• “Suburban Capitalist Islam” – List of Beliefs – http://bit.ly/dB0nzq #
• "Suburban Capitalist Islam" – Response #1 – Islam is not a filter of Western Culture – http://bit.ly/ap6rR6 #

“1)  American culture is the primary definition of the way we dress, the food we enjoy, the entertainment we seek (Movies, TV, video games).

2) Islam can be understood practically as a filter of the ‘bad’ aspects of the American lifestyle out of ones life.    The bad aspects are the obvious haraam (forbidden actions).   It can also be an encouragement of the ‘good’ aspects of American life.”

Response:

A culture can be understood as the output of a ‘program’ with various inputs.   The inputs, in this case, are principles on theology, philosophy, human nature, rights, etc.

We can see this easily through examples.  If the input is the principle that all humans are equal in all ways, then a culture emerges which reinforces that position, with regards to the overall lifestyle including the art, entertainment, workplace,  definition of justice, and overall relationships.

The same can work in reverse.  If the input is that humans are not equal at all, then a culture emerges which reinforces the degradation of the unfortunate class, and this permeates through the culture down all the way to how news is reported and how different people are depicted in art, film and even casual conversation.

Everyone accepts this so casually that it is largely a matter-of-fact, and we end up with American slavery and the colonial era.

Western culture is the output based on its own inputs, and the fact of the matter is that it is too young to have any firm inputs.   The example of slavery is clear on this matter, within a few hundred years attitudes towards slavery changed as a result of new principles being applied.   Within another few decades attitudes towards everything from body image, sexuality and religion have dramatically changed.

On the other hand, Islamic cultures which developed out of 1400 years of exposure to Islam also have had their own independent inputs.   These principles have stood the test of time.  Further to this, Middle Eastern and Eastern cultures did not just deal with Islam as a matter of choice or an alternative lifestyle, it totally consumed their whole being.

This went to such an extent that even non-Muslims in the polity were affected by Islamic culture, much like today where the situation is reversed and Muslims are affected by non-Islamic culture.  And frankly, Muslims have been affected maybe even more than their non-Muslim counterparts were in Islamic times.

The situation with Muslims today is that the West defines principles (inputs), and we get a culture out of it (western culture), and then Muslims attempt to filter the result through ‘Islam’.   The problem with this approach is that Islam is not just a filter of culture.  It contains within it the seeds of creating new culture.

The principles of Islam, when applied in a thorough fashion, led people to a thriving, principally independent, culture from the west.   We see in history, when Islam was applied and Islamic societies emerged,  that Islamic art was not just ghetto art used now for Arabic calligraphy.  Islamic music was not harmonizing boy-bands singing about the Prophet (S).  Islamic family lifestyle was not the American dream.  Islamic governance was not democracy.   Muslim children weren’t raised on a Muslim muppet on TV.

But if Islam remains a filter, that’s all we’ll ever get.  A slightly adjusted version of a culture based on un-Islamic principles.  We won’t get music that’s entirely our own, we won’t get a dress that is entirely our own, we won’t get art that entirely our own, we won’t have a perspective that is entirely our own, and we certainly won’t get a spirituality that is entirely our own.

Historically, converts to Islam, and specifically we see this in the European converts of the pre-industrial age, were people who totally accepted adoption of faith, principles and culture.   When they converted, yes, they totally adopted the culture and perspective of the people which taught them Islam, and they abandoned that which was based on kufr in their hearts.  They had no alternative, really.  They knew what they were putting aside and what they were picking up.

But today, even Muslims born into the faith find it unfathomable to wrap their minds around the concept that the West needs to first be abandoned in order to build something Islamic.

We all know the maxim, “if you see something wrong the least we can do is dislike it in our hearts.”  But today we give excuses to this capitalistic materialistic society and try to find why it *is* Islam, and why its cultural output is ‘not so far’ from Islam.  Just let us tweak it here and there.  Add some minority-fiqh and it’s all legal too.

Forget abandoning Western culture and kufr based principles from which it arose, we don’t even want to dislike it in our heart.

Is it even possible to abandon the Western culture?  With commitment and a guide who is carrying that Prophetic message, yes, it is.   Because they replace that void with something fresh and growing and alive.

But at the same time we must know it is difficult to separate from any lover, even ones who are bad for us.   So, of course, inching progress will occur and compromises will be made.  But until this fundamental decision is made in the heart to (at least) incline away from the West, little progress towards a true Islamic lifestyle in one’s own household will be possible.

Fill out a form, write your check, get your ticket, head down to the University.

Listen to Imam such-and-such speak, hang out with friends after and relax. Rinse and repeat.

This is the paradigm for Suburban Muslims which has been put forward to the youth, and it seems to be failing miserably.  Everyone knows someone who has left faith at some seminars doorstep.

The foundation of this approach is based on a few unspoken assumptions which no one questions.

I will question them.

First, they should be listed:

1)  American culture is the primary definition of the way we dress, the food we enjoy, the entertainment we seek (Movies, TV, video games).

2) Islam can be understood practically as a filter of the ‘bad’ aspects of the American lifestyle out of ones life.    The bad aspects are the obvious haraam (forbidden actions).   It can also be an encouragement of the ‘good’ aspects of American life.

3) Since Islam is a filter of good and bad, one needs to obtain ‘ilm’ (religious knowledge) in order to learn how to behave.  Studying ‘ilm’  is paramount in Islam, and most ‘ilm’ is in Arabic.

4)  What is taught by people in classes at seminars and ‘events’ is a translation and summarization of what is considered ‘ilm’.

5)  Your status is defined by how much of this seminar-event-based ‘ilm’ you know.

6) Your source of English-’ilm’ is infinitely better than other peoples source of English-’ilm’.

7)  If you learn Arabic yourself you will one day know exactly without a doubt that #6 is true.

8)  ‘Ilm’ can be expensive.

9)  What defines a good Muslim is how well integrated he is with Suburban-Middle-class Society (job, wife, kids, house) plus the combination of his ‘ilm’

10)  With real ‘ilm’ we can combat a Non Suburban-Capitalist-Islam.  The end result of Non Suburban-Capitalist-Islam is a lifestyle absent of the luxuries and principles of Suburban Capitalist Islam, primarily #1.

11)  Non Suburban-Capitalist Muslims are extremists of different sorts, and Suburban Capitalist Muslims are moderate.  They are moderate because they are largely indistinguishable from n0n-Muslim Americans within the workforce, except for a beard/Hijab and some dietary requirements.

12)  Isa’s (AS) return, Imam Mahdi (AS) and the Dajjal are topics of events far in the future.   They are so far that they are largely understood as metaphors without meaning.

13)  Islamic history is something left to be studied in a superficial manner, because most of Muslim history is filled with various mistakes and evil people.  It is far more important to learn about the primary sources of ‘ilm’ and attend more seminars.

14)  Actual change from a Western to an Islamic society will come from those who participate in the political and economic system and give Dawah within.

15)  Most immigrants have no idea about ‘ilm’, because they have never attended these seminars.   Therefore most parents are without knowledge.

I will add more later.   If you have some more to add, put them in comments sections and later I will flesh all of these out.

• Are you changing yourself to fit into Islam, or are you changing Islam to fit to you? #

The “Noble Edict of the Rose Chamber” was an 1839 proclamation by Ottoman Sultan Abdül Mecid I that launched the Tanzimat period of reforms and reorganization within the Ottoman Empire.

Below is the text of the edict:
BismillahirRahmanirRahim
—-
All the world knows that since the first days of the Ottoman State, the lofty principles of
the Qur’an and the rules of the Sheriat were always perfectly observed. Our mighty
Sultanate reached the highest degree of strength and power, and all its subjects [the
highest degree] of ease and prosperity. But in the last one hundred and fifty years,
because of a succession of difficulties and diverse causes, the sacred Sheriat was not
obeyed nor were the beneficent regulations followed; consequently, the former strength
and prosperity have changed into weakness and poverty. It is evident that countries not
governed by the laws of the Sheriat cannot survive.

From the very first day of our accession to the throne, our thoughts have been
devoted exclusively to the development of the empire and the promotion of the prosperity
of the people. Therefore, if the geographical position of the Ottoman provinces, the
fertility of the soil, and the aptitude and intelligence of the inhabitants are considered, it is
manifest that, by striving to find appropriate means, the desired results will, with the aid
of God, be realized within five or ten years. Thus, full of confidence in the help of the
Most High and certain of the support of our Prophet, we deem it necessary and important
from now on to introduce new legislation to achieve effective administration of the
Ottoman Government and Provinces. Thus the principles of the requisite legislation are
three:

1. The guarantees promising to our subjects perfect security for life, honor, and
property.

2. A regular system of assessing taxes

3. An equally regular system for the conscription of requisite troops and the
duration of their service.

Indeed there is nothing more precious in this world than life and honor. What
man, however much his character may be against violence, can prevent himself from
having recourse to it, and thereby injure the government and the country, if his life and
honor are endangered? If, on the contrary, he enjoys perfect security, it is clear that he
will not depart from ways of loyalty and all his actions will contribute to the welfare of
the government and of the people.

If there is an absence of security for property, everyone remains indifferent to his
state and his community; no one interests himself in the prosperity of the country,
absorbed as he is in his own troubles and worries. If, on the contrary, the individual feels
complete security about his possessions then he will become preoccupied with his own
affairs, which he will seek to expand, and his devotion and love for his state and his
community will steadily grow and will undoubtedly spur him into becoming a useful
member of society.

Tax assessment is also one of the most important matters to regulate. A state, for
the defense of its territory, manifestly needs to maintain its borders, the costs of which
can be defrayed only by taxes levied on its subjects. Although thank God, our Empire has
already been relieved of the affliction of monopolies, the harmful practice of tax-farming
[iltizam], which never yielded any fruitful results, still prevails. This amounts to
handing over the financial and political affairs of a country to the whims of an ordinary
man and perhaps to the grasp of force and oppression, for if the tax-farmer is not of good
character he will be interested only in his own profit and will behave oppressively. It is
therefore necessary that from now on every subject of the Empire should be taxed
according to his fortune and his means, and that he should be saved from any further
exaction. It is also necessary that special laws should fix and limit the expenses of our
land and sea forces.

Military matters, as already pointed out, are among the most important affairs of
state, and it is the inescapable duty of all the people to provide soldiers for the defense of
the fatherland [vatan]. It is therefore necessary to frame regulations on the contingents
that each locality should furnish according to the requirement of the time, and to reduce
the term of military service to four or five years. Such legislation will put an end to the
old practices, still in force, of recruiting soldiers without consideration of the size of the
population in any locality, more conscripts being taken from some places and fewer from
others. This practice has been throwing agriculture and trade into harmful disarray.
Moreover, those who are recruited to lifetime military service suffer despair and
contribute to the depopulation of the country.

In brief, unless such regulations are promulgated, power, prosperity, security, and
peace may not be expected, and the basic principles [of the projected reforms] must be
those enumerated above.

Thus, from now on, every defendant shall be entitled to a public hearing,
according to the rules of the Sheriat, after inquiry and examination; and without the
pronouncement of a regular sentence no one may secretly or publicly put another to death
by poison or by any other means. No one shall be allowed to attack the honor of any
other person whatsoever. Every one shall possess his property of every kind and may
dispose of it freely, without let or hindrance from any person whatsoever; and the
innocent heirs of a criminal shall not be deprived of their hereditary rights as a result of
the confiscation of the property of such a criminal. The Muslim and non-Muslim subjects
of our lofty Sultanate shall, without exception, enjoy our imperial concessions. Therefore
we grant perfect security to all the populations of our Empire in their lives, their honor,
and their properties, according to the scared law.

As for the other points, decisions must betaken by majority vote. To this end, the
members of the Council of Judicial Ordinances [Mejlis-i Ahkam-i Adliyye], enlarged by
new members as may be found necessary, to whom will be joined on certain days we
shall determine our Ministers and the high officials of the Empire, will assemble for the
purpose of framing laws to regulate the security of life and property and the assessment
of taxes. Every one participating in the Council will express his ideas and give his advice
freely.

And he (Dimitrie Cantemir d. 1723) concludes with these lines, having challenged his European readers: “I dare even say that Turkish music is much more perfect than that of Europe towards the measurement and the proportion, and it is also so difficult to understand that there are only three or four people who were familiar with the principles and the delicacies of this art “(HEO, II p.178).”

We emphasize this point about the complexity of music that “is much more perfect than that of Europe towards the measure” because we have actually experienced, out of only the nine makam we selected, the following (or beats) 14 / 4, 16 / 4 10 / 8, 6 / 4, 12 / 4 48 / 4 and 2 / 4. And of these seven measures only the rhythms 6 / 4 and 2 / 4 are common in the Western world.

-Jordi Savall – Istanbul (“The Book of the Science of Music”) -

Sheikh Maulana Nazim el Kibrisi @ The University of California, Berkley from Haqqani OSMANLI on Vimeo.

To put it bluntly, Ottoman history is the history of the Turks, the history of the Turkish state. At the same time, though, it is the shared history of the more than ten nations that live in the twenty or so states in this part of the world, each of which has been home to tribes speaking different languages and following different religions. We have to accept these facts. Once we do, we will appreciate that without a knowledge of Ottoman history and of Turkish, it is impossible for people in the Balkans, the Middle East, the Caucasus or Southern Russia to study history and to gain awareness of history. That is to say, unless they know Turkish and go into Turkish sources, there is no way that they can write the history of their own nations. Somehow the Hungarians and the Israelis (the latter being the latest newcomers to this region) have understood this. Unfortunately, the other former people of the Ottoman Empire cannot be said to have displayed the same insight.
- “Discovering the Ottomans” – Ilber Ortayli

“Committee of Union and Progress”

It should be remembered that the ulema, as a class, did not form a homogeneous but a fragmented body, members of which defending somewhat contradictory theses. Many high-ranking members of the ulema strongly supported the Hamidian regime and policies implemented by the sultan for different reasons. In retrospect, however, it would not be inaccurate to comment that those who wholeheartedly supported the aforementioned regime were of a negligible quantity. This comment might seem contradictory, given the policies implemented by the sultan. The examination of a host of memoirs, pamphlets, and newspaper and journal articles published by members of ulema in exile and after the reinstatement of the constitutional regime unequivocally reveals this significant fact, however.

The idea of creating a political opposition movement was born in 1889 among military medical school students, but similar or identical ideas had entered the minds of a grater mass of people. Since there was no other influential authority apart from religion that could legitimize the opposition, the sympathizers of CUP discovered that clamorous opposition, shrouded in religious motifs, was the best way of guaranteeing the future of their movement, of legitimizing it and of delegitimizing the regime of Abdulhamid II. This became more urgent as Abdulhamid II and the palace increasingly labeled members of the opposition as ‘irreligious’ ‘traitors’, ‘intriguers’, ‘immoral’, ‘lacking in patriotism’, and ‘bandits’, this increasing tension by appealing to religious sentiments. So the ulema, who had not yet gone into action, were urged to do so through celebrations, persuasion, threats, satire and contempt.

….

It is strange that a member of the Ottoman ulema should question the legitimacy of the title of caliph of Sultan Selim I, but the real aim of this discussion is to establish an historical framework that would delegitimize the titles of caliph and sultan held by Abdulhamid II and diminish his reputation. If the author could establish that the title of caliph held by the Ottoman dynasty was an usurpation obtained by massacring thousands of Muslims then the caliphate and sultanate of Abdulhamid II would be null a pirori. Similar ideas, and the notion of the caliph as a member of the Quraysh tribe were first created as a political maneuver by English functionaries in India and developed by London newspapers in order to weaken the power and influence of the Ottoman state over the Islamic world. That such ideas questioning the legitimacy of the Ottoman caliphate were adopted after a decade by the ulema and presented as if they constituted a local and religious question illustrates the ulema’s political situation and the loss of their ability to use their own judgment to follow and interpret political developments.

The conclusion expounds on the subjects touched on in the introduction of the pamphlet. It reiterates the need to weaken absolute obedience to the caliph and, consequently to Abdulhamid II, and the need for outright disobedience; it reinterprets the verse of the Koran ordering obedience to established authorities in a way that excludes sultans and emirs and includes ‘learned mystics with the capacity of governing people’; and it includes a defence of a constitutional, even republican, regime in place of the caliphate-sultanate. It also stresses the need for consultation and to found a parliament, which is considered as a synonym for ‘a council of the Muslim community and a national council, both of which are a religious necessity’. The final ‘personal comment’ frequently points to the affinity between the ulema and the CUP opposition.

..

As in the case of Imamet ve Hilafet Risalesi, the author remains anonymous, but to increase his legitimacy, credibility, influence and also his potential threat, he is described as ‘the most virtuous scholar’. The Egyptian branch of CUP published this pamphlet twice in 1896. It must have been one of the first joint acts (or the first) by the recently formed CUP, the opposition and the ulema. The fact that – to our knowledge – it is the first pamphlet in which the CUP is mentioned by name increases its importance. The cover states that the publication was made in conformity wit hthe CUP regulations (Article 21).

The aim of this publication was to incite the ulema to revolt against the authorities, while at the same time asking the authorities to grant a constitution, and attempting to politicize the Muslim community. Its political aims were important and clear. It was successful in using cherished symbols and in playing on common sentiments in a provocative language.

(Late Ottoman society: the intellectual legacy (2005) By Elisabeth Özdalga)

• BismillahirRahmanirRahim – "And fear the Fitnah which affects not in particular (only) those of you who do wrong…" Quran 8:25 #

Sohbet – Shaykh Abdul Kerim al-Kibrisi – 1431 from Yursil on Vimeo.

• #Newark airport closed last night…. decided to spend another day in Toronto rather than wait it out. Alhamdulillah. #
• Heterosexuality's last stand: Sex-segregated airport security screening #
• I really want to change the domain name of my blog. #

Originally aired on Bab-i-Alem Program on MPL-TV in Turkey 09/14/2009. Full version (Turkish only) may be found at episode 132 here:
link

Translations of Parts 1-3 have been previously posted here.

Translations of Parts 4-5 can be viewed below:

A healthy dose of self-criticism is a good thing. God knows I’ve engaged in my fair share on these very pages. But scholars writing in Arabic have differentiated between self-criticism (naqd al dhat) and self-flagellation (jald al dhat).

A number of emboldened voices, frequently of second generation Arab and Asian émigrés to western countries, continue to vie for a hearing in western periodicals and news media, boldly telling fellow Muslims just “what they really had better start understanding”, and dispensing marching orders, irreverently pronouncing on what Islam ought to be: usually some pale mimesis of Western liberal sensitivities.

It’s really beginning to get tiresome. Who are they talking to, anyway? The Muslim public doesn’t read the periodicals they write in. Are they trying to save the integrity of a beloved heritage or merely carve out a place of inclusion for themselves at the head table?

For a people who never had time for more than a thin relationship with Islam before September 11 2001, they sure do have a lot to say now. As a western convert to Islam this type of self-loathing really mystifies me. What is the motivation, then, to become the self-styled hero of offended western sensibilities?

Is it an attempt to reconcile a passion for all things western with an inescapable link in name or ethnicity to things “foreign”? Or does cashing in on this very affiliation promise a shot at relevancy as an “area expert” in the valley of the uninformed? Otherwise, were it not for the accident of ethnic circumstance, the Muslim social scientist would be relegated to competing with a vast and level playing field of his or her peers: a potential recipe for obscurity.

Or is it just that the incessant accusations of right-wing fear-mongers have at long last begun to penetrate the insecure psyche of shallow self-awareness? Whatever it is, it’s weak, uninteresting and borderline embarrassing. Well, maybe beyond borderline.

However, once these darlings of the cable media circuit or liberal information outlets have fulfilled their mission, establishing the utter banality of Islam, they too will be marginalised and forgotten.

But my challenge to these self-appointed spokesmen for Islam is this: You’ve told us everything that is wrong with Islam and Muslims, can you tell us now what is right and good about Islam? No, they cannot; because they themselves really know nothing of any depth about their own tradition.

But just you all wait and see. The end will be for those with confidence, hope, patience and fortitude. For those who envision a reading and living of the Way of Islam that adds value to the global conversation and contributes authentically and significantly to solving the dilemmas that challenge the human community as a whole.

From http://abudhabikhutbas.wordpress.com/2010/01/05/it-is-really-starting-to-get-tiresome/

• Does labeling me help you to not treat me as a person? #

• Snow today, first time I experienced it in my Subaru AWD after 10 years in a FWD car. There is no going back. #
• Muslim flirting on interwebs… added to the list of disturbing things I am bludgeoned with by participating in social media. #
• Salafi English transliteration = their overall approach. Blunt, repetitive, unnecessary, looking at piece parts rather than the whole. #
• Prophet Muhammad (صلي الله عليه و سلم) Letter to the Monks of St. Catherine Monastery http://bit.ly/7BRLs9 #

PROPHET MUHAMMED’s Letter to the Monks of St. Catherine Monastery from Haqqani OSMANLI on Vimeo.

The Letter Reads:

This is a message from Muhammad ibn Abdullah, as a covenant to those who adopt Christianity, near and far, we are with them.

Verily I, the servants, the helpers, and my followers defend them, because Christians are my citizens; and by Allah! I hold out against anything that displeases them.

No compulsion is to be on them.

Neither are their judges to be removed from their jobs nor their monks from their monasteries.

No one is to destroy a house of their religion, to damage it, or to carry anything from it to the Muslims’ houses.

Should anyone take any of these, he would spoil God’s covenant and disobey His Prophet. Verily, they are my allies and have my secure charter against all that they hate.

No one is to force them to travel or to oblige them to fight.

The Muslims are to fight for them.

If a female Christian is married to a Muslim, it is not to take place without her approval. She is not to be prevented from visiting her church to pray.

Their churches are to be respected. They are neither to be prevented from repairing them nor the sacredness of their covenants.

No one of the nation (Muslims) is to disobey the covenant till the Last Day (end of the world).

–

St Catherines monestary has this to say about their letter:

“According to the tradition preserved at Sinai, Mohammed (AS) both knew and visited the monastery and the Sinai fathers. The Koran makes mention of the Sinai holy sites. In the second year of the Hegira, corresponding to AD 626, a delegation from Sinai requested a letter of protection from Mohammed (S). This was granted, and authorized by him when he placed his hand upon the document. In AD 1517, Sultan Selim I confirmed the monastery’s prerogatives, but took the original letter of protection for safekeeping to the royal treasury in Constantinople. At the same time, he gave the monastery certified copies of this document, each depicting the hand print of Mohammed (S) in token of his having touched the original. ”

• Who will be left to pray for us when we die? #
• I find mass "In-case-I-did-anything-wrong-to-you-please-forgive-me" emails really insincere and lame. #

Muharram enters tonight, inshaAllah we are asking to be good ones this year and make it a year which helps us improve in sincerity and faith. Sheikh Maulana Nazim Adil al-Hakkani delivered the following sohbet in 1999 on the 10th of Muharram.

–

BismillahirRahmanirRahim… It is one of holiest months, Muharram, and tonight is the 1oth, one of holiest nights in Islam… Tomorrow is the 1oth of Muharram, the Ashura-Day. It has a very special situation in the Islamic calendar, and also in the calendar of world-wide historical events, because on this day Allah Almighty just granted to His beloved servants from His endless Mercy Oceans, and His endless Power Oceans, to be victorious…

It was on this day,

* that the Ark of Prophet Nuh a.s. landed on the peak of that mountain and the flood just finished,
* Prophet Ibrahim (AS) was saved from the fire of Nimrod,
* Prophet Musa (AS) passed through the Red Sea and was saved from Pharaoh,
* Prophet Yunus ibn Al-Yasa’a (AS) was saved from the stomach of the whale,
* Prophet Suleiman (AS) , King Suleiman, was granted the kingdom over all Mankind and Jinn,
* Prophet Eyub (AS) became healthy, and more wealthy than before,
* and the Prophet Jesus Christ, Isa (AS) , was taken up to the Heavens…
* And Sayidina Muhammad (SWS). was granted much honour and an opening of the seven Heavens for himself and for his whole nation, and he was saved from his tribe, the Quraish…

And every time that Muslims fell into difficulties, Divine Help and Support just reached them through this holy month, and particularly on a day like tomorrow, on the 1oth of Muharram… Very important…

I was expecting Sayidina Mehdi a.s. to come this year, but yet some signs have not been completed… and I hope, that he may be with us next Muharram, after the year 2ooo. The 3rd millennium should be for Mehdi (AS) ….

So many Heavenly Blessings reached to believers on the 1oth of Muharram, and it is good luck to reach to Muharram 1999. And I hope that it is going to be granted for Sayidina Mehdi (AS) to appear… Tonight, much more power should be granted, perhaps the authority for the whole world… and his sword, now, is taken out a little bit. Tonight it is going to appear…

And, as we said before, one month ago in Dhul Hijjr on the night of Arafat, a change began. There is a new Tajalli, a Divine Appearance, a new power that will continue now without stopping. And miraculous powers from tonight are beginning to come into action step by step, so that when technology is going to finish and vanish, another kind of power is going to be ready for use…

Try to be with Allah and you are going to be victorious. Try to take yourself, step by step, away from the hands of Shaitan and devils. Try to use less of every kind of instrument which Shaitan and his soldiers helped to invent, because everything that is working with electricity is going to stop, and another source of power is beginning to act…

Now, for a few months only, all nations are going to carry very heavy burdens… When that finishes, there will be a new opening for the whole world. No need at that time for electricity, cars, ships, factories…no. Your light, Nur-ul-Iman, the light of your faith, is going to surround you. Your body is shining, so that even in the darkness of the night you may go…

Therefore I am happy and thankful to Allah, that we have reached to this night, and we are asking humbly for our names to be written with Mehdi (AS) . We are not happy with the situation in the world, East and West, because every system, all living systems on earth now, are against the Divine Rules and Laws.

We are happy and proud enough that Allah Almighty makes us happy with Him, with His Awliya, with Sahibu-Zaman Sayidina Mehdi a.s.- not to run after that shaitanic, dirty life… Shaitanic life is the dirtiest. Run away from the dirty life. If not, you may sink in those dirty waters, dirty situations, and you can’t save yourself. Ask for cleanliness and try to be clean, so that you should be clean in the last moment of your life… Fatiha.

01.04.1999

BismillahirRahmanirRahim
As-salamu alaikum dear brothers and sisters,

We are excited and proud to announce the launching of Maulana Sheikh Nazim Al Haqqani’s official website, which features articles written by him personally in Turkish or Arabic language and translated into English.

There will be a weekly Gazette (magazine) in the downloadable PDF format.

This is the address: http://www.saltanat.org

OR:

http://www.saltanat.org/Introduction/tabid/60/Default.aspx

Please tell everybody you know, spread the word!

Salaams from Cyprus
to all that I know and all that I don’t know as yet,
Khairiyah (Siegel)

The previous post addressed the general categories of the people, and their authorized actions with regards to the condemnation of wrongs.

Previous Post Link: On the three approaches to the condemnation of wrongs: with the hand, with the tongue, and with the heart

Shaikh Abdul Qadir Jilani (R) then addresses the five preconditions for those who believe they are fit to speak about wrongs:

On the five preconditions that must be met
by anyone who intends to enjoin what is right
and fair and to forbid what is wrong and unfair.

Before a person can be considered fit for the task of enjoining what is right and fair and forbidding what is wrong and unfair, he must satisfy the following five preconditions:

1. He must have expert knowledge of what he is going to enjoin and what he is going to forbid.

2. His aim and object must be to win the favor of Allah, to fortify the religion [din] of Allah, and to exalt the word of Allah and His commandment, with no intention of putting on a show, of enhancing his own reputation, or of furthering his personal interests. Only if he is honest [sadiq] and sincere [mukhlis] will he receive support [from Allah] and be enabled to succeed [yuwaffaq], so that he may serve as the instrument by which the wrong can be eliminated. As Allah (Exalted is He) has said:

If you help Allah, He will help you and He will make your foothold firm. (47:7)

Allah (Exalted is He) has also said:

Surely Allah is with those who are careful of their duty to Him, and those who are doers of good [muhsinun]. (16:128)

Provided, therefore, that the person concerned is scrupulously careful to avoid the sin of attributing partners to Allah [shirk], that he refrains from trying to impress his fellow creatures while striving to correct what is wrong, and that he conducts himself with true sincerity [ikhlas] in all his efforts, he will enjoy triumphant success.

If he does not take this approach, on the other hand, he will reap nothing but disappointment and disgrace, humiliation and contempt. As for the wrong he is supposed to be correcting, it will remain quite unaffected, if it does not actually get worse. He will have nothing to show but his own hypocrisy [nifaq], the enthusiastic support of people addicted to sinful disobedience, the willing cooperation of the devils among men and jinn in defiance of Allah (Exalted is He), the abandonment of obedient service to Him, and the commission of unlawful deeds.

3. His manner of commanding and forbidding must be one that is characterized by lenient flexibility and sympathetic understanding, not by boorish impoliteness and harsh insensitivity. To put it even more emphatically, he should approach the task with an attitude of friendliness and good will. He should have a feeling of genuine concern for his brother, considering the fact that he has cooperated with his own enemy, the accursed Satan, who has seized control of his mind, and who has made it seem attractive to him to disobey his Lord and reject His commandment, with the intention of causing him to perish and be consigned to the Fire [of Hell]. As Allah (Exalted is He) has said:

[The devil] summons his party only that they may be among the inhabitants of the blazing inferno. (35:6)

Allah (Exalted is He) also said to His Prophet (Allah bless him and give him peace):

It was by the mercy of Allah that you were lenient with them, for if you had been harsh and hard of heart, they would have scattered from all around you. (3:159)

Moreover, Allah (Exalted is He) said to Moses and Aaron [Harun] (peace be upon them both), when He sent them to Pharaoh:

And speak to him gently, for then he may be mindful, or perhaps feel afraid (20:44)

The Prophet (Allah bless him and give him peace) once said, according to the tradition [hadith] of Usama:

It is not appropriate for anyone to enjoin what is right and fair and to forbid what is wrong and unfair, until he possesses three good qualities: [He must be] well versed [alim] in what he is enjoining, well versed in what he is forbidding; gentle Irafiq] in the process of enjoining, gentle in the process of forbidding; tolerant [hallm] in his approach to enjoining, tolerant in his approach to forbidding.

4. He must be patient [sabur], tolerant [halim], long-suffering [hamul], humble [mutawadi'], dispassionate [zail al-hawa], stout-hearted [qawi al-qalb], and disposed to be lenient [layyin al-janib]. He must be a physician [tabib] capable of healing the sick, a doctor [hakim] with the skill to treat a lunatic [majnun], and a leader [imam] who can act as a guide. In the words of Allah (Exalted is He):

And We appointed from among them leaders guiding by Our command, when they endured with patience. (32:24)

[They endured with patience] the insults and injuries they had to suffer at the hands of their own people, in order to sustain, strengthen and support the religion [dm] of Allah, so He appointed them to be the leaders, the guides and the physicians of His religion, the commanding officers of the believers [qadat al-muminm].

In the story of Luqman, Allah (Exalted is He) has said:

[And Luqman said to his son:] “Enjoin what is right and fair, forbid what is wrong and unfair, and endure with patience whatever may befall you; surely that is true constancy [min 'azmi'l-umur].” (31:17)

5. He must be someone who puts into practice what he commands other people to do. He must also be personally free of any guilt, untainted by what he forbids other people to do, so that they have nothing to let them gain the upper hand over him, thereby exposing him to blame and censure in the sight of Allah. Consider the words of Allah (Exalted is He):

Will you bid other people to righteousness, while you forget [to practice it] yourselves? And you are readers of the Book! Have you no sense at all? (2:44)

According to the tradition [hadith] of Anas ibn Malik (may Allah be well pleased with him), the Prophet (Allah bless him and give him peace) once said:

On the night when 1 was taken on my heavenly journey, I saw some men whose lips were being clipped with scissors, so I said: “Who are these people, O Gabriel?” and he told me: “These are the preachers [khutaba] of your Community [Umma], the ones who gave instructions to other people but forgot [to practice those instructions] themselves, even though they were readers of the Book.”

In the words of the poet:

Do not tell others not to do
the very thing you do yourself.
The shame on you, if you act thus,
is very great indeed.142

Qatada (may Allah hestow His mercy upon him) once said: “We have been told that this is written in the Torah: ‘The human being [ibn Adam] remembers Me and he forgets Me, he calls upon Me and he runs away from Me. In vain is what you are trying to do.’”

Allah (Almighty and Glorious is He) may have been referring here in someone who enjoins what is right and forbids what is wrong, yet leaves himself out of it; but He (Exalted is He) is More Aware [A lam] of the truth of the matter.

142 la tanha ‘an khalqin wa ta’ti mithlahu—’arun ‘alaika idha ataita ‘azimun.

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BismillahirRahmanirRahim

Original post/comments here:
Br Naeems Blog: Useless Discussions on Jihad

“@Yursil, appreciate the references, but surely you can’t be presenting an argument based on exceptional cases, right?”

Sure I am, I think that is exactly what I am doing.

Why is it not expected that the people performing this holistic effort would be ‘exceptional’ in an age of (foretold and increasing) fitnah and decadence?

I already expect the good to exist as pockets of righteousness, when I’m surrounded in a world of evil and confusion.

And the Holy Prophet (AS) has been related as answering the question:

“Will there be any evil after that good?”

And our Beloved Nabi (AS) replied, “Yes, there will be some people calling at the gates of the Fire, and whoever will respond to their call, will be thrown by them into the Fire.”

And Hudhayfa bin AlYaman said, “O Allah s Apostle! Will you describe them to us?” He said, “They will be from our own people and will speak our language.” I said, “What do you order me to do if such a state should take place in my life?” He said, “Stick to the group of Muslims and their Imam.”

I said, “If there is neither a group of Muslims nor an Imam?”

He said, “Then turn away from all those sects even if you were to bite (eat) the roots of a tree till death overtakes you while you are in that state.” -Sahih Bukhari

So our alternatives are to either stick to a group which does implement goodness, or, if you believe there exists none at all, then leave them all and die alone. That is *your* choice, the last state (in my opinion), has not arrived yet.

And it hasn’t arrived thanks to those who, while calling to zikr, have called the Azan in its pure Arabic when government tortured them for it to be in a different tongue.. Thanks to those who led a righteous fight until it turned sour in Chechenistan.. In Bosnia.. In so many places, there are so many lessons to learn. Thanks to those who have suffered imprisonment, banished from their countries, for simply speaking the truth. MashAllah to them, without them where would we be? Yes, they are exceptional people. If we are looking for a warrior, bard, mystic, saint, realist, politician, general, peacemaker, lover and fighter in one package, wouldn’t that be an exceptional person in today’s age?

Do we really think we can do any jihad without such a leader? Inner, outer, intermediate or whatever slice we like? Certainly, the one that transformed Arabia and subsequently the world, had a leader.

Let us be real.. We live in an age where ‘Muslims’ are at each others throats, or in courts, or at gunpoint, over administering Masjids in some of the most posh areas of the world. With wealth or health or in the lands most without it, Muslims are destroying themselves. This is because everyone is leading their own ‘intermediate’ jihad. Get a little power in their hands, and half of them turn into sell outs in the first place. Ask anyone working within ‘the system’.

With all this in mind, it seems to be a very slippery slope in today’s age to think that one is required to change the general direction of the world, much less independently through private efforts, or that one has been given the authority to participate or even lead in that. Some things need to be guided by holy inspiration, in intimate connection with our Lord.

So maybe when people have such ambitions without such a connection, learning to keep to themselves is the best thing to do.

You must admit that the vast majority of ‘traditional’ ulema nowadays have betrayed the spirit of true Jihad (that balance I wrote about).

I don’t think they are perfect, but I don’t care really. It’s not my place to waste time criticizing rather than offering the alternative. What accomplishes something is to do something.

Or if we’re really fortunate enough, we may be able with a few words to enlighten someone.. Writing like this is really rare for me in these days, but then, most of it is not from me (luckily).

I say luckily, since when I meet someone who thinks their own opinions are enlightenment, with a chip on their shoulder and an urgent desire to denounce everyone who doesnt share it, then I’m pretty sure I know its poison. I pray not to be like them.

The best ones I’ve met live a life of quiet confidence, inspired not from within but from their connection to others. I pray to be like them.

When we rely on those better than us, we’re better off.

A read through Sahih Bukhari’s chapter on the afflictions towards the end of days is relevant.

There was a time when the Prophet (S) predicted it would be better to sit than stand, standing would be better than walking, walking better than running…

A time was predicted when the best thing a man could do would be to escape with his faith into the places of rainfall.

When do we know to apply the above? And when will we study which category we fall into here?

http://bit.ly/92w7jU

Long post, but its better to recognize it as really just rote repetition from others better than me.. a reminder to myself.. most of us will ignore it, inshaAllah I won’t.

Eid ul Adha Khutba – Sheikh Abdul Kerim al-Kibrisi – 1430 from Yursil on Vimeo.

Wudu

Toys

Shahadah

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DO SOMETHING!

http://brnaeem.blogspot.com/2009/11/stop-dilly-dallying.html