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REFLECTIONS: Unity of The Muslim Ummah

As millions of Muslims travel to Makkah this month to perform Hajj, we congratulate them on their journey, and ask Allah سبحانه وتعالى to bless them with the completion of their obligation. May Allah سبحانه وتعالى shower His سبحانه وتعالى rewards and blessings upon them and return them home safely. The Ibadat of Hajj is an amazing event where millions of Muslims gather from around the world: wearing the same clothes and exerting their effort to fulfill this pillar of Islam. Contemplating upon the Hajj, our attention is drawn to one of the vital issues of this Ummah. Muslims with different backgrounds, from distant places, speaking different languages and of different colours and cultures; all come together to the same place and at the same time to perform an act of worship out of total obedience and submission to the one and only ilah: Allah سبحانه وتعالى. As all the differences disappear, Hajj illustrates the unity that Islam naturally brings about to Muslims. Islam makes it an obl...

Views on the News - 12/11/2009

Rabbi calls on Muslims to separate religion and politics The UK ’s Chief Rabbi has called on Muslims to get used to living as a minority in Britain and to learn to separate religion from power. Lord Sacks said that neither Muslims nor Christians had yet learnt the lessons inflicted on the Jewish people by the Babylonian exile. “One of the great advantages of being Jewish is you know how to sing in the minor key,” he said. “We have had 26 centuries of experience ever since the Babylonian exile of living as a minority in the midst of a culture that does not share our views. Christianity and Islam have not had that experience.” He said that Christianity had learnt toleration but only after 100 years of “knocking the hell out of each other all over Europe ”. “I have no doubt that Islam will work its way through to the essential situation that Judaism arrived at and Christianity, namely the substantive separation of religion from power. But there’s no quick way of getting there. It is q...

Q&A: Calling for Islam in a General and Undefined Manner

بِسْمِ اللّهِ الرَّحْمَنِ الرَّحِيمِ Question:  We say in the book Al-Takattul Hizb on page 4 (page 1 in English version) at the bottom of the page: "Those in charge of the Islamic movements called for Islam in a general and undefined manner..." Our questions here are: 1- What is the meaning of calling for Islam in a general and undefined manner? What are some examples of this? 2- What are the evidences indicating that it is impermissible for Islamic movements to call to Islam in a general and undefined manner? Answer:  Performing the Da'wa in a general manner means that it is not crystallized or defined, and does not prevent things external to it from entering it. Its doors are open, and any external thoughts are free to enter under the excuse of "not contradicting it", or that they contain "benefit," or other similar excuses. He who is without a crystallized thought (Fikrah), clear concepts, and defined goals for their Da'wa will n...

Q&A: Change with Relation to Actions and Achieving Results

بِسْمِ اللّهِ الرَّحْمَنِ الرَّحِيمِ Question:  Does "Change" fall under the sphere that man dominates? If so, can man control the time and place of change? Furthermore, if an extended period of time passes and change does not occur, does this indicate that something is wrong with the people working towards it? Or does "Change" fall under the sphere that dominates man? If this is the case, then what is this verse referring to? إِنَّ اللّهَ لاَ يُغَيِّرُ مَا بِقَوْمٍ حَتَّى يُغَيِّرُواْ مَا بِأَنْفُسِهِمْ "Truly, Allah does not change the situation of a people until they change what is within themselves first" [Ar-Ra'ad, 13:11] Answer: If the word "Change" mentioned in the question is referring to "working towards change," then yes, it falls under the sphere that man dominates. The Akham Shari'ee related to this are clear. On the other hand, if the word is referring to "achieving change," then this is not ...

Q&A: America's Missile Defense Programme

The Question The Secretary-General of NATO, Rasmussen, said on 23/10/2009, that NATO welcomes the plans for missile defense in accordance with Obama's plan, as the Czech Republic confirmed that she is ready to be part of this defense system, only two days after Poland's accepted it. How is that?! Did not President Obama announce his plans to abandon installation of interceptor missiles in Poland and a radar site in the Czech Republic on 17/9/2009? Or was Obama's declaration to abandon not real, rather to trick Russia to lower her guard temporarily? If this is so, has America under Obama come to account for the growing strength of Russia and designed to appease Russia's security concerns? And does this also mean that America's military has been shaken such that her control of the international situation has weakened? The Answer: Obama has abandoned the missile defense system of the form that Bush adopted, but he has replaced it with a new form of missile defense s...

Foreign Aid: The Path to Slavery

Elite capitalist nations, such as America, UK and Canada, portray aid packages to Muslim countries as charity. But, in reality, this money is an investment that enables the colonial powers to maintain their influence in the Muslim lands. Foreign aid is a tool of control. We must call on the Ummah to reject the continued subordination of our affairs to these colonial nations. We must call on the people of influence in the Muslim lands to reject foreign aid and set a course that is subordinate to none but Allah (swt). In October, US President Barack Obama signed into law the Enhanced Partnership with Pakistan Act of 2009. The bill, also known as the Kerry-Lugar Bill, promises to send $7.5 billion in “aid” over a period of 5 years. However, the conditions attached to the bill are a cause of concern for many, including the Pakistani army, who see the bill as an infringement on national security. Foreign Aid: “No Free Lunch” When analyzing the actions of nations that adopt the capitali...

The Muslim Woman’s Dress in Public

Lately, the Islamic rulings related to the affairs of Muslim women have seen a lot of interest from the enemies of Islam who are bent on separating Muslims from their Deen. One such ruling under attack is the dress of the Muslim woman in public life. It is incumbent on all Muslims, both men and women, to defend Islam from such attacks. The best way to do so is through the Adila (evidences) that relate to the women’s dress in public life. Sha’r (Islamic law) has imposed a dress code on the Muslim woman that is specific to public life – she is obligated to wear distinct attire known as the “Jilbaab”. In public life it is not enough for a Muslim woman to cover her Awrah, which is defined by Shar’ as all of her body except the face and the hands. The Jilbaab covers the Awrah and fulfills other re-quirements defined by Shar’ for public life. Jilbaab: an obligation prescribed by Allah (swt) Wearing the Jilbaab is not an obligation required by the tra-dition of our forefathers, or a soc...