29 June 2014 Musa (5)* settles in Madian and British Values

29 June 2014

Prophet Musa (5)* settles in Madian and British Values

Musa* settles in Madian

Characteristic of the Slave mentality – the person from Bani Israel who was helped by Musa* was the one who got Musa* into trouble. Tend to have negative self image, very selfish, lack of honour and respect for each other and a massive inferiority complex – always wanting to please those that oppress them.
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Prophet Musa* had lived a pampered lifestyle now found himself wondering in the desert with no food or water. Walked so much that his sandals wore out and reduced to eating leaves to survive.
Walked and walked and ended up in Madian (modern day south Jordan)
At an oasis, Prophet Musa* saw  two women holding back their sheep who could not water their flocks out of wanting to avoid other shepherds. Shows his benevolent, caring and strong character, as well as his good upbringing.
He said, "What are you two doing here?" They said, "We cannot draw water until the shepherds have driven off their sheep. You see our father is a very old man." So he drew water for them and then withdrew into the shade and said, "My Lord, I am truly in need of any good You have in store for me." (TMQ 28:24)
Allah responded to this du’a. Then there came unto him one of the two women, walking shyly and said, "My father invites you so that he can reward you with a payment for drawing water for us." When he came to him and told him the whole story he said, "Have no fear, you have escaped from wrongdoing people." (TMQ 28:25)
One of them said, "Hire him, father. The best person to hire is someone strong and trustworthy." (TMQ 28:26) – characteristics of good workers!
He said, "I would like to marry you to one of these two daughters of mine on condition that you work for me for eight full years. If you complete ten, that is up to you. I do not want to be hard on you. You will find me, Allah willing, to be one of the righteous." He (Moses) said, "That is agreed between me and you. Whichever of the two terms I fulfil, there will be no injustice done to me. Allah is Guardian over what we say." (TMQ 28:27-28)
A shrewd offer from the father (some scholars say could be Prophet Shoaib*) given Musa*’s personality and desperate situation having fled from Egypt. Wedding gift set as work for minimum 8 years.


Main Topic: British and Islamic Values

British History
“Those who tell the stories also hold the power.” Plato
George Orwell once wrote, “He who controls the present, controls the past. He who controls the past, controls the future.”
David Cameron (the Prime Minister) recently wrote “Britain has a lot to be proud of, and our values and institutions are right at the top of that list.” Tony Blair said (in 1997) he thought that Britain’s empire should be the cause of “neither apology nor hand-wringing”.
There is a romantic view that Pax Britannica ushered in an unprecedented period of worldwide peace and prosperity. This new imperialism tries to justify itself with a story about Britain’s introduction of free trade, the rule of law, democracy and Western civilisation across the globe. We are taught that Western Civilisation is the most advanced form of civilisation known to man and a unique phenomenon rising far above all of history intellectually, morally and scientifically. Hence, the need to ‘civilise’ other backward and inferior peoples through the British “liberators”. Infact, David Cameron calls for a ‘muscular’ campaign to enforce secular liberalism on Muslims in the UK!
Coming after the politically motivated Ofsted’s inspection into the alleged Trojan Horse (Hoax) affair in Birmingham, his intended subjects were clear: Muslims hadn’t done enough to become British and had to be taught a lesson or two about the country whose values they were now required to adopt as their own.

Core British Values
A recent article in The Telegraph outlined ten core values of the British identity:
I. The rule of law. Our society is based on the idea that we all abide by the same rules, whatever our wealth or status. No one is above the law - not even the government.
II. The sovereignty of the Crown in Parliament. The Lords, the Commons and the monarch constitute the supreme authority in the land. There is no appeal to any higher jurisdiction, spiritual or temporal.
III. The pluralist state. Equality before the law implies that no one should be treated differently on the basis of belonging to a particular group. Conversely, all parties, sects, faiths and ideologies must tolerate the existence of their rivals.
IV. Personal freedom. There should be a presumption, always and everywhere, against state coercion. We should tolerate eccentricity in others, almost to the point of lunacy, provided no one else is harmed.
V. Private property. Freedom must include the freedom to buy and sell without fear of confiscation, to transfer ownership, to sign contracts and have them enforced. Britain was quicker than most countries to recognise this and became, in consequence, one of the happiest and most prosperous nations on Earth.
VI. Institutions. British freedom and British character are immanent in British institutions. These are not, mostly, statutory bodies, but spring from the way free individuals regulate each other's conduct, and provide for their needs, without recourse to coercion.
VII. The family. Civic society depends on values being passed from generation to generation. Stable families are the essential ingredient of a stable society.
VIII. History. British children inherit a political culture, a set of specific legal rights and obligations, and a stupendous series of national achievements. They should be taught about these things.
IX. The English-speaking world. The anglosphere - on all of us who believe in freedom, justice and the rule of law.
X. The British character. Shaped by and in turn shaping our national institutions is our character as a people: stubborn, stoical, indignant at injustice. "The Saxon," wrote Kipling, "never means anything seriously till he talks about justice and right."

Magna Carta
This was signed by King John in 1215 was written in Latin and then translated into French and was specifically for nobles giving no such protection from arbitrary arrest and punishment for ordinary people. It was born out of a messy compromise between the monarch and his feudal barons and not out of high minded principles.

British Origins?
Is there something in the soil that means Britain is special? Are Values unique to all who live in the British Isles or are they shared universally?

·         Democracy began in ancient Greece, not Britain.
·         Tolerance existed well before the Roman conquest of Britain.
·         The rule of law predates the Magna Carta (Prophet Muhammed’s Charter for Medina 600 years prior).
·         Freedom, whether of speech, assembly or economic rights, was grudgingly introduced in a piecemeal fashion into Britain and was, in fact, largely an import from Europe.

Double Standards

Democracy
Democratic countries are run for the rich by the rich with scandals around corporate interests, lobbying, wealthy donors, MP abuse of power and money highlighting these. Also, an aggressive global colonisation and a non-ethical foreign policy propping up dictators and tyrants who are fiercely anti-democratic. What is democratic about a Veto (in the UN) and why didn’t Cameron just accept the will of the majority recently when they elected a European President?

Rule of Law
Modern Britain is a surveillance society with intrusive spying on the whole British population, it supports secret trials and readily strips people of their citizenship on secret evidence. Also kidnapping known as “extraordinary rendition”, torture of terror suspects, indefinite detention without charge, unjust treatment of foreign nationals, control orders placed on suspects who are unable to challenge any alleged evidence against themselves.
In June 2007, Tony Blair had stopped a Serious Fraud Office investigation against the British arms manufacturer BAE Systems about bribing the Saudis to win a contract worth £43 billion (al-Yamamah deal) because it was not in Britain’s “national interest” go to trial.

Tolerance
The British people are generally a very tolerant people but the Politicians will only tolerate people as long as they do as they are told and act like they are told. Otherwise, people (especially Muslims) need to assimilate and become like the British. However, when British people go abroad they stay in their own communities in Spain, Dubai etc and do not ‘go native’.
Any discussion about Muslims is seen through the lens of conspiracy, radicalisation, national security, creeping Islamisation and a looming existential threat to the very future of Britain. Muslims are disproportionately the object of news coverage, and inversely proportionally able to inform and shape the public conversation. We are the most talked about, and least heard.

Others:
Other things to mention are attacking, invading and occupying Iraq for over 11-years based on a lie about weapons of mass destruction. Over one million Iraqis died based on this lie.
Casino capitalism that caused the global financial suffering.
Liberalism and individualism which is linked to social chaos with family break-down, youth delinquency, the dissolution of community values and disrespect for the law, homelessness.

“When they are told, ‘Do not cause corruption on the earth,’ they say, ‘We are only putting things right.’ No indeed! They are the corrupters, but they are not aware of it.” [TMQ 2:12]

The Islamic Values, Cause for Real Justice
The Muslims have a rich history that demonstrates the positive and immense impact Islam bought to the world. Its contributions to culture, sciences, accountable government and justice led to the betterment of millions of Muslims and non-Muslims who lived under its rule for over 1300 years.
The Prophet* brought down a Shariah that obliged the rule of law to be placed on both leader and common person alike. Thus if Muslims had a dispute with their rulers they were ordered to return it back to Islam through the Mahkamat Madhalim (Court of unjust acts) which could censure or even remove the ruler himself if he violated the Shariah.
“O you who believe! Obey Allah and obey the Messenger and those in authority from among you; then if you quarrel about anything, refer it to Allah and the Messenger, if you believe in Allah and the last day; this is better and very good in the end” [TMQ 4:59]
The Prophet* said, “The nations before [us] were destroyed because if a noble person committed theft, they used to leave him, but if a weak person amongst them committed theft, they used to inflict the legal punishment on him. By Allah, if Fatima, the daughter of Muhammad, committed theft, Muhammad would cut off her hand!” (Bukhari and Muslim)
Similarly the Prophet* explained that those accused are innocent until proven guilty, “The burden of proof is upon the plaintiff, and the oath is upon the one who is accused.” (Tirmidhi)
The prohibition of torture in Islam is clear - the Prophet* said, “Allah tortures those who torture the people in this life.” (Muslim)
Islam does not promote the ideas of personal freedom to behave as you like, to dress as you like, to mix with whomsoever you like, and to get rich in any way that you like. Islam promotes the idea of basing one’s behaviour on the shariah rules and reminds people that Allah does not like debauchery, exploitation and oppression.

Superiority of Islam
Muslims should be proud of our Values which also include honesty, being good to the neighbour and stranger, valuing parents, strong family unit and being a shy nation! Muslims must not apologise for Islam. Islam is sufficient for us. With the barrage of criticisms over the last few months, and now with a call to force Muslims to change, Muslims are deliberately being made to feel that Islam is inferior, to erode their adherence to its beliefs and practices.
Muslim Values (in this country and elsewhere) include:

• respect for parents
• respect for law
• looking after the neighbour
• visiting the sick / ill
• accountability of actions
• honesty in all dealings
• respect (tolerance) of other beliefs and opinions

The Islamic shariah is superior to all other shariahs. The Islamic shariah is only taken from the revealed texts of the Quran and sunnah, which do not change according the interests of a few powerful oppressors. We should not apologise for being against promiscuity and homosexuality nor should we stop condemning the evil of the Western colonial foreign policies. Islamic values that are revealed by the Creator. They are superior to all other values and are bound to shine when held onto by the believers.
“Do not give up and do not be downhearted. You shall be uppermost if you are believers.” [TMQ 3:139]

23 October 2011

Ifk Lessons; Gaddafi's death 

Seerah of Muhammed*
*: May the Peace, Blessings and Mercy of Allah be upon him
TMQ: Translation to the nearest meaning of the Qur’an

Following the Ifk incident - these were the verses of the Qur'an revealed to the Prophet*:

Selected Verses Surah an-Nur (24)
11: Verily! Those who brought forth the slander (against Aisha, the wife of the Prophet*) are a group among you. Consider it not a bad thing for you. Nay, it is good for you. Unto every man among them will be paid that which he had earned of the sin, and as for him among them who had the greater share therein, his will be a great torment.
12: Why, when you heard it, did not the believing men and believing women think good of one another and say, "This is an obvious falsehood"?
13: Why did they [who slandered] not produce for it four witnesses? And when they do not produce the witnesses, then it is they, in the sight of Allah , who are the liars.
14: And if it had not been for the favour of Allah upon you and His mercy in this world and the Hereafter, you would have been touched for that [lie] in which you were involved by a great punishment
15: When you received it with your tongues and said with your mouths that of which you had no knowledge and thought it was insignificant while it was, in the sight of Allah, tremendous.
16: And why, when you heard it, did you not say, "It is not for us to speak of this. Exalted are You, [O Allah]; this is a great slander"?
17: Allah forbids you from it and warns you not to repeat the like of it forever, if you are believers.
18: And Allah makes the Ayat (proofs, evidences, verses, lessons, signs, revelations, etc.) plain to you, and Allah is All-Knowing, All-Wise.
19: Indeed, those who like that immorality (the crime of illegal sexual intercourse) should be spread [or publicized] among those who have believed will have a painful punishment in this world and the Hereafter. And Allah knows and you do not know.
20: And had it not been for the Grace of Allah and His Mercy on you, (Allah would have hastened the punishment upon you). And that Allah is full of kindness, Most Merciful.
21: O you who believe! Follow not the footsteps of Shaitan (Satan). And whosoever follows the footsteps of Shaitan (Satan), then, verily he commands Al-Fahsha' [i.e. to commit indecency (illegal sexual intercourse, etc.)], and Al-Munkar [disbelief and polytheism (i.e. to do evil and wicked deeds; to speak or to do what is forbidden in Islam, etc.)]. And had it not been for the Grace of Allah and His Mercy on you, not one of you would ever have been pure from sins. But Allah purifies (guides to Islam) whom He wills, and Allah is All-Hearer, All-Knower.
22: And let not those of virtue among you and wealth swear not to give [aid] to their relatives and the needy and the emigrants for the cause of Allah , and let them pardon and overlook. Would you not like that Allah should forgive you? And Allah is Forgiving and Merciful.
23: Indeed, those who [falsely] accuse chaste, unaware and believing women are cursed in this world and the Hereafter; and they will have a great punishment
24: On a Day when their tongues, their hands and their feet will bear witness against them as to what they used to do.
25: That Day, Allah will pay them in full their deserved recompense, and they will know that it is Allah who is the perfect in justice.

The Ifk against Aisha (ra)
Summary
The Ifk against the Mother of the Believers, Aisha (ra), was perpetrated after the campaign of Banu al-Mustaliq. As the Prophet* and the expeditionary force were returning from a long and exhaustive journey, they camped not far from Medina in order to recoup their energies. At dawn, or before it, the Prophet* gave the orders to resume the journey. Aisha (ra) stepped out of the tent while her palanquin was placed outside the entrance to the tent. On her return she noticed that she had lost her necklace and retraced her footsteps in order to recover it. As she was a young lady and slight in build, those who carried the palanquin had not noticed that she was not in there. Hence, when she returned the Muslims had departed. Unafraid, she wrapped herself in her mantle and laid down waiting for the Muslims, believing that they would return for her once they found that she was missing. While she waited, Safwan ibn al-Mu'attal as-Salami, who had been out of the camp on an errand, returned to find that the Muslims had left. When he came close and discovered that it was indeed Aisha (ra), he brought her his camel and requested her to ride it. Safwan rushed back to Medina, and arrived in broad daylight.
Malicious rumours about Aisha (ra)
Soon afterwards people began whispering about her delayed return on the camel of Safwan, a young and handsome man. Needless to say that the mushrikeen and munafiqeen latched onto the issue and soon the whole subject became the basis of significant unrest within Medina. Among those who were instrumental in spreading the slander were Hamnah (sister of the Prophet's* wife Zaynab), Hassan ibn Thabit (the poet), and Mistah (son of the slave of Aisha). However, many Muslims and companions provided an audience to the rumours, thereby casting great doubt over the Prophet*'s household and the Prophet* himself. The evidence that even some of the companions were involved in the rumours is in the above verse of Qur'an.
 
Lessons
The Ifk (lie) against Aisha (ra), the Mother of the Believers, was another episode through which Allah (swt) showed us the true characteristics of the Islamic Personality. It was during this event that even some of the believers inadvertently fell into error. The lesson we learn is not just that the believers were prone to errors or that those who slander women unjustly are subjected to 80 lashes. Rather, we understand that believers exhibit a specific thought process, when confronted not only by slander, but by those who do not abide by al-Hukm ash-Shar'i. Fundamental to that thought process is the principle that those around us are only as good or bad as we are. Hence, any accusations at those around us have the potential to be applied on the accuser.
"Why did not, when they heard it, the believing men and women think the best of one another and say, this is an obvious lie (Ifk)." [TMQ 24:12]
Looking at ourselves through others
The fundamental issue is that the verse of Qur'an focuses on how the believing men and women should have evaluated the subject of the slander. Firstly, Allah (swt) addresses the believers in the verse. And in the address He (swt) asks that why did they not think good of themselves when they heard the slander. Aisha was from them, one of the believers. Hence, they should have asked the question, would we be capable of performing this action? If we cannot attribute this to ourselves how can we attribute this to Aisha (ra). This is because Aisha (ra) is from amongst us, one of the believers.
Secondly, from all we know of her excellent piety, such an action would be grossly out of character. Hence, their involvement in this slander was contrary to all the good they knew of her.
This process was illustrated by Abu 'Ayyub Khalid ibn Zaid Ansari. When he heard about the slander, he asked his wife 'Umm 'Ayyub whether she had heard it too. She replied that she had and judged it to be a lie. Abu 'Ayyub then went on to ask her if she would perform such an action. When she replied in the negative, Abu 'Ayyub said, " Aisha is better than you, and if my own wife is not capable of such an action how could we entertain such a thought about Aisha, the Mother of the Believers and the wife of the Prophet*."
From this incident, we learn some important lessons about the manner by which we should look at ourselves and other Muslims. The first is that when Allah (swt) talks of "thinking good about oneselves", Allah (swt) is effectively stating that an attack on Aisha is an attack on yourselves, because you were all from the believers. So if Aisha (ra) had performed such an action then it would be no more than a reflection of the prevailing attitudes amongst yourselves. So an attack on Aisha (ra) was indeed an attack on yourselves, because how could such ideas be allowed to become prevalent amongst you? And when you spread the slander against Aisha (ra) you were spreading slander against your own selves. Hence, the concept we take from this is that when we criticise those around us, how much of that criticism is implicitly a criticism of ourselves.
In the case of valid criticism
This is in the case when there is no smoke or fire. What of the case when Muslims actually are at fault? Does this mean our task begins and ends with criticising them? Again, we must not ignore our responsibility to the situation. If the Muslims around us are bad, it means that we must fulfil our responsibility by recognising it and then attempt to correct them. This concept is illustrated in the narration about the Companions of the Sabbath. "And ask them (O Muhammad) about the town that was by the sea, when they transgressed in the matter of the Sabbath (i.e. Saturday): when their fish came to them openly on the Sabbath day, and did not come to them on the day they had no Sabbath. Thus We made a trial of them for they used to rebel. And when a community among them said, 'Why do you preach to a people whom Allah is about to destroy or to punish with a severe torment?' The preachers said, 'In order to be free from guilt before your Lord (Allah), and perhaps they may fear Allah.' When they ignored the warning that had been given to them, We rescued those who forbade evil, but We seized those who did wrong with a severe torment because they used to rebel (disobey Allah). So when they exceeded the limits of what they were prohibited, We said to them, 'Be you monkeys, despised and rejected.' " [TMQ 7:163 - 166]
If Allah (swt) rescued those who forbade evil, then those who were silent over the wrong doings were part of those who did wrong. As Muslims we need to be sure that we are of the former category, and not the latter. This distinction is difficult to observe because other matters often confuse the motive. As an example, when our own sons and daughters are guilty of bad actions, that does not excuse us of the duty to correct them. We know that if somebody criticises our children, it is a criticism of ourselves. To what extent can we tolerate a criticism of our children knowing that it is our responsibility? Or do we defend them tooth and nail, regardless of our neglect? And if we defend, do we defend because our honour is at stake, or do we defend because we are right? Yet when those outside our own families perform bad actions, we quickly point fingers at them, their parents etc. But from Islam, that finger is pointing straight back at us. Examples are also found outside the family setting. The quarrels in the local mosques or the sins of the rulers in Islamic Lands, do not absolve us of the duty to forbid the munkar. Hence, unless we have tried to correct those around us, thereby fulfilling our responsibility, we should think very carefully before we point fingers at others.
Al-Hukm ash-Shar'i alone forms the criteria. Thus, we look at those around us and compare how their actions are consistent with the obligations from Shari'ah. If we find that they are wanting, then our responsibility is to inform and culture our fellow Muslims. In doing so, we are not doing them a favour. Rather, we are fulfilling a duty, for by having that knowledge we are responsible to culture those around us with it. In addition, criticising them alone, is a distraction from our obligation to advise them. Only when we have conveyed the message can we consider criticising without any implications on our selves.

Other Lessons from this incident

• Accusing a Muslim man or woman unjustly, especially for such a major sin as zina (adultery), is in itself a major sin if there is no truth or proof in the matter. Hence, we should be very careful when talking about these matters unless we have 4 witnesses (pen and the ink).
• There was some Good that came out of this evil event. For example, we learned all these lessons (around false accusations, thinking good of other believers) through this incident. Also, even though Aisha and her family suffered a lot from this, they will get a lot of blessings for  their patience and remaining steadfast
• It is important that Muslims should care for reputation of other Muslims. We should not slander them or lie against them, nor should we be happy if we hear bad news about other Muslims (especially those we may not like). Hence, as stated before, we should always think good of other Muslims and give them the benefit of the doubt. We should also think good of others all the time as our default position and so we should treat bad rumours as lies
• Furthermore, we should not carry rumours around with us, nor spread them. Muslims should not have time for nonsense like this and we should stay clear and not participle in hearsay
• It is also clear from the verses that Allah is jealous about maintaining a good reputation of Muslims and that we  should be free from any unwarranted accusation. Hence, falsely accusing men and women is very wrong
• Allah tells us that this type of thing should not happen again if we are Believers. This is quite a profound expectation
• We shouldn’t talk and spread tales of immorality / titillation / sensationalisation just for the sake of it or to gossip.   Muslims should not publicise these evil things lest they become a self fulfilling prophesy. If society talks constantly about these things they become normalised behaviour (as we see in Western countries) and then people will start to expect this behaviour (or even strive for it) and those that do sin will feel less shame (if any!).  Those that do not engage in the major sin may then settle for talking about these things in a lustful way, or exaggerate the problem or go to extreme lengths to talk about these things. We should not sweep things under the carpet but be aware of the issues and Forbid the Evil (munkar) in the best way.
• We also learn about the importance in protecting Muslim community and society (& family life). To make real accusations people need 4 witness to the act otherwise they are flogged and labelled a fasiq and their witness not accepted in court. Hence, this issue is such an important topic partly because the punishment is so severe and partly because of the effects of this on a family and society. Hence, false accusations are a major sin.
• Related to the previous point, the Muslim Ummah should try hard collectively to protect the reputation and honour of its people, and to avoid fabrication and false stories. We should know that nowadays, no Qur’anic ayah will defend any Muslims of today!
• As with Abu Bakr, we should try to pardon & overlook people who make mistakes. We should be kind and generous to these people (if they are sincere) and not fall to their petty levels
• We also learn about the Prophet’s* humanity. He* didn’t know unseen and over time became more concerned about the rumours – but still thought well of the people despite the fact that he, too, was suffering when hearing these rumours about his family and friends
• Some people also highlight the fact that the enemies of Islam will try to assassinate the influential Muslim person (character), or will get involved in character assassination – where they try to destroy the credibility and reputation of sincere Muslims. This happened in the time of the Prophet* and ever since then to this very day.

Finally, it should be noted that Abdullah ibn Ubai (the leader of the Hypocrites) was not punished despite his involvement in the rumours. Scholars have given a few reasons for this which include:

• punishment in this life for a sin means that the person will not be accounted on the Day of Judgement for that, hence his evil will be left for Allah’s ultimate judgement when he is due to get his full punishment;
• also it could be that, as a clever political leader he was very cunning in the way he spread the rumour and never implicated himself;
• furthermore, guilt is established though witnesses or personal admission (confession) and either no witnesses came forward and he was not the type of person to confess;

The Death of Abu Rafi’
Salam bin Abi Al-Huqaiq (Abu Rafi‘) was a terrible Jew criminal, who had mustered the troops of the Confederates and provided them with a lot of wealth and supplies, on the one hand, and used to malign the Prophet*, on the other. When the Muslims had settled their affair with Banu Quraiza; Al- Khazraj tribe, a rival of Al- Aws, asked for the Prophet’s permission to kill that criminal in order to merit a virtue equal to that of Al-Aws who had killed another criminal of the Jews, Ka‘b bin Al-Ashraf. The Prophet* gave them his permission provided that no women or children be killed.
A group of five people with ‘Abdullah bin ‘Ateeq at their head, headed for Khaibar where ‘Abu Rafi’s fort was situated in a Special Operation. When they approached the place, ‘Abdullah advised his men to stay a little behind, while he went ahead disguised himself in his cloak as if he had been relieving himself. When the people of the fort went in, the gate-keeper called him to enter thinking he was one of them. ‘Abdullah went in and lurked inside. He then began to unbolt the doors leading to Salam’s room. There it was absolutely dark but he managed to put him to the sword: He recounts the story (in Bukhari): "I called, 'O Abu Rafi!' He replied 'Who is it?' I proceeded towards the voice and hit him. He cried loudly but my blow was futile. Then I came to him, pretending to help him, saying with a different tone of my voice, 'What is wrong with you, O Abu Rafi?' He said 'Are you not surprised? Woe on your mother! A man has come to me and hit me with a sword!' So again I aimed at him and hit him, but the blow proved futile again, and on that Abu Rafi cried loudly and his wife got up. I came again and changed my voice as if I were a helper, and found Abu Rafi lying straight on his back, so I drove the sword into his belly and bent on it till I heard the sound of a bone break", and then he left in safety.
On his way back, his leg broke so he wrapped it up in a band, and hid in a secret place until morning when someone stood on the wall and announced the death of Salam bin Abi Al-Huqaiq officially. Abdullah bin ‘Ateeq said that he had never heard any word more pleasing than the death of Abu Rafi. Once they were sure of their victim’s death. On hearing the glad news he left and went to see the Prophet*, who listened to the whole story, and then asked ‘Abdullah to stretch his leg, which he wiped and the fracture healed on the spot.

Hadith: No time to discuss

Feedback:

Signs of ad-Dajjal: Sign of ad-Dajjal and how we can recognise him.

The Day of Judgement: What will happen on the Day of Judgement and how the people will be judged

News

The Death of Gaddafi
Quite a lively debate which was based on the news reports of how he died.
Points that were mentioned included:

• The Muslims of Libya wanted a change, following the Arab Spring changes in Tunisia, Egypt and other places
• Gaddafi was trained in the UK’s Sandhurst Royal Military Academy and soon after returning to Libya overthrew the Libyan King
• Over the years Gaddafi became more like a dictator
• Libyan students and visitors to the UK have often been very suspicious of talking to other people for fear of their lives and the safety of their family
• He is known to have punished Islamic preachers quite severely (by torture, imprisonment and death)
• He is reported to deny the importance of Hadith and the Sunnah (Scholars agree that people who stubbornly reject Hadith are outside of Islam)
• Gaddafi received a lot of military and other support from Western countries like the UK
• Western countries have major financial and oil interests in Libya, which may explain why they fail to intervene ‘for humanitarian’ reasons in places like Zimbabwe, or Burma
• Western countries still support most other dictators in Muslim countries
• The death of Gaddafi after his capture, and that of his son, was probably wrong (still need to know facts).
• It is completely unacceptable that his dead body be put on open display
• The dead should be buried as soon as possible after death
• The people of Libya should take charge of their future based on their best interests

18 October 2009

Seerah of Muhammed*

*: May the peace blessings & Mercy of Allah be upon him
TMQ: Translation to the nearest meaning of the Qur’an

The Reaction to the Dawa

There were many different ways in which the Quraish responded to the Dawa (spreading of the message of Islam) of the Prophet*. Some of these are listed below. These are not in any order and neither are they comprehensive, just some examples…

• Mockery, jealousy and hatred
• Insults, bullying and harassment
• Slander (character assassination)
• Corrupting the message
• Bargaining, negotiations and Temptations
• Setting challenges
• Pressurising
• Persecution and torture
• Attempted Assassination

Mockery, jealousy and hatred

Some of the people of Mecca used to mock the Prophet* and question if he was the best person among them to be the Messenger of Allah, despite being well respected & truthful, he was not wealthy or powerful. Al Walid bin Mughira had said that if Allah wanted to choose a prophet why didn’t he choose me? I am more wealthy, wise and older. Even outside Mecca people used to say this: In Ta’if the 3 men mocked him saying didn’t Allah find anyone better to send than you?

Allah says in response: “Why wasn’t this Qur’an revealed to a great man from one of the two towns?” [TMQ]

Allah says: “when they see you they ridicule you and say ‘is this the one Allah has sent as a messenger’?” [TMQ]

‘…Verily, those who committed crimes used to laugh at those who believed; and whenever they passed them , used to wink one to another (in mockery); and when they returned to their own people, they would return jesting…’ [TMQ 83: 29-31]
“And they say, O you (Muhammed) to whom the Dhikr (Quran) has been sent down: ‘Verily you are a mad man’. [TMQ 15:6]
‘….a sorcerer & a liar’ [TMQ 38:4]

Abu Jahl mocked the Prophet* that his sons died and he was ‘a man cut off with offspring.’

Al Mughira bin Shuyba was visiting Mecca and walking with Abu Jahl and the Prophet* came up to Abu Jahl and said ‘why don’t you follow me and believe in Allah, & Islam..?’. O Muhammed, when are you going to stop cursing our gods? If you want us to testify you have delivered your message we can; and if I knew you were telling the truth I would have already followed you!’
The Prophet* left. Then Abu Jahl looked at Al Mughira and said: I know he is telling the truth, but there is something holding me back. The descendants of Qusay said they wanted to have hijaba (guardianship Kaaba) and we gave it to them, then they wanted saikaya & nifahda (providing pilgrims food & water) and we gave it to them, then they asked for an-nadwah (council) and we gave it to them, and then the lu’ah (banner of war) we gave it to them…and now when we started picking up and competing with them and running neck to neck, they now have a prophet – how can we compete with that? By God, we will never accept it!

Insults, bullying and harassment

Usually the Prophets appointed by Allah are noble and dignified people – but they are also sensitive and easily hurt by the reaction of their people. Allah said the to Prophet* to ‘ignore the ignorant’ and get on with the message because the people are against the message not him personally, especially those people in power (the Malla).

Abu Jahl asked Quraish: are you allowing the Prophet* to rub his face in the dirt? If I see him do that I will trample his neck and rub his face in the dirt! Then Prophet* was praying in front of Kaaba and Abu Jahl went to Prophet* when he was in sujjod, then Abu Jahl falling back and waving his hands.
What happened? Asked the Quraish leaders when he returned
Didn’t you see it?
No?
There was a trench in front of me with fire, wind and terror
The Prophet later mentioned that these were the angels & if he had come any closer they would have tore him to pieces.

Utbah bin Abi Muaith come to the Prophet* next Kaaba and grabbed his clothes trying to choke him. Abu Bakr pushed him away saying ‘do you want to kill a man just because he says my Lord is Allah?’

Abu Jahl came to the leaders of the Quraish after someone had slaughtered some camels and asked if there was anyone who would take the intestines and dump them on Prophet* when he is praying. Uqbah bin Abi Muaith went and did it in sujood. The Prophet* carried with his prayer and Fatima saw this and rushed to clear all the mess off her father. Then the Prophet* made a public du’a (to punish) against 7 of the leaders – who were all killed in the battle of Badr.

Umaiyah bin Khalaf would follow the Prophet* and slander him
‘Woe to every sanderer and backbiter’ [TMQ 104:1]

Slander (character assassination)

There was an organised campaign to discredit and slander the Prophet* in order to discredit his message. Some of the main accusations were that he was:

• insane / mad
• a magician
• a liar
• a soothsayer

Allah says: “They do not disbelieve you, but they are rejecting the signs of Allah” [TMQ]

The Quraish would place people on the entrance to Mecca to warn people about the Prophet, especially at times of pilgrimage or when there were prominent trade fairs and camps, such as: Dhul Majaz, Ukaz and Majannah.

The Prophet* would go to the market place (town centre) where they would trade and have competitions in poetry (cultural centre) where renowned speakers visit Souk Ahkaaf, and the best poems are pinned up on the wall of Kaaba and known as al-Mualakaat (hanged poems).

Rabia bin Abbad saw the Prophet* in Dhul Majaz saying to all foreigners: o you people, say there is no God but Allah and you would prosper. But Abu Lahab would follow each group and say don’t listen to him he is a liar & don’t let this man entice you away from the religion of your forefathers – I am his Uncle.

Al-Walid bin Mughira convened a special emergency council before the Hajj season (an-Nadwa) saying thta the Arabs will visit soon so they need to have a unified position about the Prophet* and should not contradict each other as this would undermine the slander. They asked for each others opinion in this specially convened emergency meeting (like a security council or emergency debate/assembly). Some of the opinions were that the Prophet* is:
- Kahin ~ Soothsayer (rejected as there isno rhymed mumbling)
- Majnun ~ Insane (rejected as he is not erratic nor mumbles like a crazy person)
- Poet – they were the experts in poetry and the Quran is not poetry
- Sorcerer/Witchcraft – he doesn’t do their habits of tying & blowing
Eventually settled on sorcerer that divides families, religion & tribes
Allah said in response to al-Walid’s deliberations: ‘Verily he plot & plotted, and let him be cursed how he plotted, and once more let him be cursed how he plotted. Then he thought, then he frowned and looked in a bad tempered way; then he turned back and was proud then he said this is nothing but magic from that of old, this is nothing but the word of a human being’. [TMQ 74: 18-25]

Corrupting the message

An-Nadr bin Harith went to Persia to learn stories and bring them back to Mecca to call the people saying: come to me, I have better stories to tell, and I provide dancing girls!
“And of mankind is he who purchases idle talks (music singing etc) to mislead men from the path of Allah! [TMQ 31:6]

‘This (Quran) is nothing but a lie that he (Muhammed) has invented and others have helped him at it. Tales of the ancients, which he (Muhammed) has written down, and they are dictated to him morning & afternoon.’ [TMQ 25:4-5]

Bargaining, negotiations and temptations

Quraish came to the Prophet and wanted to make a deal: let’s worship Allah for a day & you worship our gods for a day then decide; Prophet* said he would never agree to that
Later, a better offer: one week for 1 day
Later, a better offer: month for 1 day
Allah said: ‘They wish that you would compromise so that they can compromise with you’ [TMQ]
And then later: Surah Kaforoon was revealed.

They became upset because they were always compromising and the Prophet would refuse to compromise any part of the message of Islam. They thought this was very unreasonable! They would set up meetings to discuss how to deal with the Prophet and the Muslims and even get specific (think-tank) groups to come up with ways of tackling the 'problems' of the Muslims.

Setting challenges

The following long narration / story incorporates the above section (Bargaining, negotiations & temptations) together with the setting of challenges for the Prophet* to prove he is a prophet:

Leaders of Quraish sent for Prophet* to speak with him and wanted to exhaust all avenues of reason and negotiation. The Prophet* came rushing eagerly and was hopeful before this special meeting.
Then Utbah started: O Muhammed we sent for you to reconcile with you. By God, we know of no Arab man who has ever brought his people as much trouble as you have done. You have reviled the forefathers, criticised the religion, ridiculed our values, cursed the gods and divided our community. Every unpleasant thing you have done to make a rift between you and us. Never has a person brought on so much evil on his people like you have.
O Muhammed, if you are presenting this message because you are in need of money we will collect all our money and make you the richest amongst us;
If you are seeking power then we will appoint you king over us;
If you are desiring women we will chose the best 10 women in Quraish and marry them to you;
If you are possessed by demons then we will spend all our money to find you a cure even if we go broke
The Prophet replied: what you have said does not apply to me, I do not want money, or sovereignty…Allah has sent me as a Messenger and has ordered me to bring this message to you from my Lord. If you accept it you will benefit in this life and the next. If you reject it I will await Allah’s decision until he decides between me and you.

If you are turning down our offers, you know how narrow our land is – why don’t you ask Allah to level the mountains and give us more space & land, and make some rivers flow live Iraq & Syria; and bring back to life some of our forefathers like Qusay bin Kalab as he was very wise, and we want to ask him if you are true – if you agree to all that and our forefathers agree to it them we will follow you…
The Prophet replied: this is not why I have been sent and I have only brought you what Allah ahs sent me with. Accept or reject it

Then ask your Lord to send down an angel who will witness to the truth; and build us castles, treasures of gold & silver. And why don’t you ask him to fulfil your needs as we see you struggling every day. If you are so close to Allah then ask him to give you wealth so we can see how prestigious you are – if you are claiming to be a messenger.
The Prophet replied: I am not going to do so, I am not one to ask such things of his Lord. I have been sent to announce & warn: accept it or reject it

Ask your Lord to bring down this punishment you have been promising then on our heads now!
The Prophet replied: that is up to Allah, if He wishes He will do that

Oh Muhammed, doesn’t your Lord know we are going to ask you these questions? We know who is teaching you all this, you are being taught by a man in Yamama call Ar-Rahman and we are never going to believe in that man!

There were further insults before they all left and one man returned who was the cousin of the Prophet*.
Abdullah ibn Ummaiya said: O Muhammed, your people have offered you the best offers and you have turned them down, then they asked you to perform miracles and you refused, then they asked you to bring punishment on them and you didn’t. I tell you what – I’m not going to believe in you bring a ladder that goes all the way to heaven and then you climb it whilst I am watching you and you ask Allah for a letter saying you are a prophet, have Him sign it and that letter should be sent down with four angels to witness it. Even then I think I will not believe in you!
The Prophet* returned home dejected.


The Quraish would also sent ‘experts’ to deal with the Prophet* about how to tackle him and his ideas, for example they sent a delegation to Yathrib to discuss with the Jews and came back with trick questions.

On another occasion, Utbah bin Rabiah (an expert in magic & negotiations) asked the Prophet* who is better, Muhammed or Abdul Muttalib? What about Muhammed’s father? If you (Muhammed) claim they are better than you they worshipped the gods you criticise, and if you are better than them speak! By Allah, we have never seen any fool more harmful to his people than you, caused division & dissention between us, criticised our religion, and disgraced us in the eyes of the Arabs that they say there is a sorcerer amongst Quraish. We are just waiting for the cry of a pregnant woman and we will be at each others necks. What do you want – wealth, stature, kingship?
When Utbah returned he told the Quraish that he didn’t understand the Prophet’s response and recitation, and what he way saying other than the Quraish would be punished.
The leaders of the Quraish scalded him and said Muhammed was speaking in Arabic and you didn’t understand? Woe to you, you have fallen under his spell!

Pressurising

The Quraish also tried to put external pressure on the Prophet* by talking with those who had influence over him. The other leaders (like community leaders) who were protecting him.

Quraish tried to pressure Abu Talib to get Prophet* to stop, saying he was disturbing their meetings and worships, so tell him to stay away from them. Abu Talib asked Aqil to bring the Prophet* to him and he found the Prophet* and went to Abu Talib. ‘Your people are complaining so why don’t you stop?’
The Prophet* looked at the sun and said that I am no more capable of stopping the message than you are from getting a flame from the sun. With this Abu Talib gave the Prophet permission to carry on his Dawa as he believed he was telling the truth about his preaching.

Later the Quraish would boycott and isolate the Prophet* was when Banu Hashim refused to hand over the Prophet.

Persecution and torture

Initially the Prophet* was protected through Abu Talib and provided for by Khadija. The followers were viciously persecuted and this would hurt the Prophet* a lot.

Some of the persecutions and tortures were:

• Wrapping up the Muslims in shields of iron and leaving them in the desert sun
• Bilal would be placed in the hot desert and rocks put oon him but he would say ‘Ahad’. Later when asked why he would say Ahad he replied that this statement would anger (his master) Umaiya bin Khalaf the most! Bilal was also dragged by a rope through the streets
• Even the nobility were tortured: Uthman bin Affan was wrapped in a carpet & jumped upon, or wrapped in palm leaves and fire set underneath
• Abu Bakr sought to emigrate
• Umer was harassed
• Mus’ab ibn Umair: was rich but then starved and thrown out of his house
• Sumaiya (the first martyr in Islam) and her husband Yasir were killed by Abu Jahl, and Ammar recanted some beliefs but then went to the Prophet* and Allah revealed: ‘Whoever disbelieved in Allah after his belief, except him who is forced thereto and whose heart is at rest with Iman’ [TMQ 16:106].

Abu Jahl was the spearhead and would threaten or torture all newcomers to Islam. The Quraish would spy on all the Muslims and who they would meet and talk to (outsiders would try to visit Prophet* secretly)

Khabab bin Arrat asked the Prophet* to make du’a for victory when by the Kaaba. The Prophet* got angry stating that there was a people before them who were combed in iron combs getting the flesh off from their bones, others sawn in half for their deen. Khabab needed to have patience. Later Umer asked all to talk about their experiences in Mecca, and Khabab lifted his shirt showing deep black holes in his back. These were due to hot red rocks placed on sand and he was thrown on it & he could smell the grease & flesh burn.

Attempted Assassination

These occurred after the death of Abu Talib. Allah mentions in the Qur’an: ‘They attempted to drive you out of your land, to imprison you and to kill you.’ [TMQ]


News

This Saturday's The Guardian contained many articles about Muslims and Islam. Many of them showed how similar many Muslims are now to the earlier times in Islam. There are parallels between the Meccan period of Dawa and today:

On the front page there is the main article (Government anti-terrorism strategy 'spies' on innocent) that talks about how the UK government is spying on Muslims of all ages, gathering information about their beliefs, ideas, people they meet with and what they do. Compare with the Seerah section on ‘Insults, bullying & harassment’ and ‘Persecution and torture’ where they would spy on Muslims.

On page 4, there was an article on torture of Muslims (Judges overrule attempt to suppress torture evidence) and on page 5 an attempt to justify the torture of Muslims (MI5 chief defends links with foreign agencies accused of torture).

Also on these pages, an article about putting pressure on Muslims in the UK through spying, slander, changing the message of Islam and pressurising the leaders of Muslims to change their ideas and setting them challenges tpo prove they are loyal (through the Preventing Violent Extremism government project): ‘Communities fear project to counter extremism is not what it seems’. Some Muslims have accepted money and succumbed to temptations through bargaining and justify these actions (Spying morally right, says thinktank).

Far-right MP basks in limelight after overturning ban to enter Britain was the headline on page 10, about an elected politician who says “the Qur'an should be banned”. This article highlights the slander of the Prophet*, corrupting the message of Islam and trying to pressurise the Muslims.

Page 17 had an article about the recent Gaza War (Israel rejects UN council backing for Gaza war crimes report) that highlights how Muslims are still being boycotted, pressurised and persecuted.