Company of Scholars and Faith based Intelligence

The company of scholars is to the soul what a bath is to the body: cleansing, calming and refreshing. The intelligence of true scholars, their knowledge, gentleness and Allah consciousness dawns an unexplained and infinite happiness. 

Fortunately alhamdulillah, yesterday I had the privilege to sit with a Shaykh Moutasem al-Hameed. MashaAllah, he had the most cheerful of faces, the most kindest of speech and the most largest of hearts. His words and gestures dripped with humility and honesty. 
I became unwary and ignorant during these past months in university. I painfully missed the company of scholars until yesterday alhamdulillah, the shaykh reawakened me. Many people know Islam only from books and online articles, but the manner in which scholars explain Islam and the extent to which they deeply analyze Islam is impressive and awe-inspiring. 

The scholars are to the people, what the stars are to the earth: a source of guidance and direction. Life without frequently sitting and learning from scholars is a calamity; extinction of imaan and negligence of good deeds. They exhort the deviant to the right path and incline the lost to the right way. If you suffer from a void in your life  and an emptiness in your routine, then make a habit to visit the scholars habitually. 


Shaykh Moutasem talked about "Faith based intelligence". 
It was really cool how he explained that "identity" is from "identity". In order for us to form an honest identity, we need to identify who we are. Who and what is "I"? Our identity is our function in life; it is our dreams, passions and our actions. Allah created human beings to worship Him, وَمَا خَلَقْتُ الْجِنَّ وَالْإِنسَ إِلَّا لِيَعْبُدُونِ So our identity as human beings is based on our function, which is worship. Without worship there would be no "I" or "Me" or "Us". 

We value things which have a purpose in our lives. A person in South Africa values the Zulu while Mandarin will probably have no meaning for him. But if he goes to China, all of a sudden knowing Mandarin will become a menas for his survival. 
We define our life based upon things which we value. If a person is an athlete, he will value sports so his entire life will revolve around training, practicing, competitions. He will love and hate based on his sports. He will live and die for his sport. Just ask ManU fans what they think about Barcelona. They way they dress, the foods that they eat, the holidays that they plan all reflect their fav. players and match schedules. God forbid if some Muslim from the other team should walk in, he/she will never see the end of the harassment. And if a match is during Salah well the Imaam will just have to wait or pray without the muqtadi. 
So shaykh Moutasem was saying how وَمِنَ النَّاسِ مَن يَتَّخِذُ مِن دُونِ اللَّهِ أَندَادًا يُحِبُّونَهُمْ كَحُبِّ اللَّهِ وَالَّذِينَ آمَنُوا أَشَدُّ حُبًّا لِّلَّهِ "And [yet], among the people are those who take other than Allāh as equals [to Him]. They love them as they [should] love Allāh. But those who believe are stronger in love for Allāh." [Qur'an, 2:165] Allah created the sky and the earth, He alternates the night and the day, he sails the ships through the seas, He sends the rain and thereby produces provision and directs the winds and controls the clouds. Allah's favours upon us are endless yet we love others more than Allah because we do not value Allah. We are so ignorant of our true Benefactor and Sustainer that we do not see His real relevance in our lives. It's messed up isn't it? Can humans exist without the sun and the moon? Without air and food? We think we need money to live when in fact Allah assigns a portion of wealth to all of  His servants. What we earn is not contingent to excellence, it is predestined by Allah. 


Passion derives purpose. In your life, you will go after what you are hungry for. So all of our actions can be traced back to a single motive. The place where you sit in class, the people you talk to, the things you speak about reveal your goals in life. So in order to become better (more practicing Muslims) we need to become passionate about Allah. An intense desire to love and worship Allah will only come when we appraise Allah and appreciate His absolute Majesty and Grandeur. 
So what we need as Muslims is a paradigm shift. We need to re-identify ourselves; disengage from all material things and people, and relate ourselves to Allah. That is, to Allah I belong and to Allah I shall return. I live because of Allah, my work and worship is for Allah and I will go back to Allah. Once the self is reconstructed to hunger for Allah's love and approval, the person can reach his potential as a human being both psychologically and physically. But if one chooses a wrong defienition of himself, one that does not include Allah as the focus of his existence, his heart will not have a good time, despite his resources, he will be resentful and remorseful all his life. Think of your soul as a seed which is programed to worship Allah. If you nourish your soul with Qur'an it will grow beautiful but if you intoxicate and poison your soul with the perverted populist culture,  you will mess up its programing (natural disposition) to a point where it will not recognize Allah and roll with sins. 
Although it is not a sin to eat, sleep, get married and enjoy sports or the company of family members, everything should be placed in it's slot. It shouldn't be that if you are going to eat, your entire day will engulfed in grocery shopping, cooking, setting up the table and dish washing. Same thing when you sleep, it shouldn't be that you are sleeping on hours on end, or your whole life's savings are wasted upon your wedding dress and reception. Muslims who identify themselves as Allah's property, live as Allah as their priority. In everything, Allah is # 1. 


MashaAllah Shaykh Moutasem has a wonderful approach on how to take the religion intelligently. Enough with the sheep mentality bakwaas yaara. Do in religion what everyone else is doing, without thinking or reasoning. But split hair over which brand name to buy and which university to go to. Why are so many people leaving Islam? Because we do not know about it enough. We do not value it. So we need to reteach ourselves if we are going to be smart Muslims. 

The Political Theory of Islam

Many people believe that the political theory of Islam is violence or armed struggle (Jihad). Nothing is further from the truth.
The Prophet Muhammad (s.a.w), the last Messenger of Allah, and the founder and leader of Islam, was a spiritual guide as well as a Statesman. His words, actions and tacit approvals form the basis of the Islamic law and the Muslim way of life. Prophet Muhammad (s.a.w) never employed violence to achieve his religious or political ambitions. His twenty-three years of leadership shows he was a peace-loving and harmonious preacher and commander.

Government initiative:
---Paganism overshadowed the city of Makkah. The idolaters housed over three-hundred statues inside the Ka'bah for worship and adoration. Arabs from all over the continent gathered in Makkah to pay homage to the idols during crucial Islamic months.
---The Quryesh government economically and socially boycotted the Prophet Muhammad (s.a.w), his family and followers because of Islam. In other words, they discriminated against the Muslims and utterly disfranchised them: Muslims lost their jobs, employers refused to hire a Muslim worker on wages. Market places stopped serving Muslims, illegal to trade of transact with Muslims.  Health care renounced, all legal rights rebuffed under the constitution, i.e. no police protection or fair treatment. Legal to rob, torture, rape and murder Muslims.
---Death warrant issued against the Prophet Muhammad (s.a.w). A large bounty offered for anyone who killed him
---Muslims exiled from Makkah (this is the equivalent of being blacklisted and prevented from traveling freely. Frequently interrogated and searched at the airports and banned from entering the country). 

Muslim response:
---No declaration of kufr against the obvious polytheists of Makkah. No death sentence against the infidel population. Prophet Muhammad (s.a.w) didn't attempt to bomb Dar al-Nadwa - the Parliament of the Quryesh. He (s.a.w) called no violent demonstrations against the invidious government policies, spoke no rhetoric, sang no nasheeds and held conferences convince Muslims to fight back. 
Result - Muslims recognized as innocent seekers of religious piety and freedom and the Quryesh assigned fault for causing mayhem against defenseless and blameless Muslim victims.  Because Muslims remained composed and non-threatening in their speech and actions, it encouraged the average Makkan listen to listen the them without prejudice.
---Prophet Muhammad (s.a.w) peacefully preached the Makkan community. He (s.a.w) spoke to the groups assembled at the Ka'bah. Without reviling their false-gods, he (s.a.w) recited the Qu'ran to them until its message and wisdom dawned upon them.  Allah is the Ever-Living, the Ever-Lasting, only true Creator of this universe who originated matter, life, time and energy. He alone bestows peace and calm. Only He gives shelter and support. Thus Allah alone deserves worship.
Result: profoundly amazed by logical philosophy of the Qur'an, many people embraced Islam without force.
---Prophet Muhammad (s.a.w) didn't summon militants to avenge the Quryesh's unflagging enmity against the Muslims. No rockets launched and no building vandalized. Instead Prophet Muhammad (s.a.w) negotiated with the Quryesh, accepted their demands unilaterally and entered into a ten-year no-war pact (treaty of Hudaybiyyah).
Result: peace established between both parties, secured full opportunity for peaceful Da'wah and opened door for a clear victory. Instead of conflict, Muslim power and potential concentrated on long term constructivism (not self-destruction).

Source: Khan, Wahiduddin. Islamic Activisim. Goodword Books, 2001, New Delhi. 

Purpose of Life

People ask me, What is the purpose of life? 
And I respond, In a nutshell, life is preparation for eternity. We were not made to last forever, and Allah wants us to be with Him in Heaven.  One day my heart is going to stop, and that will be the end of my body-- but not the end of me. 

I may live 60 to 100 years on earth, but I am going to spend trillions of years in eternity. This life is a warm-up act - a dress rehearsal. Allah wants us to practice on earth what we will do forever in eternity...We were made by Allah and for Allah, and until we figure that out, life isn't going to make sense. 

Life is a series of problems: Either we are in one now, we're just coming out of one, or we're getting ready to go into another one. The reason for this is that Allah is more interested in your character than our comfort; Allah is more interested in making our life holy than He is in making your life happy. We can be reasonably happy here on earth, but that's not the goal of life. The goal is to grow in character. 

This past year has been the greatest year of my life but also the toughest, with my teacher, traveling away and I, starting university.

I used to think that life was hills and valleys - we go through a dark time, then we go to the mountaintop, back and forth. I don't believe that anymore. Rather than life being hills and valleys, I believe that it's kind of like two rails on a railroad track, and at all times we have something good and something bad in our life. No matter how good things are in our life, there is always something bad that needs to be worked on.  And no matter how bad things are in our life, there is always something good we can thank Allah for.

We can focus on our purposes, or we can focus on our problems: If we focus on our problems, we're going into self-centeredness, which is my problem, my issues, my pain. But one of the easiest ways to get rid of pain is to get our focus off ourselves and onto Allah and others. 

Sometimes, despite hundreds of prayers and pleas, Allah does not give us an easy solution. Difficulties remain complicated and grueling but through them, Allah strengthens our character, gives us the opportunity to repent our our past sins, redeem ourselves, draw close to Him and help people.

We have to learn to deal with both the good and the bad of life. Actually, sometimes learning to deal with the good is harder. How to be genuinely grateful for Allah's gift of life? time? health? family? and knowledge?

We need to ask ourselves: Am I going to live for possessions? Popularity? Am I going to be driven by pressures? Guilt? Bitterness? Materialism? Or am I going to be driven by Allah's purposes ? When I get up in the morning, I sit on the side of my bed and say, Allah, if I don't get anything else done today, I want to know You more and love You better. Allah didn't put me on earth just to fulfill a  list. He's more interested in what I am!  That's why we're called human beings, not human doings.

Happy moments, PRAISE ALLAH!!
Difficult moments, SEEK ALLAH!!
Quiet moments, WORSHIP ALLAH!! 
Painful moments, TRUST ALLAH!! 
Every moment, THANK ALLAH!!!

Source: Rick Warren

Do you complain all the time?

I heard another excellent lecture by my teacher, on the "Importance of Investigation" when deciding a matter. Listen to both sides of the story before making a decision.
We live in an overwhelming dissatisfied society. Everyone has a sob story; something to complain and grieve about. Sometimes the complaints and accusations are rather harsh and untruthful but we blast them so easily, without thinking of its consequences. A small sentence, unjustly spoken against someone, can easily ruin our lives.

My Salah is spoiled whenever I say something erroneous. If I speak ill of someone, the very next day, I either I do not wake up for Fajr salah on time or do not find any khushu  (concentration and closeness to Allah) in my salah. This is from the punishment of Allah. Whenever sins become easy to commit and opportunities to do good deeds constantly slip away, realize that Allah is displeased with you because of a sin.

Another sign of Allah's displeasure is the condition of one's heart. After complaining about someone and debasing them in front of people, the heart feels bleak and bereft. A sense of emptiness weighs down upon the heart. Despite venting out frustration, a sense of dejected and misery plagues the mind. The is opposite is true for a good deed. A kind action, one pleasing to Allah, brings contentment happiness and peace. The heart feels lighter and the mind experiences comfort.
So anyone who complains a lot but still feels constantly grief-stricken and unable to do anything good in his/her life, should immediately abandon the act of complaining and repent to Allah.

Moreover, complaining all the time, makes us seem arrogant, disdainful and egocentric. By insulting others, we debase our own reputation. No one wants to befriend a grousing, sniveling bleater. Such people loose their trust and respect in society. 

Worst of all, badmouthing people takes away our focus from productive work. Our priorities are sidestepped by narcissistic animosities. We live a life of anger, offended by every small thing.

Anxious? Restless? Upset?

I was listening to a lecture on "Two Paths" from the book, Islam Ek Taruf . My teacher categorized a believer as one who submits to Allah and a disbeliever as one who rebels against and worships his desires. The essence of Islam is to surrender ourselves to Allah's Will with sincere and complete acquiescence.
But sometimes when we worship Allah in routine and do the same good deeds over an over again, we no longer think about our intention. Our movements become automatic and thoughtless. We forget sometimes the importance of submitting to Allah consciously and deliberately. Our responses and behaviour grows mechanic and spiritless. Allah is so upset from our minds, even when we offer salah that when we are hit with a test, we break after. We crumble under every small calamity. Split hair and loose sleep over the tiniest of problems.

More often than not, we blame our environment. Because we do not live in a Muslim country, because there isn't any Islamic atmosphere, we say, we can't cope with being responsible, poised believers all the time. There is no one to guide us, no scholars in the family, no imaams at school or at work so it is only right that we can't be all that practicing.
I had a similar excuse. Whenever I felt angry or upset, I would indict my lack of good company. I felt my anxiousness, grumpiness and restlessness was justified because i have no confidante, no kindred friend passionate about Islam.

Our hyper emotions and fidgety nerves is because we have no connection with Allah. This lecture made me realize that we don't necessarily need a human companion to counsel us, rather we need Salah. We need to stand before Allah every time we are upset and cry, beg plead, complain and beseech Allah. Allah is our Solace. our Comforter, and Guardian
With the towfeeq of Allah I tried to pray extra Salah when I had my mood-swings and wallah I cannot describe to you the sweetness of reciting the Qur'an to Allah. Wallah its like I am in another zone. I feel so clean from inside. I feel so light and I enjoy so much every ruku and every sajdah.
And after I am done with salah alhamdulillah I act better with others. I smile more :) So if anyone is having trouble submitting to Allah and being a good Muslim, they should pray to Allah more :) Talk to Allah more :) :)

Who invented Writing?

So I was studying for my CCIT exam and I came across an article by Andrew Robinson on "The Origins of Writing"  in my textbook.
Robinson professes that scholars do not know how writing emerged. Theoretically, it originated from pictographs (pictograms, pictorial representations of concrete objects). Others believe that writing was the result of a conscious search by an unknown Sumerian individual in the city of Uruk (biblical Erech), in about 3300 BC. Still some others hold that writing was  the work of a group, presumably of clever administrators and merchants. A few think that writing was not an invention at all, but an accidental discovery. Many regard it as the result of evolution over a long period. Once invented mysteriously, writing diffused all over the globe.

Peculiar isn't it? Secular scholars cannot explain who invented writing yet it exists somehow and it is essential to our life. Written words encompasses everything that we do. Can you think of a packaged food item that did not have a written label or a textbook without words? A blank street sign or a nameless CD cover? Writing is pragmatic, educational, emotional and entertaining. We are in need of it to survive as civilization but we do not have the slightest idea of who made it and how it came to be. Its like waking up and finding a blank cheque next to your pillow. Sure, you are grateful but who should you thank?

Allah says,

الرَّحْمَـٰن عَلَّمَ الْقُرْآن خَلَقَ الْإِنسَانَ  عَلَّمَهُ الْبَيَانَ 

"The Most Merciful. Taught the Qur’ān. Created man. [And] taught him eloquent speech." [Qur'an, 55:1-4]      

اقْرَأْ بِاسْمِ رَبِّكَ الَّذِي خَلَقَ  خَلَقَ الْإِنسَانَ مِنْ عَلَقٍ  اقْرَأْ وَرَبُّكَ الْأَكْرَمُ الَّذِي عَلَّمَ بِالْقَلَمِ عَلَّمَ الْإِنسَانَ مَا لَمْ يَعْلَمْ    

"Recite in the name of your Lord who created – Created man from a clinging substance. Recite, and your Lord is the most Generous – Who taught by the pen – Taught man that which he knew not." [Qur'an, 96:1-5]

It is Allah's mercy that He created us and fashioned us gracefully. Aligned our limbs in all the right places and proportioned our features with just measurement. Each aspect of the human body, from the internal complex network of organelles to the external balanced and steady appearance, attests to Allah's magnificent planning and wisdom. Not only Allah created our being perfectly from an imperfect substance but Allah also animated our cells with life, energy and movement.  Allah placed light in our eyes, enabled our ears to hear sound and our skin to feel and sensor. Verily, only a true God can endow His creation with such astounding strengths and faculties. 

Apart from life, literacy is another great blessing from Allah. Allah created us and taught us how to speak. Allah taught us the use of pen and taught us how to read. Knowledge, in and of itself, is a tremendous bounty and enormous favour of Allah. Can anyone fathom the advancements we have made and the discoveries we have achieved in mathematics, astronomy, geography, marine biology with knowledge? From the electricity to running water, from refrigerated food to, coats and mittens, engine for a car, gas for fuel and park for leisure, are all gift of knowledge which Allah has given us.  

And the finest of Allah's blessing, the matchless bestowal, the ultimate gift is the Qur'an.

Source: Crowley, David; Heyer, Paul (2007). Communication in History: technology, culture, society. Fifth edition. USA, Pearson Education Inc. 

Facebook

Okay, so I go on facebook a lot. I try not to but once I am on, one click leads to fifty more and before my brain gets a chance to process my idiocy, I am reading comments and browsing pictures of people I don’t even know. This problem is not unique only to me; the fast-speed internet has made it easy for people all over the world to pore over useless information almost instantly. 
I liked how brother Nouman Ali Khan said that the people of intellect are those who have pure minds, that is, their brains are free from vanity. No fruitless information clouds their thoughts. 

The difference between an animal and a human is intellect. In Arabic, “aqal” or intellect means to restrain, control and monitor. Ergo, our intellect (should be) is an invisible, mental power that regulates and administers our behaviour.  
We live in “whatever” culture. The moment we hear a criticism, or get a mouth full from our parents, our response is, “whatever.” The swamp of information we surf everyday online, see on TV has murdered our intellect, desensitized and dehumanized us. Our minds have registered so much nonsense that we have effectively stop caring about everything but ourselves. 

Honestly examine some of the comments on facebook, have people posted really thought provoking, soul stirring and revolutionary ideas? Or are they just trumpeting their own praises over something queer they did the other day or saying some other sort of gobbledygook about someone else’s bonky feats? Its like our IQs has shrunk to 0.5. Posting pictures of the insides of your nose, or pictures of your droll as you slurp sick looking soup, is not bold, its stupid and nauseating! Getting married online and adopting your friends as children, playing “farm” and going virtual shopping, is cheeky so cut it out and do something meaningful with your time.  

I am sad that people do not talk about Allah anymore. This networking junk takes up so much of our time that we have ignored and undermined the overwhelming Greatness and Grandeur of Allah, His Awe-inspiring, Sublime and Holy Disposition. Any anyone recall the last time they consciously exalted Allah’s magnificent planning behind all His perfect creation? Does anyone remember thanking Allah with all their heart, utmost love and respect over the food that they enjoy and air their breathe? We normally do not talk about Allah when with family and friends. In fact we do not even give any serious thought to Allah, our Creator, the One Who manages the sky and the earth, feeds us, gives us to drink an heals us when we are sick and to Him we shall return after we died. When the Name of Allah accidently slips out of our mouth, it is only because of a cultural formality. We don’t intend to appreciate and venerate Allah for His blessings and mercy when we say alhamdulillah or mashaAllah, we mean only to glamorize and boast our own persona.  

No one has time to read books anymore and reading the Qur’an? I must be boring and backward to even suggest that right? Our frivolous tittle-tattle and jabbering opinions are as piteous as an ant crawling in a heap of garbage. There is so much more to this world and our personal lives than we realize.  So many aspects of worshipping Allah, and so many good deeds to do. I am not saying stop talking to people, just assess your time and use it wisely.

The battle of clothes in a demeaning society

What is the latest fashion these days - for women? Something skimpy and short?

Allah says,

يَا بَنِي آدَمَ قَدْ أَنزَلْنَا عَلَيْكُمْ لِبَاسًا يُوَارِي سَوْآتِكُمْ وَرِيشًا  وَلِبَاسُ التَّقْوَىٰ

 ذَ‌ٰلِكَ خَيْرٌ ذَ‌ٰلِكَ مِنْ آيَاتِ اللَّهِ لَعَلَّهُمْ يَذَّكَّرُونَ

“O children of Adam, We have bestowed upon you clothing to conceal your private parts and as adornment. But the clothing of righteousness – that is best. That is from the signs of Allah that perhaps they will remember.” [Qur’an, 7:26]

First, clothing is أَنزَلْنَا sent down by Allah. The save verb, نزَلْ is also used for the revelation of the Qur’an. The likeness in terms insinuates that clothing is a beatific and consecrated blessing of Allah. The act of wearing clothing, for the purpose of covering one’s body is regarded with great respect and reverence. Although clothing also is a means of adornment, clothing increases the quality of our appearance, nevertheless, the purpose of clothing should not be entirely made to make our look attractive and tempting because Allah says in the same verse that “clothing of righteousness is best.” In other words clothing should be morally upright. When a person dawns upon clothing, he should look like a virtuous individual.

The manner in which we dress and attend to our personal grooming, defines our character and personality. Our appearance identifies us with certain manners of behavior and creates expectations in those around us. Dress codes, which require modest attire, are becoming more popular with educators and professionals everywhere to focus on learning and working and less fixation on physicality and sensuality.
Just as a business suit, a black gown or a uniform would define a professional banker, lawyer or a student during working and school hours, the abaya, hijab and niqab marks out Muslim women to be treated seriously and with respect. Modest clothing ensures that women’s intelligence, manners, wit, skills and poise get noticed and not just their body parts. Such modesty and goodness is آيَاتِ اللَّهِ a sign of Allah. Not only should fair-minded Muslims dawn complete clothing as prescribed by Islam but also honour and cherish it because this manner of dressing is  يَذَّكَّرُونَ  a reminder for all people in all times to come.

Allah bestows upon us honour and dignity with clothes and thus Shaytan wishes to humiliate and debase us by making us remove these clothes. One of the tricks that Shaytan employed against Aadam and Hawa was that he snatched their clothing from them and ergo had them expelled from Paradise. Allah warns us,

يَا بَنِي آدَمَ لَا يَفْتِنَنَّكُمُ الشَّيْطَانُ كَمَا أَخْرَجَ أَبَوَيْكُم مِّنَ الْجَنَّةِ يَنزِعُ عَنْهُمَا لِبَاسَهُمَا لِيُرِيَهُمَا سَوْآتِهِمَا
“O children of Adam, let not Satan tempt you as he removed your parents from Paradise, stripping them of their clothing to show them their private parts.” [Qur’an, 7:27]

 It is outrageously appalling and excruciatingly mortifying for any person to be disrobed and exposed in public. Such a doing is a vile assault against the individual. It is offensive and insolent. Similar, if not worse, is Shatyan’s attitude towards all human beings. He wishes to disgrace and defile humans by scraping our clothes off. Shaytan wants to rob us of the veneration and adoration Allah endowed upon us by sending down clothing.
Allah explains Shaytan’s plot,

إِنَّمَا يَأْمُرُكُم بِالسُّوءِ وَالْفَحْشَاءِ وَأَن تَقُولُوا عَلَى اللَّهِ مَا لَا تَعْلَمُونَ
 “He [Shaytan] orders you to evil and indecency and to say about Allah what you do not know.” [Qur’an, 2:169]

Allah wants us to be righteous and for that He has sent us clothing. While Shaytan wants us to be indecent and for that he removes from us our clothing.

Psychology of Television

Because of the time people and children spend on watching TV, socializing with live people especially one's family, playing sports, pursuit of hobbies and most importantly, reading has declined drastically.  People who watch TV are less imaginative and inquisitive. People are not long capable of original thought and reflection. We have lost our literacy skills and the less we practice them the more they deteriorate.
The purpose of television is to sell the audience to the advertisers. They make $200,000 a minute for airing commercials. The job of advertisers is not just to hold our attention with jolly tunes and splashy colours but to persuade us to change our attitude and behaviour.
The most widely depicted drug on TV is alcohol. Heavy drinking is showing 40% of the time and alcohol itself 80% of time. Adulatory and prostitution account for 70% of all the prime time programs. 17% of the time there are people with mental illness. So what happens to people, especially children when they watch so much alcohol consumption, sex and insanity?

6 Shocking Ways TV Rewires Your Brain

Watching TV at 2 spells trouble later

When the Shepherds become wolves

I was washing the dishes yesterday whilst listening to When the Wolves become Shepherds by Shaykh Muhammad al Shareef. He explained from hadith that the battle field of Shaytan is the market place because this is the pivotal place where we are most distracted by Allah and surrounded by all sorts of evil temptations. But Shaykh Muhammad explained that marikatusShaytan is not just the mall but all sorts of marketing such as the radio, the billboards on the street, magazines and the more of all, the television. When we lift our gaze and watch a lewd picture or hear a smutty word we are being murdered by the Shaytan and this is third-fifth degree homicide because Shaytan kills our heart through these depraved images on the Billboards and perverted words on the radio. He butchers our imaan, he eats up or good deeds until we are addicted to shamelessness and wasting our time.

Shaykh Muhamamd al Shareef emphasized that we are in a battle with Shaytan, there are armies, weapons and strategies. If we wish to survive, we must take this war seriously and fight it tooth and nail (with everything we got).

Shaykh Muhammad al Shareef asked us to imagine a bomb blast. Visualize littered limbs, maimed faces, shrieks, blood, tears. Every single person dies except for one. Men, women and children massacred. Bones crushed, flesh burned. Nothing survived but one person. This is the same scenario with our war against Shaytan. From a thousand human beings, only one will pull through. Shaytan will incapacitate and mangle 999 people from a group of thousand people, and one soul will escape. Thats  how menacing and perilous is our clash with Shatyan.
Shaykh Muhammad al Shareef said Shaytan employs seven ways through which he attacks people. Every one must listen to this lecture to learn these seven ways and do utmost to defend himself against Shaytan: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5Dci9EsvTrE

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However what I really got out from this lecture, the heart of the matter, of paramount lesson which I derived from this lecture is that Shaytan is an enemy to all human beings, Christians, Jews, Hindus, Atheists, Sikhs and Muslims altogether. Especially in the 21century, Muslims have been led to believe that the Jews or Zionists are our enemy, the Christians are crusading against us when in fact they are as much victimized by Shyatan as we are. We, human beings, are constantly at each others throats. Every moment, we burst with anger and rage against the other religious or ethnic group. We breed hatred and transfer it to our children too. This is also Shaytan's plot. To keep us busy with war, and contention.  I think we must realize this.
Now that I am aware that Shaytan targets the Christians and other non-Muslims too, I feel bad for them so much. Shaytan is succeeding in taking them Hellfire.
We really need to see the Christians as victims. They need our help. It is true that they are invading our (Muslim) homelands. Allah is sending them to us. They are in our neighbourhoods, our schools, workplaces. They are the leading celebrities, athletes etc. Let's reach out to everyone as much as we can and tell them all about the Qur'an. Read a small portion of it (a portion that touches us the most, that is related to Allah) and read it to them. I am sure when they understand the Qur'an, they would want to leave Shaytan's trap.

Let's help them inshaAllah. Remember Shaytan is the enemy! If people are doing something wrong, its not because they are not intrinsically evil. Shaytan has blinded them temporarily. Help them see the truth as Allah has revealed in the Qur'an.

Are you free?

Hijab is oppressive, it is repressive, and backwards. Okay...what is parading in a tank top and mini skirt then? Freedom?

Is it really freedom that a woman shows her body for the pleasure of her male counterparts, that is, she is debased for exposing herself while men go on a joy ride with her display of shamelessness? 
Is it really freedom that women are compelled to conform to a certain body size and image in order to be acceptable in society?
Is it really freedom when a woman's entire worth as a person and as a female is based on her appearance?
Is it really freedom that men see women only as a collection of body parts to exploit?
Is it really freedom that a man cheats on his wife because he saw someone else more pretty than her at the office or on the street?
Is it really freedom when violence against women thrives?

Is it really oppressive that Muslim women do not give men anything to ogle and grope when they cover?
Is it really unjust that Muslims allow women to be comfortable the way they are, whatever size and colour?
Is it really backwards that Muslims value women for their intelligence and good deeds and NOT their bodies?
Is it really tyrannical that men leave Muslim women alone because they cover and that Muslim women are not fantacized about and assaulted?
Is it really wrong that Muslim women fall in love once and have strong, faithful long lasting marital relationships because they do not expose themselves to other men?

So you decide if you are REALLY free.

State Sponsored Education

How many of us received our secondary or high school education from the State-sponsored public school system? How many of our children still go to public schools? That's practically the entire North American population, isn't it? So who does it affect us for the worse?
When the State assumed the responsibility of providing its citizens, especially children, with education, it effectively took in charge of our physical, mental and moral regression. By keeping us and now our children in school since the age of four to twenty-four, through the education board and system, the government imposes certain intellectual and moral habits upon us that we unconsciously adopt with 2+2=4 and y=MC ^2 that it becomes difficult to separate and reconcile the natural knowledge of things with the State doctrine.


State-sponsored schools and universities are filled with students but hardly any amongst them is capable of original thought and critical thinking. A vast majority of diploma and degree holders are mediocre attendants (servants) of the State. The State gives students ready-made ideas which they follow for the rest of their lives. The State replaces our rational thought and independent judgment with mob-passions. 
The teachers (and I am guilty of this too) love to talk about the value of the work they do in "moulding character," but they are generally at a loss to explain what pattern they are aiming at (at least I can say I want children to become Rabbani).

If the school systems provoked intelligence or originality then we and our children would not be so dominated by herd-emotions. We would not settle down into the routine of capitalistic life; play football in our spare time because it is fashionable, and buy a luxury car because we really need it; but because everyone else on the road had one, or because we cannot resist the wiles of the advertiser. Our mental outlook is subtly influenced by a mercenary press and an Americanized cinema; our romantic longings are satisfied y vicarious adventures found in detective thrillers and by standardized love-stories .  When the right colours are brought to bear, we rush to the next war.
The State does not attempt to make us think intelligently but  its focus is to ensure that we are under the influence of the right set of intellectual and moral ideas. It instills into us modes of feelings and thoughts that support and promote State authority.

Mr. Bernard Shaw said that "it is quite easy to give people as econd nature, however unnatural, if you catch them early enough." That is, any belief, however grotesque and even villainous, can be indoctrinated to children and when they are older, nothing can persuade them against its monstrosity.
So if the State sponsors education, it can very easily strength its government by preaching children certain characteristics and implanting in them a set of opinions. Benjamin Kidd said (and I am paraphrasing) that the State which uses its educational system to form public opinion has at its disposal a very great source of power.
In Russia, Italy and German schools were nothing but seminaries of Bolshevism, Fascism and neo-Nazism. School policies were subordinated to government likening and official textbooks acquiesced government principals. Even in democratic America, state education is given to bias by teh constant need of promoting Darwanism, capitalism and evangelical democracy.

Source: Pink, M. Alderton (1930). A Realist Looks at Democracy. London, England, Whitefriars Press Limited.

What makes a leader?

Question: I am reading a book that has a chapter on education and human psychology. The author argues that in a classroom, children are given the same amount and type of information but upon graduation, a vast majority of these children remain intellectually dependent and uncreative, that is, despite having sufficient knowledge, they do not think for themselves and they do not reflect and thus do not become leaders.

Is that true?

I mean, from the Qur'an we learn that Allah has created every human being in the best of moulds. does that mean that every human being has the same capacity to think and understand things and apply them at the same level? in a way, i think not because we read and memorize the same Qur'an the sahaba (r.a) studied and incorporated in their lives but there is a huge difference between us and them. of course their level of commitment to the Deen was far greater than us but did Allah make their faculties more superior because of which they excelled and we are lagging behind?

I see this in my class as well. when I was a Taleem al Quran student, my class fellows and I understood the same verse very differently, and now that I am teaching a little bit of the meaning of the Qur'an, I see this difference in my students too. All of them react very differently to the message of the Qur'an. Some internalize it and strive to change themselves while others go whole nine yards - change themselves and preach others. Why is that?

This is even more evident in university, when I read the Qur'an to the girls, my goal is to just to get the listeners to connect with Allah, do good deeds for the Hereafter and leave sins. I do not expect them to give da'wah yet and revolutionize the world etc because I know that they are not at that level yet and for some I know that they will not reach that level ever so just doing the bear minimum is enough. So how does this work?

What makes some people become leaders, think at a larger scale and think for many years ahead of their time while others only think about their next meal and the next show on TV although, they have the same knowledge and understanding as the leaders. Is it just the towfeeq of Allah or am I missing something?

Censor TV

I clicked on a video clip prepared by the Online Pakistani Jinnah Community, titled Price for Peace. It opened with the scenes of explosions, maimed bodies, arsons and despaired faces.

What is our effigy of peace? Have we forgotten what peace looks like so much that we have nothing but cold and cruel savagery to depict it? Even when we talk about peace, we always fall back on the images of distress and war. In essence when we show only bloodshed and feud, what are we promoting? Peace? How can we teach people to live in peace when we keep showing them random attacks and constant hostilities?

The psychology here is simple, "money see - monkey do."
Display to the monkey how to conduct itself properly and the monkey will follow.
But show the monkey weapons and wrangling and the monkey will fire and assualt.

So I am against the freedom of the press when it vehemently portrays violence and degeneration. We need to blot out images of destruction and chaos from the public mind, whether it be newspapers, TV or online. People feel, think and do what they see, hear and read so when people are tirelessly bombarded with pictures of murder and looting, they will effectively become its very agents and advocate.

Go to any Western Country, the media, though it claims to be democratic and liberal, is in fact very conservation and calculated. Even the most ghastly of events will not appear on any TV channel until much after its effect and its details will be watered down to make it seem very insignificant so as not to instigate any concern or panic amongst the viewing population. So the Western world thrives on the false notion that they are civilized when in fact barbarians rule their streets and parliament.
Muslim media however, suppresses all forms of good citizenship and enthusiastically pounds the viewing audience with problems and traumatic events. Even if they are insignificant, the Muslim media will dramatize them to force a terrifying and and mad reaction. Then people, in their fury and confusion rain havoc against each other. We burn our own properties, pummel our own resources and kill our own people.

Very smart huh? The media duped us all!

So the price of peace is censorship. Get a sensible person to control the media and only indoctrinate positive ideas so the viewing audience remains calm and constructive.

Allah Knows Best.