Come to think of it LT, you might have a point... ...one thing is for sure, you sure as heck not going to come anywhere near my sisters... :cool:

Originally posted by Lt-Qalbi-Adeyg: Hassan We aren't robots, doubts are part of life. Our imaan goes up and down, it's not static my friend, you should know that. LT, Have tried asking these questions to a shaykh?

I have noticed from recent reports by the New York times of how they are branding islam into different brands. Case and point is the article: For Somalia, Chaos Breeds Religious War They present what Islam is as what is followed by the ahlu sunna group and group al-shabaab/hisbul-is lam. ahlu sunna are the good sufis and al-shabaab are the savage extremist. it is the good muslim/bad muslim trick. But they do this in a false manner, here is an example of it: Many Somalis say that the Sufi version of Islam, which stresses tolerance, mysticism and a personal relationship with God, is more congruent with their traditions than the Wahhabi Islam espoused by the Shabab, which calls for strict separation of the sexes and harsh punishments like amputations and stonings. To them sufi islam is like western values with mystical tendencies. They say, "the Wahhabi Islam espoused by the Shabab, which calls for strict separation of the sexes and harsh punishments like amputations and stonings." They say this like this is not part of Islam! It is obvious that my personal views are not neutral and that they are more inline with the ahlu sunna wal jamaa'a ulamas of somalia than any other groups. however, to attribute what is part of Islam, which there is concensus even with shia shouldn't be limited to a group the west dislike and hence mark those aspects of Islam as un-acceptable to the west. Genuine sufis are most scrupiluous to the shariah than anyone else and this includes all of the sharah and not some of it or most of it, to the best of their abilities. A sufi who does otherwise is a fake one. The ahlu sunna group certainly don't need such false representation and propaganda. Shame on mr. gettlemen. their help is un-needed and detrimental.

Obviously if there is a need a brother should make sure to communicate effectively while keeping his gaze in control. Originally posted by Xena: ^^Well you are not a man, so you don't know if there is a balance between drooling over a woman or ignoring her. If you knew what goes on guys head, you would never put "normal, polite" in their thought process. There is nothing normal or polite about it, some are just good at hiding it, descriptive words for their thoughts would be ranging from animalistic to something else. This whole lets be friendly. Yet not friends is a pointless waste of time and a little game of “let me see how long he can pretend” Your wadaad bashing is going to make me give you a good verbal bashing! Don't make me P.s. Your argument, nor the authors has a leg to stand on in Islam, so forget about that. Right on! From what I read in the article, the sister is will intentioned but woefully ignorant of what is like to be a man. had you sisters have known the inner workings of young men and perhaps older men, I assure you you would not leave you homes. Ask yourself this why is prostitution and such a pornography big business among men since the dawn of time? Originally posted by Nehanda: A modestly dressed sister = potential partner so perhaps they simply feel shy or this is their way of expressing their respect. Masha-Allah, my sentiments exactly. Brothers tend to feel there is less temptation with non-Muslim women because no self-respecting brother would want to marry a non-muslim girl, so they don't entertain such possibilities. It could be that this is in reality a delusion by shaytan. I think a valid criticism would be to criticize brothers for being so lax with non-Muslim women as 1) this improper islamically 2) it will generate unwarranted desire sooner or later and 3) it makes the sisters feel that there is something wrong with them or awkwardness or some other no-so-good feeling. Don't ask brothers to be as lax with you as they are with non-muslim women but rather ask them to be as scrupilous with them as they are with Muslim sisters.

Originally posted by osman_nz: Shakirullah and when did ibnul qayim become Allah? He is just a man with a opinion, if he was right or wrong allahu allam..but doesn't mean we have to accept whatever he says without daliil from the quran and obviously no quran dalil was provided. Lastly, did the prophet hate his uncle abu talib, who is burning in helll..did he hate his parents for the sake of allah? Afterall ibnul qayyim supposedly think's we should "hate for the sake of Allah". Like i said separate your role from Allah role, and recognize yourself as what Allah described us as which is "servants" of the lord. Marka ariimahas isla marki ka dhex bax ama akhiro sucaalo badan baa ku sugeyo.. I personally follow the sufi way...and adhere to the hadith "The Shariah is my words, the tariqa is my actions, and the haqiqa is my interior states" We believe the shariah, tariqa and haqiqa are mutually interdependent.The tariqa, the ‘path’ on which the mystics walk, has been defined as ‘the path which comes out of the Shariah, for the main road is called shar, the path, tariq.’ No mystical experience can be realized if the binding injunctions of the Shariah are not followed faithfully first. The path, tariqa, however, is narrower and more difficult to walk. It leads the adept, called sâlik (wayfarer), in his suluk (wayfaring), through different stations (maqaamat) until he reaches his goal, the perfect tawhîd, the existential confession that God is One It looks like you know a lot about tasawwuf. Still, it is not befitting for an aspirant of tasawwuf to have his tagline something that is blasphemous...it is words of kufr...there are no such things as gods, there is only one God. By doing this you're giving those you aspire to a bad name. Having something like that as a tagline has got to be haraam, wallahu aclam.

This is a very dirty topic to get into... However, if you think the conflict between ahlu-sunna and al-shabaab is on clan-basis you're woefully mistaken. They are irreconcilable groups...this is religious war between them in every sense of the word...it was brewing for over decades now and it is manifesting itself finally in combat... hassan dahir aweys is getting very close to fulfilling his dream of establishing al-itihaad. Had shariif played to his tune as a sub-ordinate should have and had his armed soldiers not been as idiotic enough as to cause a war with ethiopia he would have succeeded. but it was not meant be. and now this ahlu sunna group is the only group left that is giving them a real fight, they're note afraid to die at the hands of al-shabaab as they don't perceive al-shabaab as being on a higher moral ground as they have with the other groups that are tribal based. one thing is for sure they are confident about their belief system. this thing about ethiopia supporting them is bogus! if ethiopia was truly supporting them financially, al-shabaab would have been devastated...but you can see they are on their own as they can barely take over wabho...

PS: if you're family would not want you to marry a somali, it is best to heed their advice...who knows there might be a time when you might need them and they wont help you as fully as they could cause they weren't too hot about your marital decisions. Whatever you do make sure your parents are happy with it, that is the way to get the best outcome. I'm sure there are excellent pakistani brothers in England. I know several of them myself.

divorce rate thing is common to most westernized muslims regardless of culture. If you went back to Somalia, to the peaceful country side, I doubt you'd see much divorce as those people hold more tightly to the culture which is deeply impacted by Islam.

Our mosque is full of pakistanis...I sure do enjoy their gulab jammons when we have pakistani food in ramadhan. Sister1001 can you remind your family if they ever want to bring food to a mosque with a significant non-subcontinent people to take it easy on the hot spices? I'm sure they'd appreciate it. I love the food, but it gets too spicy for us some times. See we somalis are geniuses, we separate the hot spice, known as bisbaas, from the food. So those that want a lot can have a lot and those that want slight amounts can have that. Also, there are the bananas, but I guess one thing at a time.

Here is a good piece on reason: Reason as a Balance, the evolution of 'aql

This I believe to be true. However, the intellect is still needed for deciphering the signs of Allah (SAW) that are around us. This is why the Qur'an criticizes the pagan arabs as qawmun la yacqiluun. Because they did not use their intellects to recognize the signs of their lord but used it instead to accumulate wealth, fame and fortune and other worldly things. Even when used properly, it is like a beast of burden. It is useful for ones navigation, but it can only take you so far just as your beast of burden can not help you cross the ocean. The intellect can not inform you of other worldly things, life-after death, punishment, reward and so on. For this, which has eternal consequences one must rely upon revelation. Properly functioning intellect will recognize its limitations and will submit to revelation, is revelation is from it is Creator, who is much more knowledgeable of reality than it could if imagine. Therefore, Al Naqlu Muqaddamun Canil Caql, is true. However, the intellect is still important, least of all it is needed for sifting through things, for example, whose Naqlu are you going to put more value or trust? If you haven't noticed there is much Naql, the intellect is needed for the coming to the right Naql. When one is confident of the correct Naql, one must submit to it. Also, the Qur'an mentions it as something that is important so we should not belittle that. Wallah aclam.

Br. Nur, Can you please translate into english? I'm not fluent at all in Somalia, so I'd just be spending my time trying to make out the sentences... I know you're english is excellent, so I hope you will help us.

I'm might be stoking up some fires by saying this, however, unfortunately, the ICU turned out to be not what we thought. It is unfortunate that we mis-interpreted the short peace that existed during their rule. Had they been who they've claimed to be, they would not have split into so many different groups.

Originally posted by chocolate & honey: quote: should we make rules and search confirmation in quran and sunnah thus declaring our legislation law? This is the most dangerous Idea I have heard regarding Shari'a law. Our hands are already full with Al-Shabaab and other ahlu's who are forever declaring Jihad and issuing assisanations based on who is the "munaafiq" or "kaafir" of the day :eek: . You can't make up rules period!! :rolleyes: Everything you need is already revealed. The Qur'an is complete. It seems that it is precisely because that Muslims have for one reason or another felt that Islam needed to be reformed that we are now with groups that are extreme on both sides of the spectrum. You have those that are very extremely harsh in trying to uphold the religion and then you have those that are so loose they are extremely lacking in their religion. All because Muslims felt Islam needed to be reformed. They got their wish and it is not pretty!

Unfortunately Many think that the Sunnah is about being rough and tough and harsh. Not true!

Yeah, thats what I was talking about. It is just that our understanding of the Sunnah has become shallow and fragmented. It is precisely because the Sunnah is for the most part about Mercy that if you try to disregard Mercy in your application of a distorted type of the Sunnah that you end up loosing the Sunnah altogether. Mercy and Sunnah are interdependent and a Sunnah that is missing mercy is not the real Sunnah of the Prophet PBUH.

ooopsss... I just realized they were predictions... phew....

This is no good. I have nothing against east-african people but to let loose such populations with high AIDS infection rate is not good. Can you point me towards where they state these laws? it is quite disturbing.

Excellent questions Nur. I've heard it many times from shuyuukh and teachers. I never really bothered to look for the hadith sources as I trust them. I'll look for them and post the sources when I find them. As for the tagline. It is from the contentions of Sh. Abdal-Hakim Murad aka TJ Winter of Cambridge. My understanding of it is that in applying the Sunnah you must do it in a merciful way, with a heart truely merciful towards others. And also not to be harsh with people and force them to apply the sunnah all at once. This will wear them out and put them off. You must do it in gradual stages. This is my understanding of it. The shaykh doesn't put commentary on it, however, if one reads his essays, I believe one would get to an understand that is close to that. Also, from life experience, truely those with merciful hearts are the one who really bring people to act upon the sunnah. Wa allahu aclam.

Kool_Kat, you maybe onto something!

Originally posted by LT-QA: I think most of us live by pascals gambit, we cannot logically prove that god exists, but probability wise, we have less to lose from just believing than not believing in god. I think that's how I've been reasoning for a long time, but that is a flawed reason, and it suggests that god is petty god that rewards hypocrisy and not genuine goodness. More jumbled questions that are usually on my mind: How do you reconcile free will and destiny? LT, you should speak for yourself. Just because you happened to be plagued with doubts at this moment does not mean that others also don't have certitude in their faith. For some people doubting the truth of Islam never crosses their mind. There are some that even anything considered offensive in the shariah, let alone haram, would not even cross their mind. btw, you might benefit from asking real shaykhs instead of SOL members as we're just average people and only a knowledgeable person can answer such questions...

Wow! :eek: I'm quite surprised at the level of admiration this woman is receiving from so many SOL members... are we in such doubt of the un-paralleled clarity and superiority of our Islamic Tradition?

A banana goes very well with the salty sauce and cools the spiceness of the bisbaas. Very taste. Here in seattle, other local muslim communities such as the cham from loas/cambodia, have started eating their meals with bananas... Originally posted by Amina/Tammy: Yes I agree to an extent, but, any food can be made healthier. Just by limiting the oil and ghee will reduce the amount of fat. ghee used moderately is very healthy for you, not only does it fill you up with little food, but it also as many nutrients that are missing from the very processed oils we normally use.

A very Beneficial blog! Thank you Amina/Tammy. Even as a male I don't cook that much, at times I do get the urge to have a somali cousine. This kind of a blog is wonderful. I'm already digging your very methodical sabaya recipes! Wow!

Take the military-industrial complex and you've solved the 50% of the war on terror. Take away the desire to dominate the world and forcefully take other people's resources and you've solved the other 50% of the war on terror.