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Weekly Comment |
“A Small Taste of the
Pudding”
South Africans grappling with
the power outages have found it
difficult to cope with the lack
of power.
Imagine for a moment that we
were to experience similar
outages during the general, mild
South African winter. Imagine,
further, that we were to face
similar outages during the
intermittent periods of ‘severe’
cold, we sometimes experience in
our winters. Take it one step
further and imagine we were to
suffer outages during a period
of extreme cold coupled with
snow. What if we did not have
enough water? What if there
wasn’t enough food to put on the
plate for our children? What if
our families had no access to
hospitals? What if there was no
medicine to purchase? Would we
cope?
… and what if this were being
done to us intentionally …. What
if we were prevented from
travelling outside the perimeter
of a small area where basic
commodities could not even be
sold … what if our families were
being destroyed through a
systematic process of
elimination and oppression …
what if our children could not
go to schools through the fear
of being shot at while on their
way to schools?
Wouldn’t it be crazy if the
people casting all of this upon
us complained of a small thorn
in their foot?
The Israeli daily Haaretz, in
commenting on the current snow
storms in the area commented:
“Snow also fell on Majdal Shams,
in the Golan Heights, forcing
schools to close early. The town
also suffered periodic power
cuts, making it hard for
residents to cope with the
bitter cold. ”
In Palestine the schools don’t
close early - they struggle to
stay open !
In Palestine people don’t find
it hard to cope with the bitter
cold as a result of power cuts –
they just die because of the
cold, as a result of power being
denied to them!
What more can one say … what
more does one need to say?
“Good Imam Lured Women”
Last week (Thursday 24/01/08) an
article entitled “Good Imam
Lured Women” appeared on the
front page of the Star
Newspaper. The article referred
to an Imam in the Johannesburg
area. He allegedly engaged in
shady activities such as luring
woman into offices with the
false hopes of finding
employment for them. It is
claimed that his real intention
was to acquire the details and
documents of these women, in
order to ‘marry’ them off to
immigrants who were in search of
residential ‘papers’.
It is important to strongly
resent the sensationalism
reflected in the article’s
headline. The prejudiced
impression created by the
headline is that Islam sanctions
unfair dealings and Muslim
religious leaders are corrupt.
Furthermore, the headline of the
article does not truly reflect
the full content of the bulk of
the article, thereby possibly
aggravating many misconceptions
that exist about Muslims.
Surprisingly, the religious
affiliation of the accused is
given greater prominence (as
reflected by the headline) than
the crime itself.
As Muslims, it must be
remembered that Islam is totally
opposed to the type of
activities being alleged in the
article. Part of being a good
Muslim is to be fair and honest
in all dealings whether social,
financial or any other. To lie,
mislead or deceive anyone is
totally forbidden in Islam – for
an Imam and for all others. In
no way does Islam make a
separation between one’s
religious expressions in the
form of prayer, behaviour or
transactions as they all
constitute part of worship.
Honesty and truthfulness are
pivotal in the life of a Muslim.
In addition, the laws of
permissibility and
non-permissibility in Islam
applies across the board – to
male and female, rich and poor
and to the leaders as well as
all other members of the
congregation.
It must also be remembered that
the perceived variance between
the teachings of Islam and the
actions of some Muslims cannot
be taken as representative of
Islam.
The nature of the charges
against the imam is very
serious, and if proved true,
must be condemned in the
strongest possible terms. The
principle of innocent until
proven guilty must, however,
apply.
Finally, as Muslims, each of us
need to be extra cautious that
our actions, interactions and
dealings are in keeping with
Islam and the principles of
honesty, justice and
righteousness, as embodied in
the Qur’an and the Hadith of the
Prophet Muhammad Sallallahu 'alayhi
wa sallam.
Democracy
Someone recently remarked:
“What does it say for democracy
when, most of the
‘democratically elected’ leaders
of the world would clearly be
voted out by the very people
they represent?”
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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 140.97 |
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Mahr Faatimi |
R 7,048.50 |
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Zakaat Nisaab |
R 2,819.40
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Words of Wisdom |
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Hadith of the Week |
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Self-Contentment |
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Abu Huraira Radhi-Allahu ‘anhu
reported that the Messenger
of Allah said: "Wealth is
not in vast riches but
wealth is in
self-contentment."
(Bukhari, Muslim).
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Quotation for the Week |
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Deceptive
World |
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The world deceives people,
causes harm to them and is
left behind by them.
('Ali radiyallahu 'anhu)
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Point of Reflection |
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State of Flux! |
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Neither pain nor pleasure
endures.
(African Proverb)
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Q and A |
Question:
Instead of one leaving the
interest, riba money to
accumulate in the bank, can
one take it out and use it
on poor family members or on
any poor person. |
Answer:
The preferred view of most
of
our Ulama is to actually
withdraw accumulated
interest and distribute it
among poor people who
normally qualify as Zakaat
recipients. Those Zakaat
recipients could be ordinary
poor people or family
members as
long as they are not from
the
Usool and Furoo’ of a
person.
Mufti Abdul Raheem Lajpuri (Rahimahullah)
has actually gone
to the extent of saying that
such money should preferably
be
given to poor Muslims for
their upliftment. This
distribution should
obviously be without an
intention of reward.
(References: Mahmoodiyyah
4/203; Raheemiyyah 2/192,
199, 6/141; Ahsan 7/18
Aap ke Masaa'il 6/418)
And Allah Ta'aala knows
best.
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U P D A T E |
SAfm's Faith to Faith
Maulana Sulaiman Patel and
Maulana Bilal Vaid of the
Jamiatul Ulama were the guests
on the SAfm ‘Faith to Faith’
show, last Sunday. The topic of
discussion was Hajj.
New Jamiat Calendar for 2008
The Jamiatul Ulama Calendar for
2008 is now available from the
Jamiatul Ulama offices or
selected outlets. The theme of
the selected pictures collected
for this issue of the Calendar
deals with Palestine and its
surrounds. The calendar contains
both Hijri and Gregorian dates,
new moon information, prayer
times as well as monthly
messages of inspiration.
Sheikh Raed Salah
Sheikh Raed Salah is the
President of the Islamic
Movement in Palestine a charity
founded in the 1980s to cater
for the spiritual, medical,
social and economic needs of
Palestinians inside Israel. His
work as head of Al-Aqsa
Foundation for Reconstruction of
Islamic Sanctities ensures
Muslim presence at Masjid Al-Aqsa
at this time of increasing
threats from Zionists to destroy
this Noble Sanctuary of Islam.
Sheikh Salah has endured
detentions and harassment for
his work.
The following is the programme
of Sheikh Raed Salah in Gauteng
subject to confirmation of his
arrival:
• Thursday 7 Feb 2008 (After
Esha; 8:45pm): Masjid Nur-ul-Islam,
Lenasia
• Friday 8 Feb 2008 (Jumuah
Salah; 12:30pm): Mayfair Jumuah
Masjid, Mayfair
• Friday 8 Feb 2008 (After Esha;
8:45pm): Darus Salaam Centre,
Laudium
• Saturday 9 Feb 2008 (After
Esha; 8:45pm): Masjid Taqwa,
Springs
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Summarised Jumu’ah
Bayaan:
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The Harvest of
the Tongue |
Allah says: “No good is
there in much of their
private conversation,
except for those who
enjoin charity or that
which is right or
conciliation between
people. And whoever does
that seeking the means
to the approval of Allah
– then We are going to
give them a great
reward.” (An-Nisaa':
114)
Ibn ‘Abbaas Radhi-Allâhu
‘anhu also said:
“Achieving the following
five matters is more
beneficial than owning
the best types of
horses: (1) Not
involving yourselves in
conversations that do
not concern you, as
there is no guarantee
that you would not sin
therein; (2) Not talking
about things that do
concern you, until you
find the proper time; as
a person may talk about
a matter that does
concern them but at the
wrong time and therefore
produce a bad
consequence; (3) Not
arguing with a wise or a
foolish person, as the
wise person would desert
you and the foolish
person would humiliate
you; (4) Mentioning your
brother, in his absence,
with things with which
you would wish him to
mention you with in your
absence - and forgiving
him for that which you
would wish him to
forgive you for; (5)
Performing the actions
of one who is certain
that he would be
rewarded for the good
and punished for the bad
that he does.”
• The tongue is a gift
from Allah. This is
certainly not why Allah
has gifted us with
tongues and this is
definitely not how gifts
are appreciated.
• Nowadays, our
gatherings are filled
with unrestrained
conversations that
comprise of useless or
even harmful talk.
• Speech reflects our
thoughts and mentality,
as well as how morality,
or its opposite, is
spread through society.
• A person must ask
himself before saying
anything: ‘Is there any
need for me to talk?' If
there is a need, then it
is fine to talk.
Otherwise, silence is
better because
refraining from
unnecessary speech is a
form of worship.
Abdullaah Ibn Mas'ood
Radhi-Allâhu ‘anhu said:
“I swear by the One
besides Whom there is
nothing worthy of
worship: one's need to
imprison their tongue is
greater than anything
else.”
• It is a fact that the
majority of those who
take the lead in vain
talk during sinful
gatherings talk so much
that one who listens to
them comes to realise
that they themselves are
not aware of what they
are saying and that
there is no
thought-process behind
their words.
• Rasulullah
Radhi-Allâhu ‘anhu said:
“No servants of Allah's
belief will be correct
until his heart is
corrected, and his heart
will never be corrected
until his tongue is” The
first phase of achieving
this correctness is for
a person to give up that
which does not concern
them and not to involve
themselves in things
that they were not asked
about.
• Islam has dispraised
frivolities and idle
talk as they are
immaterial and evil. In
fact, the more a person
stays away from them,
the higher their rank
becomes with Allah.
Conversely, the more a
person indulges in them,
the more their
punishment will be with
Allah, this is why
Rasulullah Sallallâhu 'alayhi
wasallam said: “A
servant (of Allah) will
utter a word for no
other reason but to make
people laugh, and it
would cause him to go
down into Hell as far as
the distance between the
Heavens and the earth;
and a person will slip
with his tongue more
often than he will
stumble off his feet”.
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Message from the Ameer of
the Jamiatul Ulama |
Contentment
The Prophet
Sallallahu ‘alayhi wa sallam
explains in a hadith that a
successful person is not he
who has most wealth, but
rather he who is most
content.
We often fall under the
false illusion that material
wealth is the basis of the
success, happiness and
contentment in the life of
any individual. “If I have
money, I can build a
beautiful home where I, my
wife and children will live
comfortably, I can put good
food on the table, I can
drive a comfortable car,
etc.” This has become an
often recited mantra for
many people of the world.
Contentment by implication
means peace, happiness and
harmony. It means being
relaxed and satisfied and it
is not available for sale -
for any amount of money.
A person can obtain material
self-sufficiency, but this
does not guarantee that he
will be happy. He can become
rich but this does not mean
he will be at ease. He can
obtain a luxurious home but
cannot guarantee that he
will be comfortable. He can
fulfill his needs but he
this does not means that his
needs will be satisfied.
A person that is not content
will continue to strive to
the extent of inevitably
driving himself crazy in his
search for possible tools of
comfort, but he will never
arrive at the destination he
even finds it difficult to
define.
The world we live in has
become a world we have come
to love. The world which was
created to fulfil our needs
has become a drug that we
need. It exerts all types of
pressure upon us to produce
the goods or perish into
oblivion, it demands that we
compete in the battle of
survival or be whittle away
into nothingness.
Allah Azza wa jalla tells us
how to respond to the
challenges of the
materialistic world that
prevents us from attaining
contentment. He says that we
should not make our children
or wealth the primary focus
of our ventures and should
never over indulge in any
thing, albeit good. Allah
says:
“Wealth and children are
only an adornment of the
worldly life. The enduring
good deeds are better to
your Lord for reward and
better for (ones) hope.”
(18:46)
The Prophet Sallallahu ‘alayhi
wa sallam instructed us to
look at those that have less
than us in order that we
balance our efforts to
accumulate more. He said,
“When a person sees a person
who has better wealth and
beauty, let him look at the
ones who have less than
him.” (Bukhari)
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