Tag: white

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Current Affairs articles

Dear Friend,

https://news.sky.com/story/new-zealand-mosque-shootings-suspected-killer-is-fascist-who-had-contact-with-breivik-11666136
Beautifully written by a Chinese Convert sister. (It is written to the killer who attacked Muslims in New Zealand)

بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم

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(I) Appreciate that you made the effort to find out the timing of our noon prayer.
Appreciate that you learnt more about our religion to know that Fridays are the days the men go to the Mosques for their congregational prayers.
But I guess there were some things you, rather, unfortunately, didn’t get to learn.

Perhaps you didn’t know that what you did made them Martyrs.

new-zealand-attack-5.jpg
A Muslim Martyr bearing witness to the Shahadah at the time of death
And how you have single-handedly raised the statuses of our brothers and sisters in the eyes of their beloved Creator with your actions. And how, through your actions, they will be raised as the most righteous and pious of Muslims.
Perhaps you didn’t know that doing what you did, at the time and place you chose, it actually meant that the last words that escaped their lips were probably words of remembrance and praise of Allah. Which is a noble end many Muslims could only dream of.
And perhaps you didn’t know, but what you did would almost guarantee them paradise. new-zealand-attack-7.jpg
Appreciate that you showed the world how Muslims welcome, with open arms, even people like yourself into our Mosques, which is our second home.
Appreciate you for showing that our mosques have no locks or gates, and are unguarded because everyone and anyone is welcome to be with us.
Appreciate you for allowing the world to see the powerful image of a man you injured, lying on back on the stretcher with his index finger raised high, as a declaration of his faith and complete trust in Allah.
Appreciate how you brought the Churches and communities together to stand with us Muslims.
Appreciate that you made countless New Zealanders come out of their homes to visit the mosques nearest to them with flowers with beautiful messages of peace and love.
You have broken many many hearts and you have made the world weep. You have left a huge void.
But what you also have done have brought us closer together. And it has strengthened our faith and resolve.
In the coming weeks, more people will turn up in the Mosques, a place you hate so much, fortified by the strength in their faith, and inspired by their fallen brothers and sisters.
In the coming weeks, more non-Muslims will turn up at the gates of mosques with fresh flowers and beautifully handwritten notes. They may not have known where the mosques in their area were. But now, they do. All because of you.
You may have achieved your aim of intended destruction, but I guess you failed to incite hatred, fear and despair in all of us.
And while I understand that it may have been your objective, I hate to say that after all of that elaborate planning, and the perverse and wretched efforts on your part, you still failed to drive a divide among the Muslims and non-Muslims in the world.
For that, I can’t say that I’m sorry.
(A Radiant Muslim)
Shaykh Zahir Mahmood on the attacks – MOTIVATIONAL!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hm8HCeAMoZE
Categories
Poems

Not bothered!

Once upon a time, there was a boy called Ahmed.
Ahmed was never bothered ?
He would wake up in the morning after brushing his teeth, whether he wore black or white he wasn’t bothered ?
He had breakfast, two toast. Whether he had jam or butter he wasn’t bothered ?
He walked to school or caught the bus ? he wasn’t bothered ?
Whether he was late or on time he wasn’t bothered  ?
He looks at the weather, whether it was the sun or rain he wasn’t bothered ?
Lunchtime comes! Whether he has sandwiches or chips ? he wasn’t bothered ?
Hometime he runs home, smiling or crying, he wasn’t bothered ?
“How was school?” It was okayyyyy. I don’t careeeee. He wasn’t bothered ?
He gets ready for Madrasah with a cookie in his mouth. Learning sabaq, one page or half a page he wasn’t bothered ?
He comes to Madrasah with a smile sits down and says I don’t know my sabaq!! Teacher says stand up! “Stand or sit I’m not bothered” ?
He goes home and runs to bed. He thinks, “I’m just nottt botheredddd!!”
This was written to show how laid back some children are. How ungrateful children can be sometimes. I am sure many parents can relate to this.
Ismail Ibn Nazir Satia
Categories
Personalities

The Black Prince of Islam – X

http://www.biography.com/people/malcolm-x-9396195#synopsis

Early Life

Malcolm X was born Malcolm Little on May 19, 1925, in Omaha, Nebraska. Malcolm was the fourth of eight children born to Louise, a homemaker, and Earl Little, a preacher who was also an active member of the local chapter of the Universal Negro Improvement Association and avid supporter of black nationalist leader Marcus Garvey. Due to Earl Little’s civil rights activism, the family faced frequent harassment from white supremacist groups such as the Ku Klux Klan and one of its splinter factions, the Black Legion. In fact, Malcolm X had his first encounter with racism before he was even born.

“When my mother was pregnant with me, she told me later, ‘a party of hooded Ku Klux Klan riders galloped up to our home,'” Malcolm later remembered. “Brandishing their shotguns and rifles, they shouted for my father to come out.” The harassment continued; when Malcolm X was four years old, local Klan members smashed all of the family’s windows, causing Earl Little to decide to move the family from Omaha to East Lansing, Michigan.

However, the racism the family encountered in East Lansing proved even greater than in Omaha. Shortly after the Littles moved in, in 1929, a racist mob set their house on fire, and the town’s all-white emergency responders refused to do anything. “The white police and firemen came and stood around watching as the house burned to the ground,” Malcolm X later remembered.

Two years later, in 1931, things got much, much worse. Earl Little’s dead body was discovered laid out on the municipal streetcar tracks. Although Malcolm X’s father was very likely murdered by white supremacists, from whom he had received frequent death threats, the police officially ruled his death a suicide, thereby voiding the large life insurance policy he had purchased in order to provide for his family in the event of his death. Malcolm X’s mother never recovered from the shock and grief of her husband’s death. In 1937, she was committed to a mental institution and Malcolm X left home to live with family friends.

 

Troubled Youth
Malcolm X attended West Junior High School, where he was the school’s only black student. He excelled academically and was well liked by his classmates, who elected him class president. However, he later said that he felt that his classmates treated him more like the class pet than a human being. The turning point in Malcolm X’s childhood came in 1939, when his English teacher asked him what he wanted to be when he grew up and he answered that he wanted to be a lawyer. His teacher responded, “One of life’s first needs is for us to be realistic … you need to think of something you can be … why don’t you plan on carpentry?” Having thus been told in no uncertain terms that there was no point in a black child pursuing education, Malcolm X dropped out of school the following year, at the age of 15.After quitting school, Malcolm X moved to Boston to live with his older half-sister, Ella, about whom he later recalled, “She was the first really proud black woman I had ever seen in my life. She was plainly proud of her very dark skin. This was unheard of among Negroes in those days.” Ella landed Malcolm a job shining shoes at the Roseland Ballroom. However, out on his own on the streets of Boston, Malcolm X became acquainted with the city’s criminal underground, soon turning to selling drugs. He got another job as kitchen help on the Yankee Clipper train between New York and Boston and fell further into a life of drugs and crime. Sporting flamboyant pinstriped zoot suits, he frequented nightclubs and dance halls and turned more fully to crime to finance his lavish lifestyle. This phase of Malcolm X’s life came to a screeching halt in 1946, when he was arrested on charges of larceny and sentenced to ten years in jail.To pass the time during his incarceration, Malcolm X read constantly, devouring books from the prison library in an attempt make up for the years of education he had missed by dropping out of high school. Also while in prison, he was visited by several siblings who had joined to the Nation of Islam, a small sect of black Muslims who embraced the ideology of black nationalism—the idea that in order to secure freedom, justice and equality, black Americans needed to establish their own state entirely separate from white Americans. Malcolm X converted to the Nation of Islam while in prison, and upon his release in 1952 he abandoned his surname “Little,” which he considered a relic of slavery, in favor of the surname “X”—a tribute to the unknown name of his African ancestors.
Nation of Islam

Now a free man, Malcolm X traveled to Detroit, Michigan, where he worked with the leader of the Nation of Islam, Elijah Muhammad, to expand the movement’s following among black Americans nationwide. Malcolm X became the minister of Temple No. 7 in Harlem and Temple No. 11 in Boston, while also founding new temples in Harford and Philadelphia. In 1960, he established a national newspaper, Muhammad Speaks, in order to further promote the message of the Nation of Islam.

Articulate, passionate and a naturally gifted and inspirational orator, Malcolm X exhorted blacks to cast off the shackles of racism “by any means necessary,” including violence. “You don’t have a peaceful revolution,” he said. “You don’t have a turn-the-cheek revolution. There’s no such thing as a nonviolent revolution.” Such militant proposals—a violent revolution to establish an independent black nation—won Malcolm X large numbers of followers as well as many fierce critics. Due primarily to the efforts of Malcolm X, the Nation of Islam grew from a mere 400 members at the time he was released from prison in 1952, to 40,000 members by 1960.

By the early 1960s, Malcolm X had emerged as a leading voice of a radicalized wing of the Civil Rights Movement, presenting an alternative to Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s vision of a racially integrated society achieved by peaceful means. Dr. King was highly critical of what he viewed as Malcolm X’s destructive demagoguery. “I feel that Malcolm has done himself and our people a great disservice,” King once said.

 

Break with Elijah Muhammad
Philosophical differences with King were one thing; a rupture with Elijah Muhammad proved much more traumatic. In 1963, Malcolm X became deeply disillusioned when he learned that his hero and mentor had violated many of his own teachings, most flagrantly by carrying on many extramarital affairs; Muhammad had, in fact, fathered several children out of wedlock. Malcolm’s feelings of betrayal, combined with Muhammad’s anger over Malcolm’s insensitive comments regarding the assassination of President John F. Kennedy, led Malcolm X to leave the Nation of Islam in 1964.That same year, Malcolm X embarked on an extended trip through North Africa and the Middle East. The journey proved to be both a political and spiritual turning point in his life. He learned to place the American Civil Rights Movement within the context of a global anti-colonial struggle, embracing socialism and pan-Africanism. Malcolm X also made the Hajj, the traditional Muslim pilgrimage to Mecca, Saudi Arabia, during which he converted to traditional Islam and again changed his name, this time to El-Hajj Malik El-Shabazz.After his epiphany at Mecca, Malcolm X returned to the United States less angry and more optimistic about the prospects for peaceful resolution to America’s race problems. “The true brotherhood I had seen had influenced me to recognize that anger can blind human vision,” he said. “America is the first country … that can actually have a bloodless revolution.” Tragically, just as Malcolm X appeared to be embarking on an ideological transformation with the potential to dramatically alter the course of the Civil Rights Movement, he was assassinated. 
Death and Legacy
On the evening of February 21, 1965, at the Audubon Ballroom in Manhattan, where Malcolm X was about to deliver a speech, three gunmen rushed the stage and shot him 15 times at point blank range. Malcolm X was pronounced dead on arrival at Columbia Presbyterian Hospital shortly thereafter. He was 39 years old. The three men convicted of the assassination of Malcolm X were all members of the Nation of Islam: Talmadge Hayer, Norman 3X Butler and Thomas 15X Johnson.In the immediate aftermath of Malcolm X’s death, commentators largely ignored his recent spiritual and political transformation and criticized him as a violent rabble-rouser. However, Malcolm X’s legacy as a civil rights hero was cemented by the posthumous publication in 1965 of The Autobiography of Malcolm X: As Told to Alex Haley. At once a harrowing chronicle of American racism, an unsparing self-criticism and an inspiring spiritual journey, the book, transcribed by the acclaimed author of Roots, instantly recast Malcolm X as one of the great political and spiritual leaders of modern times. Named byTIME magazine one of 10 “required reading” non-fiction books of all-time,The Autobiography of Malcolm X has truly enshrined Malcolm X as a hero to subsequent generations of radicals and activists.Perhaps Malcolm X’s greatest contribution to society was underscoring the value of a truly free populace by demonstrating the great lengths to which human beings will go to secure their freedom. “Power in defense of freedom is greater than power in behalf of tyranny and oppression,” he stated. “Because power, real power, comes from our conviction which produces action, uncompromising action.”
Personal Life

In 1958, Malcolm X married Betty Sanders, a fellow member of the Nation of Islam. The couple had six children together, all daughters: Attallah (b. 1958), Qubilah (b. 1960), Ilyasah (b. 1963), Gamilah (b. 1964) and twins Malaak and Malikah (b. 1965). Sanders later became known as Betty Shabazz, and she became a prominent civil rights and human rights activist in her own right in the aftermath of her husband’s death.

In May 2013, Malcolm X’s grandson, Malcolm Shabazz—son of the civil rights leader’s second daughter with wife Betty Shabazz, Qubilah Shabazz—was beaten to death in Mexico City, near the Plaza Garibaldi. He was 28 years old. According to a report by the Los Angeles Times, police believe Malcolm Shabazz’s death was the result of a “robbery gone wrong.”

QUOTES:
“Power in defense of freedom is greater than power in behalf of tyranny and oppression because power, real power, comes from our conviction which produces action, uncompromising action.”
“Education is the passport to the future, for tomorrow belongs to those who prepare for it today.”
“America is the first country … that can actually have a bloodless revolution.”
“You don’t have a peaceful revolution. You don’t have a turn-the-cheek revolution. There’s no such thing as a nonviolent revolution.”
“You don’t have a peaceful revolution. You don’t have a turn-the-cheek revolution. There’s no such thing as a nonviolent revolution.”
“If you are not willing to pay the price for freedom, you don’t deserve freedom.”
“While we did not always see eye to eye on methods to solve the race problem, I always had a deep affection for Malcolm and felt that he had the great ability to put his finger on the existence and root of the problem.”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RK80Z11dXO8&feature=youtu.be
Categories
Current Affairs articles

From the Depth of my Heart. . .

Praise be to Allah.

unite

Mankind was one nation, believing in Tawheed, then they differed. Some of them believed and some disbelieved. So Allah sent the Prophets AS with glad tidings and warnings, so whoever believes will enter Paradise and whoever disbelieves will enter Hell. The conflict is still going on between belief and disbelief, truth and falsehood, and will continue until Allah inherits the earth and everyone on it.

Islam is the religion for all of mankind, and Allah has commanded us to convey it to all people. This can only be achieved if we are strong, and strength is based on faith and unity. Hence Allah has commanded all the believers to adhere to His religion and to be united, and not to be divided. Allah says (interpretation of the meaning):

“And hold fast, all of you together, to the Rope of Allah (i.e. this Qur’an), and be not divided among yourselves

[Aal ‘Imran 3:103]

Division, differences and disputes are the cause of the ummah’s defeat, as Allah says (interpretation of the meaning):

“And obey Allah and His Messenger, and do not dispute (with one another) lest you lose courage and your strength departs, and be patient. Surely, Allah is with those who are As-Saabiroon (the patient)”

[al-Anfaal 8:46]

Unity and coming together are among the basic principles of Islam, and there are many aspects of unity in Islam, such as One Lord, one Book, one Prophet, one religion, one qiblah, one ummah.

In order to achieve the unity of the ummah, Islam urges us to adhere to the jama’ah (the group which follows the Qur’an and Sunnah). The Messenger (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) explained that the hand of Allah is with the jama’ah, and that whoever deviates from that will be in Hell. Allah has enjoined coming together for all acts of worship in order to achieve this unity. Allah addresses the Ummah as one group in all rulings to indicate that they are one ummah, like one body. There is no difference between them; the commands and prohibitions are addressed to all.

Dearest brothers and sisters of the Ummah of Muhammad (peace and blessing be upon him), when we look around the globe today we see the Ummah has become selfish. We don’t see anyone caring for the Ummah, looking out for others and showing empathy towards those who are needy and the suffering. We see an Ummah suffering form individualism, everyone cares about ‘his own’. His own family, his own house, his own children, his own job, his own life and his own future.

The Ummah is devoid of men and women who stand up for the Ummah, who cry for the Ummah. Or even brothers and sisters who PRAY for the Ummah – Allahul Musta’aan.

I absolutely loathe selfishness and self-centred, self-absorbed, self-conceited individuals. If everyone is going to just care for themselves, who will stand up for the oppressed? Who will speak up for those who have been wronged? Who will stop injustice? Who will free the innocent prisoners? Who will protect the orphans and the widows? Who will be there for the lonely ones and the elderly? If you and I refuse to help them and ignore their cries, then I swear by Allah on His Majestic throne – nobody will help them! Nobody! Simply because we were too bothered and busy about earning the next dollar! We were too engrossed in keeping ourselves in shape. Wealth made us negligent. Materialism deceived us in thinking the world is forever.

If the above is true, then may I ask, what difference is there between us and animals? Animals just eat and rest and sleep, so do we. So do those who disbelieve in Allah.

“Let them (disbelievers) eat and enjoy themselves and be diverted by [false] hope, for they are going to know.” (15:3)

This story may only be an anecdote, but it reflects a very powerful lesson:

In a forest, there lived three bulls: a red bull, a black bull and a white bull. Among them lived a lion. The lion never felt he was king of the forest. He felt outnumbered by three bulls, which he was.

One day, the lion said to the red bull and the black bull: “That white bull is so large and white and can be spotted easily in through the trees of our forest. My colour is similar to yours. Let me eat the white bull, and the three of us will blend in well together. Then we will be safe in the forest.”

The red bull and the black bull said: “Go ahead, eat him.”

So the lion ate the white bull.

A few days later, the lion said to the red bull: “You and I look alike, your colour and mine are similar. What do you say I eat the black bull, and the forest will be ours.”

The red bull replied: “Go ahead, eat him.”

And so the lion ate the black bull.

A few days later the lion said to the red bull: “Today I think I will eat you.”

The red bull said: “Let me call my friends to rescue me!”

The lion replied: “Go ahead, call them.”

But the red bull cried out instead in dismay: “I know was eaten the day the white bull was eaten.”unity-pic

Now reflect upon this Hadith:

Thawban – radiallahu ‘anhu – the freed slave of the Prophet sallallahu ‘alayhi wa sallam. He related that the Messenger of Allah said: “The nations are about to call each other and set upon you, just as diners set upon food.” It was said: “Will it be because of our small number that day?” He said: “Rather, on that day you will be many, but you will be like foam, like the foam on the river. And Allah will remove the fear of you from the hearts of your enemies and will throw wahn (weakness) into your hearts.” Someone said: “O Messenger of Allah! What is wahn?” He said: “Love of the world and the hatred for death.” 

Sahih: Related by Abu Dawud (no. 4297), Ibn ‘Asakirin in Tarikh Dimashq(2/97/8) and others.

This hadith explains the first form of weakness, which has befallen the ‘Ummah in all corners of the world, as being a result of inclination to this world, love of it, and being preoccupied with it, whilst turning away from the Hereafter, being distant from it and hatred of death. Hatred of death is a sign of loving this world, since the one who loves this world, hates death. Since, with death, comes the meeting with Allah – the Most Perfect.

Some Benefits of this Hadith

From the hadith, we can conclude the following:-

  1. That the disbelievers attentively observe the Muslim ‘Ummah and study their condition, when they see a weakness they strike at it and if they see a barrier, they destroy it. When they see that the ‘Ummah cannot defend itself, they do not show mercy, since they are the enemies of Allah. So they hate the Muslims because they (the Muslims) call to the worship and obedience of Allah.
  2. The Muslim lands possess many riches, being sources of goods and blessings. This is why the enemies of Allah desire these lands and try to conquer them.
  3. The ‘Ummah has reached a level where it cannot defend its honour, riches nor wealth from its conquering enemies.
  4. The disbelievers have divided the conquered lands of the Muslims between themselves, just like diners when gathered around their dish – what do they do? Each of them takes their portion until he is full; and he will not be content with that which is in his plate, except with that which fills. The Prophet sallallahu ‘alayhi wa Sallam, warned us about this fact – the cutting up of the Muslim lands, for he said: “You will form different armies, an army in Greater Syria (ash-Sham), an army in ‘Iraq and an army in Yemen.” I asked: “Which one shall I be with O Messenger of Allah?” He said: “I advise you with the (army) of ash-Sham and whoever refuses then let him join Yemen and beware. For indeed Allah – the Mighty and Majestic – has guaranteed ash-Sham and its people for me.” Sahih: Related by Ahmad (5/33), Abu Dawud (1/388).
  5. That the disbelievers do not fear the Muslims. At the time of the Prophet sallallahu ‘alayhi wa sallam when the disbelievers heard that the Prophet was preparing to engage them in battle, they would become fearful and turn on their heels. This is what happened at the battle of Tabuk. At this battle, the Prophet sallallahu ‘alayhi wa sallam travelled a months journey to fight the Romans, when they heard of the Messenger of Allah’s, sallallahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, approach they fled. So the Prophet sallallahu ‘alayhi wa sallam said: “I have been given five (things) which no one else before me has been given. I have been aided with fear – a distance of one month’s traveling… “ Related by al-Bukhari (1/436) and Muslim (5/3-4) from Jabir ibn ‘Abdullah radiallahu ‘anhu. Allah the – the Highest – states: “Soon We shall cast terror into the hearts of the disbelievers, for that, they made shirk, for which He had sent no authority.” [Al-Qur’an 3:151]

Indeed, fear is a weapon, which Allah implants in the hearts of His enemies. This is why the strength of the Muslims, is not in their great numbers – weapons or wealth – but it is in their ‘aqidah (belief) and they’re adhering to it. For today there are plenty of Muslims, but they are like foam, like the foam carried by the waves. And their riches are many but cannot be for them. Rather, it has become the possession of their enemies. For example, The Muslims today approximate over one billion and they grow in number every day. However, at the same time they are the weakest of nations in every country they are in, being persecuted – why?

Because they have become like foam, like the foam on the waves. Also, the lands of the Muslims possess many riches and minerals, but where does it all end up? With the disbelievers in Europe or America, or it goes to the Jews of Palestine. The Muslim oil constitutes approximately one-third of the world’s reserves, but the Muslims are the poorest of people – why?

Because they do not possess anything from their Din (religion), except a name. So they call to it, but all their riches now belong to their enemies.

O Lord of the Worlds, O Ever-living One, O Self-Existing One!

O Allah! Unite the Muslims.

O Allah! Save us from disunity.

O Allah! Make us brothers like the Ansaar RA and the Muhajireen RA.

O Allah! Protect us from Racism and Nationalism.

O Allah! Save us from differences.

O Allah! Help us to be One.

O Allah! Grant us sympathy and empathy for the Ummah.

O Allah! Save us from selfishness.

Ameen Ya Rabbal-Alameen.

Ismail Ibn Nazir Satia (One who is in dire need of Allah’s Forgiveness, Mercy and Pleasure).

1 Muharram 1437

Ya Rabb! Place the reward of this article in the scales of my Late Father RH, in his mizaan of Hasanaat. I believe he was a man who stood up for the Ummah, he wasn’t a selfish man. He believed in Unity and empathy. He taught me dignity and self respect. I learned from him not to ‘go with the flow’, rather be a force against the tide – no matter what the pressure, no matter what the odds are. And never fear the criticism of the critics. Most importantly, he taught me how to place all reliance on Allah. Because, if Allah can’t help you, nobody can! Two years after his demise, his legacy remains in sha Allah…