How did Islamic fiqh (jurisprudence) develop

Bismillaah

Author: ‘Umar ibn Sulaymaan al-Ashqar

Praise be to Allaah.
During the lifetime of the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) the Muslims used to receive the rulings of Islam directly from him. The Qur’aan came down as a teacher, guide and mufti, as Allaah said (interpretation of the meaning):

“They ask you for a legal verdict. Say: “Allaah directs (thus) about Al-Kalaalah (those who leave neither descendants nor ascendants as heirs)…”[al-Nisa’ 4:176]

And it came to explain matters concerning which the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) and his companions were uncertain, as in the story of the woman who asked the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) about her husband’s divorcing her by zihaar (a jaahili form of divorce in which the husband says to his wife, “You are to me as my mother’s back”), as a result of which the first verses of Soorat al-Mujaadilah were revealed.

The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) used to send some of his companions to teach the new Muslims how to worship and to give them legal rulings (fatwa). The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) used to allow them a certain amount of room in understanding the texts of sharee’ah, then he would approve of their interpretation or correct them. At the time of the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) a number of the Sahaabah used to issue fatwas (legal rulings). Some of the scholars said that they numbered fourteen, but in fact there were more than that. The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) was the imaam (leader) and teacher of mankind and at that time people spoke proper Arabic so whatever variations in interpretation there were, were few and minor. So the death of the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) was counted as a great loss to the ummah, because they lost their leader, guide and perfect example.

It was narrated that Anas ibn Maalik said: “After the death of the Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him), Abu Bakr said to ‘Umar, ‘Let us go to Umm Ayman and visit her as the Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) used to do. When they came to her, she wept, and they said to her, ‘Why are you weeping? What is with Allaah is better for His Messenger (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him).’ She said, ‘I am not weeping because I do not know that what is with Allaah is better for His Messenger (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him); rather I am weeping because the revelation from heaven has come to an end.’ She moved them to tears and they started weeping with her.” (Narrated by Muslim, 2454). But the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) did not die until after the religion had been completed.

One of the characteristics of this religion, which was perfected during the time of the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him), was that it includes features which qualify it to remain and continue until the end of time.

Therefore this religion and understanding of it remained after the death of the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) and it will abide until the Day of Resurrection. After the death of the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him), the people followed his guidance and the guidance of the Rightly-Guided khaleefahs who followed him. Abu Bakr (may Allaah be pleased with him) used to judge amongst them and issue fatwas to them based on what he found in the Qur’aan and hadeeth. If he could not find an answer, he would go out and ask the Muslims, saying, “Such and such an issue has been referred to me, do you know whether the Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) passed a judgement concerning such a matter?” Then perhaps a group of them would come to him, all of them saying that the Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) had passed a judgement on it. Then Abu Bakr would say, “Praise be to Allaah Who has caused there to be among us those who memorized things from our Prophet.” And if he was unable to find any Sunnah narrated from the Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him), he would gather the leaders of the people and the best among them and if they agreed on something he would pass judgement according to that.

‘Umar (may Allaah be pleased with him) did the same after Abu Bakr had died.

Then the Sahaabah (may Allaah be pleased with them) dispersed to different regions as teachers and mujaahideen, after the expansion of the Islamic territory. Each of them used to issue fatwas in accordance with what he knew of the Qur’aan and Sunnah, or the actions of Abu Bakr or ‘Umar, or the conclusions to which his own ijtihaad led him. The muftis among the Sahaabah numbered more than one hundred, and those who issued many fatwas numbered seven, as Ibn al-Qayyim says. They were: ‘Umar ibn al-Khattaab, ‘Ali ibn Abi Taalib, ‘Abd-Allaah ibn Mas’ood, ‘Aa’ishah Umm al-Mu’mineen, Zayd ibn Thaabit, ‘Abd-Allaah ibn ‘Abbaas and ‘Abd-Allaah ibn ‘Umar (may Allaah be pleased with them all).

‘Umar (may Allaah be pleased with him) and his son, and Zayd ibn Thaabit (may Allaah be pleased with them), were in Madeenah, and many students became scholars at their hands, such as Saalim ibn ‘Abd-Allaah ibn ‘Umar, Naafi’ and others. Their knowledge was passed to the seven fuqaha’ and ultimately to Imaam Maalik ibn Anas al-Asbahi.

Ibn Mas’ood and then ‘Ali were in Kufa, and a number of the Taabi’een learned from them, such as ‘Ilqimah, al-Aswad, Masrooq, Shurayh al-Qaadi, Silah ibn Zafar and many others besides them, until that knowledge reached Imaam Abu Haneefah al-Nu’maan ibn Thaabit.

Fiqh and knowledge spread throughout the ummah from the companions of Ibn Mas’ood, the companions of Zayd ibn Thaabit, the companions of ‘Abd-Allaah ibn ‘Umar, and the companions of ‘Abd-Allaah ibn ‘Abbaas. That happened in Kufa, Madeenah and Makkah, respectively. These Taabi’een used to issue fatwas when the greatest Sahaabah were present, and they granted them permission to do that.

For example, Ibn ‘Umar used to say of Sa’eed ibn al-Musayyib: he is one of the muftis or one of those to be followed.

And he said of him: if the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) had seen him, he would have been happy with him.

Via these people, knowledge spread far and wide. Then the ahaadeeth were compiled in books and the numbers of students increased who occupied themselves with memorizing them and writing them down; then knowledge spread throughout the earth. Most of the people were religiously-committed and aware, and this prevented anyone from speaking without knowledge or claiming to be a scholar when he was not qualified to describe himself as such. Then differences because widespread and people became involved in the field of knowledge who would have been better off refraining from it. But by the wisdom of Allaah the religion was regulated and preserved by imams whom the ummah agreed that they were leaders and knowledgeable and that they had reached the utmost degree of knowledge of rulings and fatwas. Allaah caused them to become well known and their virtue spread throughout the world. Students flocked to them to learn and study, and their views were compiled in books. The opinions of the Sunni schools of thought which followed the truth of the Qur’aan and Sunnah and which rejected innovations in religion (bid’ah), according to what was transmitted by the students of the great imams, were recorded according to what was transmitted by the students of these great scholars, so the views of each imaam became a madhhab that is followed.

The most famous of these madhhabs nowadays are just four: the Hanafi, Maaliki, Shaafa’i and Hanbali madhhabs. The followers of these madhhabs are agreed on most matters and on the most important issues of religion, and the differences in understanding and in the evidence that reached them have to do with minor issues. All of them are following something good, may Allaah have mercy on them. Then each of these madhhabs developed in ways which it would take too long to explain here, until things became as they are nowadays, where each madhhab has books containing its issues and methods of deriving rulings and interpreting evidence. And among the imams there are, praise be to Allaah, mujtahids who can produce rulings on contemporary events and issues by means of the understanding that Allaah has bestowed upon them, using ijtihaad, qiyaas (analogy), the principles of the objectives of sharee’ah, the sayings of previous scholars, and the principles of usool al-fiqh. Thus fiqh continued to be a rich discipline, comprehending all the issues of life which the Muslims need to know about.

At all times there is someone who is showing the correct way, based on evidence, who recognizes the truth concerning a certain issue and he knows how to reach the correct conclusion. The scholars could not agree on something that is incorrect, hence the ummah cannot all follow falsehood. We ask Allaah to cause us to understand His religion and to bless us with knowledge and righteous deeds. And Allaah knows best.

For more information see:

Al-Fikr al-Saami fi Taareekh al-Fiqh al-Islaami and Taareekh al-Fiqh al-Islami by ‘Umar ibn Sulaymaan al-Ashqar.

And Allaah knows best.

How To Properly Cut Vegetables

Bismillaah

Dear Reader,

Cooking is a major part in every wife/mother’s day to day life, so I thought I would share some important tips on how to properly cut vegetables and herbs. With this knowledge you will find that you will save time in the kitchen and always have your veggies cut to perfection.

In Chef Peter Hertzmann’s tutorial on how to cut in the kitchen includes illustrations and instructions for 20 different vegetables most commonly found in French recipes.

Good knife skills are a combination of knowledge and practice — the knowledge of which knives to use for which tasks, the knowledge of how to hold and move a knife [and] the knowledge of how various foods are structurally composed.

How to Cut [à la carte]

Peter suggests you print out a page (choose a vegetable and click on lefty or righty) and take it with you to the kitchen to practice. Happy cutting!

Learn these other different techniques that will have you cutting vegetables like a pro in no time at all!

How to Prepare Ginger

How to Chop Green Onions

How to Cut Broccoli

How to Chop Mushrooms

How to Chop Shallots

How to Chop Basil

Cutting Vegetables for a Vegetable Tray

How to Cut Fresh Herbs

Betty Crocker How To: Cutting Vegetables

Free Yourself From Spite pt 2

Bismillaah

Dear Reader,

When people went to visit Abu Dujaanah in his death sickness, they saw him happy and his face radiant; they asked him about the reason, to which he replied: “I have two qualities I possessed in my life; one is that I never interfered in that which did not concern me, and the second is that I always had a pure heart, free from spite towards my fellow Muslims”.

Imaam Ibn Taymiyyah, may Allaah mercy upon him, was another great example in this matter. Some people of knowledge of his time who envied him, spoke ill of him to the Caliph who commanded him to be imprisoned; yet while he was in prison he, may Allaah mercy upon him, sent a letter to his students saying: “You know very well that I do not like to see anyone from the common Muslims getting hurt because of me, let alone the people of knowledge. People are three types: one who strives to do what is correct but fails, and such will be rewarded for striving to do what is right and will be pardoned for failing as he tried; another is one who strives to do what is correct and succeeds, and such will be rewarded twice, once for striving to do what is right and another for achieving such a goal; the third type is a person who is a sinner, and we ask Allaah to forgive him. I will not forgive any of you if you start talking about anyone who was the cause of my imprisonment”. Not only that, but Allaah Willed that Sultan An-Naasir became the Caliph and wanted to take revenge from the people who were the cause of his imprisonment, but Imaam Ibn Taymiyyah, may Allaah mercy upon him, refused and continued to talk to the Caliph and admonish him about the quality of forgiveness and tolerance, until he changed his mind and let them go unharmed.

Jaabir said: “I heard the Messenger of Allaah saying: “The devil has despaired of being worshipped by those who engage in prayer in the Arabian Peninsula but (has not lost hope) in creating dissension among them.” [Muslim] This was a statement made by the Messenger of Allaah while addressing the companions . Satan strives very hard to instill spite in the hearts of the believers towards one another, hence, we must avoid anything that could be the means or cause of enmity or spite. We must know that Satan is the source of spite and envy.

Moreover, spite, dispute and envy are the reasons for one’s good deeds being rejected: Abu Hurayrah narrated that the Messenger of Allaah said: “People’s deeds are presented before Allaah on Mondays and Thursdays, and then every slave (of Allaah) is granted forgiveness (of minor sins) if he does not associate anything with Allaah in worship. But the person in whose heart there is rancor against his brother, will not be pardoned. With regard to them, it is said twice: `Hold these two until they are reconciled`. `Hold these two until they are reconciled`” [Muslim] In fact, this was the reason why the exact night on which the night of Al-Qadr falls was not disclosed to the people.

The matter is even graver than this, as indicated in the following narration. Abu Hurayrah said that the Messenger of Allaah said: “It is not lawful for a Muslim to forsake his (Muslim) brother beyond three days; and whosoever does so for more than three days, and then dies, will certainly enter the Hell.” [Abu Daawood]  We ask Allaah to purify our hearts from spite and grudges.

Spiteful hearts: One of the main things that leads to having a spiteful heart is backbiting and tale bearing. These two evil qualities often result in hatred and severing of ties amongst people. Therefore, a Muslim must control his tongue and not allow himself to talk about others, backbite or slander them.

Some people refrain from eating certain types of meat before ascertaining their permissibility, yet they have no problems eating the flesh of their fellow Muslim; Allaah Says (what means): “And do not backbite each other. Would one of you like to eat the flesh of his dead brother? You would detest it” [Quran 49: 12]

Another matter that results in spite is disputes and arguments, thus people must beware of this bad quality. People can hold different opinions but do not have to become enemies due to this. Yoosuf As-Sadafi said: “I never saw anyone wiser than Imaam Ash-Shaafi’ee, I argued with him once about a matter but we could not come to an agreement, so when he saw me later, he took hold of my hand and said: `O Abu Moosaa! Can’t we disagree and remain brothers?`” Prejudice and partiality — whether to one’s opinion, a group or a person — also lead to spite creeping into the heart.

Competing over worldly matters results in spite in most cases; this is why Islam forbade a person from attempting to buy something that his Muslim brother has already started negotiating about, or proposing to a woman who a fellow Muslim has approached earlier. The reason for this is that Islam tries to prevent all the possible reasons that could engender spite and hatred.

The zeal of attaining high posts and positions makes a person envious; Al-Fudhayl Ibn ‘Iyaadh said: “Striving to reach high  posts and positions and leadership makes people envious and leads them to transgressing other people’s rights.”

There is another matter that people neglect, which has a direct connection to this issue: straightening the rows during prayer. Nu`maan Ibn Basheer reported that the Messenger of Allaah said: “Straighten your rows (during prayer) or Allaah would create dissension amongst you”. [Al-Bukhaari and Muslim]

Joking too much with people and two people talking in seclusion in the presence of a third are more reasons for spite amongst Muslims, which we must be careful to avoid.

There are certain things a person can do to prevent spite and spread love instead, like supplicating for others and giving them gifts.

Finally, we must differentiate between being kind hearted and simple minded and naive. Not knowing what is plotted against you is not being kind, as this could make a person fall in the trap of others, like those who propagate drugs and immorality. Many people have been dragged into drugs, immorality and other harmful habits due to their naïveté.  As Imaam Ibn Al-Qayyim stated: “Recognizing the evil and not indulging in it is not the same as being naïve”.

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Free Yourself from Spite pt 1

Bismillaah

Dear Reader,

The importance of freeing the heart from spite:

Slaves of Allaah! Islam encourages making reconciliation between people in order to maintain good relations amongst the Muslims, to spread love and to keep the hearts of Muslims free from spite. Allaah Says (what means): “So fear Allaah and amend that which is between you” [Quran 8: 1]. Additionally, Islam ordains all that which spreads mutual love and frees the hearts from spite, as in the narration of Abu Hurayrah who reported that the Prophet said: “You will not enter Paradise until you believe, and you will not believe until you love one another. Shall I guide to that which would make you love one another? Spread greetings (Salaam) abundantly amongst yourselves” [Muslim]

The Prophet was asked: “Who are the best type of people?” He replied: “A person who is truthful in his speech and Makhmoom in his heart” People asked: “We know what is truthful speech, but what is a Makhmoom heart?” The Prophet responded saying: “It is a pure pious heart that does not have envy, evil or spite.” [Ibn Maajah]

Spite has greatly increased amongst people today, resulting in the severing of relations and in people holding grudges against each other. This is in spite of the fact that Allaah has made legislations, which would prevent this from happening. For example, a Muslim is allowed to request a fellow Muslim who wants to visit him to return at a later time. In normal situations, people would not appreciate someone not allowing them entry when they visit them, but since Allaah The All-Knowing, knows that people might have certain circumstances that would not allow them to receive visitors, He legislated this to protect people’s hearts from holding grudges due to this. Allaah Says (what means): “And if it is said to you, “Go back (Or a similar expression showing that the occupants are not prepared to receive visitors)” then go back; it is purer for you” [Quran 24: 28]. This is a way to condole the person who was not granted permission to enter, lest he feels insulted or saddened, and a means to protect the hearts from spite. This is why some of the Salaf used to be happy when they went visiting someone and were not permitted in, because they sought the consequence of returning mentioned in the above verse –which is the promise of becoming purer (i.e. in their hearts).

Having pure hearts that are free from spite is a bounty and a blessing from Allaah which He grants to the dwellers of Paradise upon their entry into it. Allaah Says (what means): “And We will remove whatever is in their chests of resentment (i.e. ill will or ill feelings towards one another), [so they will be] brothers, on thrones facing each other.” [Quran 15: 47]

In addition to a pure heart being a blessing and a bounty from Allaah, it is also a source of comfort.  This is why Islam puts great emphasis on purification of the heart from spite, so that people can live together in peace and harmony.

The great importance attached to this issue is because it is a difficult state to achieve all the time. A person may have a strong will which enables him to wake up in the middle of the night to offer optional night prayers, but he may not be strong enough to overcome some of his bad feelings towards his fellow Muslims.

Undoubtedly, this quality is a praiseworthy one indeed; Allaah praised the Ansaar (i.e. the residents of Madeenah) for possessing such a quality saying  (which means): “They [i.e. the Ansaar] find not any [ill] feelings in their chests [i.e. hearts] of what they were given [i.e. the Muhaahireen-emigrants from Makkah] but give [them] preference over themselves, even though they are in privation.” [Quran 59: 9] When Allaah favored the Muhaajireen with certain things, the Ansaar did not feel any objection to this, nor did they harbor any ill feelings or envy towards their brothers in faith for being distinguished with these favors. Instead, they favored them over their own selves with whatever they had, even if they themselves were in need of what they offered.

The following great story reflects the rank of possessing a pure heart that is free from spite, and that it is a blessing from Allaah. Anas Ibn Maalik narrated: “We were sitting with the Prophet once when he said: “A man from the dwellers of Paradise will walk in now” so a man from the Ansaar (i.e. residents of Madeenah) walked in whose beard was dripping from the effect of ablution and who held his slippers with his left hand. The next day the Prophet said the same thing, and the same man walked in. On the third day, the Prophet said the same thing, and the same man once again walked in. When the Prophet left the gathering, ‘Abdullaah Ibn ‘Amr followed that man and said to him: `I had a misunderstanding with my father and swore not to stay in his house three nights, so if you permit me I would like to spend these three nights with you` The man said: `Yes, I permit you.`”

Anas added: “‘Abdullaah Ibn ‘Amr told us that he spent three nights and did not notice that the man prayed the optional night prayers during any of these nights, but if he woke up during the night, he would simply mention Allaah. Nonetheless, I never heard him utter except good things, so when the three nights finished, I almost belittled his deeds (as they were insignificant) and I said to him: `O slave of Allaah! There was not dispute between me and my father or anger, but I heard the Prophet saying thrice: “A man from the dwellers of Paradise will walk in now” and you walked in all three times, so I wanted to sleep in your place to see what you do in order to imitate you, but I did not see that you exert extra effort in performing any extra deeds. How did you reach such status to deserve what the Prophet said about you?` He replied: `My deeds are nothing more than what you saw` Then when I left, he called me back in and said: `My deeds are nothing more than what you saw, but the only thing I do is that I do not hold any grudge against any Muslim or envy anyone for what bounties Allaah has granted them`; thereupon ‘Abdullaah Ibn ‘Amr said to him: “This difficult quality to obtain is what granted you this rank”.  [Ahmad]

The keenness of the Salaf to have pure hearts: It is not an easy task for someone to maintain a heart free from spite and hold no grudges against anyone. On the other hand, it is not an impossible mission either, and can be achieved with training, practice and constant striving.

The companions were very keen to remove any bad feelings from the hearts of their brothers towards them. `Aa’ith Ibn `Amr Al-Muzani reported: “Abu Sufyaan passed by Salmaan, Suhayb and Bilaal and some other Companions (after the conquest of Makkah, when he was still a disbeliever). They said to him: “The swords of Allaah did not exact their due from the foes of Allaah?” Abu Bakr said to them: “Do you speak like this to the chief of the Quraysh and their master?” Then he went to the Prophet and related this to him. He said: “O Abu Bakr! Perhaps you have angered them. If so, you have angered your Lord”. Abu Bakr rushed back to them and said: “O my brothers! Did I offend you?” They replied: “No. May Allaah forgive you, brother”.
[Muslim]

This proves that a person must rush to make amends and apologize for his actions, if he fears that a fellow Muslim was offended or his feelings were hurt, to make sure his brother’s heart remains pure towards him. The one who is being apologized to must accept without delay and comfort his brother, and assure him that he is not holding any grudge against him and supplicate for him as the companions did with Abu Bakr all.

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The ‘Art’ of Deception: Examples taught for today from the past in Quran

Bismillaah

Dear Reader,

Allaah Almighty Says (what means):“O you who have believed, if there comes to you a disobedient one with information, investigate, lest you harm a people out of ignorance and become, over what you have done, regretful.”[Quran 49: 6]

Deception is a necessary tool for the success of wickedness. Fortunately, most of us are not so corrupted that we could support naked injustice and brutality, but must be, to one extent or another, fooled into supporting it once it is camouflaged in an illusion of justice and benevolence.

While it is certainly true that the art of deception has become tremendously sophisticated and indeed, pervasive, in modern society; it is equally true that the fundamental nature of deception, that is, the types of tricks generally used, the methods, the aims, and the qualities that make people susceptible to deception, have not really changed in millennia.

The various forms of deceit and manipulation that provide the basis for modern propaganda and public relations ruses are pointed out by Allaah Almighty in the Quran in numerous passages, providing the believers of all eras with the means by which to inoculate themselves against being fooled, misled, and deceived into accepting a distorted version of reality.

Let us examine only a few select examples of the tactics of deceit exposed in the various stories Allaah narrates in the Quran to warn and instruct the believers, and hence concentrate on only two particularly relevant and informative cases.

The treachery of Yousuf (Joseph) brothers

Two of the most audacious and sinister, and in many respects, modern, instances of lying occur in the story of Prophet Yousuf and these will be the focus of our analysis.

Yousuf’s brothers, envious of their father Yaqoob’s (Jacob) great love for Yousuf plotted to kill or expel him. Allaah narrates to us that they said (what means): “Kill Yousuf or cast him out to [another] land; the countenance of your father will [then] be only for you...” [Quran 12: 9]

Yaqoob apparently was wary of his other sons’ intentions toward Yousuf ; earlier warning the young boy not to relate to them the prophetic dream he had for fear that they would become jealous; and they themselves refer to Yaqoob’s destruct of them, and this provides our first example of deceit:

Allaah Says (what means): “They said, ‘O our father, why do you not entrust us with Yousuf while indeed, we are to him sincere counselors?’”[Quran 12: 11]

This statement alone demonstrates two of the cleverest and most frequently employed techniques of manipulation, now apparent in persuasive media from governmental propaganda to product advertising, and is worth looking at closely.

The brothers begin by insinuating that there is something wrong with their father; not only suggesting that he does not trust them, but that this distrust indicates a flaw in his judgment and not in their trustworthiness. They then declare the purity of their intentions, as Yousuf’s “sincere counselors,” thereby, not only self-defining and defending their own characters, but also making the idea of their untrustworthiness all the more apparently offensive; intensifying the underlying rebuke of their father who, it should be mentioned, has actually said nothing until now about distrusting them. They have begun with an accusation, immediately seeking to create a defensive posture in their father a feeling perhaps of guilt, that will incline him to grant them their request if only to prove their accusation untrue.

This technique is so widely applied in modern society that it can scarcely be catalogued. Whether it can be observed on the scale on the national politics where, for instance, a population is perhaps persuaded that they are unsafe or threatened, and should acquiesce to certain restrictive policy measures of the state, which after all, is only tying to protect them; or whether it is applied in so mundane a matter as product advertising where consumers are convinced that they have bad breath, body odor, or insufficiently white teeth, all of which ‘faults’ can only be corrected by purchasing merchandise; the tactic is the same.

Having declared themselves to be good-intentioned and trustworthy, the brothers then suggest that Yaqoob allow them to take Yousuf , away with them, to allow him to ‘play’ and ‘enjoy’ himself; more subtly affirming their status as ‘well-wisher’s’, even as they are seeking to create the circumstances that will allow them to harm Yousuf . They reiterate to their father a more specific assurance that they are to their prophet brother “good guardians.” They have so framed their request to take Yousuf away that for Yaqoob to refuse would be a direct, and apparently unjustified, condemnation of their character.

The wolf

The reason given by Yaqoob for not allowing Yousuf’s brothers to take him with them was that he feared they would neglect him and he would be left alone and attacked by a wolf. We will see that Yousuf’s brothers subsequently use this pre-existing fear to diver suspicion from themselves and what they have done to Yousuf ; unknowingly, Yaqoob has provided them with not only the means to carry out their plot against Yousuf but also the means by which to conceal it. After they have dropped their brother in the well, as we know, they return to Yaqoob and validate for him what he had feared; that Yousuf had been attacked by a wolf; thereby making even less likely the chances of being exposed. They tell him what he was ready to believe, activating the pre-existing fear, thus preemptively canceling out any inquiry into what happened.

Once again, this tactic of manipulation is an almost ever-present facet of modern social engineering and the propaganda system. An important difference, of course, is that the fear of the proverbial ‘wolf’ in modern societies is more often than not a manufactured fear, not one that is present naturally, but one that has been created, promoted in the public, unlike the quite realistic and rational fear of Yaqoob . Nevertheless, the exploitation of this fear is identical.

We can look for instance, at the entire Cold War period to find numerous examples of the manipulation of fears, the utility of pre-existing fears as unquestioned explanations for subsequent events. We can also, of course, look at more recent history. Once a particular fear has been established in the public, whether it has been implanted in them or is in fact a rational anxiety, its existence can serve to mobilize necessarily irrational blame for nearly any unpleasant circumstance or happening.

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The Deadliest Disease

Bismillaah

Dear Reader,

Envy refers to the desire that a person feels for the destruction or removal of a blessing that another person has – a destruction which the bearer of this feeling would himself carry out if he had the power to. This is quite different to wanting such blessings for oneself while not wishing for them to be removed from others, for that is, indeed, a positive and commendable desire that leads to competition. Competition is not considered blameworthy in general, rather it is considered to be praiseworthy if it is in pursuit of righteousness; Allaah Says (what means): “Indeed, the righteous will be in pleasure. On adorned couches, observing…You will recognise in their faces the radiance of pleasure. They will be given to drink [pure] wine [which was] sealed. The last of it is musk. So for this let the competitors compete.” [Quran 83:22-26]

Allaah mentions in the Quran the envy of the disbelievers, the hypocrites and people in general. Speaking about the disbelievers, Allaah Says (what means): “Many of the People of the Scripture wish they could turn you back to disbelief after you have believed, out of envy from themselves [even] after the truth has become clear to them…” [Quran 2:109]

Allaah also Says (what means):“Or do they envy people for what Allaah has given them of His bounty?”[Quran 4:54]

Envy is an evil disease of the heart that leads to foul conduct and bad behaviour. It leads to animosity, thinking evil of the intentions of others, backbiting, tale-bearing, lying, and the abandonment of other Muslims. It may lead its possessor to inflict physical harm on the person whom he envies and can even lead to murder. It is considered to be among the most dangerous and destructive of internal diseases and is the most destructive to a person’s religion and worldly life.

The Messenger of Allaah said: “Do not envy one another; do not hate one another; do not turn your back on one another (in discontent); (but) be slaves of Allaah as brothers.” [Al-Bukhaari & Muslim]

Allaah orders the believers to seek refuge from the evil of the envious person and envy in general when He says (what means): “And from the evil of the envier when he envies.” [Quran 113:5]

 

The Messenger of Allaah also said: “Indeed envy eats up good deeds just as fire consumes firewood.” [Ahmad]

There are many stories in the Quran that highlight the dangers and evils of envy. When we read the story of Prophet Yoosuf (Joseph) and his brothers, we realise the danger of envy, how it blinds, how it snatches mercy away from the heart, and how it drives its possessor to inflict terrible physical pain on the envied person. Allaah Says (what means): “When they [i.e., the brothers of Yoosuf] said: ‘Yoosuf and his brother are more beloved to our father than we, while we are a clan. Indeed, our father is in clear error. Kill Yoosuf or cast him out to [another] land; the countenance [i.e., attention] of your father will [then] be accessible to you, and you will be, after that, righteous people.’” [Quran 12:8-9]

Another story that shows the danger of envy is the story of Haabeel and Qaabeel: The Quran tells us about the first son of Aadam who murdered his brother out of envy, which constituted the first crime ever in which blood was spilt. He envied him because Allaah accepted his brother’s sacrifice but not his; Allaah says what means: “And recite to them the story of Aadam’s two sons, in truth, when they both offered a sacrifice [to Allaah], and it was accepted from one of them but was not accepted from the other. Said [the latter]: ‘I will surely kill you.’ Said [the former]: ‘Indeed, Allaah only accepts from the righteous [who fear him]. If you should raise your hand against me to kill me – I shall not raise my hand against you to kill you. Indeed, I fear Allaah, Lord of the worlds.’… And his soul permitted to him the murder of his brother, so he killed him and became among the losers.” [Quran: 5:27-28 & 30]

The blameworthy type of envy is an unrestricted dislike of the blessings bestowed upon the envied. Therefore, when one despises something, he is hurt and grieved by its very existence, and this becomes a sickness in his heart, to the extent that he derives pleasure from the removal of the blessings from the envied – even if this does not result in any benefit to him except having the pain that was in his soul removed.

This pain is not removed except as a result of the envier continuously monitoring the envied so that he would find relief when the blessing is removed, but it can become more severe, as is the case of the one who is suffering from a physical sickness, in that the blessing, or one similar to it, may return to the envied.

Be aware that envy is one of the deadliest diseases of the hearts, and there is no medicine for the diseases of the heart except through knowledge and deeds. The knowledge that will treat the disease of envy is to know, without any doubt, that envy is lethal for a person’s worldly life as well as his religion, and that there is no danger from it to the envied person regarding his life or his religion; on the contrary, the envied person will actually benefit from it. The fact is that envy is actually dangerous for the envier’s religion because it is through this envy that he hated Allaah’s predestination and the blessings that He divided among his slaves; he also hated His justice that He established in His world due to His Wisdom; therefore, the envier contested that and objected to it. This is contrary to belief in the Oneness of Allaah. Additionally, the envier would share with Satan and the rest of the disbelievers a love for crises to befall the believers and for blessings to leave them. These are evils in the heart that devour good deeds and erase them like the night erases the day. The person who suffers from envy in his life is tortured by it, and will always be in sorrow every time he sees the blessings of Allaah upon the envied person.

-Imaam Al-Ghazzaali in his book Al-Ihyaa

Islamweb.net

Why Disbelievers Are Turned Off By Muslims

Bismillaah

Dear Reader,

Have you ever thought about how you behave to non-Muslims? I have noticed countless times non-Muslims entering into masjid &/or Islamic centers inquiring into Islam. Muslims in the community will meet them with gruff faces and their forever nasty attitudes. What is up with that? Why in the world would you treat strangers so rudely and inconsiderately?

If you cannot bear to share a nice and loving smile with those whom you meet and see in the masjid then don’t come to the masjid. If you cannot bear to treat others respectfully and resist shouting at everyone then don’t come to the masjid. If you feel upset with another Muslim and you know you cannot behave appropriately if you see them then don’t come to the masjid. Believe it or not, you cause much more harm then good and most likely you are only acquiring sins when visiting the masjid. Not to mention, I have to questions ones intentions as to why they are even attending the masjid when their attitude and behavior is bad? It would seem some just attend to appear pious or important and that my friends is a form of shirk. It is also a sin called riyah. So fear Allaah in all that you do and check your bad attitudes at the door.

The Nobel Peace Prize: Nobel Jews

Bismillaah

Dear Reader,

A total of nearly 700 individuals and 20 organizations have been Nobel recipients, including two who refused the prize (Leo Tolstoy in 1902 and Jean-Paul Sartre in 1964.) Thirty women have won Nobels. The United States has had about one-third of all winners. Also remarkable is the fact that 14 percent of all the laureates in a 100-year span have been Californians, most of them affiliated with one or more of the world-class higher education and research institutions in our state.

Jews Clues

Jewish names appear 127 times on the list, about 18 percent of the total. This is an astonishing percentage for a group of people who add up to 1/24th of 1 percent of the world’s population. But this positive disproportion is echoed even further in the over-representation of Jews, compared to the general population, in such fields as the physical and social sciences, and in literature. An examination of the large professional communities from which Nobel laureates are selected would reveal an even more dominant disproportion. As an example, it is estimated that about one-third of the faculty at Harvard Medical School is Jewish.

How to account for Jewish proficiency at winning Nobels? It’s certainly not because Jews do the judging: All but one of the Nobels are awarded by Swedish institutions (the Peace Prize by Norway). The standard answer is that the premium placed on study and scholarship in Jewish culture inclines Jews toward more education, which in turn makes a higher proportion of them “Nobel-eligible” than in the larger population. There is no denying that as a rule the laureates in all six domains are highly educated, although there are notable exceptions, such as Mother Teresa. Nevertheless, in a world where so many millions have university degrees it is difficult to see why on that basis alone Jews should prevail in this high-level competition.

Another question is why the physical sciences admired by Alfred Nobel are so attractive to Jewish scientists. Albert Einstein, the successor to Newton, Galileo and Copernicus and the greatest name in modern science, was Jewish. This is more than a matter of historic pride; it is an enormous statistical improbability. And such achievements were not always attained on a level playing field. For example, the Nazis dismissed relativity as “Jewish physics” and caused the uprooting and exile (mostly to the United States) of a generation of German scientists who happened to be Jewish.

In literature and peace as well, Jews are disproportionately represented among the winners. Jewish writers honored include Henri Bergson, Boris Pasternak, S.Y. Agnon, Nelly Sachs, Saul Bellow, Isaac Bashevis Singer, Joseph Brodsky and Nadine Gordimer. Peace laureates include Henry Kissinger, Menachem Begin, Elie Wiesel, Yitzhak Rabin and Shimon Peres. In economics, for which the Nobel has been awarded for only the last 31 years, 13 laureates are Jewish, more than 40 percent of the total, including Paul Samuelson, Herbert Simon and Milton Friedman

But it still seems insufficient to credit all this to reverence for education, skill at theoretical thinking or competitive instincts forged in a millennial-old struggle to survive and prosper.

Perhaps the desire to understand the world is also a strong or defining Jewish cultural trait, leading to education and careers suited to exploration and discovery. Science may have furnished an opportunity to not only understand but to lead, and to have one’s work judged without bias in collegial communities that have no use for religious intolerance.

Whatever the reasons, Jewish successes in the high-stakes world of the Nobel Prize are nothing short of astonishing, and a source of understandable pride to Jews throughout the world. Consider the scorecard: 37 awards in physics, 21 in chemistry, 39 in physiology and medicine, 10 in literature, seven in peace and 13 in economics.

Listings and descriptions of the contributions of the Jewish laureates may be found below:

Albert Einstein — The most famous and influential scientist of all time

Richard Feynman — ‘The greatest scientific mind since World War II ‘

Lev Landau — Soviet physicist, Nobel Prize in Physics 1962

Rita Levi-Montalcini — winner of the Nobel Prize for her work on Nerve Growth factor (with Stanley Cohen)

Aaron Klug — Nobel prize winner in Chemistry, for work on X-ray analysis of biomolecules

Elie Wiesel — Jewish author: ‘Night’, winner of the Nobel Prize for Peace

Martin Perl — Nobel prize winner in Physics: discoverer of the Tau Lepton

Isaac Bashevis Singer — Author, Nobel Prize-winner for Literature

Shimon Peres — Israel’s Labor party leader

Niels Bohr — Nobel prize-winning Physicist: atomic structure

Yitzhak Rabin — Prime Minister of Israel – Worker for Peace’ Chief of Staff in Six Day War

Milton Friedman — Recipient of the Nobel Memorial Prize in Economics

Arno Penzias — Nobel prize winner in Physics, studied interstellar isotopes

Henri Bergson — Author/Philosopher, Nobel prize for Literature

Georges Charpak — won the Nobel Prize in Physics 1992 for his particle detector

Albert Michelson — Nobel Prize for Physics 1907

Selman Waksman — Microbiologist, 1952 Nobel Prize winner in physiology and medicine

Joseph Brodsky — Nobel Prize winner in literature, most famous modern poet

Paul Samuelson — Nobel Prize in Economics (first ever)

Elie Metchnikoff — Nobel prize winner in Medicine, studied immunity in infectious diseases

Hans Bethe — Nobel Prize in Physics in 1967

Paul Ehrlich — Nobel prize for descovering a treatment for syphilis.

John Harsanyi — Winner of the Nobel prize in Economics: studied utilitarian ethics

George WALD — Nobel Price in Medicine for work contributing to our understanding of vision.

Tadeus Reichstein — Nobel Prize for Medicine 1950

Isaac Bashevis Singer — 1978 Nobel Laureate in Literature: ‘Enemies : A Love Story’, ‘The Golem’, ‘Meshugah’

David Baltimore — Nobel Prize in Physiology and Medicine

Shmuel Yosef Agnon — Israeli writer, winner of the 1966 Nobel Prize: ‘The Bridal Canopy’; `A Guest for the Night’

Howard Temin — 1975 Nobel Prize in Medicine

Franco Modigliani — Italian-born economist, 1985 Nobel Laureate in Economics: saving and financial markets

Baruch Blumberg — Nobel prize winner in Medicine: field of epidemiology

Joshua Lederberg — Nobel prize winner in Medicine, discovered viral transduction

Roald Hoffmann — Nobel prize winner in Chemistry: field of electronic structures

Daniel Nathans — Nobel prize in Medicine: for restriction analysis of Simian Virus 40 DNA

Nadine Gordimer — South African novelist, Nobel prize-winner in Literature

Stanley Cohen — Nobel prize winner in Medicine, for work in experimental embryology

Herbert Simon — Nobel prize winner in Economics: for work on decision-making

Saul Bellow — Canadian born novelist and Nobel Prize winner for lietature

Fritz Haber — winner of the Nobel Prize of Chemistry in 1918, for the synthesis of ammonia from its elements

Joseph Goldstein — Nobel prize in Medicine

Stanley Prusiner — Nobel prize winner in Medicine: for the discovery of Prions, infectious proteins

Herbert Brown — Nobel prize winner in Chemistry: for his work in the borane-organoborane area

Claude Cohen-Tannoudji — Nobel prize winner in Physics, developed laser-cooling technology

Murray Gell-Mann — Nobel prize in physics 1969. Introduced ‘quarks’.

Isidor Rabi — Nobel prize in physics in 1944

Hermann Muller — Nobel prize winner in Medicine: for work on biological effects of radiation

Paul Johann Ludwig Heyse — Nobel prize winner in Literature, 1830-1914

David Lee — Nobel prize winner in Physics: for work on superfluidity

Nelly Sachs — Poet, winner of the Nobel prize in Literature

Douglas Osheroff — Nobel prize winner in Physics, for work in superfluidity

Andrew Schally — Nobel prize winner in Medicine: field of endocrinology

Bernard Katz — Nobel prize winner in Medicine, studied neuromuscular transmission

Elias Canetti — Bulgarian born essayist and novelist who was awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1981

Jack Steinberger — Particle Physicist, winner of the Nobel Prize

Harold Kroto — Nobel prize-winner in Chemistry, discoverer of C60

Reinhard Selten — Nobel prize winner in Economics: for work on ‘game equilibrium models’

Cesar Milstein — Nobel prize winner in Medicine: field of immunology

Simon Kuznets — Nobel prize winner in Economics

Leon Lederman — Nobel prize winner in Physics, 1988
Jack Steinberger — Nobel Prize winner in Physics, 1988

Source: Stephen Mark Dobbs

Why do you think so many Jews have won the Nobel Peace prize?

Hate Crimes Against Muslims Rising

Bismillaah

Dear Reader,

While at Buckroe Beach playground (pictured above) a black man began to pretend to shoot me. He made popping noises like gun shots directed at me twice. He was sitting on a bench ten feet from me with two friends. His wife/girlfriend was standing right next to me. He stated he did not like my five yr. old playing with his niece. They were running around playing. His wife/girlfriend who stood next to me, asked me if I wanted to die. This guy  then got up stood next to his wife/girlfriend and said he would leave,change his jersey and return with gun to kill me. Another group of black people heard him threatening me and left the playground while talking about me. They said I was stupid for not understanding his threats.

I can assume the only problem is that I am a Muslim and dress in full religious attire. My husband called me and asked me to leave upon hearing what had just happened to me. I felt bad for my son and was reluctant to leave. He wanted to play at the playground and we were there ten minutes before I was being threatened with my life. I could not decide what to do. Let him run me out of the playground because he can’t stand me or not take him seriously? It was my husbands reminder about an Egyptian woman who was stabbed eighteen times that prompted me to hurry and leave. On my way out, I could not stop staring at everyone’s hands at the playground. I was consistently looking for guns or any signs of aggression.

What in the world is happening here in America? This violence I think, is going to continue and get much worse. It is the music, movies, materialism and hedonism.

Is Your Name Malak?

Bismillaah

Dear Reader,

It is dislikeable to use such a name as “Malak” since this word denotes glorification and purification.  It is reported in Saheeh Muslim that “The Prophet (Sallallahu Alaihi wa Sallam) rejected calling children with names like “Barrah” (righteous). The Prophet (Sallallahu Alaihi wa Sallam) said (commenting on such a name):

“Do not give yourself a status that exceeds yours. Indeed, Allah Knows best the righteous people amongst you”. They asked what should we name her? He said: ‘Give her the name of Zainab’”.

So, you may  use other appropriate names for a Muslim child.

Islamweb.net

Parents, it is soooo important that when you name your child you name them with a name that is halal and not one just from your desires. If you name your child Malak, please fear your Lord and change it immediately. If you would like some idea on a good name:

Boy’s Names and   Girl’s Names

When you find a name you like check with the scholars to see if it is okay. I may have made a mistake when compiling these lists. Allah Knows Best! Here is a fatwa on more names that are forbidden and disliked to be used.