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Weekly Comment |
APOLOGY:
Due to
problems of connectivity, the
online newsletter (Vol.2 No, 30)
edition of 1 August 2007 was not
sent out to all our valued
readers. However, it can be
accessed from our website
www.jamiat.co.za The
editorial team regrets all the
inconvenience this might have
caused. |
Kidnapped Palestinians… Remember
Lebanon?
What happened when an Israeli
was 'kidnapped' last year?
The sound of the empty promises
made by Ehud Olmert to Mahmoud
Abbas hardly died out, when it
was heard that Israel had
stepped up its military
operations inside Palestine.
In the month of July, 300
Palestinians had been kidnapped
by Israeli forces.
On Monday, after 5 Palestinians
hade been abducted by Israeli
forces, Olmert made various
promises including the removal
of hundreds of checkpoints and
roadblocks as well as the
release of more Palestinian
prisoners. Early Tuesday morning
the Israeli army invaded areas
of Palestinian residential areas
and storming refugee camps.
Women and children were
violently assaulted, homes were
ransacked and six individuals
were kidnapped.
Wonder what the world would have
said, had it been the kidnapping
of one single Israeli?
East Timor
East Timorese President
Jose Ramos-Horta, appointed
Xanana Gusmao as the new prime
minister of East Timor.
Elections that took place in
June were won by the former
ruling party, but considered
inconclusive by the President.
Is this a case of another
democratically and legitimately
elected government being denied
its position of leadership?
Algeria and Palestine are two
examples of where the people
spoke democratically, but they
didn't speak a language which
the 'democratic world' wanted to
hear.
Also, when looking at the
history of Timor and the
Australian instigated disarray
which resulted in the forced
separation of Timor into East
and West Timor, one wonders
whether there is another example
of the same tactics in play in
another part of the world –
somewhere in the south of Sudan?
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U P D A T E |
Conference:
Understanding the Palestinian
Situation
The Tshwane (Laudium) branch of
the Jamiatul Ulama has organized
a conference on Palestine.
The conference is planned to
take place on Saturday the 11
August from 3:00pm till 10:30pm.
Among the topics that will be
covered are:
A Brief History of
Palestine and its surrounds,
through the ages
Who is who and what do
they do – A Brief Description of
the Political Actors and the
dynamics of interaction between
them
Significance and History
of Masjid Al-Aqsa from the Quran
and Hadeeth
Slide Show – A Pictorial on
Masjid Al-Aqsa
Atrocities, Massacres
and Genocide while the World
Looks on
The Palestinian Conflict in the
context of other events around
the world Common
Questions and Misconceptions,
including: “Are ‘ordinary
Israelis’ innocent?”
“Suicide Bombers or Martyrdom
Operatives”
The Responsibility of
the Muslim Ummah
Confirmed speakers for the
conference include:
Ml. Ighsan Hendricks - Muslim
Judicial Council
Mf. Zubair Bhayat - DIRECT –Darul
Ihsan Islamic Research Centre
Ml. Sulaiman Ravat - Radio Islam
Ml. Ashraf Dockrat - University
of Johannesburg
Ml. Dawood Cassim - Jamiatul
Ulama
Dr. Firoze Osman - Media Review
Network
Dr. Omar De Kok - Political
Analyst |
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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 |
R 107.83 |
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Mahr Faatimi |
R 5,391.65 |
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Zakaat Nisaab |
R 2,156.66 |
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Words of Wisdom |
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Hadith of the Week |
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Virtues of
Jerusalem |
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Abu Hurairah (radiyallahu `anhu)
reported that when Allah's
Messenger (sallallahu `alayhi
wa sallam)) prayed over a
dead person, he said: O
Allah, forgive those of us
who are living and those of
us who are dead, those of us
who are present and those of
us who are absent, our young
and our old, our male and
our female. O Allah, to
whomsoever
of us Thou givest life grant
him life as a believer, and
whomsoever of us Thou takest
in death take him in death
as a follower of Islam. O
Allah, do not withhold from
us the reward (of faith) and
do not lead us astray after
his death.
(Sunan Abu Dawud) |
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Quotation for the Week |
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Friendliness and Respect |
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Be friendly to people, but
not to the extent that you
may lose
your own respect.
(Luqman Alayhis
salaam) |
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Point of Reflection |
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Worthy Witness |
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Let him speak who has seen
with his eyes.
(African Proverb) |
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Q and A |
Question:
Is it permissible to
buy clothes with interest
money and then
give the clothes to our
domestic helper? Her wages
will not be affected at all. |
Answer:
1)
Interest money should rather
be given to poor Muslims
than
non-Muslims.
2) Giving the cash will
suffice in disposing of the
ill-gotten money. Therefore,
we would advise you
to rather give the cash than
give clothing which might
not be a
vital necessity to her at
present.
Note: At the time of
disposing of interest money,
one is not permitted to make
any intention
of reaping reward from this
action. Instead, one should
rather
consider himself to be
removing
the evil effect of this
wealth by getting rid of it
and safeguarding
his Halaal wealth from being
contaminated by Haraam.
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Summarised Jumu’ah
Bayaan:
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Gender Equality or
Absurdity
The Holy Qur’ân states:
“"And they
(women) have rights
similar to those of
men." (2: 226)
The Holy Prophet
Sallallâhu ‘alayhi wa
salaam said:
"When a man and
a woman are alone
together, the third
person is Shaitaan. "
(Abu Dawood).
The status of woman in
Islam constitutes no
problem. The tone of the
Qur'ân and personified
by the early Muslims
bear witness to the fact
that women are as vital
to life as man are, nor
is she inferior to him
nor is she one of the
lower species. The
status of woman was a
given matter to be equal
to that of man. It was
matter of fact and no
one, then, considered it
as a problem at all.
However, as a result of
the impact of foreign
cultures and alien
influences, this
question has of late
become a contentious
issue amongst Muslims.
This issue came sharper
into focus at the recent
Independent Broadcasting
Authority hearing where
Muslims were the
adversaries.
The protagonists of
Gender Equality hope to
better the plight of
women by ensuring that
there is:
• Functional equality
between man and woman.
• Economic independence
of woman.
• Free intermingling of
males and females.
The disturbing aspect
surrounding Gender
Equality is that it is
not left to the volition
of the individual but
rather it is considered
to be a matter of Human
Rights, as understood by
a specific sector of the
World Community.
Functional
Equality of Male and
Female:
The demand for
equality between men and
women as humans is a
natural and a reasonable
demand. They are equally
component parts of a
whole humanity. But, the
demand to treat them as
equal in their
functions, can that ever
be feasible. The
question of such
equality is meaningless.
It is like discussing
the equality of a rose
and jasmine. Each boasts
its own aroma, colour,
shape and beauty. Each
has its own features and
characteristics.
The rights and
responsibilities of a
woman are equal to those
of man but they are not
necessarily identical.
Equality and sameness
are two quite different
things. Man and woman
are of the same species,
but have different
functions. Hence they
are different - designed
to fulfil different
roles. Equality between
the sexes cannot be
understood to mean that
the tasks of the two are
alike.
Economic
Independence of Women
From an Islamic
perspective, woman has
no financial
responsibilities
whatsoever. She is
financially secure and
provided for. If she is
a wife, the husband is
the provider; if she is
a mother, it is the son;
if she is a daughter, it
is the father;if she is
a sister, it is the
brother, and so on.
The Qur'ân states: " Men
are the protectors ,
maintainers of women,
and because Allah has
given them more
(strength) than the
other, and because they
support them from their
means. " (4:34)
The idea of stopping the
'oppression' of women by
introducing them en
masse to the workplace
is fallacious from many
perspectives. It works
towards moving the women
onto the factory floor
and towards earning a
living of their own as a
means of proving
independence and
equality. It assumes
equality between
individuals in terms of
financial independence.
It, however, serves the
interest of the bosses
by supplying them with a
surplus of workers which
makes it easy for them
to demand cheap labour.
Ones mind immediately
goes to the industrial
revolution and the world
wars. Shortage of
labour, hundreds of
thousands of men killed
and many more
incapacitated paved the
way for women and
children to suffer the
tribulations of labour.
Women clamouring to be
independent have struck
a fatal blow to family
life and the moral
fabric of society is
threatened with
disintegration.
Free Intermingling of
Sexes
1400 years ago,
Nabi Kareem sallallaahu
alaihi wasallam informed
humanity about the
hazards of free mixing
and advised extreme
caution. He is reported
to have said: " When a
man and a woman are
alone together, the
third person is Shaitaan.
" (Abu Dawood). His
presence is merely to
induce them to evil and
mischief.
Conclusion
The West has
from time to time
devised means to break
the spiritual clout of
the Muslims. They have
on an intellectual level
attempted to expose the
supposed imbalances in
Islam regarding women.
We have no data
available to assess the
inroads they have made
in influencing the
Muslim female's mind.
What we can say is that
it has produced a few
Muslim men and women who
have become so bold to
openly say that the
Qur'ân must be
interpreted and
understood so that it
becomes compatible with
the modern concepts.
This in turn will
address the issue and
such principles will
emerge allowing women
their rightful role in
society.
(Adapted from an
article available on the
Jamiatul Ulama website)
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Message from the Ameer of
the Jamiatul Ulama |
Mufti
Basheer Sanjalvi (rahmatullahi
`alayhi)
In Arabic, it is commonly
said that "Mawtul Aalim,
Mawtul `Aalam" – The death
of an Aalim is the death of
a nation. We are also taught
that closer to the day of
qiyaamah, Allah (azza wa
jalla) will create a
situation where true `ilm
will be lifted from the
earth and it is said that 'yarfaullahul
`ilm bi raf``il ulamaa –
Allah will lift `ilm from
this world through the
lifting of 'Ulamaa.
Less than three months ago,
the South African community
was saddened by the loss of
Maulana Qasim Sema (rahmatullahi
`alayhi). A little longer
than a week ago, South
African Muslims had to
endure the loss of Maulana
Ahmad Hathurani (rahmatullahi
`alayhi). This week, we are
saddened to note the passing
of Mufti Basheer Sanjalvi (rahmatullahi
`alayhi).
The late Mufti Basheer
Sanjalvi (rahmatullahi `alayhi)
was a close friend,
colleague and family member
of mine.
Mufti Saheb complete his
hifzul Qur`an at a young age
under the instruction of his
late father Mufti Ibrahim
Sanjalvi Saheb (rahmatullahi
`alalayhi). He then
continued his search for
knowledge, and under the
tutelage of his esteemed
father he completed the
penultimate year of his `Aalim
course at the Waterval
Islamic Institute (based on
Mia's Farm).
Mufti Saheb then traveled to
Deoband, India where he
completed his Aalim course,
with distinction, in
1962/63. He continued his
education in Deoband and
completed an intensive and
demanding programme to
graduate as a Mufti, under
the guidance of Mufti Mahdi
Hasan (rahmatullahi `alayhi).
He further enhanced his
position as a Mufti by
pursuing another Mufti
programme in Layalpur,
Pakistan.
After returning to South
Africa, he continuously
served the Muslim ummah, in
South Africa and outside, in
a variety of ways. Mufti
Saheb was one of the primary
figures in all activities of
the Jamiatul Ulama. He was
one of the key figures in
the development of the
talimi board and its
activities, and was a
pioneer in the field of
halal/haram inspection,
supervision and
certification. He also
served as the Mufti of the
Jamiatul Ulama for a long
period. Mufti Saheb also
provided great services to
the activities of the
Waterval Islamic Institute
in the field of taalim
(primary, secondary and
higher Islamic education),
Iftaa and a range of other
fields.
Mufti Saheb's character was
exemplary and he was
extremely kind, generous and
caring. He was most
approachable and open to
people from all walks of
life and always presented
things in a way that was
easy to understand and
practice upon, yet he was
uncompromising on haqq.
Mufti Saheb (rahmatullahi `alayhi)
remained, to the end, a
source who was consulted by
the general people, Ulama
and Muftis from all
backgrounds. Many of the
Ulama of the country count
themselves among the
students of Mufti Saheb (rahmatullahi
`alayhi).
We make du`aa that Allah (azza
wa jalla) raise his status
in Jannah, reward him
abundantly and grant his
family sabrun jameel. Aameen.
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