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    The

    Revival

    Of The

    SUNNAH

    SunnahFollowersM

    agazin

    e

    Issue 1

    N THIS ISSUE...

    PLUS

    DELICIOUS RECIPES FOR IFTAR

    Reviving the

    Sunnah in today's cor-

    rupt society

    CONTROLLING

    YOUR FINANCE IN

    CONSUMER SOCIETY

    Revival of the heart -

    The journey to purify our

    dead hearts

    The Strangers

    thestruggle of the believers

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    The SunnahFollowers Team

    Managing Director:

    Laila Nasheeba

    Editor In Chief:

    Ayan Ali

    Assistant Editor:

    Amy Huia

    Islamic Consultant:

    Laila Nasheeba

    Sheikh Morsy

    Contributors:

    Laila Nasheeba

    Mercy Cruz (Umm Malik)

    Haleemah Harris

    Faiza Sharif

    Amira.D.Rahim

    Amira Larhrisi

    Hamza

    Christina Martin Mukhtar

    Sheikh Jamel

    Christy Crouse

    Design and Layout:

    Ayan Ali

    DryIcons

    Amy Huia

    2

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    Editors NoteIn the name of Allah the most Merciful, the most Gra-

    cious.

    Verily All Praise is due to Allah. We praise Him, seek His

    aid, and ask for His forgiveness. We seek refuge in Al-

    lah from the evil of ourselves and from our bad deeds.

    He whom Allah guides, there is none to misguide him,

    and he whom He leaves astray; there is none to guide

    him! I bear witness that none is worthy of worship butAllah alone without partners, and I bear witness that

    Muhammad is His slave and Messenger.

    For many Muslims living in todays modern society, we

    find that learning Islam in its truthfulness is a task that

    involves great hardships and tribulations . We find

    many Islamic institutes which claim to be teaching Is-

    lam according to the Quran and Sunnah, far from

    that, rather for many it is a means of making a living.

    Not only have those students of such institutes in-

    vested large amounts of money, sadly they also lack

    the understanding of this religion, making the knowl-edge they have gained of no benefit.

    3

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    On the other hand we see those who believe that

    their Islam is in their hearts and therefore do not re-

    quire searching and learning the essence of this relig-ion. Thus as an Ummah we range from the two far ex-

    tremes. However here at Sunnahfollowers we as stu-

    dents can truly attest to the beneficial knowledge

    taught by renowned, dedicated scholars such as our

    beautiful Sister Laila Nasheeba. Indeed few are the

    true scholars in todays corrupt society; however we at

    SunnahFollowers are truly blessed to be taught by

    such great teachers.

    Many of us come from different background ranging

    from staunch Catholic Christians, to Hindus, and other

    factions of Muslim groups. While many of us have littleor no similarity between us, what binds the black Afri-

    can American and former white racist skin-head is the

    character and personality set by our beautiful Prophet

    Muhammad (saw). Thus learning his sunnah and reviv-

    ing it in this society is of great importance and need,

    which we greatly lack in todays society. May Allah re-ward our dedicated teachers, especially our Sister

    Laila Nasheeba whose ongoing struggle and determi-

    nation has made SunnahFollowers what it is today.

    May Allah grant her a peaceful, serene, and high

    status in Jannah where she can see the fruits of her la-

    bour. May he too reward our other scholars of Sun-nahFollowers abundantly.

    4

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    Lastly but not least, may Allah greatly reward the stu-

    dents of SunnahFollowers for their contribution, and

    my mother for her assistant in the making of this maga-

    zine, and make for them a path towards his paradise.

    Ameen

    Now sit back, relax and enjoy our first edition of Sun-

    nahFollowers magazine!

    Ayan.M.Ali

    5

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    8

    20

    22

    32

    46

    10

    21

    26

    40

    Contents

    Revival Of the Fittest

    Confessions of a

    Revert

    Shaykh Al Islam Ibn

    Taymiyyah

    Learning Islam &

    the Internet

    The Revival Of the

    Sunnah

    My Hero

    The Strangers

    A Reminder of Death

    The Drive to Hope

    6

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    Contents

    53

    60

    74

    84

    54

    66

    78

    Time

    The Revival Of the

    Heart

    Living in an

    Interest Society

    Whats For Iftar

    Q & A

    Coming back to theSunnah

    Self Defense

    7

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    The Revival

    As Musl ims W hen we

    l o o k a t t h e w o r l daround us we f ind our-selves l iv ing amongstmany af f l ic t ions suchas: war, famine, ando p p r e s s i o n . T h eProphet (sa) warned of

    these days when hesaid:

    "There wi l l come at ime when the bestproperty of a man wi l lbe h is sheep which

    he wi l l graze on thetops of mounta insand the places where

    ra in fa l ls escaping to

    protect h is re l ig ionfrom af f l ic t ions." -

    Bukhar i

    What he meant in th ishadi th is that wor ld lyaf f l ic t ions wi l l be so

    many that one wi l l notbe able to escapethem unless he l i tera l lyshuts h imsel f o f f f romthe rest of the wor ldand every th ing in i t .By doing th is , the per-

    son thus saves h imsel f f rom fa l l ing v ic t im towhat is around h im and

    In this day and age when the sunnah of the Prophet Mu-

    hammad (saw) is lost and forgotten. We find the Muslim

    world in uproar and calamity, so what is the solution to

    prevent this calamity from striking again, what is it we

    can change about ourselves? Sister Laila explores how

    we muslims living in the west and back home can revivethe sunnah, in a society where corruption prevails.

    8

    By: Sister Laila Nasheeba

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    f the Sunnah

    in turn he saves h is re-l ig ion.

    A gutsy hadi th to pon-der, but one might ask,what is the cause of these af f l ic t ions? Wel lthe answer is s imple -

    abandonment of theSunnah.

    Aff l ic t ions can be atest , but for many theyare the wrath or pun-ishment of A l lah which

    he sends whenever people dev iate awayfrom him. As s tated inthe in terpretat ion of themeaning:

    M i s e r a b l e i s t h epr ice for which theyhave sold their souls ,

    in that they deny ( therevelat ion) which Al -lah has sent down, ininsolent envy that Al-lah of h is Graceshould send i t to anyof his servants Hepleases: Thus havethey drawn on them-se lves wrath uponwrath. And humil ia t -ing is the punishmentof those who re ject

    Fai th. Quran 2:90

    We have been com-manded by Al lah toobey h im and his Mes-senger and take themas the judge in a l l our d isputes and deal ings;

    but many Musl ims to-day ignore th is . Lookh o w m a n y M u s l i m

    9

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    as they should. Look how many Musl im men re-fuse to wear the beard. Many do not pray asthey should and the Mosques have been re-placed by the in ternet . What makes th is even

    worse is that these Musl ims who refuse to obeyAl lah and h is Messenger wi l l even go so far asto say that they have a choice to not do theseth ings.

    As s tated in the in terpre tat ion of the meaning:

    When Al lah and His messenger have de-c ided something i t is not for any man or woman of the bel ievers to have a choiceabout i t . Anyone who disobeys Al lah and Hismessenger is c lear ly misguided. - Quran33:36

    So thus, d isobedience to and dev iat ion awayfrom Al lah and h is Messenger is what leads toaf f l ic t ions; so what can we do to cause theseaff l ic t io ns to stop? The answer is s imple - Turnback to the sunnah.

    As s tated in Al Dar imi :

    The loss of the re l ig ion star ts wi th theabandonment of the Sunnah. Just as a ropebreaks f iber by f iber , so does re l ig ion van-ish wi th one by one abandoning the Sun-

    nah."

    10

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    So thus we need to check ourselves as Musl imsand assure that we are l iv ing Is lam as theprophet (saw) and h is companions d id. Whenwe pray we must assure ourselves tha t we pray

    as the Prophet (saw) taught us. When we eatwe should check to see i f we fo l low the et i -quet tes of eat ing g iven to us by our Prophet .Even when we deal wi th one another we shouldcheck to see that are deal ings ar e as theprophet( saw) deal t wi th others .

    In other words; a complete rev iva l of l iv ing Is -lam is what is needed today to lessen the af f l ic -t ions fac ing the Musl ims. Are you ready for thatrev iva l ? I f so, then Sunnahfo l lowers is here tohelp.

    By Sister Lai la Nasheeba

    11

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    Living in a society where Shayt

    ceived us into falsehood, we

    ture of this ummah fall into the

    ety, many of us see that we h

    identity as muslims. Sister Halee

    in this article how we as you

    and also the older generation

    back to the origins of our idelims and improve our situatio

    mah.

    Aishah Hasan was an intel-

    ligent girl. She loved to re-

    flect on the words of Allah,

    and she loved to study thelife of the prophet Muham-

    mad (May peace and bless-

    ings be upon him) and his

    companions. Aishah loved

    wearing her headscarf, in

    fact she wore nothing but

    the Islamic dress, and she

    could care less what fashion

    critics considered what was

    attractive, and what was

    not! She felt strong in her

    faith, and she knew the im-

    portance of making good use

    of her time and health. Al-

    though Aishah seemed to be

    the definition of an ideal

    muslimah, she soon found

    out that one particular test

    in life, would be one thatshe would never forget.

    One morning, Aishah decided

    to go out and sit on her

    porch so that she could gaze

    upon Allah's beautiful crea-

    tion and reflect upon it.

    12

    By: Sister Haleemah Harris

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    an has de-

    ee the fu-

    vils of soci-

    ve lost our

    ah details

    g muslims,

    can return

    ty as mus-as an um-

    As she was staring at

    the swaying trees and

    the singing birds, her

    concentration wasabruptly broken. Her

    eye's caught two young

    women dressed in

    skimpy clothing, curs-

    ing, and talking loudly

    about trivial things

    (such as boyfriends). Ai-

    shah decided to go back

    inside and watch some

    television; surely she

    could find something

    beneficial on television,

    right? Yet again Aishah

    was disappointed as she

    saw men and women

    airing their dirty laundry

    and exposing their sex

    scandals to the public.

    Annoyed, Aishah de-cided to go for a walk,

    but was disappointed

    time after time, as she

    heard loud music blast-

    ing throughout the

    neighbourhood, she sawmen and women openly

    fornicating, she saw ex-

    treme groups handing

    out flyers ranting and

    raving, she saw peoplefighting everywhere. In

    a society as such, Aishah

    noticed that no one

    seemed to care about

    being righteous and do-

    ing what is right. Aishah

    began to feel de-

    pressed, the next day

    wasn't any different,

    neither was the day af-

    ter that, and so society

    continued to indulge in

    evil. Aishah felt strange,

    and alone. Although she

    had experienced weak-

    ness before, this time

    her weakness was much

    more overwhelming.

    Take a look around my

    muslim brothers and sis-

    ters. What do you see?

    Do you see what Aishah

    Hasan has seen?

    13

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    ? A world full of sex, drugs, and

    music! What do you hear? Do

    you hear the foul language be-

    ing used regularly amongst peo-

    ple? How about the useless gos-sip we are surrounded by, is

    that what you hear? Ask your-

    selves, what do people dream

    about? Pay attention to the peo-

    ple around you, and their ac-

    tions, and you will find thatmost people dream about

    money, cars, materialistic

    things, and the opposite sex.

    Most people live for their de-

    sires, and with each look you

    take, with each word you hear,it's not hard to figure out that

    most people are misguided!

    Who are these people that Ai-

    shah saw? Some will say that it

    was the non-believers that she

    observed, but those "some"would be wrong! We as Muslims

    already know what to expect

    from the unbelievers, Aishah's

    weakness came from observing

    her Muslim brothers and sisters

    in Islam!

    14

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    We are living in a time

    where the Sunnah of the

    prophet (pbuh) has been

    forgotten by many.

    Many have deviated andhave made up their own

    rules in Islam. Others

    know Allah's commands

    and they know the

    prophet Muhammad's

    (pbuh) Sunnah, but theirdesires have become

    top priority. Many mus-

    lims twist the Sunnah

    and become extreme or

    negligent, while others

    believe the Sunnah hasno importance at all,

    choosing only to follow

    the Qur'an. These peo-

    ple neglect the fact that

    the Qur'an itself tells us

    to follow the prophet(pbuh)!

    Most people say, that

    when it comes to being

    successful in this world

    it's all about the survival

    of the fittest, but for us

    Muslims this is wrong.

    Instead for us, it is

    about the revival of the

    fittest. The revival ofthe Sunnah, and Allah's

    way within our hearts is

    crucial to our success

    not only here on earth,

    but in the hereafter as

    well.

    Although we live in a

    world filled with people

    who are driven by their

    evil desires, we oh Mus-lims must not give up to

    revive the Sunnah in our

    hearts, and keep our

    hearts purified, we

    must be patient and

    turn to Allah.

    The Qur'an says:

    Seek help in patience

    and prayer; and truly it

    is hard save for the

    humble minded.(2:45)

    15

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    Even though you may be feeling

    like Aishah felt, sad, lonely, and

    depressed, be patient and ask

    Allah to give you strength. An

    excellent teacher and scholar ofIslam, sister Laila Nasheeba of-

    ten reminds her students, that

    the true believers are few, and

    that there is no easy ticket to

    Paradise. The prophet (pbuh) in

    his years of prophet hood, ex-perienced great trials that none

    of us can ever bear. He experi-

    enced his uncles plotting to

    murder him; he looked around

    and saw what we see today! He

    saw idol worshippers, he sawthe lewdness and vulgarity of

    the people around him, and he

    saw that the majority of the

    people wanted only to follow

    their own desires. The wrongdo-

    ers were very determined to si-lence the prophet Muhammad

    (pbuh) to the extent they would

    plot to kill, mock, or belittle

    the people who chose to live

    the way Allah had commanded.

    Despite the trials, the Prophet

    (pbuh) knew his purpose, and

    was determined to continue to

    16

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    fulfil his purpose no

    matter what! What a

    beautiful example we

    have in the prophet

    (pbuh), Allah tells us inthe Qur'an, that In-

    deed we have in His

    Messenger a beautiful

    pattern of conduct

    (38:21).

    So let us be like the

    prophet (pbuh), and

    persevere putting our

    trust in Allah and re-

    membering our purpose,which is to worship Al-

    lah Alone.

    We have to fight hard

    not to be like the weak

    that we see going astray

    on a daily basis! Howcan we read Qur'an if

    we are too busy listen-

    ing to music?How can

    we guard our chastity if

    we are too busy worry-

    ing and lusting over theopposite sex? ? How can

    we come together in

    true brotherhood and

    sisterhood, if we are too

    busy following our own

    desires, and how can we

    say we love Allah andHis Messenger (pbuh), if

    we won't even accept

    all of Allah's commands,

    and we won't follow the

    example that Allah pro-

    vided in the Prophet Mu-hammad (pbuh)? The

    Prophet (pbuh) said,

    "there is nothing that

    will take you closer to

    paradise but that I have

    enjoined it upon you,and there is nothing

    that will take you closer

    to Hell but that I have

    warned you from it".

    When the trials, and

    tribulations of the world

    become too much, and

    your heart feels weak,

    revive it with the Sun-

    nah of the prophet Mu-

    hammad (saw).

    17

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    Look at the prophet's (saw)

    struggle, and study how he han-

    dled his struggles. When the

    temptations of the world feel

    like they are getting stronger,seek refuge from it, knowing

    that Allah will never test you

    beyond your scope. Know that

    Allah has blessed us all with the

    example of the prophet (pbuh),

    a man who by Allah's leave, hastaught us all how to get closer

    to Allah, and through Allah's

    Mercy and Will, has taught us

    how to obtain Paradise. The

    prophet (pbuh) says:

    "....you will live to see greatdifference, so cling to my Sun-

    nah and the Sunnah of the

    rightly guided caliphs after me,

    even if it be with your teeth."

    May Allah bless you oh believers

    in this journey of the revival of

    the fittest. Ameen.

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    My Hero

    20

    He is the star of all stars

    Special of all special ones, that no man can surpass

    His name is Muhammed (saas), sent as a messenger

    Everyone knew him, he was not a stranger

    He was a human being, just like you and me

    God chose him as a messenger, that was His decree

    He was a father, a teacher with pure mindGod sent him as a mercy for mankind

    The more I read about this special man

    The more I realise my insight has just begun

    He is humble and never greedy

    Always thinks of the orphans and the needy

    He is my teacher, my perfect example, my hero

    Yearning to emulate him I gaze into the mirror

    He is the man with the best manners

    From him, I have learnt how to control my anger

    Changing my personality, referring to him as my example

    Always being gentle, kind and patient to all people

    He brought me from darkness into the light

    And that from a man who couldnt read nor write

    Loving him and following the perfect example of my teacher

    Is my guiding principle for the future

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    # 1: I Love to Hijab!

    In an era in where the headscarf is a national voting issue, a Muslimah can find her-self caught in the chaos. But for those of us who are steadfast in our observance ofAllahs commands, we do not consider trading in our jilbabs for jumpers even for a

    second!

    When I step outside, I know that my hijab sets me apart from my co-workers, fam-ily, and peers. I carry a badge of honor not just on my body, but in my heart. And to

    make it even better, we hijabissure look fly doing it!

    Subhanallah, I love my night black hijab, but the next day I may feel inspired to wearmy pink jilbab and a matching scarf. And the compliments? Who needs them! But,

    even non-Muslims admire our style of dress, for we epitomize elegance, femininity,

    and inner strength.

    As we fulfill our obligations to Allah ta ala, we must constantly strive to purify our

    hearts. Our thought-process when dressing is not, What will so-and-so think whenthey see me? Instead, the true hijabi wonders what does Allah Al-Basir (The All-Seeing) think. Will our Rabb compliment us on the Day of Judgment? Such is the

    fretful consciousness that drives us to cover our bodies properly while seizing ad-

    vantage of our right to express our individuality.

    Prints, pastels, pashminas, and polka dots are just some of the many options for aMuslimah desiring to be distinct yet true to herself and her Din. So, when some

    bloke asks you Are you hot in that, smile and reflect on the best shade of all: theshade of Allah.

    May Allah give us strength, patience, and light. Ameen.

    Confessions of a Convert by A. Muslimah

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    The

    Strangers

    One of the most daunting say-ings of the prophet (sa) is the fol-lowing hadith:

    It is narrated on the author-ity of Abu Huraira that theMessenger of Allah (may

    peace be upon him) said:Islam initiated as some-thing strange, and it wouldrevert to its (old position) ofbeing strange. so good tid-ings for the stranger. - Mus-

    lim

    One might ask, what is daunting

    about this hadith? To answer,one must understand the hadithitself.

    Islam occurred during an era inwhich the world experienced itsmost bleakest moment . The fall

    of Rome and the Renaissancemarked this era The DarkAges, and people around theworld lost hope as they wit-nessed the collapse of their so-cieties, culture and values.

    In this setting, word began totravel of a strange new way oflife that propagated equality

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    amongst the sexes, rights toslaves, and kind treatmenttowards the poor and or-phans. It was this strange

    ideology that aroused notonly the curiosity of the restof the world, but also hopeand values deemed lost for-ever.

    So thus Islam began assomething strange

    Fast forward to the present.Fourteen centuries after theadvent of Islam, we find theDark Ages replaced by an

    era of Digital Technology.Islam has become the sec-ond largest religion of theworld; and due to misrepre-sentation by deviant extrem-ists, all eyes are glued to themiddle east in terror, unlike

    how they were glued there inthe past due to hope.

    Once considered a way oflife epitomizing peace andjustice for all, Islam now formany epitomizes terror, dueto the deviants who misrep-resent it. As these deviants

    of Islam grow in numbers, Is-lamic values begin to dimin-ish, even more so at thedeath of the scholar of Islam.

    At the beginning of this era;within what seemed to bemonths apart, Islam experi-enced the lost of three of itsbest learned men; Sheikh

    Albani, Sheikh Uthaymeenand Sheikh Bin Bazz. Thisyear alone the Islamic worldtook another great loss withthe death of Dr. Saleh asSaleh who was a keen advo-cate of true Islamic values.

    So thus as the learned die,so does Islamic knowledgeand values with them, leav-ing the people alone to theirfears and anxieties, much as

    it was in the past. And nowonder, for Islams ProphetMuhammad said it wouldcome to be:

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    Narrated Abu Huraira: The Prophet said, "(Religious) knowl-edge will be taken away (by the death of religious scholars)

    ignorance (in religion) and afflictions will appear; and Harjwill increase." It was asked, "What is Harj, O Allah'sApostle?" He replied by beckoning with his hand indi-cating "killing." - Bukhari

    Narrated Anas: I will narrate to you a narration whichnobody will narrate to you after me. I heard the Prophetsaying, "From among the portents of the Hour is thatthe religious knowledge will be taken away (by thedeath of religious scholars) and general ignorance (ofreligion) will appear; and the drinking appear; and thedrinking of alcoholic drinks will be

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    Ignorance, terror, afflictions, all epitomes of a dark age, yetnot all is completely lost. Despite the deviants of Islam,there are some followers who remain true to its original ide-ology. They live their lives enjoining what is good and for-bidding that which is evil. Sticking to the original teachingsof Islam they uphold the rights of the sexes, poor and or-phaned; while advocating justice, peace and hope.

    For those followers who continue to adhere to Islam's origi-nal values; and for those followers who continue to advo-cate hope during these most trying times, for them are thegood tidings of support from their prophet.

    May Allah make us all of those strangers. Ameen!

    By: Sister Laila Nasheeba

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    I t is the four teenth cen-

    tury, and the Musl im

    wor ld is in chaos. The

    pure essence and foun-

    d a t i o n o f I s l a m

    (Tawheed), is being cor-

    rupted by Phi losophers

    t ry ing to expla in knowl-

    edge of the unseen. The

    M u s l i m m i l i t a r y a n d

    lands are a lso in great

    turmoi l . Mus l ims are at -

    tack ing Musl ims! ! ! Andthe Ummah cr ies out to

    Al lah for the arr iva l of a

    leader who wi l l gu ide

    them back to the t rue

    path.

    This was the s i tuat ion of

    the Ummah before the

    arr ival of Ibn Taymiy-

    yah, a s i tuat ion we as

    an Ummah can re late to

    today in the twenty f i rs t

    century.

    The rev ival of the Sun-

    nah is a miss ion that

    bears a lo t of respons i -

    bi l i ty , and i t t ru ly is a

    task of great hardship,

    thus i t is not surpr is ing

    to learn that those who

    r e v i v e d t h e S u n n a h

    were people of great

    s t rength, knowledge and

    Shaykh Al Islam

    Ibn -Taymiyyah- A truly great Scholar

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    27

    unders tanding of Is lam.

    Not any person can at -

    ta in such a s tatus and

    pos i t ion, and thus Al lah

    prepares cer ta in men to

    fu l f i l th is task. One such

    man is Shaykh Al is lam

    ibn taymiyyah. Many peo-

    p le know th is great man,

    we know he is a great

    scho lar o f Is lam, butwhat is i t that has made

    th is man d is t inc t ive to

    o t h e r k n o w l e d g e a b l e

    men, why is i t he has

    been g iven the t i t le of

    Shaykh Al is lam thescholar of is lam ?

    Shaykh A l I s lam Ibn

    Taymiyyah was born into

    a wel l known Kurdishfami ly of Theologians, h is

    fami ly const i tu ted of wel l

    known reputable men of

    knowledge; inc luding h is

    f a t h e r S h i h a b u d d e e n

    ' A b d a l - H a l e e m i b n

    Ta y m i y y a h , a n d h i s

    g r a n d f a t h e r A b u a l -

    Barkat Majd ad-deen ibn

    T a y m i y y a h a l - H a n b a l i ,

    who was a teacher of the

    Hanbal i School of law.

    Ibn Taymiyyahs fami ly

    had moved to Damascus

    due to the Mongol inva-

    s ion dur ing that t ime, i t

    was here that I bn Taymiy-yahs father began to de-

    l iver sermons f rom the

    pulp i t o f the Umayyad

    Mosque. I t is not a sur -

    pr ise that the young Ibn

    taymiyyah fo l lowed thesteps h is father had be-

    gan. Ibn Taymiyyah had

    learned f rom the greatest

    scholars of h is t ime, one

    of these being the female

    s c h o l a r Z a y n a b B i n t

    Makki , f rom whom he

    learned hadi th.

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    As a young man he de-

    voted h is t ime to learn-

    ing secular and re l i -

    g ious sc iences of h is

    t ime. He extended h is

    s tudies to learn ing Ara-

    b ic l i terature and cal l ig-

    raphy. In reference to

    learn ing the sc iences of

    re l ig ion, Ibn taymiyyah

    became a representa-

    t i ve o f the Hanba l i

    school of thought , as he

    lea rned ju r i sp rudence

    from his father . Even

    though he became fu l lydevoted to the Hanbal i

    school of thought , he

    cont inued h is search of

    learn ing to acquir ing

    knowledge of the Quran

    and hadi th, in addi t ionto th is he a lso s tudied

    theo logy , Ph i l osophy ,

    and Suf ism (which he

    came to refute la ter on

    in h is l i fe) .

    Hav ing pursued knowl-

    edge of Is lam, Ibn

    Taymiyyah was faced

    wi th the s t ruggle to re-v ive the Sunnah in a

    society where there

    were many dev iant

    groups. One such s t rug-

    g le came espec ia l ly inthe unders tanding of

    the names and at t r ib-

    utes of A l lah. Ibn

    Taymiyyah great l y re-

    fu ted the recourse tokalaam towards under-

    s tanding the Asma Wa

    Sifaat (Div ine Names

    and At t r ibutes) , be-

    cause i t was not theway in which the salaf

    came to unders tand i t .

    Ibn Taymiyyah argued

    that i t was not correct

    to use phi losophicalmethods in order to

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    unders tand the names

    and at t r ibutes of A l lah,

    because i f i t was the

    Salaf would have agreed

    to i t , and would have

    also resor ted to th is

    method to unders tand

    the names and at t r ibutes

    of A l lah.

    Thus Ibn Taymiyyahs

    struggle had begun wi th

    the people of author i ty

    espec ia l ly the jur is ts ;

    many had begun to ac-

    cuse h im of being an-

    thropomorphic . Not only

    was Ibn Taymiyyah dis-

    iked because he d id not

    fo l low the bel ie fs that

    were the norms of soc i -

    e ty dur ing h is t ime,

    rather he d is l iked and

    spoke out against the

    scholars for b l ind ly ac-

    cept ing f rom ear ly jur is ts

    wi thout resor t ing to the

    Quran and Sunnah. Ibn

    Taymiyyah went as far

    as say ing that accept ing

    f rom the ear ly jur is ts

    wi thout hav ing to resor t

    to the Quran and Sun-

    nah, was the same as

    the Jews who took thei r

    Rabbis as their gods be-

    s ide Al lah.

    Consequent ly i t is not of

    great as tonishment that

    Ibn Taymiyyah had been

    impr isoned on several

    occas ions due to h is out-

    s pok ennes s , and de -

    fence of the unders tand-

    ing of cer ta in issues

    such as the Names and

    Att r ibutes of Al lah ac-

    cord ing to the Salaf - As-

    Saleeh ( the f i rs t 3 gen-

    erat ions of Is lam).

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    bn Taymiyyah revived

    the Sunnah by d ispel l ing

    the pract ises of great

    b i d a h s ( i n n o v a t i o n s )

    such as the pract ises of making graves a p lace of

    worship and suppl icat ion.

    bn taymiyyah said that

    when a Musl im s tates the

    tes t imony of fa i th There

    s no god but A l lah , theMusl im test i f ies that A l -

    ah is the only one wor-

    thy of worship, therefore

    going through any other

    form of in termediate is a

    form of sh i rk (assoc iat ingpartners with Al lah) . This

    was a great pract ise dur-

    ng the t ime of Ibn

    Taymiyyah, but his great

    knowledge and under-

    s tanding of the Sunnah,had dr iven h im to d ispel

    these newly invented in-

    novat ions, and ensure

    that ins tead the Sunnah

    was rev ived in a l l as-

    pects of worship.

    Bes ides the f ie ld of Is -

    l am ic k now ledge , I bn

    Taymiyyah was also in-

    volved in the res is tance

    against the Mongol ian in-vas ion of Damascus. He

    s t r u g g l e d g r e a t l y i n

    e l iminat ing o ther mis -

    guid ing sects such as the

    Kasrawan Shi a in Leba-

    non, the Ri fa I Suf f i or -der and the I t t ihadiyah

    School .

    The story of Ibn Taymiy-

    yah is one of great

    length and deta i l , and we

    can only ment ion a few

    things accompl ished by a

    man of great s tatus. Ibn

    Taymiyyah was a man of

    unique inte l lec t , and h is

    purpose and goal was a l -

    ready set before th is

    man became the great

    personal he is now. Al lah

    had sent th is man to re-

    v ive the Quran and Sun-

    nah, in a soc iety that

    corrupted Is lam, though

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    man to rev ive the Quran and Sunnah, in a so-

    c iety that cor rupted Is lam, though the chal -

    lenge was one that took much s t rength f rom

    him, Ibn Taymiyyah did not hesi tate in any way

    to ensure that the Sunnah would be enforcedin every way and means poss ib le even i f th is

    meant spending in most of h is l i fe behind bars .

    With th is I would l ike to end with the words the

    great Scho lar , Ibn Taymi yyah l ived by:

    What can my enemies possib ly do to

    me? My paradise is in my heart ; wher-

    ever I go i t goes wi th me, inseparable

    from me. For me, pr ison is a p lace of

    ( re l ig ious) retreat ; execut ion is my op-

    portuni ty for martyrdom; and exi le

    from my town is but a chance to

    t ravel

    By: S is ter Lai la Nasheeba

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    Every Soul shall have a taste of death . And only on the day of Judgement shall you be

    paid your full recompense. Only he who is saved far from the fire and admitted to the

    Garden will have attained the object of Life. For the life of this world is but good and

    chattel of deception.

    32

    AReminderOf

    Death

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    33

    Sooner or later everyone

    is to taste death

    The topic of death is one

    that we should all take

    heed and ponder upon.

    The life of this world is

    only temporary and de-

    ceiving. When Allah de-

    crees for you to die,

    there is no escape nor is

    there any turning back.

    Allah says in the inter-

    pretation of the meaning

    every soul shall taste

    death [3:185]. The re-

    ality is that everyone will

    die at a time and a place

    that is only known by

    the most high. There is

    no hiding from it, for

    absolutely nothing is hid-

    den from Allah. The signs

    of Allah are clear as we

    witness many passing

    away. So many wonder,

    what will happen to

    them in the grave? The

    Prophet (sallallaahu

    'alaihi wa sallam) has

    told us what will happen

    to the dying person.

    In the moments of every

    dying person agony is

    experienced Allah says in

    the interpretation of the

    meaning and the agony

    of death comes in truth,

    and that is what you

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    wish to avoid [50:19].

    The human being is a

    weak creature that will

    go through pain at the

    moments of death. Even

    our beloved Prophet,

    (sallallaahu 'alaihi wa

    sallam) experienced ag-

    ony. Aishah (radhiAllaahu

    'anha) related: Allaah's

    messenger (sallallaahu

    'alaihi wa sallam) had a

    small vessel of water

    placed before him. He

    began to dip his hands in

    the water, and wiping

    his face with them. He

    said: There is none wor-

    thy of worship except

    Allaah. Indeed death

    brings with it agonies!

    Then he raised his hand

    up and kept repeating,

    'In the most exalted

    company' until his soul

    was taken and his hand

    fell limp [Bukhari].

    The Prophet (sallallaahu

    'alaihi wa sallam) has

    told us that at the time

    of death and its agonies,

    Shaytan will come to us.

    The Prophet (sallallaahu

    'alaihi wa sallam) said:

    verily, Shaytan comes

    to you at all circum-stance

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    At these moments Shay-

    tan will do everything to

    get us to denounce our

    belief in Allah. Today, so

    many weak Muslims give

    in to the whispers of

    Shaytan. How will it be

    for them when death

    approaches them? Will

    they easily give in to the

    whispers of Shaytan and

    take their seat in the

    punishment of Hell?

    When the angle of death

    is commanded by Allah

    to take the soul and the

    soul reaches and passes

    the throat, life comes toan end. The heavy, life-

    less body is then

    wrapped in a shroud

    buried in the groundalone, covered in dirt. As

    the body of the disbe-

    liever is being taking

    away for burial, they will

    be questioned where areyou taking me?where

    are you taking me...?

    and will fear to be placed

    in their grave and plead

    Allah for a second

    chance. But as for the

    believer, they will yearn

    to be placed in their

    grave.

    For those who believe in

    Allah and obey His com-

    mand, the trials of the

    grave will be eased .

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    But for those who disbe-

    lieve in Allah and disobey

    His commands, for themshall they earn what

    they deserve, the tor-

    ment of the grave.

    The torment of the grave

    for the hypocrite is se-

    vere. Alone and covered

    in the earth, no sound do

    they hear but the footsteps of those leaving the

    burial. The Prophet

    (sallallaahu 'alaihi wa

    sallam) told us that when

    the dead person is buriedtwo angles - who are

    black and blue in color -

    named Munkar and an-

    Nakeer will inquire the

    dead asking how is your

    Lord With hesitation

    and an expression of sor-

    row, the hypocrite willmumble I dont know. It

    will then be asked what

    is your religion? the

    hypocrite will say Huh?

    HummI dont know.Then it will be asked

    what did you used to

    say about this man

    (Muhammad) ? The

    hypocrite will reply I

    heard the people saying

    something about this

    man, but I dont know

    about him. For everywrong answer the hypo-

    crite is hit with an iron

    bare. The angels will re-

    ply we knew that you

    would say that. Anopening is made for him

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    In paradise and it will

    be said to him look at

    what Allah has refusedyou from. And another

    opening will be made in

    the direction of the fire

    and will be told this is

    your place, you livedupon doubt and you died

    upon it. So the hypo-

    crites grave will be made

    narrowed for him. It will

    be said to the earth,

    crush him. And the

    hypocrite will be crushed

    over and over again. The

    cry will be heard by eve-rything that comes near

    it except for man and

    jinn. The hypocrite will

    remain in this state of

    torment until the Day ofJudgment.

    When the two angels

    Munkar and Nakeer ap-

    proach the believingMuslim, they will be told

    to sit up and will be

    asked Who is your

    Lord With firmness the

    believer will reply Allahis my lord. And then it

    will be asked what is

    your religion? The be-

    liever will reply my re-

    ligion is Islam. And then

    will be asked what did

    you use to say about this

    man (Muhammad) ? and

    the believer will replyMuhammad, the mes-

    senger of Allah come to

    us with clear signs from

    Allah Then an opening

    is made in the directionof the fire and it will be

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    said to him look at what

    Allah, the exalted has

    saved you from. Andthen another opening

    will be made from the

    direction of paradise and

    the believer will be told

    this is your place. Dueto the firm answers that

    the believer gives, the

    grave will be widened

    and illuminated with

    light. Then it will be told

    to the believer, sleep, as

    the newly married

    sleeps. And the believer

    will remain in this stateuntil Allah raises him up

    from his place of sleep.

    In conclusion, as Muslims

    we should live our lives as

    each day is our last. Each

    and every one of us

    needs to take the timeand ask: What have I

    done to prepare for

    death? Have I repented

    for my sins? Have I per-

    formed my five dailyprayers? Do I own any

    debt? Have I made

    amends with all those

    whom I hurt with my

    tongue or my hands? Do

    I have any grudges to-

    wards anyone? Have I

    been sincere to Allah, the

    one who created me?Have I followed and

    obeyed His messenger like

    He commanded me?

    The prophet (sallallaahu

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    to say the following sup-

    plication when complet-

    ing the last tashahhudsaying: 'O Allaah, verily I

    seek refuge in you from

    the punishment of the

    Hellfire and the torment

    of the grave; from thefitnah of life and of

    death; and from the evil

    fitnah of the false mes-

    siah.[Muslim]

    We all want salvation

    and that is attained by

    obeying Allah and fol-

    lowing the says and ex-ample of His messenger.

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    Learning Islam

    & the Internet

    Seeking knowledge of Islam in the twenty-first century can beeasy due to the many available Islamic resources. For examplewhen it comes to learning the sunnah; thanks to the works ofearly scholars such as Imam Bukhari and Muslim, all one has todo is read the right books. And when it comes to learningAqeedah, works from renown scholars such as Ibn Tamiyyah

    have been translated from Arabic into other languages.

    But of all the resources available, the greatest and most pow-erful is the internet. Through it one can log onto the digitalworld of cyberspace; connect and then share with Muslimsworldwide. However as delightful as this may seem, there are

    many dangers awaiting the unsuspecting Muslim who relies onthe digital world for knowledge of Islam. In this article I will

    list some of those dangers.

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    1. Beware of the InternetScholar

    The digital world allows any-one to hide behind a com-puter and be whatever hewants to be, including ascholar of Islam. All that isneeded is a good speakingvoice, the ability to manipu-

    late words, and the title ofSheikh. If you speak Ara-bic that makes it even eas-ier. Just throw a few Arabicterms around, manipulatewords, and now you are ascholar of Islam!

    The seeker of knowledgemust not be duped by the ti-tle of sheikh and he mustunderstand that the truescholars of Islam are rare,few, and busy. While the

    internet scholars call to cy-berspace, the true scholar'scall to the Masjid; for thereward of Muslim men isfound there, not on theinternet. Also Sheikh meansold man and many are the

    old men of cyberspace. Fewindeed are its scholars of Is-

    lam.

    2. Beware of InternetSchools that sellTawheed for a miser-

    able price.

    Allah says in the interpreta-

    tion of the meaning:

    Therefore (O! People)

    fear not men but fear Me(Allah) and sell not MySigns (verses of the Quran)for a miserable price. If anydo fail to judge by (thelight of) what Allah hath re-vealed they are (no better

    than) unbelievers. Quran ( 5 : 44 )

    Also the prophet (sa) said:

    "When anyone recites the

    Qur'an, let him ask a re-ward for it from Allah, forpeople will arise who willrecite the Qur'an and ask areward for it from men.Al-Tirmidhi Hadees No:

    2216

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    These are the days in whichwe are living. Sadly thereare many Islamic schoolson the internet that teach

    the basics of Islam;(Tawheed, Quran, Hadith),yet they charge hundreds ofdollars. Many of theseschools are operated by indi-viduals who are aware ofhow weak and vulnerable

    this Ummah can be, andthus they make their livingoffering Islamic degrees inexchange for money; know-ing that a piece of paperdoes not make one a scholar.In fact the title scholar is

    not something bought andpaid for. Instead it is some-thing earned and givento an individual by his peers.The best scholars of this na-tion did not possess secular

    degrees.

    The seeker of knowledgemust understand that a per-son would do better takinghis money and investing it ina technological degree sohe can support his family;rather than investing in apiece of paper that lacks

    scholarship and monetarygain. Also the best way tolearn Islam is the way theprophet (sa) learned and

    taught it; and that is by sit-ting directly with the peopleof knowledge and learning

    from them.

    3. Beware of Fatawah

    online websites

    Imam Muslim narrates in hissahih that Abdullah b. 'Amrb. al-'As reported Allah'sMessenger (may peace be

    upon him) as saying:

    Verily, Allah does nottake away knowledge bysnatching it from the peo-ple but He takes awayknowledge by taking away

    the scholars, so that whenHe leaves no learned per-son, and the people turnto ignorant ones as theirleaders; then they areasked to deliver religiousverdicts and they deliver

    them without knowledge,going astray and leading

    others astray.

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    The seeker of knowledgemust beware, beware, be-ware of the Fatawah onlinewebsites; and there are hun-

    dreds of them. The digitalage is an age wherein any-one can make a website; sothus we find many muslimsliving out their wannabeescholarly dreams with thehelp of these question and

    answer websites. A greatnumber of these sites areowned by teen aged childrenwho are not only quick to is-sue Islamic verdicts, but alsoquickly make slanderouswebsites attacking you, if

    you dare to oppose their de-cisions.

    The seeker of knowledgemust understand that issuingIslamic verdicts is a seriousjob to undertake and not allare qualified to do this. Iftruly searching for an an-swer to an Islamic issue, Irecommend the seeker ofknowledge to consult withhis or her local Imam. Thatwould be better than con-sulting with unknown indi-viduals from the internet.

    4. The Internet Can Never

    Replace the Mosque

    In houses which Allah hasordered to be raised highin them his name is remem-bered. They glorify him inmornings, afternoons and

    evenings

    Quran 24: 36

    The seeker of knowledgemust realize that themosque is the house of Allahand it cannot be replaced by

    a digital house. Muslim menmust understand that theycannot pray behind an Imamonline, and their rewards liewith Allah in the mosque. Itis quite sad to see, Muslimmen sitting on the internet

    when they should be spend-ing that time in the Masjid.Even during the most holymonth of the year, we findthese men sitting on theinternet claiming to givedawah, when they need to

    be at the Masjid.

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    I strongly encourage the seeker of knowledge to attachhimself or herself to a good Masjid and make that the cen-ter of his/her life, for a good Masjid has a good Imam anda good Imam is a counselor, advisor, and comforter for the

    Muslim.

    Cyberspace is filled with much deviance, uncertainty anddoubt, which can lead one down an unending path ofdoom. Allah commands us to follow the straight pathwhich is a path footed upon true guidance, certainty andlight. That path is best found by sticking with a good com-munity of Muslims in the real world, not the wanabee

    dreamers of the digital world.

    May Allah keep us all upon the straight pathAmeen

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    The drive to Hope, Arkansas

    seemed much longer than

    usual. Maybe it was because

    I was excited to see my fam-

    ily again after such a longtime. Maybe it was because I

    was ready for the slight

    break I would get from the

    baby, as his happy grandpar-

    ents spoiled him even more

    rotten. Or maybe it was be-cause I was more than happy

    to leave the hectic move-

    ment of Houston behind for

    a few days.

    But I knew these were not

    the reasons. The real reason

    was because I was nervous

    about a decision I had made.

    For the first time, I would

    be wearing my Hijab in the

    small town of Hope.

    I have been Muslim for

    many years, but living in

    Houston Texas, with its large

    and diverse Muslim commu-nity, there is little reason to

    fear wearing the Hijab. We

    exist in all stages, from the

    Niqabi complete with black

    gloves; to the modern girl in

    jeans and long shirts with a

    snug, two piece Hijab; tobusy lady with a simple

    Dupata or Shayla that seems

    to have been tossed around

    her head with little thought.

    I love living in Houston, just

    for this reason. Forget whatyou hear about Texas being

    the epitome of all things

    redneck. Depending on

    where you are in Texas, you

    are free to do, say, or wear

    whatever you want, and livehowever you want.

    Many of the people I grew

    up with, even those

    younger than me have very

    narrow and unbending

    views on religion, to the

    point that if one goes to a

    Baptist church, all other

    denominations are doomed

    to hell.

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    A seven hours drive north,

    Hope, Arkansas is almost

    proud of how small and

    country it is. Its highest,and maybe only, achieve-

    ment is being the birthplace

    of former President Bill Clin-

    ton, and even he moved

    away when he was about

    five years old. The people,though friendly, are all the

    same; born and raised there,

    go to church there, die

    there. Hope would not be

    easy for a Muslim, or, for

    that matter, anyone who didnot go to one of the main-

    stream Protestant churches.

    Not only would you be to-

    tally isolated from the near-

    est Muslim community (two

    hours away in Little Rock),you would not fair well with

    the locals.

    Arkansas, along with the

    rest of the South, is a strong

    and proud believer in the

    slogan These Colors Dont

    Run which was introduced

    soon after 9/11. Many peo-

    ple in Arkansas view the

    world as being US and THEM.Few of them can tell you

    where Iraq or Afghanistan is

    on a globe, but it doesnt

    matter because they aint

    US. The Klan keeps a low

    profile, but it is very muchalive. Many of the people I

    grew up with, even those

    younger than me, have very

    narrow and unbending views

    on religion, to the point that

    if one goes to a Baptistchurch, all other denomina-

    tions are doomed to hell.

    And thats just the other

    Christians! Imagine what

    happens to a non-Christian!!

    A person who is not saved

    is pitied by all, and so is the

    sinners family. Every effort

    and opportunity will be used

    to convince this person to go

    to church. Repent, and be

    born again. A person who

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    walks away from the faith

    altogether, what shame has

    this person brought to his

    parents! Oh, how his mothermust cry for his lost soul!

    They must not have raised

    that child in church; they

    must have failed God in

    some way. How can such

    people ever set foot inchurch again?

    These thoughts were run-

    ning through my head as our

    trip wound down. I was get-

    ting more and more nervous

    as the mile markers ticked

    off the miles. I was worried

    not only for myself about

    wearing this foreign piece of

    cloth on my head, but also

    for my family. Would they be

    embarrassed to be seen with

    me? Would they ask or tell

    me to take it off before go-

    ing out with me? Would peo-

    ple start berating them with

    questions once I left, how

    could you let Tina go off and

    do such a thing? She used to

    sing solos in church, she

    went to church camp and bi-

    ble school every summer,she had twelve years of per-

    fect attendance in Sunday

    School.

    This is what happens when

    you let your daughters marry

    a foreigner, a non-Christian.

    Yoking a believer to a non-

    believer, as the bible says.

    She leaves the faith and be-comes lost just like him!

    All these ridiculous accusa-

    tions are totally groundless,

    of course. My husband had

    nothing to do with my con-version to Islam. Yes, I had

    always been involved in

    church activities but in real-

    ity they had gotten me no

    where, which was why I was

    involved in all of them al-ways looking for something

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    else to try. I was looking for

    God in feel good campfire

    songs and car washes to raise

    money to go to Six Flags.

    Never once did God or Jesusspeak to my heart. I was in

    church every time the door

    was open, but I never felt like

    I was there. When it came

    time for me to get saved (the

    second time, because the firsttime didnt work) I had just

    repeated the simple prayer of

    a visiting revival preacher who

    didnt know me from Eve, and

    suddenly, I am born again?

    Every once in a while, on this

    trip to Hope, I would hear

    that familiar little voice in my

    head, Just take it off, its

    okay, you can do it next time,

    youll be stronger next time.

    The same voice I had heard so

    many times before, on this

    same highway, going to the

    same destination. And always

    on trips before, I would finally

    give into the voice at the

    state line, which we crossed

    at Texarkana.

    On this trip, however, when-

    ever I heard that voice, I

    would close my eyes; take a

    deep breath and say,

    Audhubillah min ash-shaytan

    nir-rajim. When we passed

    the Flying J at Mandeville:

    Audhubillah min ash-shaytan

    nir-rajim. When we passed

    Fulton: Audhubillah min ash-

    shaytan nir-rajim. When we

    passed the truck weigh sta-

    tion, just outside of Hope:

    Audhubillah min ash-shaytan

    nir-rajim. Driving through

    Hope: Audhubillah min ash-

    shaytan nir-rajim.

    I would make the same duah

    many times that week, Ya Al-lah, I am relying on You to get

    me through this week. And

    only You can help me, only

    You can get me through this

    test. I saw it as no coinci-

    dence that Laila Nasheeba hadjust days before given a lec-

    ture during the Tawheed class

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    Tawheed Class on Reliance

    on Allah. This lecture spoke

    directly to me, and I knew

    that Allah had put it on her

    heart to give it right before Iwent to Hope, alhumdulil-

    lah, and I am sure that it

    had also touched many of

    the other students in differ-

    ent ways as they try to deal

    with their own tests in life.

    I had expected it to be

    hard, I had expected that I

    would be too scared or shy

    to speak or even to lookanyone in the eyes. But al-

    humdulillah, I suddenly

    found that wearing hijab-MY

    hijab-was not difficult at all.

    After so many years of being

    afraid to wear it in my hometown, I realized I had been

    scared for nothing! I was

    suddenly proud to wear it.

    I wore my hijab the whole

    time I was there, and I

    looked everyone in the eye

    to make sure they knew I

    was not going to take it off

    for anyone. I went to Hot

    Springs with my mom, I went

    to our favourite catfishplace outside of Hope, I

    went to the Hope Wal Mart,

    the ultimate test for any

    Muslimah. Every single per-

    son I knew in Hope could

    possibly be there, and evenmy husband didnt want me

    to go. But once again, I

    closed my eyes; I took a

    deep breath, Audhubillah

    min ash-shaytan nir-rajim. I

    walked in and kept my head

    up. Alhumdulillah, once

    again I felt Allahs protec-

    tion and my fear gave way

    to determination.

    I was no longer going to let

    the potential glares and

    rude comments of ignorant

    people keep me from follow-

    ing Allahs command.

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    And I realized something

    else-I had been ignorant as

    well! All these years I had

    been afraid of what peoplemight say, I had never really

    given then a chance to say

    anything at all! All those

    years I could have been

    wearing hijab, following Al-

    lahs command, not living as

    a hypocrite, but I had just

    assumed it would be diffi-

    cult. I had never prayed that

    duah before then, I had

    never asked Allah to help me

    to remain strong. I had

    never relied on Allah before.

    I had failed this test so many

    times, and now, alhumdulil-

    lah, I felt totally indestructi-

    ble! No one could harm me,

    no one could hurt me. I was

    under Allahs protection. I

    was following His Command

    to cover. I was showing the

    world who and what I really

    was. I was representing my

    religion, proudly, and maybe

    I was the first Muslimah toever wear hijab in Hope, Ar-

    kansas. Who knows? Maybe,

    there was another 18 year

    old country girl, reading

    about Islam for the firsttime or maybe she is won-

    dering if it is really possible

    to live as a covered Muslim

    woman all of the time, no

    matter where you are. And

    maybe she saw me wearing

    hijab, maybe she realized

    that wearing the hijab isnt

    as bad as it may seem.

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    Time

    The usage of time is very essential in Islam. As Muslims, we

    should invest our time in those things that will bring benefit to

    us in both this life and in the hereafter. We should allow no

    time to pass, regardless of how short it is. Here are some brief

    tips on how to spend our free time.

    Remember and reflect upon Allah: His names, His attrib-utes, ponder upon His Creation. Glorify him by saying

    SubhnaAllah, Alhamdulillah, Allahu Akbar. Reflect and

    thank Allah for the countless blessings He has bestowed

    upon you.

    Reflect upon the Hereafter. Ask yourself are you on the

    road to paradise or are you on the road to the Hellfire? Reflect and assess yourself. Take the time to sit down with

    yourself, evaluating, and inquire what are my deficiencies

    and how can I improve them. Am I involving myself in ac-

    tivities which will bring me closer to Allah or activities that

    will distant me for Him? Ask yourself, am I obeying Allah

    and His messenger?

    Supplicate to Allah: Sincerely repenting for your major sins

    Seeking knowledge from those who are qualified to teach.

    Learn and memorize hadith and follow it up with action.

    Read the Quran with understanding and take heed to the

    words of Allah.

    These are just some tips you can do to use your time in abeneficial way. Put your priorities in order

    By: Sister Faiza Sharif

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    Dear Sheikh,

    My husband and I have been

    married for 10 years. I became

    Muslim to marry him but we

    never practiced Islam before.

    Alhumduliallah he has guided

    me to SunnahFollowers and

    now I am doing my best to be

    the best Muslim I can be, but

    my husband refuses to practice.

    What can I do to help my hus-

    band to start practising and liv-

    ing Islam.

    Al Hamdulillah wassalatu Wassalamu Ala Rasulillah.

    All praises are due to Allah and peace be upon the prophet Mu-

    hammed (SAW)

    In answer to a question concerning sisters guided to the path of

    Allah, and living with a Muslim husband, but not practicing Islam

    and in some cases preventing them or giving them hard time infulfilling the commands of Allah.

    54

    Ask the Scholar ?

    Answered by,

    Jamel Ben Ameur

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    I say with the help of Allah and His Tawfeeq, O! sisters in

    Eman, I would like first to remind you the story of one of

    the greatest women in the history of human kind, Aasi-

    yah, the wife of Pharoah :

    And Allah sets forth an example, to those who believe, of

    the wife of Pharoah when she said: My Lord! build for me

    a house with Thee in the garden and deliver me from

    Pharoan and his wrongdoing, and deliver me from the un-

    just people Quran

    The wife of Pharoah was confronted to a tremendous trial:

    hold onto the deen of Allah, or submit to the tyranny of

    Pharoah to save herself from being killed. By doing so, she

    could keep her status of a queen and live in the mostluxurious life style. However with the blessing of Allah she

    chose Islam. She chose the real luxurious life.

    The wife of Pharoah is a role model for all the believers

    male and female and her story is guidance and mercy to

    us and especially for those sisters who are encountering

    difficulties within the household.

    In consideration of this great story of the wife of Pharoah,

    follow directives that InshaAllah help to face the issue

    mentioned in the following pages:

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    Purification actions:

    1-Let the starting point be the classification of your priori-

    ties in life in order to know how to act. Know that the

    highest priority for every believer is to submit to Allah by

    fulfilling His command in his lifetime. This is in fact the

    purpose of life of every believer. And know that Eman is a

    gift from Allah as Allah said :

    And it is not for a soul to believe except by Allah's per-mission. (10:100)

    2- Eman is the greatest gift that has been given to you.

    Keep reminding yourself of this great bounty from Allah by

    doing a lot of remembrance of Allah.

    O ye who believe! Remember Allah with much remem-

    brance. And glorify Him morning and evening. He it is

    Who sends His blessings on you, and (so do) His angels,

    that He may bring you forth out of utter darkness into

    the light; and He is Merciful to the believers. Their salu-tation on the day that they meet Him shall be, Peace,

    and He has prepared for them an honourable reward. 033

    - 41 to 44.

    3- No obedience to any one when he calls to the disobedi-

    ence of Allah as the prophet (saws) instructed us. Therefore

    this rule constitutes the foundation for any action of the

    believer in his life.56

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    Conciliation actions:

    4- First seek correction within the household by advice

    not insult, by kindness not dispute.

    5- Show extra care and kindness and make it clear that

    this better behavior is the result of the practice of the

    deen.

    6- Express the happiness you live, the sweetness you

    feel and the tranquility you have. Imply that this

    started with the coming back to Allah. And express to

    him that your great wish is to live together this great

    experience.

    7- Communicate to him that real happiness goes into

    the eternity and that you want to share this together.

    8- Specify that you are still the same person he knows,

    but what changed is a gift you got from Allah that you

    wish it will encompass the whole family.

    9- Show pride and express that independence will not

    harm you as long as Allah is with you. But show that

    your eagerness for him to repent is an expression of

    your love to him.

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    10- Make Dua for him in all the prayers and make

    special prayers. The best time to do that is the last

    third of the night.

    11- If this will not work, then remember your priority

    which is to please Allah. In fact, living with someone

    that puts obstacles between you and Allah does con-

    tradict with the purpose of your life. In this case

    separation is required to save your deen which is

    your life.

    Allah says:

    And whosoever keeps his duty to Allah, Allah willappoint a way out for him. And give him sustenance

    from whence he thinks not; and whoever trusts in Al-

    lah, He is sufficient for him; surely Allah attains His

    purpose; Allah indeed has appointed a measure for

    everything. 65-3&4.

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    All acts of disobedience are

    poison to the heart, which

    causes its sickness and de-

    struction. As its sickness

    worsens and increases, it

    thus leads to deviation from

    the path of Allah.

    In order to protect the health

    of our hearts, we must get ridof the effects of such poisons

    and should guard ourselves

    against them. Falling victim

    to the poisons of the heart

    will gradually result in having

    a hardened heart. And if evertaken any of the poisons by

    mistake, we should hasten to

    clean ourselves from its bad

    effects by immediately turn-

    ing to Allah in repentance,

    and doing good deeds to ex-

    piate our sinful actions.

    Of all the acts of disobedi-

    ence which are all poisons of

    the heart, there are four

    which are widespread andhave the greatest effect to

    the heart. These four poisons

    are:

    Unnecessary talk

    Failure to lower the gazeExcessive eating

    The REVIVAL

    Of the

    H E A R T

    60

    By: Sister Mercy Cruz (Umm Malik)

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    Engaging in any of these four

    will cause serious damage to

    the heart, thus making the

    heart hard and unhealthy.

    When we mention unneces-

    sary talk we are referring to

    backbiting, obscene and mis-

    leading talk, showing off or

    debating in any form, as well

    as lying and mockery. Letshear what the Prophet

    (s.a.w) had to say about the

    heart and how unnecessary

    talk is effected by it.

    It is reported in al-Musnad,

    on the authority of Anas, that

    the Prophet (s.a.w) said:

    The faith of a servant is not

    put right until his heart is put

    right, and his heart is not put

    right until his tongue is put

    right.

    In the hadith mentioned

    above, we learn that in order

    to correct our faith we must

    first correct our tongues.

    We also mentioned failure to

    lower the gaze. There is a

    connection between the eyes

    and the heart. When we fail

    to protect what we see, it

    leads us to become attractedto the image, imprinting the

    image in our heart, and con-

    sequently causing severe

    damage to our hearts.

    It has been related that theprophet (s.a.w) once said

    words to the effect: The

    glance is a poison arrow

    from Shaytan. Whoever low-

    ers his gaze for Allah, He will

    bestow upon him a refresh-ing sweetness which he will

    find in his heart on the day

    that he meets wi th

    Him. (Tabarani)

    Shaytan enters the heart

    with the glance, for he travels

    fast. He makes what we see

    appear to be more attractive

    than what it really is, building

    for us an idol for

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    the heart to worship. Then he

    starts to whisper false prom-

    ises, lights the fire of evil de-

    sires with it, and fuels it withwood of forbidden actions,

    which we would have not en-

    gaged in if it was not for this

    distorted image. As a result,

    it causes the heart to be dis-

    tracted and forgetful of ourmain concern, the remem-

    brance of Allah.

    Small amounts of food guar-

    antee us tenderness of the

    heart, strong intellect, hum-

    bleness, and gentle behav-

    iour. Excessive eating results

    us to become in opposition to

    all of these praiseworthy

    qualities.

    Al-Miqdam Mad ibn Yakrib

    said: I heard the Messenger

    of Allah (s.a.w) say: The son

    of Adam fills no vessel more

    displeasing to Allh than his

    stomach. A few morsels

    should be enough for him to

    preserve his strength. If he

    must fill it, then he should al-

    low a third for his food, a

    third for his drink and leave a

    third empty for easy breath-ing. (Tirmidhi)

    Excessive eating makes the

    heart incline towards disobe-

    dience to Allah. Due to ex-

    cessive eating worship and

    obedience become difficult to

    do because of the heaviness

    of the body. As a result of ex-

    tensive eating, it deprives us

    from earning the love of Allah

    by preventing us from doing

    good deeds throughout our

    day. It becomes an easy task

    for Shaytan to deceive one

    who has filled his or her

    stomach with too much food

    and drink, which is why it is

    so often said: Restrict the

    pathways of Shaytan by fast-

    ing. (al-Ghazzallis al-Ihya,

    8/1488)

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    And lastly, but not the least

    important poison of the heart,

    is the keeping of bad com-

    pany. Unnecessary compan-ionship is a chronic disease

    that causes much harm. In

    keeping such company we

    can find the roots of loss,

    both in this life and in the

    hereafter. In an authenticHadith, Prophet Muhammad

    (s.a.w) said: Man is influ-

    enced by the faith of his

    friends. Therefore, be careful

    of whom you associate with,

    as wrong company cancause us to deviate, and be-

    come heedless to the com-

    mands of Allah (s.w.t) and

    the Prophet (s.a.w).

    Now, the question is how can

    we revive our hearts and sof-

    ten them? The same way all

    of the above mentioned poi-

    sons of the heart make us

    deviate away from obedience

    to Allah, making our hearts ill

    with evil desires and actions,

    controlling them will only

    bring the pleasure and re-

    ward of Allah.

    Thus, acts of obedience are

    indispensable to the well be-

    ing of the heart. It is worth-

    while to mention the follow-

    ing acts of obedience, since

    they are very necessary and

    essential to keep a soft and

    healthy heart:

    Remembrance of Allah:

    Allah says (in the interpreta-

    tion of the meaning):

    for men and women who

    guard their chastity and formen and women who en-

    gage much in Allahs

    praise for them has Allah

    prepared forgiveness and

    great reward. (33:35)

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    Also, He is successful who

    purifies himself. And remem-

    bers the Name of his Lord,

    and prays. (87:14-15)

    Allah also says: Those who

    believe, and whose hearts

    find comfort in the remem-

    brance of Allah, behold, in

    the Remembrance of Allah

    do hearts find satisfac-

    tion. (13-28)

    Recitation of the Quran:

    Allah says (in the interpreta-tion of the meaning): And

    We send down of the Quran

    that which is a healing and a

    mercy to those who believe

    (in Islamic Monotheism and

    act on it), and it increasesthe Zaalimoon (polytheists

    and wrongdoers) nothing but

    loss (17:82)

    Seeking forgiveness from Al-

    lah:

    Allah says (in the interpreta-

    tion of the meaning): O you

    who believe! Turn to Allah in

    sincere repentance! It maybethat your Lord will remove

    your evil from you... (66:8)

    Making Dua:

    Verily your Lord is Gener-

    ous and Shy. If His servant

    raises his hands to Him (in

    supplication) He becomes

    shy to re turn them

    empty. (Ahmad, Abu Da-wood, Tirmidhi)

    Allah says: Implore Me, I

    will respond to your

    (invocation). Surely, those

    who are too arrogant to wor-

    ship Me will surely enter en-

    ter Hel l in humi l ia-

    tion!. (40:60)

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    Sending Blessings Upon the

    Prophet (saw):

    Allah says (in the interpreta-

    tion of the meaning): Lo! Al-

    lah and His angels shower

    blessings on the Prophet. O

    ye who believe! Ask bless-

    ings on him and salute him

    with a worthy saluta-

    tion. (33:56)

    The Prophet (s.a.w) also

    said: For one who sends

    blessings upon me once, Al-lah will send ten fold bless-

    ings in return (Muslim and

    others).

    May Allah keep our hearts

    pure and clean from any evil.

    May He help us to recognizeour faults and immediately

    turn to Him in repentance,

    may He keep us in the

    straight path always and may

    He send peace, blesings,

    and mercy upon Muhammad.Ameen.

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    A while ago I was asked, whyI am no longer Shia, andwhat the difference is inhow I practiced Islam then,

    and how I practice now. Iwill attempt to answer thosequestions in this article insh

    Allah.

    First let me start by saying,it was not up to me, it wasAllah who guided me, Ipoured my heart out to Allah

    begging him submissively toguide me, and I was deter-mined that I would not allowarrogance to accompany mein my journey for knowl-

    edge.

    It wasnt until I got on theinternet that I learned aboutthe difference between Shiaand Sunni. I always thoughtthe only difference was that

    Sunnis pray with their armsup while Shia prays with

    their arms down.

    Coming Back

    to the SunnahIn this article Sister Christy Crouse a student of

    SunnahFollowers shares her experience of her

    journey coming back to the Sunnah. Many of us

    declare that we follow the Sunnah to its truthful-

    ness. But what if you found out that all along you

    had been following something of great devi-

    ance. Sister Zanooba details her journey to her

    path back to the Sunnah and the effect it has

    had on her.

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    On yahoo chat I met withmany different kinds of Mus-lims and argued about relig-ion. I was so arrogant to

    think I could teach when Imyself had no knowledge, Iargued against Sunnis anddid not even know what theybelieved from their ownsources, all my informationwas from the mouths of my

    Shia teachers and friends.

    One day as I was arguingwith a former shia I wasmade aware of my arro-gance and lack of knowl-

    edge, He asked me whatbooks I had studied from,and asked me for my proof,all I could say was that myknowledge came from what Ihad heard through people,he informed me that in Is-lam there are no opinionsand we have to have prooffor everything. Feeling de-feated, I decided to get theproof but all I really gotwere peoples opinions ofthe historical facts. When Iasked for proof I waspointed to Shia books andgiven emotionally motivated

    stories.

    During the life of the

    Prophet Mohammed (pbuh)there were countless saha-bahs that had surroundedhim, just to name a fewwere, Abu Bakr, Omar, Uth-man, Ali, Abu Sufyan andMuawiya r.a. He loved his

    companions and consideredthem the best amongst man-kind, If the prophet lovedhis companions who was I to

    hate them?

    Narrated Abdullah: TheProphet pbuh said, "The

    best people are those livingin my generation, and thenthose who will follow them,and then those who will

    follow the latter.

    We can determine by theQuran and Hadiths that wehave to follow the prophet

    and his companions.

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    Allah has told us in the HolyQuran about the duty ofProphet Mohammed pbuh inthe interpretation of the

    meaning,

    "And We have sent downunto you the Message; thatthat you may explainclearly to men what is sentfor them, and that they

    may give thought."

    Allah also says,

    "And obey Allah and theMessenger, that ye may ob-

    tain mercy."

    Clearly the first example af-ter the Quran that weshould follow is the exampleof the prophet Mohammed

    (pbuh)

    The basis of the Shia beliefsis in the way the Ummahwas governed following thedeath of the prophet Mo-hammed. The Shia believeAli should have been thefirst caliph but there was no

    proof of this, as a matter offact the proof is to the con-trary. The only proof the

    Shia have was an allegationof the prophets intentionswhile he was on his deathbed. The prophet made it

    clear in regards to whoshould succeed him by re-questing that Abu Bakr leadthe prayer As is evident in

    the authentic Hadith :

    Narrated 'Aisha: (Themother of believers) Allah'sApostle during his fatal ail-ment said, "Order Abu Bakrto lead the people inprayer." I said, "If Abu Bakrstood at your place (in

    prayers, the people will notbe able to hear him be-cause of his weeping, so or-der 'Umar to lead the peo-ple in prayer." He againsaid, "Order Abu Bakr tolead the people in prayer "Then I said to Hafsa, "Willyou say (to the Prophet), 'IfAbu Bakr stood at yourplace, the people will notbe able to hear him because of his weeping, so or-der 'Umar to lead the peo-ple in prayer?" Hafsa did

    so.

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    Although the prophet didnot make any clear state-ments that Abu Bakr should

    be the reigning Caliph, hehas mentioned that peopleshould come to Abu Bakr r.aif the prophet was not avail-able one example of that is

    below:

    Narrated Jubair bin Mutim:

    A woman came to theProphet who ordered herto return to him again. Shesaid, "What if I came anddid not find you?" as if shewanted to say, "If I foundyou dead?" The Prophet

    said, "If you should not findme, go to Abu Bakr."

    Furthermore every humanwho is living will die, and Al-lah the exalted said aboutthe prophet Mohammed(pbuh):

    Muhammad pbuh is nomore than a Messenger,and indeed (many) Messen-gers have passed away be-

    fore him. If he dies or iskilled, will you then turnback on your heels (as dis-

    believers


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