Islamic Revival

As reported by the Guardian and several media, Britain raised the subject of the plight of Rohingya Muslims during meetings with Aung San Suu Kyi, leader of Myanmar’s new government, during her recent visit to Britain. UK Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson welcomed the establishment of the Rakhine Commission, led by the former UN Chief Kofi Annan to examine the conflict between Rakhine Buddhists and Rohingya in Myanmar, describing it as an important step in beginning to tackle the “desperate situation” of the Rohingya. Annan was entrusted to lead this government-appointed commission by Aung San Suu Kyi who has been silent on the brutal treatment and systematic persecution of the Rohingya. Indeed, her National League for Democracy spokesman, stated just days after the party clinched victory in last year’s elections, that helping the persecuted Muslim minority was not a priority. He also echoed the stance of the previous military-backed government by suggesting that the Rohingya were illeg...

News: For weeks, Indian-administered Kashmir has been plunged into the worst violence in the region for some years. There has been a curfew and bloody clashes between protesters and security forces, all sparked by the death of a popular, young militant leader. Comment: The despicable use of force by Indian security services to silence Kashmiris is a bloody stain permanently etched onto India’s sham democracy. In fact, India is a longstanding member of democratic nations that frequently slaughter Muslims and pillage their resources in the name of democracy and freedom. The uneven handed approach of India’s security forces towards Kashmiris is not new. Over the years, India has routinely deployed overwhelming force and extra judicial measures to quash any form of dissent and subdue the Kashmiri people. India’s brutal force is accompanied by two notable concerns. First, the Kashmiris are not the only separatist movement. There are some twenty odd movements that aspire to cede f...

On Sunday 14/08/2016, the Doctors Without Borders organisation reported that 10 children had been killed in Yemen and 28 others had been wounded, all of whom were under the age of 15, in an attack undertaken by the Saudi-led Arab coalition upon a school for Quran memorisation in the Haidan region of North Yemen. This heinous crime took place with the blessing of the United Nations after the Saudi-led Arab coalition in Yemen was removed from the blacklist in their annual report about children and armed conflict. This granting from the UN came with the argument of Saudi’s support for ‘legitimacy’ in Yemen, the support it provides to the democratically elected President Abd Rabbuh Mansur Hadi and the provision of humanitarian assistance to the country. That is in despite of the ugliness of the cases and the numbers mentioned in UN reports which reveal the crimes of the Saudi-led Arab coalition against the children in Yemen. The children of Yemen are paying a huge price as a resu...

Question: On Monday, 08/08/2016 a trilateral summit was held that gathered for the first time presidents of Russia, Iran and Azerbaijan in Baku, the capital of Azerbaijan. The final declaration has mentioned several topics that were discussed, such as the relations between the three countries, the economic cooperation and the North-South corridor, as well as the fight against terrorism, the Syrian crisis, Afghanistan, drug trafficking, extremism, cross-border crime, illegal arms trafficking, human trafficking, etc …, all this in one day! Is this for media propaganda or is there a theme that was focused upon and the rest are just frills? Moreover, Iran and Azerbaijan follow the US policy, does this mean America has a role in this meeting? if so what is its goal in that? Answer: Yes, it is not reasonable to focus on all this broad spectrum of topics in a session or two, and in a day or part of a day! But it seems that the economic issue is the goal of this summit, and in partic...

Question: Assalamu Alaikum wa Rahmatullahi wa Barakatuh, I work in one of the Palestinian universities, and often work overtime but we do not receive the overtime pay, rather it is held by the university as a debt they owe, and perhaps the credit of one for us (workers) may far exceed the quorum ( nisab ) of Zakat (due to years of overtime). And this debt is not considered a dead debt, but is recoverable, however the timing for receiving it is not known. For example, I did not receive overtime payment for four years yet; I do not know when I will receive it. Is there Zakat for this money or not? And if there is Zakat, is it payable in a lump sum when received, or is it for every year? Note: Many of the instructors are puzzled on this issue and seek a comprehensive answer…. May Allah reward you. From Ma’an Alsarsoor Answer: Wa Alaikum Assalam wa Rahmatullahi wa Barakatuh, I  understand from your question that the entitlement for overtime pay is agreed with the univ...

Question: Assalamu Alaikum wa Rahmatullahi wa Barakatuh, In the Mafhum – Mafhum al-Mukhalafah (contrary understanding) – on the subject of contrary understanding of the number that is acted upon to infer Hukm Shar’i, it was proved to apply on the following conditions: the condition of restriction by a specific number, and negating the rule before the stated number from what is beyond it such that the rational necessity (Lazim Dhihni) indicates it and it comes to the brain of a person. And the writer came with an example: the Hadith “إذا كنتم ثلاثة فأمرّوا أحدكم، أو واحد منكم”    “If you are three in a voyage, then appoint one of you over you as an Amir.”,  and focused on the clarification to act upon Mafhum al-Mukhalafah of the number on number (one). Meaning that it is not allowed to have more than one. In the Noble Hadith of the Prophet: there is a mention of number (three), so is it acted upon? Or is it like the subsequent example, which is not acted upon and does...

Question: Assalamu Alaikum wa Rahmatullahi wa Barakatuh, There is a question I would like to ask you which is related to the science of Hadith: Scholars defined Hadith Sahih as that: “The Isnad [chain of transmission] of the hadith continues through the transmission of a trustworthy ( ‘adl ) and accurate ( dhabit ) narrator from someone similar to him from the beginning of the Sanad [chain of transmission] to its end. And the hadith should not be Shadh (irregular) nor  mu’allal  (defective)”. These are the restricting conditions for a narration to be accepted as Sahih hadith. But I find a lot of scholars strengthen weak reports by Shawahid (Witnesses) and Mutabaat (Follow-ups); for example, a hadith may come via a certain chain, and the hadith was a  da’eef  (weak) hadith, then this hadith has Shawahid or Mutabaat, but these Shawahid and Mutabaat are weak. However, scholars would authenticate the hadith via these Shawahid and Mutabaat. What is the extent to wh...