiting in vain in anticipation of what the siege might reveal. Therefore they decided that a group of fighters led by ‘Amr bin ‘Abd-e-Wudd, ‘Ikrima bin Abi Jahl and Dirar bin Al-Khattab, should work its way through the trench. They did in fact manage to do that and their horsemen captured a marshy area between the trench and Sila’ Mountain. ‘Amr challenged the Muslims to a duel, and Ali bin Abi Talib (ra) was deputed. Ali accepted the challenge and said to him, "I call on you to dismount." ‘Amr replied, "O son of my brother, I do not want to kill you." Ali said, "But I want to kill you." So they fought and Ali killed him and obliged the others to evacuate in a state of panic and confusion. However, some days later, the polytheists conducted fresh desperate attempts but all of them failed due to the Muslims’ steadfastness and heroic confrontation.Missing of the Asr prayerIn the context of the events of the Battle of Ahzab, the Messenger of Allah (Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam) failed to observe some prayers in their right time.Jabir (ra) narrated, “On the Day of the Trench ‘Umar bin Al-Khattab (ra) came, cursing the disbelievers of Quraish and said: ‘O Allah’s Messenger! I have not offered the afternoon prayer and the sun has set.’ The Prophet (Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam) replied: ‘By Allah! I too have not offered the prayer yet.’ The Prophet then went to Buthan, performed ablution and observed the afternoon prayer after the sun had set and then offered the sunset prayer after it." Ali (ra) narrated that on the day of Khandaq, the Prophet (Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam) said, “(Let) Allah fill their houses and graves with fire just as they have prevented us from offering the Asr prayer” [Bukhari].It was narrated by Ahmad and Shafi‘i that the events of that battle detained him from the noon, afternoon, evening and night prayers, but he observed them combined. The different narrations point to the fact that the situation lasted for a few days.It is clear that because of the trench standing between the two parties no direct engagement took place, but rather there were military activities confined to arrow hurling - consequently the fight claimed the lives of a small number of fighters, six Muslims and ten polytheists, one or two of those killed by the sword.During the process of fighting, Sa‘d bin Mu‘adh (ra) was shot by an arrow that pierced his artery. Perceiving his end approaching, he invoked Allah saying: "Oh, Allah, you know nothing is closer to my heart than striving in Your way against those people (disbelievers) who belied Your Messenger and banished him from his town. Oh, Allah, I deeply believe that You have decreed that we should fight them, so if there is still more fighting to go with them, let me stay alive in order to strive more against them. If it has settled down, I beseech you to ignite it again so that I breathe my last in its context." He concluded his supplication beseeching Allah (Subhnahu Wa ta’aala) not to let him die until he had had full revenge on Banu Qurayzah.The Treachery of Banu QurayzahIn the midst of these difficult circumstances, plots and intrigues were in fervent action against the Muslims. The chief criminal of Banu Nadir, Huyai, headed for the habitations of Banu Qurayzah to incite their chief Ka’b bin Asad Al-Qurazi, who had drawn a pact with the Messenger of Allah (Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam) to run to his aid in times of war. Ka’b, in the beginning resisted all Huyai’s temptations, but Huyai was clever enough to manipulate him and managed to win Ka’b to his side and persuade him to break his covenant with the Muslims. Banu Qurayzah then started to launch war operations against the Muslims especially the secluded garrisons that housed the women and children of the Muslims.On the authority of Ibn Ishaq, Safiyah (ra), daughter of ‘Abdul Mutallib happened to be in a garrison with Hassan bin Thabit as well as some women and children. Safiyah said, "A Jew was spotted lurking around our site, which was vulnerable to any enemy attacks because there were no men to defend it. I informed Hassan that I was suspicious of that man’s presence near us, [and that] he might take us by surprise now that the Messenger of Allah (Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam) and the Muslims are too busy to come to our aid, [so I said] why don’t you get down and kill him? Hassan answered that he would not do it, so I took a bar of wood, went down and struck the Jew to death. I returned and asked Hassan to loot him but again Hassan refused to do that.” This event had a far-reaching effect and discouraged the Jews from conducting further attacks thinking that those sites were fortified and protected by Muslim fighters. They, however, went on providing the idolaters with supplies in token of their support against the Muslims.On hearing this bad news, the Messenger (Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam) despatched four Muslim prominent leaders Sa‘d bin Mu‘adh (ra), Sa‘d bin ‘Ubada (ra), ‘Abdullah bin Rawaha (ra) and Khawat bin Jubair (ra) for investigation but warning against any sort of spreading panic amongst the Muslims and advising that they should declare in public that the rumours are groundless if they happen to be so. Unfortunately the four men discovered that the news was true and that the Jews announced openly that no pact of alliance existed any longer with Muhammad (Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam). The Messenger of Allah (Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam) was briefed on this situation, and the Muslims understood their critical position with the horrible danger implied therein. Their back was vulnerable to the attacks of Banu Qurayzah, and a huge army at the front, while their women and children were unprotected standing in between. In this regard, Allah (Subhnahu Wa ta’aala) says, "And when the eyes grew wild and the hearts reached to the throats" [TMQ Al-Ahzab: 10].Response of the HypocritesNow that the Muslims were shut in within the Trench on the defensive, just as the hypocrites today taunt the Muslims saying that the re-establishment of the Khilafah is a dream, the hypocrites then taunted the Muslims.One man, Mu’attib ibn Qushair said, “Muhammad used to promise us that we should eat the treasures of Khosrau and Caesar and today not one of us can feel safe in going to the toilet.”They began to sow the seeds of defeatism, and pretended to withdraw for the defence of their homes, though these were in no way exposed to danger. Allah (Subhnahu Wa ta’aala) then revealed:"And when the hypocrites and those in whose hearts is a disease said, ‘Allah and His Messenger promised us nothing but delusions!’ And when a party of them said: ‘O people of Yathrib (Al-Madinah), there is no stand (possible) for you (against the enemy attack!) therefore go back!’ And a band of them asked for permission of the Prophet saying: ‘Truly, our homes lie open (to the enemy).’ And they lay not open. They but wished to flee" [TMQ Al-Ahzab: 12-13].Response of the BelieversAccording to Ibn Kathir twelve days went by without fighting; only the occasional shooting of arrows. When the condition pressed hard upon the people, the Prophet (Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam) had in mind to conclude a sort of reconciliation with the chiefs of Ghatafan on the basis of donating them a third of Madinah’s fruit crops. He sought the advice of the two leaders of the Ansar, namely, Sa‘d bin Mu‘adh (ra) and Sa‘d bin ‘Ubadah (ra), the leaders of the Aws and Khazraj, whose reply went as follows:They first asked, “Oh Messenger of Allah, is it mere plan for you, or a Divine order”, He (Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam) replied,“It is my plan to protect you against the allied forces”Sa’d bin Mu’adh (ra) then said, “Allah has honoured us with Islam, guided us to Him, and granted us dignity by believing in him and following you. How could we give them our money! By Allah we will give them nothing but swords (fighting) until Allah judges between us and them.”Hudhaifa’s missionOnce a man who was sitting in the company of Hudhaifah (ra) started talking about how if he had been alive at the time of the Prophet (Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam) he would have fought by his side and striven for his causes. Hudhaifah (ra) said, “You might have done that (but do not make a flourish of your enthusiasm), I was with the Messenger of Allah (Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam) on the night of the battle of Ahzab and we were gripped with a violent and severe cold. The Messenger of Allah (Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam) said, ‘The man who brings me news of the enemy shall be ranked with me in the Day of Judgement by Allah, Most High.’ We all kept quiet and none of us responded to him. He said it again and again and all kept quiet, then he said it again, and again no response, then he said, ‘Stand up, Hudhaifah bring me the news of the enemy and do nothing that may provoke them against me.’”Hudhaifah said that as he walked over to the enemy camp he felt warm as if he was walking in a heated bath, then he saw Abu Sufyan and pointed an arrow at him then remembered the instructions of the Prophet (Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam) so he didn’t shoot. When he walked back he felt warm as if he was walking in a heated bath and gave the information to the Prophet (Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam) and then he felt cold again.The Victory In this terrible situation with all of these problems internally and externally let us see how Allah (Subhnahu Wa ta’aala) fulfilled his promise of victory.Relief came in the form of Nu’aym ibn Mas’ud. He had already embraced Islam though his own people did not know it and he came to the Messenger of Allah (Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam). Nu’aym proposed to the Messenger of Allah (Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam) a way in which he could awaken distrust amongst the disbelievers. So Nu’aym was instructed by the Messenger of Allah (Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam) to go to Banu Qurayzah, with whom he had been a companion in Jahiliyyah days, and remind them of his affection and the special ties that existed between them; remarking to him in a most famous statement, "For war is deceit." [Muslim]Nu’aym thus set about achieving this by speculating what would be their fate should things go badly for them and Ghatafan together with Quraish were to leave them to face Muhammad (Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam) alone. He emphasised that Quraish and Ghatafan might not bear waiting for a long time because they were not inhabitants of that land and hence had much less motivation to stay. He told them that if they were left to face Muhammad on their own they would not be able to do so. Finally, he suggested to them not to fight alongside the Allies until they had taken hostages from their chiefs who would remain in their hands as security. Only then should they fight Muhammad (Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam) with their allies until they made an end of him. Qurayzah thought that this was excellent advice. Nu’aym then went to Quraish and told them that the Jews of Qurayzah had regretted their action in opposing Muhammad (Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam) and that they had sent him to tell them so. He stated that they were prepared to make it up with him by handing over some chiefs of the two tribes, Quraish and Ghatafan, so that he could cut their heads off. He said to them, "So if the Jews send to you to demand hostages, do not send to them a single man." Then he went to Ghatafan and told them the same story that he had told Quraish.The Arabs’ suspicion of the Jews grew and Abu Sufyan sent for Ka’b informing him that they had been besieging Muhammad (Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam) for a long time and that they should make ready for battle the next day. Ka’b replied that it was the Sabbath, a day on which they did nothing, no fighting and no work. Abu Sufyan was enraged and he came to believe what Nu’aym had told him. He sent an envoy back to Qurayzah to tell them to make another Sabbath instead of this one for it was essential to fight Muhammad (Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam) the next day. The envoy also told them that if Quraish and Ghatafan went out to fight and they were not there, their agreements would be cancelled and they might be fought before Muhammad (Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam). When Qurayzah heard Abu Sufyan’s comments they asserted their stand that they would not violate the Sabbath, then they mentioned the hostages whom they should hold as security. When Abu Sufyan heard this he had no doubt left concerning what Nu’aym had told him. He began to think of a new strategy and he liaised with Ghatafan only to find out that they too had second thoughts about fighting Muhammad (Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam). That night Allah (Subhnahu Wa ta’aala) sent a bitter wind and a thunderous storm which overthrew their tents and upset their cooking-pots. They were panic-stricken and thought that the Muslims would seize the chance to direct their onslaught against them, so Tulayha arose up and shouted, "Muhammad has come after you, so run for your lives". Abu Sufyan said, "O Quraish! Be off, for I am going." So they grabbed hurriedly whatever they could carry and fled. Ghatafan and the rest of the Allies did the same. In the morning they were all gone.Allah (Subhnahu Wa ta’aala) says, “O you who believe! Remember the grace of Allah, on you when there came down on you hosts (to overwhelm you). But we sent against them a hurricane and forces that you did not see. But Allah sees (clearly all that you do)” [TMQ Al-Ahzab: 9].The battle of Ahzab should make us realise that no matter how difficult our present predicament is, Allah (Subhnahu Wa ta’aala) will definitely provide us with the victory. We have to remain strong, patient and work for this victory.
Monday, 25 February 2008
Nunclear coventions
American pressure on India exposes double standards on nuclear conventions
On 20/2/08 Senator Kerry, the South Asian Affairs Sub-Committee chairman, told Mr. Singh and other top Indian government officials
“In order to be able to have time to debate this and pass it in the Senate, it would really probably have to be received somewhere in May, at the latest, in order to give time to be able to pass,"
he said.
"So I think somewhere in the next weeks some kind of decision has got to happen because we are just going to run out of time.”
The pact would give India access to American nuclear fuel and reactors. However, America ‘s position exposes its hypocrisy towards nuclear conventions enshrined in the charter of the IAEA. India rather than being punished has been rewarded for its refusal to sign treaties on non-proliferation and nuclear testing. She is one of the few countries to have tested atomic weapons in 1974 and again in 1998. In the case of Iran , it has fully complied with IAEA conventions, but is still portrayed as a pariah state by the US , even though there is no evidence of a nuclear weapons programme. Iran ‘s only crime is that it is guilty of having ‘thought’ about the possession of nuclear weapons
Monday, 11 February 2008
Mantuq & Mafhoum
Mantuq & Mafhoum
Pre-Ample
Allah (swt) sent Islam as a final message until the Day of Judgement.
Furthermore He (swt) states that this message is complete and contains everything.
“It (the Qur’an) is not a forged statement but a confirmation of Allah’s existing books and a detailed explanation of everything”
[ Yusuf: 111]
“And we have revealed to you the Book explaining all matters”
[An-Nahl: 89]
Pre-Ample
Allah (swt) sent Islam as a final message until the Day of Judgement.
Furthermore He (swt) states that this message is complete and contains everything.
“It (the Qur’an) is not a forged statement but a confirmation of Allah’s existing books and a detailed explanation of everything”
[ Yusuf: 111]
“And we have revealed to you the Book explaining all matters”
[An-Nahl: 89]
However, one sees that the size of the Qur’an and the Sunnah are limited whereas the scope of problems and issues that mankind faces seem endless. Thus, one may ask the question: How can a text that is limited contain solutions to all the problems that mankind from the time of revelation until the Day of Judgement?In order to answer this we must understand the nature of the text of the Qur’an and the Sunnah.
1.Firstly, the Islamic texts are not like the Church views the Bible (i.e. as holy text, not a legal text) which is rigid and its scope limited, rather it is viewed as a comprehensive legal code, enabling rules to be derived from the text which are not explicitly mentioned in the text using a methodology known as Usul ul-Fiqh.
2.Secondly, the Islamic texts addresses the human being who has instincts and needs, providing them with solutions as the nature of the human being never changes leaving room for the Mujtahid(scholar) to extract rules from the text by extending the original rule mentioned in the text to any new situation that arises.
Finally, the connotation of the texts is phrased in such a way that it provides the basis of extending a hukm o other hukms, and this process covers many issues. This article will address two of these issues, the Mantuq and the Mafhoum.
Mantuq
Mantuq is derived from the word ‘nataqa’ which linguistically is the past tense of ‘to utter’ and the word Mantuq means ‘the uttered’ in the past tense. Mantuq from the Shari’ah refers to what is understood directly from the uttered words of the text. For example, Allah (swt) says:
“He who witnesses the Shahr (Month) let him fast”
[Baqarah: 185]
The text establishes the obligation to fast.
In addition Allah (swt) says:
“Establish Salah”.
This ayah establishes the obligation of Salah(prayer). Also the Messenger of Allah (saw) says:
“Pray as you see me praying”.
This hadith states that Muslims have to pray the way the Messenger of Allah (saw) did. In addition to this, the Messenger of Allah (saw) said:
“The Imam of the Salah is established in order to be followed. Thus, make ruku due to his ruku”
This hadith states that the Imam must be followed in the Salah, and Muslims have to make ruku after the Imams ruku, not before. In the above examples the meanings are taken from the words of the texts. Thus, these meanings are taken from the Muntuq, or the uttered words (i.e. literal meaning), which are either uttered by the Messenger of Allah (saw) or revealed in the Qur’an.
Mafhoum
Mafhoum is derived from the word ‘fahima’ which linguistically is the past tense of ‘to understand’ or ‘to comprehend’. Here the Mafhoum does not refer to what is taken directly from the uttered words but what is taken from the meaning of the text i.e. the implicit or indirect meaning and the word Mafhoum means ‘the understood’ in the past tense. Mafhoum from the Shari’ah refers to what is understood directly from the meaning words of the text, not from the literal meaning behind the uttered words. For example, Allah (swt) says:
“Do not say to them ‘Uff’”
[ Isra: 23]
The direct meaning is the prohibition of saying ‘Uff’ to ones’ parents. However, the connotation gives the understanding of prohibiting the verbal and physical abuse, although this is not mentioned directly in the text. Thus, the prohibition of uttering this word is taken from the Mantuq, while the prohibition of directly abusing and beating the parents is taken from the Mafhoum. The text speaks directly about prohibiting the use of this word against ones’ parents, while the meaning indicates the prohibition of any form of abuse, verbal or otherwise. The Mafhoum is further divided into two categories:
Mafhoum al-Muwafaqah
Mafhoum al-Mukhalafah
Mafhoum al-Muwafaqah
The word Muwafaqah means ‘The agreement with something’. Thus, Mafhoum al-Muwafaqah when put together literally means, ‘The understood meaning which is in agreement with something’. If the rule is taken from the meaning of the text is in agreement with the Mantuq of the text, then it will be called Mafhoum al-Muwafaqah. An example of this is the prohibition of beating the parents mentioned above. The Mafhoum, which is prohibition of physically abusing the parents, is in line with the Mantuq, which is prohibition of saying ‘Uff’ to them. Both the Mafhoum and the Mantuq prohibit something. Thus the Mafhoum in this case is called Mafhoum al-Muwafaqah.
Another example is when Allah (swt) says:
“Those who unjustly eat the wealth of the orphans”
[Nisa’:10]
The Mantuq prohibits unjustly taking the wealth of the orphans. The Mafhoum of the ayah is the prohibition of destroying their wealth, not just taking it unjustly. Both the Mantuq and the Mafhoum establish prohibition. Since the Mafhoum is in the line with the Mantuq, then it is Mafhoum al-Muwafaqah.
Mafhoum al-Mukhalafah
The word Mukhalafah means ‘The something is NOT in agreement with something else’. Thus, Mafhoum al-Mukhalafah when put together literally means, ‘The understood meaning which is in NOT in agreement with something else’.
If the rule is taken from the meaning of the text is NOT in agreement with the Mantuq of the text, then it will be called Mafhoum al-Mukhalafah, for example, when a Mantuq establishes an obligation and the Mafhoum establishes a prohibition, as both the obligation and the prohibition are not in line with each other. This can also occur when either the Mantuq or Mafhoum establishes an obligation or prohibition and the other does not.
For example, Allah (swt) says in Surah al-Ahzab,
“And those who harass believing men and women undeservedly, bear (on themselves) calamity and a glaring sin”
[Ahzab:58]
The Mantuq of this ayah prohibits inflicting any harm or harassment to any Muslim without a just reason. However, if there exists a just reason to inflict harm on him then it is halal to inflict this harm. For example if a Muslim stole his hand will be cut, and this is a physical harm on him. The Mafhoum establishes something as halal, whereas the Mantuq establishes something haram. Since halal and haram are not in line with each other the Mafhoum is known as Mafhoum al-Mukhalafah.
Another example is also in Surah an-Anfal,
“If you divorce a believing woman before you consummate the marriage, then there is NO Idda’”
[Ahzab:49]
The Mantuq establishes a rule saying that if such a woman is divorced, she can re-marry without the Idda’ period. The Mafhoum states that if there is a divorce after the marriage is consummated, then Idda’ is obligatory. The Mantuq does not establish the Idda’, and the Mafhoum establishes the Idda’. Hence this is Mafhoum al-Mukhalafah. This is an example of a hukm linked to a specific condition.
This Mafhoum can only apply in four situations:
If the hukm is linked to a specific description
If the hukm is linked to a specific condition
If the hukm establishes limits either in space or time
If the hukm is linked to a specific number
1. If the hukm is linked to a specific descriptionThe Messenger of Allah (saw) said:
“If the rich person keeps delaying the payment of his debts, then this will be unjust”
The Mantuq of the hadith establishes the prohibition of continuing to delay payments by the wealthy. The Mafhoum is that it is permissible for a poor person who cannot pay to ask for more time. The Mantuq establishes the prohibition and the Mafhoum establishes the permissibility, thus it is Mukhalafah.In this example, the rule in the original text is linked to a description and not a name or noun. The word “Ghany” means wealthy, which is the description for a person, this description may exist or not exist.
2. If the hukm is linked to a specific conditionAllah (swt) says:
“If they are pregnant, then spend on them until they deliver”
[Talaq:4]
The Mantuq of the ayah establishes the obligation of spending on divorced women until they give birth. The Mafhoum, however does not establish the obligation of support if they are not pregnant. The Mantuq is not in line with the Mafhoum, hence it is Mukhalafah.
3. If the hukm establishes limits either in space or timeAllah (swt) says:
“Continue fasting until the night”
[Baqarah: 187]
The Mantuq of the ayah orders Muslims to fast until sunset. The Mafhoum, however prohibits fasting after the sunset. The Mantuq is not in line with the Mafhoum, hence it is Mukhalafah.
4. If the hukm is linked to a specific numberAllah (swt) says:
“Those who commit zina, male and female, lash them 100 lashes”
The Mantuq of the ayah establishes the obligation of lashing 100 times (specifically). The Mafhoum, prohibits going below or above 100. The Mantuq is not in line with the Mafhoum, hence it is Mukhalafah.
The Messenger of Allah (saw) said:
“If three people set off on a journey, they should appoint one of them as an Amir” and “It is forbidden for any three people to be anywhere on earth without having appointed one Amir from amongst them”
The word one means just that, and refers to a number one and no more. This is deduced from Mafhoum al Mukhalafah. In this instance, no text has come to nullify it, thus is applicable. This stipulates the application of: “they should appoint one as Amir” and no more, or “without having appointed one Amir” and no more. Hence, the Mafhoum al-Mukhalafah in the two ahadith indicates that it is absolutely forbidden for the Imarah(authority) to be conferred to more than one man.
When Mafhoum al-Mukhalafah does not apply
If the hukm is not linked to any of the above it does not apply. For example, if the hukm is linked to a thing (noun - ism) as opposed to a description (adjective - sifa). To illustrate this we know that monopolies are haram in Islam, as the Messenger of Allah said: “Only the wrongdoers do monopolies” [Muslim]. Thus collecting a commodity and waiting for the price to rise then selling it is haram, but if the supply is large and collecting the commodity will not put a burden on the people, then it is permitted.
In another hadith the Messenger of Allah (saw) condemned monopolies on food items. The Mantuq of this hadith is that monopolies on food items are haram, and the Mafhoum al-Mukhalafah is the permissibility on items other than food. However, since the prohibition is linked to the word ‘Ta’aam’ – which is according to the rules of Arabic grammar an Ism (noun) and not a Sifa (adjective), then Mafhoum al-Mukhalafah does not apply and the prohibition will include monopolies of all items, whether food or not. The meaning of this hadith mentions one item (food), which is included in the prohibition.
In another example, the Messenger of Allah (saw) said:
“Fulfil the bay’ah(vote) to the imams, one after another” and “The imams are all from the Quraysh”
[Muslim]
The first hadith establishes the appointing of the imam or Khaleefah. The second hadith links the obligation of giving the bay’ah mentioned in the first hadith to the word Quraysh, which is an Ism – noun, in the Arabic language. Thus Mafhoum al-Mukhalafah, which would prohibit an imam who is not from the Quraysh, does not apply.
It also does not apply if there is another text that clearly contradicts the Mafhoum as when Allah (swt) says:
“And those who harass believing men and women undeservedly, bear (on themselves) calamity and a glaring sin”
[Ahzab:58]
The ayah prohibits harming Muslims, from the Mafhoum al-Mukhalafah it implies that is it permitted to harm non-Muslims, this is incorrect, as it does not apply where another daleel prohibits inflicting harm to anyone unjustly, even if they are non-Muslim. Also when Allah (swt) says:
“If you divorce a believing woman before you consummate the marriage, then there is NO Idda’”
[Ahzab:49]
The ayah links the Idda’ to the divorced believing woman – the ayah implies that this does not apply to non-Muslims, and they have not Idda’.
This is incorrect for two reasons:
“Divorced women shall wait concerning themselves for three periods”
[Baqarah:228]
This ayah does not add any description to the divorced woman, except her being divorced – thus the Mantuq of this ayah overrules the Mafhoum al-Mukhalafah of the ayah in Surah al-Ahzab.The description in the ayah of Surah al-Ahzab (believer vs. non-believer) does not warrant the rule being applied. Whether a woman is a believer or not does not have any relation to whether or not a waiting period would be implemented·. Thus the rule will remain general, and the description does not restrict the rule.
Summary
In summary, two things must be kept in mind:
Firstly, not discussing these issues has a devastating consequence on the mind of the Muslim Ummah, as they can abuse the Islamic texts for their own gains and interests. As an example, the so-called rulers in the Islamic lands could use their scholars to justify monopolies on food, raping the resources on the Ummah, using the principle. Thus a good understanding of these principles of essential to the revival of the Muslim Ummah as they relate to the methods of understanding the Islamic texts which shape the course of the lives of the Muslim Ummah.
Secondly, the process of understanding text is very precise like any process; therefore it should be regulated by strict protocols and procedures. This is akin to conducting a scientific experiment without any knowledge of materials, methods, formulae and
Sunday, 27 January 2008
Saudi Arabia
Is Saudi Arabia a State of Islam or Kufr ?
Muslims perception
Every Muslim must know whether his/her Deen is implemented in any country. This is due to the fact that Muslims must pledge allegiance to the country that rules by the Deen of Allah (swt). In other words, that state would be the Khilafah State that is headed by the Khaleefah whom Islam obligated us to obey. Therefore, this presentation is not hypothetical, nor for pure academic reasons. In other words, the Muslims must know if king Fahd is the Khaleefah of the Muslims, and whether Saudi is the Islamic State. If we conclude that Saudi is the Islamic State, then the obligation of re-establishing the Islamic state is removed (and the Islamic movements are actually wasting their time working for a goal that is already achieve).
Muslims perception
Many Muslims view Saudi Arabia to be an Islamic state. This is due to the lack of criterion to determine whether a state is Islamic or not. It is also due to the lack of knowledge of the reality of the situation in that country because of the facade that is put by this state. After all, every year Saudi donates millions of copies of the honorable Qur’an, Islamic books, and a lot of money to build Masajid etc. all over the world. As a result people believe it to be Islamic. Therefore,Muslims must know its reality.
The Criterion for a state to be Islamic
For a state to be Islamic, it must base its constitution, laws, structure, foreign relations, as well as solve its problems on the basis of the Islamic ‘Aqeedah. If a state does not rule by Islamic laws or imports rule from a non-Islamic basis in any sphere of its affairs, it is not Islamic i.e. Kufr state.Now based on this criterion, let us examine Saudi.
Saudi and Man-Made Laws
Saudi rules by a mix of laws, some of which are Islamic and some are man-made. However, to maintain the Islamic perception, it refrains from calling them laws. Saudi uses specific terminologies to differentiate between the Islamic laws and the man-made ones. In an Arabic book titled “The Constitutional Laws of the Arab Countries” under the subtitle “The Constitution of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia,” the author states, “The words ‘law (anoon)’ and ‘Legislation (Tashree’)’ are only used in Saudi to refer to the rules taken from the Islamic Shari‘ah ..... As for the man-made such as systems (Anthimah)’ or ‘ instructions (Ta’leemaat)’ or ‘ edict (Awamir)’......” In an Arabic book titled Al-Wajeez fi Tareekh Al-Qawneen (The Compact in the History of Cannons) by Dr. Mahmood Al-Maghribi, p443, after mentioning that legislation in the past was Islamic and simple, he complements Saudi by saying, “this situation has changed after the rise of the Saudi State and the natural resources. This new situation required reforms and changes ... Due to these changes, there was a need for new laws. As a result, laws were formulated in the following areas; Laws in the basis of court systems, trade, penal code, labour, Taxation, among others ..”
Regarding Trade laws, he stated “The trade laws, land and sea, which are known as ‘The Trade System’ are considered one of the most important Saudi trade laws. This law was issued in 1931and is similar to the modern trade laws, be they Arab or European.” With regard to the Islamic penal code, he said they are implemented (of course), “with some alterations required by the public interest.” He also added, “ Public interest also required making taxation revenue laws or the state...”The author is actually telling us that Saudi has been implementing non-Islamic laws in trade, “similar to the modern trade laws.” He also tells us that Al-Saud have altered the Deen of Allah (swt) by changing some of his laws due to “public interest”.
In actuality, there are many man-made laws which the author did not mention such as:• The system of observing banks issued by the king’s edict #M/5 in 1386 AH.
• The system of the Saudi Arab citizenship decided by the ministers Council resolution #4 on 25Th January 1974 and approved by the king in his speech in High Council #8/5/8604 on 22nd February 1974 to put it in effect.
• The system of printed material and publication issued by the king’s edict #M/17 in 13/4/1402 AH.
•The law of reviving the dead land used to be according to Islam, where if a person works a piece of land that becomes his. This was the case until an edict was issued declaring the nullification of this Islamic law starting from 1987 onwards.
• The system of marrying non-Saudi woman.
• The general rule for taxes, approved by the king’s edict #M/9, on 4/6/1395 AH.
Shar’i And Civil Courts
In Saudi , as in other states, in addition to Shari’ah courts, there are civil courts or courts that rule by man-made laws. As stated earlier , they do not call them civil courts, so as not to shock the Muslims there or embarrass their scholars, who are the biggest pillars of the state. In Saudi, man made laws are introduced through legal forums councils and committee, such as Dewan ofMathalim (council of injustices). These forums are equal to civil courts in other countries.Scholars of Saudi refer to the civil courts in other countries as Kufr, but dare not say the same about these councils. These legal forums address issues that are not part of Shari‘ah, such as cases of Riba, forgery, bribes, etc. These councils are composed of Sheikhs and lawyers, from colleges such as the Sorbonne, who pass verdicts according to certain articles and edicts which are not Islamic.
For example, military courts are placed under a special Dewan called Dewan of Military Courts. In it, Saudi uses man-made laws called “the System of the Saudi Arab Army” issued on 11/11/1366 AH. This system is a combination of Shari’i and non-Shari’i law which are exclusive to military personnel. An example of a Shar’i rule is that of Hirabah, killing anyone who tries to overthrow the regime. In reality, this law was introduced as a measure to deter Islamic activists and especially the army from attempting to remove the entity of Al-Saud and replace it with the Islamic one. As for the punishment for theft, which they claim is subject to Islam, it is not implemented. It is known that the Islamic punishment for theft is cutting off the hand, whether the thief is a civilian, soldier or the Khaleefah himself. In “the System of the Saudi Arab Army” chapter 8 article no.12 states, “The officers and the soldiers who steal something that belongs to other officers and soldiers or their moneys, and the item is consumable, then the thief is to pay its value, if consumed, and be imprisoned for a period ranging from a month and a half to three months...” Furthermore, if an officer commits theft and wants to repent and get punished according to article 20 and 22 from chapter 3 of the same system that places some crimes under the authority of the Shar’i courts and others under the “Council of trials”.
We ask the scholars and the supporters of this British-made, American maintained state: Are the laws of Islam applicable to some people and inapplicable to others? What is the rule of Islam regarding legislating a punishment other than what Allah has revealed?Saudi takes and gives Riba whoever takes a stroll near the Haram will see the British-Saudi Bank, American-Saudi Bank, Arab-National Bank, the Cairo-Saudi Bank etc. These banks with their Riba transactions are allowed to operate in accordance to Section B, article 1 of the Saudi law, issued by the king’s edict no.M/5 in 1386 AH. It is well known that any case dealing with Riba and banks is automatically transferred to the monetary establishment where it is handled by specific committees. Cases of such nature do not go to Shar’i courts. Prior to this law, whenever a person borrowed money from a bank or an establishment and was late in paying it back, and got charged interest, he would go to a Shar’i court judge, who would nullify the interest. This led to a conflict.
On the one land they needed the Shar’i courts, at least to keep up the farce, and at the same time they needed their banks. To resolve this conflict, Shar’i courts were prohibited from interfering in such cases under the “Specialisation” law (articles 20 and 21 from chapter 3 of the System of Saudi Arab Army).Saudi and its Riba based relations with GCC (Gulf Cooperation council) Article 22 of the Unified Economic Agreement stated, “The member states coordinate their financial monetary banking and increase cooperation among monetary establishments and the central bank ...” Its clear that deal with interest since banks and monetary establishments are based on Riba.
Saudi and the AMF (Arab Monetary Fund)
The Arab Monetary Fund, based in Abu Dhabi, is a huge Riba institution that was established by an agreement on 4/7/76 in Morocco. Saudi is the biggest share holder in it; it receives, as every one else in the Fund, Riba of an average of 3.2% on its shares.
Saudi and IMF (International Monetary Fund)
It is worth mentioning that Saudi has the 6th largest share and power of rate. It had 3.5% of the total shares which enabled it to occupy a permanent seat in the executive board.So we ask: How can a state that is involved in Riba as a set policy be Islamic? Maybe because itdonates copies of Qur’an and the Al-Saud ‘scholars’ say so!!
Saudi and External relations: The International Court of Justice
It is well known that Saudi is a member of the UN. According to article 92 of the UN constitution, the International court of Justice (ICJ) is the main Judicial branch of the UN. The ICJ performs its duties based on a system that is part of the UN constitution and must be respected and approved by every member state. Article 94 states “Every member of the UN is to submit to the ICJ in any case in which he is a part.”
Is the International Law taken from the Book of Allah (swt) and the Sunnah of His messenger(saw)? What is Saudi submitting to? The UN, which was created to counter Islam, or Islam?Saudi is not merely a member of the UN. It is a pioneer in supporting the UN. Some even go the extent of saying that it was one of the founding members. In a speech given by the then foreign minister, prince Faisal bin Abdul Aziz, in 1945 in the San Francisco conference, he said: “...Let us abide by the principles which we wrote here on paper... and let this constitution be the basis on which we will build our new and better world.”
Saudi and UNESCO
The UNESCO was formed in 1946 Saudi showed great interest in this organisation, lending it $4.6 million , interest free,and donating $50,00 in support of its projects. This organisation is designed to spread the Western ideas as well as distorting Islam. For example, in the Encyclopedia on the History of the Human Race and its Scientific Development, issued by this organisation, in volume 3 chapter 10 it states:
1. Islam is a fabricated religion that is composed of Judaism, Christianity and Arabian Polytheism .
2. Qur’an is a book that has no tolerance to others.
3. The Prophet’s traditions where made up by some people, a long time after the prophet, and attributed to him.
4. Muslim Jurists put down their jurisprudence based on the Roman, Persian and Church laws as well as the Old Testament...”
As a matter of fact, Tala Noor Attar, complemented Saudi in his book, “Saudi and the UN”, saying that it donated to the UNESCO $17,040,000.Is it that the government of Saudi is illiterate and never heard of what the UNESCO writes about the Deen they are supposedly propagating, or is it this is exactly what they donating for?!
Saudi and the Arab League
Saudi is not only a member of this nationalistic organisation, but it is one of the founders. Article 8 of the Arab League Constitution states, “Every participating member of the League must respect the established ruling system of the other participating states in the League, it should consider it as a right of these states and obligate it self not to do any action that is aimed at changing their systems.”Assuming that Saudi is Islamic, is it permissible for it to recognise the Kufr, support it and promise not to change it? So the Baathi regime of Iraq and Alawyite in Syria should be respected!? And we have not mentioned the rule for nationalism which Saudi is propagating, for we think it is well known.
Excuses
Some claim that Saudi takes its stand without free will and under pressure. This may be said about a specific incident that occurred or a statement that it made, but no one can say this when the above mentioned set a basis of its policies since its establishment by the British. At any rate, King Fahd declares otherwise, “Every citizen should hold his head high, for his country in any way. We base our friendly relations with other countries based on our mutual benefits in a way that dose not permit any foreign country to have a hold in the Saudi Arab kingdom.” [Thursday 8th of Safar 1405 AH]
It is clear, therefore, that Islam is not implemented in Saudi. Consequently, the work to resume the Islamic way of life via the re-establishment of the Khilafah is an obligation upon Muslims.
Sunday, 20 January 2008
Muharram and Ashoora
The significance of Muharram and Ashoora
[TMQ al-Tawbah: 36]
In this ayah, Allah says, “so wrong not yourselves therein…” means do not wrong yourselves in these sacred months, because sin in these months is worse than in other months.It was reported that Ibn ‘Abbas (ra) said that this phrase, “so wrong not yourselves therein…” referred to all the months, then these four were singled out and made sacred, so that sin in these months is more serious and good deeds bring a greater reward.It was narrated by al-Bukhari (2958) that Abu Bakrah (ra) reported that the Prophet (saw) said:
“The year is twelve months of which four are sacred, the three consecutive months of Dhu’l-Qa’dah, Dhu’ l-Hijjah and Muharram, and Rajab Mudar which comes between Jumaadil-akir and Sha’ baan.”
[Bukhari, Hadith No: 1865].
The day of ‘Ashoora is approaching us on the tenth of the month of Muharram. This sacred month of Muharram is a blessed and important month for the Muslims.It is the first month of the Hijri calendar, and is one of the four sacred months concerning which Allah (swt) says in Surah al-Tawbah:
“Verily, the number of months with Allah is twelve months (in a year), so it was ordained by Allah on the Day when He created the heavens and the earth; of them, four are sacred. That is the right religion, so wrong not yourselves therein…”
[TMQ al-Tawbah: 36]
In this ayah, Allah says, “so wrong not yourselves therein…” means do not wrong yourselves in these sacred months, because sin in these months is worse than in other months.It was reported that Ibn ‘Abbas (ra) said that this phrase, “so wrong not yourselves therein…” referred to all the months, then these four were singled out and made sacred, so that sin in these months is more serious and good deeds bring a greater reward.It was narrated by al-Bukhari (2958) that Abu Bakrah (ra) reported that the Prophet (saw) said:
“The year is twelve months of which four are sacred, the three consecutive months of Dhu’l-Qa’dah, Dhu’ l-Hijjah and Muharram, and Rajab Mudar which comes between Jumaadil-akir and Sha’ baan.”
In these days of Muharram the Prophet (saw) recommended for us to fast on the 9th and the 10th of this month.Al-Bukhari narrated from Ibn ‘Abbas (ra) who said: “The Prophet (saw) came to Madinah and saw the Jews fasting on the day of ‘Ashoora’. He said, ‘What is this?’ They said, ‘This is a righteous day, it is the day when Allah saved the Children of Israel from their enemies, so Musa fasted on this day.’ He said, ‘We have more right to Musa than you,’ so he fasted on that day and commanded [the Muslims] to fast on that day.”
[Bukhari, Hadith No: 1865].
In a report narrated by Imam Muslim, that the Jews said, “This is a great day, on which Allah saved Musa and his people, and drowned Pharaoh and his people.”Muslim also reported that, “Musa fasted on this day in thanksgiving to Allah, so we fast on this day.”
Mu'awiyah ibn Abu Sufyan relates: I heard the Messenger of Allah (saw) say,
"It is the day of 'Ashoora. Allah (swt) has not made fasting obligatory for you. But I am fasting. He who likes to observe fast among you should do so, and he who likes not to observe it (does not have to) observe it."
[Sahih Muslim]
Abu Qatada (ra) relates that the Holy Prophet (saw) said that, “the fast on the 10th of Muharram atones for the sins of the preceding year.”
[Sahih Muslim]
Abu Huraira (ra) reports that the Holy Prophet (ra) said, “after Ramadan, the fasts of Muharram have the greatest excellence.”
[Sahih Muslim]
In addition to the keeping of the fast on the 10th of Muharram we should also aim to fast on the 9th as well as stipulated in the following ahadith:
Ibn Abbas (ra) relates that when the Holy Prophet (saw) said, "If I survive till next year, I will definitely observe fast on the 9th of Muharram (as well)."
[Sahih Muslim]
Hakam ibn Al-Arat (ra) relates: I went to Ibn Abbas (ra). I said to him: Tell me about fasting on 'Ashura. He said,
"When you seen the new moon of Muharram count the (days) and (begin to) observe fast on the 9th." I said to him: "Is it how the Messenger of Allah (saw) observed the fast?" He said, "Yes."
[Sahih Muslim]
These days also remind us of the story of Musa (as) and his struggle against the Pharaoh. Allah (swt) said in Sura al-Qasas:
“These are Verses of the Book that makes (things) clear. We rehearse to you some of the story of Musa and Firawn (Pharaoh) in Truth for people who believe. Truly Firawn elated himself in the land and broke up its people into sections depressing a small group among them: their sons he slew but he kept alive their females: for he was indeed a maker of mischief. And We wished to be gracious to those who were being depressed in the land to make them leaders and make them heirs. To establish a firm place for them in the land and to show Firawn and Haman and their hosts at their hands the very things against which they were taking precautions.”
[TMQ 28:1-6]
Indeed brothers the story of Musa (as) is a great story that Allah (swt) related to us in the Quran.Allah (swt) told us of how the Firawn oppressed the people, how Firawn broke the people into sections depressing a small group among them, how Firawn killed the new born sons of the people and how he ruled the people with his tyranny and oppression.And we all know how Allah Azza wa Jal raised Musa (as) to liberate the people from this tyranny and oppression.
Allah Ar-Rahman ar-Raheem mentioned in the in Surah al-Qasas how he protected Musa (as) from his campaign of killing the children. Allah (swt) tells us of how when Musa (as) was born Allah (swt) inspired his mother to cast him into the river. Look how she obeyed this command of Allah (swt) with no resistance, imagine casting your child into the river, this is the meaning of having Tawakkal in Allah (swt).Firawn and his wife found Musa (as), upon seeing Musa (as) Firawn’s wife felt joy and convinced Firawn not to slay him. Allah (swt) reunited Musa (as) with his mother when he would not take the milk from others, so eventually the wife of Firawn employed Musa (as)’s mother as a maid to look after him.
Allah (swt) explains this beautiful story,
“And We ordained that he refused suck at first until (his sister came up and) said: "Shall I point out to you the people of a house that will nourish and bring him up for you and be sincerely attached to him?"...Thus did We restore him to his mother that her eye might be comforted that she might not grieve and that she might know that the promise of Allah is true: but most of them do not understand.”
[TMQ al-Qasas: 12-13]
When Musa (as) grew up he stood against Firawn and challenged his corruption and tyranny, he led the Children of Israel (Bani Israel) against the Firawn and made them disbelieve in him and his tyranny. Firawn believed he was a god and that he had the power of life and death in his hands.
Allah Azza wa Jal said in Surah Yunus:
“Firawn was an arrogant tyrant on the earth indeed he was one of the Musrifeen (transgressors)”
[TMQ 10:83]
Today we have many modern day Firawn’s, many Musrifeen (transgressors) and tyrants.Today Bush and his America is one of these modern day Pharaoh’s. We know America thinks it is the God of this world, how it bombed the Muslims in Iraq, how it bombed the Muslims in Afghanistan and Sudan in the past for no reason and how it continues to impose it’s policies all over the Islamic lands. It is the arrogant tyrant of the world today.
The arrogance of these people is apparent, as one Time magazine title put it 'America Rules: Thank God’. America is not the only Firawn in this world today, America has many assistants in the world as Firawn had his assistants like Haman.Today the rulers in the Muslim world are these assistants and Firawn’s who carve up the people as Firawn did and oppress them as Firawn did and kill them as Firawn did.
Today although there are many tyrannical agents of Firawn and the side of Baatil (falsehood) is clear, we must realise that the side of Haq (truth) is also clear and gaining momentum. The people on the side of truth, carrying the call of liberation from the rules of man to the rule of Allah (swt), from darkness of the Firawn’s to the light of the Khilafah, even if they face all types of persecutions and hardship in the pursuit of this.
Musa (as) liberated the Children of Israel from the Firawn, we to need to liberate the Muslim Ummah from the oppression of Capitalism. The method to achieve this is taken from the well known Hadith,"Banu Israel used to be looked after by the Prophets; when one Prophet died, another one would succeed him, and there will be no more Prophets after me. There will be Khulafah and they will number many."Firawn’s end came even though he believed he had all power in his hands.
Indeed the time will come when America and its agents in the Muslim world will drown in the ocean of history as Firawn and his men were swallowed by the ocean and drowned.Musa (as) and all the other Prophet’s (as) relied upon non other than Allah (swt) to fulfil their mission. Musa (as) sought help and support from his Lord, Allah (swt) says in Surah Ta-Ha ,
"Musa said: 'O my Lord! Open for me my chest (grant me self-confidence, contentment, and boldness). And ease my task for me; And loosen the knot (the problem) from my tongue, (i.e. remove the impairment in my speech), that they understand my speech, And appoint for me a helper from my family, Haroon, my brother; Increase my strength with him, And let him share my task (of conveying Allah's message), That we may glorify You much, And remember You much, Verily! You are of us Ever a Well-Seer”
[TMQ Ta-Ha: 25-35]
Today in our pursuit of re-establishing the Khilafah to dethrone the Firawn’s of this world we must rely on Allah (swt) alone, He is As-Samee’a, Al-Mujeeb.
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