Jamaal: It's clear you can't stay away from ur people, therefore you love ur lil niche in Southall. In Canada, I believe its equivalent to a place called Dixon. Nothing wrong with that. I love travelling and I have yet to discover London. Thanks for the promotion guys (shaqsii & mujahid n' the rest). I already know most Somalis just prefer to stay in their own lil community n' feel comfortable n' be lazy!! Therefore, I don't intend to stay with family just because of this fact. Why am I goin to be a bother n' expect pple to take me around when I can take care of myself! Which brings me to my questions: 1) What's the transportation like over there? I like buses n' trains...do they run frequent, are they reliable, efficient.....etc? 2) Is Downtown London safe? Which neighborhood should I watch out for....ehem Southall?? Kidding Jamaal. 3) Does the city sleep at 7pm? LOL. Im use to cities like Toronto or NYC ( the city that never sleeps). I'll have more q's when my visit to London nears. Later Nomads~~

Muslimah: I realized I didnt' welcome ya B4, here it is...............WELCOME!! You've given an excellent advice. Takbiir!!! ALLAHU AKBAR.

What about SouLLady?

I'll be there in spirit with you guys.

Care to share?

as-Salaam aleykum Wa RahmatuLlah An interesting article on what people are now boiling over in Nigeria: maybe Muslims can resolve the issue, given that many of them (including scholars) are disgusted with the result as well. htp://interestalert.com/brand/siteia.shtml?Story=st/sn/08200000aaa04b69.upi&Sys=zzn&Type=News&Filter=Front%20Page&Fid=FRONTPAGAnalysis: Rescuing a condemned mom By UWE SIEMON-NETTO, UPI Religion Correspondent WASHINGTON, Aug. 20 (UPI) -- The hope of a young Nigerian mother sentenced to be stoned to death for alleged adultery may lie with the persuasive powers of top Muslim scholars from around the world, United Press International learned Tuesday. Prominent Islamic, not Christian, sages should undertake the rescue effort on behalf of 30-year-old Amina Lawal, according to Lebanese-born law professor Azizah Y. al-Hibri, who is also the founder and executive director of Karama, a Washington-based organization of Muslim Women Lawyers for Human Rights. Hibri told UPI she was ready to assemble an international delegation of Muslim savants, male and female, to fly to Funtua in the northern Nigerian state of Katsina, where an Islamic high court rejected Lawal's appeal against her death sentence on Monday. "The only thing we are lacking is funds," said al-Hibri, who teaches law at the University of Richmond in Virginia. She added that she hoped for support from international human rights organizations grasping the efficacy of an intervention by Muslim scholars. "We must work within the culture," meaning the Islamic culture of northern Nigeria. Al-Hibri is an expert on the Shariah, or Muslim religious law. The case involves a poor and uneducated tribal woman, who became pregnant allegedly after her divorce. A lower court that sentenced her to death in March used her baby daughter as evidence for her "crime," but acquitted the child's father, thus violating Islamic code, according to al-Hibri. The high court judges stayed Lawal's execution until she weaned her child from breast-feeding. In January 2004, her relatives must accompany her to the site where she will be stoned to death -- the "ultimate form of torture," as Amnesty International termed it in a statement. The Lawal case is bound to bring to a boil the long-simmering conflict between the Nigerian federal government and the country's 12 northern states over their introduction of the Shariah. On this point there is agreement between scholars and activists such as Paul Marshall of Freedom House, Dutch Islamic studies professor Ruud Peters, and LaShawn Jefferson, executive director of the Women's Rights Division of Human Rights Watch. Jefferson urged the Nigerian government Tuesday to commute Lawal's death sentence and drop the charges against her. The verdict against the young woman violated the democratic Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria and the country's "international human rights commitments," Jefferson said. Nigeria's democratically elected president, Olusegun Obansanjo, is a Baptist. Of the 126 million Nigerians, 50 percent are Muslim, 40 percent Christian and 10 percent follow indigenous beliefs. The Lawal case is expected to be the first test of the Shariah's constitutionality before the country's Supreme Court. Of the 36 Nigerian states, 12 have so far adopted the Islamic legal code, though not all of them with the severity evidenced in Katsina. Peters, a specialist on Islamic law and a professor at the University of Amsterdam, told UPI, "The Supreme Court could squash parts of the Shari'ah." In some of the northern regions, "courts have ordered amputations as punishment for theft," according to Human Rights Watch. Before Amina Lawal, another Nigerian woman, Safiya Hussaini, had been condemned to die by stoning. But her sentence was overturned in March after heavy pressure, especially from the European Union and a declaration by the European Parliament condemning the verdict. "The EU will act in the Lawal case as well," Peters predicted. But apart from political efforts, the Shariah itself offers hope to Amina Lawal, both Peters and al-Hibri contended. "The Shariah judges in northern Nigeria are not very sophisticated," said Peters who had done research in that region. Azizah al-Hibri insisted that the Shariah, too, knows the concept of due process, which was not applied. "If this was consensual sex, how come the father was acquitted?" she asked. "Furthermore, if the partners weren't married people, their act wasn't a capital crime under Islamic law." The young peasant woman's conviction was based on her confession to "adultery," the Arabic term for which is "zena." But her lawyers argued that she did not even understand this word because she is only conversant in her tribal tongue. Thus the confession to something she did not even understand also violated the Shariah, al-Hibri explained. Ruud Peters said that Islamic law, too, includes the concept of reasonable doubt. "It contains the 'sleeping fetus' notion that pregnancies may take as long as two years to come to term." This implies that the law should allow for the possibility that Amina Lawal's child was fathered by her husband before he divorced her. While this may strike some as sophistry, Azizah al-Hibri stressed that the Shariah is a problem "that must ultimately be addressed theologically." In line with an increasing number of Muslim scholars she asked, "Is Islam properly applied?" Copyright 2002 by United Press International. All rights reserved.

LOL. Yea the funny thing is I've been getting this email from a family member who I don't speak to...........and its about a conversation he had with another individual. I get this almost everyweek. So am wondering how could MSN mssges be forwarded??? Odd i tell ya. W'sup with that Erigabo email??? I'm thinking of switching to Yahoo..or better yet my Uni's email account.

LOL. Yea the funny thing is I've been getting this email from a family member who I don't speak to...........and its about a conversation he had with another individual. I get this almost everyweek. So am wondering how could MSN mssges be forwarded??? Odd i tell ya. W'sup with that Erigabo email??? I'm thinking of switching to Yahoo..or better yet my Uni's email account.

Why can't we have a b-ball teams? I mean, soccer bores me to death! no offence to UK folks!!! Anywhoo, who are the teams again n' which city won (no familiar with names).

Amin~~ Jazakallah Ukhti.

~*Aaamiiin*~~

Fantastic. A concern: What about the risks/abuses that can come out of this. For example, what if people started sharing personal files such as videos that are unappropriate? Who would regulate it? Just curious. I'm a computer illiterate so help a sista out guys!

Fantastic. A concern: What about the risks/abuses that can come out of this. For example, what if people started sharing personal files such as videos that are unappropriate? Who would regulate it? Just curious. I'm a computer illiterate so help a sista out guys!

Interested in dream interpretation... here's a good one. A man once passed through a forest in Africa, walking at his leisure smelling the flowers and admiring the beauty of the place and wondering at the way the sunrays fingered their way through the dense branches. When suddenly he heard the sound of fast approaching danger that was loud and frightening. When he turned, it was to face a large lion charging at him. The lion's thin waist made evident his hunger. With the lion chasing him, the man's heart nearly leaped out at the sight of it all, and so he started to run for his life. The lion was about to catch up with him when the man came upfront with a well. Then with a mighty leap he jumped into the well and ended up dangling in the heart of the well hanging onto a rope. The lion's voice eventually quieted; but then soon heard the hissing of a snake that had a giant head and a long body which came from somewhere below him. Just as the man was thinking of what to do about the lion and the snake, a black mouse and a white one climbed up to where the rope was attached and started to nibble away at the rope. The man was petrified and so started to shake the rope hoping to get rid of the mice. As he did so the rope began to swing and knocking him against the walls. The man started to feel something wet and sticky come into contact with the sides as he banged against the walls. The man licked the substance only to find that it was honey; the type made by bees in the forests and mountains. The honey thought was so sweet and delicious that he continued to do so and forgot the situation he was in. Suddenly The man woke up???!! For it was all just a horrible dream!!! So the man decided he should get his dream translated. So he went to meet a religious scholar (one knowledgeable in the translation of dreams). He told the scholar of his dream. The scholar laughed and said: "Don't you know its interpretation" The man said he didn't. So the scholar replied:"The lion that was chasing you was the angel of death and the well with the snake in it is your grave and the two mice are the nights and the days that are depleting from your life" The man asked, "And how about the honey?" The scholar replied: "That is the sweet taste of life that is distracting you and made you forget that death, & day of judgment are just behind you" Is there anyone who will reflect before it is Too Late??? ~~**Sweet Dreams**~~

I believe wearing a hijaab is a challenge for many especially for beginners. It may start out with a good intention (wearing it for Alaah), n' again may prove to be difficult to remind themselves daily. I remember back in highschool I was tempted many times to take it off for occasions or for other reason and if my friends would've adviced me to take it off, I don't know if today I'd still be wearing it. My point is, for those starting out it takes them time to adjust, build their Imaan until they're confident enough to go out in this non-tolerant enviroment. Peace~

Wow, interesting info! I hope it goes through.

Wow, interesting info! I hope it goes through.

OOOH MY GOD, I thought i was the only one!!! What is this....n' how did they get a hold of my e-mail..lol. It's damn annoying I tell ya...

OOOH MY GOD, I thought i was the only one!!! What is this....n' how did they get a hold of my e-mail..lol. It's damn annoying I tell ya...

Dantay, excellent brotha!!

Here's that transcript! Plus, a comment by a brother. ************************************************** As Salaamu Alaikum, Shaykh Hamza, may Allah preserve him, unfortunately has been answering more questions lately about "what he said" post 9-11 then fiqhi and halal/haram questions. Sadly, many Muslims have forgotten about our tradition's emphasis on isnad and sound transmissions, and thus there is a lot of exaggerations and distortions about "what he said" floating around. Those who are really concerned about these things, instead of spreading groundless hearsay, should have a good opinion and seek out his clarifications. He addresses these questions perfectly and unflinchingly in any speaking event where they come up. The video "Beware of Extremism," the tape "Clarity Amidst Confusion," and the tape "America's Tragedy," all available from Alhambra Productions, are absolutely brilliant talks which include Q&A sessions where he thoroughly addresses these questions. In "Clarity Amidst Confusion" he points out that he said "IF there were any martyrs..." and he also points out that several of the firefighters who died were Muslims. A transcription of the Sept. 30th "America's Tragedy" talk is available on the Zaytuna website at http://www.zaytuna.org/tragedy/tragedy1.html The question regarding the firefighters is addressed in the Q&A session. I've included it below. Finally in "Clarity Amidst Confusion" he remarked that if you want to spend all your time sitting around picking apart every word he said in these interviews to criticize him then "Have a nice life." May Allah preserve and increase him and may we all benefit from his priceless knowledge and insight. Salaams, Zakariyya ==================== http://www.zaytuna.org/tragedy/tragedy-qa5.html Q: Would the firefighters in New York be considered shahid by Islamic shari'a? Shaykh Hamza: I think that is for Allah to judge. I believe people are taken to account based on what they know. According to Imam Al-Ghazali, and Shaykh Murabit al-Hajj told me this as well, if people have not heard the message of Islam, they are not taken to account for Islam. I think that people who do good deeds, according to our beliefs, are rewarded for the good that they do. Even Abu-Lahab is given water in the hellfire for freeing a slave the day that the Prophet sallallahu 'alayhi wa sallam was born, and that is in a sound hadith. If Abu Lahab, the worst enemy of the Prophet sallallahu 'alayhi wa sallam is rewarded for the good he did in this world, our Lord is a Just Lord, and He rewards good. So, what I did say is that if there were martyrs in this situation, then certainly they would be those people, but I cannot say who is a martyr and who is not. Even if a Muslim dies fi sabilillah, you hope that he is a martyr, but you cannot say with any certainty because it is for Allah to decide if it was sincerely for the sake of Allah, but they were heroic people; they were good people. The man I sat next to that night in Washington was one of the heroes of that day, and I told him it is an honor sitting next to you. He was an Irish fireman from New York, and he said in response, "Don't say that. I shouldn't even be here; I was just doing my job." That is literally what he said to me in total sincerity. Then I said to him, "You guys did a great job," and he said, "No, we didn't." He said, "We should have gotten a lot more people out of there," and he said the city has a lot to answer for because that was a very poorly executed operation. He said a lot more people should be alive.

Cush, cuz its in the TEEN section! Oki, well My favourites come from the Neo-SouL category: Jill Scott, Maxwell, D'angelo, etc. most of what you've mentioned. Fav.rappers: TalibKweli, Common, n'Mosdef opz, you said one right?

Cush, cuz its in the TEEN section! Oki, well My favourites come from the Neo-SouL category: Jill Scott, Maxwell, D'angelo, etc. most of what you've mentioned. Fav.rappers: TalibKweli, Common, n'Mosdef opz, you said one right?

Assalamu Alaikum, Found the article very informative, Jazakallah. It's kinda odd to have read the phrase "He is not the 'Mahdi' who is expected by the Shi'ah" more than once in the article as if to convince us the shia's are a lost cause! I noticed it to.

I agree with MCC, Jackie Robinson definitely a huge impact on the sport world and opened the gate for other great athletes such as Mohamad Ali. Personally, I'd vote for Hakeem Alajowon (s/p). I like his humble attitude. Later.