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 Valentine Day, Birthdays, and Other Daze
Posted by administrator on Tuesday, February 09 @ 21:13:28 AST (11 reads)
What commercial and cultural propaganda presents as beautiful is rooted in ugly paganism but most blind followers do not know.
There is a group of practices that we can consider as the twin sister of bid'ah. Like bid'ah they flourish on the twin foundations of ignorance and outside influence. Like bid'ah they entail rituals. But unlike bid'ah the rituals have not been given an Islamic face. They are followed because they are considered an acceptable cultural practice or the hottest imported "in" thing.
Most of those who indulge in them do not know what they are doing. They are just blind followers of their equally blind cultural leaders. Little do they realize that what they consider as innocent fun may in fact be rooted in paganism. That the symbols they embrace may be symbols of unbelief. That the ideas they borrow may be products of superstition. That all of these may be a negation of what Islam stands for.
Consider Valentine's Day, a day that after dying out a well deserved death in most of Europe (but surviving in Britain and United States) has suddenly started to emerge across a good swath of Muslim countries. Who was Valentine? Why is this day observed? Legends abound, as they do in all such cases, but this much is clear: Valentine's Day began as a pagan ritual started by Romans in the 4th century BCE to honor the god Lupercus. The main attraction of this ritual was a lottery held to distribute young women to young men for "entertainment and pleasure"-- until the next year's lottery. Among other equally despicable practices associated with this day was the lashing of young women by two young men, clad only in a bit of goatskin and wielding goatskin thongs, who had been smeared with blood of sacrificial goats and dogs. A lash of the "sacred" thongs by these "holy men" was believed to make them better able to bear children.
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Women in Dawah
Posted by administrator on Saturday, February 06 @ 20:48:39 AST (40 reads)
Abdul Lateef M. Al-Hassan and Sumayyah Bint Joan
al-Jumu'ah Magazine
From the very beginning, women have played vital roles in the propagation of the fundamental truths of Islamic da'wah. From the sacrifices of Sumayyah, to the collected Ahadeeth of Aisha, women have been instrumental in the flourishing and spreading of this deen. Unfortunately during these times, the Islamic revival suffers from weaknesses in its properly qualified personnel, which limits its spreading and restricts the da'wah work to an elitist group of activists, with finite and limited efforts of da'wah and tarbiyah being focused on women.
Da'wah amongst women deserves, and should get, far more attention than it does. So far, except in a few instances, women have been distanced from the field of da'wah work. If we look at the reality, and the situation of Islamic da'wah work, and the position of women in it today, we can easily find the following problems:
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How to teach our kids Tawheed
Posted by administrator on Sunday, January 31 @ 20:33:58 AST (120 reads)
When we want to teach our kids Tawheed (i.e. Islamic monotheism) should we have to read classical texts and books in this regard?
No, this is not needed in the early stages of their lives because this requires long hours of attentiveness and hard work, which is difficult for children.
Later in life, one can do so when their level of comprehension allows them to grasp what is being read and said to them. Initially, one can convey what he wants in the form of relating stories of the companions of the Prophet (salallhu alayhe wa sallam) who gave precedence to their faith and to worshipping Allaah over living in their homelands and amongst their families and tribes, and highlight that this was because the companions (may Allah be pleased with them) realized that the reason why Allaah created us was for the sole purpose of worshipping Him.
One may resort to other means of teaching them, such as:
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Veil: the View From the Inside
Posted by administrator on Monday, January 25 @ 20:41:11 AST (169 reads)
By Nakata Khaula
Do Muslim Women Have Rights?
Anyone whose sole source of knowledge about Islam has been the Western media, "knows" that Islam "oppresses" women. The hijab or veil, is the symbol of such "oppression." To "liberate" Muslim women from such "oppression" has been the cherished goal of media pundits, Western "experts" on Islam, and the feminists.
Such is the result of a fierce propaganda campaign that has been going on for a very long time. The attack has been so ferocious that the veil and all the aspects of Shariah (Islamic laws) dealing with women should have pulverized under its intense heat. Yet in the U.S., the Western Europe, Japan and Australia, it is the women who have been turning to Islam in record numbers. It was not supposed to happen! And when it does, the propaganda machinery does not acknowledge it. It just puts a little more pressure on the accelerator.
There is something to be said about the N.Y. Times or L.A. Times reporter who will travel half way around the world to interview a woman with a Muslim sounding name in, say, Pakistan to talk about the Shariah's injustices to the women, while ignoring the Muslim women in their own backyard who have experienced both worlds and love the Islamic one --- hijab and all. The reporter travels not in search of truth, but only believability. For, the truth hurts; believability, on the other hand, is the foundation for building circulation and for propaganda.
Should not we listen to the woman who was raised and educated in the west, had first hand experience of the status of women in this society, then studied Islam and observed the life behind the veil, decided to cross the fence against all the propaganda about immediate doom, and has enjoyed life ever since? That woman does not exist in the propaganda world. She is never allowed to speak on the pages of "prestigious" publications. She has no rights! She is the one you should be listening to, to find the truth. She speaks on these pages. Listen to her.
Note: This article was taken from the magazine Impact.
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Unprofessionalism In the Muslim Community
Posted by administrator on Tuesday, January 19 @ 21:08:43 AST (224 reads)
Anonymous writes "By Sumayah Hassan
It’s the end of the month, but there will be no paycheck for another week.
As though being late wasn’t bad enough, to top it off, you are made to feel as though the money you’ve worked for isn’t your right, and they are doing you a favor by paying you anything at all. This Islamic Organization is simply out of money at the time, and you have to wait until they get some. It coincidentally comes to your attention that some employees in higher positions had their checks issued on time and without any delay.
An Islamic school wanted you to teach 2 subjects and pay you as a quarter-time employee. Apparently if you don’t teach 4 subjects to the entire school then you will not be considered a full-time teacher (that isn’t a sarcastic remark). In addition, you were told that your pay was based on 1/4 of the full-time teacher’s pay. When you find out what that rate is, you know that it is much lower than what an actual 1/4 is. They are trying to take advantage of the fact that you are new there and don’t know anyone, or how much they make. Sadly, you do know another teacher, and you realize their dishonesty. As a result, you quit.
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Past Articles |
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| Saturday, January 16 | | · | The Earthquakes |
| Tuesday, January 12 | | · | Lovesickness |
| Thursday, January 07 | | · | What a Woman may Stipulate in a Marriage Contract #1 |
| Wednesday, December 30 | | · | A Look at Anasheeds |
| Thursday, December 24 | | · | ‘Aashooraa’ |
| Saturday, December 19 | | · | Accepting a Gift from a Kaafir on the Day of his Festival |
| Thursday, December 17 | | · | The Virtues of Allah’s sacred month of Muharram |
| Tuesday, December 15 | | · | Employment concerns for working Muslim women II: Working from home (a solution) |
| Saturday, December 12 | | · | What Did Jesus Say About Christmas? |
| Tuesday, December 08 | | · | Employment concerns for working Muslim women I: Islamic guidelines |
| Friday, December 04 | | · | Amid the Tents of Mina; the Du’aa of a Mother |
| · | Du'aa - Yasir Qadhi |
| Thursday, November 26 | | · | Eid Mubaarak! |
| · | Eed Celebrations |
| Friday, November 20 | | · | Du'aa on the Day of Arafah |
| Sunday, November 15 | | · | A Little Effort Goes a Long Way |
| Friday, November 13 | | · | Fiqh of Hajj for Women (Chapter Three) |
| Thursday, November 05 | | · | Fiqh of Hajj for Women (Chapter Two) |
| Monday, November 02 | | · | Fiqh of Hajj for Women (Chapter One) |
| Friday, October 30 | | · | Three Common Mistakes made after Prayer (Part 1) |
| Friday, October 23 | | · | On Halloween |
| Tuesday, October 20 | | · | The Best of Both Worlds |
| Wednesday, October 14 | | · | Common Misconceptions About Istikharah |
| Monday, October 12 | | · | What After Ramadan? |
| Saturday, October 10 | | · | Why I Shed Bikini for Niqab: The New Symbol of Women's Liberation |
| Wednesday, October 07 | | · | Leaving that which does not concern you |
| Monday, October 05 | | · | Free-Mixing Between Men and Women |
| Saturday, October 03 | | · | ''…and then follows it with six days in Shawwâl'' – Before Making Up Missed Days |
| Friday, September 18 | | · | Eid Mubarak! |
| · | Zakat-ul-Fitr |
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