Salaam, It is best to respect a scholar, even if he has an eccentric or weak fiqh position--point out his error, but keep it civil and friendly. There is a group of madhab-following scholars who are for Jihad--a groups which represents the path of the Prophet (saw). Unfortunately, many of the otherwise better scholars are either apologetic to the West about Jihad, or avoid discussion Jihad. We should try to seek out sound scholars who follow a madhab and support Jihad--a fairly small group currently, though. The great scholars of early Islam supported Jihad without reservation, and we should seek the guidance of those scholars who still uphold this example.

Salaam, Our mujahideen brothers doing better than anyone expected in Iraq, and the fighting is starting to pick up a little more even in Afghanistan. The Americans have absolutely no idea where Osama is. Bush is charging headlong over a cliff--his foolishness may lead, insha' Allah, to a string of American defeats. Don't despair, I think this war a part of a larger event which may end up being one of the greatest victories for our ummah in a long time.

Salaam, Absolutely true, akhi. In my personal experience, I have found average Americans to be as or more ignorant than you have described, often with quite a bit of ethnocentrism and racism thrown in. I couldn't repeat some of the foul comments I've heard about people from the middle east, Africa, and even Somalia in particular. Let us fight ignorance with knowledge, and fight Western immorality and apather with morality and conviction. The Americans are slowly destroying themselves, but are too arrogant and ignorant to notice.

Salaam, If this Paltalk/Man of Freedom joker is against Somaliland, then I'm all for Somaliland. Somalilanders, don't let yourselves become subjugated by these types of people, and don't settle for any central government that is not fully Islamic. LOL, I never thought I'd be supporting Somaliland's independence. . .but this guy has the dubious talent of "negative persuasion" (do the opposite of what he suggests) LOL

Salaam, Jazakum Allah khair. Islam is the only legitimate form of government. There are probably several forms an Islamic state could take,however the point is that Islam must be the entire basis on which a Muslim nation's government operates. What are the problems to solved by an Islamic state? Name your problem, akhi. Almost any problem in the public sphere could be lessened by a government fully applying the principles of Islam. Just compare the Khilafa Rashidun to the poor excuses for governments ruling the Muslim world today.

Salaam, "There is majority of Shia who don't disrespect Sahaba, who don't held meeting for Mut'a, Shia scholers who don't ask women to meet them after the lecters and ask for Mut'a, out there you can find on the internet, You are going to have to do some research. I am not going to do it for you. I really just don't have the patience to do a job of work for somebody who keeps saying all I got to say is Rubbish and I have shirk 3aqeedah. So I am content to leave you to your own things." These things, such as slandering the sahaba and muta', are official shia aqidah. You find yourself rationalizing and denying the Shia aqidah. There's another option, though. Open your mind, search deeply, use your intellect and intuition, and ask yourself--"why am I a shia?" You will not find things like this that have to be denied or rationalized in the aqidah of ahl as-sunnah. Haven't you ever wondered why 90% of all Muslims are ahl as-sunnah, and why virtually all reverts to the deen become Sunni Muslims? I'll assure you that it's no accident. Study the deen, study hadith science, study and compare ahl as-sunnah and shia aqidah, and insha' Allah you may learn something.

Salaam, I had a good dream where I died once. This may sound a bit odd, but it was actually quite beautiful. I was falling, I knew I was going to die soon, and started to get worried, but then my iman kicked in and I thought 'this is just a dream, when I die I'll wake up in the real world'. The death was quite vivid, I even let out an audible gasp as I 'died' but there I was, in another world, sure as anything, after I woke up. Masha Allah, I'm not as scared of death, now that I've had a little more experience with it. This life is just like a dream, and death for the pious Muslim is just like waking up to something better. I hope I get to die as a shahid! Insha' Allah. . .

Salaam, There are a lot of logical reasons to ban mutta, as well as sound hadith and the unanimous consensus of all four mujtahid imams. Think about the woman for a second! Or perhaps think about children born into a 'temporary marriage'. The effect against a stable family life is nearly as bad as that of zina. Mutta was permitted for a limited time as a dispensation to ease the hardship of the new Muslims. It is *not* a good thing over the long term for a society, which was why it was later forbidden. Remember the Noble Prophet (saw) said to avoid those matters which are doubtful--especially when this doubtful could be zina. Masha Allah, mutta isn't a problem for ahl as-sunnah, but I'd even advise shia who fear Allah to restrain their desire and avoid this highly doubtful (to say the least) practice.

Salaam, I don't think that an Islamic state can be established without a substantial (probably 40%+) and supportive Muslim population. If there ever is to be Islamic government in the West, it would need to be preceeded by many years of da3wa.

Salaam, What everyone needs to remember is that the four mujtahid imams did their very best to follow the Qur'an and sunnah. They were extremely devoted to obeying the commands of Allah (swt) and following the example of the Prophet (saw). Some of the mujtahid imams (Abu Hanifa and Malik for example) were tabi'een, who had direct contact with the salaf. Basically, modern-day salafis claim that they know how to better follow sunnah than the mujtahid imams--even though the four imams lived closer in time to the salaf, and were far more intelligent and qualified. All were hufaz al-Qur'an, and had memorized hundreds of thousands of hadith. Abu Hanifah once stayed on one wudu for three days straight! Imam Shafi'i would recite the entire Qur'an from memory *twice* every day of Ramadan. They were extremely pious, and absolute geniuses of fiqh. The salafis choose to follow modern day reformer (more like innovator, despite what they claim) scholars who are far less qualified. Bin Baaz and Albani possess about 1/100 (or less) of the scholarly ability of Abu Hanifa, Malik, Shafi'i, or Ahmad ibn Hanbal. The question is not to "follow the Qur'an and Sunnah alone" or "follow a madhab"--rather it's a choice between following a traditional, extremely brilliant, recognized mujtahid scholar, with a direct link to the salaf, or following a far-less-qualified, modern-day scholar. The choice is pretty easy if you ask me. A madhab is merely a systematic implementation of the Qur'an and sunnah. One follows a madhab in order to most accurately follow the Qur'an and sunnah. I'm OK with Wahabbi/Deobandi/Salafis and all, many are great bros in the deen, but really their methodology is far less valid than any of the four madhabs.

Salaam, I remember a hadith in which the Prophet (pbuh) said that equipping a mujahid (if one isn't able to fight) is as good as going to jihad oneself. Here it is: "Zaid bin Khalid Al-Juhani, may Allah be pleased with him, reported: The Messenger of Allah (may peace be upon him) said: Anybody who equips a warrior (going to fight) in the way of Allah (is like one who actually) fights. And anybody who looks well after his family in his absence (is also like one who actually) fights." Hadith number in Sahih Muslim [Arabic only]: 3511 What does this imply about someone who helps to equip and feed the kafir soldiers? I hope his captors give him a good talking-to about aiding Islam's enemies, and let him go in shame. wslm

Salaam, Nuclear weapons are good as a deterrant, and as a show of power for political/diplomatic manuevers, but they're not any way to regain the Holy Land. Nukes mainly kill civilians, and render the land desolated. This being said, Nukes are a good defensive deterrant, since the kuffar are too scared to invade any nation which possesses nuclear weaponry. (Just look at the way in which Bush has completely "ignored" North Korea) The Ummah should seek to aquire nukes wherever possible, to deter attacks, but in order to regain Palestine we'll need conventional weapons. (and a lot of fighters with good iman) It's obvious that there is a double standard in the West's treatment of "Israeli" nuclear weapons versus Muslim nuclear weapons. This is just another clear proof that the American government and its supporters are the open enemies of Islam. wslm

as-salaamu alaykum, I assume that most Muslims would favor a real Islamic government in Somalia, but I know that many have their doubts, and suspect that most Islamic movements are just political/ethnic/nationalist/qabiil movements attempting to use Islam to gain control. The need for Islamic government in the world today is huge, in order to combat kufr both internally and externally, and thus I am an advocate of a true Islamic State in Somalia, one based on traditional madhhabi fiqh, and following all of the limits set by the Prophet (pbuh) and sahaba, and supporting measures to reduce crime, encourage virtue, aid the poor, and improve the basic infrastructure in a unified Somali Islamic State. (not some Taliban clone, if that's what anyone's thinking) So, here is my question: What criteria are necessary to convice you of the legitimacy of a prospective Islamic government? Would you give an aid to such a movement if you were convinced of its true Islamic status? Feel free to comment on anything else as well, and insha' Allah we'll have a productive discussion. wslm

as-salaamu alaykum, Mash'Allah, that is an incredible story. I think that whenever someone learns about Islam and approaches it with an open and unbiased frame of mind, they will eventually be convinced of its truth. I myself reverted to Islam after reading the Holy Qur'an and studying Islamic history--an interest originally begun when I wrote a report of Iraq at the age of 15 for my middle school geography class! (I'm 18 years old now) As I studied Islam, it made a great impact on me. Its laws were just and logical, its belief simple and direct. The events of history even attest to the truth of Islam. I wish to make dawa to my family, and reading this incredible account has given me some hope. Shokran tkiir for posting this amazing article. wslm, your brother AbdAllah