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Weekly Comment |
Let’s Progress not Regress
The efforts of
government to revamp the
Department of Home Affairs are
welcome. It is our hope that the
newly appointed Director General
will sweep clean the department,
and bring to it to the level
where allegations of
corrupt practices and
inefficiency will be a thing of
the past.
There should be no room for
regression a la e-Natis system
at the Department of Transport
where after spending millions of
rands on a system that was
meant to improve
service-delivery and streamline
operations, the nation has
seemingly ended-up with a
scenario fraught with more of
the problems the system was
launched to address.
Why should we continue to lament
about shortage of skills amidst
reports that within our borders
we have refugees who could have
contributed positively to the
development of our society and
economy? The Department of Home
Affairs should play a pivotal
role in addressing such
imbalances for the betterment of
our nation.
Who’s going to turn off the
Green Zone’s lights?
The Iraqi
government announced that it is
drawing up plans to cope with
the security situation in the
country in case of a sudden US
withdrawal. This, reported on
CNN, raises many questions about
the medium-term prospects of the
US involvement in Iraq. Military
strategists will tell you that
such announcements are not
merely the product of the
political imagination, but more
often than not a clear signal of
contingency plans being drawn
up.
In recent weeks Baghdad’s Green
Zone, the seat of the Iraqi
government and the nerve centre
of the US occupation forces, has
been hit by mortar attacks on a
daily basis. The Iraqi
parliament building was also hit
in one of these mortar attacks.
The plans being drawn up by the
Iraqi government may precipitate
decisions the Bush
administration will be forced to
make in coming months.
The US Senate, after a long and
dirty internal political battle,
has finally approved the release
of $100 billion for the war
effort. According to the Bush
administration this will at
least see the forces through to
September of this year. What
will happen after that is
unclear, but, a combination of
internal opposition to the Iraq
policy, and near impossible
conditions on the ground in
Iraq, is pushing the US
President into a corner.
Will Baghdad become the US
military’s next Hanoi? Will
George W. Bush be on the ground
in the Green Zone to switch off
the lights when helicopters come
to evacuate the remnants of the
US invasion force? Only time
will tell.
Lebanon
The Lebanese have lost enough
lives in the constant upheaval
and conflicts, recurrent and
new. The current conflict in
Lebanon is something nobody
needed, or indeed even wanted.
Moreover, what it makes it all
the worse is that there are no
outside enemies; it being an
internal conflict.
One wonders how much any of us
know about what is really
happening behind the scenes in
the determination of the acts in
the arena of international
politics. What can be said, with
certainty, is that events are
being manipulated and conflicts
created for a range of selfish
and nefarious purposes.
And amazingly Israelis suddenly
develop a deep concern for the
Muslims. The World Jewish
Congress reports that Israel's
ambassador to the United Nations
in New York, Dan Gillerman,
accused moderate Muslim and Arab
leaders of standing by in "eerie
silence" while Islamic
extremists terrorize people
around the world. "We live in a
world where when Christians kill
Muslims, it's a crusade. When
Jews kill Muslims, it's a
massacre. When Muslims kill
Muslims,
it's the weather channel. Nobody
cares. What we are witnessing
today truly is a clash of
civilization, in the singular...
because most of the horror, most
of the bloodshed, most of the
terror and most of the killings
are within Islam. And the vast
majority of victims are
Muslims," Dan Gillerman told
reporters.
At the same time in Palestine
…Palestine bleeds at the hands
of Israel
Israel broadcasts, even in the
International media – for the
world to see, how they target
and bombard individual
Palestinians and entire
Palestinian communities. |
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C O N
T E N T S |
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Summarised
Jumuah Bayaan |
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Question and
Answer |
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Update |
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Message from the Ameer |
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I N F
O R M A T I O N |
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Min. Mahr |
108.62 |
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Mahr Faatimi |
R 5,430.86 |
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Zakaat Nisaab |
R 2,172.34 |
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Words of Wisdom |
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Hadith of the Week |
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Remembering Allah |
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I am as My
servant thinks I am. I am
with him when he makes
mention of Me. If he makes
mention of Me to himself, I
make mention of him to
Myself; and if he makes
mention of Me in an
assembly, I make mention of
him in an assemble better
than it. And if he draws
near to Me an arm's length,
I draw near to him a
fathom's length. And if he
comes to Me walking, I go to
him at speed.
Al-Bukhari (also by
Muslim, at-Tirmidhi and
Ibn-Majah) |
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Quotation for the Week |
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Children
as Trust |
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The child, is
a trust (placed by God) in
the hands of his parents,
and his innocent heart is a
precious element capable of
taking impressions. (Al-Ghazali) |
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Point of Reflection |
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Art of
Listening |
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If you are
waiting to speak, you are
not listening. (Unknown) |
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Q and A |
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Question: Is it Sunnat for a
man to wear a ring? |
Answer:
Many Fuqahaa and
Muhadditheen state that
Rasulullah sallallahu alaihi
wasallam wore the ring out
of necessity
(to stamp his letters)
.Therefore the Sunnat is for
one who would have some
necessity in wearing a ring
(e.g. a Khalifa /Ruler).
As for those who do not have
any need for it, it would be
merely permissible.
However, the permissibility
revolves around the
following factors:
(1) It must be a silver ring
(2) The silver must be less
than
one Mithqaal (4, 87 g).
(3) It must not be a ring
known to be worn by women
(4) The niyyat must not be
corrupt e.g. showing off,
imitating a fashion, etc.
It is better to wear the
ring on
the left hand and it should
be
worn on the little finger.
If the
ring has a stone with it
then the stone should be
facing the inside
of the palm.
And Allah Ta'aala knows
best. |
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Summarised Jumu’ah
Bayaan:
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Hayaa |
The Holy Qur’ân states:
“Oh.” “Verily
there is in the
Messenger of Allah a
perfect example (of good
conduct) for those whose
hope is in Allah and the
Final Day and who engage
much in the praise of
Allah” (Al-Ahzaab – 21)
The Holy Prophet
Sallallâhu ‘alayhi wa
salaam said:
“Indeed every
religion has a distinct
moral calling and the
moral calling of Islam
is ḥayā.”(Ibn Majah)
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What is ḥayā? Ḥayā
is loosely translated as
modesty or inhibition
but in reality, this
does not convey the true
message of ḥayā. Ḥayā
refers to that extremely
desirable quality and
inner feeling that a
person should experience
when doing wrong. The
result is that when a
person posses ḥayā then
it manifests itself in
many myriad and
different ways.
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Ḥayā is the
centrepiece of the
Islamic moral building
block hence; it governs
all Islamic moral and
social codes. If ḥayā
is lost, it is as though
all is lost. The Hadith
of the Prophet (sallallahu
`alayhi wa sallam) says,
“When Hayā is lost then
do as you please.”
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In the same manner
that the advent of ḥayā
caused a moral
revolution in
Pre-Islamic Arabia,
Ḥayā will cause a moral
revolution of
unprecedented dimensions
in our society if we
adopt this quality.
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No person is beyond
adopting and inculcating
this quality if an
effort is made to do so.
In addition, adopting
this quality can lead
one to great
achievements.
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Remember the incident
between the great
ḥadith scholar Imām
Shu`bah ibn Ḥajjāj and
`Abd Allāh, the street
urchin who went on to
become Shaykh `Abd Allāh
ibn Maslamah al-Qa`nabī,
the great disciple of
Imām Abū Dāwūd. Abdullah
was a jester and used to
love joking and making
fun. One day Shu`bah,
great Muhaddith was
passing by. Abdullah
stopped him and demanded
from him, in a rude,
threatening and mocking
way, “Teach me a hadeeth,
or else…” Shu`bah did
not respond since the
teaching of hadeeth
demands a more
respectful approach.
Nevertheless, after
Abdullah’s continued
mockery, Shu`bah
responded with the
hadeeth “When Hayā is
lost then do as you
please.” The hadeeth
struck Abdullah to such
an extent that there and
there he decided to
change his life and
strive in search of the
knowledge of hadeeth.
His made such great
efforts that it resulted
in him being among the
most respectable of
muhadditheen to the
extent that all of the
sihhah books of hadeeth
narrate from him.
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Every aspect of
practice must be
accompanied by hayaa,
for a Muslim. His dress
must be painted with
hayaa, his speech must
be punctuated with hayaa
and his interactions
with all must be
coloured with hayaa.
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Salah increases one’s
hayaa and saves one from
shamelessness, as is
mentioned in the Qur`an.
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The noble messenger of
Allāh (Sallā Allāhu
ʿalayhi wa sallam )
taught us the following
Duʿā to rectify our
character:
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“Oh Allāh makes us
beloved unto thee, make
us humble before thee,
make us honorable in the
sight of man, save us
from evil character,
instill within us good
character, and grant us
assistance upon the
enemies, your enemies,
the enemies of Islām.
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U P D A T E |
SAHUC:
Online Haj Applications –
Deadlines – 1 week to go
As mentioned in
previous issues of the
Online Newsletter, the South
African Hajj and Umrah
Council has revised its
system of accepting
applications from
prospective haajis for this
year’s hajj. Only online
applications processed via
the SAHUC website will be
considered.
It is important to
note that the closing date
for registering is the 31
May 2007. Any person who is
even remotely considering
going for hajj this year
must ensure that he
registers.
The address for the
SAHUC website is:
www.sahuc.org.za.
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Meeting
with MJC Media Desk
The Jamiatul Ulama
Media Desk met with the MJC
Media Desk in order to
discuss various aspects.
Current challenges were
examined, approaches of
dealing with negative
portrayal of Islam and
Muslims were discussed and
ways of forging a closer
relationship and more
well-coordinated efforts
were considered. |
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COSATU
to Commemorate the 60th
Anniversary of Nakba
COSATU will embark on a
series of activities to
commemorate the 60th
Anniversary of the Nakba
(Catastrophe) inflicted upon
the people of Palestine by
the Zionist terror gangs.
These activities are in
solidarity with the people
of Palestine who until this
day still live under
oppressive occupation. The
guiding document for this
programme of action is
“World Says No to Israeli
Occupation” and will be
launched at a ceremony
hosted by COSATU in
Johannesburg on Thursday 24
May 2007. |
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Message from the Ameer of
the Jamiatul Ulama |
The
Youth Convention
Youth from various parts of
Gauteng, neighbouring
provinces, Kwazulu Natal and
even the Western Cape
attended the Jamiatul
Ulama/MSA youth convention
in Laudium a week and a half
ago.
The convention was hailed as
many to have been largely
successful, with the large
number of youth that
attended and the type of
activities that were
conducted. It was also note
that many of the attendees
at the convention were
between the ages of 30 to 45
showing illustrating another
target audience that cannot
be ignored, since they would
form the group that shape
the lives of the future of
the Ummah. A significant
percentage of those elder
than 45 also attended.
The feedback forms given to
the youth at the convention
indicate widespread need for
similar programmes. Positive
feedback was provided with
many youth stating the need
for more regional and local
programmes to follow a
larger and more broad
convention such as Annual
one held in Laudium. Youth
enjoyed the presentations
and discussions and were
unanimous that they would
definitely take something
back with them and that the
programme presented them
with positive practical
items that would cause the
students to make changes in
their practical lives. They
also came out of the
convention with a sense of
pride to be Muslims and a
feeling of spiritual
revitalization.
Experiences teach many
lessons and insha’-Allah the
constructive comments as to
how some aspects of the
organizing can be
streamlined were also
received and will be given
due considerations. Other
comments regarding the
structure of the programme
and the composition of the
speakers will also be taken
into account, insha’-Allah.
Most importantly, the
convention is a significant
event in terms of uniting
the youth and lighting the
flame of enrichment, but it
is only a part of the
process of developing a
vibrant, positive and
Islamically sound youth,
that will develop into the
leaders of tomorrow. There
has to be plans and
arrangements for assisting
the youth to implement that
various issues that they
left the convention with.
There has to be local
activity that works on the
ground with youth on a
one-to-one basis. There must
be real developments that
evolve out of the
convention. Finally, the
statement at the conference
that “There can be no
Islamic activism without
returning to the basics,
such as salah”, must be
imprinted indelibly in the
minds of every Muslim.
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