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Weekly Comment |
Are you Caught in the Cycle of
Emails?
The
boon and conveniences brought
about by technology have been
phenomenal. However, there seem
to be a negative correlation
between technological
advancement and our thoroughness
and communication skills.
Save for
those account bills, as postal
mail is becoming obsolete, the
standard of the written word and
handling of emails leaves a lot
to be desired.
In the era
of 'snail' mail, each and every
letter one received would be a
treasured item that was read
over and over again if not for
the joy it brought, at least for
the memories it would kindle
between correspondents.
When it was
strictly ink and paper, one
would sit down and think through
what he/she would be committing
to paper. Without 'undo' and
'delete,' one would carefully
weigh the value of each written
word over its not-so-perfect
substitute in order to
communicate effectively and yet
politely.
Today, we have
SMS language and emoticons. We
can 'cut' and 'paste.' We can
also forward an inbox item, not
to one or two but literally, to
scores of recipients.
As Muslims,
we cannot be helplessly
nostalgic without an attempt to
restore order. It is appropriate
to adhere to an etiquette that
is consistent with rules of our
faith that govern our social
interactions. Some noteworthy
points below should serve as
guidelines:
1. The
Prophet Sallallahu 'alayhi
wasallam said it is sufficient
for a person to be called a liar
if one repeats everything that
he hears. The moral standard of
a Muslim is high. Echoing
everything one hears/reads, even
if it is the truth, can make one
a liar! Let's remember: "…If
what you say about him is true,
you are backbiting him, but if
it is not true then you have
slandered him." (Muslim)
2. “…
Neither backbite one another.
Would one of you like to eat the
flesh of his dead brother? You
would hate it (so hate
backbiting)…” (49:12) Do we
resist forwarding 'too juicy not
to share' emails that would
tantamount to backbiting? “And
why did you not, when you heard
it, say: 'It is not right of us
to speak of this…?'” (24:16)
3. Once Umar
Radhi-Allahu anhu would use the
lamp with oil from the public
treasury only when he was doing
work of the treasury. He would
extinguish it even if he had no
light as soon as he finished the
work of the official work of the
treasury. Does your firm allow
you to use corporate email
service for private purposes? Do
we ever consider the
consequences of an email that we
send or forward to others
jeopardising the interests of
your employer in the process
albeit unwittingly?
4. The
impersonal nature of the
Internet gives a false sense of
anonymity. For this reason, it
is common that uncouth language
thrives in chat-rooms, online
forums and in emails. Rules of
hijab are forgotten as netizens
'open up' to each other. We have
to be mindful that an offence in
cyberspace is neither lighter
nor less serious than in actual
space. “Modesty is part of
faith, and faith leads to
Heaven; while vulgarity is part
of unfaith, and unfaith leads to
Hell.” (Bukhari)
5. Attending
to the amount of trivia that
arrive in our inboxes proves to
be a real time stealer. Do you
have to read and/or respond to
each and every message that we
receive? Ibn Abbas Radhi-Allahu
anhu narrated that Prophet
Muhammad Sallallahu 'alayhi
wassalaam said: "There are two
blessings which many people
lose: (They are) health and free
time for doing good." Why do we
forfeit our precious time
attending to insignificant
matters just like losers?
6. Chain
emails that claim luck when you
forward 'to seven people' while
at the same time threatening
'misfortune' if you ignore them
deserve nothing but a 'delete'.
Does it occur to us that the
best you can do to certain items
in your inbox is just delete?
7. It is an
obligation of everyone to treat
other users with respect. Learn
how to use your mail client
software appropriately so that
you neither cause offence nor
compromise the privacy of
others. |
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C O N T E N T
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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 158.99 |
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Mahr Faatimi |
R 7,949.29 |
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Zakaat Nisaab |
R 3,179.72 |
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Words of Wisdom |
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Hadith of the Week |
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Hardening Heart |
Ibn `Umar Radhi-Allahu
anhu reported: The Messenger
of Allah Sallallahu ‘alayhi
wasallam said, "Do not
indulge in excessive talk
except when remembering
Allah. Excessive talking
without the Remembrance of
Allah hardens the heart; and
those who are the farthest
from Allah are those whose
hearts are hard.''
(At-Tirmidhi)
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Quotation
of
the Week |
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Showing Off |
Nu’aym ibn ‘Abdillah, the
scribe of the righteous
Khalifah ‘Umar ibn ‘Abd
Al-’Azîz – Allah have mercy
on him, narrates that
‘Umar ibn ‘Abd
Al-’Azîz said: “The
fear of showing off and
vying with others prevents
me from saying much of what
could be said.”
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Point of Reflection |
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Anger Leads to Loss |
He who
gets up (starts up) in
anger, sits down with a
loss.
(Turkish Proverb)
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Q and A |
Question: Can you
please inform me whether
giving Qurbani outside of
South Africa is valid? |
Answer:
It is in principle
allowed to perform Qurbani
abroad. However, one should
ensure that some Qurbani
share be slaughtered at home
(in South Africa). According
to senior Ulama, if one
suffices on performing
Qurbani abroad without
performing it him/her self,
he/she would be deprived of
the actual reward of
carrying out the Ibadah.
Reference: Mahmoodiyyah
11/345 (Meerat edition)
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U P D A T E |
The Month of Dhu al Hijjah 1430
Following the sighting of the
new moon in Cape Town, the month
of Dhu al Hijjah 1430 has
started.
1 Dhu al Hijjah
1430, corresponds to Wednesday
18 November 2009.
Eid-ul-Adha therefore falls on
Friday 27 November 2009.
Qurbani
Qurbâni arrangements have been
made by the Jamiatul Ulama.
Kindly forward your payments not
later than Wednesday, 25th
November 2009 to any of the
Jamiat Offices
OR Deposit
directly into our
Jamiatul
Ulama
Nedbank Fordsburg;
Account No: 1953 285 937
Please earmark your payment
“QURBANI 2009”
COST PER
SHARE: R950.00 (Local) R225.00
(India)
Jumuah at the New Airport
Musallah
Note
that the musallah at the airport
now has a Jumuah prayer session.
The time of the adhaan is 12h30
and khutbah starts at 12h50.
Location: International
Arrivals Terminal. Take
escalator down to Parkade 1,
Level 1. It will be on the right
hand side. |
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Summarised Jumu’ah
Bayaan: |
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The First Ten
Days of Dhul-Hijjah |
“By the dawn. By the
ten nights (i.e. the
first ten days of the
month of Dhul-Hijjah).”
(89:1-2)
•
According to Ibn ‘Abbas
radhiyallahu anhu,
Qatadah, Mujahid and
other leading
commentators of the
Noble Qur’an, the ‘ten
nights’ in the above
verse refers to the
(first) ten nights of
Dhul Hijjah. Ibn Abbas
radhiyallahu anhu also
said that these are the
ten nights that are
mentioned in the story
of Nabi Musa alayhis
salaam ‘…then We
supplemented them with
ten.’ (7:142) These were
ten days which Allah had
designated to Nabi Musa
alayhis salaam.
•
Abdullah Ibn ‘Abbas
radhiyallahu anhu
related that Rasulullah
sallalahu alayhi
wasallam said, ‘Good
deeds performed on other
days are not superior to
those performed on these
(first ten days of Dhul
Hijjah).’ The Sahabah
radhiyallahu anhum
inquired, ‘Not even
Jihad?’ He replied, ‘Not
even Jihad, except for
that person who goes out
putting himself and his
wealth in danger and
does not return with
anything.’ (Bukhari)
• Abu Hurairah
radhiyallahu anhu
related that Rasulullah
sallalahu alayhi
wasallam said, ‘On no
days is the worship of
Allah more superior than
in the (first) ten days
of Dhul Hijjah. The fast
of each of these days is
equal to the fast of a
whole year, and the
worship of each of these
nights is equal to the
worship of Laylatul
Qadr.’ (Tirmidhi, Ibn
Majah)
• Hafsah
radhiyallahu anha
reports that Rasulullah
sallalahu alayhi
wasallam used to fast on
the (first) nine days of
Zul Hijjah. (Nasa’i,
Ahmad, Abu Dawud)
• Abdullah Ibn ‘Umar
radhiyallahu anhu
related that Rasulullah
sallalahu alayhi
wasallam said, ‘No days
are as weighty with
Allah and so liked by
Him for good deeds more
than the first ten days
of Dhul Hijjah. So on
these days recite
inabundance:
Subhanallah, La ilaaha
illallah, Alhamdulillah
and Allahu Akbar.’
(Musnad Ahmad)
•
Umm Salamah radhiyallahu
anhu related that
Rasulullah sallalahu
alayhi wasallam said,
‘When you see the new
moon of Dhul Hijjah, and
one of you wants to
offer a sacrifice, let
him refrain from
(removing anything) from
his hair or nails.’
(Muslim). According to
another version: ‘Let
him not remove anything
of his hair or skin.’
This is preferable and
not a compulsory act.
• ‘Aishah
radhiyallahu anha
reports that Rasulullah
sallalahu alayhi
wasallam said, ‘There is
no day in which Allah
sets free more souls
from the fire of hell
than on the day of
Arafah. And on that day
Allah draws (with His
mercy) near to the earth
and by way of exhibiting
His Pride remarks to the
angels, ‘What is the
desire of these
(servants of mine)?’
(Muslim)
• Talhah
radhiyallahu anhu
reports that Rasulullah
sallalahu alayhi
wasallam said, ‘Apart
from the day of the
Battle of Badr there is
no day on which the
Shaytan is seen to be
more humiliated, more
rejected, more depressed
and more infuriated,
than on the day of
Arafah, and indeed all
this is only because of
the abundance of
descending mercy (on the
day) and Allah’s
forgiveness of the great
sins of the servants.’
(Mishkat)
• Abu
Qatadah Al-Ansari
radhiyallahu anhu
reports that Rasulullah
sallalahu alayhi
wasallam was asked about
the fast on the day of
Arafah. He said, ‘It
compensates for the
(minor) sins of the past
and the coming year.’
(Muslim, Tirmidhi, Ibne
Majah)
• Abu
Umarah radhiyallahu anhu
related that ‘Aishah
radhiyallahu anha
reports that Rasulullah
sallalahu alayhi
wasallam said,
‘Whosoever stays awake
and performs ‘Ibadah
(worship) on the nights
of the two ‘Eid, with
hope for abundant reward
(from Allah), his heart
will not die on the day
(i.e. Qiyamah) when all
hearts will be dead.’
(Targheeb)
•
Mu’aadh ibn Jabal
radhiyallahu anhu
relates that Rasulullah
sallalahu alayhi
wasallam said, ‘Jannah
is incumbent for those
who stay awake with the
intention of worshipping
Allah on the following
nights: 8th, 9th and
10th of Dhul Hijjah, the
night of ‘Eidul Fitr and
the night of the 15th of
Sha’ban.’(Targheeb)
• Rasulullah
sallalahu alayhi
wasallam said, ‘There is
nothing dearer to Allah
during the days of
sacrifice than the
slaughtering of animals.
The sacrificed animal
shall come on the Day of
Judgement with its
horns, hair, and hooves
(to be weighed). The
sacrifice is accepted by
Allah before the blood
reaches the ground.
Therefore sacrifice with
an open and happy
heart.’ (Tirmidhi, Ibn
Majah)
• It is
incumbent for every
adult Muslim to recite
these Takbiraat of
Tashreeq audibly once
after every fardh salaah
which is performed with
congregation from the
Fajr of 9th Dhul Hijjah
to the ‘Asr of 13th Dhul
Hijjah (i.e. total of 23
salah). The Takbiraat of
Tashreeq are: Allahu
Akbar, Allahu Akbar, Laa
ilaaha illallahu wallahu
Akbar, Allahu Akbar,
Walil lahil hamd. Women
should recite it in a
soft tone.
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Message from the Ameer of
the Jamiatul Ulama |
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Ibrahim (alayhis
salam) |
The month of Dhul Hijjah,
the time of Hajj and the
occasion of Eidul Adha is a
period wherein we are
constantly reminded of the
life, actions and sacrifices
of Ibrahim (alayhis salam)
Ibrahim’s (alayhis
salam) life teaches us of
tawheed, obedience,
sacrifice and total
submission to the Will of
Allah. The actions of
Hajirah (as) is also worth
pondering. As Ibrahim left
her in the desert, where all
logic said that she would
perish, she questioned
whether this was the
instruction of Allah. When
informed that it was, she
submitted without
questioning. The response of
Ismail (alayhis salam) to
his father’s informing him
that Allah commanded for him
to be slaughtered is an
inspirational answer. He too
responded in total
submission, actually giving
courage and strength to his
father.
Among the
greatest concerns of every
person is that of his
family. With all of the
challenges that face us and
our families, we often
search for measures and
solutions that would either
assist in safeguarding
ourselves and our families
from the many dangers and
evils that invite them at
every turn and juncture.
How much wouldn’t we
give to have a family such
as that of Ibrahim (alayhis
salam) – where the husband
is committed, where the
spouse shows so much
dedication and where the son
is so obedient.
The
matter is simple – to have a
family like that of Ibrahim
(alayhis salam) we must
adopt the imaan, manner and
lifestyle of Ibrahim
(alayhis salam).
May
Allah Subhanahu wa Ta’aala
guide us in all that we do.
Aameen.
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