From The e-Nuri Archives This topic was prompted by a question posed by MADMAC, a self styled preacher of Americanism religion at Somalinet website, when I was done answering him, it turned out to be an educational journey, MADMAC serves Islam, and he does not realize it. Please pray for him, he can't stand hell for a second. Here was my old response post. Brothers and Sisters, Asalaamu Alaykum wa rahmatullaahi wa barakaatuh All praise is due to Allah, who has completed his divine messages and way of life on us, and have further showered us with his numerous gifts by guiding us to the straight path. I am therefore grateful for the gift of Islam, and if it was not for any other gifts accompanying it, and they are many, it would have been more than sufficient. I also bear witness with all my mind, heart and soul, and with every breath and heartbeat, that there is no one or a thing worthy of devotion, absolute love, supremacy, sovereignty, my subservience other than Allah SWT, known also , by God, Dio, Jehovah, Eebbe. The creator of the Universe and the laws that bind it and break it, the originator of life, and the repeater of it's sequence, the God of Abraham, Moses, Jesus and Mohammad, The God of the atheists and believers alike, the Just, and fair, who sees all and who has set aside a day for his creatures judgment, so the good among men are rewarded and the evil doers are punished. I pray and seek a befitting place for our Messenger and Prophet Muhammad SAWS, his companions, family and for anyone who follows his footstep seeking the pleasure of Allah SWT ALONE. The most trustable source is the Holy Quraan, while the best guidance toward the Quraan came from Muhammad SAWS, the worst of matters are transformations in faith, because, every transformation, is introducing an innovation which is diverging from the original path, which in turn will eventually will lead to the doorsteps of hell. The credit of what we know of Allah SWT goes to the prophets in general, and to our Prophet Muhammad SAWS in particular, so since knowing Allah SWT is the utmost need humans have, to know his messenger and his sayings comes as the most important endeavor we must seek, and there is no better place to start than the science of the Hadeeth, which is a meticulous compilation of the actions and sayings of the prophet by his family members, in laws and the closest of his companions. The best of behaviors and the wisest of words that we value today, have all emanated from our Prophet Muhammad SAWS, and in following his footsteps, we are indeed responding to the call of Allah SWT " Whatever (matter, idea, law, suggestion, way of doing things) brought forth to you by the prophet, accept it, and fulfill it. And whatever (matter, idea, law, suggestion, way of doing things) he has warned you about, abstain form it" " And Muhammad was not but a mere messenger, before him many messengers came to pass, therefore, if he dies, or is killed, are you going to go back to your old ways (of lifestyle)? whoever goes back to the old ways, is not harming Allah with anything, and Allah will surely reward, the grateful ( among his creatures, who respond to his call) " Now that we have stressed the importance of the deliverer of our faith and the Quraan , it goes without saying that the teachings of the Prophet Muhammad SAWS are of utmost importance second to the Holy Quraan, as his actions and sayings are the practical application of the Quraan. Ayesha, the wife of the Prophet may Allah be pleased with her, who was the source of great part of the Hadeeth, and the teacher of the companions, said of the prophet SAWS " His Character was the Quraan" in other words, he lived as an embodiment of the message of Allah SWT to be emulated by mankind. He has therefore set the real standard of decent behavior, and the criterion of morality and right and wrong in all matters of life and in every sphere of interest we have, for all peoples and for all times. His message is therefore binding and eternal. Based on the above, I humbly begin putting together the case for the importance of the existence Hadeeth, the drivers for the appearance of the hadeeth, the men of the Hadeeth, and the sciences of the hadeeth. The following is a quick edited survey of the Hadeeth that I have contributed as an answer to MAD MAC, which is relevant to be a starter in this thread, as we will go beyond the surface this time around to treat this topic the best way possible as a service to Allah SWT and in search of his pleasure Alone. Introduction The Prophet Muhammad SAWS spent 23 years delivering the message of Allah to the people of Allah in Arabia. His companions who have known him and his opponents alike respected him in a way no man was ever respected in History. Prophet Mohammed SAWS, since his childhood was known for honesty, within his tribe , the Qureish, they called him Mohammed Al Ameen, or the honest. At age 40 when he suddenly the revelations came to him with the message of Islam, it caused great anguish among his closest relatives and tribe alike. Because his message was compromising the position of their predominant and highly regarded tribe among the Arabs. In a sense, the message was similar to a southern white fighting for the rights of the blacks in the 1800's can you imagine the uproar he could have caused? In those 23 years of active Dawa (Preaching) of Islam and political and military life, his companions, listened and memorized his sermons and speeches, short and long. A father would narrate it to his children and so on. So while he lived there was no problem with authentication as he was alive and no one has attempted to make up stories. During his life, the prophet warned that anyone who falsifies a hadeeth is securing his permanent place in Hell. For that reason, the companions took great pains in not reporting a Hadeeth that they doubted its authenticity. After his death, the Muslims saw the importance of compilation of the Hadeeth and a meticulous system of collection was set up for the collection and classification of the Hadeeths. This process grew into a new Islamic science in its own right called the sciences of the Hadeeth (al Cadl- wal- Tajreex, cilmul- isnaad, Al taraajum etc) These are sciences that set qualification standards of credibility for narrators of the Hadeeeths, ISNAAD, or the science of referencing, which was born with the Hadeeth science, and the AL Taraajum, which are the biographies of the reporters of the hadeeth, their genealogy, geography of their lands, cultures and everything related to the reporters of the hadeeth as a measure to qualify there assertions and motives. As we will learn in this thread, the Muslim scholars went great lengths to ascertain the authenticity of the hadeeths for fear that imposters would make up hearsay hadeeth and they have actually created some. Because the product in question was the word of the holy Prophet SAWS to be transmitted to human kind, Islamic scholars invented the due-diligence and credit and background check system employed by the financial and the law enforcement industry today for the purpose of authentication. Topics to be discussed in this thread: 1. Definition of hadeeth, 2. Classification and glossary, 3. Methods of narration. 4. Biographies of Narrators 5. Science of Referencing (ISNAAD) Today, we will cover 1. Definitions for starters Linguistically, the meaning of (Hadeeth) is from the Arabic word HADATHA, or news, incident, event etc. Hadeeth ( News) linguistically is antonym with (Qadeem) past, old, history, Also, in the Arabic, the young kids are known as (Axdaath) new age ( not to be confused with new age religion). The word Hadeeth in the religious context is reserved to all the news that were reported from the Prophet Mohammed SAWS. So the news needs verification. And the verifications of the story is the science of the Hadeeth. If the same rigorous method of cross, contextual, integrity, background, environment, etc verification is applied to Newsweek and Time Magazines, ( The contemporary Hadeeths), for example, they would not stand a chance in publishing a single issue, why you may ask, and the answer to that question leads to the next Chapter. Types of Hadeeths 1. Category one : Saheeh (Correct) A Hadeeth of this category enjoys the highest credibility, it is used in the Sharia as an augmentation of the explanation of the Quraan. Denial of a Hadeeth in this category is a grave sin and it can lead to Kufr. This Category has many variations of Correctness, and ahadeeth to be ranked Sahih, or Correct must meet all of the criteria's of correctness, ( Political Correctness, is not considered in Islam). As an introductory survey, we will mention three of the elements of correctness for an example. 1. Correct in terms of the line of narration (ISNAAD) 2. Correct in terms of the anthology ( Method of collection) Similar to police evidence collection methods ( Remember the Simpson Case?) 3. Correct in terms of the text itself (MATN). So as you can deduce, a hadeeth can be correct in terms of line of narration and compilation, but still may fail the textual integrity, in this case we call this hadeeth a defective Hadeeth ( maa' lool), failing to reach Sahih level, but still may qualify for other category as we will visit. If on the other hand the hadeeth is textually correct, but the line of narration has a gab in the linkage of narrators, we call this hadeeth Broken chain hadeeth ( Munqadie). If the hadeeth is compiled in a way different than the standard methods employed by the scolars ( Jumhur), then, that hadeeth does not enjoy the Saheeh category and we will visit the terminologies in the days to come in ShaAllah. A hadeeth can further be Correct (Saheeh) for its own contents self support, ( This is like a travel document for a refugee, not a passport for a citizen) we call this category ( Saheeh li thaatih). A Hadeeth can further be correct for the support of another Hadeeth only ( Saheeh li gheirih), or the Hadeeth can serve both roles. In another category, the hadeeth can be saheeh on the conditions set by the compilers ( saheeh alaa shardeyhimaa), the compilers are Bukhaari and Muslim. And the last category of this quick survey is the (Correct-but-Odd) category, (saheeh ghareeb), meaning the hadeeth has qualified for the saheeh category but was reported by only one narrator with top credibility clearance. Criteria For the Classification of The Hadeeth The following Five Criteria are used to classify a hadeeth to be a Saheeh 1. Al Sanad ( Chain of narrators ), The chain is continuous, no missing links. 2.Adaalah, (Narrators Character, must be flawlessly perfect, in terms of piety, credibility, courage, generosity, wisdom and good judgment) If this stringent condition is applied in politics, no US president or any other world leader today can fulfill such requirement. 3. Al Dhabd, ( meaning that the narrator have memorized the hadeeth beyond question, or recorded it in a tablet, and is able to recollect it with consistency whenever requested. This condition implies that he is mentally sharp, serious in delivering responsibilities. ( President Ronald Reagan would not have made it to the Whitehouse with his famous "I Do Not Recall" ) 4. Cadam Al Shuduud, (A Hadeeth must not be an odd hadeeth) , Shuduud means that a narrator who is sufficiently credible provides a hadeeth that contradicts another hadeeth narrated by a more credible narrator, in terms of degree of their respective memorization competencies, lingusitic compprehension abilities ( Not failing their SAT) etc. ( This is analogous to two officers with different levels of security clearance presenting testimony to a judge to support a point of view. The testimony of the officer with the higher level of clearance supercedes the testimony of the lower clearance level officer) 5. Cadam Al E' laal. (Free of any defective characteristic that compromises the hadeeth's credibility ( for example there is a mismatch in the names of the narrators, like saying, Ronald Kennedy reported this hadeeth from John Reagan), so although this hadeeth may have met other stringent requirements, it clearly has a defect (E'llah) although when closely viewed may not present serious infringement of the rules, if we patiently reconstruct the sequence, like ( Ronald Reagan reported form John Kennedy). So Any Hadeeth that passes those criteria with flying colors is called Saheeh in general terms, because, there is more to calling a hadeeth saheeh than this survey of ours can cover. Category Two. The Hassan hadeeth Hassan Hadeeth is not as flawless as the Correct ( Saheeh) hadeeth we have discussed above, but is nevertheless a reliable hadeeth that passed key Non-Fatal error criteria to qualify for applicability with caution, this is like the yellow light when driving, you have to proceed with caution, relying on Quraan as a check, but still leveraging its value on areas were other more reliable hadeeths are not available. ( This is like physicists relying on a theory until they find a better explanation) This Category though, is much more reliable than the next category of the Daciif, weak hadeeth. Al Tirmidhi , One of the major compilers of the Hadeeths has defined the Hassan Category as follows : Any hadeeth , whose narrators: 1. Character is not a Questionable issue , while some of the narrators in the chain may be known to be forgetful in some past narrations , but have never lied knowingly at any point in their lives ever. 2. The Stature of this narrator do not rise to the level of the reporters of the Saheeh category in the above five scoring criteria ( Meaning, they have lower level clearance ), yet, the narrators meets some minimum acceptability standard (beyond scope of this brief survey) to be considered a reliable hadeeth. Final Category is the (Daeef ) category ( Weak hadeeth) any hadeeth who fails in the above two categories is Weak, A weak hadeeth is not advised to be followed or applied in any legal issue nor settle an ambiguity in faith matters nor business law dsiputes. Unfortunately, Many of the Hadeeths floating and causing confusion in the Muslim world belong to this last category, which promts the attack on the Sunnah and Hadeeth and. This type of hadeeth, is the kind of evidence a Judge will not hesitate to throw out of his court. Nur 2002 e-Nuri Sunnah Service Modern explanation of Legacy Traditions

Nomads How many times have you enquired an official in an office about a concern of yours only to get a cold response that sounds like " Sorry, I don't know, I just work here " Well, without a purpose in life, w ecan oblivious to where we heading all of our life, can someone share their insight on this topic before we park it? Nur

Rahiima sis You are talking for the two of us, I pretty much went through the path you've just described, initially, when we all realize the greatness of our faith its simpliciy its value we become at awe of its splendor, Islam takes over our lives like a Tsunami, I remember when i first took Islam to my heart at 18 that It was the most bewutiful thing that ever happend to me, I immediately changed my outfit and wore a thowb and kufia, to show my new identity and to ward off my old friends who were amazed and insulted at my new identity, some who even converted to Christianity later. In the years that followed, I came across all streams of the Islamic renaissance movement, from Tabligh to Taxriir and anything between, I read all of their curriculms, found peace and meaning in all of what I have read, saw light were they saw darkness, hope were they saw danger, understanding were they saw conflict, I approached Allah SWT, when I found that He was the only true friend i had amidst the confusion I found myself in. I knew, that something was drastically wrong with the Islamic circles that propogate the spread of Islam, many of these groups were led by a single agenda and a man, and not by consensus nor by a wholesome approach in isntilling Islam to a new generation living in new realities, disagreement between these groups cerated animosity and hatred that led to their collective demise and failure in delivering the dawa work, Allah SWT says " Falamma nasuu maa dhukkiruu bihi,aghreynaa beynahumul cadaawata wal baghdaa" " when they've forgotten a portion of what they were instructed to do, we have casued enemity and hatred to flourisg between them ". What was forgotten by almost all these groups was that the Islamic work should have been complementary not contradictory, inclussive and not exclussive, it was meant to close gaps and focus on delivering this great faith to all mankind, but unfortumately, several factors played into the equation that caused these divisions and hatred to reach chaotic levels: 1. Ignorance : a) Basics of Aqeedah, b)The Moral of The Sharia ( Usuul ul Sharia) c) Fiqhul Dawa ( The Knowledge body of Islamic propogation) d)The Science of Hadeeth ( Cilmul Xadeeth) e) Contemporary moral and political issues and their impact on our faith f)Quraanic interpreatation in light of contemporary issues, g) Hadeeth interpreatation in light of conteporary issues h) The Biography of the Prophet SAWS and lessons to be learned from the early Meccan prosecution days to the flourishing of Islam 2. Lack of Worship : a) Regular reading and living with the Quraan b)Application of sunnah to our private lives c) Enjoyment of Prayers and effort for the Night prayers, helping of the poor, assisting the needy, forgiving wrong doers, showing tolerance and patience for the love of allah e)Love of Allah SWT and the enjoyment of his company in all of our actions. 3. Lack of Ikhlaas ( Sincerity) : a) Attacking people and not the problems, b) Not learning from one another due to envy c) Considering issues that can be interepreted in different ways that they are black and white d) loyalty to a group more than to Allah and the Sunnah of His Messenger e) love of fame f) Non aceptance of criticism. This coul well be a new thread of its own right, inshAllah I will launch another thread to address the above problems and ways to solve, I pray for Allah's tawfeeq in all of our endeavors and forgiveness for our mistakes. Amen Nur

Raula sis Amin, May Allah accept our prayers. I am impressed by your Swahili and ability to read Somali, maashaAllah. Nur

e-Nuri Satirical Syndicates Presents: Outsourcing Anarchy An Open Letter To President Bush Dear President Bush Globaization is on the swing, economics of scale and free competition of ideas and goods are driving the world to a new level of chaos and anarchy. As you are well aware of, when the marines in Iraq order a humberger with cheese, the order is taken by the contractors who are outsourcing the call center in Delhi, with Indian employees who speak flawless Texas accent. More and more companies are now outsourcing all their non core business to poorer countries of the world where skilled labor are willing to work for a dollar a day, just like the USA in the turn of the 1900s. Many nations are now benefiting from this outsourcing business from Europe and the USA, for example, Turkey is benefiting from Germany, Algeria is benefiting from France, Afganiztan and Iraq are benefiting from USA and Jordan is heavily dependent on Israel as a labor outsourcing destination. Because the laws of the developed nations grew so irrational that they are against the interest of American large businesses and newcon politicians, I noticed that you have set up offsure sites like Guantanamo to outsource justice services with foreign flavor not in good taste with Americans who love true freedom even for their enemies. So, I read in the papers that because the USA laws safeguard the rights of ALL human beings ( and cats) in US territory, you have decided to outsource interrogation of suspects to countries that guarantee a confession in thirty minutes ( like Domino Pizza ) or your money back. These countries can make anyone confess to anything with a smile as allies and friends of the the "free World". So, I reasoned, if some nations can get a contract from USA to provide express persuation services and make money doing it, then by all means we Somalis need piece of the action. Naturally, as a Somali I am envious that we have nothing to offer the world except Anarchy, so since the USA is buying express confession services, why not offer the USA Anarchy outsourcing services ?. Here is the product line we can offer the USA upon a short notice. 1. Anarchy For Export Somalis can export their homegrown anarchy to any country the USA needs to be distablized, our young men and women can work like locusts to strip down the entire infrastructure of any country in a matter of days, after they are done, you will not recognize that country anymore, afterwords the USA can move in to build oil refineries and pipelines without any attacks to their contractors. 2. Anarchy a la carte This service is rather a distrating tactic product, we can design a locolized Anarchy sitauation in seconds, specially to disrupt rallies against your policies, to depict the opposition as a group of uncivilized demonstrators. This product has wide applications specially when you want the media off your back, you can order it with your American Express card and we can distract the cameras for hours so you can focus on your holy mission. 3. Nuclear Waste Management Anarchy This service is unique in that we Somalis have developed resistance to radiation against nucalear waste, the late Siad Barre adminiustration and later the worlords of Somalia and the Italian government have dumbed tons of European toxic waste on Somali shores and the East ( Bari) highway, but the Somalis developed resistance to this radiation by chewing on the Qat weed, which is believed to detoxify the brain making it violent and a Jinn possessed tribal bigot. So in case you have some nuclear waste we can host it in Somalia and we can assure you that the uranium will decay faster than Somali tribalist mentality. Let me know how we can serve you today Cag Bakeyle Chairman Somali Anarchist Decalaration ( SAD ) 2005 e-Nuri Satirical Syndicates @ Somaliaonline

Rahima sis Jazaaklillahi Khairan for the enlighted article, the gist of the article was about an Aqeedah principle known as istixlaal. I do not think that the Sheikhs have desservingly addressed. In one of my oldest posts about issues on Aqeedah, I've addressed the connection between sin and kufr and Nifaaq. Now let us walk through some principles in aqeedah so we can clearly see what went wrong above. Sinning in its most primitive definition is a vioaltion of Allah's order, in Arabic, we say Macsiyah. In nature a sin is a temporary event as opposed to a permanent habit, its fluke driven by lust, a opposed by a a calculated, well thought of plan. To plan a sin beforehand, execute it without a guilt, and then boast about it as a great acheivement, then call others to practice it, is a sin, all right, but a sin in the same league with that of satan's. In the days to come isnhaAllah, I will shed more light on this very sensitive topic known as Istixlaal, or legalizing and justifying a devine violation Nur

Warrior of Light You write: Bro Nur, does this pass as a lesson??? Or I still have to write up more? A great lesson indeed! May Allah bless you for your great contributions to this thread, I just came back today, and MashAllah, your Duaa selection were very soul's quenching. A quick examinations of all the prophets duaa that you've posted reveals that they were never proud of themselves, they were humble, always admitting their inferiority to Allah and their helplessness without Allah. These Prophets were the teachers of humanity who taught the same message from Allah over and over again, to look back at their duaa, was a great lesson indeed, it is to peek to the past in order to rebuild the connection we have lost with Allah SWT. Your selection was so exhaustive, inshaAllah I am going to shed a light over some of your selections implications: 1. Mercy, the key to salvation Beginning from Prophet Adam to Prophet Mohammad SAWS, Raxmah, Mercy of Allah was their ultimate hope. 2. Seeking Forgiveness, the key to Mercy Allah SWT says in Hadeeth Al Qudsi that we are all a lost folk except for those Allah guides, so we are encouraged to seek forgiveness, Allah forgives, people usually do forgive, but not before torturing you to your knees. 3. Knowledge, the key to Seeking Forgivenss Allah SWT says that the most God conscious are those who are most knowledgeable, so Prophet Noah asked Allah not to punish him for his ignorance. 4. Prayers, Close Encouter with Allah There is no other means for salvation aother than getting to close to Allah SWT, and the closest we can get to Allah SWT is through prayers. So, the Prophets used to ask Allah SWT to make them and their offspring Muqiimi al salaat. 5. Wisdom, to put knowledge into action HUKM and HIKMAH are closely related, Hikmah meaning wisdom and HUKM meaning authority to put wisdom into action are the pillars of a healthy spiritual life. That was my selection from the Warriors selected duaa. may Allah bless our Warrior Of The Internet Waves. Amin Deeq bro. Jazaakallahu khairan for your feedback, please come back. Wiilo, sis You werent left out, this thread was posted before you became active. But your participation is appreciated. Nur

OK Nomads What is the meaning of ilaah? Hint: Pharaoh of Egypt Said to his people, " I dont know of any other ilaah for you other than me ". Did He mean that he created Egyptians? Allah says " Have you seen he who made his desires his ilaah " How can our desires be our ilaah? Nur

Congratulations! You've just accepted an invitation from Allah SWT, your creator, to come to his house, for a party and the surprise of your life, ever!. Now that you know who is the host of this party, Allah SWT, I feel honored so many Nomads have taken me for serious when indeed the way I presented this thread was rather a contemporary setting of a worldly party, many of you who, in the course of your lives are invited to parties, may be leery accepting any RSVP, but because it was from one of your veteran Nomads here on SOL, you have accepted, some of you with a big heart, some so excited that they could not wait the posting of the thread, and others, who playfully represent the Devil, literally turned down the invitation because, her Mother would not allow her to attend the party, ironically, Allah SWT says in the Quraan about those who turn down this offer that their mother is indeed Haawiyah, Hell fire ( May Allah protect us all from Hell and the advocacy of Satan ). Another category of Nomads turned down on the pretext of assumption that its a boys night party, while many other dear Nomads who I wished to respond did not, knowing how great this party is going to be, I hope they don't miss the real party that I am going to post. The Invitation: Allah SWT says " Wallaahu yadcuu ilaa Dar es Salaam, wa yahdii man yashaa ilaa siraatin mustaqeem " " And Allah is inviting (you) to Dar Es Salaaam, and ( Allah SWT) guides who He wishes, to a path that is straight( toward the Dar Es Salaam)." " Dar " in the Arabic language means a House, Palace, Mansion, Villa etc. Salaam , meaning Eternal Peace, one of the ninety nine (Asmaa ul Husnaa) names of Allah SWT, the source of peace as we usually hymn His praise after our daily prayers: " Allahumma Anta As Salaam, wa minka As Salaam " , meaning : " O Allah, You are the (essence) of Peace, and you are the source of all of Peace ", so by responding to the RSVP of Allah SWT, inshaAllah, in the day of judgement when you finally approach paradise, it will be said to you " Udkhuluuhaa bi Salaamin aaminiin " " Enter (Paradise ) peacefully " I have read this verse in Suurah Younis many a time, but like a short wave Radio, I have never tuned my focus so sharply on this verse like I did past couple of weeks. When I read " Allah SWT is inviting (me) to Home of Peace, His House , I was really touched in a very special way, when I drove away from the Masjid, the only thing in my head was the RSVP, poor insignificant me!, I am invited to Allah's mansion, for an eternal party, with plenty of food, drinks and permanent youth and beautiful women, ( gorgeous men for the sisters, like new me , no kidding ), I was in my vehicle, tears started flowing on my cheeks, so much so that I had to pull over to finish crying, what a soothing effect did I get afterwards, Wallahi, I felt reborn again, once more with a solid mission to do good on earth, to dedicate my life to serve Allah SWT by doing what he values most in people, helping others to help themselves, feeding of the poor, educating the ignorant, advocating for, and consoling the oppressed, The Quraan, holds many treasures sprinkled on the pages we read that we may not be looking deeper, this verse, has fundamentally rearranged my priorities in life, and hence the preparations for meeting my maker, literally, accepting on His offer by meeting the requirements set in Quraan and Sunnah. Requirements that form the bulk of the "Pursuit of Happiness" ceneter piece of American Constitution, so Nomad readers who reside in The USA can finally say with pride that following Islam as a way of life is protected by the American Constitution, since its goal is the pursuit of happiness, and you never thought Pursuit of happiness was an Islamic thing? ...many people chase elusive happiness in their lifetime, but only few will attain the real thing, and I assure you, it is not going to be in their lifetime. It was reported by Abu Hureirah May Allah be pleased with him, that the Messenger of Allah said " Those who enter paradise will enjoy and never will they be miserable, they will live forever and never will they die, their garments will never wear out and theirs will be an everlasting youth " Nomad brothers and sisters, isn't an honorable gesture from Allah SWT, to invite you to his house, the Jannah, Paradise? , and because you have responded to his RSVP, you are short listed and specially chosen to receive the road map that will guide you to get to the Party in Jannah. So Congratulations, Brothers and sisters in faith. Allah gives you the good news and says to you: " Lilladiina istajaabuu li Rabbihumul Xusnaa " As for those who have responded (positively) to their Lords ( RSVP), their ( Reward) is the Husnaa (the Party in Paradise )" Engineers measure performance to test response times of systems they design, how fast does a system respond to an stimulus, the above verse, specifically deals with the testing of the response time of humans to their Maker's RSVP, because it is within the frame of our life time that we have to respond to the heavenly stimulus. The second measure engineers measure is the quality of that response, and I can not put it in a better way than the following verse: " Lilladiina axsanul Xusnaa, wa ziyaadah " As for those who've performed well (under difficult conditions, as a response to please) their Lord , their (reward) is Husnaa ( Paradise) and some extra ( surprise)" It is not only about what we know, it is not only about what we do, but it is also about the results we achieve with the last two, that really counts at the end of this life's journey. Can you guess the surprise in store for you? when Allah SWT invites you to his house and amazingly you beat the odds and show up, you definitely deserve a great hospitality treat, for all that "gimme -a -break!" you used to yell while on earth, here is a big break! of food , drinks, and the greatest of all joys, yours will be a splendid face and sparkling eyes glued on the sight of their Magnificent Lord: " Wujuuhun yawma idin naadwirah, ilaa Rabbihaa naadhirah " What a joy! And you thought that no one cares about you? how wrong were you all along, well, if you could only imagine how much Allah SWT has honored you, and is willing to guide you! whenever you take a step His way, he takes two steps toward you, when you walk toward Him, he runs to you, and if you are bearing the weight of a Gorilla the size of Planet earth in sins and mischief on your back, and you come to Allah SWT resolute to start it all over again, Allah approaches you with the weight of Planet earth in forgiveness, try Him! now that is some good news innit? When Allah SWT ordered Abraham to invite mankind to visit his house in Makkah as pilgrimage, It was Allah's way of sending you an RSVP to His house , Paradise, to see who will respond and say " Labbaik Allahumma Labbaik " here I am O Allah, Here I am " as a response to his invitation. When the Muezzin calls for prayer, saying " Hayyah Alal Falaah " "come respond to success" you are responding to Allah's eternal invitation and RSVP to paradise and Allah will say to you: " Fad khulii fii cibaadii wad khulii Jannatii " " Come join the ranks of those who worship Me, come enter My Paradise " In the course of our daily routine, the opportunity to respond to Allah SWT presents itself in a concealed way, the trick is to always be on the lookout and be aware that you are under a test to see if you can collect as many points to qualify for the party. " Wa an leysa lil insaani maa sacaa, wa anna sacyahu sowfa yuraa " Meaning, " man does not have in store in the herafter save the efforts he had earned " Whenever you notice the need of an orphaned relative or a hungry destitute, to respond to their need is to approach and overcome obstacles and hurdles that are on your way to the party in Jannah, are you in good shape for that feat? keeping your cool whenever someone gets on your nerves with a sordid comment, is another way to collect valuable points to attend the party, persuading your enemy to be on your side by behaving with a divine character of tolerance and forgiveness. Because time is valuable and life is short, you have to focus on doing what benefits you most, and according to the Hadith, Allah SWT loves those who care for and benefit other creatures, so what are you waiting for, you can benefit humans by helping save them from Hellfire through wise discussions, you can also help them by feeding them or you can help them by seizing your evil intentions toward them, as for other creatures like animals, be humane, because it can save you from Hell fire, a biblical story confirmed by the Sunnah says that a prostitute was saved from hell by giving water to a thirsty dog. This party however, is exclusively for those who categorically refused to respond to Satan's party on earth in which Satan promised happiness, prosperity and longevity for his allies and friends. You can not have it both ways, you need to make your mind early. This party is not for those who had previously responded to Satan's RSVP and to whom he will disown in the day of judgment, saying to to them : " Allah SWT promised you and delivered against it, while I also promised you but failed to deliver on my promise, I had no power over you except for your willful confirmation to follow me when I invited you ( to disobey Allah SWT) , so blame me not, but blame yourselves, don't come running onto me for help, because I am not coming running onto you for help" Quraan. Satan's party is short-lived, even if takes a lifetime, the result is always a painful stand in front of your maker to answer for your deeds, Satan packages the glitter of this present life as his party, but life on earth with all its attractions is like a short lived mirage in which we feel that we are in control when in essence, we are not, it is mankind's inherent nature to be aggressive when he feels self sufficient, Allah SWT says in the same Surah Younis: " The likeness of the (appeal) of life on earth is like a rainfall we've poured down from the sky, to grow plants on the ground, in order to feed livestock and hence people ( as the food chain), up until ( the intensity of rainfall makes) earth show its treasures and beauties at which point its caretakers firmly come to believe that they are in full control, (suddenly) our decree is passed( for its destruction) thus we turn (mankind's possession and efforts) to pieces as if it has not been there yesterday, thus we clarify for folks who soberly reflect " Next Attractions The first to make it to Paradise The Reception and Gates of Paradise The VIP Guests Description of paradise .....and More 2004 e-Nuri Softwano Series Paradise Is Possible Summer Campaign

A Question From A Minnesota Viking PS: I have one very simple question that has been bothering me the past week or so...do souls ever die? We are taught that ONLY Allah SWT is Everlasting, but what happens to the souls after they are designated Paradise/hellfire? Does a soul enjoy paradise for some time (maybe thousands of years) and then die or disappear into a void or does it dwell there forever? We have a beginning, but what does the Deen say about the end? It might sound like a silly question...but as the Chinese say..."He who asks is a fool for five minutes but he who doesn't is a fool forever" Answer: Dear Viking Death is defined as the end of existence, we may also define it as a phase change, in which two entities the soul and the body are separated, the body dies, when there is no motion, feelings, resistance to decay, vitality or growth. Just before the beginning of the day of judgement, when the first horn is blown, evey living being in heaven and earth die except for Allah SWT, later when the second horn is blown all the dead rise alive. In the Quraan, Allah tells us that there are ONLY two deaths and two resurructions " Amattanaa ithnateyni wa axyeytanaa ithnateyni " . The first death is prior to birth, we were sepatated from our souls, the second death takes place after the present life, after which there is no more death forever as Allah says in the Quraan, that they ( ahlul Jannah) will not taste a death except the first death. In many other verse in the Quraan, Allah SWT describes the life after death with the term ( Khaalidina ) meaning " living eternally ". Interestingly though there is only a single refernce in the Quraan that gives a hint of limitation of eternity of hell, but not Paradise, in which Allah SWT promises the dwellers of hell that they will live in hell eternally as long as the heavens and the earth are in exsistence except for any exclusion wish of Allah( Illaa maa shaa Allah ), why? you may ask, Allah justifies this by saying in the same verse, that Allah does whatever He wishes, hinting that Hell mey not be eternal. The dwellers of paradise on the other hand are promised to enjoy in Paradise as long as the earth and heavens are in exsistence except for the wish of Allah SWT. Here brother Viking who loves to enjoy in paradise and not stop having fun in Paradise is worried, he asks, is the party and the fun going to end? well, in the same verse Allah SWT assures Brother Viking, that the fun will never end as paradise is a gift for the righteous men and women, in Suurah Hud, we learn that Allah's gift of paradise to be ( Cataa'an gheyra majduud ) a non discontinous gift, which hints eternity of Paradise, thus, the good people have eternal life, while evil people are discarded after torment and pain. Noteworthy is that Allah describes the believer as a living person while the nonbeliever is decribed as a dead person, Allah SWT says ( A fa man kaana meytan fa axyeynaahu, wa jacalnaa lahu Nuuran yamshii bihi finnaasi ka man huwa fidhulmaat leysa bi khaarijin minhaa ) meaning, " are they the same he who was dead ( non believer) and then we caused him to be a living being, by furnishing him with Nuur ( light of faith in Allah) with which he walks as a guided person among people (in darkness), is that enlightened person the same as the one who remains in darkness of faithlessness, unable to find an exit?" In conclusion, Believers who make it to paradise live eternally a joyful life, and will never taste death again as Allah explicitly said in Quraan ( Laa yadhuuquuna al mawta illal mawtatal uulaa wa waqaahum rabbuhum cadaabal jaxiim ) " they will not tatse anymore death except for the first one, and further, their Lord has protected them from the torment of Gehenna " . Wallahu Aclam Nur 2005 e-Nuri Caqeedah Vigils

Sheyehm Walaalo I posted several thought provoking topics this time around, such as " Fitness For Purpose ", no Nomad including you bothered to add anyhting to it, comment or object to any of its assumptions, so to inorder to see who among the Nomads is awake at the forums, I threw in this Screen name trivia, for a seemingly bored audience, but for sure, not from a bored activist. Amazingly, I got far more responses than topics I sweated over to prepare, next big hit topic, Best Color Hijab Fabrics! Nur

Let me add my favored Sufi story Once upon a time, there was a wealthy man who had many children. One day he summoned his childern and told them that " I feel sick and I am about to die, if I die, I would give all my wealth to the son/daughter who can spend the first night in the grave with me." When the father died, his kids asked each other who among them was willing to claim all the wealth by spending only a single night with their father in the grave. No one volunteered, as they were discussing the issue, a beggar who was wearing a rag and a pair of slippers showed up and knocked their door asking for a donation. The kids, cheerfully offered the beggar all of their fathers wealth if he can brave to spend the first night in the grave with their fallen dad. The beggar,who had nothin to loose accepted on the offer and subsequently, he was lowered to the grave next to the dead wealthy man. In the morning, the kids dug up the grave and helped the dazed beggar out of the grave, as he walked past the grave, they congratulated him for being a wealthy man as he met the condition and earned the wealth. The beggar declined accepting the wealth, when the kids asked him why? " When you lowered me to the grave and I laid next to your dead father" responded the beggar, "I was overcame by heavy sleep, and immediately a horrible dream began. An angel asked who was in the grave with the dead man, another angel answered that it was a living human. The angel then ordered that I should be interrogated first, instead the dead man, the next twelve hours, I was being questioned to account for the possession of the pair of slippers that I was wearing, where I got them how I got them and what I did with them, where did I walk wearning them, had I helped anyone while wearing them.......etc. When you dug me out, I woke up the happiest man living, knowing that the angels did not even finish the interrogation of the slippers let alone the worn out rag I was wearing. Now, do you expect me to inherit all that wealth and go through that grueling interrogation that will take ages before my soul can rest in peace? No thanks, i have enough wealth, more than enough on me, keep your wealth to yourselves." Nur 2005 e-Nuri Sufi Classics

Hijaab is wonderful, I have never seen an attire that brings the best out of any woman than the Hijab. When men run to a Hijabi woman, they get the message written all over the sister, she is walking billboard of all good virtues, no man can get confused with a Hijabified woman, and when men talk to her, its not about her body parts, rather about issues that are discussed with them, addressing her intellect and humanness. Once a man discusses wit a woman in a Hijab, he cant help but admire her resolve in going her own way amid a society drievn by fashion, TV and peer pressure. The Hijaab leaves a lot to be desired in a woman, it shows that she is confident about her feminity, that her body is not an ornament for strangers to view, and that she is in control of her desires, A hijabi woman seldomely attracts sexual harassment at work or at school, she just goes about her tasks without disrupting the dormant desires of weak men who cant control their hormones. Nur

Nawaal sis Jazaakellahu Khairan for this timeless collection, we all need to print this piece and hang it in our bedrooms to mark daily which one we have violated and which one have we obeyed. Nur

Muad Bro Jazaakallahu khairan for posting such a beneficial thread, the works of Sheikhs are indeed valuable, and deep. Readers of these articles vary in their understanding of the principle that the Sheikhs refer to in Arabic, and thus, when they encounter many words that they can not understand, they may loose the attention needed to get the gist ofthe writers intention. So, I suggest, that you deliver the topic in everyday english, and take the freedom to say it in a way readers can relate to it for maximum effect. Sister Tamina, jazaakellahu khairan sis for your research, this is the kind of work that helps Nomads understand sertain key words like Tazkiyah, Taqwa, Tahaara and so on. The Tazkiyah word is literally a Key word to understand many verses in the Quran and references in the Hadeeth, the more we sopend time in understanding these key words, the shorter our journey to our maker. Nur

Caaqil bro. How can I miss such a great name? well, it takes a Caaqil to seek Allah SWT with all of his soul and body, the reason I have chosen Allah u baahne is because I can relate to it so much, I am never satisfied in my persuit to seek Allah SWT, so that is why I selected that name. Maryooleyda degtay carli gaalo oo rabta iney baddasho magacyadooda waa u bannan tahay, sharciga Islaamka waa balaadhan yahay haddeyan ka aheyn neceyb Islaam. Viking bro MaashaAllah Tabaarakallah, walaal, the verses of Suuratul Nur are stunning, no matter how many times I read these verses, it shakes my bones, I listened to a nasheed by Yususf Islam titled " God is Light, God is The Light" wallahi, it made me cry. I pray that Allah makes me worthy of the name I chose as my screen name, so that I can share my thoughts in this medium reaching all those who read these pages no matter where they are located. Again, may Allah bless you for your kind thoughts, please pray for me, I pray that Allah SWT rejoins all of us in Jannah. Amin Aniga Indeed walaal, Nurun Calaa Nur, Light Upon Light, Allah guides toward His light whom he pleases, may Allah guide the billions of mankind who are seeking their God to the straight path amin. My other choices are Raxmah which what we seek from Allah and Raxiimah Who is a person who exhibits that trait, If I had the chance to choose a new screen name, it would be: Muxibukum-fillaah meaning, loving you all for Allah's sake. Nur

Sweeter than my tea Caaqil waxaa lagaa wadaa, a tribal chief in Somali, in the Arabic it is simply means " An Intelligent Guy", unfortunately most represenatatives to the new Somali Parliament in Nairobi are not caaqils, thus their problem of being a mentally challenged lot. Nur

Salaam Nomads From time to time, I come across great screen names on this page, but because i am always focused on the articles, I loose sight of these special screen names. Today inshaAllah I am going to post my favored screen name, please post yours and explain what it means to you. Allah-u-baahne Meaning: He Who Seeks Allah For All His Needs For me, this is by far the best choice of an screen name, it has the deepest meaning of any name that I came across. This screen name is the epitome of true service and worship of Allah SWT, it shows a dependent servant on His maker, whose major worry is his connection to the service of His Lord and the quality of that service. Unlike humans, the more you are in need for Allah, the closer you get to Him, and the more He loves you, those who do not seek Allah in their needs are doomed and suffer punishment in this life in the form of worries and misfortunes, and the in the next in the form of being distanced from Allah's mercy. Thats my choice for today, whats yours? Nur

Thanx Tiger, for your efforts, I am patiently waiting the Professor, and by the way if you can invite Bashir Goth, the guy from Somaliland who yearns for the traditional homegrown Islam of the fifties, it would be interesting. Nur

Lucky sis Jazakellahu Khairan, giving is actually getting, when we give part of ourselves for the benefit of others, we indeed get higher in the eyes of Allah SWT, we are aided by Allah, as the Messneger of Allah SAWS said " Allah aids His servant so ong His servant is bust helping fellow mankind" My dream in life is to give as much of as I possibly can, and i am finding that the more I give, the more I get, subhaanallah, what a joy in giving and sharing, only few Muslims have discovered this joy while the rest are suffering because their personal worries preoccupied thier time and efforts, so they are trapped in quick sand, of their own making, how can they get out of that visious circle if they fail to reach out and help others? Nur

e-Nuri Road Maps Presents: Are You Fit For The Purpose? That is right!, are you successful?, because success is a measure of how much of a desired result you have attained within a given time frame. In school you learn that good grades are the ticket to success later in life, only to see, those despised in school riding high with better jobs and more prestigious social status than you the nerd. So, let us ask, are grades a measure of success? At work, in the corporate world, it is monkey business, monkeys on a tree, the Corporate tree, fighting for bananas (Money), some monkeys climb higher up on the corporate tree, while other unsuccessfull monkeys struggle by hanging on lower branches. Smart monkeys who made it to the top look down at monkeys on the bottom with pride as all they see are lowly smiling monkeys below, while monkeys on the bottom look up at monkeys on top and laugh as all they see is their shining naked rear ends. So, does that mean that the monkey who rides the highest branch and dies with the most bananas in his possession is the most successful? So, what is success? how do you measure success? Well, success is simply being fit for a purpose, if you are still undecided of the purpose for which you exist, I assure you with certainty that you will never succeed in life while in this state of aimlessness, because success is a vector quantity, it has direction as well as magnitude, without direction, no matter what quantity you base your success with, it will be hollow and you will feel a big void in your life, a void so large, even a large size Pizza with mushrooms, olives, green peppers would not fill. Therefore, what we need is to define a Purpose for which we exist, live for and are willing to die for, if called for duty. Having no purpose in life is like travelling toward unknown destination, you can never be sure of your accomplishment, and hence you may never be happy. So, the next logical step is to ask the difficult question, who should set that direction for us ? is it us, humans, in other words are some fellow humans ( like our Politicians)the architects of our fate and destiny? are they indeed capable in solving our problems? Contrary to that notion, Einstein said, a problem is never solved at the same intellectual level it was created in the first place, Solution to our problems can only come from a higher authority not from big belly politicians, which means that humans can never be the masters of their destiny since they had no control of events that brought them to life and continues to lead their daily lives. Now, think with me, before we tackle the problem of success in life, let us define what success means once more. Success means Fitness For A Purpose . We all know what fitness means, it means, a set of requirements that measure how close we are to a desired goal or a purpose. As a runner, I would measure how fast I run a lap or how many minutes it takes me to run a mile. I would also measure my heart pulse, blood pressure, muscle mass, and at one time, for curiosity, I weighed myself before running eight mile distance, and after completing the run at the desired speed , I found that I almost lost a pound and a half, mostly water, which explains that life is a zero sum, you decide what you want to take and what price you are willing to pay for it. So in that example, my fitness meant that I was well within the range of measures that I set for myself to achieve. Now that we have figured out what fitness means, lets define what a Purpose means. A Purpose , Reason For Existence, is an internal picture of a past decision, an intention( Niyah )desire to reach an objective or a goal, this definition is not from a dictionary, its a native e-Nuri definition, so in case it agrees with any dictionary rest assured that it is a genuine e-Nuri, since I did not have the time to look it up. So, success means Fitness For A Purpose , The first part, the Fitness is a tangible quantity. The second part, Purpose , is abstract, it is like beauty, a purpose or an intention to reach a goal is an abstract quantity that can only be measured with a predetermined set of metrics we call Fitness . Now, the piecs of the puzzle are finally coming together, our success in this life depends on how much we meet requiremensts the stake holder of our life has desired. As Muslims we all know, the stake holder of our life is Allah SWT, who clearly communicated through revelations that His intention behind our creation was Solely His worship. Allah SWT said in the Quran " I have not created the Jinn and Mankind except for the purpose of my worship " Therefore our success in the next life depends on how much we have worshiped Allah SWT in this present life. So, what is Worship? That is another story altogeher, a very interesting one, and the purpose for which you were created, for which you are given for sensing a pair of eyes, ears, a nose and finger tips, for analysing the data you collect with a brain, all of which are optimized for finding your way back to your maker, the better understanding you have for the true meaning of Worship , the closer you will be to approach success and hence genuine happiness in this life and the next. ............ To be continued Nur -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 2005 e-Nuri Road Maps If You Don't Stand For Allah's Cause Alone, You Will Fall For Everything Else

Rahima sis A great article indeed, Trading Places is the irony. Iraq today is a battle zone once more, this time, the Romans are acting as the preservers of faith and Messnegers of "God", spreading freedom ( To have fun ), justice ( For the Rich Oilmen ) and worship of one God ( Mighty Dollar ), all the while " Mulsims " have adopted injustice as a way of life, deserting the service of Allah SWT by the millions, failing to uphold His law, disregard in showing kindness and tolerance, and failure in diligently working toward passing their timeless divine message to othe nations in need of Allah's word. In such circumstances is it any wonder that Allah has favored the Romans over " Muslims" to lead the world as the lesser of two evil peoples? Nur

Nomads The Seven is a gateway to heaven, thinka about it, The seventh factor is constant remembrance of Allah SWT and Dhiker, and Salaat on the soul of the Rasoul as an appreciation of his delivery of this great Deen to us. Nur

Mujahida sis May Allah bless you sis, and congratulations, I just learned that you haved tied the knot, my prayers for you, your lucky hubby and may Allah create from your souls more good souls like you to populate the planet and worship Allah SWT. As a gift, may I repost the poem that i put together for you when you were hurt by the bad material you came across. REFLECTIONS When Honey tastes sour When Flowers smell bad When Silk feels rough When Truth hurts When Virtue is despised When honesty makes you poor When studying makes you a nerd When helping the poor makes you a leftist When Listening To Quran is not pleasant When Holding to your faith feels like holding to a piece of fire Yaa ukhtaah! It is not the honey, its sick taste buds It is not the Flowers, it is an allergy It is not the silk, its your rough finger tips It is not the truth, it is evil doing that hurts It is not the virtue, it is the Vice that is despised It is not the honesty, it is dishonesty that makes you morally poor It is not the Quran, it is a warped perception It is not your faith that hurts when you hold on to it, its punishment in the day of judgment that really hurts. (Low kaanuu yaclamuun) Nur

GnP you write: " Nur, granted you’re more knowledgeable in the deen than I am and nowhere on this thread have I contested that nor labelled you and that you don’t fail to be patronizing in your tone whenever confronted with something not to your taste" Sister, you shouldnt expect to walk over people by accusing them of a grave crime like cheating a legal system, an accusation if I did not deny would be an admition to a major crime in a court of law, it was wrong if not outright dishonest to brand me and the other brother as cheaters of a system that you would honor at the expense of Islam, simply because you are a woman and are against polygamy. You write: "I at least know that Islam teaches us to respect the laws of the kufaar lands we choose to reside and unless you don’t agree with this, I fail to see where we disagree and where you’re coming from" Answer Sister, the land belongs to Allah , not the Kuffar, which makes you and the Kuffar equal under the constitution, A Nation under GOD, which grants you rights to protest unjust laws and even engage in peaceful civil disobedience to get your point across, you have a voice, let it be heard for the advantage of Islam. You write: " How you are conveying your point is completely opposite to what you’re conveying . " Answer Answer: My point is as clear as it can be, ask others to confirm. You write: " Finding faults, belittling and ridiculing their way of life to make your point is simply frivolous. " Answer: This is a debate forum, we are engaging in a discussion, its not intended to be pleasant, but neither do I attack people for no reason, I do not expect anyone to agree with me, and I do not take criticism personally unless they are an accusation for committing a crime such as the one you levelled against me. You write: " As Muslims who are residents in a western country and given the choice to practice our religion completely, we can choose to accept and stay or leave." Answer: Do we really have the choice to practice our religion " COMPLETELY" as you write? does that mean you are not worried that polygamy is banned? You write: " I never understood why some people choose to live in non-muslim lands and then completely claim to detest everyone and everything about the place." Answer: Same reason the Italians and British used to live in our country and hated our ways! You write: " In this particular case, it’s a matter of deciding which takes precedence(islamically too), following the rules and regulations of your adopted country or practicing polygamy which is not only optional and infact not ideal (as far as my knowledge goes) and breaking the laws of your adopted country and risking being charged. " Answer: Changing the laws to make polygamy legal is the priority, so go out and call your congresswoman and tell her you want polygamy legalized, and till that is done, we can leverage the current secular law's loop holes of allowing us to have as many girlfreinds as our address book can handle. You write: "I don’t know if you’re trying to be witty but that comes across as character assassination to me. Answer: I apologise, wallahi sister, i did not intend to assasinate your character, I was against an idea, not your person, the idea of branding me a cheater of a system, while I was talking about legally going around the letter of the law, to suit the law to my faiths requirements. You write: " don’t respond well to people questioning my faith and where my loyalties lie. You don’t know me and I suggest you lay off the sweeping assumptions. There is nothing unislamic about what I’ve contributed to this thread. And if you choose to reply, I insist you substantiate your spurious assumptions at the very least before labelling me with below the belt titles and tossing out further insults my way for no apparent reason." Answer: I think I have answered most assumptions, and apologised if my comments were taken personally. one last advice Please stop thinkng of yourself as a guest to the country of your residence, you should be heard as mush as everyone else, you would be a better Muslimah and a citizen at the same time by knowing the law, and when you find it Islamic unfriendly, find a way to make it freindly to islam, that way you can bridge Islam and the west. Much respect Nur