Some good words on hijabis!

Asalaamu Alaikam,

I found the following on SunniPath.com, and thought that I would share them.

Though it is fard for women to cover themselves, show me one practicing Muslim woman who is not only fighting her ego, but [also] practicing all 5 of the jihads mentioned above, by wearing her hijab in public. That is because everyone hates that, including shaitan, nafs, the fasiqeen, the kuffar and the munafiqeen. She is like the mujahid waving the flag of Islam high in the land of non-believers, in the land of shaitans and evil-doers. And though the shari'ah is not so strict asking men to wear Islamic clothes, nonetheless, in doing so, the women are doing a big and difficult jihad, better than men who have never fought, though the women have not fired one bullet! May Allah bless them and strengthen their himmah." Amin.

This is an excerpt from a discussion on hijab, which can be found here.

Just a reminder for us all.

Asalaamu Alaikam,

It seems that lying and backbiting goes unchecked, especially on the Internet, where people seem to have this illusion that what happens on here is not to ever be equated with "real life." It is very important for us all to remember that the Internet is "real life," and there should be no distinction between how we act on here as opposed to how we act when we are actually face to face with someone. Although you may not be looking at me right now, you should never doubt for a moment that I am a real live human being, typing these words on my computer. I do not doubt that you, too, are a real live human being as you sit there and read these same words, although I may never actually see you reading them. We are still obligated to treat each other with respect and dignity. We are also not permitted to lie or backbite about one another.

I have recently been the victim of a lie. Someone accused me wrongly of something, and I am disturbed by this. What disturbs me the most is that I am pretty sure that the person who lied about me was a person who acted as though they were a "friend." Although I do not know their motives behind the lying (and to be honest, it really doesn't matter; a lie is a lie, and a sin, no matter what the "motive" may be. There's no way around it.), I am wondering how they now feel about their actions. Do they feel as though they accomplished whatever goal they had in mind? Do they feel fulfilled in any way? Or, do they now feel guilty, and empty inside?

I cannot imagine that one could ever feel fulfilled after telling a lie against someone else. Deep inside, they must understand and recognize that they have committed a sin, and that has got to eat at them, if even a little. If one is not bothered by their false action, then I wonder what sort of person they are.....

Anyways, here's some reminders for us, taken from the Quran and Sunnah, about lying and backbiting:

"O you who believe! Avoid much suspicion, for some suspicions are a sin. Do not spy on one another, nor backbite one another. Would one of you love to eat the flesh of his dead brother? Nay, you would abhor it, [so similarly, avoid backbiting]. And fear Allah. Indeed, Allah is Most Forgiving, Most Merciful." Qur'an, [49:12]

"Indeed, truthfulness leads to righteousness, and righteousness leads to Heaven. And, a man [continues to] tell the truth, until he is recorded before Allah as a truthful one. And, indeed, lying leads to evil, and evil leads to Hell. And, a man [continues to] lie until he is recorded before Allah as a liar. [Bukhari, Muslim]

And here's some reminders of why we must do all that we can when we see someone being victimized:

"Whoever is present while a Muslim is humiliated before him, and is able to assist him [and yet does not], Allah will humiliate him before [all of] creation." [Ahmad in al-Musnad, 3/487; Suyuti in Al-Jami` As-Saghir, 2/510, #8375]

"Whoever protects a believer from a hypocrite, Allah will send to him an angel to protect him from the Fire of Hell on the Day of Arising. [Abu Dawud in al-Adab, 4/272, #4883]

"Whoever averts [an attack] from the honor of his brother, Allah will avert the fire from his face on the Day of Arising." [Tirmidhi (hasan)]

"Insulting a Muslim is impiety, and killing him is [a form of] unbelief." [Bukhari, Muslim, Ahmad, Nasa'i, Ibn Majah, Tirmidhi, Tabarani, Daraqutni.]

It is our duty, as Muslims, to ensure that people are not wrongly accused or attacked. When we do not do what we can to help someone being attacked, it is as though we have attacked them ourself.

Above all, we should always remember that nothing is ever hidden from Allah, and everything we do is recorded:

"He does not utter a [single] word, except that there is, with him, [an angel] ready and waiting [to record it]." Qur'an, [50:18]

New Muslim Cool!

Asalaamu Alaikam,

On June 23rd, 2009, PBS will air the documentary New Muslim Cool. This is the story of a Puerto Rican revert by the name of Hamza Perez (he's also a rap artist, doing rap style nasheed). MashAllah, the film seems to be very well put together (based on the clips that I have seen), and I am very excited to see it, inshAllah!

I think films like this are crucial to the American Muslim identity. American Muslims do have a totally different identity from their immigrant counterparts, and it is important that this identity be embraced and celebrated. When a film like this comes out, it can really help to show the world (both Muslim and non-Muslim) that American Muslims are just like anyone else. We are normal people who live, work, love, dream, and die. We have ups and downs in our lives just like anyone else. We worship Allah, and we have figured out a way to integrate our upbringing into this deen in a way that works for us. We do not compromise our faith for our culture, but at the same time, we also do not turn our backs on our culture. We are who we are because of who we were.

Many times people from both sides (meaning non-Muslim Americans, and immigrant Muslims) criticize American Muslims. They say that we are not "American" and not "Muslim." To many, it seems to be an oxymoron; how can you be both American and Muslim at the same time?? It's not as hard as you think, folks.

So, I encourage that you check your local PBS listings for this documentary, and also take a look at the official website: www.newmuslimcool.com.

For your enjoyment, here's the trailer to the film:



Oh, and be sure to visit the section Get Involved. This is an awesome project, and we should all support it in any way possible.

MashAllah! New Muslim Cool!

So why did I suddenly decide to "save my cool signatures?" Well, let me tell you.....

Asalaamu Alaikam,

Muslim Mom's Cafe (MMC) has been up to its usual bag of tricks again, with yours truly as the target. Someone decide that it would be a nice thing if they contacted the "Admin" and tell her that I was sending them harassing private messages. This is simply preposterous as I don't private message people, let alone harass them! Whoever told the lie knows who they are. They will have to face up to what they have done, and that's all I will say about that.

The MMC decided to add a "rule" to their list of dubious rules (which she decides to enforce and ignore randomly) which prohibits anyone from "defaming MMC." Um, excuse me, but I think MMC does a pretty good job of its own defaming MMC. The fact that the place is running rampant with extremists who want to shove their doctrines down everyone's throat does a pretty good job of defaming the place. It doesn't take long to see that the forum lacks any real creditability.

When MMC confronted me about my blog posts that were revealing the truth about MMC (and warning innocent mainstream moderately minded Muslims why they should stay away), I refused to be censored, and boldly stated that I will not be censored. I believe in the freedom of speech for all (yeah, even those whack-job Wahabbis deserve to have their say, but they should respect that in having their right, they should in turn give the same right to others, which is why I have an issue with them. Wahabbis believe in censoring everyone but themselves). I do not live in a repressive regime, or a country where only one "brand" of Islam will be tolerated. I live in America, and I love the fact that by living here, I have certain rights. My internet is not censored, with websites that do not go in line with the government being blocked. I can look at anything I want, and say anything that I want.

I will not be silenced by MMC or anyone else. I was a victim of that forum, and I have the right to tell people about my experience. I also have the right to let them know that the same experience on MMC can be felt in any Wahabbi masjid across the world. Just dare to stand up and tell them that you do not agree with their extreme views of Islam. Dare to give "another" perspective on the issue. Dare to challenge their so-called "scholars" (some of which were never educated in Islamic jurisprudence and history).

There are a few very good moderate sisters on MMC who are trying to stick with it and change the tide. Unfortunately, I don't think that will happen any time soon, and eventually they may find that they are also banned. My advice to them: never give up on what you believe to be the truth. If you believe that Islam is a religion of peace and beauty, and that Allah is truly merciful and gracious, then stand up for what you believe. Don't ever let the oppressive bullies make you doubt your beliefs. You are on the right path, sisters, and they are not. Sure they will cause you emotional harm, and call you names, and try to belittle you in front of your friends. But think about the alternative. If you follow them, or you fail to stand up against them and allow them to mislead others, the pain will be much worse. Theirs is the way of misguidance and confusion.

They are lashing out at me because they are afraid that I will turn people away from them. They only have power if they hold people's attention, and get people to do the things that they do. They will lie to you about all aspects of being a Muslim. They will tell you "this is bidah," or "that is bidah," when they themselves are practicing wholesale bidah (the fact that they have introduced certain things to salat is a bidah, but they present it as a "sunnah").

I will talk more about this later, inshAllah. I will give links to sites from mainstream accepted scholars and students of Islam which dispel the Wahabbi bidah. I will also start listing those "scholars" and authors that Wahabbis like to use and quote, so to serve as a warning to all. They will tell you to buy this book by that author, in an attempt to get you to learn their views on a given subject. They will only quote from that book or that author, and you should be aware of this. An alarm should go off in your head any time you hear these names of "scholars."

May Allah protect us from the innovators, and keep us on the right path of Islam, the path of reason, and the path of love and compassion for our fellow Muslims and mankind. Ameen.

Just saving my "cool" signatures........

More about this later....... :/




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