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Weekly Comment |
At the Altar of Expedience,
Minorities Suffer
Eleven months ago to the day,
the 2008 Summer Olympic Games
kicked-off in Beijing amidst
unrest in Tibet and a reported
crackdown on the Uighurs in
Xianjiang province by Chinese
authorities.
The
crackdown, as the authorities
rationalised then, was due to
the threats the Uighurs had
issued that they would violently
target the games. This official
line contradicted the fact that
Rebiya Kadeer, the exiled Uighur
leader, had earlier condemned
violence.
Today, with the
curtain long drawn over the
games, the Uighurs condition
remains much the same, but also
increasingly fatal. Two days
ago, Chinese authorities’
initial attempt to stop what
started-off as peaceful protests
by the ethnic Uighurs has
resulted in the loss of well
over 150 lives in a day.
The current clashes between
the Uighurs and Han Chinese are
said to be the "deadliest since
China was founded in 1949".
The Uighur have for decades
resisted cultural domination at
the hands of the Chinese.
Recently, Mandarin was imposed
as a medium of instruction in
schools replacing their ethnic
dialect. They have accused
Beijing in the past of settling
the Han Chinese in Xianjiang in
order to erase their culture and
identity.
With each and
every flare up, Beijing lays the
blame at the door of exile-based
movements perceived to be used
by hostile foreign powers to
destabilise China. Yet factors
feeding the resentment are there
for all to see. The province’s
autonomy is but in name only
with the real power in the hands
of a Communist Party
representative.
The
Uighur who are predominantly
Muslim have since 1949 seen the
number of their masajid go down
with exacting restrictions on
the practice of their faith. For
example, madrasah education is
strictly controlled and no
under-18s are allowed to attend
a masjid.
Our contention
is that the Chinese government
should deal with this matter
decisively paying attention to
the grievances of the Uighur and
other minorities. The policies
in Beijing have to change to
recognise and respect minority
interests. It is unsustainable
to foist patriotism on
minorities under a regime which
is not sensitive to particular
needs in the name of ‘One
China’.
The international
community should also
unequivocally urge China to
address the mounting ethnic
tensions in a manner that
respects human dignity and
cultural rights especially of
minorities.
Ethnic
Uighurs number well over 8
million. Their population is
much greater than many states
which have asserted and realised
self-determination. They should
not be forgotten by the ‘free’
world at the altar of
expedience, in the name of trade
and economic ties with China. |
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C O N T E N T
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Summarised
Jumuah Bayaan |
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Question and
Answer |
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Update |
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Message from the Ameer |
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I N F O R M A
T I O N |
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Min. Mahr |
R 127.69 |
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Mahr Faatimi |
R 6,384.40 |
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Zakaat Nisaab |
R 2,553.76 |
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Words of Wisdom |
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Hadith of the Week |
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It's a Disease |
Wa'il said: ‘Tariq ibn
Suwayd Radhi-Allah Ta’aala
anhu asked the Prophet
Sallallahu ‘alayhi wassallam
about wine, but he forbade
it. Tariq Radhi-Allah
Ta’aala anhu said to him:
“Prophet of Allah, I want to
use it as a medicine.” The
Prophet Sallallahu ‘alayhi
wassallam said: “It's a not
a medicine but a disease.”’
(Muslim)
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Quotation
of
the Week |
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Beneficial Knowledge |
Knowledge makes you free
from the chains of
ignorance, and revives your
heart, knowledge takes you
out of darkness of
suspicions and
superstitions, and gives a
new light to your eyes.
(Abu Ali Saqfi
Rahmatullah ‘alayhi)
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Point of Reflection |
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Sound Savings |
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To give away is to make
provision for the future.
(Tswana Proverb)
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Q and A |
Question:
When a
beneficiary is forfeiting
his/her rights in an estate,
is it necessary that the
monies be handed to the
"correct" beneficiary(ies)
in the first instance, who
may then hand the monies to
anyone else (e.g.
sister-in-law, etc) OR will
a letter waiving ones rights
be sufficient?
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Answer:
If a beneficiary does not
wish to receive his/her
share in an estate then
he/she can withdraw from the
distribution and only the
remaining heirs will
inherit. In this case a
letter waiving his rights
will be sufficient. [As
Siraaji p.26 - Meer Muhammad
Kutub Khana Karachi]
If a beneficiary does not
wish to receive his/her
share in an estate, but
he/she wants that share to
be given to a particular
person, then although a
letter ceding and not merely
forfeiting his right to that
person would be valid, but
to avoid the possibility of
a dispute or
misunderstanding arising
he/she should rather take
possession of his/her share
and later on give whatever
he/she wants to from that
share to whoever else he/she
wishes. [Al Ashbaah wan
Nazaair p.375 - Darul Fikr
Damascus & Al Hidaayah v.2
p.624 - Makataba Shirkate 'Ilmiyyah
Multan]
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U P D A T E |
Obituary: Moulana Bayazid Pandor
The Ulama
fraternity today mourns the
passing of Moulana Bayazid
Pandor who is also the father of
Moulana Khalid Pandor of Lenasia
Muslim School. From Allah we
came and to Him is the return.
His burial takes place this
afternoon at Avalon, south of
Johannesburg.
Moulana
Bayazid was one of the senior
Ulama in the country whose
family was closely linked to the
family of Moulana Asad Madni in
India.
We pray to the
Almighty to grant the deceased
Jannatul Firdaus and his family
fortitude at this moment of a
sense of loss.
Taalimi Board Workshops
The visiting delegations of
workshop facilitators of the
Jamiatul Ulama’s Taalimi Board
to Kenya and Madagascar have
returned. Their trips have
helped in forging closer
cooperation with affiliate
organisations of the Jamiatul
Ulama Taalimi Board.
Supervision and assessment of
madrasah work will in future be
facilitated by the Taalimi
Board. The Taalimi board will
also continue to assist by
transferring expertise in
teaching techniques to these
organisations .
Another Opportunity for Earning
Thawaab Jaariya
Alhamdulillah the budget for a
new musallah at OR Tambo
International Airport’s new
terminal was reached. The
Jamiatul Ulama would like to
thank all those who contributed
to this project which has
already started as reported in
the newsletter’s earlier
edition.
Meanwhile, an
appeal is hereby extended to all
Muslims to contribute to the
Jamiatul Ulama’s collaborative
initiative with Ikhwana Islamiya
in Soweto where an Islamic
centre is nearing completion.
The project, which is under
Siddiqi Trust shall comprise of
a mosque, imam’s house as well
as madrasah classrooms in
Orlando East, Soweto. This is
yet another opportunity for
earning thawaab jaariya.
Electronic fund transfer details
are as follows:
Name of
Account: Siddiqi Trust
Bank:
HBZ Bank Ltd
Branch:
Fordsburg
Code: 570105
Account No.: 11 901 121864
Via ABSA
Name of Account:
HBZ Bank Ltd
Branch Code:
632005
Account No.: 0101 323
1601
Ref: 21008105 (MUST
Quote. Very Important.)
Via Standard Bank
Name of
Account: HBZ Bank Ltd
Branch
Code: 00520508
Account No.:
002 502 410
Ref: 21008105
(MUST Quote. Very Important.)
Kindly fax deposit slip for
record purposes to: 011 373 8022
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Summarised Jumu’ah
Bayaan: |
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Greeting |
“When you are
greeted with a greeting,
greet in return with
what is better than it,
or (at least) return it
equally. Certainly,
Allah is Ever a Careful
Account Taker of all
things.” (4:86)
•
Rasulullah sallallahu
alayhi wasallam has
taught how live with
each other with mutual
understanding and
respect. At the same
time we have been
educated regarding our
rights and obligations
upon one another. If we
carry them out
understanding it to be a
responsibility upon our
shoulders, we will be
able to live peacefully
in society.
•
The aforementioned verse
of the Noble Qur’an
clearly indicates that
greeting and replying to
it is a teaching which
comes directly form
Allah, the Almighty. A
host of Ambiyaa alayhi
mussalaam have been
addressed by Allah with
the words of peace Surah
Saafaat:
“Salam
(peace) be upon Nuh
(Noah) (from Us) among
the ‘Alamin (mankind,
jinn and all that
exists)!” (79)
“Salam (peace) be upon
Ibrahim (Abraham)!”
(109)
“Salam (peace)
be upon Musa (Moses) and
Harun (Aaron)” (120)
“Salam (peace) be upon
Ilyasin (Elias)!” (130)
“And peace be on the
Messengers! And all the
praises and thanks be to
Allah, Lord of the ‘Alamin
(mankind, jinn and all
that exists).” (181-182)
• Abu Hurairah
radhiyallahu anhu
narrated that Rasulullah
sallallahu alayhi
wasallam said, ‘The
rights of a Muslim over
another Muslim are five:
answering a greeting,
visiting the sick,
following the funeral
procession, accepting an
invitation, and replying
to the prayer of one who
sneezes.’ (Bukhari and
Muslim)
• Allah
taught us how to greet
our families upon
entering the home. In
Surah Nur, Allah states:
“But when you enter the
houses, greet one
another with a greeting
from Allah (i.e. say As-Salamu
‘Alaikum - peace be on
you) blessed and good.
Thus Allah makes clear
the Ayat (these Verses
or your religious
symbols and signs) to
you that you may
understand.” (24:61) It
is always recommended
that one enters the home
greeting its
inhabitants. Such that
if there is nobody in
the home, still too the
greeting should be:
Assalaamu Alaina Wa Alaa
‘Ibaadillahis Saaliheen
(Peace be upon us and
upon the good servants
of Allah).
• An
easy and simple
prescription to enter
into Jannah has been
taught to us in the
Hadith. Abu Hurairah
radhiyallahu anhu
narrated that Rasulullah
sallallahu alayhi
wasallam said, ‘You will
not enter Paradise until
you believe and you will
not believe (in a
complete sense) until
you love one another.
Shall I not guide you to
a way which if you
inculcate, you will love
one another? Spread the
greeting of peace
(salaam) among
yourselves.’ (Muslim)
• A Muslim is
not one who is reserved
in his personality by
confining his
interaction only among
acquaintances. Abdullah
bin ‘Amr bin Al Aas
radhiyallahu anhu
narrated that a person
asked Rasulullah
sallallahu alayhi
wasallam, ‘Which (part)
of Islam is best?’ He
replied to him, ‘You
feed others; you say
greetings of peace
whoever you know and to
those whom you don’t
know.’ (Bukahri and
Muslim)
• The
concept of greeting in
not a new phenomenon of
Islam only. From the
inception of the
universe, this practise
had been initiated. Abu
Hurairah radhiyallahu
anhu narrated that
Rasulullah sallallahu
alayhi wasallam said,
‘When Allah created Adam
alayhis salaam He
addressed him, ‘Go and
say peace to those - a
group of angels sitting
- and listen to how they
are going to reply to
your greeting, as it is
your greeting and the
greeting of your
offspring.’ Adam alayhis
salaam said (to them):
Assalamu Alaikum (peace
be upon you). They
replied: Wa Alaikumus
Salaam Wa Rahmatullah.’
(Bukhari and Muslim)
Thus, this form of
greeting continued to be
a custom in the lives of
the Ambiyaa alayhimus
salaam and their
followers in the
generations to come.
• When Allah deputed
angels to meet Ibrahim
alayhis salaam in order
to give him the glad
tidings of a son, they
addressed him with the
greetings of peace. The
incident is mentioned in
Surah Zaariyaat, “Has
the story reached you,
of the honoured guests
[three angels; Jibril
along with another two]
of Ibrahim (Abraham)?
When they came in to him
and said: ‘Salam, (peace
be upon you)!’ He
answered: ‘Salam, (peace
be upon you),’ and said:
‘You are a people
unknown to me.”
(51:24-25)
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Message from the Ameer of
the Jamiatul Ulama |
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When Begging of
Allah, Do it with Conviction |
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(This is a re-run of one
of the Ameer’s previous
messages) |
In the explanation of the
Hadith Shareef which says,
"a person's du'a is
accepted," it is mentioned
that sometimes a person
makes a du'a and whatever he
asks for is granted
immediately. This person
becomes amazed and says,
"Why didn’t I make another
du’a which would have also
been immediately accepted?"
How are du’as accepted?
It is mentioned in a
Hadith that on certain
occasions Allah Ta'ala
orders the angels to grant
us exactly what we had asked
for; irrespective whether
the supplication is correct
or not. The request is
fulfilled in the same manner
that it was asked for. That
is why; we must exercise
great caution in our speech.
Sometimes it occurs
such that the supplication
is not granted but instead
something better and of a
superior quality is obtained
which we never even dreamt
of. This is also the result
of the du'a.
Sometimes it transpires that
neither the du'a made for is
granted nor is a similar or
better thing attained. But
instead a calamity, which
was to have befallen
oneself, due to some wrong
action committed, is
obliterated (cancelled).
This is also in fact the
result of the du'a being
accepted.
Sometimes
it also transpires that in
this world there are no
apparent signs of one's du'a
being accepted. However in
the hereafter it will be
revealed to us that a
certain du'a made in this
world, which was apparently
not accepted, has been
accepted and this is the
reward for it. We will
receive such great rewards
that our minds cannot even
perceive them. That is the
time when we will exclaim:
"It would have been better
had none of my du'as been
accepted in the world, so
that I could be fully
rewarded here. The rewards
here are so much greater."
This world is going to
terminate. Whatever one asks
for in this temporary world
will be granted but the
person should be aware that
he is asking for such things
that will eventually
terminate. Shouldn’t he
rather ask for those things
that are everlasting.
Nevertheless, the du`as
we make are accepted as soon
as we ask them. Let not
opportunities go wasted, and
when we ask, let us have
conviction that our du`as
are indeed being listened to
and answered the very
moment.
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