Muhammad

Nomads
 View Profile  See their activity

  • Content Count

    1,096

  • Joined

  • Last visited

Posts posted by Muhammad

  3. Posted

    war ragoow afku muruq ma leeyahay?

     

    history is made by those who act so don't waste your time and break the circle. do something productive with your time and try to better your lives and the lives of your fellow somali and muslim brothern.

     

    peace! nabadgelyo! salaam!

  5. Posted

    Asalamu Alaykum!

     

    I have found this wonderful piece on personal development in Islam. Insha'Allah I hope you benefit from it and Insha'Allah share it with your friends and family. enjoy!

     

     

    Title of Fatwa: Refinement of the Soul (Tazkiyat an-Nafs )

    Date of Fatwa: 13/ July/ 2002

    Date of Reply: 13/ July/ 2002

    Topic Of Fatwa: Tazkeeyah (Self Purification)

    Question of Fatwa: Dear scholars, As-Salaam `Alaykum. Would you please provide me with information about the refinement of the soul? Jazakum Allah khayran.

    Name of Mufti: Islam Online Fatwa Editing Desk

    Content of Reply:

     

    Wa`alykum As-Salaamu Warahmatullahi Wabarakaatuh.

     

    In the Name of Allah, Most Gracious, Most Merciful.

     

    All praise and thanks are due to Allah, and peace and blessings be upon His Messenger.

     

     

    Dear questioner, may Allah reward you abundantly for your interest in knowing the teachings of your religion, Islam!

     

    As regards your question, we’d like to cite for you the following:

     

    “Tazkiyat an-Nafs is the basis for development and improvement of the personality. It is a long, pro-active, and uphill task. It is not an easy esoteric rite or overnight formula. Misunderstanding of Tazkiyah manifests when people look for quick methods of becoming better. Some may visit graves of the righteous; some may repeat certain supplications for a given number of times. Yet others subject themselves to physical suffering in the hope that this will lead to spiritual purity. All of these are forms of escapism from facing the real challenges of Tazkiyah.

    Tazkiyah is by Allah

     

     

    Allah purifies whom He wants (4:49). All human effort at Tazkiyah should always be accompanied by supplication for Allah's intervention without which human effort will bear no fruit. On the other hand, it is wrong for a human to make no effort and passively expect Allah to intervene. Humans must play their role before expecting Allah's help.

     

    Human Efforts Toward Tazkiyah

     

     

    The human can do a lot to refine the soul (Nafs). The Qur'an talks about humans who purified themselves and about human efforts toward refinement (35:18). Humans have been described by the Qur'an as clean (19:19). Some human self-refinement, Tazkiyah, involves: correct and firm `Aqidah, fulfillment of acts of worship, avoiding the forbidden, generally being conscious of the Creator, and constant meditation about the creation. This is followed by personal development and improvement, which consist of a good character and behavior; assertiveness, and self-confidence. An individual may not succeed alone. Living in a righteous community surrounded by others is necessary to motivate and encourage refinement. Islam is a practical religion. Achievement of purity is through action. Good behavior, avoiding bad behavior, and being strong and assertive in making correct choices is the practical way to purity.

    Preliminaries of Tazkiyah

     

     

    Good intentions: Tazkiyah is not accidental. It is a pro-active process. It must be based on the good and sincere intention to please Allah and draw near to Him. The process of Tazkiyah can not be sustained if done for other reasons.

     

    Commitment: Tazkiyah can be a difficult process especially at the start. Some may try and think of giving up. Continuing commitment is needed to be able to travel all the way to the end of the process.

     

    Being true: The person undertaking Tazkiyah must be true to self, to others and to Allah. True to self means understanding and accepting yourself as you are with all the negatives and positives such that the negatives can be suppressed while the positives can be enhanced. Being true to others is saying and acting according to the truth and never deceiving or giving the wrong impressions.

     

     

    Earnest entreaty to Allah: Tazkiyah requires that a very strong desire and longing to turn to Allah and get closer to Him. This gives a sense of direction and a sense of purpose to the Tazkiyah efforts.

    Tazkiyah at the Conceptual Level

     

    Answering the call of Allah: The path of virtue is the straight path. Humans must stick to the straight path. Sticking to the straight path has a lot of virtues (41:30-32). Those who stick to the path of virtue are answering the call of Allah (8:24). The misguided ignore this call or turn away from it. They end up following the wrong paths that lead them to perdition.

     

    Renouncing materialism (Zuhd): Zuhd means giving priority to the after life. Preferring the material world is severely condemned by the Qur’an. The Hereafter is better than the material world (3:14-15). Zuhd has been misunderstood by many down the centuries. It does not mean withdrawal from life and making no contribution to the building of a material civilization. Neither does it mean refusing to enjoy the bounties that Allah put on earth for the benefit of humans. Living like a hermit may not be the total or only meaning of Zuhd. Zuhd means belittling materialism and having a correct relation to material goods as things to be used by humans in the fulfillment of their duties to Allah and not as masters who control human behavior.

     

    A person may own a lot of money and material goods but he knows that in front of Allah they are worth very little. He will not be intoxicated by nor worship material goods. He will have a higher scale of values that he refers to. His maximum pleasure will not be attained by material possessions. Zuhd also means not selling eternal values for the sake of temporary material advantage on earth; such a trade is indeed a losing trade. A human should live on earth as a stranger or a traveler in the knowledge that the life in the Hereafter is eternal and that all the time spent on earth should be used to prepare for the Hereafter.

     

    Vigilance against Satan: Satan is an enemy of humans. A human who wants to stay pure must be vigilant against Satan's influence. Satan has limited influence over human action. He causes waswasah (Satanic whispers). He leads astray. Satan is never away from humans. Every human has a Satan around him or her. The Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, in a very revealing metaphor said that Satan circulates in the human body as does the blood. Satan will always try to confuse humans. He, for example, will attempt to prevent the human from waking up in the morning to pray. The human is however not helpless against Satan. There are many simple actions that will chase Satan away and all of these are part of the process of Tazkiyah. The sound of Adhan makes the Satan run away. Reading thr Qur'an also chases away Satan. Thus a human who is regular in prayer and recites the Qur'an often as a guide to life will be vigilant against the machinations of Satan."

     

     

    Excerpted, with modifications, from:

     

    http://www.commhlth.medic.ukm.my

     

     

    Allah Almighty knows best.

     

    www.islamonline.net

  6. Posted

    Asalamu Alaykum dear akhi Nur

     

    I hope you are in good health and Iman.

     

    I just came online, saw this thread of yours, and picked up my Quran and started reading. Thanks for your reminders!

     

    Jazakallahu Khair!

     

    salaam - peace!

  10. Posted

    Palestinian Birthmarked With Martyr Uncle's Name

     

    pic07.jpg

    The birthmark forms the Arabic letters of 'علاء'

     

    By Suliman Besharat, IOL Correspondent

     

    BETHLEHEM, December 2 (IslamOnline.net) – In a world where miracles have become something of a rarity, thousands of Palestinians in the West Bank city of Bethlehem marveled at a newly born baby who had a large reddish birthmark on his right cheek forming the Arabic letters of his martyr uncle’s name – علاء -.

     

    The baby was born at Laylat Al-Qadr, which is revered by Muslims as the night in which the holy Qur'an was revealed to Prophet Muhammad (PBUH).

     

    The story of the "miracle baby" was first reported Monday, December 1, by Reuters before hitting the headlines in international media outlets.

     

    The visible 10-cm birthmark finishes behind the baby's right ear.

     

    He was named after his uncle Alaa, a member of the Islamic resistance movement Hamas, who was assassinated on March 25 by an Israeli special force in Bethlehem, the birthplace of Jesus Christ.

     

    Iyyad Hassan, the father of the "miracle baby", told IslamOnline.net that Alaa was a gift from God.

     

    "God rewarded us after we had lost my brother Alaa, who was deeply religious. He was born at a blessed night and I pray that he would be a good son," added the father.

     

    He recalled that the baby's grandmother, Eisha Ayyad, told them she saw a reddish flower on Alaa’s right cheek.

     

    "To our surprise, we found the name of his martyr uncle Alaa just right on his cheek, which was perfectly visible" added the father.

     

    The grandmother said the birthmark proved that the Israeli soldiers "can kill our sons, but not our spirits".

     

    Alaa’s mother also spoke about the characteristics of her "miracle baby", saying that he always sleeps at his left side as if to draw every body’s attention to his birthmark.

     

    Abu Emad, the baby's grandfather, said Alaa was a gift from heavens.

     

    "I have been missing my son Alaa since his martyrdom, because he is very dear to my heart. But the birth of my grandson bodes well and I pray God to reward my son with Paradise," he told IOL.

     

    "I think this divine miracle serves as a strong message for Jews, telling them our martyrs are being held in high esteem whether in death or in life."

     

    The grandfather also had a message for the hawkish Israeli prime minister, Ariel Sharon.

     

    "I want to tell Sharon that although he goes on slaying our sons, their names are carved on our hearts and the flesh of their sons."

  12. Posted

    Asalamu Alaykum nomads and Eid Mubarak.

     

    bro Nur - akhi what do think of the Media. What are some of the guidelines to create a pure Islamic Media organization.

     

    and what about the entertainment side. I see Animation movies, some based on true stories, and others not based on true stories. what is the rulling of making a movie that is Islamicly acceptable.

     

    I have heard some people say - the stories must be true, muslims can't play Kafir roles, no one can play the sahabah or the great scholars. ect..

     

    It is a question that has been on my mind for long time. The kufar are succeeding in promoting their values and cultures thru hollywood or bollywood, "Is it possible to create an Islamic Media to counter these?"

     

    Macasalaamah. peace.

  14. Posted

    ali2.jpg

    Muhammad Ali

     

     

    Somalitalk: Boqorka Feerka Adduunka Mudane Muhammed Ali Clay oo nabad ugu baaqay Soomaalida munaasabadda Ciidda Socdaal nabadeed la filayay Muhammed Ali inuu ku yimaado Minnesota oo la baajiyay.

     

    Qaar ka tirsan waxgaradka Soomaaliyeed ee Minnesota ku nool ayaa in muddo ahba qaban qaabinayay booqasho uu ku iman lahaa Minnesota Mudane Muhammad Ali hase yeeshee ma suurtoobin caafimaadkiisa awgeed balse wuxuu codsaday in fariin nabadeed laga gaarsiiyo umadda Soomaaliyeed. Kim Vidt oo ah xoghaytiisa gaar ka ah oo khadka telefoonka igula soo hadashay ayaa waxay tiri sidan “ Mudane Muhammed Ali Clay waa uu la socdaa dhibta ku habsatay 13kii sano ee u danbaysay umadda Soomaaliyeed iyo dawlad la’aanta iyo shirarkii badnaa ee waxba ka soo bixi waayeen. Asaga iyo qoyskiisaba aad ayay uga tiiraanyaysan yihiin dhibta haysta ummadda soomaaliyeed yar iyo weynba.”

     

    Kim oo hadalkeedii sii wadata waxay tiri “Muhammed Ali Clay waxa uu codsnayaa in Soomaalida laga gaarsiiyo meelkasta oo ay joogaan inuu u rajaynayo nabad, horumar, iyo dawlad badbaadisa inta ka hartay”.

     

    source: read more...

     

    Qore: Maxamuud Nuur Wardheere

    mnwardere@yahoo.com

    Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA

    Nov 25, 2003

  18. Posted

    Star journalist embraces the hijab

    _39525588_pair_afp203.jpg

    Now and then

     

    BBC: Star Algerian journalist Khadija Ben Ganna - of al-Jazeera television - decided to put on the hijab one day before the Eid al-Fitr holiday that began on Tuesday in most Muslim countries.

     

    Ben Ganna said she managed to "defeat the devil" after three years of mulling over the idea of wearing the veil, adding that she came under no pressure from the channel's management.

     

    "The board of directors' view was that it was a personal matter that would only be evaluated on a professional basis," she said.

     

    Screen tests were conducted two years ago with the journalist wearing the hijab, but she hesitated over adopting it on screen.

     

    Ben Ganna said the decisive moment for her came after a one-on-one with Egyptian Islamic preacher Omar Abdul Kafi, who appeared on an al-Jazeera programme called Sharia (Islamic law) and Life.

     

    Al-Jazeera is majority-owned by the Qatari government and beamed via satellite to millions of viewers around the world.

     

    One of al-Jazeera's other star reporters, Taysir Allouni, was arrested in September in Spain on charges of allegedly being "a member of a terrorist group" and using trips to Kabul to forge links with al-Qaeda.

     

    He was later released on bail.

     

    In mid-November al-Jazeera appointed a new board of directors and a new manager in a reshuffle to "enhance the station's capabilities and ensure the standards of professionalism".

  21. Posted

    1. There is a duck in front of a duck, a duck behind a duck, and a duck in front of that one. How many ducks are there?

    Answer: 2 ducks

    2. A man builds a house with all the walls facing South. One day, he looks out of the window and sees a bear walking by. What colour is the bear?

    Answer: White - the man is at the north pole

    6. Which word has more letters, 'visualise' or 'fantasise'?

    Answer: equall letters

    7. What would you call a donut shaped object made of metal that someone might put on a finger?

    Answer: a Ring

    8. If you had only one match, one apple, a feather, but no lighter, and went in a pitch black room which contained an oil lamp, an open fire and a gas heater, which would you light first?

    Answer: the match

    16. These are the instructions on a treasure map. "Starting at point A, walk twenty paces North, sixty paces due East, and twenty paces due South and dig." You follow the instructions and find you are back where you started. Where, geographically, is the treasure buried?

    Answer: it is buried at the started point.

    Harder ones

     

    4. The man was held in a cell with two doors, one of which led to freedom, the other to the gallows. With him in the cell were two warders, one of whom always spoke the truth, the other always told lies. There warders did not converse & there was no way to determine which warder was which. The man was to leave the cell by one of the doors & was allowed to ask one question of one of the warders. The man asked the question & walked out through the door to freedom. What was the question?

    Answer: the question is: "if you were lying: which door would you say leeds to the gallows?"

    then the truth teller will point to the freedom-door and the lier would also point to the freedom-door. I'm not sure

  23. Posted

    Zumdick’s philosophy against Somalia

    By Michael Oti Adjei

     

    _1697404_somalitraining300.jpg

     

    Ralf Zumdick knows Ghana football well enough to be aware that, with the senior national team, every game is a potential loss.

     

    For a country with four African titles and a reputation in international competitions which many countries would do everything to get, games against countries like Somalia should have been one of those that pass quietly by as if nothing was happening.

     

    But it’s been some while since Ghana managed to afford that luxury. Somehow, teams seeking to forage onto the international scene have always undone the Black Stars.

     

    Countries like Burundi, Togo and Rwanda, have found in Ghana the perfect sleeping giant on whose back they have ridden to international fame.

     

    With that in mind, Zumdick is approaching the Somalia match with great caution. Last Monday, after running through his files and programmes with Abedi Pele, he declared satisfaction with the response of his foreign-based players slated for the match, which will have a significant bearing on the country’s future in international football.

     

    “You see, at this moment, we are not in a position to underrate any side. We have no other option than to win,” he said.

     

    The German knows very little about the Somalis but that means very little to him. As far as he is concerned, all that matters is to get Ghana back on a respectable pedestal on the international scene after the pain of missing out on the 2004 Nations Cup.

     

    “These days, the big boys are once in a while embarrassed by smaller teams. They all can play football now.”

     

    ...... For now, Zumdick would be under pressure to get Ghana past Somalia. Football’s nature notwithstanding, the chances of an upset in this two-legged encounter, both of which take place in Ghana, are very slim and improbable in many ways.

     

    And just to remind everyone, failure to beat Somalia would mean no nations cup and world cup for Ghana in 2006. It would mean effectively that Ghana would be inactive in serious international football for the next two years.

     

    http://www.ghanaian-chronicle.com/231114/page2e.htm

  24. Posted

    SOMALIA-TANZANIA: Focus on the return home of Somali Bantus

     

    20031114.JPG

     

    CHOGO, 14 Nov 2003 (IRIN) - Sitting on a hard bench, wearing a smile on his face and soaking up the warmth of the early morning sun, Hassan Athuman Bamira appears to be at ease.

    For Bamira, 9 November was a big day. He is the chairman of the Somali Bantus in Tanzania, and UN High Commissioner for Refugees Ruud Lubbers, along with other officials, were visiting this "special" group of 3,336 refugees who have been allowed to settle in Chogo, a remote village in the northeastern Tanga region.

    But Bamira did not allow himself to be distracted by the frenzy of activity, as people and four-wheel drive vehicles tore around the place. Last minute preparations were made and, to the wonder of the crowd, a helicopter landed in a cloud of dust, depositing Lubbers and his entourage.

    Bamira concentrated on the more important matters at hand: helping a community resettle and rediscover its home, 200 years after being uprooted and after an additional decade of wandering and war.

    "We are happy to be back, but we have to get on with things," he said. "We need to organise our lives, get ourselves established and start farming. The land here is fertile, but we have not really had time to farm."

    The Somali Bantus are described as "special" refugees because they have been allowed to return home, to northeastern Tanzania, where they have been given land and will be offered citizenship.

    Their forefathers were from the Zigua and Zaramo ethnic communities, who live in the area and, in the early 19th Century, were taken by slavers to work on plantations and industries in Somalia. In the 1830's, following droughts and in an effort to avoid famine others trailed after them, attracted by the allure of work in a distant land.

    And, even after slavery officially ended at the turn of the century, the Somali Bantu remained in Somalia. Due to the physical landscape and the attitudes of other ethnic groups, the environment made for a difficult return home. Instead, they worked on plantations as labourers, some settled in cities and others were conscripted into the army.

    A majority of Somalis are of Cushitic stock and are mainly tall, with sharp facial features while Bantus are mainly of a shorter and stockier build. The Somali Bantu, clearly distinguishable because of their features, were excluded from the traditional Somali clan network and, as a result, are often treated as second-class citizens, they say.

    "When the civil war started, I was in the army, living in Kismayu, but I decided to flee in 1992," Bamira said. "The war was harsh and, as Bantus, we were treated badly. In Somalia, I had heard stories about home and so I just travelled here."

    And over the last decade, at least 3,000 Somali Bantu have joined Bamira in Tanzania. In April 2003, because of their ancestral links, the government allocated them 21 sq km of land for their resettlement at Chogo and offered them citizenship.

    During Lubbers's visit, the government was quick to remind them that they were indeed a special case and, therefore, had responsibilities.

    "Because of your blood links, we have treated you specially," Ramadhan Omar Mapuri, Tanzania's home affairs minister, told the refugees on 9 November. "Unlike normal refugees, we have given you land. You should use this land and treat it like gold."

    He added, "We are looking after you now, but you should not expect this to last forever. You need to be independent so you will be less of a burden on the host community."

    While acknowledging the difficulties the Somali Bantu had experienced, Lubbers also highlighted the need for them to get on with their lives.

    "I am aware that it is not all that easy because you have to organise yourselves and build houses and then begin your farming, but we will try and assist you," he said. "You are refugees but you will soon become citizens again. You have the right to assistance, but you have a duty to build your own lives."

    Although the Tanzanian government has offered them citizenship, Bamira said that the refugees were cautious about accepting it immediately, preferring instead to wait until they were established in their new homes.

    Aid to them is due to be withdrawn by the end of 2004, but the Somali Bantus fear that if they accept citizenship before that, the date of the discontinuation of aid might be brought forward.

    The refugees have been receiving aid from UNHCR and the government in the form of building materials, basic education, food and non-food items, healthcare and water. But, with Lubbers in attendance, Bamira drew attention to additional difficulties.

    "We have problems with water," he said. "Sometimes we go for several days without water because there is a breakdown in the main water supply. Because of the disruption to our farming activities during the move here and the setting up of the camp, the food rations that we receive are not enough."

    Also on the list was a demand for the construction of a secondary school. At the moment, he says, primary school leavers walk long distances to a secondary school that they share with their Tanzanian neighbours.

    But, more than anything else, Bamira, whose people are renown for their industriousness, has dreams that should ease the concerns of the UNHCR and the government.

    "In Somalia, where we farmed fruit, there was an Italian company that gave us loans until harvesting. It worked well and we would like to see the same thing happen here so we can look after ourselves," he said.

    "We have a good relationship with the people here. They see us as their brothers. Of course, there are a few people who are disgruntled about the fact that we receive assistance, but you can't help that. It is normal. We will all settle in," he said.

     

    [ENDS]