Category Archives: Faith

Reporter Embedded With the Taliban

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Brother Naeem, back from his Ramadan hiatus-

My problem with the jihad being waged by the Taliban is illustrated in this passage of the article:

“Ibrahim’s recent injury, it turns out, was the result of a clash between his forces and a group of foreign fighters under the command of Dr. Khalil. The foreigners wanted to close down a girls’ school, sparking a battle. Two Arabs and 11 Pakistanis commanded by Dr. Khalil had been killed by Ibrahim’s men.”

These fighters may spend most of their time praying in the masjid (as mentioned in the article), but they have no problem turning around and killing each other over differences in religious interpretation.

How very typical of this Ummah.

From Reporter Embedded with Taliban.

Talking in the masjid – Women

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Inner Reflections Transcribed writes about a consequence of segregation and audio/video feeds to the women’s area of masajid:

But over at the women’s side – whoa, it was a proper melee! The women were sitting in their own wee huddles, nattering away about everything and anything. The children were making music of their own in their wee corners. And it made me wonder why this was the case?

If the Imam was in sight, would these women sit and talk as they were? Most probably not. They’d even tell their children off for making a racket
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I would MUCH prefer to be able to SEE the speaker when he is speaking rather than have audio projected into a room. The voice which fills the room acts like background noise and when there isn’t any chance you can offend the speaker (since he can’t see you anyway) by actively tuning out, then talking over him isn’t given a second thought. Ruining the speech/talk for other members of the congregation?

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On the topic of speaker, if you do happen to be in the same room, then to be able to SEE the speaker helps a lot. Having designated seating for women at the back of the hall, where everybody infront resembles ants, or the only view is the back of peoples heads does nothing for me.  On top of which, from such an angle the speaker looks like a fat blur distracts and causes my concentration and attention span to dwindle and deteriorate fast. Yes I used to sit near the front of the lecture hall at Uni for exactly the same reasons.

Are mosques, and MSA’s going to change things around so women have a clear and equal view of the speaker? Or are we to be relegated to spots where a pair of binocular’s and/or a good pair of ears are required?

This is a situation that’s unique to Western Muslim societies, and it will be a mark of maturity of the community to actively address it and solve it to the satisfaction of all parties.

Dr. Wadud in England

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Another event that has got the bloggers blogging is Dr. Amina Wadud’s attempt to lead Friday prayers again, this time in England.

UmmahPulse has an investigative piece on the people organizing it and the actual event.

Despite attempts by the organisers to whip up controversy with the help of the local (Oxford Mail) and national media (The Times), the event was a total flop – hardly anyone attended. An evening news report broadcast on the ITV Thames Valley programme (17.10.08) commented on “the media far outnumbering the congregation” and “the historic moment being underwhelmed by the turnout from both sides of the debate, with the majority of Muslims in Oxford having simply decided to ignore the event”.

Indigo Jo of Blogistan criticizes it and provides textual basis for mainstream scholars’ opposition.

As for the proof of the invalidity of the prayer of anyone who “prayed” behind Wadud, here is a collection of opinions by some modern scholars of Islam who are not ranting extremists (PDF, I’m afraid); I also wrote a few articles tackling not only the “prayer” itself but the media response to it and some of Wadud’s other antics ([1], [2], [3]). I wonder if she is aware (or if she cares) about Hargey’s well-documented deviations, such as believing that the hadeeth contain so many forgeries and fabrications that they should not be used to derive legal rulings, but rather that Muslims should use the Qur’an alone?

Shahrzaad asks a question on her blog and set off a response by Achelois.

So if muslim women can be the jurisprudent, i’d like to know why not the prayer leading then?

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We need to hear from another woman and not a man what lies for us in religion. Blogosphere is not our khutbah place. We need to connect with women in the real world. At least I need that. I want to hear what a Muslim woman like me thinks about politics, religion, feminism, marriage, child-bearing and child-raising. I want to know what God says about women. I want to know what lies in Heaven for women. I want to know how God feels about lesbians. I want to know what should be done to men who rape their wives. Sorry but the khutbahs don’t tell me all that. I want to do more than swap recipes and talk about fashion with women.

But I wish I could look forward to it as a day when the entire family can go out and meet like minded people; where we can spend a good hour or so praying and talking about what is important to both men and women in Islam.

 

Therefore, I feel that it is important for women to be included in Friday sermons.

In a similar vein, Progressive Muslima wonders why something supposedly as relatively inane as this excites traditional conservative Muslims while more serious social issues don’t rally them.

Also, I find interesting that some Muslims who had intended to attend the prayers in Oxford were told they would no longer be welcome in their own mosques if they did so. I wonder if adulterers, wife beaters, child abusers, “honor” killers and folks who force their children to marry receive the same intimidating visits from these “concerned” Muslims.

Tips for waking up for Fajr

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Pearl of An-Noor compiles the following 12 tips to help the believer be consistent with Fajr prayers.

1. To supplicate to Allah with the following رب اجعلني مقيم الصلوة و من ذريتي ربنا و تقبل دعاء

ربنا اغفرلي ولوالدي وللمؤمنين يوم يقوم الحساب

By the blessings of this du’a, Insha Allah you and your children will be granted the ability to be punctual with your prayers.

2. If it’s convenient then to take a nap in the afternoon which is also a sunnah and aids in causing a person to wake up for Fajr.

3. To have dinner early and to not overeat. Mawlana Thanwi (RA) has written that when a person eats, there comes a moment where a question arises in his mind should I continue eating or quit? The moment this question arises, a person should stop eating.

4. To not drink water before going to sleep unless there is a dire need to do so and if so, then to drink a small amount.

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May Allah give us all the strength and dedication to pray Fajr on time every day.

Poverty

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From kinzi blogs

I know the ’spread the wealth around’ idealism of the US’s  potential new government isn’t going to cut it with real poverty in the US or elsewhere. Spreading the wealth around has to come from the heart to be effective, it has to be born out of personal responsibility to help the poor and is best done in relationship. Jesus Christ said “The poor you will always have with you”, which means those blessed with plenty will always have the responsibility to help those without. Those in hardship in my circle of influence are my responsibility.

On a more micro level, I was talking to a friend on the phone about how the economic crises will affect smaller scale relief work and economic development at a community level. My friend wisely said: “I am endeavoring to make sure this crisis does not affect our giving. It may change the way we give, but we will need to practice extra generosity in a way that will be more sacrificial than before”.

Lady Evelyn Cobbald – First British Muslimah to perform Hajj?

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Rhyme and Reason links to a very interesting article on a British-born Muslim lady’s Hajj pilgrimage in 1933:

Lady Evelyn Cobbald achieved celebrity at age 65, in 1933, when she became the first British-born Muslim woman to perform the pilgrimage to Makkah. She was a Scottish aristocrat, a grandmother and a Mayfair socialite, and an accomplished deerstalker, angler and gardener, and, uniquely, she was both a Muslim and an Arabic-speaker. Yet the story of her colorful career has been overlooked, as has her contribution to the literature of the Hajj. Nor has she been studied for what her life has to say about being a Muslim in a western society.

She was not born into a Muslim family, yet Lady Evelyn claimed to have been a Muslim from as early as she could remember.

Continue reading this fascinating account here ..

NOW is the Time to Learn Arabic!

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A student of knowledge over at Tayyibaat has a post on motivating ourselves to learn the language of the Qur’an (and Sunnah and a lot of scholarship!), and a cherry-picked set of resources to realize that motivation.

We all strive to become a companion of the Qur’an, but who are its true companions? The companions of the Qur’an are those who studied it, memorized it, implemented it and lived by it. It is not possible, in the least bit, for one to become a companion of the Qur’an and not know Arabic. Learning the language is the starting point of a life long journey with the Qur’an.

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Many of us want to take the proper steps to learn Arabic, but do not know where to start. What is the solution? Where do we begin? The best option is to study overseas, however many of us do not have that option to learn Arabic, so inshaAllah we’ll cover in this article some easy steps one can take to begin the process of learning Qur’anic Arabic if they cannot travel to do so.

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Everyone has different opinions on where to begin the journey of learning the language, so I will only mention what has helped myself and others I know and inshaAllah the discussion can continue in the comments. Learning Arabic has two main steps. Firstly, learning grammar and secondly, learning vocabulary. A student can either begin with grammar first, and then move on to vocabulary or study both at the same time.

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Followed by a number of resources that cater to different learning styles.

Read the whole post here. For those serious about learning Arabic, this is a gem to be bookmarked.

KhutbahCentral

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Abdul Mutakabbir of True and Good Words points us to a very thoughtful site for beginning khateebs:

For a first time khateeb or even a seasoned khateeb, the task of giving a khutbah is very daunting. This is especially true for the first time khateeb. I remember the first time I gave a khutbah, I wished that there was some one-stop resource that I can go to that will tell me all the things I need to prepare a proper, Islamically compliant khutbah. No such thing existed at that time, so I had to go to the local Imam and ask him.

It’s a well-designed website with short guides on drafting a khutbah, complete with duas, and a guide for khateebs. A very handy resource! May Allah reward the brothers behind this effort.