Thursday 24 November 2011

XI. XI. Zionist Terrorist Guerrillas exerting Massacres.

 

During the heydays of yishuv (settlements) around 1935, a more radical Zionist terrorist group emerged. It was called the National Military Organization (Irgun Zvai Leumi). Its major aim was to advocate the establishment of the Jewish State on both sides of the Jordan River. This group was led by the Zionist Ze’ev Vladimir Jobotinsky who later formed the New Zionist party in the late1930s. He devoted himself to a futile campaign to arrange the evacuation of European Jews to Palestine while executing all possible means to terrorize the Palestinians and drive them out of their homes to make space for the flush of immigrating Jews. Nevertheless, hundreds of thousands of Jews rushed to Palestine during and aftermath of the World War II as a result of the anti-Zionist sentiments in Europe and not because of Zionist aspiration like that of Zionist leaders.



As the number of Jewish settlements increased and more Jews were attracted to Palestine, the question of coexistence with the original people of Palestine became increasingly a problem that the Zionist leaders wanted to solve based on their radical way of displacing the helpless Palestinians. The Zionist movement adapted various approaches, including that of Judah L. Magres, president of the Hebrew University, who advocated the foundation of a joint Arab-Jewish State. However, David Ben-Gurion argued that accommodation with the Arabs could come only from a position of Jewish strength.



Aftermath of the World War I and the turmoil collapse of the Ottoman Caliphate, the Muslim World was fragmented into pieces by the colonial powers. Therefore, it was not in a position to rightly respond to such dramatic catastrophes. Collusion of most world powerful countries of the time (Great Britain, The United States and France) with the Zionist against the Palestinians and the rest of the Muslim World hindered any successful and united reaction by the Muslims. All What they did was simply condemning such grave atrocities that nobody thought that they will result into the establishment of a Jewish state in the heart of the Muslim’s Holy Land. Moreover, the Muslims lacked an influential Islamic leadership that was able to unit the fragmented Ummah against this vicious Zionist and Crusader invasion.



In a tactical move to appease the anger of the Muslim people and to disavow its responsibility towards the creation of the problem via Balfour Declaration, the British declared their termination of Britain’s commitment to Zionism in document known as the ‘White Paper” in May 1939. Such action was taken by the British government while leaving the door open for Jewish immigration. Such decision was in no doubt for the best of the Zionists regardless of some minor displeasure shown by the Jews. During the following years of the White paper, atrocities of extremist and well-organized Zionist guerrilla groups became more violent. The year 1944 witnessed notorious crimes committed against the Palestinians by the Irgun Zvai Leumi terrorist group lead by the future Israeli prime minister Manachem Begin, among which the massacre of Dair Yasseen. In that massacre Begin and his villains butchered hundreds of civilians including children, old people, and women; even unborn babies were not spared.



As a mere exchange of role among the superpowers, the Zionist were able to secure the support of a more reliable and powerful surrogate mother, the United States of America, with a very well organized and powerful Zionist community that managed to exert great influence on matters related to Palestine. So, in May 1942, the American Zionist leaders meeting in Baltimore Hotel in New York City demanded the establishment of a Jewish Commonwealth that is a state in all of western Palestine, as a part of the new world order after the war. They also approved the establishment of an organized military militias lately known as ‘Haganah’ who played an oppressive role in oppressing the Palestinians and driving them out of their homes. Since then, the U.S. has become the most reliable ally to Israel and extended its financial, military and diplomatic full support to the Zionists.



Great Britain contradicted its own decision by exercising policies favoring the Jews. The Labor Party approved a bill in May 1944 to encourage the Palestinians to leave their homeland in front of the new flooding numbers of Jewish immigrants. At the same time on the opposite shore of the Atlantic, the American Congress asked the American government to exert all international diplomatic efforts to ease the way for Jewish immigration to Palestine. This was the first step in order to achieve the Zionists immediate goal of turning the country into a Jewish Commonwealth and then hasten the establishment of a Jewish state.



You are the reason behind the hindrance of victory for the Muslim Nation

 

By Abd Al-Kareem Al-Kateb

 

Sitting by myself, saddened with the news of Muslims and the calamity
that happened to them, I heard a voice from within me (my inner self) saying:
You are the one to blame. You are the reason why we don’t have victory.
You are a main factor in what Muslims are facing now.

I answered back:  Me! How come!  I am just a weak servant
of Allah, a servant who has no power in his hands.  If I tried to
order people, they will never listen. If I even tried to advise them, they
will not take my advice.

Quickly this voice came back interrupting me: It’s your sins that have
exhausted the angel on your left: he is tired and bored of writing down
the sins in your book.

It’s your day and night battle against Allah by disobeying him. It’s
you running away from the good deeds and insisting on doing the sins.

Me: And what did I do to blame me for all this; to say that I
setback the victory for Muslims?

My Inner Self: Servant of Allah, by the name of Allah, if I start
counting what you do now, it will be too long before we finish. But let
me ask you, do you pray Al-Fajr (dawn prayer) in congregation (Jama3ah)?

Me: Yes sometimes, and other times I miss it.

My Inner Self (interrupting): See! This is the point; you contradict
yourself. How do you claim that you can go for Jihad (fighting the enemy)
when you failed in self-Jihad, the Jihad with oneself that doesn’t cost
you any life or any money? It only costs you few minutes to pray two rakaat
that are mandatory from Allah (subhanahu wa ta'ala) Al-Wahed Al-Kahar. How do you ask for
Jihad when you can’t maintain the five prayers everyday? When you can’t
follow the Sunnah prayers? When you don’t read some ayat of Quran everyday? When you forget about the morning and evening zikr? When you can’t prevent yourself from looking at what God has forbidden? When you are not kind to your
parents? When you don’t maintain good ties with your relatives?

How do you ask for applying Al-Shariah (Islamic Law) in your country
when you don’t apply it to yourself or to your family? You don’t fear Allah
when dealing with your family, you don’t help them follow the right path,
you don’t care for feeding them from money that comes from good means (Halal)
and by doing that you are among the people that Allah (subhanahu wa ta'ala) said about
them “And you love wealth with inordinate love”. So, you lied, cheated
and broke your oath and now you deserve the punishment of Allah.

Me (interrupting): And what does that have to do with victory?
Can one Muslim setback the victory of a whole nation of one billion?

My Inner Self: Oh ya!! Of course, for there is hundreds of millions like you - except for the ones that Allah (subhanahu wa ta'ala) has blessed – hundreds of millions that follow your same concept. They don’t care about obeying Allah (subhanahu wa ta'ala). They don’t fear Allah (subhanahu wa ta'ala) and they all ask Allah for victory
because there are other Muslims who are better believers.

But the painful truth is that all are just as bad –except for those
whom Allah (subhanahu wa ta'ala) have mercy upon-


Don’t you know, O servant of Allah, that when the companions of the Prophet (peace be upon him) asked for victory and didn’t get it, they knew that among their
army there was someone who had done a wrong deed.


So how about a nation that is engaged in all kinds of sins, small and big, trivial and major. Can’t you see what has happened to this nation
from east to west?

Deeply touched with tears in my eyes, for I never imagined that I, the
man who loves Allah (subhanahu wa ta'ala) and the Prophet (peace be upon him), who loves Islam and
all Muslims, might be one of the reasons for the failure of Muslims. That
I might be participating in the blood bath of innocent Muslims in many
of the Muslim lands.

It has always been easy for me to blame a leader, a prince, a minister
or anyone responsible in the country. But I have never thought of my mistakes
first and I have never considered what Allah (subhanahu wa ta'ala) has said “Verily Allah will
never change a condition of a nation until they change it themselves”.

So I told myself: Thanks Allah, he gave me this self-reproaching spirit.
Allah calls to witness it in the Quran till the Judgment Day.

Then I asked: what do you advise me to do?

My Inner Self: Start with yourself. Pray the mandatory, the 5
prayers in time. Pay Al-Zakat. Be kind to your parents. Try to get closer
to Allah (subhanahu wa ta'ala) by praying Al-Sunnah. Take every chance to get closer to
Allah (subhanahu wa ta'ala) even if it is trivial. Remember that a smile on your face is
a sadaqah (charity). Don’t ask people to do anything that you yourself don’t apply.

Don’t start asking for applying Al-Shariaah except when you are a good example in applying it at home and at work. Don’t ask the leaders
for announcing jihad when you have failed in jihad with yourself. Don’t
run away from responsibility by blaming others. Change yourself first and
then others will follow you. Be a good example wherever you go. If you
spend your time blaming others, please stop doing it - Thanks a lot – May
Allah reward you – For, there is already a lot of critics out there. Always
start by changing yourself. After that ask Allah (subhanahu wa ta'ala) sincerely to give
you victory and to aid all Muslims who followed the same path. This way
you are among the ones that Allah (subhanahu wa ta'ala) mentioned in the Quran:  “If
you will aid (the cause of) Allah, He will aid you, and plant your feet firmly”.

I raised my face to Allah asking him for forgiveness and dried my tears saying: O Allah: it is repentance (Tawbah). I come back to you, let us open
a new page, a new life that I start with two rakaat in the middle of the
night, asking Allah (subhanahu wa ta'ala) to bless me always with Salat Al-Qiyam.

Secularisation no answer for Muslim world

 

Originally published in The Age Newspaper

(http://www.theage.com.au/news/state/2002/01/16/FFXN85RPGWC.html)


Secularisation no answer for Muslim world

 

By AMIR BUTLER

Wednesday 16 January 2002

Two consistent themes in much of the contemporary analysis of world affairs have
been the impending clash of civilisations and the need for the secularisation of
the Muslim world.

Secularism seeks to make the temporal rather than spiritual the basis for all
laws. It arose in response to a uniquely European Christian problem - the
excesses of the church, the antagonism between the church and science, and the
intra-Christian wars being fought at the time. The separation of church and
state was a logical solution.

In contrast, the periods of Muslim caliphate, particularly between 622 and 1492,
were marked as periods of growth, intellectual advancement and social justice.
The rights of minorities were protected, human rights were enshrined not just in
law but in scripture, and a knowledge-centred society was fostered that was the
intellectual well from which all of Europe came to drink.

 

Contrary to popular opinion, Islam, in its political manifestation, is
democratic - if democracy means that people choose their own leaders and laws
are passed through discussion and deliberation.

The Prophet Mohammed himself refrained from appointing a successor, instead
allowing people to choose the next ruler of the fledgling Islamic state. Umar,
the second Caliph (ruler), said that the ruler can be chosen only through the
consultative approval of the people.

However, Islamic democracy differs from secular democracy in that the right of
the people to legislate is limited by what they believe to be a higher law, to
which human law is subordinate. There is no axiom that states that a democracy
must be secular, in the same way that there is no axiom that states that a
secular system is intrinsically democratic.

The subordination of law-making to the Koran and Sunnah (traditions of the
Prophet Mohammed) made Muslim society immune to absolute tyranny and
dictatorship.

Such emphasis also prevented absolute tyranny by giving Islamic scholars more
legislative power than the ruler. It was their word that was final on many
matters. If the ruler made a decision that was contrary to that of the ulema
(people of knowledge), his decision was to be rejected.

There is a stark contrast between past glories and current reality.

Whereas once the Muslim world was ruled by a single caliphate, its post-colonial
manifestation is a collection of weak, mostly secular, nation-states. Termed
"bunker regimes" by Samuel Huntington, their guns face their own people,
ruthlessly repressing dissent and committing some of the worst violations of
human rights.

It is a sad irony that in many cases, Muslims have more freedom to practice
their religion in the secular democracies of the West than in the secular
dictatorships of the Middle East.

In Islam, there is no conflict between theology and science, between the demands
of the spiritual and the temporal. However, one can draw parallels between
Christian Europe before Enlightenment, and the intellectual stagnation,
reactionary impulses and conflict that characterises the Muslim world today.
Yet, what is required is not a wholesale adoption of secular democracy, but a
uniquely Islamic reformation.

 

Is it then unreasonable that Muslims, who have their own culture, values and
history, can be allowed to choose their own future? Those who advocate Western
secularism as a universal panacea, are akin to the child with the hammer who
thinks every problem is a nail.

 

Indeed, the call to secularise Islam as a means of averting a clash of
civilisations is really the first salvo in such a clash. Huntington wrote that
the problem for Islam is not the CIA nor the US Department of Defence. It is the
West, a different civilisation whose people are convinced of the universality of
their culture, and believe that their superior, if declining, power imposes on
them the obligation to extend that culture throughout the world. These are the
basic ingredients that fuel conflict between Islam and the West.

What is needed today is a revival of the tremendous energy that propelled
Muslims forward in history; the energy that comes from a clear sense of purpose
and direction.

Muslim society must subject itself to critical self-evaluation, recognising the
principles that made it great in the past, as well as drawing on the positive
aspects of the West and other societies, adapting and improving upon them.

From this may spring a profound sense of empowerment and a realisation that
Muslims can make their own future.

The call to modernise Islam thus becomes a call to Islamisize modernity.

-------------------

To the Youth of the Muslim Omma

About Iraq:

Baghdad - this beautiful city on Tigris River - where today troops of the aggressive forces are trying to surround it and defeat it. A capital for the Islamic State and for the world, where Muslims ruled the world for hundreds of years. Baghdad, the center of culture and sciences, where Christians and Jews lived safe and sound with the freedom to practice their religion for hundreds of years. Baghdad, the Arab Muslim city standing its grounds, in the old days surrounded by the Mongol Tatar who violated its pure sacred land, slaughtering its women and children, is being surrounded by the Tatars of today. Who claim they come to rescue people from a 10-year old sanctions. Well, they were the ones who imposed the sanctions in the first place and now that this is not enough, now they claim to free those people by killing, destroying houses, killing men, women and children, Those who say “Lord! Raise for us from thee one who will protect; and raise for us from thee one who will help!"

Do you know Muslim Youth that the sanctity and prohibition of the Muslim blood is more than the sanctity of the Kaaba. And we should be afraid for Allah’s judgment more of that on our sins and mistakes. “And you thought it to be a light matter, while it was most serious in the sight of Allah”

Do you know that we will be held accountable before Allah on what did we do to our Islam and to our Omma,
But before we decide what to do to our brothers and sisters in Iraq, you have to know that what we are suffering from today is not just the crisis in Iraq but also it is the crisis of the past 100 years, the Omma is suffering from many diseases,
mainly:

1. Being away from Allah and abandoning the heaven laws.
2. Scientific and technologic retardation
3. Morals and behavioral collapse
4. Following bad examples without having the vision of what to follow and what not.
5. Division and looking for personal interests more than the interest of the state and the Omma
6. Wrong interpretation of Islam


As a result, our Omma lost its consciousness, lost its awareness of its goals, interests, and identity. This of course encourage its enemies to think low of us and try to convince us that their vanity is truth and that their greed is fair. Muslims are suffering from disappointment, despair in addition to confusion and impotence.
So symptoms of the disease appeared in the body of the Omma as the disease affects a sick body. May be this social disease is more dangerous than the physical illness because it affects the minds and stop the brains and causes dullness of the emotions. That’s why the honest people of this Omma are screaming and asking how to get out, is there light in the end of the tunnel, is there guidance after being lost. Is this reality going to change? We want to change this spiteful reality.

But no change will happen to the Omma reality except by following the divine social rule: This law is “Verily never will Allah change the condition of a people until they change it themselves (with their own souls)” From 13: 11.
This law is not an empty logo, but it is the only way to get out of the hardships we are suffering.
But no change will happen in our lives except if we start by changing ourselves. The injustice that is being inflicted on Muslims will not be removed except if we change ourselves “Verily never will Allah change the condition of a people until they change it themselves (with their own souls)” From 13: 11. Now we may ask what is the needed change in our souls: Ten things should happen:

1. We should repent to Allah instead of disobeying Him.
2. Obedience of the Quraan and Sunna should replace the dullness
3. Seriousness, manly behaviors, and high spirits should replace laxness, laziness, and dullness.
4. Giving superior attention to scientific superiority and creativity should replace thinking dullness.
5. Positivism should replace negativity.
6. Feeling to belong to the Omma should replace western following.
7. Fruitful and important work should replace emptiness and wasting the time in trivial things.
8. Comprehensive understanding of Islam should replace the misunderstanding or the incomplete understanding.
9. Prioritization of the society and Omma on individualism and selfishness.
10. Hope should replace despair.


These are not just nice words to move the emotions but they are the fundamentals of the law of change “Verily never will Allah change the condition of a people until they change it themselves (with their own souls)” From 13: 11
Everyday you might ask, what to do, this is the answer, change those 10 things and wait for Allah’s victory. Allah will then change the history. Islam has started with youth in your age. I feel that these 10 things are important and they are the most important work for the youth of the Omma. You are the most people in the society capable of change. You have the enthusiasm, power, and high spirits. With high sprits nations survive. If you change these 10 things inside yourselves and they became dominant between the people, know for sure that the reality will change because then you will have owned the law of change “Verily never will Allah change the condition of a people until they change it themselves (with their own souls)” From 13: 11


Verily Allah’s victory is near:

Allah says:
- Allah has promised," to those among you who believe and work righteous deeds, that He will, of a surety, grant them in the land, inheritance (of power)",24:55

- Allah has decreed: "It is I and My apostles who must prevail….” 58:21
- Their intention is to extinguish Allah’s Light (by blowing) with their mouths: But Allah will complete (the revelation of) His Light, even though the Unbelievers may detest (it) 612: 8

- We will, without doubt, help our apostles and those who believe, (both) in this world's life and on the Day when the Witnesses will stand forth, - 40: 51.
Allah's Messenger (may peace be upon him) said: The Last Hour will not come until the Muslims fight against the Jews and the Muslims will kill them until the Jews will hide themselves behind stones and trees. The stones and trees will say: Muslim, the servant of Allah, there is a Jew behind me; come and kill him. And also the prophet said, “Allah showed me the size of my Omma and it will encompass the east and west of the earth.

Do you see all these Divine promises and prophetic prophecies? Doesn’t the land belong to Allah and He gives it as inheritance to whomever He wants. Didn’t Allah give victory to Muslims when they were true believers? Allah’s promise never changes, for Allah never fails His promise.
Your first battle is against yourselves, if you win this battle, Allah will provide victory for your Omma by your hands. And never get frustrated or feel hopeless that it is so difficult or impossible to get victory. “ And they ask you when is it? Say hopefully it is near.” And always remember that our Omma’s biggest case is Palestine until we liberate it in Shaa Allah.


What can we do for our brothers and sisters in Iraq?

1. Call on our Lord in humility to protect our brothers and sisters in Iraq and Palestine.
2. Spread the knowledge of the Omma’s affairs and problems through all the available facilities, especially the Internet.
3. Boycott all the American and British products.
4. Financial help to the Iraqi people through all the legitimate channels.
5. Correspondence with all the newspapers, magazines and famous writers to keep the idea alive all the time.
6. Correspondence with the embassies of the invading countries to protest in a reasonable way.
7. Boycott all kinds of artistic work that invites the Omma to wickedness or to make it unaware of its urgent cases.
8. Contact our brothers and sisters in Iraq whether we know them or not, by dialing 00964 then dial the code number for Baghdad 1, then 71, or 77, 51, or 55 then dial any 5 digits.


Finally, these recommendations are not the only thing and they will not solve our problems. The solution is in your hands youth of the Omma
“Verily never will Allah change the condition of a people until they change it themselves (with their own souls)”

Saudi Charities supports terrorism – fact or fiction?

In his book “Mein Kampf”, Hitler explained that the technique of a big lie [emphasis added] meant that when an extremely big lie was repeated often, people would at least partially believe it. 

Now, in the 21st century, this technology has become a standard tool of the western media and the rhetoric of politicians.  Most notably, this point can be illustrated by the following example: 

There have been steady streams of accusations that finance for terrorists and/or terrorism attacks was channelled through Islamic charitable societies. This has been repeated often enough to the point where those who are trying to defend charitable societies had reason to believe that there may be some truth to it.  Instead of verifying the validity of the accusations, they inadvertently defend the accusations when the say; “If some money had been channelled by one employee of one society to terrorists, then one has not to generalise and accuse all charitable societies of wrong doing.” 

Presently, and in the recent past in particular, when a terrorist attack / foiled attack  is reported in the media, the defenders of charitable societies assume that it is probable that those events/attacks were funded by or money passed through a charitable society.  No attention is paid to the fact that not a single case had been proved in a court of law to support accusations against an individual employee or society. 

The 9/11 investigating committee conclusively reported that the accusations labelled against charitable societies, regarding terrorist funding, were false and the following quotation (from the report) says it all:  “…the U.S. government appears, for the most part, to have tried to encourage the Saudis to act on the basis of little more than U.S. suspicions or assurances that the United States had intelligence it could not release.” 

The report includes explicit statements which, when read carefully, will convince the reader that the obvious absence of a basis to support the accusations proves that the accusations were both false and unjustified. 

It should be noted that the report was written by two kinds of members – one, loyal to the government (attempting to reflect the government’s official point of view) and the other, neutral. 

The final report was thus written in a compromised style in an attempt to combine the two contrasting approaches. The result of this compromise has subsequently led to the explicit statements which negate the accusations against charitable societies.  

Following, are extracts taken from “Chapter 7” of the “9/11 Commission’s Report”.

  1. The report had chosen al Haramain Islamic Foundation as a case study and defined it as follows:
  1.  
    1. “The al Haramain Islamic Foundation (al Haramain or HIF) is one of the most important and prominent Saudi charities.”
  1.  
    1. “Al Haramain, a Saudi Arabia-based nonprofit organization established in the early 1990s, has been described by several former U.S. government officials as the “United Way” of Saudi Arabia.  … At its peak, al Haramain had a presence in at least 50 countries.  … it sponsors more than 3,000 “callers to Islam” for tours of duty in different locations “to teach the people good and to warn them from wrongs.”  HIF provides meals and assistance to Muslims around the world, distributes books and pamphlets, pays for potable water projects, sets up and equips medical facilities, and operates more than 20 orphanages.”

 

  1. The report stated that the U.S government suspected that HIF was involved in activities deemed undesirable to the U.S., and therefore subjected the society to thorough surveillance since the mid 1990s.  The report accordingly states that,
  1.  
    1. “Al Haramain has been on the radar screen of the U.S. government as a potential terrorist-financing problem since the mid- to late 1990s.”
  1.  
    1. “By no later than 1996, the U.S. intelligence community began to gather intelligence that certain branches of HIF were involved in financing terrorism.  Later, the U.S. intelligence community began to draw links among HIF, the 1998 East Africa bombings, …and support for al Qaeda generally… The United States sought information and reports from the Saudis on employees of al Haramain around the globe and their connections to Bin Ladin, but received no substantive responses.”
    2. “Some in the United States suspected that the Saudis were complicit or at least turned a blind eye to the problem posed by charities during this period, although others vehemently disagreed.” [emphasis added]

 

  1. The report tells frankly about the pressure of the U.S. government on Saudi Arabia to take practical steps to curtail the activities of Saudi charities abroad. The Saudis on their part asked for information so as to have a basis that they could act on. The U.S. government however failed to give such information.  The report also indicated that the U.S. could not put pressure on the host countries to take action against branches of HIF due to insufficient evidence justifying the legality of such procedures.  The report states.
  1.  
    1. “We did not provide sufficient information for the Saudis to act against charities like al Haramain.”
  1.  
    1. “Moreover, the U.S. government had too little unilateral intelligence on HIF and on al Qaeda’s funding mechanisms generally to press the Saudis.  The Principals did not want to confront the Saudis with suspicions; they wanted firm evidence.  One NSC official Terrorist Financing Staff Monograph … indicated that there was some intelligence regarding charities, but it did not rise to the level of being actionable against any specific charity.  As he said, “One individual could be dirty, but it would be difficult to justify closing down a charity on that basis.” Occasionally the U.S. government provided select pieces of information out of context, but this method lessened the impact of the intelligence.”
    2. “Moreover as was the case before 9/11, the intelligence was simply not strong enough against the HIF headquarters to push the Saudi government to take aggressive action against the whole organization.  As an early 2002 strategy paper emphasized, the United States needed to gather more solid, credible evidence on al Haramain, which could be released to the Saudi government as a way to ensure continued Saudi cooperation. Although the intelligence community expressed repeated concerns that al Haramain was deeply corrupted, others argued that there was little actionable intelligence on the charity.  The intelligence presented to the policymakers was either dated, spoke to fund-raising for “extremism” or “fundamentalism” and not for terrorism, or lacked specificity.  Indeed, because of the lack of specific intelligence, the U.S. government was in “asking mode” on al Haramain when interacting with the Saudis. …During 2002, the Saudis repeatedly said they would be prepared to act against al Haramain if the U.S. government provided them with more information, especially about specific branch offices and individuals. … For instance, in October 2002 Under Secretary of State … raised with the Crown Prince strong concerns about the activities of several al Haramain offices.  The Crown Prince responded that he was ready to act on any specific information the United States could provide. … Perhaps even a tit-for-tat dynamic was at work:  the U.S. government did not share intelligence that the Saudis thought we had.”
  1. The report goes further saying,
  1.  
    1. “Then, on January 17, 2002, Assistant Secretary … provided the Saudi Crown             Prince with a proposal for a joint U.S.-Saudi freeze of the accounts of eight Saudi entities and … individuals, including the al Haramain offices in Bosnia and Somalia…  However, the Saudis were slow to respond to the U.S. proposal on the two al Haramain offices.    The issue was taken up by senior levels in the U.S. government.  For example, Treasury Secretary … raised the proposal on his March 2002 trip to Saudi Arabia.  Eventually, the Saudi government agreed to the joint designation of the two al Haramain offices, although it did not agree to designate the other six entities or individuals originally proposed.  On March 11, 2002, the U.S. and Saudi governments designated the Somali and Bosnian offices of al Haramain, freezing their assets and prohibiting transactions with them.”
  1.  
    1. “Even after the Saudi government froze the assets of the Bosnian office in March 2002, one senior Saudi government official denied in the press that the al Haramain office in Sarajevo was engaged in illicit activities.”

 

It is clear from the aforementioned text that when the U.S. requested the designation of the eight individuals and organisations, they did not provide evidence to support the accusation; thus the Saudi government could not respond to the pressure of the U.S. regarding six individuals and commercial organisations.  The Saudis only acted against two branches of HIF even though they were not content or satisfied that the alleged accusations were true. 

  1. Despite the failure of the U.S. to provide evidence or at least information which could reasonably support the accusation against HIF and other charities, the pressure applied by the U.S. on the Saudis resulted in the closure of all foreign based branches of HIF.  No action was however taken against any employee, either Saudi or non-Saudi working in any of these offices.  Neither Saudi Arabia nor the U.S. took action because there was no evidence justifying legal action.  Many people were deprived of all humanitarian aid and activities which the report described in paragraph one.  The report States:
  1.  
    1. “The Saudis responded to the increase in U.S. pressure … by articulating additional counterterrorism policies.  The measures were to include Ministry of Islamic Affairs preclearance of transfers of charitable funds overseas, host government approval of all incoming charitable funds from Saudi Arabia, and monitoring of charities’ bank accounts through audits, expenditure reports and site visits.”
  1.  
    1. “On May 12, 2003, al Qaeda operatives detonated three explosions in an expatriate community in Riyadh, killing Westerners and Saudi Arabians.  Since then, the Saudi government has taken a number of significant, concrete steps to stem the flow of funding from the Kingdom to terrorists.  The Saudi government, in one of its more important actions after the bombings, removed collection boxes in mosques, as well as in shopping malls, and prohibited cash contributions at mosques.    Its sensitivity cannot be overestimated.  U.S. Ambassador to Saudi Arabia described the removal of the collection boxes as a “cataclysmic event.”    On May 24, 2003, the Saudi government followed up with comprehensive new restrictions on the financial activities of Saudi charities.  These included a requirement that charitable accounts can be opened only in Saudi riyals; enhanced customer identification requirements for charitable accounts; a requirement that charities must consolidate all banking activity into one principal account, with subaccounts permitted for branches but for deposits only, with all withdrawals and transfers serviced through the main account; a prohibition on cash disbursements from charitable accounts, with … payments allowed by check payable to the first beneficiary and deposited into a Saudi bank; a prohibition on the use of ATM and credit cards by charities; and a prohibition on transfers from charitable accounts outside of Saudi Arabia.”

 

  1. In spite of the nature of the procedures which were taken as a result of the U.S. pressure on the charities, it appears that it was not enough to satisfy the desire of the U.S. in curtailing Islamic charitable work.  The report accordingly concludes with:
  1.  
    1. “The Saudi government has come far in recognizing the extent of its terrorist-financing problem.   It remains to be seen whether it has truly internalized its responsibility for the problem.” 

The anxiety the reader is expected to have after having read this is in stark contrast to the expectations the writers of the report had. They were aware that should the report be presented to Congress no one would bat an eye-lid regarding the gross human rights violations, after all, it is only about Muslims. 

When the ability of the surveillance is semi-meta physical, the time spent on such surveillance is long, the subject is uncovered, the motive to get incriminating evidence is great and when the outcome of the surveillance had failed to find / uncover any evidence to support the accusation – does this not mean that the accusation is absolutely false? 

The reader will notice that when the Saudis surrendered to the pressure of the U.S. regarding curtailing charitable societies, it was not because it received new information but after and because of the terrorist attacks on home soil. 

Apart from the report, other events continually uncovered the falsity of the accusations directed against Saudi charities; for example: the New York Times (07 July 2006) published an article titled “Algerian tells of dark term in U.S. hands.”  The article speaks of an event that happened to the Director of HIF (Tanzania).  On 10 May 2003 he was abducted while on his way to the office. He then spent many days in different prisons before ending up in the notorious Bagram prison in Afghanistan, where he was subject to terrifying torture, of which the scars are still visible.  After 16 months he was released and the captors admitted that his capture and imprisonment was a mistake. 

The reader is reminded that since 1998 the U.S. media and U.S. politicians repeatedly accused al Haramain Charitable Foundation of being instrumental in the East Africa bombings.  However the U.S. could not take any action against HIF because there was no legal justification to do so.  The HIF office had not been closed until the abduction of the branch director, nor was it re-opened even after the release of the director and an admission that the accusation against him had been false.

 

This Is a Message for Humankind

 

This Is a Message for Humankind

In Face of the Gaza Holocaust



By: Dr. Salah Soltan

Academician Activist




[All praises and thanks be to Allah, Who (Alone) created the heavens and the earth and originated the darkness and the light; yet those who disbelieve hold others as equal with their Lord.] [Al-An`am 6:1].

{الْحَمْدُ لِلّهِ الَّذِي خَلَقَ السَّمَاوَاتِ وَالأَرْضَ وَجَعَلَ الظُّلُمَاتِ وَالنُّورَ ثُمَّ الَّذِينَ كَفَرُواْ بِرَبِّهِم يَعْدِلُونَ}

Transliteration: Al-Ĥamdu Lillāhi Al-Ladhī Khalaqa As-Samāwāti Wa Al-'Arđa Wa Ja`ala Až-Žulumāti Wa An-Nūra Thumma Al-Ladhīna Kafarū Birabbihim Ya`dilūna



And I bear witness that there is none worthy of worship but Allah, Who puts the clouds to their course, Who revealed The Book (the Qur'an), and Who Alone defeated the Confederates (Al-Ahzab). All peace and blessings be upon Muhammad — the leader of the mujahideen and the master of the first and last generations — and those persevering people who follow him to the Day of Judgment.



Concerning the issue at hand, I call on the human conscience to make a unified stand against this Zionist tyranny against the men, women, and children in the Gaza Strip and I call for the following:

1. Continuous peaceful demonstrations and a one-day strike by every person who feels solicitude for Jerusalem, Palestine, and the martyrs and casualties of Gaza. This is to declare an overwhelming fury that calls the attention of the world and passes the point that we will not silently accept these injustices. And let these demonstrations and strikes escalate until governments reconsider their shameful stances of submissiveness to the oppressors and failing the victimized, and let them think of these words of a poet:

The blazing of fire in the midst of dust provokes the furor of the Volcano

The small water drops precede the flood and the hurricane

It surges, uproots the tyrants with a roar beyond the tyranny of their cane




2. Communication with human relief agencies in each country — or establishing them where none exist — is a must, to provide all medical and food requirements for our fellow Gazans. This is a religious obligation for every Muslim who owns more than his or her basic needs.



This is a religious obligation for every Muslim who owns more than his or her basic needs.



3. I hope that mosque imams and orators will take on their responsibilities before Allah of uniting Muslims at mosques and stating clearly the duty of fighting against Zionist assailants; giving our complete support for our brothers and sisters in Palestine; making Qunoot (Arabic for: supplication before or after bowing in prayer) against the Zionist oppressors in every prayer, those who support them, and those who turn a blind eye to them; encouraging Muslims to fast and do late-night prayers collectively; and reminding them of what Allah says in these verses of the Qur'an:

{لاَ يَسْتَأْذِنُكَ الَّذِينَ يُؤْمِنُونَ بِاللّهِ وَالْيَوْمِ الآخِرِ أَن يُجَاهِدُواْ بِأَمْوَالِهِمْ وَأَنفُسِهِمْ وَاللّهُ عَلِيمٌ بِالْمُتَّقِينَ (44) إِنَّمَا يَسْتَأْذِنُكَ الَّذِينَ لاَ يُؤْمِنُونَ بِاللّهِ وَالْيَوْمِ الآخِرِ وَارْتَابَتْ قُلُوبُهُمْ فَهُمْ فِي رَيْبِهِمْ يَتَرَدَّدُونَ}

Transliteration: Lā Yasta'dhinuka Al-Ladhīna Yu'uminūna Billāhi Wa Al-Yawmi Al-'Ākhiri 'An Yujāhidū Bi'amwālihim Wa 'Anfusihim Wa Allāhu `Alīmun Bil-Muttaqīna, 'Innamā Yasta'dhinuka Al-Ladhīna Lā Yu'uminūna Billāhi Wa Al-Yawmi Al-'Ākhiri Wa Artābat Qulūbuhum Fahum Fī Raybihim Yataraddadūna

[Translation: Those who believe in Allah and the Last Day would not ask your leave to be exempted from fighting with their properties and their lives; and Allah is All-Knowing of the pious. It is only those who believe not in Allah and the Last Day and whose hearts are in doubt that ask your leave (to be exempted from Jihad), so in their doubts they waver.] [At-Tawbah 9:44-45].



4. I believe that it is a firm obligation on the elites of every village, city, town, and governorate to send delegations that represent all public levels to impel officials to take on their historical, religious, and human responsibility toward Palestine generally and our sons and daughters in Gaza particularly and form peaceful pressure groups to compel these regimes to retreat from this terrible ignominy.



5. I call on visual, audio, and printed media outlets to act on their responsibility of media jihad, unveiling the crimes of the Zionist enemy and highlighting the tragic situation in Gaza. I also call on all actors, actresses, and singers to stop acting and singing except in one direction: support for Gazans — who have been wronged and whose close ones have been killed — and furor at those Zionist assailants.



6. I call on our youth in sports clubs to whom the hearts of young fans are tied to act like this professional, unique, Muslim football player Abu Treka and get to double Allah's love and support for them and with this the love of Muslims all over the Arab and Muslim Worlds.



I hope that mosque imams and orators will take on their responsibilities before Allah of encouraging Muslims to fast and do late-night prayers collectively.



7. I call on all Muslim traders, businessmen, and consumers to boycott all Israeli products or those produced by companies that donate to the Zionist entities.



8. I call on imams, speakers, journalists, poets, writers, and literary authors to enrich the religious, cultural, and media pulpits with resistance literature and to send out a message of hope that the more ferocious events get, the more hope we lay on Allah who promised to exterminate the tyrants and grant victory to the believers and Who made it a duty on Him in His grandeur saying in the Qur'an: {وَكَانَ حَقّاً عَلَيْنَا نَصْرُ الْمُؤْمِنِينَ}

Transliteration: Wa Kāna Ĥaqqāan `Alaynā Naşru Al-Mu'uminīna

[and it was due (to them) upon Us to help the believers.] [Ar-Rum 30:47].



Let them act as Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him) when the confederating tribes gathered to exterminate the people of Madinah and the Muslims started digging the trench around Madinah. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) would then tell them these cheering words to spread hope and eliminate any seeds of despair: "Allah is the Greatest, Khaybar is conquered; Allah is the Greatest, Persia is conquered; Allah is the Greatest, the Romans are conquered". Then Allah's victory was granted to the Muslims, the disbelievers were turned down with no gains, and the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) then said, "Now we conquer them and they do not conquer us."

{وَاللّهُ غَالِبٌ عَلَى أَمْرِهِ وَلَـكِنَّ أَكْثَرَ النَّاسِ لاَ يَعْلَمُونَ}

Transliteration: Wa Allāhu Ghālibun `Alá 'Amrihi Wa Lakinna 'Akthara An-Nāsi Lā Ya`lamūna

[And Allah has full power and control over His Affairs, but most people know not.] [Yusuf 12:21].



{سَيَجْعَلُ اللَّهُ بَعْدَ عُسْرٍ يُسْراً}

Transliteration: Sayaj`alu Allāhu Ba`da `Usrin Yusrāan

And [Allah will grant after hardship, ease.] [At-Talaq 65:7].

What can we do about the slaughter of Muslims in Palestine and around the world?

 

What is our stance concerning the slaughter of Muslims in Palestine and other parts of the world that is happening right now, where houses are being destroyed, farms are being wrecked, children are being killed, the wounded are being detained in the streets, houses are being bombarded and people are being prevented by the Jews and others, from buying the food and drink that they need? What can I, as a Muslim, do?



Praise be to Allaah.

1- You have to make du’aa’, and recite du’a’ al-qunoot in your salaah (prayer).



2- Collect charity and send it through trustworthy channels.



3- Support the weak and oppressed in all ways, including the media and the internet.



4- Get scholars, daa’iyahs, khateebs and writers to explain the oppression that is happening and the negligence on the part of the ummah, and to mobilize the ummah to defend the holy places.



5- Check on one’s own intentions with regard to fighting for the sake of Allaah, and see whether he is applying the hadeeth of the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him): «Whoever dies without having fought for the sake of Allaah or having had the intention of doing so, has died following one of the branches of hypocrisy» [Saheeh Muslim].



6- Pursuing all the means of building up material and moral strength, in preparation for meeting the enemy (in battle).



7- Reminding oneself and others of the virtues of martyrdom for the sake of Allaah and studying the rulings on jihad, and not having an attachment to this world.



8- Doing as much damage as possible to the enemies who are in a state of war with us, by boycotting their products, attacking them verbally and in writing to humiliate and annoy them, and to point out their kufr and shirk, and their insults to Allaah, His Messenger and the believers, publishing as much as possible in the audio-visual and print media about this serious topic whilst also connecting that to Islamic belief and the words of Allaah and His Messenger.



We ask Allaah the Exalted and All-Powerful to support His religion and cause His word to prevail.





Sheikh Muhammed Salih Al-Munajjid

Islam Q&A

 

The importance of al-Quds for the Muslims – and do the Jews have any right to it

 

As a muslim, I am always told that the city of Jerusalem is important to us, But why? I am aware that Prophet Yaqoob built the Asqa Mosque in it and that Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) led the previous Prophets in prayer signigying the unity of the message and all divine revelations; are there any other major reason or is it just because it is that we are dealing with Jews. It seems to me that the Jews have more stake to it.



Praise be to Allaah.

Firstly: with regard to the importance of Bayt al-Maqdis (Jerusalem), you should know – may Allaah bless you –that the virtues of Bayt al-Maqdis are many:

- Allaah has described it in the Qur’aan as being blessed. He said (interpretation of the meaning): “Glorified (and Exalted) be He (Allaah) Who took His slave (Muhammad) for a journey by night from Al-Masjid Al-Haraam (at Makkah) to Al-Masjid Al-Aqsaa (in Jerusalem), the neighbourhood whereof We have blessed…” [al-Israa’ 17:1].

{سُبْحَانَ الَّذِي أَسْرَى بِعَبْدِهِ لَيْلاً مِّنَ الْمَسْجِدِ الْحَرَامِ إِلَى الْمَسْجِدِ الأَقْصَى الَّذِي بَارَكْنَا حَوْلَهُ}

Transliteration: Subĥāna Al-Ladhī 'Asrá Bi`abdihi Laylāan Mina Al-Masjidi Al-Ĥarāmi 'Ilá Al-Masjidi Al-'Aqşá Al-Ladhī Bāraknā Ĥawlahu



Al-Quds is part of the neighbourhood surrounding the mosque and hence it is blessed.



- Allaah has described it as being holy, as He says (interpretation of the meaning): “[Moosa said:] O my people! Enter the holy land (Palestine) which Allaah has assigned to you…” [al-Maa’idah 5:21]

{يَا قَوْمِ ادْخُلُوا الأَرْضَ المُقَدَّسَةَ الَّتِي كَتَبَ اللّهُ لَكُمْ}

Transliteration: Yā Qawmi Adkhulū Al-'Arđa Al-Muqaddasata Allatī Kataba Allāhu Lakum



- In al-Quds there is al-Masjid al-Aqsaa, and one prayer there is equivalent to two hundred and fifty prayers elsewhere.



It was reported that Abu Dharr (may Allaah be pleased with him) said: we were discussing, in the presence of the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him), which of them was more virtuous, the mosque of the Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) or Bayt al-Maqdis. The Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: «One prayer in my mosque is better than four prayers there, but it is still a good place of prayer. Soon there will come a time when if a man has a spot of land as big as his horse’s rope from which he can see Bayt al-Maqdis, that will be better for him than the whole world» [Narrated and classed as saheeh by al-Haakim, 4/509. Al-Dhahabi and al-Albaani agreed with him, as stated in al-Silsilah al-Saheehah, at the end of the discussion of hadeeth no. 2902].



One prayer in al-Masjid al-Nabawi is equivalent to one thousand prayers elsewhere, so one prayer in al-Masjid al-Aqsaa is equivalent to two hundred and fifty prayers elsewhere.



With regard to the famous hadeeth which says that prayer in al-Masjid al-Aqsaa is equivalent to five hundred prayers elsewhere, this is da’eef (weak). [See Tamaam al-Minnah by Shaykh al-Albaani – may Allaah have mercy on him – p. 292].



- The one-eyed Dajjaal (“Antichrist”) will not enter it, because of the hadeeth: «He will prevail over all the earth, apart from al-Haram [in Makkah] and Bayt al-Maqdis» [Narrated by Ahmad, 19665. Classed as saheeh by Ibn Khuzaymah, 2/327, and Ibn Hibbaan, 7/102].



- The Dajjaal will be killed close to al-Quds. He will be killed by the Messiah ‘Eesa ibn Maryam (peace be upon him), as was stated in the hadeeth: «The son of Maryam will kill the Dajjaal at the gates of Ludd» [Narrated by Muslim, 2937, from the hadeeth of al-Nawwaas ibn Sam’aan]. Ludd (Lod): is a place near Bayt al-Maqdis.



- The Messenger (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) was taken to Bayt al-Maqdis on his Night Journey (al-Israa’) from al-Masjid al-Haraam to al-Masjid al-Aqsaa. Allaah says (interpretation of the meaning): “Glorified (and Exalted) be He (Allaah) Who took His slave (Muhammad) for a journey by night from Al-Masjid Al-Haraam (at Makkah) to Al-Masjid Al-Aqsaa (in Jerusalem)…” [al-Israa’ 17:1].

{سُبْحَانَ الَّذِي أَسْرَى بِعَبْدِهِ لَيْلاً مِّنَ الْمَسْجِدِ الْحَرَامِ إِلَى الْمَسْجِدِ الأَقْصَى}

Transliteration: Subĥāna Al-Ladhī 'Asrá Bi`abdihi Laylāan Mina Al-Masjidi Al-Ĥarāmi 'Ilá Al-Masjidi Al-'Aqşá



- It (al-Quds) was the first qiblah of the Muslims, as was reported by al-Baraa’ (may Allaah be pleased with him): the Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) prayed in the direction of Bayt al-Maqdis for sixteen or seventeen months [Narrated by al-Bukhaari, 41 – this version was narrated by him – and by Muslim, 525].



- It is the place where Wahy (Revelation) came down, and it is the homeland of the Prophets. This is well known.



- It is one of the mosques to which people may travel.



Abu Hurayrah (may Allaah be pleased with him) reported that the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: «No journey should be made except to three mosques, al-Masjid al-Haraam, Masjid al-Rasool (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) and Masjid al-Aqsaa» [Narrated by al-Bukhaari, 1132. Also narrated by Muslim, 827, from the hadeeth of Abu Sa’eed al-Khudri, with the words, “Do not travel except to…”].



- The Messenger (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) led the Prophets in one prayer in al-Aqsaa, as reported in the lengthy hadeeth: «…Then the time for prayer came, and I led them in prayer» [Narrated by Muslim, 172, from the hadeeth of Abu Hurayrah].



It is not permissible to travel to any spot on earth for the purpose of worshipping there, except these three mosques.



Secondly:

The fact that Ya’qoob (peace be upon him) built al-Masjid al-Aqsaa does not mean that the Jews have more right to the mosque than the Muslims, because Ya’qoob was a monotheist and the Jews are mushrikeen. The fact that their father Ya’qoob built the mosque does not mean that it belongs to them. He built it for the monotheists to worship in it, even if they were not his children, and he did not allow the mushrikeen to enter it, even if they are his children, because the call of the Prophets has nothing to do with race; it is based on taqwaa (piety, awareness of Allaah).



Thirdly:

Your saying that the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) led the previous Prophets in prayer to signify the unity of the message and all divine revelations is correct from the point of view of the origin of the religion and ‘aqeedah (belief) of the Prophets. All of the Prophets received their Message from one source, which was the Wahy (Revelation), and they all had the same ‘aqeedah, which was the belief in Tawheed (absolute unity of Allaah) and the worship of Allaah Alone, even though there were differences in the details of their laws. This was confirmed by our Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) when he said: «I am the closest of mankind to ‘Eesaa ibn Maryam in this world and in the Hereafter. The Prophets are brothers although they have different mothers, and their religion is one» [Narrated by al-Bukhaari, 3259; Muslim, 2365].



The phrase «brothers although they have different mothers» means: brothers who have the same father but different mothers, i.e., they are the children of co-wives.



Here we would caution readers against believing that the Jews, Christians and Muslims are following the same principles nowadays, because the Jews have changed the religion of their Prophet. Indeed, part of the religion of their Prophet is that they should follow our Prophet and not reject him, but they disbelieve in the Prophethood of Muhammad (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) and associate others in worship with Allaah.



Fourthly:

The Jews do not have any stake in al-Quds, because even though they may have lived in the land previously, that land now belongs to the Muslims from two points of view:

1. The Jews disbelieved and are no longer following the religion of the believers among the Children of Israel who followed and supported Moosa and ‘Eesaa (peace be upon them).



2. We Muslims have more right to it than them, because land does not belong to the people who lived there first, but to those who establish the laws of Allaah therein. Allaah created the land, and He created people to worship Allaah in the land and to establish therein the religion, laws and rulings of Allaah. Allaah says (interpretation of the meaning): “… Verily, the earth is Allaah’s. He gives it as a heritage to whom He wills of His slaves; and the (blessed) end is for the Muttaqoon (the pious).” [al-A’raaf 7:128].

{إِنَّ الأَرْضَ لِلّهِ يُورِثُهَا مَن يَشَاءُ مِنْ عِبَادِهِ وَالْعَاقِبَةُ لِلْمُتَّقِينَ}

Transliteration: 'Inna Al-'Arđa Lillāhi Yūrithuhā Man Yashā'u Min `Ibādihi Wa Al-`Āqibatu Lilmuttaqīna



Hence if some Arabs came who were not followers of Islam and they ruled the land with kufr, they would have to be fought until they submitted to the rule of Islam or were killed.



It is not the matter of race or ethnicity; it is the matter of Tawheed and Islam.



Here it is useful to quote the words of one of the researchers:

“History tells us that the first people to settle in Palestine were the Canaanites, six thousand years BCE. They were an Arab tribe who came to Palestine from the Arabian Peninsula, and after their arrival, Palestine was named after them [i.e., Canaan].”

(al-Suhyooniyyah, Nash’atuhaa, Tanzeemaatuhaa, Inshitatuhaa, by Ahmad al-‘Awadi, p. 7).



“As for the Jews, the first time they entered Palestine was approximately six hundred years after Ibraheem had entered the land, i.e., they entered it approximately 1400 years BCE. So the Canaanites entered Palestine and lived there approximately 4500 years before the Jews.” (Ibid., p. 8).



Hence it is clear that the Jews have no right to the land, whether according to religious law or in terms of who lived there first and possessed the land. They are aggressors who are seizing the land by force. We ask Allaah to rid Bayt al-Maqdis of them sooner rather than later, for He is Able to do that and He is Most Generous in answering. Praise be to Allaah, the Lord of the Worlds.





Islam Q&A

Sheikh Muhammed Salih Al-Munajjid

The situation of the Muslims in Palestine

 

I was wondering what you believe the fight taking place in the Holy Land is all about and what the end result might be?



Praise be to Allaah.

Undoubtedly what is happening to the Muslims in the Holy Land of hardship, torture, expulsion, killing and harm is a matter which causes sorrow to every Muslim, and indeed to every non-Muslim who is reasonable, fair-minded and compassionate, when they see the blatant persecution inflicted upon innocent people, with the intention of driving them out of their homes so that the enemy can take their place, which is an enemy that possesses the most advanced weapons, with which they attack unarmed people who are deprived of the means of defending themselves.



This Muslim people has endured for more than fifty years, facing unending Zionist arrogance and aggression, which pays no heed to human dignity or any covenant or treaty, or any law, except that to which their own whims and desires make them inclined and in which their evil rabbis and warlords encourage them.



The outcome of that is well known to Muslims as well as Jews, which is that the consequences will be in favour of the pious and the party of God will be the victors. The wrongdoer will never enjoy security, stability and prosperity, rather he will be faced with fear, anxiety, grief and shame, until the day comes when the Muslims come back to their religion and are governed by the sharee’ah of their Lord, then they will meet the Jews in battle, where the two sides will face one another, and victory will go to the people of faith.



Al-Bukhaari (2926) and Muslim (2922) narrated from Abu Hurayrah that the Messenger of Allaah SAWS (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: «The Hour will not begin until the Muslims fight the Jews and kill them, until a Jew will be hiding behind a rock or a tree, and the rock or tree will say, ‘O Muslim, O slave of Allaah, here is a Jew behind me, come and kill him!’ except for the box-thorn (al-gharqad), for it is one of the trees of the Jews».



We ask Allaah to hasten the Muslims’ return to their religion and to grant them the means of victory. May He grant us the joy of seeing His religion prevail and His enemies humiliated, and may He raise the status of those who are persecuted, tortured or killed for His sake.



And Allaah knows best.





Islam Q&A

Can the Muslims live in peace in Palestine?

 

I am speaking under correction. Please do correct me if I don't have my facts right:

According to The Bible there is no country such as Israel, only Palestine. The Jew and the Arab, both stemming from Abraham is in fact half brothers. So why can they not live in harmony in a new country called Palestine?



Praise be to Allaah.

Your question may be answered by the following points:

There is no doubt that the Prophet of Allaah Ibraaheem (Abraham) was a pure monotheist, and he was not among the polytheists and disbelievers. Although the Jews are among the offspring of Ibraaheem (peace be upon him), they went against his way by associating partners in worship with Allaah and claiming that ‘Uzayr (Ezra) was a “son of God.” They said that God is miserly and that His hand is “tied up”, and they said, “He is poor and we are rich.” They also said that when God created the heavens and the earth in six days, He got tired, so He rested on the Sabbath day – exalted be Allaah far above all that they say about Him. They also likened the attributes of God to human attributes (anthropomorphism) and killed the Prophets, etc., etc.



Once this distinction and contrast is made clear, there can be no brotherhood between a monotheistic believer and a polytheistic disbeliever, as Allaah says in the Qur’aan (interpretation of the meaning): “Indeed there has been an excellent example for you in Ibraaheem and those with him, when they said to their people, ‘Verily, we are free from you and whatever you worship besides Allaah. We have rejected you, and there has started between us and you, hostility and hatred forever, - until you believe in Allaah Alone,’ – except the saying of Ibraaheem to his father: ‘Verily, I will ask for forgiveness (from Allaah) for you, but I have no power to do anything for you before Allaah.’ Our Lord! In You (Alone) we put our trust, and to You (Alone) we turn in repentance, and to You (Alone) is (our) final Return, - … Certinaly, there has been in them an excellent example for you to follow, - for those who look forward to (the Meeting with) Allaah – (for the reward from Him) and the Last Day. And whosoever turn away, then verily, Allaah is Rich (Free of all wants), Worthy of all Praise.” [al-Mumtahinah 60:4,6].

{قَدْ كَانَتْ لَكُمْ أُسْوَةٌ حَسَنَةٌ فِي إِبْرَاهِيمَ وَالَّذِينَ مَعَهُ إِذْ قَالُوا لِقَوْمِهِمْ إِنَّا بُرَاء مِنكُمْ وَمِمَّا تَعْبُدُونَ مِن دُونِ اللَّهِ كَفَرْنَا بِكُمْ وَبَدَا بَيْنَنَا وَبَيْنَكُمُ الْعَدَاوَةُ وَالْبَغْضَاء أَبَداً حَتَّى تُؤْمِنُوا بِاللَّهِ وَحْدَهُ إِلَّا قَوْلَ إِبْرَاهِيمَ لِأَبِيهِ لَأَسْتَغْفِرَنَّ لَكَ وَمَا أَمْلِكُ لَكَ مِنَ اللَّهِ مِن شَيْءٍ رَّبَّنَا عَلَيْكَ تَوَكَّلْنَا وَإِلَيْكَ أَنَبْنَا وَإِلَيْكَ الْمَصِيرُ (4) رَبَّنَا لَا تَجْعَلْنَا فِتْنَةً لِّلَّذِينَ كَفَرُوا وَاغْفِرْ لَنَا رَبَّنَا إِنَّكَ أَنتَ الْعَزِيزُ الْحَكِيمُ (5) لَقَدْ كَانَ لَكُمْ فِيهِمْ أُسْوَةٌ حَسَنَةٌ لِمَن كَانَ يَرْجُو اللَّهَ وَالْيَوْمَ الْآخِرَ وَمَن يَتَوَلَّ فَإِنَّ اللَّهَ هُوَ الْغَنِيُّ الْحَمِيدُ}

Transliteration: Qad Kānat Lakum 'Uswatun Ĥasanatun Fī 'Ibrāhīma Wa Al-Ladhīna Ma`ahu 'Idh Qālū Liqawmihim 'Innā Bura'ā'u Minkum Wa Mimmā Ta`budūna Min Dūni Allāhi Kafarnā Bikum Wa Badā Baynanā Wa Baynakum Al-`Adāwatu Wa Al-Baghđā'u 'Abadāan Ĥattaá Tu'uminū Billāhi Waĥdahu 'Illā Qawla 'Ibrāhīma Li'abīhi La'astaghfiranna Laka Wa Mā 'Amliku Laka Mina Allāhi Min Shay'in Rabbanā `Alayka Tawakkalnā Wa 'Ilayka 'Anabnā Wa 'Ilayka Al-Maşīru, Rabbanā Lā Taj`alnā Fitnatan Lilladhīna Kafarū Wa Aghfir Lanā Rabbanā 'Innaka 'Anta Al-`Azīzu Al-Ĥakīmu, Laqad Kāna Lakum Fīhim 'Uswatun Ĥasanatun Liman Kāna Yarjū Allāha Wa Al-Yawma Al-'Ākhira Wa Man Yatawalla Fa'inna Allāha Huwa Al-Ghanīyu Al-Ĥamīdu



Once this separation and enmity is clear, it is unavoidable that there will be hostility and disavowal and the resulting struggle against the enemies of Allaah. So long as the laws and wisdom of Allaah dictate that there should the distinction between believers and disbelievers, there has to be this clearly-stated enmity. There can be no change to the laws of Allaah.



There cannot be harmony between Jews – who are usurpers and aggressors, who have oppressed and persecuted others, and who are known for their treachery and corruption throughout the world, historically and in the present age – and the purely monotheistic Muslim owners of the land, whose menfolk the Jews have killed, and imprisoned their sons, and destroyed their homes, and taken possession of their lands by force, and prevented them from earning a proper living, and carried out chemical and radiational experiments on their prisoners, and taken organs from them for transplant into Jewish patients… and all other kinds of persecutions and atrocities.



In addition to this, the Jews are people of treachery and betrayal; it is not possible to trust them at all. Their current conduct bears this out: is there any treaty or agreement signed by them that they have actually fulfilled? This is no big surprise for the Muslims, who know what Allaah has said in His Book about the Jews (interpretation of the meaning): “Is it not (the case) that every time they make a covenant, some party among them throws it aside? Nay! The truth is most of them believe not.” [al-Baqarah 2:100].

{أَوَكُلَّمَا عَاهَدُواْ عَهْداً نَّبَذَهُ فَرِيقٌ مِّنْهُم بَلْ أَكْثَرُهُمْ لاَ يُؤْمِنُونَ}

Transliteration: 'Awakullamā `Āhadū `Ahdāan Nabadhahu Farīqun Minhum Bal 'Aktharuhum Lā Yu'uminūna



Moreover, if the Muslims agreed to live in peace with the Jews, who would be in charge? One of the basic principles of Islam is that Islam should prevail, not be prevailed over. One of the conditions for People of the Book (Jews and Christians) living with Muslims in a Muslim country is that they should live under certain conditions (shuroot ahl al-dhimmah) in return for the security and protection afforded them by the Muslims. One of the most important of these conditions is that they should not openly display their shirk and kufr (polytheistic disbelief) in the Muslim lands, whether by word or deed.



As the Muslims and Jews are enemies residing in opposing religious and doctrinal camps, it is not possible for them to be brought together unless one is made to submit to the other by force. Indeed, the Jews now are not allowing the Muslims to remain in their homes, even if there was no provocative action on the part of the Muslims; they are seizing the Muslims’ property by force, building their settlements on the Muslims’ lands and expelling the Muslims by any means. They have expelled millions to the neighbouring countries, which have accommodated them in the so-called Palestinian refugee camps.



Finally, although the Muslims nowadays are in a position of weakness and humiliation – because they have turned away from their religion – and are unable to fight the Jews, take back their stolen lands and impose the rule of Islamic sharee’ah in Palestine, this does not mean that this will always be the case until the end of the world. Things have to change, and one of the indications of this is the hadeeth of the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him), who informed us of some things that are to happen in the future. He was supported by Revelation from his Lord; he did not speak of his own whims and desires, but of that which was revealed to him. He said: «You will fight the Jews and will prevail over them, so that a rock will say, ‘O Muslim! There is Jew behind me, kill him!’» [Reported by Muslim, 2921; al-Bukhaari, 2926].



According to a report narrated by Muslim from Abu Hurayrah, the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: «The Hour [the Day of Judgement] will not begin until the Muslims fight the Jews and kill them. A Jew will hide behind a rock or a tree, and the rock or tree will say, ‘O Muslim, O slave of Allaah! There is a Jew behind me, come and kill him!’ – except for the gharqad (box thorn), for it is one of the trees of the Jews» [Reported by Muslim, 2922].



We would like to express our appreciation for your question, your desire to find out the truth, and the polite and eloquent manner in which your inquiry was phrased. We invite you to believe in Allaah as your Lord, in Islam as your religion, and in Muhammad as your Prophet, for this – by Allaah – will save you and benefit you and protect you in this world, in the grave after death, and in the Hereafter on the Day of Reckoning. May Allaah help us and you to do all that is good.



Sheikh Muhammed Salih Al-Munajjid

I. Early Beginnings of Contemporary Zionism

 

Among the few Western Middle East specialists who have handled Middle Eastern issues with objectivity and in depth is Robert Fisk, the Middle East correspondent for The Independent. Reading his interesting book (Pity the Nation), helped me to deduce his journalistic talent, seriousness and neutrality in handling issues of the region.



Fisk revealed unheard of atrocities committed at Lebanon during the time of 1982 Israeli invasion, specially the massacre committed against the Palestinians in Sabra and Shatila. In his documentary From Jerusalem to Bosnia, he exposed in sound and pictures the horrible atrocities that the Palestinians were facing as a daily routine under the Zionist oppressive occupation. It also revealed the reluctance of world leading countries to lift oppression from the helpless Bosnians while facing a genocide that was similar to that committed by the crusaders eight centuries ago in Palestine.



I have been informed that this documentary was banned in the U.S, not by a congressional decree, but instead the copy right for distributing the film was purchased by a Zionist firm which was able to prevent the American public from knowing the truth of what was happening in the Holy Land via the support of the American tax dollars. What a brutal censorship!!, Such behavior reminded me of Paul Findley’s valuable book (They Dare to Speak Out), in which he unveiled the great influence the Jewish lobby has on national policy towards Middle Eastern issues. Before the book was finally accepted for publication by Lawrence Hill, twenty publishing houses had rejected taking the risk of publishing it.



Nevertheless, the book faced many attempts to curtail its sales and distribution. A few sentences from the book clearly describe to what extent the Israeli influence is so effective in shaping decisions about the Palestinian issue: “Washington is a city of acronyms, and today one of the best-known in Congress is AIPAC. The mere mention of it brings a sober, if not furtive look, to the face of anyone in Capitol Hill who deals with Middle East policy. AIPAC – the American Israel Public Affairs Committee – is now the preeminent power in Washington lobbying.” (p.25). Findley cited the words of a former Congressman, Paul N. McCloskey, who lost his seat in Congress because he revealed some of the mal practices of the Jewish lobby that he thought were against the interest of the American people; “Congress is terrorized by AIPAC.”



One of the primary aims of international Zionism has been to establish influence over decision-making bodies in predominant countries, starting with Great Britain at the beginning of this century and ending with the United States. To commemorate the Israeli celebration of their 50 years of occupation, demolition and suppression of human rights, light will be shed on some historical steps the international Zionist movement has gone through.



The name Zionism was derived from the word Zion, a hill in Jerusalem claimed by the Jews to be the original location of the Temple of Jerusalem. It aimed at uniting the Jewish people of the Diaspora (exile) and settles them in Palestine. Some historical sources refer to the beginning of Zionism as an organized political movement to the late 19th century and culminated in 1948 in the establishment of the state of Israel, immediately after the British mandate over Palestine.



However, the Austrian Jewish philosopher Nathan Brinbaum was the first to apply the term Zionism to this Jewish movement in 1890. Based on the Talmudic teachings, religious Zionists associated the hope of the return with the coming of the Messiah; according to them a savior whom God would send to deliver them. In contradiction to the understanding of the majority of many fundamentalist Christians who support the Jewish occupation of Palestine, the Old Testament (The Torah) is not the basis for the doctrines of contemporary Judaism. In the words of the modern Jewish writer Herman Wouk in his book; This is My God: “ The Talmud is to this day the circulating heart’s blood of the Jewish religion. Whatever we are Orthodox, Conservative, Reform or merely spasmodic sentimentalists, we follow the Talmud. It is our common law”.



Based on such belief, many individual Jews often migrated to Palestine to join the Jewish communities who have been granted their religious freedom under the Islamic rule for centuries. Two European Orthodox rabbis, Juhuda Alkalai and Zevi Hirsch Kalischer led this religious approach toward Zionism. They adapted the idea that Jews ought to furnish the way for the coming of the Messiah. Influence of this ideology led the Jewish German Socialist Moses Hess to publish his book Rome and Jerusalem, in 1862, in which he rejected the idea of assimilation into European society that some Jewish leaders had suggested, insisting that the essence of the Jews’ problem was their lack of a national home.



Secular Zionism on the other hand was greatly influenced by the political and social upheaval of the French Revolution. Around 1791, the European Jewry began to achieve political equality in most of Europe during the next few decades. This process of secular Zionist was called Haskalah (enlightenment). It was greatly influenced by the ideas of the German Jewish philosopher Moses Mendelssohn. This period marked the beginning of a move a way from traditional religious orthodoxy and created a need for Jewish feeling to replace religion as a unifying force. The initial trend at that time was to assimilate into the European society. By doing so, the liberal Jewish reform movement in Germany, for example, sought to reduce Judaism to a religious denomination, allowing Jews to adopt German culture. Such situation was very similar to the status Jews have in Western Europe nowadays, with the exception that they still maintain their Jewish identity and Zionist affiliation to Israel.



Nevertheless, the secular proposals of Jewish acculturation and social and political integration into the European society was rejected by many Zionists who had aspirations of having a Jewish homeland as a secure heaven for the Jewish people in Diaspora. In 1896 Theodor Herzel, an Austrian Jewish journalist, published a booklet titled The Jewish State, in which he analyzed the causes of hatred toward Jews and proposed the creation of a Jewish state, as the only cure. When such plans to have a homeland for the Jews in Palestine were introduced to As-sultan Abd al-Hamid II by the influential Jews in Germany and Turkey, he courageously refused them and firmly indicated that Palestine is a Muslim land and its Jewish population was enjoying its religious freedom. The Turkish Jewry later on united with Al-itihad wa Taragi party with an influential role by Jews of Ad-Donama to depose As-sultan Abd al-Hamid and the Othman Empire along with him. The Zionist movement was able to achieve its long-lived dream of establishing a state in Palestine in 1948; even if that meant displacing its original people and conducting horrible atrocities.

Dr. Abdallah H. Al-Kahtany
* from his book new zionism

Tuesday 22 November 2011

A message to the vacationer

In the Name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful

Blessed brother

This message is written by the ink of love, I poured my soul in every word wishing that it will reach the bottom of your heart. I implore you to accompany me with your mind, the mind which prevents you from committing ugly things, which keeps you away from tensions and useless piffle. Consider my words objectively and fairly, with no bias to your desires, whims or lusts.

Blessed brother

My concern with you is what you are thinking about right now: searching for a suitable place for you and your family, you may even have prepared everything! Yes, it is recreation and entertainment. First of all I do not blame you for thinking about that, it is human nature, and it is our innate nature which Allah has created. It would be fighting reality to blame you that you take your family in a trip to the wilderness or to a picnic.

When Hanzalah, may Allah be pleased with him, met Abu Bakr he said to him: "Hanzalah is a hypocrite", Abu Bakr wondered: "Glorified is Allah above all, what are you saying?", he answered: "when we are with the Prophet, peace be upon him, he reminds us with paradise as if we can see it with our own eyes, when we leave him we attend to our spouses, children and farms and we forget a lot". Abu Bakr said: "the same happens with me". Hanzalah and Abu Bakr set off till they entered to the Prophet, peace be upon him, Hanzalah said: "O Messenger of Allah! Hanzalah is a hypocrite", the Prophet, peace be upon him, said: "what is that?", Hanzalah answered: " O Messenger of Allah when we are with you, you remind us with paradise and hell as if we can see them with our own eyes, when we leave you we attend to our spouses, children and farms and we forget a lot", the Prophet, peace be upon him, said: "by Allah, if you continue the way you are with me when we mention Allah, angles would shake your hands on your beds and when on roads, but Hanzalah an hour and an hour, he repeated it three times". [Narrated by Muslim]

‹‹ لقيني أبو بكر فقال: كيف أنت ؟ يا حنظلة ! قال قلت : نافق حنظلة . قال : سبحان الله ! ما تقول ؟ قال قلت : نكون عند رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم . يذكرنا بالنار والجنة . حتى كأنا رأي عين . فإذا خرجنا من عند رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم ، عافسنا الأزواج والأولاد والضيعات . فنسينا كثيرا . قال أبو بكر : فوالله ! إنا لنلقى مثل هذا . فانطلقت أنا وأبو بكر ، حتى دخلنا على رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم . قلت : نافق حنظلة . يا رسول الله ! فقال رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم " وما ذاك ؟ " قلت : يا رسول الله ! نكون عندك . تذكرنا بالنار والجنة . حتى كأنا رأي عين . فإذا خرجنا من عندك ، عافسنا الأزواج والأولاد والضيعات . نسينا كثيرا . فقال رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم " والذي نفسي بيده ! إن لو تدومون على ما تكونون عندي ، وفي الذكر ، لصافحتكم الملائكة على فرشكم وفي طرقكم . ولكن ، يا حنظلة ! ساعة وساعة " ثلاث مرات .››[رواه مسلم]

So, recreation is important, burdens must be alleviated, as the Prophet, peace be upon him, said: "an hour and an hour".

Here is where the human whims and desires interfere in understanding the words of the Prophet, peace be upon him: "an hour and an hour". Ali ibn Abi-Talib, may Allah be pleased with him, said: "I fear that you follow two things: whims and high expectations: following whims makes you deviate from righteousness, and high expectations make you forget the Hereafter ".

An hour and an hour, yes an hour and an hour but, does this mean it is an hour for worship and an hour for disobedience? Is it an hour for Allah and an hour for you where you can do whatever you wish or crave for? This concept cannot be tolerated by the words of the Prophet, peace be upon him, or to imagine how the Prophet, peace be upon him, may encourage disobeying Allah or violate His set limits. The Prophet, peace be upon him, would never get angry for himself, but only for the sake of Allah, he would turn red with rage whenever Allah's limits were violated. How could he then authorize sins? And this is his dogma and belief! Oh God this is great slander. The true concept perceived from his words "an hour and an hour" is that an hour to worship Allah and an hour for lawful recreation. This is the spirit of Shari'a (laws of Allah): “: But seek, through that which Allah has given you, the home of the Hereafter; and [yet], do not forget your share of the world. And do good as Allah has done good to you. And desire not corruption in the land. Indeed, Allah does not like corrupters” [Al-Qasas 28:77]

{وَابْتَغِ فِيمَا آتَاكَ اللَّهُ الدَّارَ الْآخِرَةَ وَلَا تَنسَ نَصِيبَكَ مِنَ الدُّنْيَا وَأَحْسِن كَمَا أَحْسَنَ اللَّهُ إِلَيْكَ وَلَا تَبْغِ الْفَسَادَ فِي الْأَرْضِ إِنَّ اللَّهَ لَا يُحِبُّ الْمُفْسِدِينَ} [القصص: 77]

Transliteration: Wa Abtaghi Fīmā 'Ātāka Allāhu Ad-Dāra Al-'Ākhirata Wa Lā Tansa Naşībaka Mina Ad-Dunyā Wa 'Aĥsin Kamā 'Aĥsana Allāhu 'Ilayka Wa Lā Tabghi Al-Fasāda Fī Al-'Arđi 'Inna Allāha Lā Yuĥibbu Al-Mufsidīna

Here is Allah commanding you to use the wealth and blessings, He has bestowed on you, in His obedience and to try to get close to the reward of the Hereafter by good deeds, and “forget not your portion of lawful enjoyment in this world” the things that Allah has allowed you to: food, drinks, houses, marriage. What a great religion! What a perfect Shari'a! It considered all aspects of life and gave all their rights.

O dear brother

Islam is not a stumbling block against recreation and enjoyment as long as they abide by the rules that guarantee your and your family's safety and wellbeing in both homes: life and the Hereafter. But if, however, this has been accompanied by excessive negligence to His laws, here comes the warning and prevention, not to deprive you from enjoying recreations. Nay, it is in order to keep you from the sins that would surround you, lest you perish and become one of the losers.

By Allah, how nice it is that a Muslim remains in his country to enjoy its sightseeing! And he completely disregards, unless for legitimate excuses, traveling to the lands of impiety where vice is abundantly committed, as there are a lot of religious texts preventing doing so.

How nice it would be if the picnic is full of mentioning Allah and maintaining His ordinances.

How beautiful to take lessons from the picnic; you do not build castles or aspire to establish important things, you are certain that there is a house in town to return to. You should keep in mind that this life is like a picnic, not permanent, there is an eternal home awaiting you: what have you prepared for it?

If this picnic is taken in that fresh air under the blue sky and lively colors; that make you contemplate and reflect on the stars and spheres, which you may not see in the cities, then you are from those described by Allah: “: Who remember Allah while standing or sitting or [lying] on their sides and give thought to the creation of the heavens and the earth, [saying], "Our Lord, You did not create this aimlessly; exalted are You [above such a thing]; then protect us from the punishment of the Fire.” [Al-'Imran 3:191]

{الَّذِينَ يَذْكُرُونَ اللّهَ قِيَامًا وَقُعُودًا وَعَلَىَ جُنُوبِهِمْ وَيَتَفَكَّرُونَ فِي خَلْقِ السَّمَاوَاتِ وَالأَرْضِ رَبَّنَا مَا خَلَقْتَ هَذا بَاطِلاً سُبْحَانَكَ فَقِنَا عَذَابَ النَّارِ}[ عمران: 191]

Transliteration: Al-Ladhīna Yadhkurūna Allāha Qiyāmāan Wa Qu`ūdāan Wa `Alá Junūbihim Wa Yatafakkarūna Fī Khalqi As-Samāwāti Wa Al-'Arđi Rabbanā Mā Khalaqta Hādhā Bāţilāan Subĥānaka Faqinā `Adhāba An-Nāri

What about taking along some useful books and tapes to distribute among your friends or people around you! What a beautiful trip that combines fun and propagate to Allah and the promotion of virtue and the prevention of vice, there is no contradiction in that. The most beautiful trip is where you can find permissible humor and useful enjoyment.

By Allah what a wonderful man who takes his family for innocent recreational activities, to places free from the eyes of the peepers.

All of these are beautiful images, but what stains them is the revolting and conscience chiding scenes we see in some of the so-called family parks, where women are loud, putting on make-up and taking off their veils… so much that some women use children swings while strangers are watching… has it reached this far? Has dignity vanished? Has ethics been slaughtered?

Dear brother:

I hope that you would not turn your heart or ear on me, just answer me: can you enjoy yourself in such gatherings? Can your wife be at ease while looking into Allah's kingdom, where she is surrounded by people and other families? How many young men are in these parks to stalk girls? They are only interested in peeping! How many young men sitting in their cars where music is too loud, can you prevent your ears or your family's from hearing such sounds? And how many impermissible scenes you will have to see like the unveiled women? If you could lower your gaze from one woman can you lower it from the other or the other? I speak in such a frank attitude because I know that you truly appreciate the rituals of your religion and prioritize them in your life. You have accepted Allah as your God and Muhammad, peace be upon him, His Messenger. You would say that these places have their positive aspects; I agree with you but keep in mind that their negative aspects are more than their positive ones, so, harm prevention is prioritized over bringing interests. You may not be convinced saying: ''what unnecessary complications while religion is so easy and facile". I would answer that you would not be convinced unless you, God forbid, got stung, then regret will do no good.

You may say that your family pressurizes you, I answer with the words of Allah: “O you who have believed, indeed, among your wives and your children are enemies to you, so beware of them. But if you pardon and overlook and forgive – then indeed, Allah is Forgiving and Merciful.” [Taghabun 64:14]

{يَا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا إِنَّ مِنْ أَزْوَاجِكُمْ وَأَوْلَادِكُمْ عَدُوًّا لَّكُمْ فَاحْذَرُوهُمْ وَإِن تَعْفُوا وَتَصْفَحُوا وَتَغْفِرُوا فَإِنَّ اللَّهَ غَفُورٌ رَّحِيمٌ} [التغابن: 14]

Transliteration: Yā 'Ayyuhā Al-Ladhīna 'Āmanū 'Inna Min 'Azwājikum Wa 'Awlādikum `Adūwāan Lakum Fāĥdharūhum Wa 'In Ta`fū Wa Taşfaĥū Wa Taghfirū Fa'inna Allāha Ghafūrun Raĥīmun

Know that you are responsible before Allah about your Maharem, they were shielded, so do not make them unveiled before every eye.

Dear brother

I know that you may think that I have diagnosed the case, not offering any solutions, that I have prevented you from picnicking in these mixed parks but did not offer the alternative. Well, beware of the infamous terrible thing that many Muslims do absent-mindedly; which is asking for alternatives whenever they are prevented or denied something, though it is our duty to say: We hear and we obey: “The only statement of the [true] believers when they are called to Allah and His Messenger to judge between them is that they say, “We hear and we obey.” And those are the successful.” [An-Nur 24:51]

{إِنَّمَا كَانَ قَوْلَ الْمُؤْمِنِينَ إِذَا دُعُوا إِلَى اللَّهِ وَرَسُولِهِ لِيَحْكُمَ بَيْنَهُمْ أَن يَقُولُوا سَمِعْنَا وَأَطَعْنَا وَأُوْلَئِكَ هُمُ الْمُفْلِحُونَ}[النور: 51]

Transliteration: 'Innamā Kāna Qawla Al-Mu'uminīna 'Idhā Du`ū 'Ilá Allāhi Wa Rasūlihi Liyaĥkuma Baynahum 'An Yaqūlū Sami`nā Wa 'Aţa`nā Wa 'Ūlā'ika Humu Al-Mufliĥūna

This is how a true believer reacts when hearing His commands and prohibitions, blind obedience; therefore Allah addresses His believing slaves describing them with the best characteristics they like: “: O you who have believed, respond to Allah and to the Messenger when he calls you to that which gives you life. And know that Allah intervenes between a man and his heart and that to Him you will be gathered.” [Al-Anfal 8:24]

{َا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آمَنُواْ اسْتَجِيبُواْ لِلّهِ وَلِلرَّسُولِ إِذَا دَعَاكُم لِمَا يُحْيِيكُمْ وَاعْلَمُواْ أَنَّ اللّهَ يَحُولُ بَيْنَ الْمَرْءِ وَقَلْبِهِ وَأَنَّهُ إِلَيْهِ تُحْشَرُونَ}[الأنفال: 24]

Transliteration: Yā 'Ayyuhā Al-Ladhīna 'Āmanū Astajībū Lillāhi Wa Lilrrasūli 'Idhā Da`ākum Limā Yuĥyīkum Wa A`lamū 'Anna Allāha Yaĥūlu Bayna Al-Mar'i Wa Qalbihi Wa 'Annahu 'Ilayhi Tuĥsharūna

And that is how the companions of the Prophet were, peace be upon him, responding without hesitation to His commands. When the verses concerning the prohibition of alcoholic drinks were revealed, a public crier called in Medina: "alcoholic drinks have been prohibited", whoever had a glass in his hands broke it immediately, whoever had a sip in his mouth spit it, bottles had been shattered, the wine alley closed, as if there has never existed drunkenness or alcoholic drinks. Then, why whenever a prohibition is mentioned people would immediately ask for an alternative? As if they would not stop disobeying Allah unless alternatives are provided. Oh Lord of the Ka'aba, this is a manifested loss. “: For those who have responded to their Lord is the best [reward], but those who did not respond to Him – if they had all that is in the earth entirely and the like of it with it, they would [attempt to] ransom themselves thereby. Those will have the worst account, and their refuge is Hell, and wretched is the resting place” [Ar-Ra'd 13:18]

{لِلَّذِينَ اسْتَجَابُواْ لِرَبِّهِمُ الْحُسْنَى وَالَّذِينَ لَمْ يَسْتَجِيبُواْ لَهُ لَوْ أَنَّ لَهُم مَّا فِي الأَرْضِ جَمِيعًا وَمِثْلَهُ مَعَهُ لاَفْتَدَوْاْ بِهِ أُوْلَئِكَ لَهُمْ سُوءُ الْحِسَابِ وَمَأْوَاهُمْ جَهَنَّمُ وَبِئْسَ الْمِهَاد}[الرعد: 18]

Transliteration: Lilladhīna Astajābū Lirabbihimu Al-Ĥusná Wa Al-Ladhīna Lam Yastajībū Lahu Law 'Anna Lahum Mā Fī Al-'Arđi Jamī`āan Wa Mithlahu Ma`ahu Lāftadaw Bihi 'Ūlā'ika Lahum Sū'u Al-Ĥisābi Wa Ma'wāhum Jahannamu Wa Bi'sa Al-Mihādu

And “Respond to your Lord before a Day comes from Allah of which there is no repelling. No refuge will you have that day, nor for you will there be any denial.” [Ash-Shura 42:47]

{اسْتَجِيبُوا لِرَبِّكُم مِّن قَبْلِ أَن يَأْتِيَ يَوْمٌ لَّا مَرَدَّ لَهُ مِنَ اللَّهِ مَا لَكُم مِّن مَّلْجَأٍ يَوْمَئِذٍ وَمَا لَكُم مِّن نَّكِير}[الشورى: 47]

Transliteration: Astajībū Lirabbikum Min Qabli 'An Ya'tiya Yawmun Lā Maradda Lahu Mina Allāhi Mā Lakum Min Malja'iin Yawma'idhin Wa Mā Lakum Min Nakīrin

This is the way Muslims should raise their children till they grow old.

Anyway, let me mention some alternatives, and as it is said: need is the mother of invention:

First: Private park: they gave vent to many people where a man can take his family out; spend some quality time together happily, peacefully and amiably.

Second: Exploitation of public parks when empty:
For example, after Fajr prayer, one notices that people start their picnics around sunset till the late hours of the night and then parks become empty, so a man can contradict this habit, he can take his family whether to the sea shore or the like places.

Third: Go to the wilderness and deserts and enjoy those places away from the eyes and the harassment of people.

Fourth: Go to the Holy House of Allah (Ka'ba) to perform Umrah and stay close to the holy land, you can also visit Al-Taif; a beautiful summer resort so that you and your family can enjoy the fresh air, the green land and the magnificent scenery. In doing so, you have combined two goals: obedience and recreation.

Finally: blessed brother when you return home, you must recall the outcome of your trip; if good, then praise Allah, if not, blame none but yourself.

O Allah, make us thankful to you, always mentioning you, repentant to you, and make us of the righteous, forgive us and forgive our parents and all the Muslims. The blessings and peace be upon our Prophet Muhammad and his family and companions.


Written by: Mohammed ibn Abdullah Alhabadan