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In the name of Allah, Most Gracious, Most Merciful

A Voice of the MusliM uMMAh

'READ'

7 Rabi’ul Awwal 1432 February 11, 2011

Vol. 23 No. 2

IslamIc concept of prophethoodmaulana sayyid abul hasan ali nadvi

Asmâ-ul-Husnâ : Allâh’s beautiful names and attributes al-mUQeet the noUrIsher

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In This Issue... Editorial: What is His Name? ..............2 Furu’ ul Iman (Branches of Faith) .......5 Proper Upbringing of Children ............7 Who Broke the Idols? ....................... 10 Qur’an Quiz

Makki and Madani Surahs .............11

achievements of muhammad’s g prophethood

3

a perennial source of Inspiration

How many disciples have had this blessed seminary of prophethood in the east and west, in times me-

dieval and modern, and what a splendid example of their morals and behavior have they set in every field of human endeavor! The seemly influence of Muhammad’s g prophethood has revealed itself in countless miens as glittering gems. It often became visible in the gallantry of Tariq, or the boldness of Muhammad bin Qasim, or the courage of Musa bin Nasir; some-times it emerged in the intellectual calibre and profoundness of Imam Abu Hanifa, or Imam Shafe’i, or in the perseverance and dauntless spirit of resolution displayed by Imam Malik and Imam Ahmad bin Hanbal;

on occasions it made its appearance in the kindly goodness of Nur Uddin Zangi or the indefatigable efforts and strivings of Salah Uddin Ayyubi; at times it turned up in the shape of Al-Ghazali’s genius, or the heav-enly spirituality of Sheikh ‘Abdul Qadir Jilani, or the inspiring forcefulness of Ibn Jauzi’s dress of words; frequently it burst upon the view like the sword of Muham-mad the conquerer or as the daring exploits of Mahmud of Gazna; not infrequently it came forth in the guise of a colossus of knowledge like Ibn Taimiyah, or a capable sovereign like Sher Shah Suri, or a man of iron will as was Aurangzeb `Alamgir; and, its inner spirit recurrently appeared on the horizon with the cognizance of recondite truths and intrinsic core of reality in the writings and preachings of Mujaddid Alf Thani, or `Abdul Wahhab’s call to righ-teousness, or the farsighted sagaciousness of Shah Wali Ullah, or the altruism of later reformers and revivalists. The genius and intellectualism of all these emblems of human greatness belong-ing to different spheres and fields of hu-

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Editorial

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What Is hIs name? (part II)

Who Is JehoVah?

Hero-worshipping is ingrained in man. If he will not worship Allâh, then he

will worship something else. But worship he must. Anthropomorphism overtakes us as soon as we deviate from the divine guidance. In this case, even “God” becomes human-like. Does not the Bible say in the very first chapter “And God said, let us make man in our own image...”? (Genesis 1:26). How many have taken it to mean that the word “image” means physical likeness instead of its real meaning of resembling Him in at-tributes. The Holy Prophet Muhammad said, “Imbue thyself with divine attributes.” As Allâh is holy, we must be holy. As He is just, we must be just. As He is merciful, we must be merciful and so on with all the more than 99 attributes of Allâh from the final book of Allâh. A hundred years ago, all of a sudden, more than a hundred new cults and denomina-tions of Christendom mushroomed in the United States of America. The Seventh Day Adventists, the Christian Scientists, the Mennonites, and the Jehovah’s Witnesses are some of them. The last-mentioned group’s founders, Charles Taze Russell and his follower Judge Rutherford, have made the word JEHOVAH famous. Their followers, “Jehovah’s Witnesses” knock at people’s doors, asking the question “What is His name?” The “orthodox” Christian replies “God.” They say, “God is not a name, it is an object of worship. What is His Name?” “Father,” says the orthodox as a second try. “Is your father God?” of course not. “So what is His name?” demands the “witness”. It is JEHOVAH, he insists. He has made a religion out of this word. Muslims are also

coming under attack by the “witness”. The “orthodox” Christian asks where is JEHOVAH mentioned in the Bible? The “Jehovah’s Witnesses” had no answer. Then the {JEHOVAH} was added in parenthesis in a few places. Now, in some versions that “Jehovah’s Witnesses” carry, the parentheses have been removed. The process of mutila-tion of GOD’s word is so easy for some humans. Why not ask the “witness” where did he get the word Jehovah from and why he calls himself a witness? The word “Jehovah” and “witness” were almost unknown until very recently. It is said that Charles Taze Russell visited “the East” and it was on his return that he established what was to become a prolific sect of Christianity. “The East” obviously meant a lot of Muslims. Muslims repeat the shahadatain, (I witness that there is no God but Allâh and I witness that Muhammad is the messenger of Allâh) at least five times daily in a thunderous manner during the azan (the call for prayer). No one is going to come forward and acknowledge that Charles Taze Russell heard the call in “the East” during his visit and actually asked Muslims what it meant. Similarly the “witness” is not going to come forward and inform you that the word Jehovah actually was nowhere in the Bible until it got mutilated. Astonishing as it may sound, it is an admit-ted fact that prior to the sixteenth century, the word “Jehovah,” was unheard of. Whenever the origin of this word appeared in its true Hebrew form in Jewish Scriptures (read from right to left as in Arabic) Yot, Huh, Way, Huh; or Y.H.W.H. or ) these four letters were preceded by a substitute word “Adonai,” to warn the reader that the following word was not to be articulated. The Jews took meticulous care in repeat-ing this exercise in their “Book of God” six thousand, eight hundred and twenty-three times - interpolating the words “Adonai” or “Elohim.” They sincerely believed that

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is published monthly by con-necticut council of masajid, Islamic center of hamden, Islamic center of connecticut, Islamic center of new haven, faran club, United muslim masjid, Islamic society of Western connecticut, and Islamic center of new london.

http://ccm-inc.org/iqramaIlInG address:

connecticut council of masajidp.o. Box 4456, hamden, ct 06514

Tel: (20�) 562-2757

edItorIal commItteeSister Aisha Sayed Alam (Cheshire)

Dr. Abdul Hamid (Hamden)Sister Bonnie Lynn Hamid (Hamden)

Dr. Shujaat Ali Khan (New York)

Layout/Website ............ Brother Nadeem Abdul Hamid

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to Be continued

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man activity, owe their training and guid-ance to the Alma Mater which came into existence with the prophethood of Mu-hammad, and which, as a historical force, not only provided the conditions for fuller development of human faculties, but also produced, despite numerous impediments and vagaries of time, master spirits of ev-ery age. This was the school of goodness which can claim to have reared and trained God-fearing man with resplendent beauty of spirit, who have always been the guard-ians and guides of humanity in obedience to the divine command which runs: “(They are) humble toward believers, stern towards disbelievers, striving in the way of Allah, and fearing not the blame of any blamer.” [Qur’an V:54] But the voice of prophecy also carries the warning for every man- “But if these disbelieve therein, then indeed We shall entrust it to a people who will not be disbe-lievers therein.” [Qur’an VI:89]

this awesome name of God was never to be pronounced. This prohibition was no or-dinary affair: it called for a penalty of death on one who dared to utter it, and this taboo was more successful than all the ‘DO’s” and “DON’T’s” of the Ten Commandments put together.

Eight other D.D.’s were editors of this version and unanimous in supporting Rev. Scofield in his “New and Improved” com-mentary. In their comment No. 1 above they concur that “Elohim, (sometimes El or Elah meaning God) and alternatively spelled “Alah”. How far were they from the Arabic word spelled Allâh in English? All editors responsible for this debacle were fired and replaced with nine other D. D. who made sure in the subsequent reproduction of the “The New Scofield Reference Bible.” to delete Alah. If Jehovah is the name of God Almighty, and if the 27 Books of the New Testament were inspired by Him, then it is an anomaly of the highest order that He (Jehovah) signally failed to have His Own Name recorded in “His Word” (N.T.), the Christian addition to the Jewish Bible. The Christians claim that they have in their possession over twenty-four thousand so-called “originals” of their Holy Writ in the Greek language, and yet not a single parchment has “Jehovah” written in it. Curiously this “name of God” (?) has been sacrilegiously replaced by the Greek words ky’ri.os and the.os’, which mean ‘Lord’ and ‘God.’ Yet, miracle of miracles- Alleluia! (the Greek form of the Hebrew Hallelujah = Praise ye Lord), - no devil or saint has been able to eliminate the word “ALLÂH” from the so-called New Testament of the Christians.’(see page � of the English Bible, edited by Rev. C. I. Scofield, D. D. A portion of this page is photocopied here) The “tetragrammaton (a four letter word) Y.H.W.H in Hebrew will becomes Ye Ho Va

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continued from page �Ho after vowels are added to it. Like Arabic, Hebrew too was originally written without the vowel signs. The letter “Y” was subse-quently changed to “J” and “V” to “W” for reasons really only known to people who did it. With Hebrew being a “dead” language no one knows, not the Jew nor the Gentiles, what was the exact sound of the “tetragrammaton”. Yet the “witness” is ramming JEHOVAH down everyone’s throat. What is YHWH; and what is ELOHIM? Since the Jews did not articulate the world YHWH for centuries and since even the Chief Rabbis would not allow the ineffable to be heard, we have no other recourse except to turn to Arabic, a sister living language, to find out what “Yahowah Elohim” sounded like and what it meant. Racially and lin-guistically, the Arabs and the Jews have a common origin, going back to Ibrahim (or Abraham). There is a startling resemblance between the two languages. Very often the same sounding words carry identical meaning in both. Here are some of the examples.HEBREW ARABIC ENGLISHElah Ilah godIkhud Ahud oneYaum Yaum dayShaloam Salaam peaceYahuwa Ya Huwa oh he

YHWH or Yehova or Yahuwa all mean the very same thing. “Ya” is a vocative and an exclamatory particle in both Hebrew and Arabic, meaning Oh! And “Huwa” or “Hu” means “He”, again in both Hebrew and Arabic. Together they mean Oh He! So instead of YHWH ELOHIM, we now have Oh He! ELOHIM. We have seen in the photocopy of the Bible above what ELOHIM means. The suffix “IM” of the word “ELOHIM” is a plural of respect in Hebrew. (In Arabic and Hebrew there are two types of plurals. One is of numbers and the other of honor as in royal proclamations. (Since the plural of honor is uncommon in the languages of the

European, he has confused these plurals to connote a plurality in the ‘godhead”, hence his justification for his Doctrine of the Holy Trinity –the Father, Son and Holy Ghost). So ELOHIM = ELOH + IM. Thus the en-tire phrase YA-HUWA-ELOH-IM becomes in reality four words. YA = oh a vocative particle, HUWA = HE, ELOH = Alah, and IM = plural of respect. If we leave the exclamatory particle and the plural of respect, we are left with, HUWA ELOH or huwa elah. Huwa = He, Elah = God = Allah. This is identical to the Quranic expression in which Allâh directs the humanity to proclaim His UNITY thus: Qul huwa allâhu ahud. The people of knowledge thus have no choice except to acknowledge what Rev. C. I. Scofield and the other eight editors of “Scofield Reference Bible” had to do. We Muslims have to be mindful of Allâh’s terse warning and the duty we have to convey it to all.“he is allâh beside whom there is no other god; Who knows (all things) both secret and open; he is most Gracious most merciful. he is allâh beside whom there is no other god; the sovereign, the holy one, the source of peace (and perfection), the Guardian of faith, the preserver of safety, the exalted in might, the Irresist-ible, the supreme: Glory to allâh! (high is he) above the partners they attribute to him. he is allâh, the creator the evolver, the Bestower of forms (or colors), to him belong the most Beautiful names. Whatever is in the heavens and on earth doth declare his praises and Glory. and he is the exalted in might the Wise.” (al-Qurân, 59:22-24)(Editors Note: Based mostly on information from Ahmed Deedat , “What is His Name?”)

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Furû’-ul-Îmânthe Branches of faithMl. Ashraf Ali Thanvi V

[Translation and hadith citations, Nadeem Abdul Hamid]

1.25. to Give Up (love of) the World Hadrat Jâbir h reported: The Messen-ger of Allâh g happened to walk through the market coming from the side of ‘Âliya and the people were on both his sides. He passed by a dead lamb with very short ears. He took hold of its ear and said, “Who amongst you would like to have this for a dirham (silver coin)?” They said, “We would not like to have it even for less than that as it is of no use to us.” He said, “Would you like to have it (free)?” They said, “By Allâh! Even if it were alive (we would not have wanted it), for there is defect in it as its ear is very short; on top of that it is now dead.” Thereupon the Messenger of Allâh g said, “By Allâh, this world is more insig-nificant in the sight of Allâh than this is in your eyes.”1

‘Amr bin ‘Awf h reported that the Mes-senger of Allâh g said, “By Allâh, it is not poverty that I fear for you, but I fear for you lest this world should be spread out for you, as it was spread for those who were before you. Then you would covet it as they coveted it, and it will destroy you as it destroyed them.”2

And ‘Abdullâh ibn ‘Amr h reported the Prophet g as saying, “Successful is the one who accepts Islâm, and is provided with sufficient provision, and Allâh makes him content with what He gave him.”�

It is reported in a hadîth qudsi4 that Al-1 Muslim: Kitâb-uz-Zuhd war-Raqâ’iq.2 Mishkât/Al-Hadîs II/p.737 from Bukhâri and Muslim.� Mishkât 49�6 from Muslim.4 Hadîth qudsi: a narration of the Prophet that records the exact words of Allâh but is not considered a part of the Qur’ân.

lâh, the Exalted, said: “O son of Âdam! Devote yourself to My worship and I will fill your heart with wealth and prosperity and I will eliminate your needs. And if you do not do so, I will cause your hands to be full of (constant) work and toil and I will not eliminate your needs.”5

Sahl bin Sa’d h reported that the Apos-tle of Allâh g said, “Had the world been worth to Allâh even the value of a gnat’s wing, He would not have given a sip of drink thereof to any dis-believer.”6

Abû Mûsâ al-Ash’ari h reported that the Messenger of Allâh g said, “Whoever loves his (life in this) world injures his (life in the) Hereafter; and whoever loves his Hereafter injures his world. So have pref-erence for that which will last forever over that which will perish.”7

Ka’b ibn Mâlik h reported on the au-thority of his father that Rasûlullâh g said, “No two hungry wolves sent in the midst of a flock of sheep are more greedy for them than the greed of a man for property and fame for his piety.”8

Ibn Mas’ûd h reported, The Messenger of Allâh g slept on a (rough) mat. He woke up and had impressions on his body. Ibn Mas’ûd asked, “O Messenger of Allâh, would that you order us to prepare and con-struct (a bed) for you!” He said, “What is my relation with this world? My relation with this world is nothing except like that of a rider who seeks the shadow of a tree, takes rest, and then leaves it.”9

5 Kanz 15/4�022 from Tirmidhi (Abwâb Sifat-il-Qiyâmah), Ahmad, and Hâkim.6 Mishkât/Al-Hadîs II/p.7�8 from Ahmad, Tirmidhi and Ibn Mâjah.7 Mishkât/Al-Hadîs II/p.747 from Ahmad and Bayhaqi.8 Mishkât/Al-Hadîs II/p.7�9 from Tirmidhi and Dârimi.9 Mishkât/Al-Hadîs II//p.741 from Ahmad, Tirmidhi and Ibn Mâjah.

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Finally, Abû Umâmah h reported that Rasûlullâh g said, “My Lord offered to make for me the valley of Makkah full of gold. ‘No,’ replied I, ‘but I would like to have a meal for one day and to remain hungry the next. Thus, when I am hungry, I shall be humble to Thee and remember Thee; and when I shall be satisfied with food, I shall praise Thee and be grateful to Thee.’”10

In this way one can find many more narrations than are possible to list here on the topics of the despicable nature of this world, the evil of greed, great hopes (tûl-e-amal), love of wealth and fame, and the goodness of piety, reservation from the world, contentment, seeking the Hereafter, and avoidance of fame.

reformation of those seeking “progress” and explanation of desirable and Undesirable forms of (Worldly) progress Nowadays, there is a lot of noise and clamor about “Progress” (scientific, indus-trial, etc.). When one carefully examines the reality of this concept it becomes clear that its driving force is the same great hopes and desire for wealth and fame. So a believing person will have no doubt that all incite-ment towards such “progress” is in clear opposition to the blessed and sacred teach-ings of our wise and affectionate Prophet

. This should be well understood even in the face of its proponents who deliver such gilded speeches that they can fool a simple person. Their argument is that, “our real aim is to uplift and bring about the progress of Islâm, but the demands of our fast-paced world have become such that without ex-ternal show of greatness and power, there will be no honor or respect for Islâm, es-pecially in the eyes of other people. Thus, we must necessarily engage in working for 10 Mishkât/Al-Hadîs II/p.742 from Ahmad and Tirmidhi.

material and worldly progress.” Dear friends! Such an argument is pure and simple misrepresentation of the facts. Firstly, it is erroneous to presume that without worldly pomp and show no one will view Islâm with honor. Islâm has such a divinely bestowed beauty and grace that even in an unadorned state it allures and entices. In fact, in a simple setting Islâm appears more elegant than in a context of material pomp and decoration. You simply need to study the biographies and histories of those who practiced Islâm in its entirety from the time of the noble Sahâbah up till today – all such individuals have always been held with the highest respect and hon-or in the eyes of friends and foes alike. The reason that we can only seem to achieve respect through pomp and hullabaloo is that our practice of Islâm is not strong and perfect to begin with. Thus we try to stitch together the cracks and fissures in our prac-tice of Islâm by covering them with mate-rial pomp and show. In contrast to our misguided practice, one only needs to search out the pious servants of Allâh, which can still be found in our own time, to see the respect and honor that is commanded by them. Consider the case of Hadrat Maulânâ Shâh Muhammad Fadl-ur-Rahmân. The greatest leaders and rulers used to attend his gatherings, displaying the utmost of politeness and respect to-wards him. Who does not remember what utter lack of worldly pomp and grandeur there was there? This was the simple and unembellished Islâm and the attraction it had. And even if we concede these argu-ments of cause and necessity (that material progress is needed for the advancement of Islâm), then even so the one who claims that his ultimate goal is the advancement of Islâm, and that the worldly “progress” is needed as a means to doing so, will have to demonstrate to us that in truth they are as vigilant in matters of the religion as in

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proper Upbringing of children

Many a time, parents complain about the disobedience of their

children, their rebellion and desire to indulge in unlawful activities. Is this because parents themselves have fal-tered in their Islamic responsibility to their children? Is it due to their own oversight and lack of proper Islamic upbringing that they are the first to taste the bitter fruit of their negligence? Children are, in reality, an enormous blessing for their parents. If the proper Islamic etiquette is taught to them, they can become one of the fragrant flowers of paradise and a means of enhancing the honour of their parents. They will look after their parents in their old age,

always honour and respect them and be the “coolness of their eyes” as men-tioned in the Qur’an. On the other hand, if proper Islamic character is not taught to them, they will become a veritable coal of hellfire and their behaviour will turn their parents’ world into a living hell. There are many guidelines in the shari’ah regarding the proper upbring-ing of children. Rasulullah Sallallâhu ‘alayhi wasallam said that the best gift a parent can give his child is proper Islamic education and nurturing. Rasu-lullah Sallallâhu ‘alayhi wasallam also said that when children become seven years old, the habit of performing sa-

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DAY FAJR SHURUQ ZUHR ASR———— MAGRIB ISHA DWN SUNRISE Shafi’i Hanafi SNSET NGHT

Your (real) friend can be

only Allâh; and His messenger and those who believe-- who

establish prayer and pay the

poor due and bow down (in worship). And whoso turns

(for friendship) to Allâh and

His messenger and those who believe: lo! the party of Allâh,

they are the victorious.(5:55-56)

LUNAR DATES

I f you need prayer t im-ings for your town, p lease send us a self-addressed, stamped #10 envelope. Salah sched-ules are per-petual; i.e. they are good for every year.

Prayer times are for the New Haven area and are based on

�8° for Fajr and Isha. Check local newspapers for your local time

difference.

february11 5:19 6:52 12:06 2:56 �:�8 5:20 6:5412 5:18 6:51 12:06 2:57 �:40 5:22 6:551� 5:16 6:49 12:06 2:58 �:41 5:2� 6:5614 5:15 6:48 12:06 2:59 �:42 5:24 6:5715 5:14 6:47 12:06 �:00 �:4� 5:25 6:5816 5:1� 6:45 12:06 �:01 �:44 5:27 6:5917 5:12 6:44 12:06 �:02 �:45 5:28 7:0018 5:10 6:4� 12:06 �:02 �:46 5:29 7:0219 5:09 6:41 12:05 �:0� �:48 5:�0 7:0�20 5:08 6:40 12:05 �:04 �:49 5:�2 7:0421 5:06 6:�8 12:05 �:05 �:50 5:�� 7:0522 5:05 6:�7 12:05 �:06 �:51 5:�4 7:062� 5:0� 6:�5 12:05 �:07 �:52 5:�5 7:0724 5:02 6:�4 12:05 �:08 �:5� 5:�6 7:0825 5:01 6:�2 12:05 �:09 �:54 5:�8 7:0926 4:59 6:�1 12:05 �:09 �:55 5:�9 7:1127 4:58 6:29 12:04 �:10 �:56 5:40 7:1228 4:56 6:28 12:04 �:11 �:57 5:41 7:1�

march1 4:55 6:26 12:04 �:12 �:58 5:42 7:142 4:5� 6:25 12:04 �:1� �:59 5:4� 7:15� 4:52 6:2� 12:04 �:1� 4:00 5:45 7:164 4:50 6:22 12:0� �:14 4:01 5:46 7:185 4:48 6:20 12:0� �:15 4:02 5:47 7:196 4:47 6:18 12:0� �:15 4:0� 5:48 7:207 4:45 6:17 12:0� �:16 4:04 5:49 7:218 4:44 6:15 12:02 �:17 4:05 5:50 7:229 4:42 6:14 12:02 �:18 4:06 5:51 7:2�10 4:40 6:12 12:02 �:18 4:07 5:5� 7:2511 4:�8 6:10 12:02 �:19 4:08 5:54 7:2612 4:�7 6:09 12:01 �:20 4:09 5:55 7:271� 4:�5 6:07 12:01 �:20 4:10 5:56 7:2814 4:�� 6:05 12:01 �:21 4:10 5:57 7:2915 4:�2 6:04 12:01 �:21 4:11 5:58 7:�016 4:�0 6:02 12:00 �:22 4:12 5:59 7:�217 4:28 6:00 12:00 �:2� 4:1� 6:00 7:��18 4:26 5:59 12:00 �:2� 4:14 6:01 7:�419 4:24 5:57 11:59 �:24 4:15 6:0� 7:�520 4:2� 5:55 11:59 �:24 4:16 6:04 7:�721 4:21 5:54 11:59 �:25 4:16 6:05 7:�822 4:19 5:52 11:59 �:25 4:17 6:06 7:�92� 4:17 5:50 11:58 �:26 4:18 6:07 7:4024 4:15 5:49 11:58 �:26 4:19 6:08 7:4225 4:1� 5:47 11:58 �:27 4:20 6:09 7:4�26 4:12 5:45 11:57 �:27 4:20 6:10 7:4427 4:10 5:4� 11:57 �:28 4:21 6:11 7:4528 4:08 5:42 11:57 �:28 4:22 6:12 7:4729 4:06 5:40 11:56 �:29 4:2� 6:1� 7:48�0 4:04 5:�8 11:56 �:29 4:2� 6:14 7:49�1 4:02 5:�7 11:56 �:�0 4:24 6:16 7:51

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feB-mar praYer tImes, neW haVen

raBI’-Ul-aWWal

raBI’-Uth-thanI

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O ye who believe! When the call is heard for the prayer of the day of congregation, haste unto remembrance of Allah

and leave off trading. That is better for you if ye did but know.Surah al-Jumu’ah (62):9

reGUlar masJId actIVItIes and JUm’a praYer tImes

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stamford IslamIc center10 Outlook St. stamford, CT 06902 (20�)975-2642

Juma’ prayer time 1:00 pmcontact: Hafiz Haqqani Mian Qadri (203) 975-2642

IslamIc socIetY of stamford82 Harbor Dr, Stamford, CT 06902

Juma’ prayer time 1:00 pmcontact: Hafiz AbdulSalam Sumra (203) 255-4327

UnIted mUslIm masJId (masJId rahman)

1�2 Prospect Ct. Waterbury, CT. 06704 (20�)756-6�65 Juma’ prayer time 1:00 pmContact Br. Majeed Sharif. (203) 879-7230.

IslamIc center of Vernon27 Naek Road, Vernon, CT 06066.Juma’ prayer time 1:00 pmcontact: Dr. Mahmood Yekta, (860) 648-2844.

al-noor IslamIc center Inc.4 West Road, ellington, CT 06029.Juma’ prayer time 1:00 pmdaily Qur’an class; saturday halaqahcontact: Br. Ghulam Sarwar, (860) 810-6987.

West haVen masJId2 Pruden St., West haven, CT 06516, (20�) 9��-5799Juma’ prayer time 1:00 pmcontact: Br. Mohammad Taroua (203) 287-7561.

madIna masJId1 Madina Drive, Windsor, CT 06095, (860) 249-0112Juma’ prayer time 1:30 pmcontact: Muhamed M. Haidara 860-655-9042Madina Academy:Full time School (860)524-9700IslamIc socIetY of Western

massachUsetts337 Amostown Rd. W. Springfield, MA01105

(41�)788-7546 Juma’ prayer time 1:15 pmcontact: Dr. Mohammad Ali Hazratji(860)749-8859.

Visit the Connecticut Council of Masajid website:

http://ccm-inc.org

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THE CHILDREN’S CORNER

continued on page ��

Who Broke the Idols?

A long, long time ago, there lived in a town a very famous man

named Aazar. Aazar was an idol seller. He used to make idols out of stone and wood and sell them to people to worship. In the town, there was a very large house. In this house were kept many many idols. And the people of the town used to prostrate in front of and worship these idols. And Aazar also used to worship and prostrate in front of these idols. Aazar had an intelligent young son named Ibraaheem. Ibraaheem S (‘alayhis-salaam - peace be upon him) used to watch the people prostrating in front of and worship-ping the idols. Although he was young, Ibraaheem n knew that the idols were just made of stone. He observed that the idols could not speak and could not hear. He real-ized that they could not help the people or harm them. When no people were around, the birds would perch on the idols and Ibraaheem n saw that the idols were unable to drive them off on their own. When the people left food in the house for the idols, the mice would come and eat the food and Ibraaheem n saw that the idols were unable to stop them. Seeing all this, Ibraaheem n used to ask him-self, “Why do the people prostrate to these idols? Why do the people

ask these idols for help?” So young Ibraaheem n used to say to his father: “O my father, why do you wor-ship these idols? O my father, why do you prostrate in front of these idols? O my father, why do you ask these idols for help? “Clearly, these idols do not speak and cannot hear. Neither can they help you nor harm you. “And why do you leave food and drink for them, when obviously these idols do not eat and do not drink?” But Aazar used to become very angry with Ibraaheem n, and he did not understand his questions. And Ibraaheem n used to advise the rest of his people in the same way, but they would also not un-derstand what he was saying and would also become angry with him. So Ibraaheem n said to himself, “When there are no people around, I will break the idols, and then the people will understand.” One day, the people of the town had a day of festivity and they all became very happy. The people all went out of the town to celebrate their festival, and the father of Ibraa-heem planned to go with them. He said to Ibraaheem n, “Won’t you come and celebrate with us?” But Ibraaheem n said to him, “I am feeling sick.”

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Paradise lies beneath

the mothers’ feet.

continued from page �0

last month’s question: The word kallaa (“never”) appears ��

times in the Qur’an in 15 surahs. What is a common feature of all the surahs in which this word ap-pears?answer: Every surah in which this word appears is Makki, and all these verses are in the last half of the Qur’an. The author of the commentary Ma’ariful Qur’an writes [vol 1 pg 8-11],the makki and madani Verses While looking at the titles of the Surahs of the Holy Qur’an, you may have noticed the entry, Makki (or Mec-can, Makkan, Makkiyyah) with some Surahs, and Madani (Medinan, Medi-nite, Madaniyyah) with some others. It is necessary to understand correctly what it means. In the terminology of the commentators, the Makki ‘ayah means a verse that was revealed to the Holy Prophet g earlier than he actu-ally reached Madinah by way of hijrah (emigration). Similarily, the Madini ‘ayah or the Madani verse means that it was revealed after he migrated to Madinah. Some people take Makki to mean that the verse concerned was revealed in the city of Makkah, and so the Madani is supposed to have been revealed in Madinah. This view is not correct because there are several

continued on page ��

continued on page ��

When the people all went out of the town to celebrate, only Ibraa-heem n was left, and he went all alone to the big house with the idols. Ibraaheem n went up to the idols and he said to them: “Will you not speak? Do you not hear? Here is your food and drink! Will you not eat? Will you not drink?” But the idols remained standing silently, because they were rocks and unable to even utter a sound. Ibraaheem n said, “What is your problem that you don’t even utter a sound?” But, still, the idols re-mained silent and they did not utter a sound. Ibraaheem n became angry and he went and picked up an axe. Ibraa-heem n came to the idols with the axe and he hit them with it and he broke all the idols into pieces, ex-cept for the biggest one of them. He left the biggest one of them standing there, and he hung the axe around its neck. After some time, the people re-turned to the town, and the first place they went when they returned was the big house with the idols in

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continued from page ��it. It was the day of celebration, and the people wanted to give thanks to their idols by prostrating in front of them. But when the people entered the house, they were in for a shock-ing surprise! The people saw the broken idols and they were shocked and bewildered. They were dejected and angry. The people all cried out, “Who has done this to our gods?” Some of the people spoke up and said, “We’ve heard of a youth in the town named Ibraaheem who has been speaking badly about the gods and threatening them.” So some of them went and brought Ibraaheem n, and they asked him, “Did you do this to our gods, Ibraaheem?” Ibraaheem n said, “Look at the big-gest one still standing there; he must have been the one that did it, so why don’t you ask them, if they are able to respond?” But the people knew, deep down in their hearts, that the idols were just rock. The knew that there is no way a rock could either hear a question or respond to it. The also knew that the biggest idol was just a rock. There was no way the biggest idol could have walked or even budged from its spot. It did not have the ability at all to have broken all the other idols. The people reluctantly admitted to Ibraaheem n, “You know that of course the idols cannot respond to our questions.” “In that case,” Ibraaheem n responded: “How is it that you worship the

idols and they are unable to harm you or help you in any way? Why do you ask them for things when they obviously cannot respond to you or even hear you? Don’t you understand anything? Don’t you have any sense?” And at this, the people were silent in their embarrassment. Later, the people got together and they held a meeting. Some of them said: “What are we going to do? Verily, Ibraaheem broke our idols and he insulted our gods!” And some others from the people asked: “What is the sentence for Ibraa-heem? What will be his punish-ment?” The answer they settled on was: “Make a fire and burn Ibraaheem in it. Help your gods and throw him in the fire!” And so they did. They got a huge fire burning and then they threw Ibraaheem n into it! But Allah was watching, and he helped Ibraa-heem n, and he said to the fire: “O fire! Become cool, and be a place of peace for Ibraaheem!” And thus it was: the fire became cool, and it was a place of peace and safety for Ibraaheem n. And the people saw that the fire did not harm Ibraaheem n. The people saw, to their aston-ishment and bewilderment, that Ibraaheem n was happy and that he was safe inside the fire!

- 1� -continued on page ��

continued from page ��verses which were not revealed in the city of Makkah, yet are called Makki because they had already been revealed before hijrah. As such, the verses that were revealed in Mina, Arafat, or dur-ing the Journey of Ascent (Mi’raj) are also called Makki. So much so, that the verses revealed during the journey of hijrah enroute Madinah are also called Makki. Similarly, there are several verses which were not revealed in the city of Madinah, but they are Madani. For ex-ample, there were several journeys that the Holy Prophet g had to undertake while going many hundred miles away from Madinah, and the verses revealed at all those places are called Madani anyway. So much so that the particular verses that were revealed on the occa-sion of the Conquest of Makkah or the military campaign of Hudaybiyyah in the city of Makkah proper or its environs are also called Madani. Accordingly, the Qur’anic verse: “Surely, Allah com-mands you to fulfil trust obligations towards those entitled to them.” (4:58) is Madani although it was revealed in Makkah al-Mukarramah. (al-Burhan, v. 1, p. 88, and Manahil al-Irfan, v. 1, p 88) Then there are Surahs which are ei-ther totally Makki, or totally Madani. For instance, Surah al-Muddathir is wholly Makki and Surah Aal-Imran is wholly Madani. But, on occasions, it has so happened that one or some Madani verses find a place in the Surah which is wholly Makki. On other occasions, it has happened just the reverse. For instance, Surah al-A’raf is Makki, but in it the verses from 16� to 171 are Madani. Similarly, Surah al-Hajj is Madani but

four of its verses, that is, those from 52 to 55 are Makki. This also makes it clear that the incidence of a Surah being Makki or Madani is generally conditioned by the nature of the majority of its verses and so it happened frequently that the initial verses of a Surah which were revealed before Hijrah were regarded as Makki, although some of its verses may have been revealed later on following Hijrah. (Manahil al-Irfan, v. 1, p. 192)

characteristics of Makki and Madani Verses The scholars of Tafsir, after having made a thorough investigation into the Makki and Madani Surahs, have come up with a set of characteristics that tell right off if a Surah is Makki or Madani. Some of these characteristics are recognized as universal rules while others hold good most of the time. The universal rules are as follows:

1. every Surah in which the word (“never”) appears is Makki. this word has been used 33 times in 15 Surahs, and all these verses are in the last half of the noble Qur’an.

2. Every Surah in which (according to the Hanafiyyah) there appears a verse of Sajdah is Makki.

�. Every Surah, with the exception of Surah Baqarah, in which the story of Adam n and Iblis finds mention is Makki.

4. Every Surah in which permission of jihad or a description of its injunctions has been given is Madani.

5. Every verse which mentions the hypo-crites is Madani.

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continued from page �� The following characteristics are general and mostly frequent, that is, sometimes the contrary may happen, but usually and mostly it follows the said pattern:

1. In Makki surahs, generally, the form of address used is Ya ayyuhan-naas (O people), and in Madani surahs it is Ya ayyuhal-ladheena aamanoo (O believers).

2. The Makki ‘Ayat (Verses) and Surahs are generally short and brief while the Madani verses and chapters are long and detailed.

�. The Makki Surahs mostly consist of subjects such as Oneness of Allah, Prophethood, affirmation of the Here-after, the panorama of the Resurrec-tion, words of comfort for the Holy Prophet g and events relating to the past communities, and in these, the number of injunctions and laws taken up is much less as compared with the Madani Surahs where family and social laws, injunctions of jihad and expositions of limits and duties appear frequently.

4. In Makki Surahs, most of the con-frontation is against idolaters while in Madani Surahs it is against the people of the Book and the hypocrites.

5. The style of Makki Surahs is more majestic. It has profusion of meta-phors, similies and allegories, and the vocabulary used is extensive. Contrary to this, the style of the Madani Surahs is comparatively simple.

The difference in the style of Makki and Madani Surahs initially owes its origin to a variety of conditions, cir-

cumstances and addressees. Muslims had to deal mostly with the idolaters of Arabia during their Makkan life. No Islamic state was born yet. Therefore, during this period, more emphasis was laid on the correction of beliefs,reform of morals, logical refutation of the idolaters and the miraculous nature of the noble Qur’an. Contrary to this, an Islamic state had risen in the holy city of Madinah. People were rushing into the fold of Islam, group after group. Idolatry stood refuted intellectually. The ideological confrontation was now wholly against the people of the Book. Therefore, greater attention was paid to the education in injunctions, laws, lim-its and duties, and on the refutation of the people of the Book. The style ad-opted matched these objectives.

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to Be continued

worldly matters. If they do not work equal-ly as hard for the religion as for the world, then at least they should put in a half or a quarter of the effort –then we could accept their claim that their ultimate goal is the ad-vancement of Islâm and that their engage-ment in the world is a matter of necessity. Instead, however, we see that most of our companions who claim to have this aim are so absorbed in their pursuits that they pay no heed to the Lord, have no remembrance of the Prophet , no care for the beliefs, and no regard for the laws of Islâm. When there is such lack of evidence, then how can we accept their claims? Then, there are some individuals who pres-ent the “progress” of the Sahâbah (Allâh be pleased with them all) as evidence in their favor. We are fully ready to consider this precedent – let us examine and evalu-ate this closely. Take a balanced and unbiased look at the “progress” pursued by the Sahâbah – was it in the realm of the religion or the world? When they spread out through the coun-tries of the world, were they seeking ad-vancement in trade, agriculture, industry, and personal exaltation or was it the estab-lishment of the prayer, fasting, Qur’ân and remembrance of Allâh, implementation of Islâmic ordinances and justice that they sought? The noble Qur’ân, which is the trustworthiest record of history, confirms their purpose. It speaks of the Muhâjirîn of the Sahâbah, Those who, if We give them power in the land, establish worship and pay the poor due and enjoin kindness and forbid iniq-uity. And Allâh’s is the sequel of events. [Qur’ân 22:41] Study the condition of these great Muslims in the hadîth and siyar (biogra-phies) – one finds that despite the vast con-quests they achieved, they never ate to their fill, never slept a full night, and spent their days and evenings in fear, remembrance,

and thoughts of Allâh. In fact, in the face of such great worldly gains, they used to weep and feel afraid of being held to ac-count. Whither the “progress” of the Sahâbah and whither the inverted “progress” of to-day! The real fact is that desire and lust has surrounded from every side, the tempera-ment has come to favor easiness, and the wish is to attain all the material causes of bounty and luxury. The name of Islâm and religion is only for the sake of symbolic distinction and as a national sign. Other-wise, what prayer, what fasting is there? In fact, most belittle and scoff at the rules and injunctions of the Sharî’ah. Dear friends, what type of way of life and belief (dîn) is this? Say: Evil is that which your belief en-joins on you, if you are (as you claim to be,) believers. [Qur’ân 2:9�]

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Important Islamic daysashUra’ (Fast on 9th and 10th, or 10th and 11th of Muharram.)maUlUd-Un-naBI Birth of the Prophet Muhammad (Rabiul Awwal) - death of the prophet (12 Rabiul Awwal).Isra and mIraJ (The anniversary of the Night Journey of the Prophet Muhammad to Jerusalem & his Ascension then to Heaven)(27 Rajab).nesfU shaBaan (Shub-e-Barat)(middle of the month of Shabaan)(night between 14 &15).BeGInnInG of the month of ramadân.laIla tUl Qader (NIGHT OF VALUE) A night during the last 10 days of Ramadân. eId Ul-fItr (1st. Shawwal) WaQfatU-arafat (Pilgrims assemble on Arafat Plain, Makkah)(9 Zul-Hijj).eId Ul-adha (Feast of sacrifice)(10 Zul-Hijj).

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Allâhu Akbar!

Allâh is the Greatest!

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laat should be inculcated within them, and when they reach ten years of age, they should be warned for neglecting salaat. (Tirmidhi vol. 1, no: �9) In an-other tradition, Rasulullah Sal-lallâhu ‘alayhi wasallam has said that one should encourage one’s children to do three things: (i) to have love for Rasulullah Sallallâhu ‘alayhi wasallam, (ii) to have love for the house-hold of Rasulullah Sallallâhu ‘alayhi wasallam, and (iii) to recite the Qur’an Ma-jeed regularly. The minds of children are ripe and mature. Thus, what-ever teachings, lessons and hab-its are imbibed from an early age, will last till old-age. If one wishes one’s children to tread the straight path, the first step in achieving this is that their par-ents should first be on the right path and set the correct example themselves. They cannot expect to rectify their children if they do not set an example of beautiful character themselves.

[Courtesy Jamiat-ul-Ulama, Johannesburg]