Islamic Revival

By Abid Mustafa To assuage international concerns over cross border filtration into Afghanistan, the Pakistani government has announced a series of measures. These include selectively fencing the 2,430km border, laying down mines and introducing biometric identity checks on the Pakistani side of the border. This is in addition to the 80,000 Pakistani troops manning the border. If this was not enough— Pakistan has also proposed to convene a tribal Jirga in an attempt to stymie the flow of militants into Afghanistan. In the near future, Pakistan also plans to repatriate 2 million or so Afghan refugees back to Afghanistan. Rather than welcoming such measures the government in Kabul has fervently reprimanded Islamabad and continues to blame Pakistan for providing sanctuary to Taliban and other Pushtoon fighters. Meanwhile, the US is staying clear of taking sides in the dispute and maintains that the matter must be resolved bilaterally between the two countries.” I’m not going to get into d...

The following is a transcript of a talk delivered on this subject. As da’wa carriers it is vital that we all adhere to the Shariah of Allah (swt) completely, as we are Muslims first and then da’wa carriers. Therefore we are all Ibadallah – slaves of Allah (swt) and are obligated to follow all of his commands and avoid all of his prohibitions. As da’wa carriers we would be hypocrites if we were calling for the implementation of the shariah and not following the shariah ourselves. The Muslim is commanded to conduct his actions according to the Shari'ah rules. Allah (swt) says: "No by your God, they shall not have true belief until they make you judge in all disputes between them, and find in their souls no resistance against your decision, but accept it with the fullest conviction." [TMQ 4-65] He (swt) also says: "Whatever the Messenger brought you take it and whatever he forbids you abstain from it and fear Allah." [TMQ 59-7] Therefore, the Muslim sho...

The following is a poem by a brother. Somalia Land of Islam People of strong iman Somalia graveyard of the crusaders Who never learn from their past mistakes They came in 93 To bring peace, justice and democracy And were despatched in pieces After they were exposed for their hypocrisy Uranium and other resources was the motive Now they are using proxies Ethiopians and So called Somali’s Puppets and traitors Slaves once more Like before This time paid To raid their own kind No dignity or honour US is clever Bogged down in Iraq and Afghanistan No more land invasions Maybe they learnt their lesson Not to mess with Muslims Divide and conquer Weaken and annihilate Back to their old ways Old tactics renewed While the Muslims continue to Fight with small arms Hitting and running And blowing up using their own bodies US aware Full of fear Refusing to land troops Coz they remember Black Hawk down Mujahideen say Crusaders welcome To the land of glory and Islam People full of dignity and Taqwa Co...

It is interesting that the founding and well known scholars of the Deobandi and Barelvi movements who have influence in the Indian Subcontinent, home to over a half of the Muslim Ummah have clearly stated this as the correct view regarding the sighting of the moon in their Fatawa. It is unfortunate that today that many who claim to follow them ignore following this Shariah rule. The co-founder of Dar al-Uloom Deoband, Maulana Rasheed Ahmad Gangohi said: “If the people of Calcutta sighted the moon in Friday, whereas it was sighted in Makkah on Thursday itself, but the people of Calcutta did not know of it (the sighting on Thursday); then whenever they come to know of this, it will be obligatory for them to celebrate eid with the people of Makkah and make up (Qada’) for the first fasting.” [Maulana Rasheed Ahmad Gangohi, Sharh Tirmizi (Explanation of Tirmizi), Kaukab un Durri, pg 336, Urdu edition] “Wherever the sighting is confirmed, however far off it may be, even if it were to be tho...

The following is a translation from a release in Arabic. The Khilafah Rashidah is the only means for attaining Political-Ideological unity and unity in ‘Ibadaat and Ta’at (pious deeds). Due to the treachery of the rulers sitting on the heads of the Muslims and the deception of the ‘Ulama with little knowledge of the Sharee’ah we witness the discussions and disputes regarding the sighting of moon for the holy month of Ramadhan and the obligation of Muslims to fast as per the correct sighting of the moon. As a consequence of this, Muslims begin the fast on different days and some times fasting even on the day of eid when fasting is forbidden. And we witness similar dilemma regarding the Eid al-Adha which is celebrated in the month of Dhil Hijjah. This is because the hijri calendar months begin and end with the position of the moon. All the events like the hajj which takes place in the month of Dhil Hijjah, the day (Yaum) of ‘Arafa and the Eid days are determined by the position of the mo...

The following is an extract from the book 'Understanding Usul al-Fiqh' . It is necessary to define the Qur’an, from this definition we will know what is allowed to be read in prayer and what is not. What is a proof in Hukm Shara’i and what is not? It also tells us what makes somebody a Kafir due to what he denies and what does not constitute disbelief. So when we define Qur’an we mean the Qur’an as evidence in Fiqh. Qur’an is derived from the word Qara’a, which means to read or recite. Therefore, Qur’an linguistically means the book that has been read or recited. As a term, Qur’an is Allah’s (swt) miraculous speech revealed unto Muhammad (saw) in Arabic and transferred to us by the Tawatur method. The recitation of Qur’an is considered as an ‘‘Ibadah (act of worship). By Allah’s (swt) speech it is meant that the Qur’an is the exact words of Allah (swt). It was revealed to Muhammad (saw) as it exists today. By ‘miraculous’ it is meant that no one can produce something similar to...