Sheikh Sa'ad Al Attas

Mercy to Creation

If we are left without a guide we would be lost, The Prophet (peace and blessings upon him) is our guide

Shaykh Shabir Ali

Jesus - Isa (upon him peace)

Ibrahim (Upon him peace)made a promise to in Genesis

This promise was for Ismail (Upon him peace) and it was the rise of Islam

Isa (Upon him peace) was taken to heaven at the age of 33.

Allah's promise to perserve the Quran in sura 50.9

One of the truths of the Quran was from Allah is that it critised the Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings of Allah upon him) in it.

Hasan Basri's (May Allah Ta’ala be pleased with him) Story

Hasan Basri (May Allah Ta’ala be pleased with him) was a well dressed handsome young man who used to wander in the markets of Basra. One day he saw a beautiful woman and started to chase her. The woman saw him and said "Are you not afraid?" Hasan said, "Of whom?" She replied, "Of Him who knows the lustful movement of your eyes and reads your intentions." Hasan felt the pinch of these words, but was so overwhelmed by her sensuality that he continued to chase the lady. She said: "Why are you chasing me?" Hasan replied "I love the beauty of your eyes." The woman said: "Wait, you will soon get your ambition fulfilled." Hasan halted there thinking that the woman had also fallen in love with him. After a while a slave girl came over to him with a covered tray in her hand. Hasan uncovered the tray and found two human eyes. The slave girl said, "My lady says that she does not want to own such eyes that could enchant a stranger." Back home, Hasan cried the whole night in repentance. In the morning he decided to go back to the lady and apologise. There he saw the house of the door closed and women crying inside. On inquiry Hasan found that the woman died last night. He went back home and cried for three days. The third night he dreamed that the lady was sitting in Paradise. He asked for her forgiveness and she forgave him. She said "It is because of you Allah has given me a high status in Paradise." He asked her for some advice. She said "Whenever you are alone, recite the praise and names of AllahSubhanu wa Ta’ala, and repent your sins every morning and every evening." Hasan brought her advice into practice and attained fame as a learned and virtuous man.

Sheikh Muhammad ibn Ibrahim al Ya`qubi al Hasani

The Principles of Tasawwuf

By Sheikh Muhammad ibn al Ya`qubi al Hasani.

1.The definition:
Hundreds of definitions of Tasawwuf have been drawn.

The great scholar Sidi Ahmed Zarouq says: ”Tasawwuf has more than two thousand explanatorydefinitions; all ultimately refer to the following: True devotion to Allah from where He likes by the means He likes Some of the common definitions are:
Acting upon knowledge Noble character Acquiring the good characters andgetting rid of the bad.

2. The subject:The Divine Essence as how Allah can be known.
Another opinion says that the subject of this discipline is hearts and souls; because it works on their purification and cultivation.

Both opinions are correct as the latter looks at the goal and the former looks at the means; as it has been correctly said, ”He who knows himself will know his Lord”.

3. The fruit: The fruit or the benefit of this discipline is the purification of the heart and knowing the Master of the worlds.

4. The merit: Tasawwuf is a noble discipline of high merit. Its nobility stems from its subject. Al-Ihsan is one of the three levels of this deen and the highest.

5. The relation of this discipline to the other sciences: Tasawwuf is the base of the Sharia; without it all acts of worship would be imperfect. It is the core of the Quran and the Sunnah and the tissue of muslims spiritual life. Imam Malik (May Allah Ta'ala be pleased with him) says: ”Whoever acquires tasawwuf without fiqh is a heretic and whoever studies fiqh without tasawwuf is unrighteous and who combines both has the reality”

6. The pioneer: The word al-wadi means the one that sets forth this branch of knowledge. It is of course the Prophet (May Allah bless him and grant him peace). Many ahadith highlight this fact, most famous of which is hadith Jibril (May Allah ta'ala bless him). The first one who made this knowledge known is Sayyiduna Ali (May Allah Ta'ala be pleased with him) and then his son Sayyiduna al-Hasan (May Allah Ta'ala be pleased with him) and al-Hasan al-Basri (May Allah Ta'ala have mercy on him).

7. The name: The name of this science is tasawwuf. The word is derrived from souf: wool;or from safa: purity; or from suffa: the special place of a group of the sahaba in the Holy Sanctuary of the Prophet (May Allah bless him and grant him peace).The discipline has been known by this name since the second century ofhijra, i.e. the time of the salaf (May Allah have mercy on them). It has been frequently called ilm as-Sulouk, ilm al-Ihsan, ilm at-Tarbiyah or ilmat-Tazkiyah.

8. The sources: Tasawwuf relies on al-Quran and as-Sunnah as the sources and proofs of its material. The sayings of the great scholars are a rich treasure for the seekers and the masters alike.

9. The legal ruling: The legal ruling of studying tasawwuf is fard i.e. obligatory. Since all human beings are susceptible to sins save for the Prophets. Imam Abul Hasan ash-Shadiliy (May Allah's Ta'ala mercy be with him) ”Who does not deeply study this discipline will die persisting on major sins without being aware of it”.

10. The issues discussed:Tasawwuf tackles some of the cardinal elements of the deen such as ikhlas: sincerity; sidq: truthfulness; wara: religious cautioness; tawakkul: reliance; zuhd: asceticism; mahabba: love; and similarly their opposites,wich are called the diseases of the hearts such as insincerity; hypocrisy;arrogance; greed. It also tackles some of the subtlest subjects such as the passing of thoughts; the states of the heart; inspiration. One of its most important subjects is dhikr, the remembrance of Allah and its virtues; another is the sheikh and his qualifications, the disciple murid and his adab.

Sidi Hassan rasuul

Mercy to creation


We are all slaves of Allah Subhanu wa Ta’ala

Our sins have been forgiven for what has happened, what is coming and our bad deeds have been changed into good deeds.

Prophet Dawaud (David) (Upon him peace) Said to Allah Subhanu wa Ta’ala If the sinners knew how much they would be forgiven, there limbs would leave their bodies.

What about the Muslims

Allah Subhanu wa Ta’ala is the creator of life and our life is a test.

When Isa (Jesus) (Upon him peace) comes back a whole family will eat from a pomegranate for a whole month.

The earth will remain nourished even if there is only one person who says the kalima

Continue with what you are doing, this is the best religion

Allah Subhanu wa Ta’ala swears in the Quran
1) In Sura Yasin v.3 "By the Quran, you are the messenger."
2) Sura Balad in which an oath is taken on the land that the Prophet (peace and blessings upon him) walked

The Prophet (peace and blessings upon him) is mentioned 227 times in the Quran as "O' Prophet", a respectful title.

The Prophet (peace and blessings upon him) was given all the best characteristics of 124000 Prophets (upon them peace)

We have to strengthen our deen and this can only happen by Allah Subhanu wa Ta’ala

Sheikh Sa'ad Al Attas

"People like to discover the truth
rather than be told the truth."

Obedience

Whoever obeys Allah subhanu wa ta'ala everything obeys him.

Sheikh Abdul Aziz Fredricks

Family Relations


The generosity of person is in what they do for you, not what they spend on you.

If food is made with special effort then eat with special effort.

A caesarean section cuts through 12 layers of skin

The Prophet (peace and blessings upon him) used to stroke his wife’s hand he said (peace and blessings upon him), " Stroke your wife’s hand." Then he would ask her about her day and her problems.

The meaning of the word Adab is to put something in its right place.

Women are delicate; they are made from the rib of Adam (Upon him peace). The rib naturally inclines of mans heart. Hawa (Upon her peace) was born to incline to Adam's (Upon him peace) heart.

Don’t be surprised if your wife wishes to beautify herself.

The Prophet (peace and blessings upon him) liked 3 things about this world: Prayer, women and perfume. These are all worldly things which will benefit a person in the afterlife.

Angels like nice smells, buy expensive perfume.

Ali ibn abu talib (May Allah Ta’ala be pleased with him) said to play with your child for seven years, teach your children for seven years and be a friend for seven years.

Sheikh Saad Al Attas

Aqida

Someone becomes an unbeliever if they say that the Quran is mans word. Allah’s Subhanu wa Ta’ala Speech doesn’t need time; if we say so then we put a limit on him. No voice, no beginning and no end. The Quran is realistic proof.

Stay away from doubtful things Allah Subhanu wa Ta’ala is unimaginable; you will not see him during the day.

Allah Subhanu wa Ta’ala already knows the amount of people who will go to heaven and who will go to hell.

There is not such thing as time with Allah Subhanu wa Ta’ala, time is his creation, and time is under Allah’s Subhanu wa Ta’ala control.

Knowledge is of 2 types accessible an inaccessible

Don't argue about the Quran

Don't argue about matters of deen

It is disliked to pray behind an open sinner but the prayer is still valid

We don’t accuse anyone of Kufur, fasiq or shirk

Don't even think about touching someone else's Iman

We cannot give Allah Subhanu wa Ta’ala the characteristics of man

There is a delay of six hours in writing a sin.

A bad intention that you do nothing about is written as a good deed.

Don't speak badly about angels

Whoever goes to the fire goes out of his justice and who goes to heaven it is out of his bounty.

Heaven and hell are already created and everyone place in there is ready for them

Peoples actions are created by Allah, we are given the option to do right and do wrong.

Our sins are ours and our good deeds are from Allah Subhanu wa Ta’ala

Allah is never unjust. He is perfect far beyond doubt and flaw.

The dua of the oppressed is always answered, beware of their dua.

Nothing can be independent of Allah Subhanu wa Ta’ala, even for the blinking of an eye. No one is independent from Allah Subhanu wa Ta’ala, if he considers himself so, then he is guilty of unbelief.

Allah Subhanu wa Ta’ala is pleased and angered but not like a human being.

All of the prophets (Upon them peace) are better than the awliya

We believe in the last day and the events the Mahdi, Isa (Upon him peace), Dajjal

We don’t accept what soothsayers or astrologers say.

We do not despair from him mercy but we hope we will be forgiven.

No one should do takfir on anyone

We don’t fall short in our obligations or go to excesses.

Ghandi's Essay

Essay: THE JEWS
Ghandi's Collected Works, Vol 74 Original Sender: Mark M. Mattison By way of William

Several letters have been received by me asking me to declare my views about the Arab-Jew question in Palestine and the persecution of the Jews in Germany. It is not without hesitation that I venture to offer my views on this very difficult question.

My sympathies are all with the Jews. I have known them intimately in South Africa. Some of them became life-long companions. Through these friends I came to learn much of their age-long persecution. They have been the untouchables of Christianity. The parallel between their treatment by Christians and the treatment of untouchables by Hindus is very close. Religious sanction has been invoked in both cases for the justification of the inhuman treatment meted out to them. Apart from the friendships, therefore, there is the more common universal reason for my sympathy for the Jews.

But my sympathy does not blind me to the requirements of justice. The cry for the national home for the Jews does not make much appeal to me. The sanction for it is sought in the Bible and the tenacity with which the Jews have hankered after return to Palestine. Why should they not, like other peoples of the earth, make that country their home where they are born and where they earn their livelihood?

Palestine belongs to the Arabs in the same sense that England belongs to the English or France to the French. It is wrong and in-human to impose the Jews on the Arabs. What is going on in Palestine today cannot be justified by any moral code of conduct. The mandates have no sanction but that of the last war. Surely it would be a crime against humanity to reduce the proud Arabs so that Palestine can be restored to the Jews partly or wholly as their national home.

The nobler course would be to insist on a just treatment of the Jews wherever they are born and bred. The Jews born in France are French in precisely the same sense that Christians born in France are French. If the Jews have no home but Palestine, will they relish the idea of being forced to leave the other parts of the world in which they are settled? Or do they want a double home where they can remain at will? This cry for the national home affords a colourable justification for the German expulsion of the Jews.

But the German persecution of the Jews seems to have no parallel in history. The tyrants of old never went so mad as Hitler seems to have gone. And he is doing it with religious zeal. For he is propounding a new religion of exclusive and militant nationalism in the name of which any inhumanity becomes an act of humanity to be rewarded here and hereafter. The crime of an obviously mad but intrepid youth is being visited upon his whole race with unbelievable ferocity. If there ever could be a justifiable war in the name of and for humanity, a war against Germany, to prevent the wanton persecution of a whole race, would be completely justified. But I do not believe in any war. A discussion of the pros and cons of such a war is therefore outside my horizon or province.

But if there can be no war against Germany, even for such a crime as is being committed against the Jews, surely there can be no alliance with Germany. How can there be alliance between a nation which claims to stand for justice and democracy and one which is the declared enemy of both? Or is England drifting towards armed dictatorship and all it means?
Germany is showing to the world how efficiently violence can be worked when it is not hampered by any hypocrisy or weakness masquerading as humanitarianism. It is also showing how hideous, terrible and terrifying it looks in its nakedness. Can the Jews resist this organized and shameless persecution? Is there a way to preserve their self-respect, and not to feel helpless, neglected and forlorn? I submit there is. No person who has faith in a living God need feel helpless or forlorn. Jehovah of the Jews is a God more personal than the God of the Christians, the Mussalmans or the Hindus, though, as a matter of fact in essence, He is common to all and one without a second and beyond description. But as the Jews attribute personality to God and believe that He rules every action of theirs, they ought not to feel helpless.

If I were a Jew and were born in Germany and earned my livelihood there, I would claim Germany as my home even as the tallest gentile German may, and challenge him to shoot me or cast me in the dungeon; I would refuse to be expelled or to submit to discriminating treatment. And for doing this, I should not wait for the fellow Jews to join me in civil resistance but would have confidence that in the end the rest are bound to follow my example. If one Jew or all the Jews were to accept the prescription here offered, he or they cannot be worse off than now. And suffering voluntarily undergone will bring them an inner strength and joy which no number of resolutions of sympathy passed in the world outside Germany can. Indeed, even if Britain, France and America were to declare hostilities against Germany, they can bring no inner joy, no inner strength. The calculated violence of Hitler may even result in a general massacre of the Jews by way of his first answer to the declaration of such hostilities. But if the Jewish mind could be prepared for voluntary suffering, even the massacre I have imagined could be turned into a day of thanksgiving and joy that Jehovah had wrought deliverance of the race even at the hands of the tyrant. For to the godfearing, death has no terror. It is a joyful sleep to be followed by a waking that would be all the more refreshing for the long sleep.

It is hardly necessary for me to point out that it is easier for the Jews than for the Czechs to follow my prescription. And they have in the Indian satyagraha campaign in South Africa an exact parallel. There the Indians occupied precisely the same place that the Jews occupy in Germany. The persecution had also a religious tinge. President Kruger used to say that the white Christians were the chosen of God and Indians were inferior beings created to serve the whites. A fundamental clause in the Transvaal constitution was that there should be no equality between the whites and coloured races including Asiatics.

There too the Indians were consigned to ghettos described as locations. The other disabilities were almost of the same type as those of the Jews in Germany. The Indians, a mere handful, resorted to satyagraha without any backing from the world outside or the Indian Government. Indeed the British officials tried to dissuade the satya-grahis from their contemplated step. World opinion and the Indian Government came to their aid after eight years of fighting. And that too was by way of diplomatic pressure not of a threat of war.
But the Jews of Germany can offer satyagraha under infinitely better auspices than the Indians of South Africa. The Jews are a compact, homogeneous community in Germany. They are far more gifted than the Indians of South Africa. And they have organized world opinion behind them. I am convinced that if someone with courage and vision can arise among them to lead them in non- violent action, the winter of their despair can in the twinkling of an eye be turned into the summer of hope. And what has today become a degrading man-hunt can be turned into a calm and determined stand offered by unarmed men and women possessing the strength of suffering given to them by Jehovah. It will be then a truly religious resistance offered against the godless fury of dehumanized man.

The German Jews will score a lasting victory over the German gentiles in the sense that they will have converted the latter to an appreciation of human dignity. They will have rendered service to fellow-Germans and proved their title to be the real Germans as against those who are today dragging, however unknowingly, the German name into the mire.
And now a word to the Jews in Palestine. I have no doubt that they are going about it the wrong way. The Palestine of the Biblical conception is not a geographical tract. It is in their hearts. But if they must look to the Palestine of geography as their national home, it is wrong to enter it under the shadow of the British gun. A religious act cannot be performed with the aid of the bayonet or the bomb. They can settle in Palestine only by the goodwill of the Arabs.

They should seek to convert the Arab heart. The same God rules the Arab heart who rules the Jewish heart. They can offer satyagraha in front of the Arabs and offer themselves to be shot or thrown into the Dead Sea without raising a little finger against them. They will find the world opinion in their favour in their religious aspiration. There are hundr-eds of ways of reasoning with the Arabs, if they will only discard the help of the British bayonet. As it is, they are co-sharers with the British in despoiling a people who have done no wrong to them.
I am not defending the Arab excesses. I wish they had chosen the way of non-violence in resisting what they rightly regarded as an unwarrantable encroachment upon their country. But according to the accepted canons of right and wrong, nothing can be said against the Arab resistance in the face of overwhelming odds.

Let the Jews who claim to be the chosen race prove their title by choosing the way of non-violence for vindicating their position on earth. Every country is their home including Palestine not by aggre-ssion but by loving service. A Jewish friend has sent me a book called The Jewish Contribution to Civilization by Cecil Roth. It gives a record of what the Jews have done to enrich the world’s literature, art, music, drama, science, medicine, agriculture, etc. Given the will, the Jew can refuse to be treated as the outcaste of the West, to be despised or patronized. He can command the attention and respect of the world by being man, the chosen creation of God, instead of being man who is fast sinking to the brute and forsaken by God. They can add to their many contributions the surpassing contribution of non-violent action.
SEGAON, November 20, 1938
Harijan, 26-11-1938
(Vol. 74, pp. 239-242)

Climb

You can climb up
You can fall down
When hard times come hold on
When good times come keep going
As fast as you can

The Last Interview Malcolm X

The Last Interview Malcolm X,

Al-Muslimoon Staff (from the Malcolm X Museum)

Taken from Al-Muslimoon Magazine, February, 1965

note - This set of responses to written questions from the Arabic-language monthly Al-Muslimoon, published by the Islamic Center in Geneva, Switzerland, is the last record of Malcolm's thinking. He wrote most of the responses the night of the fire-bombing of his home and wrote the last two as he sat in a Manhattan hotel the night before his death.

AL-MUSLIMOON: The Black Muslim Movement is one of the most controversial movements in the United States. Having been for a considerable period [of time] its main organizer and most prominent spokesman, could you kindly give us some concise firsthand picture of the background of this movement, its history, its main ethics and its actual strength?

MALCOLM X: Elijah Muhammad allowed himself to become insanely jealous of my own popularity, which went even beyond his own followers and into the non-Muslim community, while his own prestige and influence was limited largely among his immediate followers. While I was still in the movement and blind to his faults by my own uncompromising faith in him, I always thought the jealousy and envy which I saw -- constant signs of was stemming mainly and only from his immediate family, and it was quite shocking to me whenever members of his own family would warn me that it was their father (Elijah Muhammad himself) who had become almost insane with jealousy. When Elijah learned that his son Wallace had told me how his father had seduced his teenage secretaries (by telling them that he was the prophet Muhammad, and making each of them think she was to be his favorite and most beautiful wife Aisha) Elijah feared that my position of influence in the movement was a threat to him and his other children who were now controlling the movement and benefiting from its wealth. Because they feared my popularity with the rank-and-file Muslims, they were careful about any immediate or open move to curtail my authority without good cause, so they patiently waited until they felt that my statement about the late President Kennedy's assassination would give them the proper public support in any kind of action they'd take to curtail or remove me. At the time they announced I was to be suspended and silenced for ninety days, they had already set in motion the machinery to have me completely ousted from the movement, and Elijah Muhammad himself had already given the order to have me killed because he feared I would expose to his followers the secret of his extreme immorality.

AL-MUSLIMOON: Should these differences be of a basically ethical nature and on essential matters of faith? What, in your opinion, are the prospects of radical reform within Elijah Muhammad's followers now or in the future?

MALCOLM X: No, Elijah Muhammad himself will never change. At least I doubt it. He's too old, dogmatic, and has already gone too far in teaching that he is a greater prophet than Muhammad ibn Abdullah. He is too proud to confess to his followers now that he has deliberately taught them falsehood. But as his well-meaning followers become exposed to the true religion of Islam, they themselves will leave him and practice Islam as it should be. This is why it is so important for centers to be established immediately where true Islam can be taught. And these centers should be located at this time primarily in Black communities, because at this particular time the American Blacks are the ones showing the most interest in [the] true religion.

AL-MUSLIMOON: Have any of Elijah Muhammad's followers left the movement with you, and do you think that your breakaway from the movement has affected its main body in any considerable way?

MALCOLM X: Yes, many of Elijah's followers could not go along with his present immorality, and this opened their eyes to the other falsities of his doctrine. But we have not been able to regroup and reorganize them as we should. It takes finance, and we left all treasuries and properties with Elijah, and he uses this wealth that we amassed for him to fight us and keep us from getting organized. He is fanatically opposed to American Negroes hearing true Islam, and has ordered his own well meaning followers to cripple or kill anyone of his followers who wants to leave him to follow true Islam. He fears that true Islam will expose and destroy the power of his false teachings.

AL-MUSLIMOON: Do you plan to just stop at voicing your opposition against Elijah Muhammad and his group or do you have any course of action in mind towards establishing some new organization in the field? If so, on what basis and for what specific near or distant goals?

MALCOLM X: With what little finance we could raise, we have founded the Muslim Mosque, Inc., with headquarters here in Harlem. Our sole interest is to help undo the distorted image [that] we have helped spread about Islam. Our mosque also is for those who want to learn how to live the life of a true Muslim. However, since we live as Black Americans in a white racist society, we have established another organization which is non-religious, known as the Organization of Afro-American Unity (OAAU), and which is designed to unite all Black Americans regardless of their religious affiliation into a group that can fight against American racism and the economic, political, and social evils that stem from white racism here in this American society. With the Muslim Mosque we are teaching our people a better way of life, and with the OAAU we are fighting on an even broader level for complete respect and recognition as human beings for all Black Americans, and we are ready and willing to use any means necessary to see that this goal is reached.

AL-MUSLIMOON: What have you been actually doing since you broke away from Elijah Muhammad's movement?

MALCOLM X: I have traveled to the Middle East and Africa twice since leaving Elijah Muhammad in March of 1964, mainly to get a better understanding of Islam and the African countries, and in turn to give the Muslim world a better understanding of problems facing those of us here in America who are trying to become Muslims. Also, in Africa to give our people there a better understanding of the problems confronting Black Americans in our struggle for human rights.

AL-MUSLIMOON: Is it true that even after your breakaway from Elijah Muhammad you still hold the Black color as a main base and dogma for your drive under the banner of liberation in the United States? How could a man of your spirit, intellect, and worldwide outlook fail to see in Islam its main characteristic, from its earliest days, as a message that confirms beyond doubt the ethnological oneness and quality of all races, thus striking at the very root of the monstrosity of racial discrimination. Endless are the texts of the Qu'ran (Koran) and prophetic sayings to this effect and nothing would testify to that more than the historic fact that heterogeneous races, nations, and linguistic entities have always mingled peacefully in the homeland.

MALCOLM X: As a Black American I do feel that my first responsibility is to my twenty-two million fellow Black Americans who suffer the same indignities because of their color as I do. I don't believe my own personal problem is ever solved until the problem is solved for all twenty-two million of us. Much to my dismay, until now, the Muslim world has seemed to ignore the problem of the Black American, and most Muslims who come here from the Muslim world have concentrated more effort in trying to convert white Americans than Black Americans. (Note by Malcolm X to Al-Muslimoon editors: I had arrived back in the States from London at 4:30 p.m. on February 13, and had worked until 12:30 -- just after midnight -- on the above. I got very tired at midnight, decided to leave the above pages in the typewriter and finish early in the morning. I retired at 12:30 and exploding bombs that were thrown into my home by would be murderers rocked me and my wife and four baby daughters from sleep at 2:30 a.m. Only Allah saved us from death. This is only one of the many examples of the extremes to which the enemies of Islam will go to see that true Islam is never established on these shores. And they know that if I was so successful in helping to spread Elijah Muhammad's distorted version of Islam, it is even easier for me to organize the spread of true Islam.) There are two groups of Muslims in America: (1) those who were born in the Muslim world and migrated here, and were already Muslims when they arrived here. lf these total over 200,000, they have not succeeded in converting 1,000 Americans to Islam. (2) American-born persons who have been converted to Islam are 98 percent Black Americans. Up to now it has been only the Black American who has shown interest even in Sunni Islam. If a student of agriculture has sense enough to concentrate his farming efforts on the most fertile area of his farm, I should think the Muslim world would realize that the most fertile area for Islam in the West is the Black American. This in no way implies discrimination or racialism, but rather shows that we are intelligent enough to plant the good seed of Islam where it will grow best; later on we can "doctor up" or fertilize the less fertile areas, but only after our crop is already well planted in the heart and mind of these Black Americans who already show great signs of receptiveness. Was it not Bilal, the Black Ethiopian, who was [one of] the first to receive the seed of Islam from the Prophet himself in Arabia 1,400 years ago?

AL-MUSLIMOON: Now that you have visited and revisited many Muslim countries, what are your major impressions regarding Islam and Muslims both in the present and in the future?

MALCOLM X: We are standing at the threshold of the nuclear age. Education is a must, especially in this highly technical era. In my opinion, Muslim religious leaders have not stressed the importance of education to the Muslim communities, especially in African countries. Thus when African countries become independent, the non-Muslim areas have the higher degree of educated Africans who are thus the ones best qualified to occupy the newly created positions in government. Muslim religious leaders of today need a more well-rounded type of education and then they will be able to stress the importance of education to the masses, but ofttimes when these religious leaders themselves have very limited knowledge, education, and understanding, sometimes they purposely keep their own people also ignorant in order to continue their own personal position of leadership. They keep the people narrow-minded because they themselves are narrow-minded. In every Middle East or African country I have visited, I noticed the country is as '"advanced" as its women are, or as backward as its women. By this I mean, in areas where the women have been pushed into the background and kept without education, the whole area or country is just as backward, uneducated, and "underdeveloped." Where the women are encouraged to get education and play a more active role in the allaround affairs of the community and the country, the entire people are more active, more enlightened, and more progressive. Thus, in my opinion, the Muslim religious leaders of today must re-evaluate and spell out with clarity the Muslim position on education in general and education for women in particular. And then a vast program must be launched to elevate the standard of education in the Muslim world. An old African proverb states: "Educate a man and you educate an individual; educate a woman and you educate an entire family."

AL-MUSLIMOON: Africa seems to have captured most of your attention and eager concern. Why? And now that you have visited almost every part of it, where do you think Islam actually stands? And what, in your opinion, could be done to save it from both the brainlessness of many, or rather most of those who are considered to be the champions of its cause, and from the malicious, resourceful alliance of Zionism, atheism, and religious fanaticism against Islam?

MALCOLM X: I regard Africa as my fatherland. I am primarily interested in seeing it become completely free of outside political and economic influence that has dominated and exploited it. Africa, because of its strategic position, faces a real crisis. The colonial vultures have no intention of giving it up without a fight. Their chief weapon is still "divide and conquer." In East Africa there is a strong anti-Asian feeling being nourished among the Africans. In West Africa there is a strong anti-Arab feeling. Where there are Arabs or Asians there is a strong anti-Muslim feeling. These hostilities are not initiated by the above-mentioned people who are involved. They have nothing to benefit from fighting among themselves at this point. Those who benefit most are the former colonial masters who have now supplanted the hated colonialism and imperialism with Zionism. The Zionists have outstripped all other interest groups in the present struggle for our mother continent. They use such a benevolent, philanthropic approach that it is quite difficult for their victims to see through their schemes. Zionism is even more dangerous than communism because it is made more acceptable and is thus more destructively effective. Since the Arab image is almost inseparable from the image of Islam, the Arab world has a multiple responsibility that it must live up to. Since Islam is a religion of brotherhood and unity those who take the lead in expounding this religion are duty-bound to set the highest example of brotherhood and unity. It is imperative that Cairo and Mecca (the Supreme Council of Islamic Affairs and the Muslim World League) have a religious "summit" conference and show a greater degree of concern and responsibility for the present plight of the Muslim world, or other forces will rise up in this present generation of young, forward-thinking Muslims and the "power centers" will be taken from the hands of those that they are now in and placed elsewhere. Allah can easily do this.

Read

Sheikh Muhammad Ibn Ibrahim Al Yaqoubi

The Path to Paradise
Manchester

You have to study history in order to understand it

Study the Life of the Prophet (peace and blessings upon him)

Every good is a reflection of his perfection

Every good quality is a reflection of him

Every second of his life was recorded, every single detail is described.

Over 3,000 miracles of his life

There are preparatory sign of the Mahdi, Lunar eclipse in the 1st of Ramadan and solar eclipse at the 15th of Ramadan

Knowledge is about writing it down recording it, if you don't you will lose it

The Arabs would memorize the lineage of their horses for 20 generations

Read the story about the birth of the Prophet (peace and blessings upon him)

A mawlid in Syria would be as follows: Quran would be finished at least once, they would read Bukhari, poems, eat snacks in between and complete the Burda. They would start after zuhur and finish at isha.

They would read the whole life story of the Prophet (peace and blessings upon him) and they would memorize the lineage of the Prophet (peace and blessings upon him).

This is the right of the Prophet (peace and blessings upon him)

Buy As-shifa by Qadi Iyad

It's a tradition to interrupt studies in the month of the birth of the Prophet (peace and blessings upon him) and do something on the Prophet (peace and blessings upon him) from Rabi Al-Awal to Rabi al-thani.

Be a person who excels in one book

The writer Ajurumihyah wrote the whole grammar book facing the Ka'aba and never turned his face away from it.

If you say Al-Nar you will feel burning in Arabic but if you say fire in English maybe a fire engine will come. There is a reality to Arabic words.

Read a bit of Dahail Al-Khayrat every day

Sheikh Faisal Abdul Razak

Shamail Tirmidi


When the companions where in a room at night, The Prophet (peace and blessings upon him) came into the room and the room lit up.

He groomed his hair well; he put oil on his hair

Prophet's (peace and blessings upon him) beauty was veiled from people. So many people couldn't recognise who he was. (peace and blessings upon him). Ali (May Allah Ta’ala be pleased with him) said he never saw anyone before or after him like him.

Abu Sufan (May Allah Ta’ala be pleased with him) said he never saw anyone more beloved to the Sahaba than Muhammad (peace and blessings upon him)

Ali (May Allah Ta’ala be pleased with him) once looked at the face of the Prophet (peace and blessings upon him) then he looked at the moon, he looked again and again. He said that the face of the Prophet (peace and blessings upon him) was more beautiful than the full moon.

When the Prophet (peace and blessings upon him) would walk across the land the terrain would even itself out under his feet.

He didn't cast a shadow

If he walked out on the hot day a cloud would come over and cover him.

When the Prophet (peace and blessings upon him) and the companions would walk they would hear rocks tree etc say "We testify that you are the messenger of Allah".

The reason we walk 2 different ways for the Eid prayer because every single item will testify for us on the day of the judgement

When we go to Hajj and say labak, the rocks hear it and they recite it as well

Qadi Iyad:"Its not possible to love the Prophet (peace and blessings upon him) too much"

Think about the type of things we did until the Prophet (peace and blessings upon him) came into over lives.

"We can't follow what Allah Subhanu wa Ta’ala does but we can follow what the Prophet (peace and blessings upon him) did because all we have to do is imitate him because we could never imitate Allah Subhanu wa Ta’ala ever."

Aisha (May Allah Ta’ala be pleased with her) was once asked what was good about the Prophet (peace and blessings upon him) she said it was all good.

The Prophet (peace and blessings upon him) would talk about what they talked about but nothing vain, he would extract lessons for it. If he spoke about food he would speak about the good in it.

He wouldn’t break relationships with people, he would treat them well and he would talk to them.

He used to talk to people and make them feel like they were the best or favourite companions.
Can you treat your family like this? He had thousand of Sahba.

He said (peace and blessings upon him) the one who is merciful to the people, Allah Subhanu wa Ta’ala shows mercy to them.

Allah Subhanu wa Ta’ala doesn’t get bored with you until you get bored with him

Be mindful of your relationship with your parents.

The Prophet (peace and blessings upon him) had the softest of hands

His (peace and blessings upon him) sweat was sweeter than musk

Towards the end of his worldly life he increased his visits to "Baqih" grave in Medina and he used to the mountain of Uhud.

Sheikh Jihad Brown

From Darkness to Light

The difference between poor people and true poverty is that they don’t know Muhammad (peace and blessings upon him).

Allah Subhanu wa Ta’ala loves a heart that loves Muhammad (peace and blessings upon him)

An Inheritor is the one who remains after all is gone

Innocence and purity that is in children it's from Allah Subhanu wa Ta'ala and this should be that state of the Muslim

Look into their hearts and look into where this concern comes from

Look beyond their words, look at the motivation

We are commanded to celebrate Allah Subhanu wa Ta'ala's Mercy

Avoid breaking someone’s heart

Don't break anyone’s heart

Muhammad (peace and blessings upon him) is the perfect human being, the most complete human.

A move away from something haram (prohibited) is a hijra (move away).

We move closer to our homeland (heaven) if we come closer to Muhammad (peace and blessings upon him)

Don’t say he was poor

The one who has Allah Subhanu wa Ta'ala, what has he lost?

The poor one is the one who continues to need: possessions, social status, politics and material needs.

Move beyond the material.

There are people who if seen, remind one of the people of Allah Subhanu wa Ta'ala

Prophet (peace and blessings upon him) said My Umma is the rain, which is the good of it? The start or the end.

The rain brings the earth back to life

There is a difference between integration and assimilation. Integration means we live amongst them that’s ok but assimilation means we become like them that’s not ok.

The Prophet (peace and blessings upon him) is shown our deeds, if he sees good he praises Allah Subhanu wa Ta'ala and if he sees bad he asks Allah Subhanu wa Ta’ala to forgive us.

Muslims must become a natural resource for the people and people don't give up their natural resources up that easily.

Sheikh Saad Al Attas

The sunna is important

Dont leave a sunna once you have started it.

Roof tops

Sheikh Samir Al Nass

Living with the Quran

I like the title of this talk, because without the Quran we are not alive, it is live itself

The Quran is in our chests

The Quran is the inheritance of the Prophet (peace and blessings upon him)

"The combination of the Sunna and the Quran will purify"

The Quran is the right of Allah Ta’ala over creation

Allah Ta’ala is ready for us to spend time with his book

We will move into a world with no sickness

And there will be no need for sciences

The Quran gives a clear explanation of everything

If you want to be happy read the Quran

The only thing that will make you happy in this world is the Quran

Obtain love for Allah subhanu wa Ta'ala and the Prophet (peace and blessings upon him)

The Quran gives an explanation of everything

These are the recommendations to get closer to Allah subhanu wa ta'ala

And this is the best invitation, its open 24 hours a day.

As for this world either you will leave it or it will leave you, If you leave Allah subhanu wa ta'ala you will not be able to compensate for this loss.

"There are two different nouns used in the Quran: "this and that". "This" is related to this world and "that" is related to the afterlife. This is a book that will benefit you in both worlds."

Sheikh Yahya Rhodus

Hope, Fear and Repentance

A Muslim is always between hope and fear.

The masjid of Medina was a grave of Polytheists

This deens night is like its day, the way is clear.

Hearts take from each other without knowing so it is important to have good company

When Umar (May Allah Ta’ala be pleased with him) told the Prophet (peace and blessings upon him) was more beloved to him than everything except his self that was between his two sides. Then the Prophet (peace and blessings upon him) informed how to complete his deen during this space Umar (May Allah Ta’ala be pleased with him) was being raised in rank. Until he say that the Prophet (peace and blessings upon him) was more beloved to him than himself.

There was a man who used to follow Umar (May Allah Ta’ala be pleased with him) around, Umar asked him, “Did you make hijra to me?" The man started to think and thus began to pray. After a while Umar (May Allah Ta’ala be pleased with him) asked him "Where have you been?" He replied "I found worship is better than Umar."

The first thing a person should do it ask Allah Ta’ala for forgiveness, in any tribulation.

Allah Ta’ala may postpone, what a servant will get. When he hear the pure prayer of a servant.

Love is the essence of mercy

The prayer of Allah Ta’ala toward the Prophet (peace and blessings upon him) is mercy.

The First step is to seek forgiveness and there is no final step

WE cannot worship Allah Ta’ala, as he deserves

Tawba - Repentance

In three/four steps

1. Stop doing the action

2. Remorse

3. Vow not to return to it

4. If it involved another person fur fill their right/s.

Sheikh Yayha Rhodus

Desperate Times

Blessing are attached to each other

Only disbelievers dispear about the mercy of Allah Subhanu wa ta'ala

The time between Maghrib and Isha is a time of treasure

The door of forgiveness is always open

If a believer doesn't go through hardship then how can they attain paradise

The world is a place for tribulation, a place to earn paradise

Afflictions are oppunities to get closer to Allah subhanu wa Ta'ala

Imam Haddad had a fever for 14 years, he never told anyone about it

Umar and the companions (may Allah ta'ala be pleased with them) where happy to suffer

They had a food embargo which lasted for years

The Prophet (peace and blessing of Allah be upon him) buried all his children except, Fatima (may Allah ta'ala be pleased with her)

Problems have been made so people turn to Allah subhanu wa ta'ala

Our problem is that we need to turn back to Allah subhanu wa ta'ala and that is the victory

Its good to be strange because strangers revive the Sunna

Prophet Muhammed (Peace and blessings upon him) lives in the middle of paradise so he can be visited by his umma

There are 120 rows in paradise and there are people in this time who will be in the first row

As far as music and tv are concerned, what is haram to say/do is haram for you to listen to / watch

Don't make hijra and change your intention, in residing in this country

Imam Zaid Shakir

"We as Muslims must stand and assume full responsibility for our shortcomings and failures. We have failed to learn the lessons of history. We have failed to develop our tremendous human and material resources. We have scarcely begun to break down the barriers of sectarianism, partisanship, nationalism and ethno-centrism, which divide and weaken us. Addressing these issues is well within our ability. Our failure to do so demonstrates a lack of will, resolve and vision on our part first and foremost and cannot be attributed to the Zionist, America, the UN or anyone else".

The Hour

It doesnt concern us if the hour is near or far.

What should concern us is what we are doing.

When a man asked the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah ta'ala be upon him) When is the hour? He (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) replied What have you prepared for it?

We should be concerned about what we are preparing for the hour.

change

change comes slowly

it cannot be forced

Sheikh Muhammad Ibn Ibrahim Al Yaqoubi

Mahdi


Rich people have no dignity now

There are many evil doers, men with men, women with women

We rename sins to lessen the impact

We say salam only to those we know

Women produce heros

Kings are the worst amongst us.

Relatives are not visited

Literacy has spread

You are illerate if you don't know Allah ta'ala

The Prophet (peace and blessings upon him) never said he didn't know when the hour would be

A well known hadith is known as mutwatar

The Monguls killed one million musilms in 40 days after they sacked Baghdad

Apply the good things of other nations

The baya of the Mahdi will be witnesses by the world

The Mahdi may not be able to fully express himself in arabic. so he will move his left hand up and down.

The chronology of events are Mahdi, Isa, Dajjal

The Euphrates river will drain way and a mountain of gold will appear. 2 parties will kill 9 out 10.

It is forbidden to sell weapons to non-Muslims

A sign of the Mahdi is a lunar eclipse will begin Ramadan and solar eclipse will appear mid Ramadan

Relief will come when the muslims are in the worst of times

The Mahdi will have both religious and political power

If you see this event hold onto your deen, calm down

Talk about halal and haram to your family

Prepare yourself for supporting the Mahdi

You are only going to be asked about your self and what you have done

Muslims must fight face to face but not stab in the back

2 types of time
1) Rights to be carried out for Allah Ta’ala: prayer etc
2) Rights that cannot be made up: wasted time, actions.

The rights of every action that are that we carry out them fully

There is no time that comes upon us without a new right the Allah Ta’ala has over us

Take a moment of reflection for thanks

Every blessing is attached onto another blessing and we should show thanks
(i.e. Stretching your arm out to eat something.)

Ibn AtaAllah says, “What you have lost in your time has gone”
We can either lose it or gain from it

Time is always lost unless it is done in good deeds

If a person has a few years left of their life and looks back, Can I make up for lost time, he cant make up for one moment.

Sheikh Abdul hakim Murad

The Beginning of guidance


We are chasing an image of perfection

Bright into the light our lives by removing the addictions

All the scholars agreed that Al ghazali was the renewer of his time

This Umma is a revival of the Ibrahimic message

We have to have a balance of sprit and law; one cannot make up for the other both have to be taken at once.

Extremists are those with little intelligence and it takes intelligence to know the middle way.

Reforming the soul to resemble the Prophetic reality

Some students of Imam Huramayn broke their pens as a mark of respect after his death.

Imam Ghazali beget doubts in his intentions, he had a mental breakdown

After years of travel he returned to public life renewed in faith and begins to teach.

He found that the heart of the source of knowledge, the essence of the human being

He advised to stay away from Greek knowledge and pray then conform to the sunna

Some people are to busy arguing and accusations of bida etc. We are distracted from the real work, to bring light to our people

Instead some alims are looking for the money and not other things.

We must increase our spirituality.

Our religion is the outward as well as the inward

Al Rukn al Azum (the great pillar) is the ordering of good and banning the evil, practice what they preach.

We can't wait for help we must do it

He uses reason and logic to defeat his opponents against a mariyad of people trying to corrupt the faith

What do you do with people who don’t tow the line

Muslim will always be diverse, as a part of divine will

Iyha is still sold in abundance in Turkey.

9/10ths of our energy are directed against each other.

We need to redirect our energies

Spiritual growth is growth of iman

Develop logic to enhance your arguments

There are endless things, which distract the heart

Only go out if you need something specific, this is from sunna

Have a good opinion of your Lord

Sheikh Nuh Ha Min Keller

Ramadan Advice and beyond


The greatest work to do done in Ramadan is Tawba (repentance).

Allah Ta’ala has everything he doesn’t need anything, he looks at our hearts, the actions of the heart

“Tawba is a great work of the slave”

Allah Ta’ala loves for his servant for make repentance.

The person leaves the sin immediately and doesn’t come back. “No one is sinless except the Prophets (upon them peace) and others than Allah Ta’ala knows”

“No one can forgive us except Allah Ta’ala and we must ask him in that manner.”

The Prophet (peace and blessings upon him) was most generous of the people and he more generous in Ramadan

“Don’t be different person at home and a different person in the masjid”.

Withhold your ego and you will see blessings

Eid is not for someone who wears new clothes but for someone whose obedience to Allah Ta’ala increases.

Sheikh Naeem Abdulwali

Unseen reality


Make something sacred by pronouncing God’s (Subhanu wa Ta’ala) name over an act which you wish to complete.

The circling of the kaba is a reflection of heavenly reality of the angels circling the arsh.

Making pure our earthly existence (from anything worldly)

Reflect on the earthly reality so you can reach to the heavenly reality

The umbilical cord is attached to the arsh this is the silat raham to the arsh, the connections of mercy, with the ties of kinship, "what is the tie? The umbilical cord attached to the arsh."

He who doesn’t taste doesn’t know.

Tolerate each other

Salam alikum

Bismillah

Alhumdillah Rab al Alameen

I feel compelled to write to you, I have read this email and feel very annoyed that some in the Muslim Umma. We are spending so much time and effort on looking at the outward works. Yet not fully realised the internal effects of our actions.

Why? What good does it do if someone has a different opinion than you. Do you attack him, swear at him, Why, Isn’t this without the mercy of Allah the Almighty do, rather Muslims who are under the mercy of Allah with open eyes.

I have friends who are selifi's, Brelvi's, deobandi's and althought I completely disagree with their opinions, I don’t curse them. Why should I? You see if you are comfortable in your religion then you don’t attack anyone, you don’t need to. Some people believe so much in what they are doing they wont listen.

A Selefi friend of mine tried to convince me about certain issues about them, I looked at him as he talked and I knew that everything he said was a lie. But I didn’t curse him, he could see I was angry at him. Yet Allah controlled my anger and after this fifty minute one way 'conversation', he asked me if I had changed his mind. My reply was 'no'. Sometimes when I catch the train I hear and see the computerized announcement come up as contrary to where I am. It says 'You are in ....' but I know from experience and by using my eyes, where I am. I left my friend with a Salam, he was very annoyed with me, for not agreeing with his point of view.

Did it always be like this? No, it didn't, during the period of the Abbassids, there was a great era of translation. New ideas from the Greeks and others, where investigated. This idea of embracing works and building on knowledge had never been done before. They just where open to things and if they didn't like anything they left it.

So that’s what people who don’t like or agree what others do, leave it, don’t say anything. Or have we forgotten the Sunna of the best of creation Muhammad (peace and blessing be upon him).

Narrated 'Abdullah bin 'Amr (May Allah Ta’ala be pleased with him): The Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, said, "A Muslim is the one who avoids harming Muslims with his tongue and hands." (Sahih al-Bukhari)

To clarify nobody worships anything other than Allah the Almighty and nothing is worthy of worship except him. We have so many more important issues to deal with like the lack of understanding Islam by first of all the Muslims themselves, Education in general. If all people like you did was Da'wa you would be an amazing group. Its not reality is it.

And one final point may Allah Subhanu wa Ta’ala fill you and our hearts with the truth and help to remain steadfast on this Deen of Haqq, Ameen. Realise if we don’t stop this we will destory Islam from the inside and have no one but ourselves to blame.

Purpose of Blog

The purpose of this blog to add notes of talks given by scholars. Which will give insight to what to the scholars words.

Dear brothers and sisters

Please stop arguing