Viking, The reason we are having such difficulties in our communication I think, is mainly due to your "cocktail" approach to the discussion. You are failing to distinguish the source and the topic, the issue and the subject, and on top of that, you are mixing your private feelings in what is a serious matter! If we don't take the responsibility to create a logic structure, in which we can present our views, then I'm afraid that we could remain dancing in circles around a very dangerous fire forever! If I may go back to this specific thread, the reason I raised my objections were based on the fact that you posted a link, which you yourself would NOT deny, that contains some falsehoods. You have a choice, to either agree or disagree with me. If you disagree with me, then fine, we'll present our respective cases. If you wish to clear up some other unsolved grievances in previous threads, then it's fine too, let's go back to that particular thread and deal with it. And by the way you have repeated the Liar and Evil case scenario so many times in your posts, that I'm willing to put forward to you this suggestion: Make it your signature, so it may not directly distract us from the issues at had, and we both can be happy.

Thanks sis, Taqwa, may your name reflect your heart. These lines are an extract from the translation of Ibn Al-Qayyim’s poem, which has been given the title, “The Journey of Love"

In the name of Allah, Most Gracious, Most Merciful. Dear brothers and sisters, The previous topic I posted relating to remindings of steadfastness in religion, is by virtue, relative to life in this world, universal and timeless in nature. This means that trials, afflictions and temptations are indiscriminate to one’s situation and position in society. As any person of understanding would explain to you with regards to the workings of Allah’s Sunnan Al-Kawni, that you are either way tested, because that is the reason Allah created us in the first place, and sent us prophets and messengers to teach and show us how to pass these tests. Having accepted that fact, there is one more crucial aspect missing from the writing of the Sheekh (may Allah reward him generously for his efforts), which I have described as universal and timeless in nature due to its continuous validity of one’s lifetime. This other aspect however is not always valid and has no universality and timelessness in its application, but when it becomes valid; it is WAJIB and may have priority over all the other aspects of steadfastness in religion listed in that particular writing. This important aspect is known as HIJRAH, which is the migration from the lands and places of disbelief, fitnah, fasahaad, oppression and everything else that compromises your Diin or forms an obstacle between you and your Lord. Reasons for making Hijrah include: 1) To stand, remain and secure our firmness on The Straight Path. If there is a lesson that can be taken from the Qur’aan and Sunnah is that, to believe alone is not enough. The lesson here is to believe, and then act accordingly to remain and stand firm in that belief, by doing all that is necessary to maintain that “fire of faith†burning and to protect it from all the dangers or tribulations that could extinguish that fire. Hence Hijrah becomes sometimes obligatory upon you, and if you ignore that important obligation, then know you are a “daalimun li-nafsihâ€! (daliil available on request if in doubt about the point) 2) To avoid Disbelievers having authority over Believers. Allah made us His vicegerents on earth, chose for us Islam as our religion and gave us the Shariicah to rule and do justice among ourselves. Is it then not disgrace to place ourselves in a position where there is a power other than that of Allah ruling over us? Allah says: “And obey not him whose heart We have made neglectful of Our remembrance, and who follows his desires, and whose every affair has turned into excess.†(Suuratul-Kahf 28) “And obey not the commandments of those who exceed their bounds-those who spread corruption on earth, and set not things right.†(Suuratul-Shuuraa 151-152) We all understand that a degree of sacrifice would be needed to submit ourselves to these Commandments of Allah, but Allah, Most Gracious, Most Merciful, in His Bounty always rewards those who believe and obey in both worlds. We have been promised the gardens of bliss in the hereafter, and in this life Allah promised us victory, saying: “Faint not, neither sorrow, for you shall be dominant if you are (truly) Believers.†(Suuratul-Cimraan) “God has promised those of you who believe and do good deeds that He will surely make them gain power on earth, even as He made those gain power who were before them and that He will surely firmly establish their Way for them that He has approved for them, and that He will replace their state of fear with peace; let them serve Me alone and take no gods beside Me.†(Suuratul-Nuur 55) 3) To associate oneself with the Ummah. The foundational building blocks of this Ummah has been started by few men and women who, by fulfilling their noble obligation of Hijrah, has sacrificed so much of their lives and Allah caused these Muhajiroon to become the light of this Ummah. To associate oneself with the Ummah of Prophet Muxammad (peace and blessings be upon him), it is obvious that one should fulfil the necessary conditions (besides believing) to be part of this Ummah. He (peace and blessings be upon him) said: “I am not responsible for any Muslim who stays among polytheists†He (peace and blessings be upon him) also said: “Whoever joins the disbelievers and lives amongst them is one of them†4) To disassociate oneself from the disbelievers. Here is to be understood that there always should be a clear psychological, practical and ideological divisions between the believers and disbelievers. Allah says: “The believers shall not take the disbelievers as allies instead of believers, and whoever does that shall never be helped by Allah in any way, except if you fear a danger from them. And Allah warns you against Himself, and to Allah is the final return.†(Suuratul-Cimraan 28) “O you who believe! Do not take the Jews and Christians as protectors, they are protectors of one another, whoever takes them as protectors is one of them. Verily, Allah guides not those who are the wrongdoers.†(Suuratul-Maa’idah 51) “Those who have believed, but have not migrated- you have no (duties of) friendship to them till they migrate.†(Suuratul-Anfaal 72) 5) To get closer to Allah. First of all, making a Hijrah is to follow the footsteps of our beloved Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), and the following of his Sunnah, is The Way to get closer to Allah (swt). There is actually much deeper meaning to this form of Hijrah, which is not merely the physical movement between two places, but there is more important spiritual journey to be travelled. This is a journey which transcends almost everything else in this world, when done for the love of Allah and his Prophet, will also create love between believers, for no reason other than for the sake of Allah. As narrated from our Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) that: “Allah will say on the day of resurrection: Where are those who loved each other for My Glory? Today I shall shade them with My Shade on a day where there is no shade except My Shade.†Allah bestows that invaluable ideological growth within the religious-self only upon the few favoured ones. This is one of the ultimate symbols of obedience, and has not always to do with actual movements of the body, but includes all intentional divorce from the material world to gain the pleasure of Allah. Have you yet thought about the secret of Ibraahiim (cs), and how and why he became such a close friend of Allah? What is the meaning when he says; “I am going to my Lord, He shall guide me†and “I will emigrate for the sake of my Lordâ€? There can be found only one other spiritual journey which is higher is status in Allah’s Sight and Love, and that is only bestowed upon the martyrs of “fii sabiili-Laah†whose journeys is not merely between two places in this world, but between worlds! 6) To be rewarded by Allah in this life and the hereafter. Allah says in the Qur’aan: “They who believe, and those who migrate and strive hard in Allah’s way- it is they who hope for Allah’s mercy.†(Suuratul-Baqarah 216) “He who emigrates for the sake of Allah, will find on earth many dwelling places and plenty to live by. And whosoever leaves his home as an emigrant unto Allah and His Messenger, and death overtakes him, his reward is then surely incumbent upon Allah. And Allah is Ever Oft-Forgiving, Most Merciful.†(Suuratul-Nisaa 100) “Those who emigrated for the sake of Allah after having suffered prosecution shall be settled in comfort in this world, but indeed the reward in the hereafter will be greater, if they but knew! (they are) those who were steadfast and put their trust in their Lord.†(Suuratul-Naxl 41-42) “Those who believe and who migrated and who struggled in the Path of Allah, and those who gave shelter and aid, these are the true believers. Forgiveness and bountiful provisions are theirs.†(Suuratul-Anfaal 74) 7) To avoid Allah’s punishments. Surely, no explanations are needed here, for only a fool would believe in Allah and the Day of Judgement, and yet not fear His punishments! The way to recognise whether an individual truly fears Allah, is when he stays away from what is prohibited and dutifully obeys what is commanded. There are no secrets as Allah made us clear the consequences of our failure to comply with His Divine guidance, and hence all the possible excuses which may be used or could be blamed for one’s failure to comply with His commandments are removed. Allah informs us in His Qur’aan: “Verily! As for those whom the Angels have taken (in death) while they are wronging themselves (as they stayed among the disbelievers even though emigration was obligatory upon them), they (angels) ask them, ‘In what condition were you?’ They reply, ‘We were weak and oppressed on earth.’ The Angels ask, ‘Was not the earth of Allah spacious enough for you to migrate therein?’ Such men will find their abode in Hell- what an evil destination!†(Suuratul-Nisaa 97) “Say, If your fathers, your sons, your brothers, your wives, your kinsmen, the wealth which you have acquired, the commerce in which you fear a decline, or the dwellings in which you delight- if these are dearer to you than Allah and His Messenger, and striving hard and fighting in His cause, then wait until Allah brings about His Decision (Torment). Allah does not guide those who are disobedient to Allah.†(Suuratul-Tawbah 24) There are more reasons for making Hijrah of which I am ignorant of at the present moment, but trust upon other SOL nomads to enlighten me with their insight. My intention for starting this thread is not to convince anyone by what I write (I wouldn’t mind though), but to create understanding and awareness of the matter, so that we can escape from the ignorance that is blinding us to see our priorities in proportions. Once we open our eyes, the biggest obstacle that is preventing us to act and struggle drastically in the Way of Allah, becomes irrelevant and very easy. Therefore this thread is related to the first step (if we assume that there are only two steps in life, knowledge and action, of which knowledge is the first step) and hope we all could understand the importance of this issue, then come to a conclusion we all agree upon. Useful methods and sources of understanding before one can come to conclusions may be: a) The Qur’aan and Sunnah, by reflecting upon their meaning and your life in midst of disbelief. When Allah says to you: “they will not stop fighting you until they turn you away from your religion, if they are able†(2:217), and yet you remain ignorant of the meaning of that verse, does it mean that you are given immunity by either party? b) Refer back to great scholars and men of letters who absolutely understood the meaning of that particular verse, and reflected on the Qur’aan and Sunnah for many years in their quest for Allah’s pleasures, who have come to the following conclutions; “the state of a place reflects the state of a person…..Thus, a person becomes like the place of his abode. The migration of a person from a land of disbelief and profanity to one of faith and probity is an expression of repentance and of his turning away from disobedience and perversion to belief and obedience. This is so until the Day of Resurrection.†(Ibn Taymiyyah) “Those who would emigrate to non-Muslim lands in search of wealth or prosperity to live under their protection, while they were able to go to live amongst the Muslims in their own land, but still do not withdraw themselves from the disbelievers; such people are not far from the fold of disbelief, and we can find no excuse for them, so we ask Allah’s forgiveness.†(Ibn Xazm) c) Or you can observe the behaviour of the society you find yourself, and study them in a scientific and objective manner in a sociological or psychological perspective to come up with facts that could help you, like others before you to conclude: “In a minority-dominant group approach, the ideology behind the concepts of ‘assimilation’, ‘absorption’ or ‘integration’ reflect the ideology of the dominant group and, therefore, is usually considered to upset the equalisation of social relations in the society.†(Dr. Muxammad Anwar) d) Common sense and logic will also show you, without having any knowledge about the Ghayb, that one can make educated guesses about the future of Muslim communities in the west. Even though it was ignorance that brought us here in the first place and most of us on SOL came here with their parents not knowing anything, we are now beginning to wake up and understand bit by bit, and it has become all too obvious that our religious existence is severely damaged and undermined solely due to our presence here. Just think about those who, in their delusion, used to advocate in favour of the religious freedoms we had here compared to some of other Muslim countries, they too realise now the inevitability of a doomsday as the dark clouds are already starting to gather above us. I would suggest to my brothers and sisters on this forum, in order to safeguard our children and religious existence, it’s obligatory upon us to migrate from this increasingly and actively hostile lands, to lands where we can fulfil our obligations to our Lord; the Lord of the worlds! I apologise for all the mistakes I made, it was from shaydaan, and may Allah guide us all to His Strait Path. WCWW

WASAA’IL AL-THABAAT MEANS OF STEADFASTNESS: STANDING FIRM IN ISLAM English Translation Book by Sheikh Muhammed Salih Al-Munajjid Introduction Praise be to Allaah; we praise Him and seek His help and forgiveness. We seek refuge with Allaah from the evil of our own selves and from our evil deeds. Whomsoever Allaah guides cannot be led astray, and whomsoever He leaves astray cannot be guided. I bear witness that there is no god except Allaah alone, with no partner, and I bear witness that Muhammad is His slave and Messenger. Steadfastness in the religion of Allaah is a basic requirement for every sincere Muslim who wants to follow the Straight Path with determination and understanding. This matter is of great importance for a number of reasons, including the following: 1. The present situation of the societies in which Muslims live, the types of temptation to which they are painfully exposed and the kinds of whims and desires, doubts and confusion which have caused religion to become something strange, so that those who adhere to it are likened to something weird, and people say: “The one who holds on to his religion is like one who holds on to a burning coal.†Anyone who has a brain will not doubt that Muslims today need the means of steadfastness more than their predecessors among the salaf did, and that the effort required is greater, because of the corruption of our times, and the scarcity and weakness of brothers and supporters who could help. 2. The high incidence of apostasy (riddah) and backsliding, even among those who are working for Islam, which causes Muslims to fear ending up the same way, so he seeks the means of standing firm so that he can reach dry land, as it were. 3. The relationship of this issue to the heart, of which the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: “It changes more than a pot of rapidly boiling water.†(Reported by Ahmad, 6/4; al-Haakim, 2/289; al-Silsilat al-Saheehah, 1772). The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) also gave another example of the heart: “The heart (qalb) takes its name from its constant changes (taqallub – alteration, variation, ups and downs). The likeness of the heart is that of a feather at the root of a tree, being turned over and over by the wind.†(Reported by Ahmad, 4/408; Saheeh al-Jaami’, 2364). As a later poet said: “He is only called insaan (man) because of his nasyaan (forgetfulness) And it is only called al-qalb (the heart) because it constantly varies (yataqallib).†Making the one stand firm who is tossed about by the winds of doubt and confusion is a serious matter which needs tremendous means as befits the seriousness and difficulty of the task at hand. It is part of Allaah’s mercy towards us that He has shown to us, in His Book and through the words and life of His Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) many ways of being steadfast in Islam. I will discuss some of them below. MEANS OF STEADFASTNESS IN ISLAM Turning towards the Qur’aan The Qur’aan is the foremost aid to standing firm in Islam. It is the strong rope and clear light of Allaah. Whoever adheres to it, Allaah will protect him; whoever follows it, Allaah will save him; and whoever calls to its way will be guided to the Straight Path. Allaah has stated that the reason why this Book was revealed in stages was to help His Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) to stand firm in his faith. In the context of refuting the doubts of the kuffaar, He says (interpretation of the meaning): “And those who disbelieve say, ‘Why is not the Qur’aan revealed to him all at once?’ Thus (it is sent down in parts), that We may strengthen your heart thereby. And We have revealed it to you gradually, in stages. And no example to similitude do they bring (to oppose or to find fault in you or in this Qur’aan), but We reveal to you the truth (against that similitude or example), and the better explanation thereof.†[al-Furqaan 25:32-33] Why is the Qur’aan such a source of strength? 1. Because it cultivates faith and purifies the soul through contact with Allaah. 2. Because these aayaat bring peace and tranquillity to the heart of the believer, so he will not be tossed about by the winds of fitnah; his heart will be content with the remembrance of Allaah. 3. Because it provides the Muslim with the correct understanding and values with which he will be able to evaluate the situation around him. It also gives him the standards against which he may judge things in a proper and consistent manner, without varying from one situation or person to another. 4. Because it refutes the doubts that are stirred up by the enemies of Islam, kuffaar and munaafiqeen alike, as in the following examples from the early days of Islam: (a) The effect of the aayah (interpretation of the meaning): “Your Lord (O Muhammad) has neither forsaken you nor hated you†[al-Duhaa 93:3] on the heart of the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him), when the mushrikoon said, “Muhammad has been forsaken…†(See Saheeh Muslim bi Sharh al-Nawawi, 12/156). (b) The effect of the aayah (interpretation of the meaning): “… The tongue of the man they refer to is foreign, while this (the Qur’aan) is a clear Arabic tongue†[al-Nahl 16:103]. The Quraysh claimed that Muhammad (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) was taught by a human being and that he took the Qur’aan from a Roman carpenter in Makkah. © The effect of the aayah (interpretation of the meaning): “…Surely they have fallen into trial [fitnah]…†[al-Tawbah 9:49] on the hearts of the believers, when the munaafiq had said, “Grant me leave (to be exampted from jihaad) and put me not into trial.†[al-Tawbah 9:49 – interpretation of the meaning]. Is it not the greatest of help, strengthening the heart of the believer, refuting doubts and silencing the voices of falsehood? Indeed it is, by Allaah. When the believers were coming back from al-Hudaybiyah, Allaah promised them much war booty which they alone would go and take (i.e., the booty of Khaybar). [He told them that] the munaafiqoon would ask to accompany them, but the Muslims would say, “You shall not follow us.†They would persist in trying to change the words of Allaah, and they would say to the believers, “Nay, you envy us,†to which Allaah responded by saying, “Nay, but they understand not except a little.†[al-Fath, 48:15 – interpretation of the meaning]. Then all of this happened to the believers, step by step, word by word. From this we can see the difference between those whose lives are connected to the Qur’aan, who read it, recite it, memorize it, study it, ponder its meanings and take it as their starting-point and their refuge, and those who are preoccupied with the words of man. Would that those who seek knowledge would devote most of their efforts to understanding the Qur’aan properly! Adhering to the laws of Allaah and doing righteous deeds Allaah says (interpretation of the meaning): “Allaah will keep firm those who believe, with the word that stands firm in this world and in the Hereafter. And Allaah will cause to go astray those who are zaalimoon (polytheists and wrong-doers, etc.), and Allaah does what He wills.†[ibraaheem 14:27]. Qutaadah said: “As for the life of this world, Allaah will help them to be steadfast in doing good and righteous deeds, and in the Hereafter (He will help them) to remain steadfast in the grave.†A similar interpretation was narrated from more than one of the Salaf. (Tafseer al-Qur’aan al-‘Azeem by Ibn Katheer, 3/421). Allaah says (interpretation of the meaning): “… but if they had done what they were told, it would have been better for them, and would have strengthened their (Faith)†[al-Nisa’ 4:66], i.e., it would have strengthened them in their adherence to the Truth. This is clear, for how can you expect steadfastness on the part of those who are too lazy to do righteous deeds when fitnah raises its ugly head and calamity increases? But Allaah will guide those who believe and do righteous deeds by their faith to the Straight Path. So the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) used to persevere in doing righteous deeds, and the most beloved of good deeds to him were those that were continuous, even if they were small. When his Companions started to do anything, they would persist in it, and when ‘Aa’ishah (may Allaah be pleased with her) did something, she would keep it up. The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) used to say: “Whoever perseveres in doing twelve rak’ahs [i.e., the sunan rawaatib or sunnah prayers which the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) did constantly], Paradise will be his right.†(Sunan al-Tirmidhi, 2/273; he said, the hadeeth is hasan or saheeh; see also Saheeh al-Nisaa’i, 1/388 and Saheeh al-Tirmidhi, 1/131). According to a hadeeth qudsi, Allaah says: “My slave will keep drawing near to me with naafil acts of worship until I love him.†(Reported by al-Bukhaari; see Fath al-Baari, 11/340). Studying the stories of the Prophets and following their example The evidence for this is the aayah (interpretation of the meaning): “And all that We relate to you (O Muhammad) of the news of the Messengers is in order that We may make strong and firm your heart thereby. And in this has come to you the truth, as well as an adminition and a reminder for the believers.†[Hood 11:120]. These aayaat were not revealed at the time of the Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) for the purpose of mere entertainment and amusement. They were revealed for an important purpose, which was to strengthen the heart of the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) and likewise the hearts of the believers. 1. Think about the meaning of the aayah (interpretation of the meaning): “They said: ‘Burn him and help your aalihah (gods), if you will be doing.’ We (Allaah) said: ‘O fire! Be you coolness and safety for Ibraaheem!’ And they wanted to harm him, but We made them the worst losers.†[al-Anbiya’ 21:68-70]. Ibn ‘Abbaas said: “The last thing Ibraaheem said when he was thrown in the fire was, ‘Allaah is Sufficient for me and He is the Best Disposer of affairs.’†(Al-Fath, 8/22) Do you not feel how he stood firm in the face of oppression and torture, when you read this story? 2. Think about the aayah in which Allaah tells us about Moosa (interpretation of the meaning): “And when the two hosts saw each other, the companions of Moosa said: ‘We are sure to be overtaken.’ Moosa said: ‘Nay, verily! With me is my Lord, He will guide me.’†[al-Shu’ara’ 26:61-62]. Do you not feel how he stood firm when he was being pursued by the hosts of Pharaoh and was surrounded by cries of despair from his own people? 3. Read the story of the magicians of Pharaoh, which is an example of a small group that adhered firmly to the truth once it had become apparent to them. Do you not see how they stood firm in the face of threats issued by the oppressor who said, “Believe you in him (Moosa) before I give you permission? Verily! He is your chief who taught you magic. So I will surely cut off your hands and feet on opposite sides, and I will surely crucify you on the trunks of date-palms, and you shall surely know which of us [i (Pharaoh) or the Lord of Moosa] can give the severe and more lasting torment.†[Ta-Ha 20:71 – interpretation of the meaning]. The small group of believers stood firm, with no thought of retreat, and said: “We prefer you not over the clear signs that have come to us, and to Him Who created us. So decree whatever you desire to decree, for can only decree (regarding) the life of this world.†[Ta-Ha 20:72 – interpretation of the meaning]. 4. Also think about the story of the believer in Soorat Yaa-Seen, the believer of Pharaoh’s household, the people of the Ditch (al-ukhdood), and others, which teach us the greatest lessons we could ever learn about standing firm in our faith. Du’aa’ (supplication) One of the characteristics of the believing slaves of Allaah is that they turn to Allaah with du’aa’, asking Him to help them to stand firm: “Our Lord! Let not our hearts deviate (from the truth) after You have guided us…†[Aal ‘Imraan 3:8 – interpretation of the meaning]; “Our Lord! Pour out constancy [patience] on us and make our steps firm…†[al-Baqarah 2:250 – Yusuf ‘Ali’s translation]. The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) told us that “The hearts of the sons of Adam are as one between the fingers of the Most Merciful, and He directs them as He wills.†(Reported by Imaam Ahmad from Ibn ‘Umar; see Saheeh Muslim bi Sharh al-Nawawi, 16/204). The Messenger of Allaah often used to say, “O Controller of the hearts, make my heart adhere firmly to Your religion.†(Reported by al-Tirmidhi from Anas. Tuhfat al-Ahwadhi, 6/349; Saheeh al-Jaami’, 7864). Remembrance of Allaah (dhikr) This is one of the greatest means of being steadfast in Islam. Think about the combination described in this aayah (interpretation of the meaning): “O you who believe! When you meet (an enemy) force, take a firm stand against them and remember the Name of Allaah much, so that you may be successful.†[al-Anfaal 8:45]. Dhikr is one of the most effective aids to standing firm in jihaad. “Think about how the physical strength of the Persians and Romans let them down when they needed it most†(Ibn al-Qayyim, may Allaah have mercy on him, in Al-Daa’ wa’l-Dawaa’) – despite the small numbers of men and weapons of those who remembered the Name of Allaah much. How did Yoosuf (upon whom be peace) stand firm in the face of temptation of the part of the powerful and beautiful woman who called him to do wrong? Did he not enter the fortress of “seeking refuge in Allaah†and thus defeat the waves of temptation? This is the effect of adhkaar (remembering Allaah) on making the believers steadfast. Striving to follow the correct way The only correct way, which every Muslim must follow, is the way of Ahl al-Sunnah wa’l-Jamaa’ah, the path of the victorious group and the saved sect, the people of pure ‘aqeedah and sound methodology, the followers of the Sunnah and the (sound) evidence. The Muslim must be distinct from the enemies of Allaah and be different from the people of falsehood. If you want to know the value of this in standing firm, then ask yourself: why have so many people, in the past and nowadays, been led astray? Why have they become confused? Why have their feet not stood firm on the Straight Path? Why did they not die following it, or why did they come to it so late in life, after wasting so much precious time? So you see them, moving from one kind of misguided bid’ah to another, from philosophy to ‘ilm al-kalaam (Islamic philosophy), from Mu’tazili thought to the way of twisting and misinterpreting the clear aayaat of the Qur’aan, from one Sufi tareeqah to another… Thus are the people of bid’ah, confused and shaky in their faith. See how the people of ‘ilm al-kalaam are deprived of steadfastness at the time of death. Hence the salaf said, “The people who suffer the most doubt at the time of death are the people of al-kalaam.†But think about it: has any follower of Ahl al-Sunnah wa’l-Jamaa’ah ever turned his back on this way in discontent after he has come to know and understand it? People may abandon it because of their whims and desires, or because of doubts if their understanding is weak, but no one has left because he saw something more correct or because he thought this way was wrong. The proof of this is to be seen in the questions posed by Heraclius to Abu Sufyaan about the followers of Muhammad (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him). He asked, “Has anyone ever left this religion out of discontent after entering it?†Abu Sufyaan said, “No.†Then Heraclius said, “This is how it is when the joy of faith fills the heart.†(Reported by al-Bukhaari, al-Fath, 1/32). We have heard a lot about great leaders who moved from one kind of bid’ah to another, and others whom Allaah guided and so they left falsehood behind and joined the madhhab of Ahl al-Sunnah wa’l-Jamaa’ah, despising their former ways. But do we ever hear about the opposite? If you want to stand firm in your Islam, then you must follow the way of the believers. Training and education Gradual, conscious training in faith, based on knowledge, is one of the basic factors in standing firm in Islam. Training in faith is that which fills the heart and consciousness with fear, hope and love (of Allaah), as opposed to the dryness which results from ignoring the texts of the Qur’aan and Sunnah and devoting too much attention to the words of men. Training based on knowledge is that which is based on saheeh evidence, as opposed to mere imitation and blind following. Conscious training is that which recognizes the way of the sinners and wrongdoers, studies the plots of the enemies of Islam and properly understands and evaluates reality and events, as opposed to a blinkered worldview and narrow horizons. Gradual training is that which takes the Muslim step by step towards achieving perfection with proper planning, as opposed to spontaneous and hasty progress in fits and starts. In order to understand the importance of this element in standing firm, let us go back to the seerah of the Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) and ask ourselves: 1. What was the source of the Companions’ steadfastness in Makkah, at the time of their persecution? 2. How could Bilaal, Khabbaab, Mas’ab, the family of Yaasir and other dispossessed Muslims stand firm? How could even the greatest of the Sahaabah stand firm when they were boycotted by others? 3. Is it possible that they could have stood firm without extensive training under the supervision of the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him), which had honed and refined their personalities? 4. Take, for example, the Sahaabi Khabbaab ibn al-Arat (may Allaah be pleased with him), whose owner used to heat an iron skewer until it was red-hot, then place it on his bare back where it would burn until it was extinguished by the fat of his back flowing over it. What made him able to bear all that with patience and perseverance? 5. And think of Bilaal beneath the rock on the burning sands, and Sumayyah in chains and fetters… 6. Look at the Madani period: we may ask, who was it who stood firm with the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) at Hunayn when most of the Muslims fled? Was it the new converts who had become Muslim at the Conquest of Makkah, and who had not yet received sufficient training at the hands of the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him), most of whom had gone out only in search of booty? No… most of those who stood firm were the crème de la crème of the believers, who had already received that great training. If they had not received such training, do you think they would have stood firm? Having confidence in the road you are following No doubt the more confident the Muslim is of the path he is following, the more steadfast he will be in adhering to it. There are many ways of achieving this, including the following: 1. Feeling that the way which you are following is not something new that started in this century, but that it is an ancient and venerable way which the Prophets, speakers of truth, scholars, martyrs and righteous people have followed before you. This will reduce your feelings of loneliness and replace your alienation with a sense of comfort, and your sadness will turn to joy because you will feel that all these people are your brothers in this way and methodology. 2. Feeling that you are among the chosen. Allaah says (interpretation of the meanings): “…Praise and thanks be to Allaah, and peace be on His slaves whom He has chosen (for His Message)! …†[al-Naml 27:59] “Then We gave the Book (the Qur’aan) for inheritance to such of Our slaves as We chose…†[Faatir 35:32] “Thus will your Lord choose you and teach you the interpretation of dreams (and other things)…†[Yoosuf 12:6] Just as Allaah has chosen the Prophets, so the righteous have a share in this being chosen, which is that they have inherited the knowledge of the Prophets. 3. How would you feel if Allaah had created you inanimate, or a dumb beast, or an atheist kaafir, or one who calls to bid’ah, or an immoral wrongdoer, or a Muslim who does not call others to Islam, or one who calls to a way that is filled with error? 4. Do you not see that this feeling of having been chosen by Allaah and been made one of those who call to the way of Ahl al-Sunnah wa’l-Jamaa’ah is one of the factors which will keep you steadfast in your methodology and in this path? Calling others to Allaah (da’wah) The soul that is not active will stagnate. One of the most important fields in which one can be active is the field of da’wah, calling others to Allaah. This is the work of the Prophets, work which will save you from punishment, realize your potential and enable you to achieve great things. “Now then, for that (reason), call (them to the Faith), and stand steadfast as you are commanded…†[al-Shoora 42:15 – interpretation of the meaning]. It is not true to say that someone is neither making progress nor slipping back (for if you are not making progress, you are therefore falling back – no one is static). If a person is not occupied in acts of worship and obedience, he will be busy with sin and disobedience, and faith can wax and wane (it does not remain constant). Calling to the correct methodology – by devoting time to it, making mental and physical efforts, and speaking out, so that da’wah becomes the main concern of the Muslim – will block the Shaytaan’s efforts to tempt him and lead him astray. In addition to that, being challenged by obstacles and stubborn people on the journey of da’wah will make the da’iyah stronger in faith. Besides bringing a great reward, da’wah is also a means of being steadfast in one's faith and protecting oneself from backsliding, because the one who is attacking does not need to defend himself, and Allaah is with the da’iyahs, making them stand firm. The da’iyah is like a doctor fighting illness with his experience and knowledge: by fighting the illness in others he will be the least likely to suffer it himself. Keeping close to people who will help make you steadfast These are people whose characteristics the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) referred to in the hadeeth, “Among the people are some who open the way to goodness and close the way to evil.†(Hasan, reported by Ibn Maajah from Anas, 237, and by Ibn Abi ‘Aasim in Kitaab al-Sunnah, 1/127. See also Al-Silsilat al-Saheehah, 1332). Looking for scholars, righteous people and believing da’iyahs, and keeping close to them, is a great help in remaining steadfast. When times of trial arose in Islamic history, Allaah helped the Muslims to stand firm with the help of some individuals. For example, ‘Ali ibn al-Madeeni (may Allaah have mercy on him) said: “Allaah supported His Religion with al-Siddeeq [Abu Bakr] at the time of the Riddah (apostasy), and with Ahmad at the time of the test.†Think about what Ibn al-Qayyim (may Allaah have mercy on him) said about the role of his shaykh, Shaykh al-Islam [ibn Taymiyah] in helping Muslims to stand firm: “When our fear became too great and we began to think the worst and things got too difficult for us, we would come to him. We only had to see him and hear his words, and all that would go away, to be replaced by tranquillity, strength, assurance and calm. Glory be to the One Who made His slaves witness Paradise before their meeting with Him, opened its door to them in this world and caused them to feel its fragrant breezes so that they would devote all their energy to seeking it and competing for it.†(Al-Waabil al-Sayib, p. 97). Here Islamic brotherhood emerges as a basic source of steadfastness. Your righteous brothers, leaders and teachers are a source of help for you on the path, a strong pillar on which you can lean. They can make you more steadfast through the aayaat they know and the wisdom they possess… Stick with them and live among them; do not be alone, lest the shayaateen overwhelm you, for the sheep that the wolf eats is the one that wanders off away from the flock. Being confident of the help of Allaah, and that the future belongs to Islam We need to stand firm even more when victory is delayed, so that we will not go astray after being steadfast. Allaah says (interpretation of the meaning): “And many a Prophet fought (in Allaah’s Cause) and along with him (fought) large bands of religious learned men. But they never lost heart for that which did befall them in Allaah’s Way, nor did they weaken nor degrade themselves. And Allaah loves al-saabireen (the patient ones). And they said nothing but: ‘Our Lord! Forgive us our sins and our transgressions (in keeping our duties to You), establish our feet firmly, and give us victory over the disbelieving folk.’ So Allaah gave them the reward of this world, and the excellent reward of the Hereafter…†[Aal ‘Imraan 3:146-148] When the Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) wanted to calm down his persecuted Companions and make them steadfast, he told them, at times of persecution and testing, that the future belonged to Islam. What did he say? Al-Bukhaari reported from Khabbaab that he said: “Allaah will certainly complete this matter (i.e., Islam), until a traveller will be able to go from San’aa’ to Hadramawt fearing nothing except Allaah and the wolf that may attack his sheep.†(Reported by al-Bukhaari; see Fath al-Baari, 7/165). Telling the young generation about the ahaadeeth that give the good news of the future belonging to Islam is an important part of their education and training to stand firm in their religion. Understanding the reality of falsehood and not being misled by it Allaah tells us (interpretation of the meaning): “Let not the free disposal (and affluence) of the disbelievers throughout the land deceive you.†[Aal ‘Imraan 3:196]. This offers reassurance to the believers and helps them to stand firm. Allaah also tells us: “… Then, as for the foam, it passes away as scum upon the banks…†[al-Ra’d 13:17]. This is a lesson for those who have intelligence, not to fear falsehood or to submit to it. The Qur’aan also exposes the aims and means of the people of falsehood, as Allaah says (interpretation of the meaning): “And thus do We explain the aayaat (proofs, evidence, verses, lessons, signs, revelations, etc.) in detail, that the way of the mujrimoon (criminals, polytheists, sinners) may become manifest†[al-An’aam 6:55] – so that the Muslims will not be caught unawares and so that they will know from which direction Islam will be attacked. How often have we heard about and seen movements collapsing and dai’yahs losing their steadfastness because of attacks which they did not expect due to their ignorance of their enemies. Acquiring the characteristics that will help one to remain steadfast The most important of these is sabr (patience). Al-Bukhaari and Muslim report that the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: “No one is given any gift greater and more bountiful than patience.†(Reported by al-Bukhaari in Kitaab al-Zakaah, Baab al-Isti’faaf ‘an al-mas’alah; and by Muslim in Kitaab al-Zakaah, Baab Fadl al-Ta’affuf wa’l-Sabr). The greatest patience comes at the onset of a disaster, and if something unexpected befalls a man, the disaster will overwhelm him and he will lose his steadfastness, if he does not have patience. Think about what Ibn al-Jawzi (may Allaah have mercy on him) said: “I saw an old man, nearly eighty years old, who always used to come to jamaa’ah prayers. A son of his daughter died, and he said, ‘No one should pray to Allaah any more, because He does not respond.’ Then he said, ‘Allaah is stubborn and does not leave us a son.’†(Al-Thabaat ‘ind al-Mawt by Ibn al-Jawzi, p. 34). Exalted be Allaah far above what he said. When the Muslims were defeated at Uhud, this disaster was quite unexpected, because Allaah had promised them victory, but Allaah taught them a hard lesson through the blood of the martyrs. “(What is the matter with you?) When a single disaster smites you, although you smote (your enemies) with one twice as great, you say: ‘From where does this come to us?’ Say (to them), ‘It is from yourselves (because of your evil deeds).’…†[Aal ‘Imraan 3:165 – interpretation of the meaning]. How could they have been the cause of it? “… you lost your courage and fell to disputing about the order, and disoebeyed after He showed you (of the booty) which you love. Among you are some that desire this world…†[Aal ‘Imraan 3:152 – interpretation of the meaning]. The advice of righteous men When the Muslim is faced with trials and his Lord tests him in order to purify him, one of the means which Allaah gives him to help him stand firm is a righteous man who will advise and help him. Through this man’s words Allaah helps the believer to stand firm and directs his steps. These words remind him of Allaah, the Meeting with Him, His Paradise and His Hell. There follow some examples from the life of Imaam Ahmad (may Allaah have mercy on him), who entered the test and emerged as pure gold. He was taken to al-Ma’moon in chains, and (al-Ma’moon) had already issued him such a stern warning before he reached him that a servant said to Imaam Ahmad, “It hurts me, O Abu ‘Abd-Allaah, that al-Ma’moon has unsheathed a sword which he has never unsheathed before, and he swears by his relationship to the Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) that if you do not accept what he says about the Qur’aan being created, he will certainly kill you with that sword.†(Al-Bidaayah wa’l-Nihaayah, 1/332) At this point, the intelligent scholars took the opportunity to say to their imaam words that would help him to remain steadfast. In al-Siyar (11/238), al-Dhahabi reports from Abu Ja’far al-Anbaari: “When Ahmad was taken to al-Ma’moon, I was told about it, so I crossed the Euphrates and found him sitting in an inn, where I greeted him. He said, ‘O Abu Ja’far, why did you go to the trouble (of coming here)?’ I said, ‘Listen to me, today you are the leader and the people are following you. By Allaah, if you accept that the Qur’aan is created, a lot of people will go along with that, but if you do not, then neither will they. Even if this man (al-Ma’moon) does not kill you, you will still die, because death is inevitable, so fear Allaah, and do not go along with (al-Ma’moon).’ Ahmad began to weep and said, ‘Ma sha Allaah.’ Then he said, ‘O Abu Ja’far, say it again,’ so I said it again, and he kept saying, ‘Ma sha Allaah.’…†With regard to his being taken to al-Ma’moon, Imaam Ahmad said: “We reached al-Rahbah at midnight, and a man came to us and said, ‘Which of you is Ahmad ibn Hanbal?’ He was told, ‘This man.’ He said to the camel-driver, ‘Slow down.’ … Then he said, ‘Listen to me, why should you worry if you get killed here and go to Paradise?’ Then he said, ‘May Allaah be with you,’ and left. I asked about him and I was told, ‘He is an Arab from the tribe of Rabee’ah who deals with wool in the desert. He is called Jaabir ibn ‘Aamir, and they say good things about him.’†(Siyar A’laam al-Nubala’, 11/241). In al-Bidaayah wa’l-Nihaayah, it says that a Bedouin said to Imaam Ahmad: “Listen to me, you are a representative of the people, so do not be bad news for them. You are the leader of the people today, so beware of doing what they are asking you to do, lest you bear their sins on the Day of Resurrection. If you love Allaah, then bear this with patience, for the only thing standing between you and Paradise is your being killed.†Imaam Ahmad said: “His words strengthened my resolve not to do what they were asking me to do.†(Al-Bidaayah wa’l-Nihaayah, 1/332). It was reported that Imaam Ahmad said: “I never heard any stronger words at that time than what a Bedouin said to me at Rahbat Tawq, a village between al-Raqqah and Baghdaad on the banks of the Euphrates. He said, ‘O Ahmad, if they kill you for the truth, you will be a shaheed (martyr), and if you live, you will be praised.’ And so my heart grew strong.†(Siyar A’laam al-Nubala’, 11/241). Imaam Ahmad said of the young man Muhammad ibn Nooh, who accompanied him at that time of trial: “Even though he was so young, he had such great knowledge, and I never saw anyone who adhered more firmly to the command of Allaah than Muhammad ibn Nooh, and I hope that his end was good. He said to me one day, ‘O Abu ‘Abd-Allaah, you are not like me. You are a man whom people follow, and they are straining their necks to see what you will do, so fear Allaah and adhere to His commands.’ Then he died, and I prayed the janaazah (funeral) prayer for him and buried him.†(Siyar A’laam al-Nubala’, 11/242) Even his fellow-prisoners, whom Imaam Ahmad used to lead in prayer in chains, had a role to play in helping him to stand firm. One day when he was in prison, Imaam Ahmad said, “I don’t care about being in prison – it is no different from my home – or about being killed by the sword, but I am afraid of the trial of being whipped.†One of the other prisoners heard him and said, “Don’t worry, O Abu ‘Abd-Allaah, it is only two lashes of the whip, then you don’t feel where the rest fall.†It was as if this reassured him and calmed him down. (Siyar A’laam al-Nubala’, 11/240) So try to seek advice from righteous people, and try to understand it if it is given to you. Seek their advice before you travel, if you think that something could happen to you. Seek their advice when you are facing some trial, or before some test that you expect to face. Seek their advice if you are appointed to a position of authority or if you inherit some wealth. Make yourself stand firm, and help others to do so too. Allaah is the Protector of the believers. Thinking about the delights of Paradise and the punishments of Hellfire, and remembering death Paradise is the abode of joy, the consolation of those who grieve, the final destination of the believers. The soul is by nature not inclined to make sacrifices or work hard or stand firm unless it gets something in return that makes difficulties easy and helps it to overcome the obstacles in its way. The one who knows about the reward will find it easy to work hard, because he will be aware that if he does not remain steadfast, he will miss out on Paradise as wide as the heavens and the earth. The soul needs something to lift it above the dust of this earth and raise it to the heavenly world. The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) used the mention of Paradise to encourage his Companions to stand firm. According a a hasan saheeh hadeeth, the Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) passed by Yaasir, ‘Ammaar and Umm ‘Ammaar when they were being tortured for the sake of Allaah and said, “Patience, family of Yaasir, patience, family of Yaasir, for your destination is Paradise.†(Reported by al-Haakim, 3/383; it is a hasan saheeh hadeeth. See Fiqh al-Seerah, ed. Al-Albaani, p. 103). The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) used to tell the Anssar: “You will face selfish people after my death, so have patience until you meet me at the Hawd (cistern – on the Day of Judgement).†(Agreed upon) Similarly, one should think about the situation of both groups (believers and kuffaar) in the grave, the gathering, the reckoning, the scales of justice, the bridge over Hell, and the other events of the Hereafter. Remembering death protects the Muslim from backsliding and helps him to adhere to the limits set by Allaah, so that he does not transgress them. If he knows that death is closer to him than his own shoelaces and that his time could come at any moment, how can he let himself slip or persevere in deviation? Hence the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: “Always remember the destroyer of pleasure.†(Reported by al-Tirmidhi, 2/50; classed as saheeh in Irwa’ al-Ghaleel, 3/145). Situations where steadfastness is required There are many such situations, which need to be discussed in detail, but we can only list them in brief here. Times of trial and tribulation Trials and tribulations can cause the heart to change. Whether they are the trials of ease or of hardship, only those who have understanding and whose hearts are filled with faith can remain steadfast. Among the different types of trials are: 1. The trial of wealth. Allaah says (interpretation of the meaning): “And of them are some who made a covenant with Allaah (saying): ‘If He bestowed on us of His Bounty, we will verily give charity and will be certainly among those who are righteous. Then when He gave them of His Bounty, they became niggardly, and turned away, averse.†[al-Tawbah 9:75-76] 2. The trial of worldly power and authority. Allaah says (interpretation of the meaning): “And keep yourself patiently with those who call on their Lord morning and afternoon, seeking His Face, and let not your eyes overlook them, desiring the pomp and glitter of the life of the world; and obey not him whose heart We have made heedless of Our Remembrance, one who follows his own lusts and whose affair (deeds) has been lost.†[al-Kahf 18:28]. Concerning the danger of these two types of trial, the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: “Two hungry wolves sent against the sheep could not do more damage to them than the damage done by a man’s eagerness for wealth and power to his religion.†(Reported by Imaam Ahmad in al-Musnad, 3/460; see also Saheeh al-Jaami’, 5496). The meaning is that a man’s desire for wealth and power will do more damage to his religion than the damage done by two hungry wolves to a flock of sheep. 3. The trial of one's wife. Allaah says (interpretation of the meaning): “… Verily, among your wives and your children there are enemies for you (i.e., may stop you from the obedience of Allaah), therefore beware of them!…†[al-Taghaabun 64:14] 4. The trial of children. The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: “Children are the cause of cowardice, the cause of stinginess and the cause of grief.†(Reported by Abu Ya’laa, 2/305 – it also has corroborating reports. See also Saheeh al-Jaami’, 7037). 5. The trial of persecution, oppression and injustice. Allaah has described this in the most evocative terms in the Qur’aan (interpretation of the meaning): “Cursed were the people of the ditch, fire supplied (abdunantly) with fuel, when they sat by it (the fire), and they witnessed what they were doing against the believers (i.e., burning them). They had nothing against them, except that they believed in Allaah, the All-Mighty, Worthy of all Praise! To Whom belongs the dominion of the heavens and the earth! And Allaah is Witness over everything.†[al-Burooj 85:4-9] Al-Bukhaari reported from Khabbaab (may Allaah be pleased with him) who said: “We complained to the Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) when he was reclining on his cloak in the shade of the Ka’bah. He (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: “Among the people who came before you, there was a man who was taken and put into a hole dug for him in the earth, then a saw was put on his head and he was cut into two pieces, and an iron comb was used to tear the flesh from his bones, but this still did not turn him away from his religion.†(Reported by al-Bukhaari, see Fath al-Baari, 12/315). 6. The trial of the Dajjaal (“antichristâ€), which is the greatest trial in this world. The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: “O people, there has never been any fitnah (trial) on the face of the earth since Allaah created Adam greater than the trial of the Dajjaal… O slaves of Allaah, O people, stand firm, for I shall describe him to you in a way that no Prophet before me has described him…†(Reported by Ibn Maajah, 2/1359; see Saheeh al-Jaami’, 7752). CONCLUSION With regard to the heart and the trials it is subjected to, the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: “Hearts are exposed to trials one after the other. Any heart that succumbs to them is stained with a black spot, and any heart that resists them becomes pure white, until all hearts of one of these two types. The white heart is intensely white and will not be harmed by any trial so long as heaven and earth remain, and the black heart is intensely black and does not recognize good or forbid evil, except what suits its own whims and desires.†(Reported by Imaam Ahmad, 5/386, and by Muslim, 1/128 – this version narrated by Muslim) Steadfastness in jihaad “O you who believe! When you meet (an enemy) force, take a firm stand against them…†[al-Anfaal 8:45 – interpretation of the meaning]. One of the major sins (kabaa’ir) in our religion is running away from the battlefield. When the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) was carrying earth on his back when they were digging the trench (al-khandaq), he repeated with the believers, “Make us steadfast when we meet our enemies.†(Reported by al-Bukhaari in Kitaab al-Ghazawaat, Bab Ghazwat al-Khandaq. See al-Fath, 7/399) Steadfast adherence to the manhaj (methodology of the Qur’aan and Sunnah) “Among the believers are men who have been true to their covenant with Allaah [i.e., they have gone out for jihaad (holy fighting), and showed not their backs to the disbelievers], of them some have fulfilled their obligations (i.e., have been martyred), and some of them are still waiting, but they have never changed [i.e., they never proved treacherous to their covenant which they concluded with Allaah] in the least.†[al-Ahzaab 33:23 – interpretation of the meaning]. Their principles are dearer to them than their own souls, and their determination knows no compromise. Steadfastness at the time of death The kuffaar and immoral people are denied steadfastness at the most difficult and most stressful times, and they cannot utter the Shahaadah at the time of death – which is one of the signs of a bad end. A man was told when he was dying to say Laa ilaaha ill-Allaah, and he started to move his head from right to left, refusing to say it. Another started to say, “This is an excellent piece, this is a bargain,†when he was dying. A third began to mention the names of various chess pieces, and a fourth started to hum the tunes of songs, or to mention the name of someone he loved. This is because those things distracted them from remembering Allaah in this world. You may see some of these people with blackened faces, or a foul odour, or turning away from the qiblah – laa hawla wa laa quwwata illa billaah (there is no strength or power except with Allaah). But the people of righteousness, who follow the Sunnah, are helped by Allaah to stand firm at the time of death, and so they utter the Shahaadatayn. You may see some of them with a cheerful face and a pleasant scent, looking as if they are hearing good news when their souls are taken from their bodies. This is an example of one of those whom Allaah helped to be steadfast at the time of death. His name was Abu Zar’ah al-Raazi, one of the imaams of the scholars of hadeeth: “Abu Ja’far Muhammad ibn ‘Ali Warraaq Abu Zar’ah said: we were with Abu Zar’ah in Shahraan, one of the villages of al-Riyy, when he started dying, and Abu Haatim, Ibn Waarah, al-Mundhir ibn Shaadhaan and others were with him. They remembered the hadeeth, ‘Tell those who are dying to say Laa ilaaha ill-Allaah,’ but they felt too shy to tell Abu Zar’ah to say it. They said, ‘Let us mention the hadeeth.’ Ibn Waarah said: ‘Abu ‘Aasim told us, ‘Abd al-Hameed ibn Ja’far told us, from Saalih,’ and he started to say ‘Ibn Abi…’ but he could not go any further. Then Abu Haatim said, ‘Bundaar told us Abu ‘Aasim told us, from ‘Abd al-Hameed ibn Ja’far, from Saalih…’ but he could not go any further, and the rest remained silent. Then Abu Zar’ah said, whilst he was dying, he opened his eyes and said: ‘Bundaar told us, Abu ‘Aasim told us, ‘Abd al-Hameed told us, from Saalih ibn Abi Ghareeb from Katheer ibn Murrah from Mu’aadh ibn Jabal who said: The Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said, “Whoever says as his last words La ilaaha ill-Allaah, will enter Paradise.â€â€™ Then his soul departed, may Allaah have mercy on him.†(Siyar A’laam al-Nubala’, 13/76-85). These are the ones of whom Allaah says (interpretation of the meaning): “Verily, those who say: ‘Our Lord is Allaah (Alone),’ and then they stood straight (followed Islam truly), on them the angels will descend (at the time of their death) (saying): ‘Fear not, nor grieve! But receive the glad tidings of Paradise which you have been promised!’†[Fussilat 41:30] O Allaah, make us among them. O Allaah, we ask you to make us adhere to Islam with determination and wisdom. And the end of our prayer is: praise be to Allaah, Lord of the Worlds. LINK

Viking, The commentary clearly says why some people claim the Surah is Meccan and others Medinan. The commentary clearly says the Suurah is Madinan, and that makes all the difference to their interpertations of historical settings! You are still trying to make the issue personal, but may Allah be my witness, to me it's all about supporting the Xaqq! I see myself as the least righteous person present at the forum, so there is no use in defending myself from anything you say about me. I have to go now, but in the mean time be my guest and start a constuctive conversation, since I'm clearly unable to behave as civilised as you are, and I promise to be softer with my approach next time I get the opportunity to post. WCWW

Brother Viking, I tried to read the commentary on Suuratul-Caadiyaat you've posted, which you've just called "the best online commentary I have come across"! But before I even get to the first aayah, the introductory notes putt me of by concluding it to be a Maddinan Suurah! Well, I'm telling you that it is misleading, because Suuratul-Caadiyaat is Makkan! And by the way, you've posted that website with the full knowledge of its misleading contents, without bothering to worn us in advance, that you shouldn't be held accountable or criticised for posting such a source containing falsehoods. You don't have to be jumpy for making mistakes; it can happen as we all are human beings. Please don't suggest to me to point out all the falsehoods in the website you've posted, as you know your self that these are too numerous to mention. Was that not the reason you declared that you NOT believe everything read? Don't push it too much bro. WCWW P.S. next time try TAFSIR.COM

Brother Viking, So, we are still harbouring some grievances! I though when you said: “Now please, get off your high horse mister, drop the holier than thou attitude and lets start afresh. What say ye?†That you were really serious about your reconciliation effort, and that is why I replied: “Brother Viking, that would be a good idea, and I’m all for it.†But now it’s becoming clearer that you didn’t meant what you said back then, and only wanted to avoid any more of my confrontational scrutiny! Nevertheless, to get offended now by what I didn’t say, and even in your wishful interpretation of “I'm not naive if that is what is you are implying†couldn’t quite make up what exactly I was implying there, I urge you to calm down and focus more on the positive things I had to say about you. When you say: “I read all sources available to me (Shi'a, Sufi, Salafi, Deobandi, Tablighi etc.)†Do you really have to ask: “What made you question the sources I use?†I think you know yourself what’s wrong with some of the sources you’ve listed above, and do not need anyone to tell you how stinky they are. I’m deeply impressed the way you’ve managed to turn my criticism on your sources, to a personal attack on your integrity. If there is ever going to be any meaningful dialogue between you and I, then I propose to divide the blame in half, so that, my sometimes inappropriate approach as well as your total overreaction in these situations, become equally blameworthy. WCWW

Viking, I know now, you're not the problem, but the sources misleading you are. I'm sure that you're gentle and likable guy in reality, but since we are dealing here with alter-egos, you musn't take it personal when I get fired-up because of the rubish these sources are spreading around. WCWW

Dear brothers and sisters, It is not my intention to seriously comment on everything Professor Ziauddin sardar has to say, because I have neither the academic skills and in depth knowledge of the subject matter to do so, nor the time and energy needed to address all his empty rhetoric point by point. However, my intention is to maintain some integrity on SOL by letting no one who spreads falsehoods escape unchallenged, whoever that person may be. As a simple layman and a second-generation city dweller from a “reer miyyi†background, I take the freedom to put forth to you some of my reservations against this man. And by doing so, I hope to demonstrate that everyone can and should point out argumentative flaws of individuals who see everything Islam stands for as a burden rather than blessing. Another reason that I’m posting on this thread is that I might be one of the few in this forum who live in the UK, and has suffered from the exposure to this man’s recycled ideas through the BBC, his books and newspaper columns. Initially I wanted to write about this man’s ideas and personal agenda, but since his autobiography is not the subject of this discussion, I’ll first comment on the article posted in this thread before I put to you my take on the man’s ideas. To begin with, all of you who are familiar with Mr Sardar and his writings will immediately get the picture of what this article is all about. Mr Sardar is obsessed with and has been fixated on what he calls “metaphysical catastrophes†for a while now, and at times these catastrophes may number one, two, or as in this case three. Set aside the fancy name-package and we have the old uniform of the orientalist critique of the Shareecah. He formulated them as (1) the elevation of the shareecah to the level of devine, (2) the removal of agency from the believers and (3) the equation of Islam with the state. In this article he attributes these so called metaphysical catastrophes to the closure of “the gates of ijtihadâ€, but he often comes to conclusions before he even makes the case. Also in the remaining paragraphs, he fails to backup his claims with any substantial facts after he tries to elaborate his metaphysical catastrophes by using baseless definitions and by historically misrepresenting the shareecah. I’ll first briefly comment on his three main arguments, and then the rest of his half-truths from the general content of the article. So I hope that SOL nomads will recognise that his case for ijtihad is on lose screws, ones the arguments used to underpin that case are shown to be fallacies. Argument 1: (the elevation of the shareecah to the level of devine) When he says “there is nothing divine about the shareecah†and adds at the same time that “the only thing that can legitimately be described as divine in Islam is the Quráanâ€, very conveniently ignores their relationship, as the Quráan is the first and foremost source of shareecah. In that case, can it be justified to claim “there is nothing divine about the shareecahâ€? What about that the Sunnah of our prophet (peace be upon him) is not divine? Why is he ignoring the fact that Allah tells us in His (admitted by himself) Divine Quráan, that the words of His Prophet are divinely inspired (53:3)? That the Sunnah as a source of shareecah with regards to its rulings in Xalaal and Xaraam are on the same footing as the Quráan? When he states that “the shareecah is a human construction; an attempt to understand the divine will in a particular contextâ€, he is either confused himself or he is out to mislead others with his failure to distinguish Shareecah and Usuuslul-Fiqh in the technical sense, even then, it remains a misleading statement as it’s not clear what is meant be “human constructionâ€. That is just the first four lines of the paragraph dealing with his first argument, so imagine how I would bore you to death if I attempted to comment on every sentence. Argument 2: (the removal of agency from the believers and) What the author is saying in this argument is that, if the shareecah is divine, which it is, then believers have no agency or a tool in which they can employ and exploit as they see fit according to their wishes. He is in other words seeking to give sovereignty to the people over the Commend of Allah and His divinely ordained system. He goes on further to say “since The Law is a priori given people themselves have nothing to do except to follow it.†However, as a muslim, once you surrender your will to that of Allah Almighty, you have by definition accepted the Sovereignty and the supreme controlling power of Allah over society, and not vice versa! If Mr. Sardar really thinks that either the presence or absence of ijtihad makes any difference to the stated subservience of one or the other, then he needs to go back to the real meaning of Islam. His true intentions can be glimpsed when he purposively expresses the view that “if every thing is a priori given, in the shape of a divine shareecah, then Islam is reduced to a totalistic ideologyâ€. That statement harbours the following three anti-Islamic messages: 1) reject Islam, because everything priori given, 2) reject Islam, because the shareecah is divine and 3) reject Islam, because it’s totalistic ideology. He also gets little bet carried away with his mocking of Islamic States as far as declaring them to be based on ridiculous assumptions (not distinguishing present and past, existent and not existent, practical and theoretical). Argument 3: (the equation of Islam with the state) After opposing the shareecah as divine guidance based upon primary divine sources, in order to gain the free hand to subjugate the divine order to his wishful desires, now he is opposing all kind of Islamic State. I hope now you see and appreciate this man for the orientalist agent he is (forget about his smokescreen book) in what is nothing more than centuries old intellectual war to stop Islam, with the continuation of never changing focus area. The principal concept is always the same: To start with, the aim is to create doubts and confusions in the hearts and minds of Muslims by tactfully questioning the basic tenets of Islam in turn (Quráan and Sunnah, with regards to history, authenticity and interpretations), to create disagreements and give falsehoods a succeeding chance. Then uniformity of the Shareecah Law is undermined which leads to divisions, magnified by the positive feedback mechanisms from the questioning of the sources (Quráan and Sunnah) while at the same time, Muslims are generously fed with un-Islamic ideologies based on ethnic, tribal, nationalistic, linguistic and cultural chauvinisms. These efforts has been mostly successful in that they prevented and defused, either forcefully or tacitly, all attempts to create Islamic State or any form of unity within the Islamic world. From general content of the article I’ve described this piece as an empty rhetoric, because it only constitutes fragmented statements with no evidence to back it up. Even worse, for a reclaimed academic and a so called Islamic thinker, he totally fails to convincingly and coherently present his case, and on top of that, he tries to mislead people with his charged language. For example, he says “after the ‘gates of ijtihad’ were closed during the Abbasid era, ilm was increasingly reduced to religious knowledgeâ€. He expects us to buy that rather cheaply without bothering to explain the validity of that reasoning. If one field of cilm is restricted, shouldn’t the opposite happen and lead to other fields of cilm, which are unaffected prosper instead? If I go on to the end of this article, I’ll become sick of the man, so I’ll skip all the way back to front and clarify with the situation of the scholars he desperately tries to associate himself with. First of all, Jamaluddin al-Afghani and his pupil Muhammad Abduhu, were sincere in their pan-Islamic movement to free the muslim world intellectually from an intellectual war that was being waged on Muslims from Africa to Asia. Also, they were looking for the creation of an Islamic State, which implemented the shareecah, and they understood it to be of divine in its originality, unlike our man here. Nevertheless, we can now look back in history and realise that their call for Modernism did more harm than good. This point needs clarification, as it may not be understandable to everyone how the Pan-Islamic Modernism movements was eventually hijacked by the Orientalists agents and lead to many disasters still evident today. During the initial periods, these modernists were seen as extremists in their bid to face up with challenges facing Muslims in that crucial time. This formed obviously a danger to the western powers who understood very well the potential consequences of Islamic revivalism to their imperialist policies and struggle against Islam. These reforms thus, didn’t constitute an outright break with the past, rather it embraced to create a similar impulse as when Islamic light first started shining over the ages. The so called “gliding towards extremism†of the followers of Muhammad abduhu, who later rose to the position of Mufti, is well reported in Gibb’s Modern Trends in Islam. However, soon after that the movements came under the secularising influence of Western trained Modernists. Initially they promoted reason and rationalism to break up with tradition, but later when they gathered momentum, they openly criticised Shareecah, which they alleged as being divine in origin, was incapable of development and adaptation to modern conditions, and thay even called the shareecah “the law of Islamic Churchâ€. Thus, unless separated from the state just as has been done in the West, no improvements whatsoever was possible (see Zagday, Modern Trends in Islamic Law, in Current Legal Problems). Even Schacht concludes, “On the one hand, the modernist legislators are inclined to deny religious character of the central chapters of the sacred law; on the other, they are abt to use arbitrary and forced interpretations of the Koran and traditions whenever it suits their purpose. Materially, they are bold innovators who want to be modern at all costs; formally they try to avoid the semblance of interfering with the essential contents of the sacred law. Their ideals and their arguments came from the Wast, but they do not wish to reject the sacred law openly as Turkey has done†(Schacht, The Law, Unity and Variety in Muslim Civilication). Watt concludes: “This is a constantly increasing group of men and women who have received Western education up to University level, and who may for short be called the ‘Westernizers’.†(Watt, Islam and the Integration of Society). In short, the Modernists were a new Western breed of intellectual army who single-handedly defeated the Islamic revival Al-Afghani, Abduhu, Iqbal and many more great Muslim thinkers had in mind. Mr Sardar is undoubtedly part of that group of army, who unjustly tries to exploit a misleading link, between his corrupted views and that of men of honour. They even tried to associate themselves with Ibn Taymiyyah as the first representative of modern movements in history. In unmasking these people, Professor S. M. Yusuf observed: “The talk of these people is full of inaccuracies, fabrications and stray quotations. They are not even ashamed of talking about Islam although they do not know a letter of Arabic. Some of them are lawyers who have studied Roman, English, French and Swiss laws, but have never studied Arabic, the Quran, or Prophet’s Traditions, and yet they talk about Islamic law in local and international meetings. Others are historians who have studied the history of the whole world but have never studied Islamic history, and yet they talk about the history of Islam and quote and quote secondary sources which do not help them in pronouncing the Arabic names correctly.†He correctly points out that those people “are the ones who refer to English translation of the Quráan, English translations of the Prophet’s traditions, and pick up information about Islam and Islamic law from English, French and other foreign language publications which are mostly produced by Western Orientalists whose animosity towards Islam has been proved beyond any doubt.†Conclusion We have to be careful from these men who suffer from inferiority-complex, and have become apologetic when dealing with the Quráan and Sunnah. They look upon Islam as orphan whose sole hope for survival lies in “winning the patronage and the sheltering care of some dominant creedâ€. In their great disservice to Islam and their puzzle of hotch-potch political ideologies, they believe the only way to earn respect and honour in the eyes of their Western masters, is to prove that Islam resembles and is in agreement with contemporary ideologies. The solutions/problems lies in the educational systems of the Muslim world! If anyone’s wish, who is present at this forum, is to seriously discuss the ways in which we can escape from this seemingly unending malaise, is to move that discussion to the Islamic Education thread started be brother Nur, which unfortunately didn’t get the magnitude and the attention it deserved. WCWW

Dear OG Girl, Surprise me for a change and comment on the content, you either believe it to be true or not and don’t be ashamed of what you believe. Your game has become too boring now, so lets conclude it once and for always. The challenge is very simple: If anything I said concerning shiicaa doctrines is untrue, then please prove me so! Game over! WCWW

OG Girl, I tried ones to explain the fundamentals of shiicaa creeds and show you how it conflicted with the Qur’aan (as you refused to accept the Sunnah and its sources), but you failed to come out in favour of the Qur’aan (I wanted to deal with the shiicaa beliefs regarding the Qur’aan as last) and distance yourself from all falsehoods that contradicted with divine revelation. For that reason I thought of you as dishonest as I would think of any person who does not reject the Book of Allah openly, but still refuse to accept its rulings. So I had to give up before I could explain the “Caqiidatul-rajacâ€, because my logic was that, if I posted the verse: “The only response of Believers, whenever they are summoned unto God and His Messenger that he may judge between them, id that thay say: We hear and we obey; those- they are prosperous.†(suuratul-Nuur 51) And from the wisdom of the Qur’aan can be understood that, since you did not respond as Believers would respond, namely “we hear and we obeyâ€, you may not really be a believer of the Qur’aan let alone its contents. Nevertheless, it was then, and “Wallaahu yahdee maa yashaaaa’â€, and hopefully you are now more open to the truth. Well, in brief, you are right, because whosoever denies “caqiidatul-rajac†is NOT a shiicaa! The belief entails that: a) people will come back to life on earth before the Saacah b) there will be three groups; the shiicaa (who are the best in faith), ahlus-sunnah (who are the worst in kufr) and the 12 imaams and all prophets c) this will start when the Hadi (nick name for their mahdi, which I prefer to call him as he is not the real Mahdi) returns from his hiding place in all those centuries, the graves of the so called “sanamayn†are dug out and Abu Bakr and Cumar (rc) are taken out still wet and alive, and when the earth splits and Xusayn (rc) emerges from his grave d) Cali (rc) will be the leader of the shiicaa and all the prophets will fight in his army e) Abu Bakr and Cumar (rc) are the leaders of ahlus-sunnah and will ultimately be burned f) Xusayn (rc) will judge the people and will have authority over who goes to heaven or hell g) every shiicaa will be given the choice whether he wishes to participate in the event or remain in his grave h) the blood of ahlus-sunnah will be running from the swords of the shiicaa as they chop them through their limbs and in pieces i) this will take place between Saffa and Marwa Event similar to this ones took place in history, when a psychopath shiicaa leader tried to copy this fantasy/self fulfilling prophesy, and attacked the Kacbah during Xajj time so that the blood of ahlus-sunnah would be dropping from the swords of the shiicaa army between Saffa and Marwa. On that occasion 60 000 (sixty thousand) people who came to Xajj were massacred and slaughtered, the pool of blood filled the Kacbah, they took the Shajratul-Aswad with them and kept for more than 20 years before it was brought back. To be honest with you, this whole believe is motivated by an animosity which runs deep into the veins of history, and with its imaginative thirst for the ultimate revenge where even death itself has failed to lesson, then it should be no surprise to us that their emotive psychology would suggest if God is unjust in this world, then definitely we should take justice into our hands. Even if it means taking back the authority of deciding between Heaven and Hell from God and give it to Xusayn (rc)! WCWW

Dear Brothers and sisters, I thank everyone for their contribution to help me understand the best way to evaluate and exploit time. Our brothers (Nur and Salaaxuddin) have demonstrated to us that we are (a) required to do righteous deeds, and to achieve that (b) we are given time to fulfil these requirements. Thus we live because of that time and we are able to act due to that same time allocated to us, therefore time is life and time wasting equates life wasting. The centrality of time in everything we do in this life, will be extended to the centrality of time of what we did in this world in the questioning of hereafter. The common denominator between our actions now and the final Judgment is time. From our Prophet (peace be upon him) is narrated that he said: “The feet of a servant will not move on the Day of Resurrection until he is questioned about four: about his life, how he spent it; his knowledge, what he did with it; his wealth, from where he obtained it and how he spent it; and his body, how he used it.†To guard ourselves from Allah’s wrath descending on us that Day, he (peace be upon him) warned us to “Take advantage of five things before five: your youth before your old age, your health before your illness, your wealth before your poverty, your free time before your busy time, and your life before your death.†Unfortunately it turns out to be a very difficult task to realise the importance of time in this world, so we could direct our lives accordingly on a day by day basis. That is the main reason I started this thread, because I was forgetful of that fact and wanted something to remind me of it, but also to remind it to all my brothers and sisters who shared my plight. For there is one Day where banii-aadam will fully be aware of the importance of time in this world, regretfully look back and plead with Allah: “…O Lord! Bring us out: we shall work righteousness, not the (deeds) we used to do!â€, but Allah will answer to those “Did We not give you long enough life so that he that would should receive admonition? And (moreover) the Warner came to you. So taste ye (the fruits of your deeds): for the wrongdoers there is no helper.†They will cry in vanity: “…O my Lord! Why didst Thou not give me respite for a little while? I should then have given (largely) in charity, and I should have been one of the doers of good.†(suuratul-Faatir 37 & Munaafiquun 10) DEAD MAN WALKING: This is phrase that most of us have come across before, which may be useful to explain the concept that I’m exploring to help me deal with time and life in general to increase my chances of avoiding The Punishments in the hereafter. It all started a few days ago when I was robbed by three criminals on a peaceful morning on my way home from the masjid. They just appeared from nowhere, and despite having several belts in “Brazilian Jiu-jitsuâ€, I was intimidated enough to hand over my mobile phone and wallet. But I couldn’t pay much attention to the criminals, because my thought processing mechanism switched off and all I was left with was a deep voice coming from some consciousness previously unknown to me. It spoke not with words but with feelings. The general picture was that I would be disgrace if I faced Allah with a record like mine where the evil deeds out weighted the righteous deeds on the scale. Then came the feeling that this was not the way and the place in which I wanted to die. Anyway, long after they were gone I was still standing there, unmoved by what happened and the loss of material possessions, but very deeply moved by what took place inside me and the loss of valuable time which I failed to utilise in the past. Furthermore, I was so overwhelmed by happiness for being still alive, while we know that a righteous man would value the hereafter more than this life. That reminded me of a line from a classical Arab poet, posted by brother Nur not so long ago, but also what Ibn Xaazim said to khaliif Sulaymaan bin C/Maalik when he asked him: “Why is it that we dislike death?†Ibn Xaazim ® answered him by saying: “Because you have ruined your afterlife and cultivated your worldly life, so you do not like to shift from affluence to ruin. And what a ruin it is!†That event made think in a way that I never thought of ever thinking. I wondered what would happen if I deducted all certainties in the future from the future and added to the past. My logic was, if the study of time is nothing more than one of Allah’s signatures or creations, then there should be no difference in the past and the future except in their sequences, as they are both pre-ordained under one worldly total time. Therefore our life/time can be understood with the “reverse stop-watch†theory, because if our death is certain in the future, is certain at present and always was certain in the past, then there is no reason to indulge in temporal illusions while the clock is ticking against us. So I concluded that we are already dead! How is it certain? Well, I’ve derived the concept of “dead man walking†from the revelation “kullu nafsin daaiqatul mawt†Because I’m not always in a suitable position/situation to translate that concept from theory into practical reality, I’m asking for assistance from SOL nomads to test the usefulness of that concept, before I waste any more time pursuing fruitless course of strategies. In the meantime ILLAAHAY HA NOO WADA NAXARIISTO! WCWW

Dear ukhti muslimah, Jazaaka-Allaahu khayran for your informative post, I very much appreciate your effort and hope Allah will ease your time in this world. What I am trying to find a way for is the “time†which is limited to one’s personal narrative, and not all the other aspects or dimensions of time of you wish, which is common in technical sense in all times in this world. That last perspective is the one I’ve wasted most of my time figuring out, and in the end I found out that it was not my “dimension†or part of my personal perspective of “time†since: (1) they are not subject to the same rules, (2) one is not allocated to me and the other is, though subservient to the former and (3) only will be held accountable for what I experience as "time", in time. From then on, I decided to focus on my share capital/responsibility of time, but I’m unexpectedly struggling in what I originally thought was a modest task! I my disbelief I tried many tactics to make the best use of time, but I’m still not convinced about my approach as a whole, and that is why I put this topic forward to get some new ideas and fresh understanding of this fundamental aspect. Believe it or not, the personal perception of “time†you experience is nothing but LIFE itself, therefore lets not underestimate. For example at one time I sought “time†as a friend and close companion, but could not make up whether to trust or to distrust. Another time I tried to take “time†as my enemy, but couldn’t decide whether to go on the offence or just on the defence. Nothing of what I try seems to ever work! Therefore, is there anyone of you on SOL who has developed an efficient mechanisms to trick the mind and ease the soul midway between the points A and B, between the whom and the grave? I’m looking forward to hear from you. WCWW

“You are bet numbered days. For each day that has gone, a part of you has gone. Not a day passes but that it says, ‘O son of Aadam, I am a new day who will witness your deeds; and when I leave you, I will not return.’ Your day is guest, so treat it well. If you do so, it will go on its way praising you; but if you do not, it will go on its way blaming you.†Xassan al-Basri Dear brothers and sisters, I found myself forgetting “time†during the day and realising again when I’m about to sleep. I did put some effort in understanding and contemplating “timeâ€, to the extent that I almost competently comprehended its centrality of our religion, be it between activity and inactivity or between life and death. In fact, I lost a lot of my pride just as soon as I started to entertain that I, a mere slave and a man of nothing, could possibly claim to be the reason for the existence of day and night, and the succession of cyclical interplay of space. Yet, I still lose so much valuable time every day that I have no choice but to rethink my strategy and approach. I’m interested to find out whether there are others on SOL suffering the same fate as mine, or with an useful advise as how to turn time into your advantage. WCWW

In the name of Allah, Most Gracious, Most Merciful. Brothers and sisters, Allah says: “All the other beings, whom the people invoke with Allah, create nothing! Nay, they are themselves created! They are DEAD, not living, and they do not at all know themselves when they shall again be raised to life!†(suuratul-Naxl 20-21) “Note it well that all the dwellers of the heavens and the earth belong to Allah. And those who invoke others besides Allah, follow nothing but surmises and merely indulge in guess-works!†(suurstul-Yuunus 66) “He merges night into day, and day into night, and he has subjected the Sun and the Moon (to His Law); each one runs its course for an appointed term. Such is Allah, your Lord! To Him belongs all Dominion. Those whom you invoke besides Him, do not own even a blade of grass! If you call them, they cannot hear your prayers! And if they hear, they cannot answer you! And on the Day of Resurrection, they will disown your ‘shirk’. None can inform you of the Truth, like the One Who is acquainted with all things.†(suuratul-Faatir 13-14) “Prophet, say to them, "Have you ever seen them with open eyes those whom you invoke instead of Allah? Show me what they have created in the earth? Or have they any share in the creation and control of the heavens? Bring me a Book revealed before this, or produce some remnant of knowledge in support of your beliefs if you are truthful." And who could be further astray than the one who invokes, instead of Allah, those who cannot answer him till the Day of Resurrection. Nay, they are even UNAWARE THAT THEY ARE BEING INVOKED. And when all mankind shall be gathered together (on the Day of Qiyamah), they (the so called leaders and intercessors) will become enemies of those who invoked them and they will DISOWN THEIR WORSHIP!†(suuratul-Axqaaf 4-6) There are different categories of intecession (where of which, the position of the Qur'aan and Sunnah are clear about), but the one that causes most difficulties in conceptualising is the intercession of the living creation (also known as tawassul), especially if one is ignorant of the Qur’aan and the Sunnah of the Prophet (peace be upon him). Allah first orders us: “O ye who believe! Do your duty to Allah, seek the means of approach unto Him (wasila), and strive with might and main in His cause: that ye may prosper.†(suuratul-Maaída 35). (This wasila is understood t be all actions that brings you nearer to Allah) Then He (Allah) ensures us: “And if My servants ask you, O Prophet, concerning Me, tell them that I am quite near to them. I hear and answer the prayer of the suppliant, when he calls on Me. So let them respond to My call and believe in Me. (Convey this to them), perhaps they may be guided aright!†(suuratu-Baqarah 186) And finally He (Allah) promises us: “It was a binding upon Us that the believers be helped†(suuratur-Ruum 47) From the above verses, it can be understood that Allah gave a right/guarantee to His slaves that He made binding to Himself. This is in terminological sense a contract, and can best be understood from the words of our beloved prophet, when he said: “It is His right upon them that they worship Him and associate nothing with Him, and It is their right upon Him that He should not punish them.†Therefore, it is with Allah’s permission and guarantee that someone is able to ask Allah for help, even to ask for others for their forgiveness whether they ask you to or not, but these are confined to making “ducaaâ€. As Viking also quoted above some verses from the Qur’aan and there are more, It was the most obvious thing to do for Messengers (whether asked or not). But the problem is when dealing with those who are ignorant of the Qur’aan and Sunnah, who, with an unjustified intentions and under false pretexts violate the contractual agreement with Allah, hence engaging themselves in shirk, thus voiding the contract. Allah, Most High did warn us by saying: “Call unto your Lord, humbly and secretly. He does not approve of those who cross the bounds.†(suuratul- Acraaf 55) We know the harsh consequents of transgressing the bounds, because Allah informed us that: “So worship Allah Alone, making your religion His exclusively. Beware! Religion is the exclusive Right of Allah. As for those who have taken other ‘auliyas’ (guardians) with Allah (and justify their conduct by saying): “We serve them only that they may bring us closer to Allah.†Allah will surely judge between them concerning all that in which they differ. Allah does not show guidance to any liar and denier of the Truth.†(suuratu-Zumar 2-3) “These people serve beside Allah those which can neither harm nor benefit them, and say, “These are our ‘shofa’a’ (intercessors) with Allah!†(O Mohammed), tell them, “Do you wish to inform Allah of that thing which He knows not in the heavens or in the earth?†He is absolutely free from, and exalted above the shirk that they commit.†(suuratul-Maryam 18) “These people have set up other gods that Allah, so that they may become their supporters! There will be no supporters! They will not only disown your worship, but also become their opponents.†(suuratul-Maryam 81-82) “When the people who had committed shirk in this world will see those whom they had made associates with Allah, they will say, “Our Lord, here are those associate-deities whom we used to invoke besides You.†At this their deities will retort, “You are liars!†At that time, all of them will proffer submission before Allah, and all that they used to forge in this world shall vanish from them.†(suuratul-Naxl 86-87) “They associate with Allah partners who do not create anything, but are themselves created; who cannot help them nor have the power (even) to help themselves! If you invite them to follow the Right Way, they will not follow you! It will be all the same for you whether you call them or keep silent. Those whom you invoke with Allah are MERE SERVANTS OF ALLAH LIKE YOU! Just invoke them, and if what you say of them be true, they will answer your prayers! Have they feet that they should walk with them? Or have they hands that they should hold with them? Or have they eyes that they should see with them? Or have they ears that they should hear with them? Tell them, O Mohammed, “Call up the partners you have set up, and then all of you sit down together and plot against me, and give me no respite. My Protector and Helper is Allah, Who has sent down this Book (Al Quran), and, it is He who protects the righteous people.†(suuratul-Acraaf 190-196) That is why our beloved Prophet (peace be upon him) is reported to have said: “O tribesmen of Cabdul-Munaaf, I have no say in your affairs with Allah. O Safiyyah (his aunt) I have no say in your affair with Allah. O Cabbaas (his uncle) I have no say in your affair with Allah.†That is because Allah told the best of all creations and the best of all intercessors that: “You (O Prophet) have no say in the affairs.†(suuratul-Cimraan 128) Therefore, the companions only used to ask him to pray for them (only when he was alive) while they joined up with their "aamiin" in the ducaa, be it for rain or other things. This practice is normal, as some of you may have witnessed during the Soomaali mu’tamar in the summers, when after the muxaadaro and Q&A sessions, there always seems to be an ill person who needs to be prayed for his/her health to Allah. In such gatherings (also in the Jumcah) there is only one that leads such prayers. It is in that context that it should be understood, when Cumar (rc) said in his supplications, after the death of our beloved Prophet (peace be upon him): “O Allah. When we were faced up with droughts we sought to use Your Prophet as the means of access (wasilah) and you sent us rain. Now, we seek to use the Prophet’s uncle as the means of access.†What is meant by this wasilah is, that the Prophet himself used make the supplication and they used to join with their “aamiinâ€! But now the Prophet is dead, we are joining with our “aamiin†with that of his uncle, so accept from us. Otherwise if it was done in the sense of association, they would have used the Prophet for their intercession, who enjoys a much greater honour in the sight of Allah (and that would have been shirk). Allah protected their souls from such wrongdoing, and they knew and understood the Qur’aan and the Prophet’s Sunnah best among the ummah. Allah knows best. WCWW

In the name of Allah, Most Gracious, Most Merciful Dear brothers and sisters, This book will spare you time by instantly providing you with an intrueging insight to the purpose of western educational system. At least that is what I think as I haven't read yet. Link: http://www.ishcon.org/modules.php?name=News&file=article&sid=264 WCWW

In the name of Allah, Most Gracious, Most Merciful. Dear brothers and sisters, here is my take on: CAQIIDATU-DHIIN This creed, for those who are not familiar yet, entails the following beliefs: - The shiicaa and ahlus-sunnah are not created from the same clay. - The shiicaa are created from good, pure and clean clay. - Their enemy (ahlus-sunnah/people of truth) are created from another type of clay, which is bad, evil and cursed as it is the clay of Hell. - Little bit of their cursed clay was taken and mixed with us, and little bit of our pure clay mixed with theirs. - Every good deed ahlus-sunnah makes is due to our clay mixed in them. - Every bad deed we shiicaa make is due the cursed clay of our enemy mixed in us. - Therefore in Aakhirah, our good, pure and clean clay will be given back to us, together with all its good deeds ahlus-sunnah made due to it. - And ahlus-sunnah will get their bad, evil and cursed clay that was that was mixed in us, together with all the bad deeds and sins we made, due to their clay mixed in us. - All good deeds ahlus-sunnah are making now will eventually be for us. - All the bad deeds and dunuubs we are making now will eventually be for our enemy, the ahlus-sunnah. For reference see: Bixaarul Anwaar, chapter 5, page 247-248. Ibn Babaway’s Sharaaci, page 490-491 and 606-610. Kulayni’s Usuulul Kaafi, chapter 2, page 6. “The issue (of “caqiidatu-dhiin) has numerous narrations from different sources, there is no space to deny its validity and truthfulness†(Anwaarul Nucmaaniyah, chapter 1, page 293) However, this is one of the most secretive concepts of the shiicaa belief-system, especially by their scholars who spare no effort in hiding it from the ignorant. Nicmatu-Laahil Al-Jazaai’ri who died 1112 H, and was one of their great scholars said: “If the (ignorant) shiicaa knew of this creed, they would have done the same as their great leaders/scholars, to enjoy life its fullest, because the subsequent punishments for these actions would be burdened on others†(Anwaarul Nucmaaniyah, chapter 1, page 295) If this is not a licence to engage in all that is forbidden by Allah, than I don’t know what it is. Could this be one of the contributing factors why most Iranians I see in Europe have either become Christians, Atheists, homophiles, drug addicts or HIV/aids positive. There is an emphasis made on the obligatory implementation of “Caqiidatu-Taqqiyyah†by all shiicaa until the so called “second comingâ€, which should be used every time one is asked about their belief in “caqiidatu-Dhiinâ€. In other words lie and say we don’t belief in it, as a religious duty, which brings one closer to God. JUDGEMENT OF THE QURÃAN It is not appropriate for us to discuss the issue of separate creation of man from two different kinds of clay, or even comment on, but these days everyone would believe everything (i.e. OG Girl & Sakina) so lets go through it quickly. A logic mind (non-shiicaa “twelvers†apparently) would want to know; how many Adams were there? From what clay were the people of pre-shiicaa movements made of? Can a non-shiicaa become one? If so, what about the cursed clay one is made of? We do not find in the Quráan anything that supports that fallacy. Allah told us: “We created man from sounding clay, from mud moulded into shape;†(suuratul-Xijr 26) “Behold! Thy Lord said to the angels: “I am about to create man, from sounding clay from mud moulded into shape:†(suuratul-Xijr 28) In fact, the arrogance claim that one is created from a better substance than others, therefore should be privileged in status is nothing new at all. Remember when Ibliis said: “I am not one to prostrate myself to man, whom Thou didst create from sounding clay, from mud moulded into shape.†(suuratul-Xijr 33) And “When Allah said: “What prevented you from prostrating when I commanded thee?†He said: “I am better than he: Thou didst create me from fire, and him from clay†(suuratul- Acraaf 12) Are all actions in this world useless, as the shiicaa claim, and all rewards in the hereafter based on (racial?) clay family? If that is the case why have we been created? Why are on earth? Why not straight to Hell or Heaven? This is how the Quráan ridicules their points! “He who has created death and life, that He might test you which of you is best in conduct.†(suuratul-Mulk 2) “We shall surely try you until we know that of you struggle and are patient.†(suuratul-Muxammad 31) “Do you think you could enter Paradise without God establishing who of you strive hard and who are patient.†(suuratul-Cimraan 142) “Go forth, light or heavy! Struggle hard in Allah’s way with your possessions and your selves, this is good for you if you but knew it.†(suuratul-Baqarah 218) “(That) no bearer shall bear the burden of another, and that nothing shall be accounted to man but what he has striven for.†(suuratul-Najm 38-39) “Whoever works righteousness benefits his own soul; whoever works evil, it is against his own soul: nor is thy Lord ever unjust (in the least) to His servants.†(suuratul-Fusilat 46) “On no soul do We place a burden greater than it can bear: before Us is record which clearly speaks the truth. They will never be wronged.†(suuratul-Mu’minuun 62) There is also within their belief-system, the idea that all people in the hereafter will be sorted in two groups, (a) the people of good clay (shiicaa) and (b) the people of bad clay (ahlus-sunnah). However, this concept wasn’t thoroughly thought through, as it is evident with some amazing implications. Such as, what about the non-shiicaa/ahlus-sunnah peoples, the Christians, Jews, Atheists, Pagans and all other ancient peoples before the advent of shiicaa doctrines? Well, their ********* is here very obvious, butt still, below are the Quránic verses showing the correct categorisation and how just Allah deals with his slaves. So read carefully and reflect on them. “On that Day will men proceed in groups sorted out, to be shown the Deeds that they (had done). Then shall anyone who has done an atom’s weight of good, see it! And anyone who has done an atom’s weight of evil, shall see it.†(suuratul-Zulzilat 6-8) (a) “Then (there will be) the Companions of the Right Hand;- what will be the Companions of the Right Hand? (b) And the Companions of the Left Hand,- what will be the Companions of the Left Hand! © And the Foremost (in Faith) will be Formost (in the Hereafter).†(suuratul-Waaqicah 8-10) “On the day We shall raise from all Peoples a witness against them, from amongst themselves: And We shall bring thee as a witness against these (thy people): and We have sent down to thee the Book explaining all things, a Guide, a Mercy, and Glad Tidings to Muslims.†(suuratul-Naxl 89) “What is with you must vanish: what is with Allah will endure. And We will certainly bestow, on those who patiently persevere, their reward according to the best of their actions. Whoever works righteousness, man or woman, and has Faith, verily, to him will We give a life that is good and pure, and We will bestow on such their reward according to the best of their actions.†(suuratul-Naxl 96-97) “On the Day every soul will come up pleading for itself, and every soul will be recompensed (fully) for all its actions, and none will be unjustly dealt with.†(suuratul-Naxl 111) “If any does good, the reward to him is better than his deed; but if any does evil, the doers of evil are only punished (to the extent) of their deeds.†(suuratul-Qasas 84) “Then those whose balance (of good deeds) is heavy,- they will be successful. But those whose balance is light, will be those who have lost their souls, in Hell will they abide.†(suuratul-Mu’minuun 102-103) “That Day shall ye be brought to judgement: not an act of yours that ye hide will be hidden. Then he that will be given his Record in his right hand will say: “Ah here! Read ye my Record! “I did really think that my Account would (one Day) reach me!†And he will be in a life of Bliss. (suuratul-Xaaq 18-21) “And he that will be given his Record in his left hand, will say: “Ah! Would that my Record had not been given to me! “And that I had never realised how my Account (stoos)! “Ah! Would that (Death) had made an end of me!†(suuratulXaaq 25-27) “Then he who is given his record in his right hand, soon will his account be taken by an easy reckoning,†(suuratul-Inshiqaaq 7-8) “But he who is given his Record behind his back,- soon will he cry for Perdition, and he will enter a Blazing Fire.†(suuratul-Inshiqaaq 10-12) “The Day that the enemies of Allah will be gathered together to the Fire, they will be marched in ranks. At length, when they reach the (Fire), their hearing, their sight, and their skins will bear witness against them, ss to (all) their deeds. They will say to their skins: “why bear ye witness against us?†They will say: “Allah hath given us speech,- (He) Who giveth speech to everything: He created you for the first time, and unto Him were ye to return. “Ye did not seek to hide yourselves, lest your hearing, your sight, and your skins should bear witness against you! But ye did think that Allah knew not many of the things that ye used to do! “But this thought of yours which ye did entertain concerning your Lord, hath brought you to destruction, and (now) have ye become of those utterly lost!†If, then, they have patience, the Fire will be a Home for them! And if they beg for pardon, their suit shall not be granted.†(suuratul-Fusilat 19-24) Hope fully we can discuss their “Caqiidatu-Takfiirus-Saxaabah†next time if Allah allows us, and I sincerely apologies for all my shortcomings and mistakes I’ve made. Brother Viking, that would be a good idea, and I’m all for it. QUESTION: Miss OG Girl, How is it for a Somali person, whose entire tribe he/she belongs to are almost all of them ahlus-sunnah, become a shiicaa? What about the cursed clay then? Shall we not show little respect for science? WCWW

In the name of Allah, Most Gracious, Most Merciful Dear brothers and sisters, As promised I’m initiating the refutation of falsehoods by re-examining the creed of the “ithnaa cashariyyah†shiicaa in the light of the Quráan one by one. What I hope to achieve by that is, to remove any doubt that may exist, regarding the differences between the people of truth and the twelvers, that it is not related to political or historical issues, but are of fundamentally irreconcilable gabs in the belief-system of Islam. I hope too, that the brothers and sisters will correct the mistakes I’ve made in this effort, and add everything I left out due to ignorance or forgot due to weakness, after all I’m a man with very little knowledge and understanding of the world. CAQIIDATUL-BADAA This is the belief that Allah deficient in his knowledge of detail and the future, therefore makes mistakes, so needs to change mind frequently. In other words Allah has no power over events in his creation of subduing onto his will, He is ignorant of somethings of which when He finds out, needs to change mind in accordance, because previously it was outside of His knowledge and awareness. This is bluntly denying Allah’s Attributes; this is contrary to what the Quráan teaches us, and the way of Islam. To proof that I’m not making this up, below are few extracts taken from shiicaa sources affirming the importance of believing that concept in their belief-system, even more important than salaad, soon, zakko, xajj …just deside for yourself after reading these quotes. I’m sure that whoever believes in these fantasies would be able to explain to us in a more “rational†manner, the reason for holding these beliefs and their proof from the Quráan (or ofcourse deny the Quráan in its totality). “There is no more rewarding and better way to elevate and glorify Allah than to say, Allah has come to know things of which he was previously ignorant†“If the people knew the benefits and the enormous amounts of ajar one could get by saying Allah is ignorant/unaware of some things, people would never get tired of repeating it every day†“Allah has never sent a messenger, but to forbid drinking alcohol and convey to them that Allah is ignorant/unaware of the future†“There is no similar or more rewarding worship, that to declare concept of Allah’s ignorance of the future†For references, see: Usuulul Kaafi, chapter 1 page 146, Kulayni. Al-Tawxiid, page 332, by their “raíisul muxaddithsiin†Ibn Babaway Assunduuq. Al-Anwar, vol. 3, page 107, Al-Majlisi (who also states that there are 70 xaddiiths from their imams stating that point). Addariica Ilaa Tusaami Fii Shiica, chapter 3, page 53-57 (is also listed 25 books dealing with that concept alone). REASONS FOR BELIEVING AND THE NECESSATIES OF INVENTING IT 1) The shiicaa “twelver†belief is built upon lies and forgeries. 2) The macsuumiyyah of their imams, who is claimed to have knowledge of everything. (Nur may be able to list many more points) Therefore if the imaam gets things wrong, it is not his fault but Allah’s, who had changed things which previously were based on His deficient knowledge, and are now changed according to His updated Knowledge/information. That is as you all can see a win-win scenario for these wicked innovators after adding the ultimate escape-clausule in their fundamental creed. The best example is the 70 years claim after which the imaams would rule over the world. When the 70 years lapsed and people started asking questions, it was replied to them: “Allah changed his mind according to new development of which He knew not when the promise was made†see Usuulul Kaafi, chapter 1, page 260. There are more such examples in history. Unfortunately, the taste for irony was lost on them too, when they declared lawful to declare ignorance on Allah and unlawful on their mortal imams, but Allah said: “They attribute to Allah what they hate (for themselves), and their tongues assert the falsehood that the reward most fair is for themselves: without doubt for them is the fire, and they will be the first to be hastened into it!†(suuratul-Naxl 62) “Glorified is your Lord, the Lord of Might and Honour, above what they attribute to Him†(suuratu-Saaffaat 180) WHAT IS THE VIEW OF THE QURÃAN The following verses from the Quráan inform us, contrary to what the “twelver†shiicaa uphold, that Allah’s Attributes are all that which is affirmed by He and His Messenger (peace be upon him) for Himself, and we must affirm. Also all that which denied by He and His Messenger (peace be upon him) for Himself, we must deny. Moreover, Allah said: “With him are the keys to the Unseen. No one knows them except He. He knows what is in the land and in the sea. Not a leaf falls but He knows it, not a grain (is there) in the dark (crevices) of the earth, nor a fresh thing or withered, but it is (recorded) in a Clear Book. It is He who takes away your souls by the night and knows what you do by the day†(suuratl-Ancaam 59-60) “He created everything, then He determined it with (perfect) determination†(suuratul-Furqaan 2) “Verily, We created everything in a just proportion.†(suuratul-Qamar 49) For example, contrary to what they said, when Ismaaciil died before his father, imaam Jacfar Assaadiq which, according to them, the imaam heir-apparent was not supposed to be dying before the imam, and was again accredited to Allah’s knowledge deficiency and change of mind in line with the new events; However, Allah says in the Quráan: “It is not for a soul to die save by the will of Allah: a term written down.†(suuratul-Cimraan 145) “Nor a long-lived man ages up nor is a decrease made in his age but is in a Book.†(suuratul- Faadir 11) “Each term is written down. Allah blots out or confirms what He will and with Him is the Mother of the Books.†(suuratul-Racd 38-39) “Allah has knowledge of everything.†(suuratu-Tawbah 115) “And Allah is Aware of all things.†(suuratul-Fatx 26) “Verily, Allah knows the unseen of the heavens and earth. Verily, He is aware of all that is in (men’s) hearts.†(suuratul-Faatir 35-38) Allah informs us that He knows everything, that which was, that which was not, that which was not even if it was, that which is to be, that which is not to be, that which is not to be even if it was; what all their outcome was/is/would be/could have been. As Allah said: “And, if they are returned, they would be back to doing what they were forbidden.†(suuratul-Ancaam 28) “Had Allah known any good in them, He would have made them hear. But, had He made them hear, they would have turned away and shown their backs.†(suuratul-Anfaal) “Were there any gods except God in (the heavens and the earth) surely they would have fallen in disorder and chaos.†(suuratul-Anbiyaa 22) From what I’ve set out above, if correct (I trust upon you to point out my mistakes, and I expect for those who ascribe to the above mentioned school of thought to ignore these points as usually), we can easily conclude that none of whosoever believes in the sanctity of the Holy Quráan, can claim to shiicaa “twelverâ€! Hopefully next time we’ll be able to look into “caqiidatu-dhiin†in light with Book of revelations. Brother Viking, I must admit that I made these remarks with the full knowledge, that I was providing you free ammunition to evade the issue at stake, and hence attack me rather than the points that I’m trying to make. Nevertheless, it did had its desired affect, and now I have your attention, I, with all the humility and humbleness I can gather, request you to answer my following questions. IS THE DOCTRINE OF “CAQIIDATUL-BADAA†ISLAMIC? IF SO, WHERE IS YOUR PROOF FROM THE QURÃAN? IF NOT, WHY DON’T YOU DENOUNCE AND CONDEMN THAT CONCEPT AS UN-ISLAMIC AND BASELESS LIES? WHY DON’T YOU GET OFFENDED WHEN SOMEONE IMPLIES THE ALLEGATIONS OF LIES AND EVILNESS ON THE PART OF ABUBAKR ASSIDDIIQ AND CUMAR AL-FAARUUQ, AND EVEN SILENTLY APPROVE, YET, GET IMMIDIATELY OFFENDED WHEN SOMEONE IMPLIES THE SAME ON YOUR PART? (you don’t have to answer this one) WCWW

In the name of Allah, Most Gracious, Most Merciful Dear brothers and sisters, Since our shiicaa brethren did not openly declare the glorious Quráan as being false, there is nothing to worry about whatever interpretation they come up with. The Quráan will reinforce the position of the people of truth, and totally discredit the position of the “ithnaa cashariyyahâ€, for that reason, one cannot confess the truthfulness of the glorious Quráan whiles at the same time holding to these fantastically unbelievable Allah has said: There shal surely come to you guidance from Me, and whosoever follows My guidance, no fear shall be upon them, and neither shall they sorrow. And those who disbelieve and cry lies to Our messages, those shall be the inhabitants of the Fire. (suuratul-Baqarah 38-39) Now there has come to you from God Light, and a clear Book; through which God guides him who follows His pleasure in the paths of peace, and brings them out of the depths of darkness into the light, by His leave; and He guides them onto a straight path. (suuratul-Baqatah 207) And who has a better Way than he who surrenders his whole being (or will) unto God, doing (every act) excellently. (suuratul-Nisaa 125) And remember God’s blessing upon you, and His solemn pledge by which He bound you (to Himself) when you said: We have heard, and obey. (suuratul-Maaídah 7) The only response of Believers, whenever they are summoned unto God and His Messenger that he may judge between them, id that thay say: We hear and we obey; those- they are prosperous. (suuratul-Nuur 51) It is not for any believing man or believing woman, when God and His Messenger have ruled in any matter, to have any authority for themselves in their affairs. For whoever rebels against God and His Messenger has gone astray into manifest error. (suuratul-Axzaab 26) Follow what has been sent down to you from your Lord, and follow no masters other than Him; little do you remember. (suuratul-Acraaf 3) We have not ever sent any messenger, but that he should be obeyed, by God’s leave. (suuratul-Nisaa 64) Whoever obeys the Messenger, he has indeed obeyed God. (suuratul-Nisaa 80) Whatever the Messenger gives you take it; whatever he forbids you, give it up. And fear only God. (suuratul-Xashr 7) Have you not seen those who assert that they believe in what has been sent down to you, and what was send down before you, and yet desire to summon one another to the rule of powers in rebellion agains God, although they have been commanded to reject them. But Satan desires to lead them far astray. (suuratul-Nisaa 60) see also suuratul-Nahl 36. But, by your Lord, they do not believe unless they make you the judge in whatever matters arise between them, and then they find in their hearts no impediment regarding what you have decided, but surrender in full submission. (suuratul-Nisaa 65) Who judges not according to what God has sent down- they are the disbelievers…they are the wrongdoers …they are the transgressors. (suuratul-Maaídah 44-47) Thus, my second question is (assuming having answered yes the first one), in light with the above mentioned verses, shall we not judge the fundamental basis of the so called “ithnaa cashariyyah†creed in accordance with Allah’s revelations, if we are true to our claims? Would also, the refusal to judge the correctness of our creed by Allah’s Word, mean the rejection of the revelation and the message of Islam? Miss OG, you previously talked about the fact that you are allowed to go to Makkah for Xajj, as a matter, which validates the righteousness of your belief-system. Unfortunately that is simplistic view to take (all your views embarrassingly simplistic for that matter) when it comes to the issues of belief and disbelief, which are based on any decision taken, to allow or not to allow anyone’s entrance in Makkah for whatever purpose. Therefore, we people of truth (ahlussunah waljamaacah), take the view cannot declare apostasy on the ignorant and deceived masses who are the followers of the so called “ithnaa cashariyyah†before/unless is explained the true message of Allah and the way of His Messenger (peace be upon him), from which then it becomes xujjah upon them. However, those who have become subject to xujjah and rejected by their own will, those who are their leaders and scholars, all of those are apostates and outside the realm of faith. It is they, rather than the ignorant populace, who should be refused entrance in Makkah. If you call your professor extremist, for his statement that he would not have allowed them to go to Xajj, had he been in a position of leadership. Well, I’m telling you now, that had I been in a position of leadership, I would have fought them and brought them to justice (Quráan and Sunnah) in humbleness for the sake of Allah. Secondly, what you said of Allah changing his mind (subxaanalaah, may the camels of your ancestors be destroyed), don’t you know that to change mind stems from imperfect knowledge? Exalted is He (Allah) what you ascribe to him!!!! Since it is part of my next topic, we’ll go more into depth then. As for Viking and the fatwa he brought forward, one must remember that the same sheikh had made a fatwa supporting atheistic system of socialism. He was not the only career mufti then, and definitely not the only one now. Come up with proofs from the clear sources of guidance (I have proposed to you the Quráan), if you are not a liar! This is a challenge to your evil self, that which you camouflage behind others and in the name of the quest for the truths. Come out and show your true face if you dare. Allah said: And some men there are who say: We believe in God and the Last Day; but they are not (really) Believers … in their hearts is a desease. (suuratul-Baqarah 8-10) Next time, hadduu eebbe idmo, we’ll take a closer look at the so called “caqiidatul badaayaâ€, what the Quráan states, what the people of truth believe and what their lies and deception led them to believe. WCWW

In the name of Allah, Most Gracious, Most Merciful. Dear brothers and sisters, I would like to suggest that dealing with the issues of fundamentals in the Islamic creed, needs to be taken one at the time to make any meaningful progress in presenting the truth. If our shiicaa brethren agree with us on the unquestionably of the glorious Qur’aan, I would also like to suggest that we from now on base all our judgments on the Qur’aan. If your are true to your claims of open mindedness and seeking the truth, when the XAQQ comes, BAADHIL vanishes. The ignorant (like me) and the logically challenged should greatly benefit, unlike those who Allah described as “summum bukmun cumyunâ€, also present in the forum. We should present and examine the following shiicaa concepts, such as “caqiidatul badaaâ€, “caqiidatul dhiin†etc. one by one in the light of the Qur’aan and if the Qur’aan supports these concepts, we should accept , but if the Qur’aan rejects these concept, then we should all reject and condemn these stances. I hope you’ll all agree on the rulings of the glorious Qur’aan in which there is no doubt, so we can atleast start a constructive discussion here. Whenever his Lord called upon him to surrender, he readily responded: I surrender to the Lord of all the worlds (suuratul-baqarah 131) I have turned my face to him who is the Creator of the heavens and the earth, having turned away from all else (suuratul-ancaam 79) I’ll be waiting for your responses.

In the name of Allah, Most Gracious, Most Merciful. Dear brother Nur, I understand that you may have little time, but I would like to kindly point out to you that I've sent you a message in you SOL mailbox and I'm still waiting for your reply. A/c

Some lucrative spill-over effects of combating Islam, not taking Christianity, Zionism, financial sector, dictators and other “coalition of the killing†and rebellious enemies of Allah into account!! You Somali amateurs put us to disgrace by associating our objectives with your primitive “spectacle of savageness†un-witnessed since the building of Noah’s arc When Peace Is The Enemy Ten Deadly Enemies of Humanity in America By Dr. Charles Mercieca 06/09/05 "ICH" - - Every dictionary describes enemy as “one hostile to another; one who hates another; a foe; an adversary; an antagonist; a hostile force, army, fleet, or the like.†The enemy’s goal is to destroy anything that comes in the enemy’s way that would prevent such an enemy from the achievement of set goals and purposes. Hence, any person or group that performs actions that are detrimental to our environment, to our very own life may be viewed as our deadly enemy. Destructive Intent of American Corporations Regardless as to whether or not Americans as a whole perceive it, we may single out the ten deadly enemies of the American people and of all people of all nations as a matter of fact. These are ten American largest corporations whose product is virtually lethal. They put in danger not only the people who work for such industries but also those who are directly or indirectly affected by their deadly products. They are all linked to wars and they all view peace as their outright enemy since peace would eventually render their product obsolete. This means, they would not cease embracing their Satanic God, known as the never-ending-accumulation of wealth and money. These top deadly enemies make billions of dollars annually on the premise that the end justifies the means. To this end, they employ psychologists to study the mood of the people and to come with advertisement proposals so as to present their product deceitfully to the people. They want the American people either to accept it by all means or, at least, to remain indifferent about it. There is only one thing they do not want absolutely, namely, to see people openly critical against their deadly product. In this presentation, we are not going into details on the nature of the deadly product of such ten big corporations. We are simply going to pinpoint them and bring them into the open for everyone to see and comprehend. We hope that those who are interested in the preservation of our environment and life would investigate on their own the extent of irreversible damage these monsters of our earthly society are procuring. We are going to enlist them briefly and to explain what they do with a brief comment on how their product leads to the destruction of our environment and of our life. Needless to say, the fact that they may produce good product should not be a justification of their continued existence the way they are. 1. Lockheed Martin Corporation, better known by many as Lockheed Martin Aeronautics Company, is located in Forth Worth, Texas. This company chose to specialize in the manufacture of military aircrafts whose job is to devastate entire nations mercilessly in the name of national security, peace and world stability! It produces F-16 Fighting Falcon, the versatile air-lifter C-130J Super Hercules, the stealth fighter F-117 Nighthawk, and the next generation fighter F/A 22 Raptor. All these are meant to be used not by civilians for positive and constructive purposes, but by the military for negative and destructive activities. This lethal company has been awarded contracts to build the multi-service and multi-mission F-35 Joint Strike Fighter! Lockheed Martin sells its products to any nation that gives the right price under the pretext that such nations have a right for self-defense! Like Retired US Admiral Gene La Rocque remarked in his videotapes: “Military product is manufactured primarily not for the defense of the USA or of any other country but merely for profit.†2. Boeing Company is viewed as the largest aerospace company in the world. It is commissioned to make commercial jets that it sells to any nation that wishes to purchase such a product. Although Boeing tries to stress the word “commercial†in its advertisements, it is also in the business of making military aircraft and missile in addition to phantom works. It tries to justify its product as an effective means for the United States to defend itself against the enemy. Here we need to ask: Who is the enemy? At one time the answer was: The Soviet Union. However, after the Soviet collapse they came out with another enemy known as the rogue states, which consist of a group of some five to six banana republics where people are starving and are having surmountable problems. Like every other big industry, Boeing is primarily concerned with profit. To this end, it would not object to provide every single nation on earth with its product as long as involved nations would pay the right price. Confronted with such a reality, the concept of nationalism and patriotism for Americans becomes literally meaningless. And to distract the American people from the industry’s malicious intent, the stress on the concept of patriotism emerged to be popular. This explains why nowadays you see some of the top executives in these deadly corporations, along with top US government officials, wearing an American flag pin on their chest. 3. Northrop Grumman Corporation works under the guise of national security, civil and industrial needs by providing advanced information technology systems whose ultimate goal is to make American wars more devastating as to kill the maximum amount of people possible with the least effort. Among other devices, it has developed Kinetic Energy Interceptors Missile Defense Battle Management Capabilities. This company has made the waging of wars as its source of income. Behind the scenes it makes sure that wars are constantly taking place, even if it had to provide weaponry systems to potential enemies and then instigate them to use them via third parties. This would be needed to give them the excuse to start a devastating war where everyone, including Americans, would be a loser and no one a winner. We need to keep in mind that in the United States both individuals and corporations have the freedom to make money the way they want. This policy has enabled the manufacturers of all kinds of weapons to develop into lucrative businesses no matter how much their product would prove to be detrimental to innocent people. After all, as we learned from the Iraqi war, the massacre of innocent Iraqis in tens of thousands has been referred by American politicians who support fully the weapons industry not as victims but merely as collateral damage, like people were a piece of discarded furniture. 4. General Dynamics Corporation is one of the major military contractors. Recently it was awarded $900 million contract for the production of 2.75 inch rockets from the US Army Aviation and Missile Command, Redstone Arsenal, Alabama. This corporation, like other similar ones, is in the business of air and water pollution and of hastening the road to Armageddon. Under the guise of peace, General Dynamics continues to fleece the US government of tens of millions of dollars, money that would have been used constructively to provide homes for the homeless, give our children adequate health care and education, and enable researchers to find remedies to such deadly maladies as cancer, heart disease, multiple sclerosis and epilepsy, among others. General dynamics is headquartered in Falls Church, Virginia and it employs over 70,000 people worldwide. In 2004 it had revenue of over $19 billion dollars. Its lethal product is used for expeditionary combat systems, armaments and munitions as well as shipbuilding and marine systems among. This corporation is responsible for rockets that can be fired from a variety of rotary and fixed platforms that include, among others, US Army apache and US Marine Corps Cobra attack helicopters. One of the best sources to see what this corporation, along with other deadly ones mentioned in this presentation, is doing would be the internet. 5. Raytheon Company specializes in high technology with operations in commercial and defense electronics, engineering, construction, aviation, and major appliances. This company has embarked on advertisements that show the company’s concern for the “needs of the people†starting with giving assistance to families of US military men in Iraq. At the same time, this company supports the Ballistic Missile Defense System. Most of its war products are in testing today. In spite of its effort to establish a good image as being humanitarian and peaceful, Raytheon does nothing positive and constructive for peace in the sense that it works for the prevention of war rather than for the waging of war. The idea that these deadly enemies in America of our earthly community would work for a genuine peace through the development of a program of international disarmament and arms control not only it does not exist in their agenda, but the very thought of it may be easily dismissed as craziness! This company, like the others enlisted in this presentation, has people trained in talking with top government officials by presenting them with videotapes showing how the development of more sophisticating and devastating weapons would enhance the national security of the United States. Unfortunately, most of the US government officials, mostly Republicans, fall easily into trap and concede to allot more and more money for more and more weapons and wars. 6. United Technologies Corporation claims to be a $37 billion company whose products include heating and cooling fire and security systems along with Pratt & Whitney aircraft engines, Sikorsky helicopters and UTC Power fuel cells, among others. As stated earlier, these deadly corporations are in the business of making money through the production mostly of devastating lethal products. Recently, Sikorsky S-92 helicopter won Korean Presidential competition. This type of helicopter is now sold to South Korea. United Technologies Corporation states that what it manufactures is merely for national defense and security of the United States and of all the other countries that purchase such products. There is no war machinery whatsoever that is said to be manufactured for purpose of the destruction of the infrastructure of nations and the massacre of numerous innocent people. When this happens we already know what they would say relative to the horrendous crimes that are committed against innocent people in every way. It’s merely collateral damage! The best contribution that this company could do is to get out of the war business, the sooner the better. We need to develop an international program of disarmament and arms control. At the same time, we need to leave the job of international relations and peace in the hands for world-wide humanitarian organizations and out of the hands of the government’s officials. 7. Halliburton Company claims to be one of the world’s largest providers of products and services to the oil and gas industries. No wonder it moved so quickly to take hold of the oil in Iraq shortly after the American invasion and occupation. This company employs 100,000 people in over 120 countries. These people are primarily trained in drilling and formation evaluation, fluid systems, production optimization as well as digital and consulting solutions. Over the past several years, this company made it clear that it wants to be second to none in technological leadership, operational excellence as well as innovative business relationships, and dynamic workforce. Three of the most dangerous and abusive companies in the USA are the trio corporations consisting of the weapons, oil and construction companies. They seem to work hand in hand. The weapons industry destroys the infrastructure of a nation such as it has been in Iraq, then the oil industry steps in to take charge of the existent oil of such nation and other rich natural resources when available, while the construction company steps in to rebuild what the weapons industry destroyed successfully. Needless to say, these three big corporations seem to work hand in hand like they were a mafia type of organization. 8. General Electric Company seems to be one of the most astute companies in the world when it comes to the advertisement of its product. It focuses on products that are mostly used by the general public, like bulbs and refrigerators. When it comes to the products that are harmful to people, it tends to play it cool and hardly makes any public advertisements. This company has some $500 billion dollars in assets and has business in 47 nations around the world. It has been heavily involved in nuclear weapons emitting toxic wastes that made countless thousands of people have numerous health problems many of whom died prematurely. A videotape report was made to illustrate this reality entitled: Deadly Deception. This videotape report was produced by a concerned private humanitarian organization known as Corporate Accountability International, and could be contacted at 46 Plympton Street, Boston, Massachusetts 02118. This organization has been very active in protecting the life of ordinary citizens whose air has been dangerously polluted by big corporations that included lately the giant oil corporations of Exxon/Mobil, and Chevron/Texaco. It also got after other big corporations like Coca-Cola, which has been draining all of the pure water they can get hold on, and tobacco giants like Phillip Morris whose structured deceitful advertisements about their lethal product has hooked millions on nicotine most of whom were sent to their grave already. General Electric Company remains a very dangerous company because of its involvement in nuclear weapons. 9. Science Applications International Corporation is the largest employee-owned research and engineering company in the United States. Like the other mentioned big corporations, this corporation is also involved in military ventures. Just recently it signed a contract with the US Air Force to provide system engineering and integration support for the Joint Mission Planning system (JMPS) for a period of 12 years. The contract exceeds $200 million dollars. The ultimate purpose would be to make US military missions, as they are called, more effective. In plain words, the objective would be for the US Air Force to become more devastating in future wars on any regional or global scale. Some of the work that is performed deals with health care, energy and telecommunication. Needless to say, each of these deadly companies do provide services that could be termed to be positive and beneficial but such services do not seem to be the focus of the company as a whole. Besides, this giant corporation is trying to work hand in had with military vehicles, homeland security as well as anything that goes under the titled of national security, whatever that may mean since such a phrase has been so much misused and abused in the past. Some of its major clients may be enlisted as criminal justice, space ventures, which may include control of weapons in space, and effective transportation in addition to others. 10. Computer Sciences Corporation provides mostly consulting, systems integration and design, and software for industries and for governmental requirements. Although this corporation is also involved with health services, its focus seems to be on aerospace and defense dealing with weapons and military equipment for purpose of waging of endless wars. The US government spent billions of dollars on this industry at the expense of the American people’s health care and education. Such money could have been used to improve Americans’ quality life through the elimination of hunger, the provision of homes for the homeless, and the cure of diseases that are killing Americans unnecessarily. According to the United Nations report on the children’s state of health in every country, one out of five children in the USA suffers from malnutrition and hunger. As stated by retired top military commanders of the US Center for Defense Information in Washington, DC, these big military corporations are not primarily concerned with the defense of the American nation, nor of any other nation as a matter of fact. Their primary and only concern is profit as stated eaerlier. When the Soviet Union collapsed the United States was given the opportunity to bring about a permanent world peace through the development of an international program of disarmament and arms control. After all, this has been a major goal of the United Nations since its establishment in 1945. We are submitting a list of names and addresses of main offices of these top ten deadly enemies of humanity in America in the order of billions of dollars that were made out of the manufacture and sales of military ammunitions and weapons of mass destruction during the year 2004. 1. Lockheed Martin Corporation, 6901 Rockledge Drive, Bethesda, Maryland 20917, USA, Phone: 301-897-6000, Fax: 301-897-6704 2. Boeing Company, 100 North Riversides, Chicago, Illinois 60606, USA, Phone: 312-544-2000, 3. Northrop Grumman Corporation, 1840 Century Part East, Los Angeles, California 90067, USA, Phone: 310-553-6262, Fax: 310-553-2076 4. General Dynamics Corporation, 13880 Del Sur Street, San Fernando, California 91340, USA, Phone: 818-897-111, Fax: 818-899-4045 5. Raytheon Company, 870 Winter Street, Waltham, Massachusetts 02451, USA, Phone: 781-522-3000, Fax: 781-522-3001 6. United Technologies Corporation, 275 Westminster Street, Suite 400, Providence, Rhode Island 02903, USA, Phone: 401-521-5700, Fax: 401-521-3332, Fax: 401-521-3332 7. Halliburton Company, 5 Houston Center, 1401 McKinney, Suite 240 C, Houston, Texas 77020, USA, Phone: 710-759-2600, Fax: 710-759-2605 8. General Electric Company, 1717 East Interstate Avenue, Bismarck, North Dakota 58503, USA, Phone: 701-223-0441, Fax: 701-224-5336 9. Science Applications International Corporation, 10260 Campus Point Drive, San Diego, California 92121, USA, Phone: 858-826-6000, Fax: 858-826-6800 10. Computer Sciences Corporation, 2100 East Grand Avenue, El Segundo, California 90245, USA, Phone: 310-615-0011, Fax: 310-322-9769 In conclusion, the American people have the sacrosanct duty to bring these ten deadly enemies of humanity in America under control by refusing to manufacture weapons and deadly military equipment and to insist with such corporations to replace without delay their lethal products with constructive items that would be beneficial to all people without exception. Dr. Charles Mercieca. President of International Association of Educators for World Peace NGO, United Nations (ECOSOC), UNDPI, UNICEF, UNCED & UNESCO Professor Emeritus of Alabama A&M University Copyright: Dr. Charles Mercieca.

IN THE NAME OF ALLAH, THE MOST GRACIOUS, MOST MERCIFUL. Our suufi brother writes: “1. Find the spacific aspect/question that you want to know more about.†â€2. Study the Quran and Hadith and find out how the message of God answers from that question.†“7. In your night sleep, be aware of your dreams, and see if you meet any historical religious persons like the prophet(Peace be upon him) or angelic beings.One can get answers in that way.†This implicates any other contradictive statements, but we could also derive some “unconscious†underlying sentiments. The most lethal one is when the above quotations are combined. You hve to make up your mind!.......either the Quraan and the Sunnah are enough for guidance or they are not enough and Islaam is not complete. It is disingenuous for our brother suufi to use Quraan and Xaddiis in this context and to suggest at the same time not to rely on them until you humm before you slepp for 25 minutes, then get the true answers and guidance when you “meet any historical religious persons like the prophet(Peace be upon him) or angelic beings†in your sleep! The above quotations from our brother will guarantee one a successful backdoor entrances into the tormenting punishments of hellfire!!!.......... How can you pretend to be receiving answers from the Prophet (peace be upon him) or angels while all the answers and guidance is completed, the angels did their parts in transmitting and our Prophet (peace be upon him) did his part of conveying Allah’s message to its fullness?.................Is our Diin not complete? Although shaytan cannot take appearance of our Prophet (peace be upon him) even (especially) in dreams, one cannot know whether its shaytan unless you have seen him while alive, and since our suufi brother or any other suufi are not of the companions, they don’t know that they’re being tricked, therefore one should only follow our Prophet (peace be upon him) the way his companions did and understood his teachings. The same is true for the angels where shaytan will play tricks pretending to be an angel in ones dreams in order to mislead one. One needs to realise that we cannot go into details about the suufi claims on matters of Ruux, Qalb, Caql and Nafs, for many reasons, needlessly to underline them all here, but what I know so far: SUFISM is closer to the Hollywood movie The MATRIX that it is to the teachings of ISLAM.