Sabr (Steadfastness) Ibn Juzayy al-Kalbi (translated by Sidi Abdus Samad Clarke) Sabr is mentioned in the Qur'an in more than seventy places. This is because of the tremendous importance that steadfastness has in the deen. It has been said that every good action has a limited reward, from ten-fold up to seven-hundred fold, except for steadfastness whose reward has no limit. That is because of Allah's words "Only the steadfast are paid their reward without reckoning." Allah mentions eight types of honour shown to the steadfast: The first is love. Allah says, "And Allah loves the steadfast." The second is help. He says, "Truly, Allah is with the steadfast." The third is mansions in the Garden. He says, exalted is He, "They will be recompensed with mansions because of how they were steadfast." The fourth is a full and ample reward. Allah says, "Only the steadfast are paid their reward without reckoning." The other four are all mentioned in one ayah (in al-Baqarah) in which they (the steadfast) are given the good news. Allah says, "Give good news to the steadfast." And there is mention in the same ayah of mercy, compassion, and guidance as rewards for the steadfast ones. Allah says, "Those, there is on them mercy and compassion from their Lord and those they are the guided ones." There are four aspects of steadfastness: Steadfastness in affliction, which is the act of preventing the self from becoming discontented and impatient; Steadfastness in good fortune, which is to bind it fast to gratitude, without overstepping the limits or becoming proud and self-important because of the good fortune; Steadfastness in obedience by safeguarding it and becoming constant in it; Steadfastness (in refraining) from acts of disobedience by withholding oneself from them. Above steadfastness there is surrender, which is abandoning opposition and discontentment outwardly and abandoning dislike inwardly. Above surrender there is contentment with the decree, which is the self's happpiness with the act of Allah; it issues from love, for everything the Beloved does is beloved.

With praise to Allah the Exalted and with thanks to Him for all His overwhelming generosity, and with love of the Messenger, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, we are pleased and honoured to make this announcement of celebration from 10 April to 16 April 2006 in Cape Town, South Africa. - On Tuesday 11 there will be celebrated the Mawlud which is so dear to all the Lovers. - On Friday 14 April the prestigious Jumu‘a Mosque of Cape Town will have its Official Opening. The first Khutba will be delivered at 13.05 hrs prompt by His Excellency Shaykh Ikramah as-Sabri, Grand Mufti of Jerusalem and the Palestinian Territories (info@jumuamosquect.com). - On Saturday 15 and Sunday 16 April an Islamic Youth Conference will be held at Cape Town International Convention Centre . In order to register as a delegate, kindly register on by clicking here The theme of the Conference is ‘The Return to Islamic Law’. There will be speakers from Germany, Spain, Turkey, Britain, South Africa and the USA. Conference Schedule Rais Abu Bakr Rieger - The Primacy of the Legal Discourse Ali Mert - The Osmanli Past and the Present Nation States (An Osmanli view of the geo-politics of Palestine, Syria & Iraq) Amir Tareq Ali - The Present Loss of Legal Heritage in Kafir Territories Amir Abdussamad Nana - Muslims and Law in our Political Democracy Mufti Ikrimah as-Sabri - The Legal Status of Awqaf in Jerusalem Hajj Abdalhaqq Bewley - The Restoration of Islamic Law prior to Islamic ‘Amr Shaykh Dr. Abdalqadir as-Sufi - The Coming End of the Legal Interregnum in Dar-al-Islam Umar Ibrahim Vadillo - Methods to Restore Zakat Law Dr Ali Azzali - Capitalism - The Final Phase The conference will be streamed over the internet See: http://www.islamicyouthconference.com

Praise (From Ibn Juzayy's Tafseer) Translated by Sidi Abdas Samad Clarke Hamd (praise) is more general and inclusive than shukr (thanks or gratitude), because thanks and gratitude are only a recompense for a favour, whereas hamd is both a recompense like thanks and is also spontaneous praise. Similarly, shukr may be more general and inclusive than hamd, because praise is expressed by the tongue, and thanks is expressed by tongue, heart and limbs. If you understand the universal nature of hamd you will know that your saying "al-hamdu lillah" requires praise of Him for His majesty, vastness, unity, might, bestowal of favours, knowledge, ability and power, wisdom and other attributes, and that it encompasses the meanings of His ninety-nine beautiful names, and that it requires thanking Him and praising Him for every favour He has given and mercy He has bestowed upon all His creation in this world and the next. What a word [it is] which gathers together that which volumes find difficult to express, and the intellects of created beings concur upon as being unable to enumerate! Let it suffice you that Allah made it the beginning of His Book and the conclusion of the supplication of the people of the Garden. Thanks with the tongue is praise of the Bestower of Blessings and speaking about the blessings. The Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said, "To talk about blessings is gratitude." Thanks expressed by the limbs means to act in obedience to Allah and to abandon disobedience to Him. Thanks with the heart is recognition of the magnitude of the blessing and the knowledge that it is a gracious bestowal and not from the slave's own merit. Know that the blessings which require gratitude cannot be enumerated, but they can be expressed in terms of three categories: worldly blessings such as health and wealth; blessings of the deen such as knowledge and carefulness (taqwa); and other-wordly blessings, which are one's being recompensed with much reward for few actions in a short life. People have two ranks with respect to gratitude: there is the one who shows gratitude for the blessings which come to him particularly; and there is the one who thanks Allah on behalf of all His creatures for the blessings which reach all of them. There are three degrees of gratitude: the degree of the ordinary people is gratitude for blessings; the degree of the elect is gratitude for blessings and for misfortune, and in every state; and the degree of the elect of the elect is that they are absent from blessing through witnessing the Bestower of blessings. A man said to Ibrahim ibn Adham, "Who are the best of men?" He reflected and said, "The poor who when they are refused, are grateful, and when they are given something they prefer others to themselves." One of the virtues of gratitude is that it is both one of the attributes of The Truth [as well as] an attribute of people, because one of the names of Allah is ash-Shakir (the Recompenser, literally: the Grateful) and ash-Shakour (the Fully Grateful), both of which I have explained in the dictionary of terms (ash-Shakour is the name of Allah, "the One Who Recompenses His slaves for their actions with plentiful reward". It has also been said [that it means] "The One Who Praises the slaves"). Our saying, "Praise belongs to Allah the Lord of the worlds", is better, according to the people who ascertain [statements], than "There is no god but Allah" for two reasons: one is that which an-Nasa'i narrated of the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, "Whoever says, 'There is no god but Allah' then twenty virtues will be recorded for him, and whoever says, 'Praise belongs to Allah Lord of the worlds', has thirty virtues recorded for him"; the second is that the tawhid that "There is no god but Allah" requires is [already] present in your saying, "Lord of the worlds" and is increased [over and above that] with your saying, "Praise belongs to Allah" and there [also] are the meanings in it which we have already presented. As for the saying of the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, "The best that I have said, I and the prophets before me, is 'There is no god but Allah'," then that is only because of the tawhid which it contains, and "Praise belongs to Allah Lord of the worlds" participates along with it in that [meaning] and has increase beyond that. The believer says it seeking reward, but as for the one who enters Islam then he is required to say, "There is no god but Allah."

Zaytuna Institute Presents - Remembering the Days of Allah By Shaykh Hamza Yusuf Contents 1. AGENDA FOR CHANGING OUR CONDITION 2. PRACTICAL STEPS FOR CHANGING OUR CONDITION 3. TAQWA: ITS DEFINITION AND ITS BENEFITS - The Benefits of Taqwa - How Taqwa is Achieved 4. THE HEART AND ITS TREATMENT: ADAPTED FROM QADI ABU BAKR IBN AL-'ARABI - Facilitating Action Based Upon True Knowledge - Belief - Sincerity or Ikhlas - Achieving Sincerity - Four Sources of the Destructive Qualities of the Tongue - Enumeration of the Enormities - More Recommendations for Reaching Sincerity 5. EXERCISES FOR ATTAINING TAQWA - Exercise 1: Guarding the Tongue - Exercise 2: Guarding the Eyes - Exercise 3: Guarding the Ears - Exercise 4: Guarding the Stomach - Exercise 5: Guarding the Private Parts - Exercise 6: Guarding the Hands - Exercise 7: Guarding the Feet Read the whole contents online or download te MS-word format presentation from http://www.beautifulislam.net/tasawwuf/daysofallah/daysofallah.htm

Nur, I do not like your sarcastic rattle, but I shall comply with your request nonetheless. Yes, sitting at the feet of the scholar. It has always been done traditionally. It does not have to be a teacher of Tasawwuf only. It applies to every teacher: fiqh, shariah, aqeedah and so forth. Look back and forth throughout Islamic literature and you would see how the students behaves with their teachers. Just pick up any basic biographies of any of the Imams. Let me suggest one – Imam Malik. You claimed that you never meet him, so how dare you to even suggest that he coms onto this very forum and replies to your ranting? Get real. No, no on washes his feet and drink the water. Do you do that? All these talk about Dhikr. People of Tasawwuf say Allah Allah Allah. That’s their Dhikr. And it seems like, the dhikr of some of these lunatics are: BIDAH SHIKR KUFR. So which Dhikr is better? And what’s it gonna be for you? Anyhow, I don't intend to reply anymore in this distasteful thread.

Letter to An African Muslim By Shaykh Abdalqadir as-Sufi (Read the whole book from http://bewley.virtualave.net/african1.html ) TECHNIQUE – THE DOMINANT CULTURE In order to understand the present enslavement of our Islamic nation it is important to recognise the forces involved, their deployment, effect, power and weakness. At present a web of false information has been put out across Africa and, more seriously, working models and methods put forward to 'solve' the 'problems' of the 'underdeveloped' or 'developing' state. In other words, the Muslim intellectual (for a Muslim is by definition an intellectual) has been fed a false dialectic which, if he continues to work within it, will leave him in a power vacuum unable to impinge on the social and personal reality around him. It is vital that we both decode the current myths of 'problem and solution' as well as create a new polarity system of opposites to vitalise our renewed action as Islamic workers. Before examining the current situation of external and kafir control of Africa, let us examine the nature of the enemy's social modes. During this examination it is necessary to stress that everything referred to in the following pages has already been defined in terms of a 'political framework' of evolving democracy over and against tribalism and backward despotisms due to local past history. All this we must put out of our minds as a mythic system devised to allow free access to and intervention in, the local African scene. When we speak of the kafir society we are not accepting the current dialectic of 'northern' media which sees Africa as a killing-ground for the conflict of political democracy western-style and socialism eastern-style. Each of these two materialist camps have a rhetoric of freedom. That rhetoric, if applied to an African situation as a critique, can present the country as either the victim of ruthless imperialist exploitation by multi-national corporations, or it can be seen as a totalitarian 'foreign' control by socialist hegemonists. Each has its horror stories about the other side. Both stories may well be true. It does not follow that the military confrontation between east and west is a genuine one. It must be remembered that there has been virtually no face to face conflict between russia and the west since the end of world war one. What we appear to be witnessing are the inner contradictions of trade forces within imperalist societies working themselves out on carefully staged killing-grounds which permit no loss of life or property to the source group, yet permit a massive convulsion within the source economy by the trying out and usage of high-tech weaponry, followed up by the opening of new markets in the rehabilitation phase following battles. Thus after the vietnam war, russia opens up new markets in vietnam itself and expands new war-theatres in neighbouring countries, while america gets access to Chinese markets in open trading which places the high-tech module of taiwan on the line as ransom. What we are dealing with therefore is a high-technology camp stylistically divided in two with a self-energising force built into the so-called political conflict but which in reality constantly creates new markets and new resource-areas by the continental shift brought about by the plate-movement of each 'side'. So, we are really witnessing the continual impingement of high-tech processes and systems on zero-ground resource-areas, and the occupation of strategic zones for 'protection of interests' to allow change in the market structure. The technocratic state (east/west) is structuralist, and pyramidic. It is vividly described in the Qur'an al-Karim in the encounters between the (Islamic) Allah Musa, peace be upon him, and the (kafir) high-tech leader, Pharaon. Pharaon rules a totalitarian and materialist state which exalts him as a god. The whole state exists to 'fix' leadership in a permanent state and thus tyranny and social stasis. The 'magicians' are his scientists who calculate the necessary computations which will build the pyramids, whose function is the entombment of the embalmed leader, that is, structures which will ensure the ongoing conditions of rigidity and leader-orientation. The building of the pyramid and other gigantic structures are means to that end, but in fact the means are the end, since these ensure the continued slavery of the people in the never-ending building process. It is in the nature of the high-tech state that it is based on slavery. We do not mean it in the deliberately romanticised way in which the term slavery has been presented. That is, it is not slavery in an agrarian sense, as was the case in the u.s.a. two hundred years ago. Nor is it in the sense that it was to the european workers in the mines and factories one hundred years ago. Slavery today is controlled by media and consumer activity. Movement and social group is basically forbidden or rendered undesirable in western models. With mass sport, fantasy-tv, and the arts, it is not necessary to put slaves in a compound. They already are in one, albeit beautifully decorated – the mall, the stadium, the concert-hall. The high-tech society is not 'new'. It is not 'modern' at all. It is medievalist from start to finish. It is ancient. Look at the riot police! Are they not an exact replica of medieval infantry with their shields, helmets, lances, and smoke bombs? Indeed, the best model of modern society is the society of the medieval Aztecs. Read the whole book from http://bewley.virtualave.net/african1.html

Edited

Can The Sheikh Honor this crowd at Somaliaonline. We like to debate with him Salam, Currently, Shaykh Abdal Qadir as-Sufi is living in Cape Town, South Africa and you are more than welcome to go and sit at his feet, with proper Adab, and ask him like a proper student.

Islam & Modern Politics By Sidi Abu Bakr Reiger There is little doubt that the mass murder of 11 September represents a turning point in recent political discourse. Since the fall of communism, only democratic culture and its big brother capitalism have really remained to unfold across the planet, from a Western point of view at least. Political rivalry on a world scale has run out of rivals, political dialectics has no more adversaries. The democratic culture, which by definition is without alternative, has now arrived in its own totality. So it was that democracy’s triumph seemed assured at the opening of the 21st century, were it not for the emergence of new but very real opponents: archaic hordes of terrorists, the masses of the poor, anti-globalists, and a sprinkling of nationally operative despots. And yet that supposed model of success, democracy and capitalism, is today the subject of considerable suspicion, including in the West. While the Islamic world plunges into casino capitalism, over here many are reflecting on the shadier aspects of that system. Apart from the debt-traps of the IMF and WTO, a new and fundamental question is being posed: what would happen if capitalism, which economically encapsulates democracy, were to penetrate all of that system’s political institutions so deeply that its own purported political form no longer offered any kind of democratic correction to it? The problem, therefore, is not democracy; the problem is radically intolerant capitalism. Already the great majority of all conflicts are due not to a Clash of Civilisations‚ but to economic disorder. What then if, in the not-so-distant future, global capitalism were to no longer need democracy? The German philosopher Peter Sloterdijk describes the pressure to change that is clearly being exerted by global capital on the nationally bound democracies. Sloterdijk believes that, within a world interior of capital‚ even freedom (which from his point of view could only be rescued by an unrealistic union of asceticism and democracy) is a matter up for debate. The space in which freedom can operate, claims Sloterdijk, is shrinking, and we are living through nothing other than a transition to post-liberal forms: We have the choice between a party-dictatorial mode, as in China, a state-dictatorial mode, as in the Soviet Union, an electoral-dictatorial mode, as in the USA, and finally a media-dictatorial mode as in Berlusconi‚s Italy. Berlusconism is the European test-balloon of the emerging Neo-authoritarian Age. Today, a profession of belief in democracy is conditional on an answer to the question, What kind of democracy? But the prevailing superficial debate does not wish to make time for that. We as Muslims, however, required, as we are to obediently embrace democratic values, are the very people to begin asking. What are human rights worth without civil rights? What does global democracy mean today? Is China a democracy? Or is China perhaps a kind of new capitalist Ideal State with unfettered freedom for capital, and with a government that undertakes the dirty work of monitoring the workers, as the Slovenian philosopher Slavoj Zizek so powerfully expresses it. Zizek also identifies the creeping erosion of the democratic form in that keen role model, the West. He examines the weight of real possibilities for political participation, comparing them with the “Close-doors†button in a lift. Involvement is becoming abstract, inconsequential; to the politically minded human being, participation appears almost illusory. Of course, Earth remains an unsettled place, and compared with large tracts of our planet, life between Berlin and Baden-Baden is still fairly cosy. But this cosiness may be deceptive. The Melilla refugee drama showed that the world‚s new divide does not lie between cultures, it separates the Rich and the Poor. Materially speaking we Germans still live in a sheltered zone. The establishment of Camps around the edges of our affluent society and the emergence of the political figure of Homo Sacer, who has nothing left but his body, is the fault of the modernism of our global principles of order. Our corporations are marauding in Africa and they are not establishing a Nomos. It is in our relationship with the South that the gaping chasm is revealed between the Christian claim of Europe and its actual policies. In the Islamic world, it is widely known that the political realm is cleft with deep contradictions. In the Arabian lands, led by despots and little more than makeshift dictatorships, the masses hope of democracy is that it will bring them civil rights and a just distribution of prosperity. Zakat, which is an indicator of the just distribution of prosperity from within Islam, has been degraded in the Islamic world to a politically insignificant ritual. And yet the Muslim intellect remains unsettled by the hypocritical question aimed at Islamic nations - whether they are capable of democracy? when everyone knows full well that barely a despot would remain a day in power without the support of the West. Our wealth depends to a considerable degree on the daily battle for a share of scarce resources. What would happen if democratically elected governments in Riyadh or Tripoli were to sell their oil to third parties? The much-vaunted Enlightenment of which we are so proud here in the West persists in avoiding the economic realm. We still believe‚ in endless growth, in the reduction of debt mountains and in our natural right to acquire the world’s resources. The magical multiplication of money belongs to the absurd aspects of the capitalist religion. However, the limits of wealth have naturally not disappeared, which is why good old geopolitics necessarily returns. We are no longer fighting for Lebensraum, but for oil for our cars. For Western democracies the problem now is how to democratically legitimise‚ their thirst for new resources. What is interesting in all this is that the founding acts of democracy deliberately overlook the peoples right to self-determination, the sole legitimate subject of democracy, that is. An analysis of terrorism today shows that as a phenomenon it not only enhances the Global Security State, it also legitimises the necessity of a global empire. John Gray considers terror/Al-Qaida to be an accompanying symptom of globalisation and a very modern entity indeed. They are the dismal children of modernisation; Muslims who never knew the context of mosque, market and Zakat in their places of upbringing, and now members of revolutionary Shock Troops‚ (one of Sayyid Qutb‚s modernist terms). Their suicide appears to Zizek more the action of someone in doubt, who simply has to know at last what he basically does not know and spiritually could never experience: whether there is another room behind the door. As a modernist ideology, says Zizek in his brilliant analysis Welcome to the Desert of the Real‚ they want capitalism without capitalism. An imaginary land of orthodoxy without economic alternatives, but with scarf-wearing women and a ban on alcohol. Meanwhile, even to the terrorists, the Dollar is the most highly prized cultural asset of all. In liberalism, wanting to die for a political cause is unthinkable; hence in political theory and within the value-scheme, the terrorist or suicide bomber is a political figure of absolutely no worth whatsoever. He is not even an enemy, he has no values, and since inhuman, he is basically an animal. Cage, camp and leash are the reasonable civilising counter-measures. The outrageous acts themselves pursue an inescapable bio-political logic: the perpetrator utilises his body, but not his faith, against an opponent imagined to be overwhelmingly more powerful. He has nothing left other than this body, and in contravention to the Revelation he finally defiles that very existence which should have brought him to the Next World. All’s bad that ends bad. The political consequences of terrorism are especially devastating for the Islamic community, but also for non-Muslims. One has only to reflect on the obvious weakening of the important anti-globalisation movement, which has invigorated the political debate. As Muslims we do not just bemoan the superficial loss of image; that longing for recognition, which can be observed among today’s Muslim functionaries, is in fact a secular activity. But this does not preclude annoyance. The limitless political term Islamist‚ is of course a gross simplification, and like every other simplification it is one of the known preludes of a persecution which must be genuinely feared, quite aside from the typical, inscrutable German incapacity to respect orthodox religious life-practices. The political observer will also have noticed that the term racism has been silently removed from the debate. But more to the point is the regrettable fact that, beneath Terror’s clouds of dust, even Islam itself is hardly recognisable. In the public arena, when advice is sought about Islam, it is as if all that existed were hair-brained fundamentalism or a banal esotericism. In either case, Islam loses its character as a credible alternative way of life. The denunciation of belief has now assumed shocking proportions. On the Muslim side what is needed is a critique of Islamic modernism, but a critique that leads into Islam, not out of Islam. The key points are clear: Islam is neither an ideology nor a totalitarian life-form. Neither is it, as an organic life-pattern, a system with totalitarian ambitions. Islamic thinking lives from the autonomy of its own terminology. Even without the flowery language of tolerance, Islam respected other ways of life in close proximity and for hundreds of years on end. Source: http://www.muslimsofnorwich.org.uk/articlesinner.asp?ZZIS_InformationID=6701

A Moment for the Hearts The American Tour of Sayyid Habib ‘Ali al-Jifri By Mustafa Shaheed Davis We have always been taught that it only takes one man to accomplish great things, to change the way we think, and to change the way we live. Of course we don’t give it much thought today because so few of us believe in miracles anymore. We have become a world that depends on scientific reasoning to such an extent that if something cannot be scientifically verified, then it must not exist. Well, there is no scientific explanation for what happened in America during late August and early September, but it was very real and those who took part in it and experienced it do not need any further elucidation from science. They do not need an expert panel to explain to them what happened. They know the experience was real, simply because they felt it in their hearts. They felt it like one feels the warmth of the sun’s rays on a spring day. Only this light shines brighter and with more warmth than the sun could ever generate it is the radiance of the progeny of the beloved Prophet Muhammad (pbuh). It is the integral that takes people from darkness to light. And like the sun, we could not exist without it. It was out of the deserts of Southern Yemen, from the remote valley of Hadramauwt, and from the hidden, majestic city of Tarim, that this light, a man by the name of Habib ‘Ali Zain al-Abadeen Al-Jifri, a direct descendent of the Prophet Muhammad (pbuh), came to North America on a three week voyage. And on this short sojourn, Habib ‘Ali deeply impacted the lives of all those he came in contact with. Habib ‘Ali represents an unbroken chain of scholars and saints dating from the present time, all the way back to the Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) himself. His linage is as pure as they get, stretching back over 1400 years of pure Prophetic blood from mother and father from the 21st century to Sayyidna Hussein, the son of Fatima, the Daughter of the Prophet (pbuh). Habib ‘Ali has dedicated nearly his entire life to study and worship under the guidance of great scholars and saints. He is, himself, a scholar of the highest caliber and a master of the sciences of the heart. If we were to write, in an attempt to explicate the impact that Habib ‘Ali al-Jifri had on every individual that he came in contact with on his tour in America, we would need several volumes simply to expound on the basics. If we were to explain in a particularized account, his daily activities, we would need a series of essays just to brush the surface. We can only provide glimpses of the man, sketches of his attributes, and laconic descriptions of his reality. At the risk of sounding cleverly fatuous, the truth remains that there is nothing that we could write that would do justice to the man we attempt to describe. In brief we can say about Habib ‘Ali that those who saw him were in immediate awe from his radiance. Those who met him fell in love. And those who knew him were torn apart when he had to leave. In describing how he had been impacted by Habib ‘Ali, one man confessed after briefly meeting him, “He cured in me something that I have been trying to cure for years.†In another scene, an elderly man turned to one of Habib ‘Ali’s companions, with tears flowing from his eyes, it was a sight that those traveling with Habib had become accustomed to. This man had just experienced a private moment with Habib ‘Ali and was overcome with emotion. He grabbed Habib’s companion in a tight embrace and then wept silently and whispered in his ear, “Thank you, thank you so very much. You don’t know what you’ve done for me by giving me this opportunity to speak to the Habib.†He then wept more intensely and his body slightly quivered. “It’s been a long time since I have seen light in a human being like the light that he carries with him. He has changed my life.†Earlier that day a young Muslim woman arranged to have Habib ‘Ali meet her father. She explained that her father had been in an apathetic religious state and had hoped that Habib could help restore in him some of the ardency that he once embodied. As she watched her elderly father weep from a distance, she smiled and knew she had gotten her wish. The Arrival We went to greet Habib ‘Ali at the airport it was September 11th, exactly one year after the tragic events that transpired on our homeland. Airport security was on alert. Many exits and entrances were blocked off in order to help facilitate security measures. We pulled the colossal fifteen-passenger van up to the curb in front of the baggage claim. Security immediately hastened over to inform us that under no circumstances were we to leave the van and that we had exactly two minutes before we would be forced to move. People were on edge. We were dressed in the traditional Muslim attire, which only added to the discomfort of both travelers and airport security. Habib ‘Ali walked gracefully into the arrival hall. His crew, which was carrying a seemingly endless supply of camera gear, audio/video equipment, brief cases and luggage, closely followed him. The sight was striking. People gaped as they walked by. Others stopped and stared. He was dressed in a lambent white robe and draping cloak. An elaborate golden shawl poised over his right shoulder. A layered turban, flawlessly wrapped in the traditional Yemeni fashion, decorated his head like a king’s crown. He held a dark cane in his right hand that swayed back and forth in rhythmic time as he glided across the floor. We greeted him and his crew with warm salutations of peace. Habib ‘Ali smiled and took the time to make the acquaintance of each individual. Airport security merely looked on, never once stopping us for questioning. And as we exited the terminal, a police officer looked at Habib ‘Ali, smiled briefly, and bowed his head quickly in an expression of assent. The situation dumbfounded us. People, who glanced at us either nodded with anxious approval or immediately looked away, like one looks away from an angry father. Under normal circumstances, considering the significance of his date of arrival, we would have been subject to harassment from airport personnel. But as we would later learn being with Habib ‘Ali al-Jifri was to be far from what our past experiences would classify as normal. A Lesson to be Learned The large fifteen-passenger van pulled up to the curb and a crowd of Muslim men of mixed ages and nationalities quickly rushed over to get their chance to greet Habib ‘Ali and hopefully a chance to kiss his blessed hand. Many of the brothers were dressed in long, draping white cloaks and brisk white turbans, in honor of the tradition of the Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) and in honor of the blessed man before them. They waited with heads bowed in humility for Habib ‘Ali to descend from the vehicle. It was close to mid-day on this beautiful San Diego afternoon. The setting was breathtaking, even for the native Californians who had been to this very site many times before. The cliffs sat high above the clear blue Pacific Ocean and the seagulls soared loftily above singing as if they too were greeting this descendent of the final Messenger (pbuh). Prodigious, bleach white cumulus clouds hung perfectly still on the brilliant blue canopy of the pacific sky. There was a delicate breeze that seemed to immediately cool the sun’s rays, creating an atmosphere where virtually no temperature existed at all. It was if this entire scene had been created only for the arrival of this regal man. Those foreign to California zealously snapped photos and filmed the scene so they could capture the moment and share it with those they left behind. After Habib ‘Ali got out of the vehicle and greeted all those present with his usual smile and candor, a brother approached and said that there was a problem with the area of the beach that they had reserved for the day. Two women had apparently registered previously with the city to have the location on this specific day for a wedding reception. However, one of the brothers called the parks and recreation department earlier and was told that this particular location was on a first come, first serve basis. After a lengthy debate with the women and a few calls to the city, it became clear that we had the right to remain in the area and the city said they would enforce it if need be. When Habib ‘Ali was informed of the reason for the delay, he stated very acutely that we should have surrendered the location to the ladies without argument. He continued to explain that our presence at the beach was da’wah and that as Muslims we should always be the most generous of people. Of course we had not thought of it in this manner, especially since many of the brothers had been there almost seven hours setting up. Nonetheless, when Habib ‘Ali spoke with such Prophetic wisdom, we all complied without delay and began contentedly moving to another area further down the beach. The new area was quite some distance away and Habib ‘Ali was advised by one of his companions to get back in the van so he could be driven to the new area. He declined with a grin and said, “It will be a nice walk.†During the short paseo down the beach, he once again gave us a lesson in life. As we passed the two ladies who had claimed the rights to our resting spot, he explained that the remembrance of Allah and the sincerity of intention that the brothers had in setting up that very location earlier, could very well be a means for the guidance of those two women. As we walked further down the beach, passing many people along the way, Habib ‘Ali illustrated the beautiful picture that Allah had painted for us. He explained that what had happened today had happened for a reason and that it was all the plan of Allah. He went on to explain that Allah used us to show those two ladies the beauty of Islam and the generosity of the Muslims. Then Allah made us walk a long distance, while dressed in the Prophetic traditional manner, so the rest of the people on the beach that day could witness the beauty, majesty, and dignity of the Muslims. When we finally arrived to the new location, Habib ‘Ali smiled and said, “And after all of that, Allah gave us an even more beautiful place to gather at. Thus does Allah reward those with sincere intentions.†By the blessings of this noble man, a simple excursion to the beach became a lesson to be learned and a memory that will remain with those who were present for years to come. The Experience Habib ‘Ali lectured to many crowds in several major American universities. During a lecture at San Diego State University, Habib ‘Ali dazzled his audience with a brilliant dissertation on the true meanings of Jihad in traditional Islam. “Jihad is something that the entire world needs, and it is something that Islam offers!†he exclaimed intrepidly after having explained the traditional Islamic position concerning the controversial term. If a madman rushed into a room carrying a loaded weapon threatening to kill all the members of the household, “Would you say it would be an evil or a heroic action if a police officer killed him before he could kill his victims?†A show of hands alluded to the fact that the audience agreed it would be heroic. Habib ‘Ali explained that this is what Jihad is. It is raising the sword to take the swords out of the hands of madmen. The audience of both Muslims and non-Muslims applauded in unison. People crowded the doorways in attempt to meet Habib ‘Ali as he exited the building. A young student was overheard saying, “I’m amazed that he took the time to speak with me for almost five minutes when he had all of those people waiting to see him.†A Santa Clara University religious studies professor went on stage after Habib ‘Ali’s lecture to a sold out auditorium of 600 people. The audience was a mix of Muslim and non-Muslims, students and professors, men and women. The professor shook Habib ‘Ali’s hand and said, “If we could only get you to teach here at the university, much of the ignorance about your religion would get cleared up.†Habib ‘Ali explained to his audiences that the neoteric enemy of the world is not Islam. The adversary that plagues us today is simply ignorance. Ignorance is like a relentless virus that afflicts the minds of its victims until it suffocates them from reality. Habib ‘Ali explained with such efficacy that it is not terrorism that we should fear, rather, we should fear living lives in vain, under false pretences, following only our own caprices and whims. If we truly want to rid the world of its evil, then we must first remove the wickedness from our own selves. And there is nothing more wicked than benightedness. Habib ‘Ali’s audiences would applaud in approval and appreciation for his deep insight and candor. He shed light on an enigma that most people do not reflect on in this age of post-modernism and so-called progress. He resuscitated a suffocated concept of the past; that all human beings are responsible for their own actions. The concept that if we want to change the world, we must first start with ourselves. Immediately after one of his university lectures, Habib ‘Ali went to a room back stage to meet with some people privately. Among these people were the non-Muslim parents of one of Habib ‘Ali’s students. The student converted to Islam 6 years previous and his search for truth landed him in Tarim, the city from whence Habib ‘Ali came, seeking sacred knowledge and a higher meaning to life. He invited his Christian mother and father to the lecture and they were greatly affected by Habib ‘Ali’s speech. They had not fully understood why their son had gone off into the deserts of Yemen shortly after he had embraced Islam, especially considering the political climate and continual conflict in the Middle East. They sat down on a couch across from Habib ‘Ali. He greeted them with his usual smile and told them that he was delighted to have the chance to meet them. He began expounding on the beauties of Islam and illustrated to them the similarities that Christianity with it. He told them that Muslims believe in all of the Prophets, from Adam, Moses, Jesus, all the way to Muhammad. He then asked them if hey had seen positive or negative changes in their son after he converted to Islam. They both acknowledged that all of the changes had been for the better. He asked them if they noticed that he treats them better now after following the teachings of Islam. They both agreed that this too, was true. After expounding on the virtues of Islam and the character of the Muslims he told them, “I can see that the faith of Islam is strong in your hearts. The American people believe in Islam, they just don’t recognize it yet.†He advised them to further study Islam, to read the Qur’an and to examine the life of the Prophet Muhammad (pbuh). When they left the room, they left as changed people with a new view of Islam and Muslims. Their son called them a few days later to say goodbye before he returned back to Yemen. His mother informed him that he had interrupted her praying while his father was busy reading an English translation of the meanings of the Qur’an. He rejoiced as he pictured his mother and father, for the first time, willingly dedicating their time to the study of Islam. He had tried for years to invoke in them what Habib ‘Ali accomplished in one sitting. Farewell Habib ‘Ali did not have much time for rest during his trip to America. It was suggested to him at one interval of his journey that he should take some time to relax and give his body some much-needed rest. He answered back post-haste, “We have rested our entire lives.†He was lecturing back-to-back and traveling from city to city, getting much of his sleep on the road, in the van or on the plane. At one point Habib ‘Ali literally collapsed from fatigue. When he found out that some of his companions were going to cancel his next event so that he could take some time to recuperate, he instructed them to just call and tell them that he would be a few minutes late. He laid down for about 15 minutes then sat up abruptly and said that we needed to be on our way so that the people were not kept waiting for him. And this is how he spent his entire journey. The time had come for Habib ‘Ali to depart. He had spent 23 days on an American tour. He met many people and lectured in many places. And every step of the way people were calling for his fight information so that they could meet him at the airport and get one last glimpse of him before his farewell. We rushed to get the bags checked in. We were running late, and with all of the added security check points since September 11th, we were concerned that we might miss our flight, especially since we had an entourage of Muslims accompanying us wearing long gowns and turbans, the perfect red flag for overzealous airport security. Habib ‘Ali took rest on a nearby bench. Several of the brothers followed suit and sat next to him. Because there were so many of us present to see him off, many had to find a place on the floor surrounding him. It became a half circle that extended nearly across the entire walkway. Habib ‘Ali prayed for all of us. Even a non-Muslim passer-by stopped for a prayer. She told us that she knew that Habib ‘Ali was a religious man and she never missed an opportunity to receive blessings from those people who are close to God. The time had come for Habib ‘Ali to move to his gate for departure and a few more airport workers, men and women, gathered nearby to catch a glimpse of the man that we were all sitting before. Habib ‘Ali stood, smiled and then began what seemed like an endless journey to his terminal. The group followed closely behind, like children behind their parents in a department store, stumbling over their own feet trying to get one last chance to be close to Habib ‘Ali. When he reached the gate he turned to the group to say goodbye. He hugged all that were present making each one feel that they were the most important person there. Grown men wept. Some feared they’d never get the chance to see him again. Others felt as though a part of their soul was leaving them behind. And still others knew for certain that some of the best days of their lives had come to an end. We stood in complete silence as he walked away from us towards the gate. One of the brothers began reciting the call to prayer (adhaan) as the tradition calls for and Habib ‘Ali turned with a lambent smile of approval that seemed to illuminate the entire hall. We watched, bemusedly, as he disappeared into the crowd, like the sun behind the clouds on a dark winter day. As quickly as he had come, he was now gone. He came to us in a time of need. He laughed with us, cried with us, and changed the hearts of men. He brought with him the secret of the progeny of our Beloved Prophet (pbuh) and miraculously, like the rising sun, he brought us all out of the darkness and into light. Source: http://www.guidancemedia.com/downloads/articles/Moment%204%20the%20Hearts.doc

The Social Involvement of Women in Islam By Imam Zaid Shakir One of the persistent attacks against Islam is that it is a religion which stifles the social involvement of women. By social involvement, we mean involvement in those spheres of endeavor which occur outside of the home and impact on the general nature and direction of society. Islam, it is said, desires to divest women of any meaningful social role, to keep them “trapped†in the confines of their homes, under the constant surveillance and control of men. This claim, as we will endeavor to show, does not accurately reflect the fullness of Islamic teachings on this issue. While Islam does advocate a social scheme which places great emphasis on the domestic role of women, it also creates ample space for their meaningful participation in public affairs. The purpose of this article is to examine aspects of that social involvement based on the Qur’an and the prophetic tradition. That examination will be preceded by a brief expose on the fundamental equality of men and women in Islam. The Fundamental Equality of Men and Women in Islam Read the whole article from http://www.zaytuna.org/articleDetails.asp?articleID=50

Counsel By Shaykh Dr. Abdalqadir as-Sufi Allah the Exalted declares in Surat al-Hijr (15:56): He said, ‘Who despairs of the mercy of his Lord except for misguided people?’ Allah the Exalted also declares in Surat az-Zumar (39:53): Say: ‘My slaves, you who have transgressed against yourselves, do not despair of the mercy of Allah. Truly Allah forgives all wrong actions. He is the Ever-Forgiving, the Most Merciful.’ This is a message to the great united peoples of that area which today comprises the falsely constructed national units of Afghanistan, Pakistan and Kashmir. These constructs have no reality either in history or geography, and they have been thus separated first by a political imperialism, and in our time by a financial dictatorship. It is vital at this time that our beloved people in these mountains, deserts, plains and cities should adhere to the very deep and inescapable obligations by which we are all bound. With reference to the northern territory called Afghanistan, it must be understood that the puppet Karzai is a traitor to his people. In the language of modern politics, he is a Quisling - Quisling was the Norwegian traitor set over the Norwegian people on behalf of the German Nazi regime. At present this is an occupied country yet again tyrannised and corrupted by a kafir occupying army. These armies have arrogantly and unwisely not taken into account the fate of previous forces which thought they could dominate the region. Ironically, the NGOs are a greater threat than the psychologically insecure occupying army. As if the people had not suffered enough, there have now come to us disturbing reports of suicide bombing. I urgently send this message to the ‘ulema and leadership actively engaged in a struggle against the occupying force. The current practice of sending young men on suicide missions is strictly forbidden to us. That this is forbidden does not rule out any other form of resistance. Firstly, suicide for any reason, whether personal, political or tactical, is strictly forbidden, and in the Hadith literature we know the dire warning that whoever ends their life in this manner will be in the Next World perpetually condemned to re-enact the moment of their demise. The act of suicide in itself has no precedent in the warfare of the Muslims over our whole history. This has already been identified as a practice of the Isma‘ili kafir sect of that other religion, Shi‘ism. The adab of all Muslim resistance and fighting throughout the ages has come under the disciplines, strictures and moral obligations of Futuwwa. Allah the Exalted has said in Surat al-Kahf (18:13): They were young men who had iman in their Lord and We increased them in guidance. The highest mark of Futuwwa is Preference. That implies that you prefer the life of your brother to that of yourself. How much more so does that apply to the shameful fathers in Palestine and now, alas, across the Muslim world, men who prefer their sons to die rather than themselves? The absolute shame of the practice of suicide bombing is not even the Haram act of the suicide, but in the Shari‘ah consideration has to be taken of the one who instigates the crime. The one who instructs a young man to kill himself, the one who straps the Semtex to his body, the one who takes him to the place of his immolation - all these are men who should stand trial as murderers of Muslim youth. While victory on this path of nihilism is impossible, Imam Junayd, may Allah be pleased with him, said, “If there is doubt about the acceptability of an action, imagine that you have performed it and examine the outcome. If the outcome has bad in it, refrain from it.†Now, if the party of the suicide policy were to have success, would the father then step forward and say, “Now I boast to you that I sent my son to his death, and so I am a fit governor over your sons� Or if their policy proved a failure, would he announce to his people, “We are still enslaved, but unfortunately we have no sons left to carry on the struggle in a new generation� The ruling document by which these territories must be governed is the ‘Fataawat ‘Al Amgheeri’, the great Fiqh book commanded by the mighty Sultan Aurangzeb, may Allah reward this Wali and this Mujahid. It is vital that our noble Deobandi scholars should not deviate one iota from the Fiqh which has come down to them. Also, in the light of the disaster which has befallen the country, from a leadership which when we encountered them, was still frankly negotiating with the US-based oil companies, it must now be clear that the infiltration of the Muslim mujahid movement by dubious Arab adventurers has led to the present disaster. Only a new leadership which can raise high the Banner of Islam can bring hope to the whole Himalayan range and its outlying valleys, plains and cities. In all of this, the shameful split between Deobandi and Berelvi must be abandoned, but it cannot be abandoned by holding fast to the village divisions. By the village divisions I mean Deoband and Berelvi, for it was there that the ‘ulema retreated once the Islamic ‘Amr was snatched from the great Mughal Khalifate. So on day one of their existence they set out devoid of that necessary condition on which the Shari‘at is based, an Islamic ‘Amr. The ‘Amr was in Delhi and the English kuffar had taken Delhi. That is why it is not an accident that their inheritors, the hindu idol-worshippers, took the Mughal capital as theirs in preference to the logical choice for them of Benares. The Deobandi and Berelvi must both confirm, and they cannot deny, that they both set out from Delhi with the Fataawat ‘Al Amgheeri in their luggage. This is our present challenge and our present business. May Allah unify us under a new leadership, first imposed by a Divinely inspired will to serve the Muslims, and then confirmed by us with the love that has always been due our leaders throughout the centuries. Amin. Source: http://www.shaykhabdalqadir.com/content/articles/Art057_28032006.html

Peace and Justice in Islam By Imam Zaid Shakir We are living in a world where there could obviously be more peace. As Muslims, we realize this fact more than most people, as the peace of many of our brothers and sisters in various parts of the globe has been tragically disrupted –in Palestine, Chechnya, Afghanistan, Kashmir, and other locales. Similarly, we are living in a world where there could be more justice. We read almost daily of assassinations in various parts of the world, where military forces or intelligence services, in summary fashion, declare victims guilty, and then proceed to execute them. Unfortunately, such unprincipled political behavior has become increasingly common in both the foreign and domestic policies of this country, causing untold damage to her image and credibility abroad. These two issues, peace and justice, are joined in the slogans we hear from many activists, especially here in the United States, “No Justice, No Peace!†This linkage is logical, as justice must be considered one of the indispensable prerequisites of peace. This article intends to briefly look at the ideas of peace and justice in Islam and explore their deeper significance in the life of a Muslim. Read the whole article from http://www.zaytuna.org/articleDetails.asp?articleID=49