BaKhabar, August 2014

?Better light a candle than curse the darkness

Monthly e-Magazine ISSN 2319-4049

http://bakhabar.biharanjuman.org/ Volume 7, Issue 08, August 2014BE AWARE, ALWAYS, EVERYWHERE

IN FOCUS

What canyou doin one

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Editorial Board

PublisherBihar Anjuman BaKhabar

Editorial BoardAsrarul Haque, Seraj Akram, Mohd. Allam,

Ms Farhat Shakeel and Jahanzeb Mashhadi

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“The editors and publishers are not respon-sible for the views of writers, and their viewsdo not reflect our policy or ideology in anyway. We however reserve the right to editany material submitted for publication, onaccount of public policy, or for reasons of

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Bakhabar : August 20142

and whatever of ill befalls you, it is from yourself. 03

Fruits of Being Thankful to ALLAH 06

Dear anti-Muslim commenters, here is what Islam is really about

07

Sinners and Repenters:

Hopes and Assurance from Allah10

X-Rays 12

Plan your Hajj Trip 13

Bloodshed in Gaza 16

The Day of Eid 20

What can you do in one minute?24

Contents


I By: Àbd al-Àzîz b. Àbd Allah al-Husayn I

Allah says: “Whatever of good befalls you, itis from Allah; and whatever of ill befallsyou, it is from yourself.” [Sûrah al-Nisâ’:

79]

This verse above and others like it outline for us anattitude that we should adopt, and that will make usbetter at coping with good fortune and adversity inour lives.

Some people misunderstand these verses and referall the weal and woe of their lives to Allah being ei-ther pleased or displeased with them. Worldly pros-perity is seen as a sign of Allah’s pleasure, whilemisfortune and loss are seen as evidence of Allah’sanger. Those who adopt this view are prone to con-fusion and susceptible to misguidance.

There are indeed many verses in the Qur’ân that es-tablish a cause and effect relationship between virtueand vice on the one hand, and prosperity and ruin onthe other. The following verses are representative:

“Whosoever does right, whether male or female, andis a believer, verily we shall give them a good life,and We shall pay them a recompense in proportionto the best of what they used to do.” [Sûrah al-Nahl:97]

“What! when a misfortune befell you, and you hadcertainly afflicted (them) with twice as much, youbegan to say: Whence is this? Say: It is from your-selves. Surely Allah has power over all things.”[Sûrah Al Ìmrân: 165]

“But those who have earned evil will have a rewardof like evil: ignominy shall overtake them.” [SûrahYûnus: 27]

These verses show us that those who engage in right-eous deeds are recompensed by having their heartsgrow stronger, by receiving sustenance by meansthat they cannot have anticipated, and by receivinggreat blessings in the little that they have.

By contrast, those who engage in evil deeds are pun-

ished by becoming hard-hearted, preoccupied withworries, and by various misfortunes.

However, this must be understood in the most gen-eral of terms. It cannot be used to analyze specificcircumstances and situations. Health, affluence, anda happy family life cannot be used as an indicatorthat Allah is pleased with a particular person, or thatthe person is being rewarded for his or her gooddeeds. These circumstances might be given to theperson as a test. They might even be given to givethe person trespass in his iniquity.

In some cases, they may even be a form of punish-ment. Allah says: “Let not their wealth nor their chil-dren dazzle you: in reality Allah’s plan is to punishthem with these things in this life, and that theirsouls may perish in their (very) denial of Allah.”[Sûrah al-Tawbah: 55]

The same can be said for poverty. It is not necessar-ily a punishment from Allah. It may actually be amercy. There is a hadîth where it is related that theProphet (peace be upon him) quotes Allah as saying:“Indeed, among of my servants are those whose faithcannot endure except in poverty. If I were to enrichthem, they would fall into disbelief.” [TârîkhBaghdâd (6/15) – However, the hadîth is weak, asdiscussed by al-Albânî in al-Silsilah al-Da`îfah(1774)]

Sickness is no different. We should consider the sup-plication the Prophet (peace be upon him) taught usto make on behalf of a sick person: “May it be a pu-rification, Allah willing.”

This supplication shows us that we should adopt anoptimistic outlook about sickness and other misfor-tunes. At the same time, the fact that the Prophet(peace be upon him) has us say “Allah willing”shows us that we should not express certainty aboutthe sickness being a purification. It might, alterna-tively, be a means of raising the sick person’s stationin the Hereafter. It might possibly be a punishmentfor some sins.

Allah says: “Every soul must taste of death, and Wetry you with evil and with good, for ordeal. And untoUs you will be returned.” [Sûrah al-Anbiyâ’: 35]

"and whatever of ill befalls you, it is from yourself.”


We should look at having children in the same way.A person may wait years to have children, or mighteven be sterile. This is not necessarily a punishment.It would be wrong to even assume that it is a misfor-tune. It could very well be due to Allah’s mercy andHis being pleased with the person. Maybe, it is atribulation by which Allah raises the person’s statusin the Hereafter. There may be a great wisdom be-hind Allah not granting someone children that theperson will never come to know.

We should consider the incident when Khidr, whiletraveling with Moses (peace be upon him) , killedthe young boy. Allah tells us : “So the two of themjourneyed on until, when they met a lad, he slewhim. (Moses) said: “What! Have you slain an inno-cent soul who has slain no man? Verily you havedone a horrid thing’.” [Sûrah al-Kahf: 74]

There can be no doubt that the child’s parents musthave thought the death of their son to be a greattragedy and misfortune. However, Khidr explains hisaction to Moses (peace be upon him) as follows:“And as for the lad, his parents were believers andwe feared lest he should oppress them by rebellionand disbelief. And we intended that their Lordshould change him for them for one better in purityand nearer to mercy.” [Sûrah al-Kahf: 80-81]

How often do we regard something that befalls us tobe a great misfortune, when in fact it is really Allahshowing His mercy to us. The opposite is equallytrue. Allah says: “Perhaps you hate a thing that isbest for you, and you love a thing that is bad for you.Allah knows, while you know not.” [Sûrah al-Baqarah: 216]

Allah’s decree in the world is known to Him alone.Therefore, it is wrong for us to take the general textsthat show a cause and effect relationship betweenvirtue and worldly consequences and try to applythem to specific people and circumstances. Weshould certainly not make decisive judgments aboutourselves or others on such a basis, saying thingslike “Allah is punishing that person” or “Allah ispleased with him”.

The Prophets and the righteous people of the pastwere all tried with serious hardships. We cannot saythat they suffered because Allah was punishingthem. We can also see that Allah has granted certainsinners and unbelievers with considerable prosperityin this world. We cannot say that this shows Allah is

pleased with them.

The attitude that a believer should take is to live be-tween hope and fear. He should at all times beequally self-accusatory and conscious of Allah’smercy and grace. The believer’s feelings of self-ac-cusation and his awareness of his sins should bemore acute when he is in health and prosperity. Attimes of sickness and hardship, he should grow moreconscious of Allah’s mercy and His pleasure withour good deeds.

A Muslim should always be patient in adversity,thankful in prosperity. To be sure to achieve thisstate of mind, he should be conscious of Allah’s wis-dom in testing us with every blessing and hardship.Such a Muslim will then show fortitude in sorrowand when his means are straitened. He will not re-gard his misfortune as Allah disgracing him. He will,instead, accuse himself, saying: “This is on accountof my sins.” He will do so in order to better himselfan inculcate humility in his heart, recalling Allah’swords: “Whatever of good befalls you, it is fromAllah; and whatever of ill befalls you, it is fromyourself.” [Sûrah al-Nisâ’: 79]

This is why we see that `Abbâs used to say “No mis-fortune ever befell except on account of sin.”

Others from among the Pious Predecessors used tosay: “By Allah! If I committed any sin, I would seeits consequences on my family and my steed.”

A Muslim who is conscious of Allah’s wisdom intesting us with every blessing and hardship will like-wise show gratitude in prosperity. He will say: “Thisis from the grace and generosity of my Lord.” Hewill regard it as a test upon him.

We see Solomon (peace be upon him) saying: “Thisis from the bounty of my Lord, that He may try mewhether I will give thanks or be ungrateful.” [Sûrahal-Naml: 40]

In this way, the Muslim will be sure to give thanksfor Allah’s blessings, and he will avoid attributingthose blessings to his own efforts. A believer shouldnever bestow upon himself unmitigated praise orcredit.

Allah warns us against such haughtiness in theQur’ân: “As for man, whenever his Lord tries himby honoring him, and is gracious unto him, he says:


My Lord has honored me. But whenever He trieshim by straitening his means of life, he says: MyLord despises me. Nay! (this is not the case.)”[Sûrah al-Fajr: 15-17]

This verse shows us that we should not gauge our af-fairs in this way. Allah does not give us the good thatHe blesses us with because we are deserving of it.He does so from His grace and bounty. He does notdisgrace us when He withholds from us. Rather whatHe withholds from us is on account of His infinitewisdom.

http://en.islamtoday.net/artshow-264-3178.htm

Son of a labourer, anddaughter of road-side ven-dor now look forward to a

bright future

s- By Bihar Anjuman Team Bihar Anjuman’s RAHBAR Coaching Centres havethe honour of producing a high success rate in the2014 diploma engineering entrance exam forMANUU, getting more than 35 students short-listedfor admission. All India 2nd topper is from RCCDarbhanga, and the 4th topper is from RCC Patna. RAHBAR Coaching centres were able to transform33 zeroes of yesterday into heroes of today, this year,thus adding to the 67 of previous three years (6 in2010, 16 in 2011, 18 in 2012, and 27 in 2013), tak-ing the total to 100, now.

35 students of RAHBAR Coaching centres makehistory in 2014, with ShahidObaidullah of RCCDarbhanga getting 2nd All India Rank (1st in Bihar)and NahidParween of RCC @ Patna bagging the 4thAll India rank in MANUU polytechnic entranceexam of 2014. In 2013, the 6th rank was bagged by

RCC Patna student, Khadija Mastoor, while therewere 4 students in top 50.

RCC Muzaffarpur took RCC movement to newheights by getting 12 of its students in the qualifyinglist of same all India exam. Six (6) of the top 50 ranks have been bagged byRCCs managed by Bihar Anjuman, three of these byRCC Muzaffarpur alone. Thanks to the exceptionalefforts of JanabShoaib Khan Sb, IPS, who has de-voted his precious time to the RCCs and consideredthe children studying there as his own. His study ma-terials for the polytechnic entrance exams as well asthe 10th board are playing a great role in making theRCC students better their achievement every year.

Churning Heroes out of Zeroes: From 6 in the firstyear of operations, RAHBAR Coaching Centreshave been producing increasing number of engineers(35 qualified this year) out of the lot of studentswhich was left without society's attention, doomed todrop out of the educational system, their poverty ledthem into the government schools wherein no teach-ing takes place. The above chart proves the dire ne-cessity of intervention at the lower levels ofschooling. 95% of muslim students are forced to takeadmission in government schools, because they can-not afford the luxury of private schools - these 95%have no hopes of moving forward after their 10%board exam, because they did not receive any educa-tion at all. Unless this large percentage of Indianpopulation can be educated to excel, find decent em-ployment, India cannot reach the top league of na-tions. As responsible citizens of this emergingnation, we must increase the level of our interventionand do our bit to take our beloved country to the top.As muslims (chosen by God to lead), we have to ful-fill our duties of helping those sections of our societywhich have been left unattended. Let's start giving tothe society, rather than thinking of taking - spreadour hands to give away whatever we can, rather thanto beg from the society or government. If we believethat we, as muslims, have been assigned the respon-sibility of leading as chosen by God, then we need tounderstand, first and foremeost, that BEGGARScan't be CHOOSERS unless we stop begging fromthe government and the society, and start givingaway to them, we cannot be chosen by the Almightyto lead - we have been failing in taking up this re-sponsibility and in fulfilling our basic duty. It's timeto seek forgiveness from Allah, and pledge afresh tostart travelling on the right, the path of those withwhom Allah is pleased.


From “Beyond Education” collection

I By NissarNadiadwala I

There are many stories in the Qur'an and theHadith which we hear and pass by like talesas Islamic entertainments but most of us do

not study the motivating morals behind them. Theycan really change our lives if properly studied andimplemented the lessons from them. Let me sharetwo of them.

There was a man who had a large orchard whichgave a lot of fruits in every season. The man dividedthe fruits into three parts one third he kept for hisfamily's sustenance the second third for future in-vestments and the last one third he gave away to thepoor and it was a huge amount that he shared withthe poor and the needy. The man showed grateful-ness to Allah by sharing His blessings with the poor.Such was his generosity that the poor in his localityused to wait for his harvest eagerly every time histrees gave fruits.

He had four sons according to Sahih Hadith, all ofthem were unhappy with their father's charity ori-ented division of fruits and they thought that their fa-ther was being too extreme in charity. Few yearslater the man died leaving behind the vast orchardwith ready to yield fruits about to be harvested. Sothe brothers met one night and decided. Let us go tothe farm in the darkness of the night and pluck allthe fruits and not give to the poor since our fatherhas already been giving them a lot since many years.

So as the Qur'an says in Surah Qalam chapter 68:‘they walked slowly towards their garden so that theneighbouring poor may not even hear their footsteps.But when they reached the orchard they found itburnt and destroyed. So they thought they were in adifferent place by mistake but one of them remindedthem that they were in the right place indeed and thefarm was destroyed by Allah last night. The reason?"LawlaaTusabbehoon" They didn’t to do the tasbeehof Allah!’

The Quran says further that they accepted their mis-take and repented with a supplication that Allah willgive us in exchange a better garden than this for weturn to Him in repentance.

Motivating and Inspiring Morals in the story?1. Tasbeeh does not only mean to chant Allah's namebut also be charitable and generous towards others. 2. If you are ungrateful towards the Blessings ofAllah, than Allah may snatch away His Blessingsthat he has given to you. 3. Being grateful to Allah for His blessings also in-clude sharing His blessings with others.4. If you have shown ungratefulness yet repentingwill undo your evil inshallah.In Musnad e Ahmed, another story of this sort ismentioned by Anas bin Malik (r.a.): Once we weresitting in the company of the Prophet (pbuh) and abeggar came asking for alms. The Prophet (pbuh)had only a piece of date. So he asked a person to goand give that date to the beggar. The beggar, on re-ceiving only one date, got irritated and returned thedate and walked awya saying, “I had heard that hismessenger of Allah is very generous. Now I come toknow how generous he is, he is offering me only onedate which even I can offer him.” A few minuteslater another man came begging, the Prophet (pbuh)offered the same date to the next beggar. This mantossed up the date happily and kept on saying, “Sub-hanallah, a date from the house of the Prophet! Sub-hanAllah a date from the house of the Prophet,” andhe moved happily thanking Allah aloud. The Prophet(pbuh) smiled and asked Anas bin Malik to go toUmme Salam's house and get those 40 Dirhams shehad, and he gave it to the beggar. The same 'date' buttwo different attitudes and two different responsesand two different results.

Moral of the Story? If you thank Allah you get more.This is precisely what Allah offers in Surah Ibrahimverse 7:

And if you be grateful then I will give you more.Now to motivate you, Umar bin Abdul Azeez said: OPeople grab firmly the blessings of Allah by thank-ing Him and it will be with you for ever.Do you have a list of blessings from Allah? Thoughwe cannot enlist all His blessings even if we try tobut at least some of them can be counted. Look intoit and see how many blessings you have thankedHim for...

Fruits of Being Thankful to

ALLAH


Opinion

I By Ajaz Ashraf I

I'm going to cite a few statistical facts I feel deeplyembarrassed about. But I have decided to press onregardless, believing these might dispel the impres-sions that many of the exuberant readers of Firstposthave about Muslims. This piece is particularly ad-dressed to those whose sting lies in the vituperativelanguage they employ to express their hatred againstthe community. Do not take offence, for this is anendeavour to initiate a dialogue with you readers.

The first statistical fact pertains to the Kargil war,which India was compelled to undertake for pushingout the Pakistanis from its terri-tory. This mission India accom-plished, at the terrible cost of thelives of 449 soldiers. Of these,23, or 5.12 percent, were Mus-lims.

Only 5.12 percent, you mightsay.

But this number has to be per-ceived against the backdrop ofanother statistical reality: Mus-lims comprise just 3 percent, orroughly 29000, of the million-strong Indian army. This shows,first, that the fatalities amongMuslim soldiers were marginallyhigher than their presence in the army.

Second, it proves false the Hindutva brigade's propa-ganda that Muslims can't be loyal to their country.This is because, it is claimed, Islam privileges theMuslim ummah, or community, over the category ofnation. It is forgotten that the idea of nation is amodern construct. This apart, in the Kargil waragainst the Pakistanis, Muslim soldiers battled as fe-rociously as any, regardless of the religious identityof their foes.

Switch to 26/11, that tragic date of the year 2008 onwhich Pakistani terrorists bombed and sprayed bul-lets in Mumbai, killing 170. Of them, 34, or 20 per-cent, were Muslims. This relatively high figure,given that Muslims comprise 13.4 percent of India's

population, underscores the indifference of terroriststo the religious identity of their victims. For the ter-rorists, like the Muslim martyrs of Kargil, the na-tionality of those whom they wish to fight or kill isof paramount importance.....Try telling this to those who bristle with irrationalrage against the Muslims.

Turn now to anecdotal evidence. From time to time,you must have read newspaper headlines announcingthe arrest of the spies of Intelligence Bureau (IB) orResearch and Analysis Wing (R&AW), who werefound to be working for a foreign country. FromSikanderLal Malik to Rabinder Singh to Ashok

Sathe, they have all been non-Muslims.

Obviously, R&AW's counter-in-telligence can't stumble uponMuslims working as double-agents, not because their loyaltyto the country is unimpeachable,but because it doesn't employmembers of India's largest reli-gious minority as a policy. Thisoutrageous norm even the IB pur-sued till the early 1990s, its rever-sal propelling a Muslim officer,Syed Asif Ibrahim, to head the or-ganisation today.

Indeed, it would appear that whatfuels disloyalty to the nation is greed for money andfactors such as a person being honey-trapped andthen blackmailed into working against his country.Wouldn't it be absurd to cite the IB and R&AW's listof double-agents to claim that the Hindu way of liferendered these officials susceptible to blandish-ments?

But such sweeping statements constitute the kernelof bigoted comments against MuslimsonFirstpost.Among the pet peeves of those makingthese comments is the belief that the Quran endorsesand promotes violence, particularly against non-Muslims.

In support of this argument, Verses 190-195 fromChapter II of the Quran are often cited. These read:

Dear anti-Muslim commenters, here is what Islam is really about

The Hindu radical insistson literarlism, and in-vokes the Gita to justifyhis violent intent. In

much the same manner,the Islam prescription "todo jihad", has been inter-preted by the Muslim

radical to justify his mis-sion of tossing bombs at

the innocent.


Opinion

"Fight in the cause of God those who fight you, butdo not commit aggression: God loves not the aggres-sor. Slay them wherever you may come upon them,and expel them from where they had expelled you;for oppression (persecution) is worse than slaugh-ter;... Fight them until persecution is no more, andreligion is for God. But if they desist, then all hostil-ity shall cease, except against those who willfully dowrong."(Italics mine)All texts are embedded in their contexts, as werethese verses, which were revealed to Prophet Mo-hammad when the powerful Quraysh tribe waspreparing for the battle of Badr. Muslims were thenjust a few hundreds, compelled to take refuge inMedina because of the persecution they encounteredin Mecca. The first line of the verses quoted above,quite evidently, tells Muslims that it isn't wrong tofight in self-defence. However, these verses enjoinMuslims to cease hostility once the aggressor desistsfrom attacking and persecuting them.

There is much controversy over the sentence: "Fightthem until persecution is no more, and religion is forGod." The phrase "religion is for God" has been in-terpreted as an exhortation to establish the su-premacy of Islam. Cultural critic ZiauddinSardar,however, writes in Reading the Quran: "'Religion isfor God' implies worship in general by all faith com-munities. This is made clear in (chapter) 22: (verse)40 where those who fight oppression in the 'cause ofGod' liberate 'cloisters and churches and synagoguesand mosques in which God's name is much remem-bered and 'which otherwise would have been pulleddown.' The words used are exactly the same: 'reli-gion is for God.'"

All texts are liable to multiple interpretations. Thus,SayyidQutb, the intellectual ideologue of the MuslimBrotherhood thought the word "desist" didn't meansimply refraining from aggression or persecution.For him, it implied that the persecutors and aggres-sors were "required to renounce their denial of Godand their rejection of His message."

By contrast, MaulanaMawdudi, the founder of theJamaat-e-Islami in Pakistan, who wasn't really a lib-eral, differed from Qutb, saying that "what is meantby desisting is not the abandonment of unbelief andpolytheism" on the part of non-Muslims, but refrain-ing from hostility to Islam.

Otherwise too, the Quran insists that there is "nocompulsion in religion". In Chapter V, verse 32, it

says: "On that account: We ordained for the Childrenof Israel that if any one slew a person - unless it befor murder or for spreading mischief in the land - itwould be as if he slew the whole people: and if anyone saved a life, it would be as if he saved the life ofthe whole people."

Barring those of the ilk of SayyidQutb, most schol-ars agree that the Quran allows Muslims to mountarmed resistance against oppression, or when theirterritory is invaded, or when people are persecutedon the basis of religion.

Are such injunctions any different from other greatreligious texts like, say, the Bhagavad Gita?

Before the commencement of the battle of Kuruk-shetra, when Arjun saw that the army of his foes, theKauravas, included his cousins and friends, heturned to Lord Krishna and said, "O Lord Krishna,what pleasure shall we find in killing our cousinbrothers. Upon killing these felons we shall incur sinonly... It would be far better for me if my cousins killme with their weapons in battle while I am unarmedand unresisting."

To Arjun, Lord Krishna said, "But if you do not fightthis battle which is enjoined by dharma, then youwill have given up your own dharma as well asglory, and you will incur sin... Either, being slain,you will attain heaven; or being victorious, you willenjoy the earth. Therefore arise, O son of Kunti, in-tent on battle."

Like the Quran, the Gita has been variously inter-preted. Mahatma Gandhi thought it extolled nonvio-lence, partly because only a few verses in itpertained to violence. Gandhi perceived Arjun's lovefor his cousins as symbolical of the individual's at-tachment to the world, which he must overcome toenable his exalted, noble self to blossom. Yet, manydismiss Gandhi's insights into the Gita as an attemptto seek cultural justification for his philosophy ofnonviolence.

Muslim and Hindu radicals mirror each other. TheHindu radical insists on literarlism, and invokes theGita to justify his violent intent. In much the samemanner, the Islamic prescription "to do jihad", or tovanquish the baser, ignoble self, has been interpretedby the Muslim radical to justify his mission of toss-ing bombs at the innocent.

(Prof. Muhammad Aqil)

hhttttpp::////wwwwww..iinnzzaaaarr..oorrgg//


IslamFor many, the recreated memory of Muslim rule inIndia, from the Slave dynasty to Mughals, stokes pas-sion of retribution among some Hindus today, againstthe alleged atrocities perpetrated against their ances-tors. This narrative speaks of brutal wars fought againstthe Hindus, their conversion to Islam under the shadowof the sword, the destruction of temples, and their en-slavement in their own land.

In this reconstruction of the past, not only are the pos-sible beneficial aspects of Muslim rule glossed over,but history is turned into a forever throbbing woundwhich can't heal unless the Muslims living today atonefor the supposed sins of their forefathers. They canatone only through a submissive acceptance of the al-leged humiliation they inflicted on the Hindus in thepast. Or, if not willing, accept it under duress.

Forget this style of history-writing. Ask the more rele-vant question: Wouldn't attempts at righting pastwrongs also include, for instance, subjecting uppercastes and, in more recent times, the dominant castes tothe dehumanizing social behaviour they once adoptedtowards the lower castes? Would we insist on uppercastes taking to manual scavenging to experience thehorror of it?

Not too many decades ago, the Brahmins in TamilNadu kept a distance of 36 paces from the Nadars,whose women were proscribed from covering theupper portions of their bodies. When some Nadars con-verted to Christianity, their women began wearingblouses. Their sense of modesty provoked rioting

against the defiance of this invidious social norm. Nowthat Nadars have become prosperous and empowered,would they be justified in demanding that Brahminwomen walk around without a top?

All this isn'tto deny the involvement of some Muslimsin terror incidents. But their love of terror can't becomethe basis to stereotype the community, or to makesweeping comments about their faith inspiring them toviolence. This is as absurd as citing the propensity ofthe Hindu-dominated LTTE to foment bloodshed, orthe Hindu background of Maoists, or the indictment ofthe RashtriyaSwayamsevakSangh (RSS) by variouscommissions of inquiry in triggering communal vio-lence, as indisputable evidence of Hinduism preachingintolerance and endorsing violence.

Undoubtedly, what should be India's quest was bestspelt out through a global essay competition that a cul-tural centre of a foreign country held nearly 15 yearsago. The topic: How to liberate the present from thepast and the future from the present?

Liberation can't be achieved, as radical Hindu netizensbelieve, by allowing the past to cast its forbiddingshadow over both the present and the future, shacklingboth to their morbid imagination.--------------------------A Delhi-based journalist, Ajaz Ashraf is the author ofThe Hour Before Dawn, HarperCollins India, releasingSeptember 2014http://m.firstpost.com/life/dear-anti-muslim-com-menters-here-isislam-is-really-about-1606503.html


From “Beyond Education” collection

I By Nissar Nadiadwala I

Note these two hadith: All sons of Adam (r.a.) sinbut the best sinner is the one who repents, if you did-n’t sin then Allah will produce new people who willsin and repent. None of the two hadith issues anyopen licence to commit sins, rather it gives a hope ofpardon from Allah.

The difference between the sins of Adam (r.a.) andIblees was their respective responses after being toldthat they were wrong. Adam (r.a.) repented butIblees remained adamant, which ruined him. Manyof us want to repent but don’t know how to do sin-cere repentance, some of us do ritual repentance byjust chanting Astagfirullah day and night withoutworrying if their repentance is accepted or not. Someof us appoint middlemen to get our sins pardonedwithout recalling that one of the attribute of Allah isal Gafoor which means one who forgives repeatedly.Let us revise some important lessons in repentanceand make our repentance a real repentance.

Do not despair the Mercy of Allah: Prophet Yaqoob(pbuh) told his sons not to despair Allah's mercy inspite of knowing the grievousness of their sin thatthey tried to kill a Prophet of Allah i.e. Yusuf andseparated the father son Yaqub and Yusuf for manyyears, peace be upon both.Do not delay your repentance: Surah al-Imran givessome easy steps to forgiveness, in verse 133-135.

1. Do not Delay your repentance: Sare'oonaila-maghfiranminRabbikum… Hurry to seek forgive-ness from your Lord. This verse is supported by the21st verse of Surah al-Hadeed insisting that just hur-rying is not enough; rather one should be foremost inrepenting. Sabiqooilamaghfiratin min Rabbikum...Be foremost in getting forgiveness from your Lord.Many people plan to seek forgiveness only whenthey go for Hajj or Umrah or delay till they growold. The above verses don’t agree with them.2. Do charity act as expiation for sins, andspending on the needy is one such investment (ratherthan expenditure). Verse no.133 furthers suggeststhat we spend in the way of Allah during prosperityas well as adversity.

Normally people delay charity during both the situa-tions giving reasons like: these days I am runningshort of money so I will spend later when I get myincrease in income; and in prosperity: I have to buy acar and a new apartment .Thus spending in both theconditions saves us from being greedy as well asmiser. The same act is detailed in the 104th verse ofSurah at-Toubah: And know that Allah accepts therepentance from His worshippers and charity too andHe is indeed Forgiver and Most Merciful.If you want forgiveness then forgive other peopletoo! The above mentioned verse further goes: Theycontrol their anger and forgive people. It sounds lit-tle difficult to implement. Controlling anger and paincaused by others requires an immense amount ofSabr as Allah says in sura al-Baqarah: Indeed it is abig thing except upon those who fear Allah. A companion of the Prophet (pbuh) was given gladtidings of Paradise just because every night he sleptafter cleaning his heart of ill feelings he had towardsothers or hardships or pain caused by others. He didnot wait for others to come and say SORRY to him.Rather he initiated forgiveness.

Controlling your anger when you are in a position ofpunishing someone is a great pardon and makes usqualify to get a pardon from the Most Forgiver andMost Merciful. In fact, in Surah Noor, chapter 24,verse no.22, Allah mentions forgiving others as oneof the opportunities for receiving a pardon fromHim: Let them forgive and overlook. Do you notwish that Allah should forgive you? The context isworth knowing. This verse was revealed to correctabu Bakr as-Siddique (r.a.) who did not give his poorcousin the charity that he gave him regularly just be-cause the later was involved in spreading rumourabout Aisha the wife of the Prophet (pbuh). Even aninjury of this magnitude should be overlooked if youwant to be a candidate of Allah's Mercy.

3. Remembering Allah and not to be obstinatein repeating sins says the last part of the verse. Thatis as simple as the verse itself. It builds a hateful atti-tude towards sin. Surah Nisaa's verse 110 elaboratesit: And whoever commits a sin or an atrocity uponhim and returns to Allah, he will find Allah Oft For-giving and Most Merciful. Justifying this condition,

Sinners and Repenters:Hopes and Assurance from Allah


Surah al Ar'af says: do not commit mischief on theearth after it is corrected.4. Pray for the Forgiveness of others too. Surahal_Hashr verse 10: And those who came after themsay: Our Lord forgive us and our brothers who camebefore us into the faith and leave not in our hearts(sense of injury) against those who believe.

5. Have you noted how the angels pray for theforgiveness of the believers? Refer Surah Ghafirch40, verse 7: And those Angles who carry the burdenof the Arsh: 1. They Glorify Allah. 2. They praisetheir Lord. 3. They believe in Him. 4. (Then) theypray for the believers to be pardoned.

6. Finally, Last but not least, do ToubatunNa-sooha, a sincere repentance, an intense repentance.

Educate poor communitygirls @ RAHBAR-e-Ba-naat Madrasa cum SchoolApeal to donate your Zakat/Sadaqat to RAHBAR-e-Banaat School and Madrasa, for holistic educa-tion & guidance [Only for Girls of weaker sections,in Bihar &Jharkhand:http://school.biharanju-man.org/

Your support has helped the project a lot, but itneeds more funds, therefore, pls come forward todonate your Zakat &Sadaqat, to this important proj-ect of Bihar Anjuman.Individual NRI Donors may please transfer theircontributions to the following bank account of RAH-BAR, the NGO of Bihar Anjuman [Kindly send anemail to [email protected], once you havemade the transfer, so that we may be able to main-tain a proper account, at our levels]. Also, please send scanned copy of your ID proof(passport copy for NRIs), which is a mandatory re-quirement for NRIs (If you have already sent it be-fore, then ignore it). In case of any problems in transferring the commit-ted amount, please write back to us so that we couldfind an alternative means of transferring the funds.

Non-Indian donors, kindly do not transfer any fundsto this bank account.

A/c name: RAHBAR; A/c number:

00891450000123Bank name: HDFC Bank; Branch: D-965, Mata Ka-Mandir, New Friends Colony, New Delhi-110065 IFSC Code: HDFC0000089; MICR Code:110240009

Donations: all kinds of donations are acceptableRead this article, please: Letter and Spirit of Zakat(Zakah) at http://www.biharanjuman.org/zakat-letter-and-spirit.html.

The students in this madarsa are from poor families,most of whom are not going to any schools ormadrasas, at all. Therefore, zakah funds may be usedto impart literacy to them. Yateem girls will be ac-commodated in a hostel which is the first buildingbeing built [structure of 3 floors are ready, thus 24rooms can be used once finishing work is com-pleted]. The boundary wall construction is now com-pleted, and the hostel is ready to accept students.

You may donate (from any funds at your disposal)for:

(A) Sponsor construction cost for eisal-e-sawaband sadaqa-e-jaariya:(a) construction of class-rooms (one classroom: Rs.4 lakhs): total number of classrooms planned = 15(architectural dwg @ http://bit.ly/eFUnHI)(b) Construction of hostel (one hostel room: Rs. 2lakhs): total number of rooms planned = 24 (archi-tectural dwg @ http://bit.ly/eFUnHI)(c) Construction of a library-cum-reading room @Rs. 4 lakhs + furniture @ Rs. 1 lakh(d) Construction of the office room @ Rs. 3 lakhs +office furniture @ Rs. 50,000/=(g) hand pump for drinking water, Rs. 10,000/=(with platform), near hostel building(h) 2 Overhead water-tanks + 1 electric submersiblepump + plumbing work for hostel building, Rs.75,000/=

(B) Regular (monthly, quarterly, annual) contri-bution:(a) Sponsor the principal’s salary @ Rs. 7,000 to Rs.8,000 per month,(b) sponsor a teaching staff @ Rs. 4,000 to 6,000 permonth,(c) sponsor a non-teaching staff (matron, peon,muhassil, etc.) @ Rs. 3,000 to 4,000 per month(d) sponsor a student's expenses (non-resident): Rs.200 per month


By Hajira Khan & Sameen Ahmed Khan I

The light, radio waves and X-Rays are electromag-netic waves but with varying wavelengths and hencevarying energy. They all travel with the speed oflight. The televisions and the mobiles also use elec-tromagnetic waves. The sound and images are con-verted into electromagnetic signals transmitted andafter reaching the receiver converted back to theoriginal form. The electromagnetic waves travelabout a million times faster than the sound; hence wedo not feel the lag while talking on the phone. Theelectromagnetic waves with smaller wavelengthshave higher energy. X-Rays have very small wave-length compared to the visible light and hence veryhigh energy. This gives them the high penetrationpower. This ability of the X-Rays enables us to seeinside the human bodies. This seeing is not directbut through the photographic plates.

The X-Rays were discovered by Wilhelm ConradRöntgen on 8 November 1895 and are now a house-hold word as they are extensively used in the hospi-tals. This has been possible because, X-Rays havethe ability to pass through substances and form im-ages on photographic plates. The discovery byRöntgen was accidental when he discovered animage cast by his cathode ray generator. Röntgennamed the new form of radiation as X-Radiation (Xstands for the “Unknown” as in mathematics).Hence, the term X-Rays. The term Röntgen rays isnot fashionable.

The First X-Ray Image of Human Body taken on 22December 1895, it is the left hand of Mrs. Röntgenwith the bones clearly visible along with the fingerring

Soon after his discovery, Röntgen took an X-rayphotograph of his wife’s hand which clearly revealedher bones along with the wedding ring! The photo-graph generated a huge scientific interest in the aca-demic circles and big sensation in the public.X-Rays soon became a common diagnostic tool inmedicine. X-Rays were also used to understand thestructure of matter. Many path breaking discoveriesin physics, chemistry and medicine have been madeusing X-Rays. Over twenty individuals have beenawarded with Nobel Prizes.

Bibliography

1. Discoveries in the Field of X-rays, NobelMedia (2014). http://www.nobelprize.org/educa-tional/physics/x-rays/discoveries-1.html

2. Sameen Ahmed Khan, 2015 the InternationalYear of Light and Light-based Technologies (IYL),Ba Khabar, Vol 7, Issue 01, pp 17-18 (January 2014).Published by Bihar Anjuman, http://bakhabar.biha-ranjuman.org/.

3. Sameen Ahmed Khan, 2015 declared the In-ternational Year of Light and Light-based Technolo-gies, Current Science, 106 (4), 501 (25 February2014). (Fortnightly Publication of the Indian Acad-emy of Sciences).http://www.currentscience.ac.in/Volumes/106/04/0501.pdf

4. Sameen Ahmed Khan, Visualising the Invisi-ble through Crystallography, BaKhabar, Vol 7, Issue04, pp 4-5 (April 2014). Published by Bihar Anju-man, http://bakhabar.biharanjuman.org/.

Hajira Khan Student of Standard-V, Indian School SalalahSalalah, Sultanate of Oman

Sameen Ahmed KhanEngineering DepartmentSalalah College of Technology, Salalah, Sultanate of Oman([email protected], http://SameenAhmed-Khan.webs.com/)

X-Rays


Islam

I By Sameen Ahmed Khan I

The holy month of Ramadan-ul-Mubarak just gotover which covers one of the five pillars of Islamnamely Siyam (fasting). This auspicious moth ismarked with intensive efforts in reinforcing the twopillars of Salaat (namaz, prayers) and Zakat (char-ity). The first pillar of Islam the core and soul isknown as Iman (faith) and the most basic withoutwhich one can not be a Muslim. The fifth pillar Hajjis the pilgrimage to the holy city of Makkah Mukar-ramah. The Hajj has been ordained by Allah Sub-hanahu as a compulsory duty upon every male andfemale Muslim above the age of puberty who has themeans to fulfill it. For many Hajj is an once-in-a-lifetime blessing and a dream come true. They maynot get another chance to do the Hajj again. TheHajj requires substantial preparation both spirituallyand physically/logistically. In this note, we shall ad-dress these aspects in some detail. Say Bismillah (Inthe Name of Allah) and make Dua (supplication) toAllah Almighty to help you find the resources andtime to perform Hajj this coming year. Only He canmake it happen.

The journey of Hajj requires substantial preparation.One should try to choose the good company of piousand knowledgeable and righteous people; stay awayfrom the innovators. The trip is of several weeks.Keep away from all prohibited acts. The choice oftravel agent is also crucial, who is well experiencedand reputed to take care of the basic necessities dur-ing the trip. The documents (passports etc); and thevaccinations etc need to be attended too. A detaileddiscussion with those who have performed Hajj inthe previous year(s) is a must. It is also essential toattend one or more of the Hajj preparatory/trainingprogrammes. The spiritual preparation is the mostcrucial and requires both time and concentrated at-tention. Purify your creed (Aqeedah) from all as-pects of Shirk, major or minor. No deed is acceptedto Allah however noble it is, without such purifica-tion:

“If you associate (with Allah), your deeds will beruined and verily you will be among the losers.”[Surah Al-Zumar, 39:65].

Devote your Hajj purely and sincerely for Allah.Acquire thorough knowledge about the rites of Hajj

and Umrah from start to finish, because knowledgedifferentiates right from wrong. Use Halaal means tosupport your journey. Focus on the mental prepara-tions. Relieve yourself from any injustice, whichyou may have inflicted upon others. Fulfill any obli-gation, which you owe to other before the journey.Prepare a Waseeyah (will) before you depart andmake peace with those with whom you have a dis-pute, pay your debts. Safeguard your tongue fromall vain talk, backbiting, arguing and complaining.This is against the morals of Islam in general and es-pecially against the rules of Hajj. Such talks and ac-tions will make one's Hajj incomplete and reduce thereward. Hajj is a long journey and one is likely tobehave immorally, therefore on guard and controlyourself from any misconduct:

“So during Hajj there should not be obscenity, norwickedness, nor wrangling.” [Surah Al-Baqarah,2:197].

Remember, Shaytaan is at his best to cause mischief!For any Ibadah (worship) including the Hajj, it isnecessary to do the required Arkan (rituals) withoutwhich the Ibadah is not complete. But it should beborne in mind that Arkan alone do not constitute theIbadah. The best places to start preparing for Hajjare the Holy Quran itself and a book on Seerat-un-Nabi. Use a subject and word index of the HolyQuran and look for Hajj, Kabah, Ibrahim and otherkeywords. For instance the word Hajj occurs innineteen Ayah (verses) of the Holy Quran which are:Surah Al-Baqarah, 2:158; 2:196-203; Surah Al-Imran, 3:97; Surah Al-Ma'idah 5:2; and Al-SurahHajj, 22:26-33. Likewise one can check in the indexfor the occurrences of Prophet Ibrahim (PUH);Kabah and other key words. Such a study is very il-lustrative. One learns numerous facts; for instanceMakkah is known by Bakkah (Surah Al-Imran, 3:96)and City of Security (Surah Al-Tin, 95:3). The Inter-net users can avail the indexing at, http://www.islam-icity.com/; this website also offers multilingualmeaning of the Holy Quran and has an exhaustivecoverage to a range of topics including Hajj. Thesignificance of the Hajj can also be noted from thefact that it is covered in the Holy Quran in numerousplaces in detail with the Arkan. The sanctity of theKabah is further highlighted from the fact that AllahAlmighty addresses Kabah as “My House”, in SurahAl-Baqarah, 2:125. The Commentators have em-

Plan your Hajj Trip


Islam

phatically pointed to the grammatical first person“My House”, in the above Ayat (verse). Along withthe Holy Quran it is mandatory to read at least onebook on Seerat-un-Nabi (life of the Holy ProphetMuhammed, PBUH). No study is complete withoutthe Seerah. One should also try to read the Seerah ofthe Khulfa-e-Rashideen (the rightly Guided Caliphsof Islam). This gives us a perspective of the thingswe see. Each site we visit, may it be MasjidQuiblatain, the hills of Ohud or Jannatul Baquee, theimagery from the history enables us to get deeply in-volved. The historical information enables us atime-travel of sorts!

The Holy Prophet Mohammed (PBUH) performed aHajj known as the Hajjatul Wada, (Farewell Pilgrim-age) towards the end of his twenty-three year longprophetic mission in the 10th year Hijri. During thisHajj the Holy Prophet Mohammed (PBUH) deliv-ered a Khutbah, on 9th of Zil-Hijjah in the 10th yearHijri, in the ‘Uranah valley of Mount Arafat’. It wasdelivered towards the end of his Prophetic Mission,and about three months before he left this world(12th of Rabbi-Al-Awwal, 11th year Hijri). It is alsoknown as the Last Sermon. The Khutbah was so im-portant that the Prophet (PBUH) had requestedHazrat Rabiah (RA) to repeat and relay it to the au-dience in his loud voice. The Prophet (PBUH) hadfurther requested to all those present to convey it tothose not present. This Khutbah has been hailed asthe world constitution, by Muslims and others alike.It is our duty not only to understand and follow theteachings in the Khutbah, but to convey it to manyothers.

The history of Hajj dates back to the time ProphetIbrahim (PBUH) which is about six thousand years.It is extremely useful to read the history of MakkahMukarramah and History of Madinah Munawwarah.There are numerous books with titles such as Tarikh-e-Harmain (History of Harmain) on this subject inthe language of one’s choice. One can find numer-ous pictures, sketches and maps in such books. Thehistory of Harmain is rich with incidents of theProphets (PBUH) and the Sahaba (the blessed com-panions of the Holy Prophet, PBUH). Such a studyof history provides us the familiarity and the impor-tantly the feeling of attachment/closeness when visit-ing the holy places.

Now, a few words about the physical preparation:the journey of Hajj involves a great deal of physicalactivities and thus you must be fully prepared to face

this physical challenge. For instance the Umrahtakes up to two hours to complete depending uponthe crowd. The path connecting the hills of Safa andMarwah is called Masaa. It measures about 394.5min length. One covers the Masaa seven times in eachUmrah along with seven Tawaf of the Kabah. Thistotals to more than three kilometers for each Umrah.Thus one needs to have the stamina to walk threekilometers. It is to be noted that the Masaa is nowfully enclosed with a high ceiling and air-condition-ing. There are provisions to cover the Masaa in theupper floors as well. Besides, one has to be preparedto spend about five days in the tents requiring pa-tience. Hajj is journey requiring patience. It is es-sential to start watching what one is eating; practicewalking for an hour or more, for about two monthsbefore the Hajj. One can start this schedule soonafter Ramadan-ul-Mubarak. This will increase phys-ical stamina and help the Haji (pilgrim) to keep upwith the long walks and long standings. Indeed, Hajjinvolves a lot of labor and struggle but the rewardfor this great act is also great in amount. If requiredgo for a medical checkup, preferably with a medicowho has performed the Hajj. Wheelchairs are avail-able, so one need not panic. The oldest and theweakest have performed the Hajj, Alhamdulillah.

By Grace of Allah, the arrangements made by theauthorities are excellent. The Hajj Research Centrehas taken utmost care in the minutest details to makethe experience pleasant for the pilgrims. Childrenalso participate in all the Arkan (including the ston-ing in the Jamrat) smoothly, Alhamdulillah. Thecrowds (there are over three million pilgrims eachyear) are not as much as they make it out to be; theconstant extensions/preparations around the Hajjsites have taken care of this. The tents in Mina (withconcrete flooring and air-conditioning for instance)are designed to be questionably comfortable.

One should avoid the videography/photography.Very high resolution videos and photographs arefreely available on the Internet and the official Hajjwebsites. It does not make sense to use the phoneand internet extensively. The narration of the indi-vidual Hajj experiences can wait till return of the pil-grims to their homes. There are enough TV channelscovering the Hajj! Each moment during the Hajj isprecious and not to be wasted on using electronicgadgets. One should also overcome the distractionof shopping during the Hajj. We need to exercise ut-most restraint in this regard. In my humble opinionit suffices to gift our near and dear ones with Za-


mzam, Dates and Islamic Literature (all available inplenty at the Hajj sites).

There is a Hadith which states that "... in later timesthere will be lot of people but NOT A SINGLE Haji...". May Allah Almighty Guide us all, Amen. TheHajj (journey of a lifetime) needs elaborate prepara-tion far beyond the Arkan (state of Ehram; Tawaf;Sai; stay in Mina, Arafat and Muzdalifah; back inMina; Qurbani and Rami). The Arkan can be under-stood from a suitable tutor/book (and now thevideos, internet etc) with precision and thoroughnessin a short time. With rapid transport and numeroustour operators (in many arts of the world), the deci-sion to do Hajj is taken by some in haste at too shorta notice. This leaves inadequate quality time (thanksto our busy schedules and commitments) to preparefor Hajj. This is further compounded by the numer-ous parties (which are generally a hindrance ratherthan a support) which take place prior to the Hajj. Itis the attitude and the spiritual preparation which re-quires a greater effort and generally a longer time.The crash courses offered can at best focus on theArkan.

The journey of Hajj requires substantial funds; weneed to ensure that our earnings are righteous and soalso what we may have inherited. An extra effort(well in advance) in our work places and review ofour business practices would be a starting point toachieve this. Another concern is the quality of ourSalah; does it meet the standards?

May Allah Almighty enable us to make journeys tothe sacred cities and Guide us to conduct ourselvesin a manner which pleases Him, Amen.

Bibliography:

1. A website for Quran Majeed with compre-hensive search in Arabic and numerous languages,along with several English translations (meanings),http://www.islamicity.com/mosque/quran/

2. Websites for Hadith,http://www.searchtruth.com/ andhttp://ahadith.co.uk/

3. Safiur Rahman Mubarakpuri, Ar-Raheeq Al-Makhtum (the sealed nectar), (A Biography ofProphet Mohammed, PBUH), Another Title: Whenthe Moon Split, Darussalam Publishers, (1979).http://www.kalamullah.com/sealed-nectar.html

4. Khutbah during Hajjatul-Wada,http://www.islamicity.com/mosque/lastserm.HTM,http://www.huda.tv/old-site/articles/prophet-muham-mad/420-the-last-sermon-of-prophet-muhammad,and http://www.ScanIslam.com/

5. History of Makkah Mukarramah, (ISBN:9960-892-02-6) and History of Madinah Mu-nawwarah by Shaikh Safiur-Rahman Mubarakpuri(ISBN: 9960-892-11-5), Darussalam (2002).

6. Sameen Ahmed Khan, Great Crowds fewHajis, Letter in Islamic Voice, Vol. 21-02, No. 254,pp. 10 (February 2008).

7. Sameen Ahmed Khan, The Etiquette of Hajj,Pakistan Link, (Friday the 04 April 2008). (Pub-lished from Irvine, California, USA).

8. Sameen Ahmed Khan, Review of the Books:The History of Makkah Mukarramah (ISBN: 9960-44-929-7) and The History of Madinah Mu-nawwarah (ISBN: 9960-43-442-7) by Dr.Muhammad Ilyas Abdul Ghani, (Al-Rasheed Print-ers, Madinah Munawwarah, Kingdom of Saudi Ara-bia), Islamic Voice, Vol. 21-02, No. 254, pp. 33(February 2008).

9. Sameen Ahmed Khan, A Tale of Two Cities,Review of the Books: The History of MakkahMukarramah and The History of Madinah Mu-nawwarah, by Dr. Muhammad Ilyas Abdul Ghani,(Al-Rasheed Printers, Madinah Munawwarah, King-dom of Saudi Arabia), Renaissance, RadianceViewsweekly, Vol. XLV, No. 29, pp. ?? (February2008).

10. Sameen Ahmed Khan, Review of the Books:The History of Makkah Mukarramah and The His-tory of Madinah Munawwarah, by Dr. MuhammadIlyas Abdul Ghani, (Al-Rasheed Printers, MadinahMunawwarah, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia), Renais-sance, Vol. 18, No. 09, (September 2008). (LongBook Review). http://www.monthly-renaissance.com/issue/content.aspx?id=1011

11. Ministry of Hajj, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia,http://www.hajinformation.com/main/f.htm andhttp://www.haj.gov.sa/.

12. The Official website of Haj Committee ofIndia, http://hajcommittee.com/.


I By Vipin Tripathi I

Friends,

The ongoing onslaught on Gaza is deeplypainful. Over 800 innocent impoverishedPalestinians, in cluding children, and a dozen

Israelis have died.

The excuse is stated to be the kidnapping and murderof three Israeli hikers in the occupied West Bank,followed shortly thereafter by the kidnapping andfatal burning of a Palestinian teenager by a group ofIsraelis. The Netanyahu government blamed Hamasfor the kidnapping without any evidence and pre-tended the kidnapped Israelis were still alive for sev-eral weeks, even though there was evidenceindicating the victims were already dead, to whip upanti-Arab sentiment and justifying punitive opera-tions in the West Bank and Gaza.

How could a state carry devastating bombings on in-nocent civilians (living under its occupation) for fol-lies of a few miscreants? Nathan Thrall of theInternational Crisis Group points out that the realmotive is neither vengeance nor a desire to protectIsrael from Hamas' rocket fire, which has been virtu-ally non-existent over the past two years, but to un-dermine the recent agreement between Hamas andFateh for a unity government as that might press Ne-tanyahu government to implement agreement ontwo-state solution. This is a dangerous ploy.

Israel already owns 82% of Mandatory Palestineand, since 1967, successive governments have built/expanded settlements in the West Bank and EastJerusalem, providing generous subsidies to the 6lakh Jews who have moved there in violation ofFourth Geneva Convention.

4.4 million Palestinians, living in West Bank andGaza, are in a state of grave crisis. Israel must recog-nize their right to live in peace and freedom and stopthe onslaught forthwith. India used to be a voice ofsanity but this time it is subdued. USA, giving $3

billion annual aid to Israel, is unable to speak. Other

countries also look ineffective. May the conscienceof the masses of the world awaken and assert itselfagainst such a disgrace.

Best regardsVipin

Bloodshedin Gaza


I By Hajira Khan I

There once lived a girlnamed Rosy. She wasvery keen to travel in a

train. The very most thing shewanted in the whole world wasto travel in a train. Then oneday she heard her parents dis-cussing of going to visit Rosy’sgrand-parents. And soon thevacation was coming. So theycould easily go and visit hergrand-parents. Then after discussing Rosy went toher Mom and asked can we go by train? Yes we canif you just go and ask your father. Rosy ran to herfather and asked can we go by train by Daddy? Yeswe can, said Daddy. Rosy was so excited that shedid not know what to say oh!! Thank you so muchFather and I am very happy now. Then the next dayher father booked the tickets of traveling in the train.Now Rosy was as excited as could be because it wasconfirmed that they were going by train. Then thenext day they all got up early in the morning 6 O’Clock and went to the station. Their train wouldcome at 7:50. Then they reached the station at 7:13.They waited for 37 minutes and their train came.Soon they all got in the train, carrying their luggageall the way to the train. Rosy was very excited, shesat next to the window and asked her Mom when wewill reach London? We will reach London by to-morrow early morning 6 O’ Clock. Rosy was verymuch surprised to hear that. Are we going to be inthe train all that time she asked her Mom. Yes saidher mother and the train began to move. Rosy saidto her self what a noise the train makes when itmoves. Then Daddy fell as sleep. Mummy read abook and Rosy looked through the window. Thensuddenly a big tunnel came. She was a bit scarred,but when the sunshine came she was no more scared.Then after the whole day was night. Rosy ate herdinner and wet to sleep. She slept at the top berth.That was fun. But soon she woke up. She wasbored. She did not know what to do. So she tookout a book from her backpack and began to read it.Rosy loved to read. Suddenly she caught sight ofdacoits! And they started demanding money andjewelry from the passengers! Rosy was shocked tosee that. Rosy quickly thought of a plan. Shequickly went to the guards in the other compartment.

She told them what had happened. The guardsquickly took their guns and swords and followed thelittle girl. The guards quickly arrested the dacoits.Then after that everybody got their belongings.Rosy went back to her berth thinking what an adven-ture she had had. Next morning what a fuss every-body made of Rosy. Rosy’s parents were very proudof her when they heard what had happened in thenight. When they reached London they were justgoing to get out of the train, when a guard camerushing to them and told them to their award and go.For goodness’s sake what award are we going to getasked Rosy’s father surprised? Well your daughtercame and told us that there is a gang of dacoits in thetrain. We were just in time to arrest the dacoits.They were just going to jump out of the train withother passengers’ belongings. So that is why weshould give you an award. Here is a cheque in it isthe sign of the manager of the train. Now wheneveryou want to travel in the train your tickets will befree. Rosy’s parents were so surprised that they didnot know what to say Oh! Thank you so much.Now we will always travel by train. When Rosy andher parents reached home what a fuss her grand-par-ents made of her on hearing what had happened.Well said Rosy traveling by train is fun after all.And they all began to laugh.

Bibliography

1. Hajira Khan, Please Do Not Eat Too MuchJunk, BaKhabar, Vol 7, Issue 07, pp 15 (July 2014).Published by Bihar Anjuman, http://bakhabar.biha-ranjuman.org/.

Hajira Khan, Student of Standard-V, Indian School Salalah, Salalah, Sultanate of Oman

A Journey in a Train


Islam

I By Sameen Ahmed Khan I

Today, when we mention education, most would sel-dom think of Islam. Many a times one hears phrasessuch as secular education and religious education.We need to remind ourselves about the importanceand place of education in Islam. This is evident inmany ways. The first ayat (verse) of the Holy Quranrevealed to Prophet Mohammad (sallalaho alaihiwasallam, peace be upon him) was (Quran, SurahAlaq 96:1-5)Read in the name of thy Sustainer, who has created -created man out of a germ-cell. Read - for thy Sus-tainer is the Most Bountiful One who has taught[man] the use of the pen – taught man what he didnot know! (English Meaning by Muhammad Asad fromhttp://www.IslamiCity.com/)

The Quran urges us to, think, ponder, reflect and ac-quire knowledge that would bring us closer to AllahAlmighty and to His creation. The Quran uses repe-tition in order to imbed certain key concepts in theconsciousness of its listeners. The word Ilm (knowl-edge) occurs 750 times in the Quran, making it thethird most repeated word. The word Allah and Rab(Sustainer) occur 2800 and 950 times respectively.Along with the Quran, the sayings of the prophetMuhammad (PBUH) also prompted people to learn.

The word mosque comes from the Arabic word,Masjid, which means a place where one prostratesoneself, or a place of worship. The concept of themosque originated during the life of ProphetMuhammad (PBUH), who built the first mosqueduring his Prophethood in Medina. In the early Is-lamic period, the Masjid served many purposes, andtook on a comprehensive role in the lives of Mus-lims. Not only was it a place of worship, learningand prayer, but it also functioned as a community’spolitical and social centre. It was where believersassembled for prayers, where the Prophet deliveredhis addresses to deal with issues surrounding the so-cial life of the community, where he educated hisfollowers, where he explained revelations, where hemet emissaries and discussed the merits of his mes-

sage, where he dealt with internal and external politi-cal activities.

Historically, mosques were places of education,where both religious and the so-called worldly sci-ences were taught. They played a pivotal role in thelives of Muslims. Islam and knowledge went to-gether, closely, and from the very early stages. Themosque played a great part in the spread of educa-tion in Islam. The association of the mosque witheducation remains one of its main characteristicsthroughout history. From the start, the mosque wasthe center of the Islamic community, a place forprayer, meditation, religious instruction, politicaldiscussion, and a school. In every place, whereIslam took hold, mosques were established, andbasic instruction began. Once established, suchmosques could develop into well known places oflearning, often with hundreds, sometimes with thou-sands of students, and frequently contained impor-tant libraries. Notable examples are the Mosques inMadina, Cairo (Al-Ahzar) and Damascus.

The first school connected with a mosque, was setup at Medina in 653CE, whilst the first one in Dam-ascus dates from 744CE, and by 900CE nearly everymosque had an elementary school for the educationof both boys and girls. Children usually started theirschooling around the age of five. The very firstthing they learnt was how to perform Salah and therecitation of the Quran. The primary schooling also

Mosque and Education in I s l a m


included lessons in writing of Arabic alongwith reading. Along with the primary stud-ies the students were also taught the basicarithmetic which would enable them tocarry out calculations related to the Zakatand the inheritance. The above mentionedinstructions could be obtained in anymosque. For more advanced learning onecould avail the schooling in the biggermosques. This would cover instruction inArabic grammar and poetry, logic, algebra,biology, history, law, and theology. Someof the madrasa attached to the mosqueswere world-class centres of learning at theirtime. The world-renowned Al-Azhar Uni-versity is the oldest university in the world.It was established as a mosque in358AH/969CE. Now, one can find over ahundred thousand students studying in it.

Throughout history of Islam, the mosque has alwaysplayed an important social role. It has been a placeof prayer, a centre of political activities, an educa-tional institution, and a focal point of communal life.Khutbah (sermon) is an excellent opportunity to ad-dress the Muslim community. Khutbah has alwaysoccupied a pivotal role in informing the MuslimUmmah about her affairs and calling her to the ap-propriate actions. Allah (subhanahu wa ta’aala) hasordered that trade and all other activity be aban-doned at the time of Salat al-Jumu’ah and that peo-ple assemble to hear the khutbah:

(Quran, Surah Jumah 62:9)O YOU who have attained to faith! When the call toprayer is sounded on the day of congregation, hastento the remembrance of God, and leave all worldlycommerce: this is for your own good, if you but knewit. (English Meaning by Muhammad Asad fromhttp://www.IslamiCity.com/)

The khutbah is the institution of education started bythe Holy Prophet (PBUH) for the whole Ummah.Many of our khutbah fail to address the basic tenantsof Islam. An ideal Imam is the one who can give ashort sermon in the morning after Fajr, talk aboutIslam to non-believers over the day, give a lecture inthe education institutions (schools, colleges, univer-sities) when required and finally attend a conferencewith the media.

Bibliography:

1. A website for Quran Majeed with compre-hensive search in Arabic and numerous languages,along with several English translations (meanings),http://www.islamicity.com/mosque/quran/

2. Websites for Hadith,http://www.searchtruth.com/ andhttp://ahadith.co.uk/

3. Tarawih Summaries in English, Hindi andUrdu,http://NawabMohammedAbdulGhani.webs.com/tarawih.html andhttp://www.ipci.co.za/information/taraweeh-quran-summary/

4. Shams Pirzada, Is it not necessary to read theQur’an with Understanding?, Idara Da’watulQur’an, Mumbai, India, 13th Edition (2011).http://scanislam.com/browse-islam/read-quran-with-understanding/ andhttp://www.quranforall.org/quran/iintrqwund.htm

5. Khurram Murad, Way to the Qur’an, IslamicBook Service, New Delhi, India. http://www.sunni-path.com/library/books/B0039P0000.aspx andhttp://www.islambasics.com/view.php?bkID=29

Sameen Ahmed Khan Engineering DepartmentSalalah College of Technology, Salalah, Sultanate of Oman([email protected], http://SameenAhmed-Khan.webs.com/)


I By Umm Ammarah I

The Month of Ramadaan is coming to an endand the transition from Ramadaan to Eid andthereafter should be a path the that brings us

closer to our Creator and a path that treads the Sun-nah i.e. The way of the Messenger of Allah (peacebe upon him) .

After a month of sacrifice, Allah Ta’ala takes it uponHimself to reward His faithful servants. Allah Ta’alais the Most Generous and Most Benevolent. IndeedAllah Ta’ala’s Generosity multiplies in Ramadaan.When Allah Ta’ala sees His servants carry out alltheir duties faithfully and strive to gain closeness toHim through fasting ,salaat (prayer) ,patience ,recita-tion of Quraan ,zikr ,dua ,and controlling of evenpermissible desires and needs like food, drink etc.then Allah Ta’ala bestows on His faithful servants aspecial prize on the night preceding the day of Eid…

THE PRIZE GIVING NIGHT: Allah Ta’ala bestows the rewards on those who havespent the month in His obedience and all their Du’as(prayers) on such an occasion are indeed accepted. Ithas been the practice of The Messenger of AllahTa’ala (pbuh)that he would not sleep during thenight preceding Eid-ul –Fitr, this night has beennamed LaylatulJaaiza (The Prize Giving night). Thenight when the faithful and obedient servants ofAllah Ta’ala are given the true reward. To benefitfrom this opportunity, one should exert in prayer andask Allah Ta’ala for all our needs.Our Beloved Rasu-lullah (Salallahoalaihewassallam) said: "The personwho stays awake on the nights preceding the twoEids occupying himself with ibâdah(worship), hisheart will not die on the day when everyone's heartwill perish." (his heart will not die during the time ofevil and corruption). It could also mean that with theblowing of the trumpet his soul will not become un-conscious. (Hadith –Ibn Majah)

The then comes the joyous day of…EID-UL-FITR:Celebrated on the first day of Shawwaal, at the com-

pletion of Ramadhaan.Shawwaal is the 10th monthof the Islamic calendar. Eid-al-Fitr is a very joyousday for the believing men and women. On this dayMuslims show their real joy for the many blessingsAllah Ta’ala has given to them to fulfil their obliga-tion of fasting and other good deeds during theblessed month of Ramadhaan.

Indeed this joyous day can cannot pass by withoutremembering the poor and destitute…SADAQTUL FITR:Islam has prescribed a simple yet graceful way toobserve this happy day. First of all well off Muslimsstart their day by giving charity SadaqtulFitr to thepoor of their society, so that the less endowed canalso enjoy their day along with others.IbnAbbas(RA)said that the Messenger of Allah Ta’ala (pbuh) en-joined SadaqatulFitr so that those who fasted maybe purified of idle deeds and shameful talk commit-ted during Ramadaan and so that the poor may befed. Whoever gives it before salaah( even days be-fore) will have his obligation accepted, and whoevergives it after salaah it will be an ordinarycharity.(Hadith -Abu Dawood)This day of Eid should be spent in the way shown tous by The Messenger of Allah (peace be uponhim)…

SUNNAH ACTS ON THE DAY OF EID:• Wake up early.• Take a Ghusl (bath) before EidSalaah• Brush your teeth (use Miswaak)• Dress up, putting on best clothes available.• Use itr (perfume)• Eat something sweet before proceeding to the

EidMusallah e.g. Dates etc.• Pay SadaqatulFitr before Salaatul-Eid (on

id-al-Fitr).

The Day of E i d !


• Go to EidMusallah (EidGah/prayer ground)early.

• Offer Salaah-al-Eid in congregation in an EidMusallah except when weather is notpermitting like rain, snow, etc.

• Use different roads en route to the EidMusallah and back home.

• Recite the following Takbir on the way to EidMusallah :

Allahu-Akbar, Allahu-Akbar. La ila-ha illallahuAl-lahu-Akbar, Allahu-Akbar. Wa-lillahilhamd. (Allah isthe Greatest, Allah is the Greatest. There is no godbut Allah. Allah is Greatest, Allah is Greatest. Andall praises are for Allah)

THE EID PRAYER-And then comes along themorning of Eid, Allah Ta’ala sends down the angelsto all the lands in the earth, where they take their po-sitions at access points of roads calling out with avoice that is heard by all accept man and jinn. AllahTa’ala then says: I call you to witness, Oh my Angelsthat for their having fasted during the month of Ra-madaan ,and for their having stood before me inprayer by night, I have granted to them as rewardMy pleasure and have granted themforgiveness.-Allah Ta’ala will then say…,Oh my servants ask nowof Me, for I swear by My honour and My Greatness,that whatsoever you shall beg of me this day in thisassembly of yours for the needs of the Hereafter ,Ishall grant you, and what so ever you shall ask foryour worldly needs shall look at you favourably.(Hadith-Targheeb)

Jubayr ibn Nufayr (RA) said: 'When the compan-ions of Allah Ta’ala's Messenger (peace be uponhim) met on the day of `Eid, they would say to eachother, 'TaqaballAllahuTa’alaminnawaminkum (mayAllah Ta’ala accept from you and us ).” (Fathul Bari).

TIPS ON HOW TO SPEND THE DAY OF EID:• Keep in mind the pleasure of Allah and up

hold Shari'ah at ALL times.• Adorn yourself and your family modestly in

the best of garments (not necessarily new).• Avoid over eating and other festivities that

have no benefit.• Visit the poor, needy, orphans, elderly and

sick.• Should Eid be made at “my mum or your

mum or wherever?” This requiresShura/Mashurah (mutual consultation). Shu

rah is a Sunnah of the Messenger of Allah (Sallalahoalaihewassallam).Try to compromise and accommodate each other.

• Maintain and strengthen family bonds- Rasulullah (Salallahoalaihewassallam) is reported to have said, "Anyone who wishes to have his means of livelihood enlarged and a prolonged life, should treat his relatives with kindness."(Hadith)

• Don't forget the suffering, oppressed, poor and needy Muslims in all parts of the world in your du’as and charity.

• Be punctual with our acts of worship and on this joyous day.

BE CAUTIOUS!-Avoid excessive indulgence ofany kind and stay away from places where the lawsof Islam are violated. It is a joyous occasion indeedand let it be spent in ways that are pleasing to ourCreator. Use the day profitably to earn the pleasureof Allah Ta’ala and continue to do so everyday. “A Muslim is a Muslim for life and not just duringRamadaan!”

WHAT NOW AFTER RAMADAAN…We leavethe month Ramadaan, its beautiful days and nights,we leave the Month of Mercy wherein we excelledin recitation of the Quraan , Taqwa and Ibadat, sym-pathy ,forgiveness...we need to ask ourselves:Ra-madaaan is over and what have we gained?Ramadaan was a 30 day course on self restraint andpiety , have we graduated from the course havinglearnt to fight our desires and defeat them..? Havewe recharged our spiritual batteries and gainedTaqwa (Allah consciousness)? If we have …thenALHAMDULILLAH (Praise be to Allah)…now letus continue to obey Allah Ta’ala and ask AllahTa’ala to keep us steadfast. Ramadaan is over andShawwal has come, let us save the changes that weall made in our lives during the month of Ramadaan.Let Ramadaan not be a final destination but a step-ping stone to greater good from now on. We need tomake a firm resolution to continue with the momen-tum and lead a life of piety and free of sins. We nowface another eleven months after this training. Let itbe that we come out stronger and better servants ofAllah Ta’ala…AMEEN!Eid Mubarak!

Source: www.eislam.co.za


Parents give us innumerable (countless) favors.They provide protection, food and clothing tothe newly born. The mother sacrifices her

comforts and sleep to provide comfort to her chil-dren. The father works hard to provide for theirphysical, educational and psychological (and spiri-tual) needs.

It is a matter of common courtesy that if aperson does you some favor you feel obliged to him.Verbally you say 'thank you' to him. You try to repayand compensate him for his gifts and favors. Youfeel a sense of gratitude towards him.

With regard to rights of parents and children Ifound in some families there are violations (disobe-dience) to islamic teachings, either due to lack ofknowledge or according to adopted customs prevail-ing in their places.

The aim of this book is to help a commonman, children in particular understand their parentsrights according the islamic teachings guided by thenoble Qur'an and sayings of holy Prophet Mo-hammed (Allah's peace and blessings be upon him).

As parents grow old their energies also de-cline. So it is the duty of children to help their par-ents in any household work in which they can help.Treating one's parents with honour also requires sus-taining (supporting) them with the living costs whenthey are needy.

Guidance to Children from Quran and Sunnah

(a) Pious peoples' families would be in Paradise(Quran Surah Al-Ra’d 13/22-24)

(b) "Three supplications are surely acceptable" (an

oppressed, a traveler, and parents supplications forchildren)- (Hadith At- Tirmidhi, Abu Dawud&Ib-Majah)(c) Who cuts off relations of kinship will not enterparadise (Bukhari 8/13)(d) Want more wealth - keep good relations with rel-atives (Bukhari 8/14-15)

RIGHTS OF PARENTS (DUTIES OF CHIL-DREN)

Right to be respected and be kind to them

(a) Respect parents even if they are non muslims(Surah Luqman 31/14)

(b) What are the Best deeds-Be good and dutiful to your parents (Muslim)

(c) Who is more entitled to be treated best YOUR MOTHER (Bukhari 8/2)

(d) You have an ambition to go to Paradise, buthow? (Tirmizi, Ahmad..)

Right to be Obedient to parents

(a) Allah has preferred obeying and honoring the parents to Jihad! (Bukhari)

(b) Showing Disrespect to One's Parents (Surah Al-Ahqaf 46/17)

(c) MAJOR SINS among them Disobedience to parents (Bukhari 8/290, M

(d) Major sin - Any one abuses other person's parents he abuse his own parents (Bukhari 8/15, Al-Hakim, Ahmad)

(e) Only place when you can't obey them (Surah Al-Ankabut 29/8)

Right to be helped financially (give money to par-ents)(a) Pious people's families would all be in Paradise(Surah Al-Ra'd 13/22-24)

The Rights of Parents

A true believer must love Allah most, then more than his ownself he should love Prophet Mohmammed (Peace and Blessings ofAllah be upon him-pbh). Later on, the aspect or phase of family orhuman rights stage comes. Each member of the family has rightsand obligations. The preferential sequence of the family rights is

mother, father, children, wife, maternal aunt etc.


Rights of Inheritance (things, property,moneydistribution (Surah 2/180)

Parents have the right to scold and sometimesbeat their children

After parents Death(a) To hold muslim parents funeral prayers and complete the burial pershariah method, for non-muslim parents no burial prayers(Surah Al-Tauba 9/84)

(b) Ask Forgiveness to Allah to pardon my parents(Quran Surah Ibrahim 14/41; Al-Israa 17/24 ; Ash-Shuaraa 26/86, At-Tauba 9/114 ; Al-Ahqaf 46/15; An-Naml 27/19)

(c) The child must pay debts of parents or fulfill any promises or oaths they made to anyone in their life (Bukhari 4/780, Muslim 17/1085 ; 20/4649)

(d) The child must observe Ramdhan fast the unfasted days of her dead mother (Muslim 6/2555)

(e) The child must perform Hajj if her dead mother vowed for Hajj (Bukhari 3/77; 9/419)

(f) To pay due regards to bonds of relationship from parents side.Cut off relations of kinship will not enter paradise More wealth should keep good relations of relatives

The optional (not obligatory) acts after death ofparents(a) Distribute charity on behalf of dead parents(b) Meet parents friends in humble way

“ Three supplications are surely acceptable”The Messenger of Allah (pbuh) said, "Three suppli-cations are surely acceptable: the supplication of theoppressed, the traveler and the parents for their chil-dren.”(At- Tirmidhi, Abu Dawud &IbMajah)

One who cuts off relations of kinship will not enterparadise Narrated Jubair bin Mut'im________________________________________(RA): That he heard the Prophet saying, "The per-son who cuts the bond of kinship will not enter Para-dise."Who wants more wealth should keep good relationsof relativesNarrated Abu Huraira(RA): I heard Allah's Apostle(pbh) saying, "Who ever is pleased that he begranted more wealth and that his lease of life be pro-longed, then he should keep good relations with hisKith and kin." (Bukhari 8/14)Narrated Anas bin Malik(RA): Allah 's Apostle (pbh)said, "Whoever loves that he be granted more wealthand that his lease of life be prolonged then he shouldkeep good relations with his Kith and kin." (Bukhari8/15)

Narrated Abu Huraira: The Prophet said, "Allah cre-ated the creations, and when He finished from Hiscreations, Ar-Rahm i.e., womb said, "(O Allah) atthis place I seek refuge with You from all those whosever me (i.e. sever means break or disunite the tiesof Kith and kin). Allah said, 'Yes, won't you bepleased that I will keep good relations with the onewho will keep good relations with you, and I willsever the relation with the one who will sever the re-lations with you.' It said, 'Yes, O my Lord.' Allahsaid, 'Then that is for you ' " Allah's Apostle added."Read (in the Qur'an) if you wish, the Statement ofAllah: 'Would you then, if you were given the au-thority, do mischief in the land and sever your ties ofkinship?' (47.22) (Bukhari 8/16)

http://d1.islamhouse.com/data/en/ih_books/single/en_Rights_of_Parents.pdf

Page 1 of 1

Differences between smart phones and books

S. No. Smart Phone Books 1 Smart phones need electricity Books do not need

electricity. 2 Smart phones do not enhance

creativity Books enhance creativity

3 Smart phones are harmful Book are harmless and extremely useful

4 Smart phones are expensive and models keep changing

Books are not so expensive

5 Smart phones are not for ever Books are for ever

Hajira Khan, Student of Standard-V, Indian School Salalah, Salalah, Sultanate of Oman


In our offices and workplaces we can hardly findtime to do acts of worship and righteous deeds.What can we do in the short time that we can

find in our day? How can we make use of it?

Praise be to Allaah.

Time is of the essence, it is too precious to be wastedor neglected. The wise person is the one who paysattention to his time and does not treat it as a vesselto be filled with cheap things and vain talk. Instead,he limits it to worthy efforts and righteous deeds thatplease Allaah and benefit other people. Every minuteof a person’s life carries the potential to raise hisown status and to make his people happier, little bylittle.

If you are keen to attain the highest position, andbring the most happiness to your people, then forgetabout relaxing and keep away from empty amuse-ment.

In one minute you can do a lot of good and earnmuch reward. In just one minute, by giving in char-ity, studying, memorizing, or striving to do gooddeeds, you can make sure that this minute of yourlife is not wasted. One minute may be recorded inyour book of good deeds if you know how to makethe most of it and take care of it:

Strive to make the most of each minuteIf you forget it, you forget the most important thing,the truth.

There follows a list of things that can be done in oneminute, by the permission of Allaah:

1. 1. In one minute you can recite Soorat al-Faatihah 3 times, reciting rapidly and silently. Somescholars said that the reward for reading al-Faatihahis more than 600 hasanahs, so if you read it 3 timesyou will, by the permission of Allaah, gain morethan 1800 hasanahs – all of that in one minute.

2. In one minute you can recite Soorat al-Ikhlaas(Qul Huwa Allaahu Ahad) 20 times, reciting rapidlyand silently. Reciting it once is equivalent to one-third of the Qur’aan. If you read it 20 times it isequivalent to reading the Qur’aan 7 times. If youread it 20 times in one minute each day, you will

have read it 600 times in one month, and 7200 timesin one year, which will be equal in reward to readingthe Qur’aan 2400 times.

3. You can read one page of the Book of Allaah inone minute.

4. You can memorize a short aayah of the Book ofAllaah in one minute.

5. In one minute you can say Laa ilaaha ill-Allaahwahdahu laa shareeka lah, lahu’l-mulk wa lahu’l-hamd wa huwa ‘ala kulli shay’in qadeer (There is nogod except Allaah alone with no partner; to Him bedominion and praise, and He is Able to do all things)– 20 times. The reward for saying this is like freeing8 slaves for the sake of Allaah from among the sonsof Ismaa’eel.

6. In one minute you can say Subhaan Allaahi wabi hamdihi (Glory and praise be to Allaah) 100times. Whoever says that in one day will be forgivenfor his sins even if they are like the foam of the sea.

7. In one minute you can say Subhaan Allaahi wabi hamdihi Subhaan Allaah il-‘Azeem(Glory andpraise be to Allaah, glory be to Allaah the Almighty)50 times. These are two phrases which are light onthe lips, heavy in the balance and beloved to theMost Merciful, as was narrated by al-Bukhaari andMuslim.

8. The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah beupon him) said: “When I say ‘Subhaan Allaah, wa’l-hamdu Lillah, wa laa ilaah ill-Allaah, wa Allaahuakbar (Glory be to Allaah, praise be to Allaah, thereis no god except Allaah, and Allaah is Most Great)’,this is more beloved to me than all that the sun risesupon.” (Narrated by Muslim). In one minute, youcan say all of these words more than 18 times. Thesewords are the most beloved words to Allaah, the bestof words, and they weigh heavily in the balance ofgood deeds, as was narrated in the saheeh ahaadeeth.

9. In one minute you can say, Laa hawla wa laaquwwata illa Billaah (there is no strength and nopower except with Allaah) more than 40 times. Thisis one of the treasures of Paradise, as was narratedby al-Bukhaari and Muslim. They are a means ofputting up with difficulties and of aiming to achieve

What can you do in one minute?


great things.

10. In one minute you can say Laa ilaaha ill-Allaahapproximately 50 times. This is the greatest word,for it is the word of Tawheed, the good word, theword that stands firm. If these are the last words of aperson, he will enter Paradise, and there are other re-ports which indicate how great these words are.

11. In one minute you can say Subhaan Allaah wa bihamdih, ‘adada khalqihi, wa ridaa nafsihi, wazinata‘arshihi, wa midaada kalimaatihi (Glory and praisebe to Allaah, as much as the number of His creation,as much as pleases Him, as much as the weight ofHis Throne and as much as the ink of His words)more than 15 times. This words bring many moretimes the reward for other forms of tasbeeh anddhikr, as was reported in saheeh ahaadeeth from theProphet (peace and blessings of Allaah be uponhim).

12. In one minute you can seek the forgiveness ofAllaah more than 100 times by saying “Astaghfir-Allaah (I seek the forgiveness of Allaah). The virtuesof seeking forgiveness are no secret, for it is themeans of attaining forgiveness and entering Para-dise, and it is the means of being granted a good life,increasing one’s strength, warding off disasters,making things easier, bringing rain and increasingone’s wealth and children.

13. You can say a few brief and concise words in oneminute, and Allaah may bring about some goodthrough them that you could never imagine.

14. In one minute you can send blessings on theProphet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him)50 times by saying Sall-Allaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam(May Allaah bless him and grant him peace). In re-turn Allaah will send blessings upon you 500 hun-dred times because one blessing brings ten like it.

15. In one minute you can motivate your heart togive thanks to Allaah, to love Him, to fear Him, toput hope in Him, to long for Him, and thus travelthrough the stages of ‘uboodiyyah (total enslavementto Allaah). You could do this when you are lying onyour bed or walking in the street.

16. In one minute you can read more than two pagesof a useful book that is easy to understand.

17. In one minute you can uphold the ties of kinship

by calling a relative on the phone.

18. You can raise your hands and recite any du’aa’you wish from the books of du’aa’, in one minute.

19. You can say salaams to and shake hands with anumber of people in one minute.

20. You can forbid an evil action in one minute.

21. You can enjoin something good in one minute.

22. You can offer sincere advice to a brother in oneminute.

23. You can console someone who is depressed inone minute.

24. You can remove something harmful from theroad in one minute.

25. Making the most of one minute motivates you tomake the most of other periods that would otherwisebe wasted.

Al-Shaafa’i (may Allaah have mercy on him) said:When people go to sleep, I let my tears flow, and Irecite a verse of the most eloquent poetryIs it not a waste that nights go by and I do not in-crease in knowledge, yet this time is counted as partof my life?

Finally, the more sincere you are towards Allaahand the more aware you are of Him, the greater willbe your reward and the more your hasanaat will in-crease.

Note that most of these actions will not cost youanything; they do not require tahaarah (purity) andthey will not tire you out or take much effort. On thecontrary, you can do them whilst you are walking, orin your car, or lying down, or standing, or sitting, orwaiting for somebody. These actions are also among the greatest means ofattaining happiness, expanding the chest (i.e., bring-ing relief and joy) and removing stress and anxiety.May Allaah help us and you to do that which Heloves and which pleases Him. May Allaah bless ourProphet Muhammad.Islam Q&A Sheikh Muhammed Salih Al-Munajjidhttp://islamqa.info/en/4156


I By Gheyas Hashmi I

FATAWAS (FORMAL LEGAL OPINONS) OFSAHABA (COMPANIONS OF THE PROPHET(S)

Ashab (companions) of the prophet (S) learnt Sun-nah through listening to him and through observinghis actions. They have seen his Wudu (ablution),Salat (prayers) and Haj rituals, etc. They did exactlywhat they had seen and what they had listened as ifevery action was essential for them. They did no lessno more. No one can say them that they were doingwrong as they were working based on their own lis-tening and observation whether right or wrong. Onlyfew Sahaba were close to the prophet (S) and fewwere learned. Majority of them were common peo-ple. As per rough estimate, 10% Sahaba reported Ha-dith and 50% of them reported only one Hadith. Asmuch as 125 Sahaba’s Fatwa are available.

Sahaba were commonly not in a position to under-stand classification of Sunnah. These listening andobservations differed from Sahabi to Sahabi accord-ing to the grasping capacity, intellectual capability,qualification, and the time they spent with theprophet (S).

Reporting of Hadith is different from understandingof Hadith and giving judgment accordingly. Al-though Abu Hurairah (R) ranks first in reportingnumbers of Hadith but he was not Imam Faqih Muj-tahid (Jurist), while Omar Bin Khattab (R) reportedonly about 537 Hadith but he ranks first as a Jurist. Itdoes not mean that Omar (R) did not know Hadithmore than these numbers. As written in last issue heused to prohibit narration. So, how he could do it forhimself. So, there are two kinds of people, one whotransmits words of Hadith and they are called HuffazHadith (Preserver of Hadith). The 2nd one is he whotransmits meaning of Hadith and they are calledFuqha and Mufti (Jurist).

Common people were dependent upon Fatwa fromlearned Sahabi (jurists). There were two kinds ofTaqlid (to follow an Imam Mujtahid in religiouslaws and commandment). 1. Taqlid Mutlaq (unre-stricted to one Imam Mujtahid) 2. Taqlid Shakhshi(restricted to one Imam Mujtahid). There are lots of

examples of Taqlid during Sahaba time and later.Here is only one example from each kind:-

Taqleed Mutlaque:While sending Abdullah binMasood to Kufa, the Caliph Omar (R) has addresseda letter to Kufa inhabitants writing that he is sendingto them Ammar bin Yasir (R) as his Amir and Abdul-lah bin Masood (R) as his minister & teacher. Theyare noble companions of the Prophet (S) and arefrom Badar. They are required to listen to them andfollow them.

Taqleed Shakhshi: Some people asked an issuefrom Sahabi Abu Musa Ash’ry (R). He answered butasked them to counter-check with Abdullah binMas’oud (R). The Fatwa given by Abdullah (R) wasdifferent from him. At their reporting of the view ofAbdullah (R) to Abu Musa (R) he said to them thatthey should not ask him as long as Abdullah binMas’oud (R) is among them (Bukhari & Musnad,Ahmad).

All jurists from Sahaba used to follow Quran andHadith and if any issue is not within their knowledgeof Hadith, they used to wait till any Sahabi came for-ward and witnessed that he knew Sunnah of theprophet (S) on so and so issue. If not found, theyused to work on Qiyas (Analogy). 2nd caliph Omar(R) had written a letter to Judge/Shuraih (R) that heshould pass judgment based on Quran and Sunnah. Ifnot, he should work on Ijma’ (Consensus). If not, heshould do Ijtihad (personal reasoning). A jurist can-not say that he is sorry he cannot find the answer inQuran & Sunnah. He may wait some time but hehas to give answer to the public. Here are some ex-amples of their approaches to Quran & Sunnah:

1.A woman came to Abu Backer (R) and asked her-itage of her grandson whose mother died. He repliedthat he could not find any reference about it inQuran, and as for Sunnah there was nothing for heras per his knowledge. Go back till he gets it from thepeople (i.e. let us see if anybody knows Sunnahabout it). Mughaira (R) and Mohammad bin Mus-lama witnessed that the prophet (S) had given 6th intheir presence (Mutafaq Alaih and Mota ImamMalik).

2.Abu Backer (R) had taken decision to fight with

UNDERSTANDING OF SHARIAT (ISLAMIC LAWS)E.g. , Quran, Sunnah and Ijma (consensus ofSahaba)

Part V, Continued from previous issue…..


those who refused to pay Zakat (Muttafaq Alaih)

3.Quran only mentions Jijyah (Tax) levy on Ahle-Kitab. Omar bin Khattab (R) kept silent on it aboutMagus (Fire worshiper) till Abdulrehman bin Ouf(R) confirmed that the prophet had taken Jizya fromMagus.

4.Omar (R) was of the opinion that wife should notget heritage from the blood money of the husband.When he heard later about the narration, he cameback from his opinion.

5.If any abortion happens to a woman due to thephysical quarrel, what should be the blood-money.A Sahabi told Omar (R) and such incident had hap-pened during the prophet’s time and he ordered topay 500 Dirham. After hearing this Omar (R) said ifhe had given opinion at his discretion it might becontrary.

6.The 3rd caliph Uthman Ghani (R) said that hewould be following Quran and Sunnah and wouldalso emulate the last caliphs’ decision and methodol-ogy. He would take the matters that could be unani-mously decided during his tenure. The last caliph Alibin Abi Talib (R) also practiced the same.

7.Iman Nisayi reports that once some people came toIbn Masoud (R) in order to seek Fatwa on awoman’s eligibility to receive Mehr if her husbanddied before the fixation. After avoiding them forsome time, Hazrat Abdullah Ibn Masood (RA) toldthem that the wife would receive the Mehr (accord-ing to the practice in wife’s family). After the ver-dict he repeated that if it was correct then it wasfrom Allah and His messenger and if not then itshould be attributed with himself and Satan. AnotherSahabi heard the verdict and swore by Allah that heheard the Prophet (S) giving the same verdict on asimilar situation. On hearing this Ibn Masood (RA)was absolutely ecstatic and pleased.

….. to be continued

Eagle and ChickenOnce upon a time there was a large mountainside where there an eagle's nest rested. Theeagle nest contains four large eagle eggs.One day an earthquake rocked the mountaincausing one of the eggs to roll down themountain, to a chicken farm, located in thevalley below. The chickens knew that theymust protect and care for the eagle's egg, soan old hen volunteered to nurture and raisethe large egg.One day the egg hatched and a beautifuleagle was born. Sadly, however the eaglewas raised to be a chicken. Soon the eaglebelieved he was nothing more than achicken. The eagle did what the otherchicken did. It scratched in the dirt for seeds.It clucked and crackled. It never flew morethan a few feet because that is what the otherchickens did. The eagle loved his home andfamily but his spirit cried out for more.While playing a game on the farm one day helooked to the skies above and noticed aneagle soaring gracefully and majestically inthe skies. He asked the chickens: "what isthat beautiful bird?' the chickens replied,"That is an eagle. He is an outstanding bird,but you cannot fly like him because you arejust a chicken." So the eagle never gave it asecond thought, believing that to be truth. Helived the life of and died as a chicken depriv-ing himself of his heritage because of lack ofvision.

What a waste! He was born to win but condi-tioned to lose.The same thing is true for most people. Theunfortunate part of life is as Oliver WendallHolmes said, " We don't achieve excellencebecause our own lack of vision."Don't let negative people drag you down. Re-member that a person's character is not onlyjudged by the company they keep but also bythe company they avoid.


I By Ram Puniyani I

Electoral and political arena is only one of thegrounds through which political agenda ofvested interests is achieved. Capturing of peo-

ple’s mind, the ideological propagation, is the foun-dation on which political agenda stands andperpetuates itself. That’s how the change in Historytext books or teaching a communal version of His-tory is a necessary part of sectarian nationalism inmany South Asian countries. In Pakistan the commu-nal elements teach that foundation of Pakistan beginswith the victory of Mohammad bin Kasim in Sind ineight century! One knows that the basic difference inthe kingdoms and nation states is too gross to beglossed over like this but any way if communalistshave the levers of power, like education, in theirhands anything can be manipulated and presented ina form which indoctrinates the large section of popu-lation. That’s how when the NDA Government cameto power last time around (1999), one of its actionwas changing the history books to bring in the com-munal version of the past. This time around with BJPled NDA coming to power with bigger majority,matters are going to be worse off if one looks atwhat is being planned in the arena of education inparticular.

Prof. Y.Sudarshan Rao, not much known for his aca-demic accomplishments in the discipline of History,has been appointed as the chief of ICHR (IndianCouncil for Historical Research). Prof. Rao has beenworking on proving the historicity of epics like Ra-mayana and Mahabharata. In addition rather thanpeer-reviewed research papers, he has been speakinghis mind through blogs, which are reflective of hisideological moorings. Though he claims not to bepart of RSS, his outpourings do show the inklings ofagenda of Hindu Rashra inherent in them, the glorifi-cation of caste system, the glorification of Hindupast and it’s being tarnished by alien Muslim rule.As per him the “Most of the questionable social cus-toms in the Indian society as pointed out by the Eng-lish educated Indian intellectuals and the Westernscholars could be traced to this period of Muslimrule in north India spanning over seven centuries.”He argues that “The (caste) system was workingwell in ancient times and we do not find any com-plaint from any quarters against it.”

Had Prof Rao done some rational study in to un-touchability, caste system and other practices, whichwere criticized by many during rising Indian nationalmovement, he would have known that caste system’sadverse effects were not due to the rule of Muslimkings, but were inherent in scriptures, which re-flected social system of that time. As such the socialarrangement of that time gradually got transformedinto hereditary system. With this purity-pollutioncame in; an accompaniment much before the adventof rule of Muslim kings.

Muslim kings as such did not change the social sys-tem of caste in any way. That was not their goal any-way. On the contrary the Muslim community itselfcame to adopt caste system at social level. While inPakistan the communal Historiography refuses torecognize the existence of Hinduism, Hindus, inIndia the communal thinking puts all the blame ofabominable social customs to ‘outside’ influence. Intune with that the attempt of the new Chief of ICHRis to put the blame of the adverse practices of castesystem to external factors, the Muslim rule. In Prof.Rao’s fictional history, the inconvenient portions areomitted and the picture is created ‘where’ all the

Ideology as a cover for political agenda: New ICHR Chief is a Communal Ideologue


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evils are due to external factor of Muslim kings. Atbasic level he forgets that Muslim kings retained thesocial system prevalent here and their administrationwas a mixed one, Hindu-Muslim one, e.g. 34% ofCourt officials of Aurangzeb were Hindus. This ide-ologically indoctrinated Professor wants to erasefrom his and our memory the fact that caste systemand oppressive gender hierarchy do get well articu-lated in Manu smriti, which reflects the social normswhich came to be rooted by first and second CenturyAD.

There are quotes in the Rig Veda and Manusmriti toshow that low castes were prohibited from comingclose to the high castes and they were to live outsidethe village. While this does not imply that a full-fledged caste system had come into being in RigVedic times, the four-fold division of society intovarnas did exist, which became a fairly rigid castesystem by the time of the Manusmriti.

‘In Vajasaneyi Samhita (composed around tenth cen-tury BC) the words Chandal and Paulkasa occur. InChhandogya Upanishad (composed around eighthcentury BC) it is clearly said that “those personswhose acts were low willquickly attain an evil birthof a dog or a hog or aChandala”.’ (ChhandogyaUpanishad V. 10.7)

The first major incursionsof Muslim invaders into India began around theeleventh century AD, and the European conquests ofIndia began in the seventeenth–eighteenth centuries.The shudras began to be excluded from caste society,and ‘upper’ castes were barred from inter-dining orinter-marrying with them. Notions of ‘purity’ and‘pollution’ were enforced strictly to maintain casteboundaries much before that. Shudras became ‘un-touchables’ and this rigid social division that Manu’sManav Dharmashastra (Human Law Code) codified.

M.S. Golwalkar, the late Sarsanghchalak (Supremo)of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), up-holds the Varna system, ‘It is none of the so-calleddrawbacks of Hindu Social order, which prevents usfrom regaining our ancient glory.’ (M.S. Golwalkar,We or Our Nationhood Defined, Bharat Publications,Nagpur, 1939, p. 63.) Later he defended it in a differ-ent way, ‘If a developed society realizes that the ex-isting differences are due to the scientific social

structure and that they indicate the different limbs ofbody social, the diversity would not be construed asa blemish.’ (Organiser, 1 December 1952, p. 7)Deendayal Upadhyaya, another major ideologue ofSangh Parivar stated, ‘In our concept of four castes(varnas), they are thought of as different limbs ofvirat purush (the primeval man)…These limbs arenot only complimentary to one another but even fur-ther there is individuality, unity. There is a completeidentity of interests, identity, belonging…If this ideais not kept alive, the caste instead of being compli-mentary can produce conflict. But then that is a dis-tortion.’ (D. Upadhyaya, Integral Humanism, NewDelhi, Bharatiya Jansangh, 1965, p. 43)

The best contrast in the approach to abolition of thecaste system and untouchability can be seen in theapproaches of Ambedkar and Golwalkar. The for-mer, holding Manusmriti as the upholder of castesystem initiated a social movement which led toburning of this holy tome, while the latter wrote eu-logies of Manu and the system of law provided byhim.

As far as the argument that‘the system served well andthere no complaints’, is halftrue and half false. Yes itworked well for the uppercastes who were the benefi-ciaries. It was oppressive

and inhuman to the lower castes. Yes, there are nocomplaints recorded, very true. The low castes wereexcluded from the arena of learning, so there is noquestion of dissatisfaction being recorded. While asa matter of fact right from the time of Lord Buddha,the protests against the caste system came up, Bud-dhism itself was a movement against the system ofcaste hierarchy. The medieval saints like Kabir andhis likes powerfully expressed the sigh of oppressionof the lower castes, their suffering at the hands of thebeneficiaries of the caste system, whose cause ProfRao is espousing and upholding. What direction ourscholarship of the past, caste-gender hierarchy willtake is becoming clear with the changes which havebeen brought in ICHR. Sign of times to come!

--Response only to [email protected]


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BaKhabar, August 2014

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