Islamic Focus

Articles

2008-06-23T18:48:00.061+02:00

Mother, What Can I Give You?
On reaching the height of his career a man felt a duty to repay his mother for all she had done for him. He asked, ‘Mother, what can I give you to repay the sacrifices you made for me?’ Mother looked surprised and said, ‘Why think about it? It was my duty so I did it, you don't have to repay me. Even if you want to, there is no way a man can repay his mother.’

Discover Islam
In 1999 the Muslim Judicial Council opened a Department of Da’wah headed by Dr Abdullah Hakeem Quick. This led to the Discover Islam Centre (DIC) being established in 2005. DIC is a non-profit organisation.

Money Matters
Some teachings of Islam regarding money:

Contentment
Wealth is not in having vast riches, it is in contentment. (Bukhari, Muslim)

Loans
If anyone would like Allah to save him from the hardships of the Day of Resurrection, he should give more time to his debtor who is short of money, or remit his debt altogether. (Muslim)

Islam in the Comoros
98% of the 798,000 population in the Comoros, a group of 4 islands in the Indian Ocean, are Muslim. Most are of Arab-Swahili or Persian descent, but there are also people of Indian descent. The name Comoros is derived from the Arabic Qamar, meaning moon. Arabic is one of the official languages.

Tech Watch: Islamic Organizer
With technology being an integral part of many people’s lives, here’s one way of making the indispensable cellphone help organize your Islamic life:

Nokia has designed an Islamic Organizer program that works on Nokia S-60 3rd Edition cellphones. The program either comes pre-loaded or can be downloaded free.

Musjids of the World 13
The Musjid serves as the focal point of any Muslim community and is the most important structure to Muslims.

Koutoubia Musjid, Marrakech, Morocco. Built in the Almohad style. Minaret (69m high) completed 1184-1199 and was a model for the minaret of the Giralda Musjid in Spain which influenced thousands of church towers in Spain and Eastern Europe. 6 rooms (one above the other) form the interior; leading around them is a ramp by which the Muazzin could ride up to the balcony.

Islam’s Bill of Rights
Islam defended human rights for male, female, young, old, irrespective of status, even the other creatures which inhabit earth, hundreds of years before the Magna Charta (1215) or the Declaration of Human Rights (1948). Here is a glimpse into some of the rights established and protected by Islam:

Human Rights
Whoever kills a soul unless for a soul (as legal retribution for murder) or for corruption (done) in the land - it is as if he had slain mankind entirely. And whoever saves one - it is as if he had saved mankind entirely. (Qur’aan 5:32)

Web Guide May 2009
Enrich your web experience. Not all content on all sites Islamic-compliant. Consult Ulama.

www.abouttajweed.com/

Tajweed

http://anisulislam.com/
Musjid Anisul Islam, UK

www.mwinstitute.co.uk/

Muslim Welfare Institute

www.monthly-renaissance.com/

Renaissance Magazine

www.reciter.org/

Qiraat reciter

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It’s Your Call
The Qur’aan mentions that a salient feature of the Prophet sallallahu alaihi wa sallam and of those who follow him is to call people to Allah.

By and large, this duty is being carried out by only a handful of Muslims. We all need to add this to our job descriptions of being professionals, tradesmen, housewives and students.

Naan

Naan is a round flatbread made of white flour. It is a staple accompaniment to hot meals in Central and South Asia, including Pakistan, Afghanistan, Iran, northern India, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan and the surrounding region. It bears a resemblance to pita, but is softer in texture.

Encouragement

Parents, with their comments or attitude can have a negative influence on their children. Here are a few ways of positively encouraging them:
‘Mom! Dad! Look at what I did!’ Kids, their faces beaming with joy, running to their parents to show them ‘something special’ is an everyday occurrence. Sometimes parents immediately start finding fault. ‘Don't interrupt! I'm busy!’ they might say. Or they might criticize the treasure. The heartbroken child walks away maybe to give up ever trying to improve his drawing, writing, or school work.

Earning Dua

It is a trend that people ask the pious or their parents for Dua. This is good, but more effective is to earn the Dua of people by affecting their lives in some way.ServiceAbdullah Ibn Abbas radhiallahua ahuma used to stay close to the Prophet sallallahu alaihi wa sallam as a young boy. He would run to fetch water for him when he wanted to make wudhu.

Leadership Qualities Part 3

With elections in South Africa just over, we continue from our main article in the last issue, examining qualities of a good leader as opposed to a ruler:

A leader derives his appeal from humility, a ruler appeals for superiority

In his first speech as Khalifah (leader) of the Muslims, Abu Bakr said: ‘I have been appointed as ruler over you although I am not the best among you. I have never sought this position nor has there ever been a desire in my heart to have this preference to anyone else… If I do right, you must help and obey me; if I go astray, set me right…’

Eagle and Crow

Once a man saw a crow whose wings were cut. He thought: ‘Poor thing, how is it going to survive? From where shall it get its food?’ Hardly a moment had passed when that person spotted an eagle carrying some prey in its beak. The eagle came closer, landed and fed the crow.

Winning Hearts

Ways from the Hadith on winning people’s hearts:

SMILE: It is the first arrow and the fastest of all. ‘Smiling at your brother's face is charity’. Sahaaba report they had never seen someone smile at other more then the Prophet . The Hadith says: ‘Do not ever waste your good deeds, even by meeting your brother with a frowning face.’

I am a Muslim Quiz

2008-06-23T18:47:00.018+02:00

i_am_a_muslim

More from the Kidz Zone

Click Here for an interactive Arabic Lesson (Part One)

Click Here for an interactive Arabic Lesson (Part Two)

Click Here to play a game where you've got to unscramble the names of Prophets of Islam.

Click Here for an informative, interactive page showing the English words which have come from Arabic.

Inside of Ka'bah

2008-06-23T18:46:00.022+02:00

Video claiming to show the inside of the Ka'bah in Makkah Mukarramah.

More Media

Islam in Africa

2008-06-22T09:00:00.001+02:00

THE ARRIVAL OF the first Muslim refugees in Abyssinia (Ethiopia) in the fifth year of the Holy Prophet’s (sallallahu alaihi wa sallam) mission, to seek political asylum from religious persecution, heralded a link between Africa and Islam which has lasted up to now.

SPRINGBOARD
In the year 640, during the rule of Umar (radhaillahu anh), the first advances were made into Africa and Egypt was conquered.
Islamic influence spread rapidly and north Africa came inextricably under Arab influence. Along the east coast of Africa trading stations were set up at Malindi, Mombasa and Mogadishu.
Africa was used as a springboard to launch the Muslim invasion of Spain and France in 711, and southern Italy in the 800s.

FIRST VARSITY
The world’s first university was founded in Africa. Al Azhar was set up in the 970s in Cairo. The second one was established in Tunisia and the third in Algeria, all on African soil.
Islam gave Africa the Swahili language which has become the lingua franca on the continent, as well as Arabic, the language of north Africa.
It was through Arabic that the first history of the continent was written by the well-known Muslim scholar Ibn Battuta, an African Muslim.

TIMBUKTU
Mighty Islamic empires flourished in Africa.
Sun Diata, the founder of the great African empire of Mali, converted to Islam in the 1200s.
Mansa Musa, an Emperor of Mali, went for Hajj in 1324.
In the 1500s Islamic learning thrived in the Songhai Empire in West Africa. Timbuktu was an important center of Islamic scholarship.
By this time, Muslim influence was spread over the entire north and west of Africa, and on the east it extended up to Mozambique.

GOLD COINS
Trade was prosperous in the Muslim states with gold and other commodities being mined.
When Muhammad Turre of Songhai went for Hajj in 1495 he was reported to have given away 250 000 gold coins. He set up an efficient administration, police force and canal irrigation system, easily out-rivaling Europe.
Africa produced great Muslims like Salaahuddeen, the Kurdish conqueror of Palestine, who started off from Egypt. In 1804 Usuman dan Fodio, a Fulani Sheikh, declared Jihad and heralded a revival of Islam in West Africa.

LEMBA TRIBE
The history of Islam in Africa is a long one. On our doorstep, the Lemba tribe in north eastern Transvaal traces its history to the Arabs of Yemen and still retains many Islamic customs.
Through deception and deceit, the Christians duped many Africans into abandoning monotheism for man-made Trinity. Muslims can lead them back to it.

Click and Color

2008-06-20T09:15:00.000+02:00

Click and Color.

Click here for a full screen version

The Curious Case of the Church

2008-06-19T09:00:00.000+02:00

The Church of the Holy Sepulchre, also called the Church of the Resurrection, is a Christian church within the Old City of Jerusalem. The site is venerated by most Christians as the place where Jesus peace be upon him was falsely alleged to have was crucified, and is said to also contain the place where Jesus was buried (the sepulchre). It has been an important pilgrimage destination since the 4th century and the holiest place in Christendom.
The church is jealously managed by six competing and often disputatious Christian denominations: Roman Catholic, Greek Orthodox, Armenian Orthodox, Coptic, Syrian Orthodox and Ethiopian Orthodox. Many a time (as late as Apr 20, 2008) tensions spill over into violence. Amazingly, a Muslim family, the Nuseibeh family, holds the key to the sacred sepulchre, and for 13 centuries this family has opened the door to Christendom’s holiest site. The Nuseibeh family has helped keep the peace between the rival Christian factions since Caliph Umar first conquered Jerusalem for the Muslims in 638 and gave them the key. The only gap was 88 years of Crusader rule. Every morning at 4 am, Wajeeh Nuseibeh takes an ancient iron key, climbs a ladder and opens the doors to the church. Every evening, after three raps of an iron doorknocker spaced over half an hour, Nuseibeh closes up and places the key in safekeeping.
The church was restored and renovated several times by Christians under Muslim rule, and Christian pilgrims were always allowed full access to this and other holy places in Palestine. When Salahuddin Ayyubi recaptured Jerusalem in 1191, he allowed the Nuseibeh family to resume their role as custodians. Since that time, the Judeh family, also Muslims, keep the key overnight, but only the Nuseibehs serve as doorkeeper. The role passes from father to son. Once a year, the three biggest Christian denominations publicly renew their request to Nuseibeh to be the custodian and doorkeeper.

Hifz Tradition in South Africa

2008-06-18T09:00:00.000+02:00

Pages From Cape Muslim History, Yusuf Da Costa

Among the early Muslim immigrants to South Africa there may have been Huffaaz, as some were trained Islamic teachers. It is highly probable that individuals like Sheikh Yusuf of Macassar and some scholars exiled to the Cape with him in 1694 had also memorised the Qur’aan, because such memorisation was a characteristic feature of Muslim scholarship of the time. In 1705, the Rajah of Tambora (Sultan Abdul Basi) wrote a copy of the Qur’aan from memory. Imam Abdullah (Tuan Guru) also wrote a copy of the Qur’aan from memory. He had a number of contemporaries who memorised the Qur’aan, including Imam Rajab van Boeghies, who also wrote several copies of the Qur’aan from memory, and Khalib Hajji, founder Imam of the Shafi Musjid. Abu Bakr Effendi, a Kurd Aalim sent to the Cape by the Ottoman government, established the Ottoman Theological School in Cape Town in 1862. Students memorised the Qur’aan there within two years. Ismail Muawiyyah Manie (d. 1918) was the first locally-born Muslim to memorise the Qur’aan. He left to study Qiraat in Makkah and was awarded a medal by the Ottoman authorities for excellence in Qiraat. Many young men left to study in Ottoman Makkah after the emancipation of slaves. At the same time, many Arabs settled in Cape Town. Sheikh Muhammad Najaar of Makkah settled in the Cape in 1906. He was a qualified Qari in the 7 modes of recitation, an extremely rare qualification in SA at the time. Imam Muawiyyah Sedick (d. 1955) of Turkish origin spent 10 years in Makkah, studying Hifz. Muhammad Salih Abadi and others who became Huffaaz under Imam Muawiyyah, owed their prominence in Hifz and their becoming the pioneers in producing Huffaaz in SA to him. Sheikh Muhammad Salih Abadi became a Haafiz at 15 and, in 1927, left to study in Makkah. He studied Qira’atul Hafs and Warsh. Sheikh Salih returned to the Cape in 1938 with permission to teach Qira’atul Hafs. He was a pioneer in producing Huffaaz in SA, and is known as the father of Hifz in SA.

Short Fuse

2008-06-16T09:00:00.001+02:00

WOULD YOU BLOW YOUR TOP...
if your wife falsely accused you of looking at other women?
Hazrat Umar (radhiallahu anhu), famed for his sternness in matters Islamic, used to patrol the streets of Madinah at night, when he was Caliph, to check on the state of his subjects. One day his wife told him sharply, "You go to see the young women."
Umar (radhiallahu anhu) did not get angry at this false allegation. He calmly replied, "Allah Ta’ala knows best that what you say is not true."

WILL YOU TRIP A FUSE...
if your wife asked you to do the housework?
The Noble Prophet (sallallahu alaihi wa sallam) used to help in the house.
He is reported to have milked the goats, patched his own clothes, swept the floor of the house and carried items home from the bazaar.

DO YOU EXPLODE…
if your son-in-law has a tiff with your daughter?
Once Hazrat Faathima, daughter of the Prophet (sallallahu alaihi wa sallam), and Hazrat Ali (radhiallahu anhuma) had a misunderstanding.
Our beloved Prophet (sallallahu alaihi wa sallam) did not add fuel to the fire by berating Ali (radhiallahu anhu). He went up to him, rubbed the sand off his clothes and spoke to him kindly.

Tongue Lashing

2008-06-16T09:00:00.000+02:00

A BEDOUIN once came to Umar (radhiallahu anhu) and then turned back without speaking to him.
Umar (radhiallahu anhu) sent someone to call him. He asked the Bedouin what he wanted. The Bedouin replied that it was nothing.
Umar (radhiallahu anhu) insisted that he be told his reason for coming.
The Bedouin said, "I came to seek advise with regards to my wife who constantly nags at me with her mouth. But when I came to your house, I heard you getting a worse tongue-lashing from your wife and I turned away, thinking what advise could you offer me if you were worse off than myself."
This is the same Umar (radhiallahu anhu) for whom the devil took another route when he saw him approaching.
Look at how he displays the character that made him so great!
This is the sublime way of Islam.

Treasures of Islam

2008-06-15T09:15:00.002+02:00

Items attributed to have belonged to Prophet Muhammad sallallahu alaihi wa sallam as well as connected to him (may the peace and blessings of Allah Ta'ala be upon him countless fold). Also the items that belonged to the Sahaaba radhiallahu anhum and the previous Prophets alaihimus salaam.