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Weekly Comment |
Where’s the Productivity of the
Muslim World?
An international newsmagazine
recently reported of how trade
and investment lags behind in
the Arab world. Although endowed
with natural resources such as
gas and petroleum, the region
which also to an extent
coincides with Islam has not
translated the boom in oil and
gas revenues into growth that is
labour-absorbing. Just picture
these two facts about the scale
of stagnation:
• Egypt, the Arab world’s most
populous nation started off the
1960s with a comparable per
export capita income to that of
Korea and Taiwan. Today they
export more in three days than
Egypt does the whole year!
• Thailand with a population of
just 25% of the Arab world,
export value are more than that
from the entire Arab world yet
Thailand’s
On the back of a weak
manufacturing base in the
economies of the Arab World,
unemployment has grown over the
past five years. This is cause
for concern as it is recipe for
increasing unrest that may be
coupled with social dislocation.
The Arab nations need to take
careful policy considerations
for steady reform in order to
avoid social upheavals that may
emanate from discontent of the
largely youthful population
living in want amidst plenty!
Alongside policy reform should
also be moral reforms. It’s of
no benefit to just look at the
past glories with nostalgia. It
is a mark of malaise; a reminder
that we have not scored any
successes since.
History of the Islamic
civilisation should be looked at
to learn from ample precedents
that can help us reflect on
where we have gone wrong and how
we can forge ahead in the future
without compromising our faith.
Musharraf's State of Emergency
Pakistanis have gone through
various cycles of difficulty, in
terms of the rule under which
they existed. The projected
January election in Pakistan was
highly anticipated as the first
'democratic' elections since the
1999 military coup by Pervez
Musharraf.
During the period from 1999 till
present, Musharraf has changed
the position of his leadership
to represent various forms. Many
would argue that it was only the
packaging that changed, but the
contents of the personality,
attitude, and purpose remained
the same. Some have been gagged,
others imprisoned. Institutes of
learning became targets of
infiltration by moles from
government and other sources,
and have even been shut down
indefinitely. People have been
captured, interrogated,
tortured, taken to external
camps of terror, and even
killed. Leaders of political
parties have been deported or
forced into exile.
The present circumstances are
such that political leaders have
been deported. There have been
'on-now, off-now' deals with
other 'leaders'. The violence
has escalated to such an extent
that it could not be contained.
This therefore demanded that
even more severe restrictions be
imposed. A state of emergency
had to be declared, with the
constitution suspended, judges
had to be deposed from their
position, leaders and
influential people that posed
possible perceived threats to
Musharraf had to be put under
house arrest or locked up, and …
of course – whoever would have
thought that it could happen -
the elections had to be
postponed … indefinitely. |
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U P D A T E |
Haj Seminar
Jamiatul Ulama South Africa’s
office in Johannesburg will host
a Haj Seminar at the JISS Centre
(Cnr of Battery Street and 3rd
Ave, Mayfair) on Sunday 11
November 2007 starting from
09h30 until 12h30.
The programme will be as
follows:
1. Spiritual Dimension of Haj by
Moulana E.I. Bham
2. Madina & Ziyârah by Moulana
Abdullah Dhabelia
3. Umrah & Five Days of Haj by
Moulana Sulaiman Ravat
4. Question and Answer Session
Separate accommodation for
ladies will be available.
Refreshments will also be
served.
Tel: 011 373 8000 for more
information. |
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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 120.70 |
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Mahr Faatimi |
R 6,035.00 |
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Zakaat Nisaab |
R 2,414.00 |
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Words of Wisdom |
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Hadith of the Week |
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Generosity |
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The “A
man from among those who
were before you was called
to account. Nothing in the
way of good was found for
him except that he used to
have dealings with people
and, being well-to-do, he
would order his servants to
let off the man in
straitened circumstances
[from repaying his debt]. He
(the Prophet Sallallahu 'alayhi
wasallam said that Allah
said: ‘We are worthier than
you of that (of being so
generous). Let him off.’”
(A Hadith Qudsi: Muslim)
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Quotation for the Week |
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Boon from
Change |
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If it weren't
for change, we wouldn't have
butterflies.
(Unknown)
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Point of Reflection |
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Thin Line: Praise/Flatter |
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Many men know how to
flatter, few men know how to
praise. (Greek
Saying)
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Q and A |
Question: I have
heard that
one could subtract debts
from one’s Zakaah assets
before calculating the
Zakaah
amount. What happens in the
case of a bond? Could the
whole amount be subtracted? |
Answer:
Firstly please note
that it is not correct to
involve oneself in a bond,
however since it has already
happened one should try to
pay it off as soon as
possible. With regard to the
Zakaah on long-term debts
where there are fixed
repayments (a bond would be
in this category), the Ulama
have opted that only your
current year (of twelve
months) of bond payments
would constitute a current
liability and as such can be
subtracted from the Zakaah
assets before calculating
the Zakaah amount.
AND ALLAH TA’AALA KNOWS BEST
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Summarised Jumu’ah
Bayaan:
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The Journey of Love:
Hajj
v This day, I have
perfected your religion
for you, completed my
favour upon you and have
chosen for you Islam as
your religion.” (Maâidah:
6)
• Imam Ghazzali
Rahmatullahi ‘alayhi has
explained that the above
verse was revealed in
the context of hajj when
Islam reached its
complete and total
perfection. According to
˜Umar Radhi-Allâhu ‘anhu,
it was revealed on a
Friday afternoon after `Asr
when Nabi (SAW) was on
the plains of `Arafat
seated on his camel.
• If one ponders over
the fact that Islam was
completed and perfected
at the occasion of Hajj,
he would definitely
fulfil this obligation
with great enthusiasm.
• Going for hajj is not
by one’s own accord, it
is only by the will of
Allah. This being the
case, it is important
for the haji to take
full advantage of this
opportunity by doing
justice to the occasion
and thereby becoming
eligible for the highest
reward of all.
• Imam Bukhari and Imam
Muslim narrate a hadeeth
of the Messenger of
Allah Sallallâhu 'alayhi
wasallam who said:
Whosoever performs Hajj
for the sake of Allah
and he refrained from
immodest actions and
sins, he returns to his
home just as the day his
mother gave birth to
him.
• Hajj should be done
solely for the pleasure
of Allah Taâala. There
should be no other
motive whether it be
wealth, fame or any
other reason. Many
people do Hajj with
ulterior motives and
thereby undergo much
hardships and spending
so much of wealth, all
in vain. Nabi Sallallâhu
'alayhi wasallam said:
“Close to Qiyaamat the
wealthy from my ummat
will perform Hajj as
holidays, the middle
class will perform Hajj
for name and fame and
the lower class will do
Hajj for purposes of
begging”. (Kanzul Ummal)
• There should be no
immodesty in hajj. The
word, “rafatha”
mentioned in the above
hadith is general and it
includes all types of
futile and useless acts.
• There should be no
sinning. Nabi Sallallâhu
'alayhi wasallam
mentioned in a hadith
that the goodness of
Hajj lies in kind words
and feeding people. It
is, therefore, essential
that a person treats his
companions with extreme
kindness and be humble
in all ones approaches
as a good part of Hajj
is spent with ones
companions. Good
character is not only
saving oneself from
causing harm to others
but also to be tolerant.
• The reward of a Haji
who fulfills these
requirements is indeed
tremendous. Abu Hurairah
Rahmatullahi ‘alayhi
states that our Nabi
Sallallâhu 'alayhi
wasallam said: “The Haji
and one who performs
Umrah are the
Ambassadors of Alllah.
If they beseech Him, He
would respond to them,
and if they seek His
forgiveness He would
forgive them.(Ibn Majah)
• As the guest of Allah,
a Haji has the
distinguished status of
being the ambassador of
Allah. He enjoys the
special mercy and
forgiveness of Allah for
responding to His
invitation. Ibn Umar
Radhi-Allâhu ‘anhu
states that our Nabi
Radhi-Allâhu ‘anhu said:
“When you meet the Haji,
greet him, shake his
hands and instruct him
to seek forgiveness for
you before he enters his
home, for undoubtedly he
is forgiven. (Ahmed)
• Hajj affords one the
best training grounds
for the revival of one’s
faith and purity of
character. It is the
most sublime
manifestation of the
universal brotherhood of
the Muslim Ummah. It is
a journey of intensified
devotion and discipline.
The Haji therefore needs
to keep his spirit alive
by emulating the
following directives of
our Nabi Sallallâhu 'alayhi
wasallam for the rest of
his life.
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Message from the Ameer of
the Jamiatul Ulama |
Unity of the Ummah
In a
world where Muslims are
being bombarded, attacked
and targeted from all an
array of sources,
perspectives and angles, the
unity of the Ummah must be
given due priority. It must
occupy a position of
paramount importance. Unity
needs to be based upon the
Qur'an and the Sunnah of the
Beloved Prophet Muhammad
Sallallahu ‘alayhi wa sallam.
There is a distinct line
difference between
disagreement and disunity.
Disagreement is allowed and
even noteworthy in certain
instances. If disagreement
is done without respect to
the parties being disagreed
with and it results in
disunity then the
disagreement cannot be good.
If it degenerates to the
extent of judging the
intention of the opposing
parties, vilification and
name-calling then it can
only result in the greater
harm of the Ummah.
Disagreements must also not
become such obsessions that
it consumes the time and
resources of the Ummah,
where these valuable
resources could be used to
address the many serious
needs of the Ummah.
May Allah Azza wa jalla
grant us the ability to
unite on the Qur'an and
Sunnah, in the interest of
better serving the needs of
the Ummah.
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