Did you know that in Arabic, there are 12 levels of friendship?
For every level of friendship, there is an Arabic word to describe it. From Siddique to Khaleel, it is rare to find all 12 levels of friendship in one person.
1. Siddique (صديق) – a true friend; someone who doesn’t befriend you for an ulterior motive. The word “Siddique” is commonly translated as truth, so honesty and loyalty is at the core of this friendship.
2. 𝘼𝙣𝙚𝙚𝙨 (أنيس) – someone with whom you’re really comfortable and familiar with.
3. 𝙕𝙖𝙢𝙚𝙚𝙡 (زميل) – someone you have a nodding acquaintance with.
4. 𝙅𝙖𝙡𝙚𝙚𝙨 (جليس) – someone you’re comfortable sitting with for a period of time.
5. 𝙎𝙖𝙢𝙚𝙚𝙧 (سمير) – someone you have good conversation with them.
6. 𝙎𝙖𝙝𝙞𝙗 (صاحب) – someone who’s concerned for your well-being.
7. 𝙍𝙖𝙛𝙚𝙚𝙦 (رفيق) – someone you can depend upon.
8. 𝙆𝙝𝙖𝙡𝙚𝙚𝙡 (خليل) – an intimate friend; someone whose presence makes you happy.
9. 𝙉𝙖𝙟𝙞 (نجي) – a confidant; someone you trust deeply.
10. 𝙉𝙖𝙙𝙚𝙚𝙢 (نديم) – a drinking companion (just tea) that you might call when you’re free.
11. 𝙎𝙖𝙛𝙞 (صفي) – your best friend; someone you’ve chosen over other friends.
12. 𝙌𝙖𝙧𝙚𝙚𝙣 (قرين) – someone who’s inseparable from you; you know how they think (and vice versa).
27th November 2013 – Nazir Ahmed Satia (Allah drench him in his mercy)
Parents live forever. People say that when parents die, the world comes to an end. The house looks empty. But I feel that parents live forever and they stay with us. It’s us who forget them. The matter of fact is that a brother has the eyes of the beloved father, a sister has a pretty face like a compassionate mother, a sibling smiles like a dad, or a sister cooks like a mum.
Parents don’t die. They never leave us. They live among us. They live in us. We are the reflections of our parents. Despite their physical absence, they continue to live in us. When you want to remember your parents, when you want to see them, when you want to be with them, simply gather your siblings around you. You will find the mesmerising smile of the mother in one sibling, the soothing voice of the father in another. You will feel your parents very close to you. All around you. Deep inside you. The garden of love that parents cultivate and grow with love, from the time that you are born, with the hard work of their tears and blood; it will continue to bloom, unaffected by the cycles of tough weathers of life. They shelter us in tough times. But there are times, when we forget all their hard work and destroy the paradise that they built, with our selfishness, hatred, and opportunistic attitudes.
Parents don’t die. We put them to death. Love your parents. Love your siblings. Continue to feed the garden that parents cultivated with love and compassion so that it never stops blooming and blossoming. You will make your world a living paradise on Earth. A heaven that only knows love, compassion, care, respect and it has you with your loved ones around you.
Allah forgive our parents and have mercy on them, accept their good deed and grant them Jannah, Ameen
Alhumdu Lillah, through the sheer blessing and mercy of Allah SWT, I was honoured to be part of a delegation sent by Human Aid & Advocacy to Afghanistan on Wednesday 26th July 2023. This journey was a fact-finding mission to separate the truth from the lies and to distinguish between Western Media Propaganda and the reality of the new government. I have penned down my thoughts and reflections from the journey.
Afghanistan is the graveyard of empires,
The land of the conquerors (that never conquered),
The land of the occupiers (that never occupied),
The land where angels descended to protect these people.
Yet, if you are patient and mindful of Allah, their schemes will not harm you in the least. Surely Allah is fully aware of what they do.
Afghanistan is a large country, three times the size of the UK, and has a population of 40 million. This is a country that has been at war for the last 30-35 years, against two world superpowers. Afghan people are very brave, and resilient and fear nobody but Allah SWT. One of the reasons they kept fighting the USA is they couldn’t take someone who doesn’t believe in Allāh SWT rule over them. “We would rather die…”
On the first day, we met with Maulvi Amir Khan, every meeting we attended started with a recitation of the Holy Qur’an. One of the questions we asked him was, what are his expectations from the Muslims in the West and particularly British Muslims? Can anyone think of what he requested? Tanks? Weapons? Money? That’s what the media will tell you… He lowered his voice and in a solemn tone he replied with an example, (there were tea cups in front of us), “As you can see the cup in front of you is white tell the world it is white.” That’s all he wanted! I was dumbfounded by the answer… Subhan Allah! They only want people to know the truth about them, the whole truth. In Sha Allah and this is what we intend to do… He further added, what you see here, tell people exactly as it is, the media have destroyed us more than their drones and planes.
Before continuing, one must understand when you live in the West you are constantly bombarded with negative images and comments regarding the Taliban government, the question is why? It’s simply because they want to bring back Shariah in its original and pristine form, they want to implement the Qur’an to the full extent, chapter by chapter and verse by verse. The enemies of Islam can never see this as it means that they would also be under Islamic law.
The best way to destroy all of this is to paint the Taliban with a negative brush, which isn’t something new! Titles and degradation were also faced by the Prophet ﷺ. The Prophet ﷺ was also called a poet, a magician, and a soothsayer, but this didn’t deter him ﷺ from relaying the truth. Today we have the Daily Mail and back then we had Abu Jahl & Co, all eggs of the same basket. This mustn’t weaken us, hold on to your faith.
Our second day, was Friday 28th of July which coincided with Ashoora. About 10% of the population is Shia in Afghanistan and we often get told by the BBC and others that Shia Muslims get attacked by the Taliban often leading to many Shia deaths, this couldn’t be further from the truth. Friday morning we were told that all networks will be down for the duration of the day, which means no WiFi and no mobile coverage. The Taliban government do this on 10th Muharram to prevent any sort of attacks/bombings of which Shias and their masajid are usually the targets.
So if the Taliban didn’t care about Shia Muslims or people of other faiths, why take the network down in the whole of Kabul? Many of you will ask if the Taliban are not bombing the Shia, then who is? There is a large presence of Daaish in Afghanistan and they are usually the perpetrators, but sadly the blame lands on the Taliban. Who is Daaish? Nobody really knows not even the Taliban but they certainly don’t represent Islam.
We prayed Jumuah Salah at the Jaame Masjid Wazir Akbar Khan, we met the Imam, Mawlana Muhammadullah Mohsin he was a young Imam. In our brief chat with Mawlana, we asked him what challenges he faced in Kabul? He replied the youth don’t attend the Masjid nor do they connect with the Ulama. He further added, teenagers, particularly disliked Ulama because of the propaganda of the Americans. Sometimes the occupier leaves, but the people are still mentally occupied. People realise when the occupier leaves who is right and wrong. Just like in India when the British left, but their influence is still there. The good thing is the Afghan people were not influenced as much, as they don’t accept other religions, ideologies, and cultures.
2/3 of Afghanistan’s economy used to come from foreign aid, America has now put sanctions on the country whereby money cannot be transferred to their bank accounts. When we asked the people how they survive? “We are resilient people!”
When America occupied Afghanistan in 2001 they had the whole world with them. It was like the Arabic saying, “When Banu Tameem is angry with you, you will think all of the people will be angry with you.”
When America came they promised Sharia Law in Afghanistan, they said they love Palestine, etc. One of the first things they did was buy tanks? Weapons? Guns? No! They bought the people of Afghanistan and Pakistan. This caused major rifts between the people, as they didn’t know who was genuine. Local people were offered 1000s of dollars to spy and give information.
We met Shaykh Abdul Matin, an alim, a mawlana, I think the first thing we all picked up was his eloquence. He spoke “Fushaa Arabic”, “Articulate English” and “Tayz Urdu” a master of all languages. He opened the gathering with the following, “Two years ago we cannot imagine a majlis so big, or a gathering like this. Alhumdu Lillah, now we sit together, we are open, we are free, this is the land of all Muslims, not just Afghans.”
He expressed his happiness on meeting us because for 16 years he didn’t speak Arabic, as he didn’t meet anyone, so there was nobody to converse with.
“We thank the brothers who gave their lives for this freedom.”
These brothers had young, beautiful wives, and small, innocent children, but they left all this for the hereafter as they didn’t have an ounce of love for the world. Remember, these soldiers of the Taliban don’t get paid much, they do it for Allah SWT. The Americans do it for money, for dunya. One of the reasons many soldiers suffer PTSD is they realise what they were doing was wrong.
We have forgiven our oppressors, normally after victory people take revenge. But the Prophet ﷺ forgave everyone of the victory of Makkah. We are at the place we are because of our resilience, I remember when the Russian war started in the 90s the Taliban didn’t even have proper meals. We survived on dates, bread, and water, this was our sacrifice and now Allah SWT has opened his doors, Ma Sha Allah!
We also met Abdul Qahhar Balkhi, originally from New Zealand so he spoke English, some quotes from his speech:
“Our pain is one our prosperity is one.”
“We are the supporters of every single nation oppressed.”
“The wounds of the Ummah are one… This dates back to Andalus.”
“We will not allow them to harm others using our territory.”
“We don’t hand over Muslims to others except if we have a treaty… we will follow Islam completely.”
We follow Islam and negotiate as long as, my religious, cultural beliefs, and national interests don’t clash and conflict with these.”
India violates all international law in Kashmir and so does Israel, nobody bats an eyelid.
A question was posed by our delegates, “Why does it seem other Islamic countries are not as successful, in Syria, Gaza etc?
i) Our land is mountainous and surviving in Afghanistan is difficult, other countries are easier to occupy as the land is flat and climate is not difficult
ii) all credit is thanks to our Ameerul-Mumineen. He created unity among all Afghans, he implemented Shariah, He had pure intentions
iii) the problem with the Arab countries is, although their countries are not occupied their mind are occupied. They have sold themselves to the West and completely bow down to America
iv) all our instructions and guidance are under the supervision of ulama, following true ulama is important. We have seen others follow fake shaykhs/pseudo Sufis so they have not been successful. The major factor we have is pious ulama which has led to our unity and success.
Women in Education
“In order to understand a community you must mix with them.”
One must understand for 1400 years Afghan women didn’t leave the house, there was nothing for women because that was the culture.
King Zahir Shah in 1930s started social reforms for women’s education and liberation which was about 100 years ago.
Since 2021, Amirul Mumineen has given orders to open a women’s Madrasah (for Islamic knowledge) other sciences will be taught too. Education is available for boys and girls Year 1 – Year 6. Just in the last two years, we have seen a 22% increase in girls attending madrasah. And girls’ schools are now established in provinces where there were no schools before.
One of our delegates objected saying, we have heard you do not allow women to study medicine.
“This is not true, as medicine was always allowed, we need female doctors.”
Further, he added, “Girls’ education has always been there, however, we disagree with mixed schools, we provide segregated education. As for secular education, we will provide it under our methodology, not the Western methodology.”
Alhumdu Lillah, our delegation visited a girls’ madrasah and widows vocational and educational centre. We saw women and children roaming in the parks, despite the press saying “Taliban bans women from parks!”
Allamah Iqbal mentions the importance of Afghanistan by calling it as the heart of Asia in a poem. The following is the poem and its translation:
درنهاد ما تب وتاب از دل است خاک رابيداري وخواب ازدل است
تن زمرگ دل ديگر گون مي شود در مسا ما تش عرق خون مي شود
ازفساد دل بدن هيچ است هيچ ده بردل بندوجز بر دل مپيچ
آسيا يک پيکر آب وگل است ملّت افغان در آن پيکر دل است
از فساد او فساد آسيا درگشاد او گشا د آسيا
تا دل آزاد است آزاد است تن ورنه کاهي در رهي باد است تن
همچوتن پا بند آين است دل مرده ازکين زنده ازدين است دل
قوّت دين از مقام وحدت است وحدت ار مشهود گردد ملّت است
Asia is a body of water and clay,
Of which the Afghan nation forms the heart,
The whole of Asia is corrupt,
If the heart is corrupt,
Its decline is the decline of Asia;
Its rise is the rise of Asia,
The body is free only as long as the heart is free,
The heart dies with hatred but lives with faith.
Muhammad Iqbal RH (1877-1938) was a scholar of the Quran, a philosopher, a politician and a poet par excellence.
Saturday 29th July 2023
Today, we went to the Ministry of Justice and we met Mawlana Abdul Hakim, he told us in the war against America, many people, including Ulama said, there is no chance you will win against them… but help came from Allah SWT and all credit is due to him. A few weeks before the fath (victory), Hadhrat Mufti Muhammad Taqi Uthmani Saheb told us, we are shameful we didn’t help you. But soon you will get victory, within 2-3 weeks we took over the country, Alhumdu Lillah!
Banu Israeel were blessed with many blessings but they showed ungratefulness “kufraan”, so Allah SWT took it away. This is one of the reasons few people get the victory because of their ungratefulness.
“We need to show people, show the world, the mercy of Islam and the justice of Islam.” – Shaykh Haitham al-Haddad
وعن النعمان بن بشير رضي الله عنهما قال: قال رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم ” مثل المؤمنين في توادهم وتراحمهم وتعاطفهم، مثل الجسد إذا اشتكى منه عضو تداعى له سائر الجسد بالسهر والحمى” ((متفق عليه))
Nu’man bin Bashir (May Allah be pleased with them) reported: Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said,
“The believers in their mutual kindness, compassion, and sympathy are just like one body. When one of the limbs suffers, the whole body responds to it with wakefulness and fever”.
[Al-Bukhari and Muslim].
We then met Muhammad Agah Hakeem, “In 20 years of war we suffered financially, nobody was helping us everyone cut off from us, but Allah SWT helped us! Allah SWT assisted us because He has promised us in the Holy Qur’an if you obey me I will help you. So Allah SWT fulfilled His promise.
The Americans were shocked, “We torture you, give you pain, insult you, but you don’t flinch.” But the Islamic Emirate was not cheap, we gave our lives, our limbs, our blood, and our time, we thank our shuhadaa.
Dear youth, I would like to mention at this point, value your time and value your youth by doing something for Islam. Become closer to Allah SWT and spend time in the masjid praying Salah, reading Qur’an and gaining knowledge.
We asked about Baghram prison, “We used to pray Salah looking at the sun, we were not allowed to congregate for Jumuah, and we were not allowed medicine unless we were extremely ill/dying.”
What helped you in jail and what motivated you? “The cause you are in jail for, the deen, Allah SWT, the Emirate, is what motivates you.”
There were many difficulties with spirituality in prison, the food was bitter and there was a lot of noise and banging. Every single movement was monitored and with a slight noise or movement, the guards would come and strip the prisoners. Baghram was similar to Guantanamo, with one toilet to 100+ prisoners and one of the worst things was the toilets had no door and walls, just cages… Modesty is part of faith.
In Baghram the Americans tortured us then the Afghans tortured us with pipes, electric shock, and bottles up the back passage. They would often say, “Bring your god to help you.” The fans would blow cold air in winter and hot air in summer, they often put blindfolds on us and headphones and then took us for interrogation.
We also spoke about the sad plight of Aafia Siddiqui (Allah hasten her release), they were very sad they could not help her and mentioned her sister had been granted a visit to see her.
You are the best community ever raised for humanity—you encourage good, forbid evil, and believe in Allah. Had the People of the Book believed, it would have been better for them. Some of them are faithful, but most are rebellious (3:110).
Sunday 30th July 2023
We met Mawlana Khaleel Saheb who runs the “Ministry of Amr Bilmaroof and Nahee Anil Munkar” (enjoining good and forbidding evil).
He started the gathering by telling us about the work they do in this unique ministry (previously Saudi Arabia also had such a ministry, which recently closed down). He mentioned that over 4 million people were drug addicts for the last twenty years. We are now helping these people with rehabilitation services and getting them into employment so they can stand on their own two feet. Many are hafidhul Quran and alims, we send them to the madrasah to teach, we want to make people productive and work for their country.
مَنْ غَشَّ فَلَيْسَ مِنِّي
He who deceives is not of me (is not my follower)
(Saheeh Muslim).
In the markets there was a lot of deception, for example, there was gold of a less grade selling for a higher price. So the Taliban turned the gold to liquid and sold it for the correct rates and now export to other countries. It is now wedding season, previously weddings had music, dancing, free-mixing, no hijab, and alcohol. When we received complaints, we spoke to the hotel owners and they were saying it is not our responsibility. We reminded them it is a collective responsibility. Hence we called all hotel/restaurant owners and requested they make the rules, so they did. Now, they have no alcohol, no music, segregated events, and all weddings following shariah. We had 150 wedding halls, now 188 so numbers have increased which shows people like the new rulings.
In the previous twenty years, we saw men force relationships with women, brothers were taking the rights of sisters in inheritance. If a man killed another, they would go to the killer’s family and say give me your sister because you killed our brother! In mahr/dowry, the bride was not getting the money, her father or brother would steal it. We stopped all this injustice, Alhumdu Lillah!
To be continued….
وعن النعمان بن بشير رضي الله عنهما قال: قال رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم ” مثل المؤمنين في توادهم وتراحمهم وتعاطفهم، مثل الجسد إذا اشتكى منه عضو تداعى له سائر الجسد بالسهر والحمى” ((متفق عليه))
Sufyan bin ‘Abdullah (May Allah be pleased with him) reported:
I said, “O Messenger of Allah, tell me something of Islam which I will not ask anyone else about it.” He (ﷺ) said, “Say, ‘I believe in Allah’ and then be steadfast”.
[Muslim].
This is the Dua we make for our brothers, Allah has given them victory, now stay steadfast.
Ismail ibn Nazir Satia (one who is in dire need of Allah’s forgiveness, mercy and pleasure).
How many times have you heard within your family, something along the lines of ‘he’s really good looking and fair’ or ‘she’s so fair’ with their eyes lit up? How many times have you heard something like ‘it’s all good but he’s quite dark’ with a tinge of sympathy or ‘I hate getting tanned!’ In a tone that’s a little bit uncomfortable? This is colourism. Colourism is a form of heavy discrimination within the same race, it’s internal, it’s a ‘within your own people’ problem… and boy, don’t we all know about it. I still struggle to believe that in 2022, it is STILL an issue, still, a thing that’s got to be spoken about and still an innate disease stirring in and amongst us.
When the British ruled India, discrimination based on skin colour was most visible. The white British foreigners were symbols of power, authority and wealth and thus, light skin served as a signal of high status across the country. Those individuals with a lighter skin colour enjoyed more privileges from the British, were considered to have a more affluent status and gained preference in education and employment and darker-skinned individuals were socially and economically disadvantaged, and this disease continued…
This dangerous phenomenon of colourism passed on, to the extent that huge, ‘forward-thinking’ corporate brands such as L’Oreal have had no qualms in putting up gigantic billboards across the busy roads of India advertising their skin-lightening products with famous celebrities such as Priyanka Chopra (who, ironically, likes to push herself as a humanitarian) being the face of such companies. So, is it really any wonder that the power of colourism has crept into our South Asian psyche so silently and so dangerously, that today in 21st century Britain, we are still so wrapped up about the colour shade of our own people.
In a Hadeeth, it is narrated: ‘We passed by Abu Dharr (Allah be pleased with him) in Rabadha. Abu Dharr (Allah be pleased with him) said, “I had a quarrel with one of my brethren whose mother was of foreign descent, so I vilified him as ‘you son of a black mother’. He went to complain about me to the Prophet ﷺ. When the Prophet ﷺ met me (one day), he said, ‘Abu Dharr, you are someone who still displays Jahiliyyah (ignorance).’ Now, this Hadeeth might be focused on racism rather than colourism but the concept is the same. Discriminating and belittling because of the colour of the skin was deemed as ‘someone who still displays ignorance’ by our Prophet ﷺ. Our beloved Prophet ﷺ was a forward-thinking man, he was progressive in his ideologies and so for him, this was incredibly backwards. He remarked to Abu Dharr (Allah be pleased with him) that he ‘still’ displayed signs of ignorance so imagine if our Prophet ﷺ was to see that 1400 years later, we, the South Asian community, STILL have deeply entrenched traits of colourism within us. We still have marks of ignorance. We still haven’t progressed. We still think fair skin = excellence and dark skin = inferiority.
If we zoom in, we can observe that colourism has played a dark and ugly role in the field of matrimony. I use past tense, but a huge part of me says that should be corrected to the present tense and that colourism still rears its ugly head in marriages. It beggars disbelief when a mother refuses to accept a girl for her son because she’s ‘a bit on the dark side’. When asked for a potential spouse, ‘fair’ is a requirement. Yes, ‘fair’. They are flagrantly and unashamedly stating that a person with darker skin shade is not good enough for their family.
Colourism is heavily embedded throughout South Asian culture. The lack of melanin in your skin isn’t just used as a marking point of attractiveness, but the colour of your skin is frequently used to determine your self-worth. And this toxic rhetoric spills out of the household, out of our communities, and feeds into racism beyond our culture. If we don’t like dark-skinned Asians, we definitely don’t like the Black community – it’s an uncomfortable truth, isn’t it?
I’d like to think the tide is slowly turning. The international brand Unilever recently announced it would no longer use the word ‘fair’ in the name of its popular (in South Asian countries) skin-lightening cream Fair & Lovely. Johnson & Johnson has discontinued two skin care products that promote “fairness”. While, most recently, L’Oreal has stopped using the words “fair”, “fairness”, “light” and “lightening” on its products. So we have some progress. But that’s just the tip of the iceberg. Colourism is so deeply embedded in our communities from the top down and unfortunately, we still have a lot of work to do. We actively need to hold conversations around it to stamp it out properly. It’s a mindset that needs to be changed and reformulated. We have to be more alert to the micro aggressions that have become a part of our daily dialect, especially amongst the older generations (‘she’s so dark’ ‘you need to scrub your tan off’, ‘I wish I was fairer’…) and be brave enough to challenge them.
Ismail ibn Nazir Satia (one who is in dire need of Allah’s forgiveness, mercy and pleasure)
Ali (Allah be pleased with him) once was asked: “How have you recognised your God?”
He (Allah be pleased with him) answered: “I recognised God through revoking the determinations and breaking the intentions. When I determined and I was prevented from achieving my determination, and when I intended and fate contradicted my intention, I realised that the Administrator was other than me.”
And so this uneventful year draws to a close and I find myself thinking how much history 2020 made. Be it the pandemic, racial tensions or presidential campaigns across the pond, 2020 has been one long rollercoaster.
Life is full of surprises and if anything, this year has shone a light on how amazingly resilient Allah has created us all. Just when we are about to put our feet up and become a little complacent with our routine in life, the setting suddenly changes and we’re forced to recompose, reshuffle the pieces and refocus the lens a little. And in the midst of this restructure, our unsteady walk exposes us, we trip, we fall and we fail…but we brush ourselves off and stand back up. A quote of JK Rowling comes to mind that ‘It is impossible to live without failing at something unless you live so cautiously that you might as well not have lived at all – in which case, you fail by default.’ This year has been a year of ‘falling’ for many of us but with the tradition of reflection (Muhasabah – account ourselves to ourselves) maybe we can transform the ‘falls’ into life-changing goals.
The biggest lesson that was manifested this year is that ‘Allah never tests a soul more than it can bear’ (Quran, 2:286). There are so many beautiful lessons to learn from this verse alone that could put this whole year into perspective for many of us. This world is a test and each and every one of us will be tested in various ways. A utopian society does not exist and 2020 has very clearly shown us that. Once we truly understand this, we can start to formulate that as Muslims, it is crucial we believe that Allah tests us to make us, not break us. When total fear ensued in March, Allah’s powerful promise in the Quran should have been our zen and reassurance amidst the chaos. Our goal for 2021 is to place our complete trust in Him SWT and His plan. He SWT doesn’t leave us, but we leave Him. He doesn’t move an inch away from us and is closer to us than our jugular vein.
As Ramadhan drew closer and it dawned on us that the Masajid would remain closed and Taraweeh Salah will have to be performed in the homes, a heart-breaking sadness cloaked us. Who will be leading? What will be prayed? How much Qur’an do we know? Will it even feel like Ramadhan? As these questions were being discussed in every household up and down the country, a new lesson was emanating. Alhamdulillah, many homes echoed with the confident recitations of their Huffadh but the hard truth is that there still remained a huge number of us who hadn’t prioritised reading and learning the Quran enough to be able to stand up and confidently take on the musalla. We were always so reliant on the Ulama and the Huffadh that we had become complacent with our own learning journey. This reminded me of how I will be alone in my grave, just me and my deeds – no Hafidh to fall back on, no Alim to rely on, no one. The closure of the Masajid and the emptiness that came with it threw us into frantic jeopardy but ‘A believer is never stung from the same hole twice’ (Hadith) and so Ramadhan 2020 taught us to never stop learning. Know 10 Surahs from Juz Amma? Make it your goal to learn another 10 this year. Learn Surah Yaseen. Learn Surah Mulk. Learn Surah Rahman. Never stop learning. Create an insatiable hunger for learning. When you get to the end of your life, you want to be able to tell yourself that I spent every year of my life learning something new from the Qur’an and didn’t stay stuck on ‘Madrasah Mode’ from my teenage years.
2020 brought out some of the ugliest faces yet the most soul-soothing actions. Whilst on the one hand racism hit another high, unity in the face of tragedy outshone. The pandemic may have thrust us into isolation but it brought a sense of togetherness that was not seen before. Communities came together, putting aside creed, caste and religion, to help the elderly, vulnerable, isolated with food packages, medicines, shopping and that’s just the tangible needs. Neighbours checked in on one another, more phone calls were made to friends and family, messages dropped in asking how we’re doing. Let’s make it our mission to continue this fulfilling deed. Send that text message, make that two-minute phone call, and don’t just call someone when you need them. Mother Teresa once said, ‘Loneliness is a terrible poverty’ and there are millions of people suffering from that lack of friendship. In these difficult times, make someone feel heard. Our beloved Prophet ﷺ said, ‘You won’t be able to take care of everyone financially; instead, let your cheerful face and good manners take care of all of them’ (Musnad Bazzar).
Now we are at the suggestive, somewhat enticing, light at the end of the tunnel stage of the pandemic, we are tested once again. The vaccine is available and whatever side of the fence you sit on, remember that Allah is the Controller. Everything truly belongs to Him alone and he holds authority over everything and everyone. One Quran verse frequently came to mind at different times this year. Allah says, ‘لمن الملك اليوم، لله الواحد القهار ‘For whom is the dominion today? For Allah, the One, the Supreme’ (Quran, 40:16). Allah gives and Allah takes. Let’s not talk as if this year has been a year of just the revolutionising scientists against the evil virus, forgetting all along that Allah is the Master, the Withholder, and the Bestower of all things.
It has been a challenging year but for the intelligent believer, no challenge comes without changes. We may want to be quick to forget all that 2020 put on our plate but let’s remember the lessons it taught us and the goals it guided us to make.
Constantly ask Allah for ease
Ismail ibn Nazir Satia (one who is in dire need of Allah’s forgiveness, mercy and pleasure)
But the magicians will never be successful.” (10:77)
In the name of Allah, Most Merciful, the Bestower of Mercy.
This is an open letter of warning to those who practise Black Magic, be it in the form of White Magic, under the guise of Taweez or that which is sold by the soothsayers and fortune tellers. Whoever you are wherever you are, if you are a so-called practising Muslim or non-practising. It doesn’t matter how black and long your beard is, how thick your niqab or hijab is, how loose your abayah is. I don’t care about your social-standing, if you are a peer or mawlana, or imam. Wrong is wrong! Let me remind you where you will stand in the Hereafter…
“And verily, they knew that whoever traffics in magic has no share in the Hereafter.” (Al-Baqarah 2:102)
He also stated: “They believed in Jibt and Tāghoot.” (An-Nisā: 51)
And the “buying, purchasing” mentioned in the verse, Shaykh Salih Aal ash-Shaykh says in explanation of the verse,
والساحر اشترى من تعلم السحر اشترى، اشترى أي شيء؟ اشترى السحر بدل أي شيء؟ بدل توحيده، فالثمن التوحيد، الثمن هو الإيمان بالله وحده، والمثمن هو السحر
And the magician he has purchased the learning of magic, he has purchased, purchased what thing? He has purchased magic in place of what thing? In place of Tawhid, so the price is Tawhid, the price is faith in Allah alone, and the object (being bought) is magic… so it means the one who gave his religion as consideration (something of value) for that thing which he took, which is magic…
‘Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) said: “Jibt is magic and Tāghoot is the Shaytān (the Devil).” (Bukhari)
Jābir (may Allah be pleased with him) said: “The tāghoots are the soothsayers upon who the devils descend [with false information]. And in every district, there is one [of these soothsayers].” (Tafsir ibn Kathir)
Sihr: A Major Sin in Islam
Abu Hurayrah said that Allah’s Messenger ﷺ said: “Keep away from the seven destructive sins.” They asked him: “What are they, O Allah’s Messenger?”
He replied: “Associating partners with Allah, magic, killing a person whom Allah has made impermissible to kill, consuming usury (interest), taking the wealth of the orphan, to turn away on the day of battle, to falsely accuse the chaste believing woman (or man) of fornication.”
I swear by Allah! Have your fun in this temporary world, control who you can control, even if that means your own sons and daughters and your own husbands. You happily watch the breaking of families; a son hate his own father, even abuse him. A daughter abuse her own mother, and eventually leave her. You thrive over the breaking of marriages, divorce after divorce. You are delighted by people losing their jobs, their families struggle to put food on the table, all because of you. You are shaytan personified! Wolves in sheep’s clothing! Hell-mates living on Earth! You ruin people’s lives and destroy their personality and cause them destruction. This is why Allah SWT said, you will not have a share in the Hereafter.
You only have one way out… to repent. Repent today and get yourself out of Shaytan’s web, all he wants from you is Kufr – for you to disbelieve and join him for a hot seat in Hell. If you were living in Muslim countries this is what would and should happen to you:
Jundub (radiyallāhu ‘anhu) narrated what is ascribed to the Messenger of Allah ﷺ: “The punishment of the magician is that [the judge rules] he struck with the sword.” Reported by Tirmidhi
It is reported in Saheeh Al-Bukhāri from Bajālah Ibn ‘Abdah who said: “[The Caliph] Umar Ibn Al-Khattāb (Radiyallāhu ‘Anhu) wrote: “Execute every male and female magician.” So we executed [upon his command] three magicians.”
It is reported authentically from the wife of the Prophet, Hafsah (Radiyallāhu ‘Anhā) that she commanded that a female servant of hers should be executed because she performed magic on Hafsah, so she was executed. Mālik in Al-Muwatta no. 14; Al-Bayhaqi in Al-Kubrā 8/136 no. 16941. Similar has been reported from Jundub (Radiyallāhu ‘Anhu) Bukhāri in At-Tāreekh Al-Kabeer 2/222.
Imām Ahmad (Allah have mercy upon him) stated: “This is reported from three Companions of the Prophet ﷺ.”
This is your final chance, stop what you are doing before your death comes and Izraeel takes your soul in the most painful and agonising manner. Think of your grave, your master Iblees will not help you there, nor will your filthy jinns. No magic will save you in the grave from the snakes and scorpions. On the day of Qiyamah, you will burn under the blazing sun, there will be nobody to shade you. If you die as a magician or a witch, Jahannam will be your final abode, you will suffer there forever as you made others suffer in this world… is it really worth it?
Read daily after Fajr (morning) and Asr (evening)Read daily after Fajr (morning) and Asr (evening)Read daily after Fajr (morning) and Asr (evening)
Listen to the Ruqya Daily at home, NOT when driving nor at work!
The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said: “Do not turn your houses into graves. Indeed Ash-Shaitan does not enter the house in which Surat Al-Baqarah is recited.” (Tirmidhi)
1) Know your audience and choose your style accordingly.
2) Read and practise! Read newspapers especially broadsheets, highlight words and remember them.
3) Listen and practise! Listen out for beautifully spoken English, find scholars online who speak well and use good terminology, write down the words they use and implement them into your own terminology.3) Use Apps such as Grammarly
4) Find your best ‘English’ person and ask them nicely to proofread and/or give feedback. Remember, this takes time so try not to become too reliant and learn from them so you can become confident yourself.
5) Use a dictionary NOT necessarily a thesaurus. It’s always cringingly obvious when someone has tried too hard; use sophisticated language but let it flow naturally. Like Orwell said, why use a long word when a short word will do.
6) Commas and apostrophes are cool. Teach yourself the rules regarding these.
7) Vary your sentence lengths so your writing sounds interesting/exciting/dramatic. Use conjunctions to create longer sentences but use short sentences too. A short sentence immediately after a long sentence always adds drama.
8) Keep it clean and simple. Don’t over complicate your writing in the attempt to impress. This will only discompose your reader and the main purpose of your writing will be lost.
9. Finally, start a blog. Writing will help you tremendously.
Ismail ibn Nazir Satia (one who is in dire need of Allah’s forgiveness, mercy and pleasure)
Read daily after Fajr (morning) and Asr (evening)
