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Weekly Comment |
Where are the voices now?
The chief Rabbi
of Safad, and senior
spokesperson of the Jewish
establishment in Israel, Rabbi
Shmuel Eliyahu, has called for
Israel to ‘exact a horrible
revenge’ for the attack on a
Jewish seminary. His shocking
and astounding call for the
execution of acts of horrible
violence, described in most
deplorable and wicked terms was
widely publicised and quoted in
newspapers such as the Haaretz
and Jerusalem Post.
Amazingly he has called for the
revenge to be violently imposed
upon, not the alleged
perpetrators, but their
children.
He states that, “We have to take
horrible revenge for the
terrorist attack at Merkaz Harav
Yeshiva. A state that really
respects the lives of its
citizens would have hanged the
10 sons of the terrorist on a
tree 50-meter tall, so that
others would see it and be
afraid.”
The Arab News editorial,
today(Wednesday 2/04/08), states
that;
“These words dripping with cold
malevolence would have been
dismissed as the rant of a rabid
loose cannon if the source had
not been so highly placed in the
Israeli establishment. Rabbi
Eliyahu is not your regulation
Zionist freak dreaming of
driving all Arabs and
Palestinians into the
Mediterranean. He does not
represent a lunatic fringe but
speaks for the Israeli
establishment.”
It is very easy to sit together
and have joint meetings in the
interest of encouraging an
environment of understanding; it
is easy to make joint
presentations and even ‘cook for
peace’. Where are those voices
now?
Islam surpasses Catholicism
After the slow and languid
response, from the Vatican, to
the invitation of Muslim
scholars, a meeting is to take
place soon.
Certain people however say that
it is a cause to frown, that
when a meeting of such
importance is to take place, the
voices and actions emanating
from the Vatican have been
confusing, to say the least.
Last weeks sensationalised
conversion of an Italian
journalist of Egyptian
background by the Pope is
strange. Even many senior
Christian clergy have asked why
he was not converted and
baptised within his own area, at
his own parish. Many questions
can be asked in terms of who the
converted was (an outspoken
critic of Islam), the importance
given to the conversion
(baptised by the Pope at the
Easter Mass – with the focus of
the camera trained consistently
on him), the manner of his
conversion (kept secret until
the mass, even from senior
members of the clergy), and many
other facts. It makes the
possibility of the conversion
play to be a political stunt or
something aimed at achieving
other sinister motives almost
real. The fact that a portion of
the Pope’s address on the day
focussed on conversion is also
significant in this regard.
The recent release of the
press-statement from the Vatican
on the comparison of the
increase in the population of
Muslims to the extent that it
has surpassed that of Catholics
also raises eyebrows as to why
this is so important that it
requires a press-statement. To
say that, "it is true that while
Muslim families, as is well
known, continue to make a lot of
children, Christian ones on the
contrary tend to have fewer and
fewer," is bizarre and even
offensive of in its statement of
an assumed reason for the
increase in the Muslim
population. One could argue that
it may even be aimed at
increasing hostility toward
Islam.
Is there a sincere desire for
dialogue, or should the voice of
those who claim that the Pope is
a hardline anti-Muslim as
indicated in his earlier speech(es)
and actions be believed?
Zimbabwe
The fact that there was much
less actual intimidation and
violence during the Zimbabwe
elections, in comparison to
previous elections in the same
country is encouraging.
The failure to timorously
release and announce the results
raises questions of possible
sinister intentions, especially
when the slow piece-meal results
seem to indicate a close race in
what was initially reported by
many commentators to be a clear
victory for the opposition. The
intentions of not being
efficient in announcing the
results are even more
questionable when one looks at
the possible consequences of the
response of the masses.
We make du’aa that the outcome
of the elections be fair and
just and in the best interest of
all concerned.
How does one survive?
People are
beginning to wonder as to
whether they will be able to
sustain even simple lifestyles
in the not so distant future.
Crime and other factors aside,
the cost of living is quickly
reaching frightening
proportions.
Within a period of approximately
a year, the price of petrol has
gone up by more than 55%. In the
last five to six weeks it has
gone up by about R1.20. The
price of electricity has
increased significantly and the
forecast of all in the know is
that it is to rise steeply on a
consistent basis. The price of
groceries has gone up, on
average, by more or less 40% in
the last few months. Basic
commodities such as bread and
milk have also increased and
dairy farmers have indicated
that an increase is due.
Salaries on the other hand have
increased in a manner which is
totally disproportionate to the
increases in the cost of living. |
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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 158.46 |
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Mahr Faatimi |
R 7,922.94 |
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Zakaat Nisaab |
R 3,169.18 |
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Words of Wisdom |
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Hadith of the Week |
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Signs of the Hour |
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Anas Radhiallahu anhu
narrated that the Prophet of
Allah Sallallahu 'alayhi wa
sallam said: "From among the
signs of the Hour are:
1. Religious knowledge will
be taken away (by the death
of religious learned men).
2. (Religious) ignorance
will prevail.
3. Drinking of Alcoholic
drinks (will be very
common).
4. There will be prevalence
of open illegal sexual
intercourse.
(Bukhari & Muslim)
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Quotation for the Week |
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Moderation is Cure |
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Many diseases and problems
are due to extravagance.
(‘Ali Radhi-Allahu ‘anhu)
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Point of Reflection |
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Obedience before Command! |
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"He who refuses to obey,
cannot command."
(Kenyan Proverb)
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Q and A |
Question: Is it
permissible to
buy forward foreign exchange
rate which we would be
either higher of lower than
the spot rate?
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Answer:
In
light of a
discussion by Mufti Muhammad
Taqi Uthmaani in his
Contemporary Fataawa
p.148,
it will not be permissible
to
get involved in forward
foreign exchange contracts.
And Allâh Ta’âla Knows Best.
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U P D A T E |
Survey on
Ar-Rasheed
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The editorial team for
Ar Rasheed shall be carrying
out a survey on the readership
of the paper. The findings of
the survey will go a long way in
improving the paper’s content,
presentation and frequency among
other things. We call
upon readers of the paper to
respond to the survey by
completing a questionnaire
obtainable via email from
mediadesk@islamsa.org.za
Meanwhile, the latest edition of
the publication is available.
Log on to
www.jamiat.co.za for
downloads of the electronic
version in Acrobat PDF format.
Your input will be invaluable
and will help us cater for your
needs, insha-Allah.
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Summarised Jumu’ah
Bayaan:
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The Tongue |
Allah says: "Would any
of you like to eat the
flesh of his dead
brother? No, you would
hate it." (Qur'an
49:12).
It is narrated that:
“Once our beloved
Prophet Sallallahu ‘alayhi
wa sallam was sitting
with his companions
Radiyallahu anhum and
one of them was speaking
badly about someone who
wasn't there. As the man
got up to leave the
Prophet Sallallahu `alayhi
wa sallam said to him:
"Pick your teeth!" "But
I haven't eaten
anything", the man
protested. "No", the
Prophet said, "You have
eaten the flesh of your
dead brother!"
• How often do we say a
phrase such as "I was
only joking". We treat
lies as being trivial.
However we are told that
Allah's messenger did
not hate anything more
than lying.
• It's one of the
greatest sins and yet
it's something we do day
after day. Sometimes we
don't even realize it.
You're just chatting
away with your friends
and you begin to talk
about somebody else.
• But what if it's true?
The Prophet told us,
"Backbiting is to say
something about someone
they wouldn't like said
about them ... If what
bad you said about them
is true, then you have
backbitten and if it is
false then you have
slandered them!"
(Muslim).
• If you're still not
convinced of how big a
sin backbiting really
is, then look at the
punishment Allah has in
store for the
backbiters. The Prophet
described: "On the night
of Miraaj, I passed by
some people who had
metal hooks in their
hands and were clawing
at their faces and their
necks with them. I asked
Jibraeel 'Who were these
people?' He said 'These
are the people who eat
the flesh of human
beings and disgrace
them' " (Abu Dawud).
• Just having a laugh!
May be we think it's all
right to take the ‘mickey’
out of someone, so long
as we say it to their
face. We'll make fun of
the way someone talks,
walks, or how they look.
Allah warns us against
such behavior: "O you
who believe, let not
some men laugh at
others, it may be that
they are better than
you. Nor let some women
laugh at others it may
be that they are better
than you. Nor abuse each
other, nor be sarcastic
to each other by using
offensive nicknames..."
(Qur'an 49:11)
• Listen to yourself and
to your friends speaking
one day - nearly every
sentence will have a
swear word in it,
thinking it's cool and
macho to swear, copying
the idols of TV and the
cinema. Is it really
'cool' to swear?
Hellfire is far from
being cool. The Prophet
said that "abusing a
Muslim is a sin and
fighting with him is
disbelief" (Muslim).
• But sometimes you just
have to swear! The
solution? Don't get
angry in the first
place. A man came to the
Prophet one day and
said, "Advise me". The
Prophet said, "Don't
become angry. Don't
become angry. Don't
become angry... when one
of you gets angry while
he is standing up, he
should sit down. Then
anger will leave him,
and if not then he
should lie down"
(Ahmad).
• The Prophet was once
asked "Can a Muslim be a
coward?" He replied
"Yes". He was then asked
"Can a Muslim be a
miser?" and the reply
was "Yes". The Prophet
was again asked "Can a
Muslim be a liar?" The
Prophet replied "No! A
Muslim can never be a
liar".
• A well controlled
tongue will keep us
within Islam but a loose
tongue will destroy us.
The Prophet said:
"Whoever can guarantee
me two things I can
guarantee them
Paradise". One of the
two things was the
control of the tongue..
• A final word of
advice. The Messenger of
Allah said: "Whoever
believes in Allah and
the Last day, LET HIM
EITHER SPEAK GOOD OR
KEEP SILENT!"
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Message from the Ameer of
the Jamiatul Ulama |
What do we do?
In light of the current
situation where Muslims fear
various adversities from
different sources, the
question is commonly asked,
“What should we do?”
It is important to continue
with employing the physical
and apparent means that
would help us overcome the
difficulties and fears that
we have. However, the focus
should be more concentrated
on the source of the removal
of the difficulties rather
than the means of their
eradication.
It is only Allah that can
change situations, and
everything takes place in
the knowledge and wisdom of
Allah, with Allah’s
permission and instruction.
The Late Maulana Abrarul Haq
(rahmatullahi alayhi) of
Hardoi once gave advice in
response to a question
similar to the one we are
currently asking. He
responded by saying that we
should do five things.
Insha’Allah, if we bring
these into our lives, there
is no doubt that there will
be a marked and visible
change in our circumstances.
The five things are:
1. Seek knowledge of sins
and refrain from sinning.
2. Engage in Taubah &
Istighfaar
3. Make abundant Dua
4. Continously read “Hasbunallahu
wa-ni’mal wakeel “
5. Remain Steadfast upon
Imaan
May Allah safeguard us in
every way. Aameen.
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