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Weekly Comment |
Curiosity Demands Responsibility
The landing
on the moon 40 years ago was
indeed a momentous occasion.
Others supply ‘proofs’ that the
“small step for man” was nothing
but a “giant hoax.” Their
efforts to discredit the lunar
landing are testimony that this
could not have been a small feat
for humankind.
The need to
land on the moon was driven by a
desire of one superpower wanting
to beat another in the space
race. It was in the 1960s that
the Cold War was just beginning
to hot up with high stakes in
national pride for a nation that
could make it first to the moon.
There are ambitions to
land on other heavenly bodies.
In our time, planet Mars is
often mentioned as a most likely
destination. Unmanned missions
have been sent to probe and
time-tables for landing there
are being mooted. A return to
the moon’s surface could also be
in no way less significant.
There hasn’t been a single lunar
landing since 1972.
Space
programmes do not come on small
budgets. Furthermore, success in
venturing into outer space has
been very erratic. A striking
contrast to that is the fact
that man’s inquisitiveness
remains undiminished.
Scientific
frontiers are continuously being
breached by research and
discovery. With scientific
progress has come climatic
change that also exposes the
fragility of the living planet
as an abode of humanity, albeit
temporal. However, do we have
the requisite responsibility
that scientific curiosity
demands?
Science should not be driven by
materialistic imperatives only.
A ‘man- conquering-nature’
attitude has overtones of
transgression before the
Creator. Rather, advances in
science should be driven by the
desire to make the planet a
better place. A balance should
be struck so that humanity lives
in harmony with the rest of
creation. World events show that
the high price for comforts of
rich nations paid by exploited
lands will eventually destroy
all of us.
Humanity is
today producing more than what
is required. Yet
artificially-created bottlenecks
in distribution deprive parts of
the globe supplies that are in
excess elsewhere. In that there
is man-made famine.
Humanity is
today patenting life-forms in a
way that living and things that
support life are monetised and
commoditised. In that there is a
‘health’ that becomes the
preserve of the rich.
Humanity is
today gripped in a frenzy of
consumer technologies that
offers conveniences that make an
individual really ‘independent.’
In that there is a being that
now depends on mind-altering
substances.
Grameen
Bank’s Professor Muhammad Yunus
recently challenged us when he
delivered the Seventh Nelson
Mandela Annual Lecture: “If we
can go all the way to land on
the moon, can’t we go to our
neighbour’s house? Is it that
impossible?”
It is time
to opt out of the rat race and
reclaim a humanity that is
oft-returning to the Creator. |
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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 124.18 |
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Mahr Faatimi |
R 6,209.04 |
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Zakaat Nisaab |
R 2,483.61 |
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Words of Wisdom |
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Hadith of the Week |
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Charity |
Prophet Muhammad
Sallallahu ‘alayhi wassallam
said: “Each person's every
joint must perform a charity
every day they comes up: to
act justly between two
people is a charity; to help
a man with his mount,
lifting him onto it or
hoisting up his belongings
onto it is a charity; a good
word is a charity; every
step you take to prayers
(i.e. on your way to the
mosque) is a charity and
removing a harmful thing
from the road is a charity."
(Bukhari,
Muslim).
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Quotation
of
the Week |
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Allah Only |
Whoever loved anything
else except Allah,
spiritually he became dead;
and whoever spoke about
anything else except Allah,
he spoke lies.
(Abu Ali bin Hussain
Rahmatullah ‘alayhi)
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Point of Reflection |
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Character Not Stature |
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Look at a man's deeds,
not whether he is tall or
short. (Pashto
Saying)
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Q and A |
Question:
I am
looking for guidance on a
Shari’ah compliant lease
agreement on property. I own
several residential
properties and would like to
formalise my lease with the
tenants based on Shari’ah.
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Answer:
In view of the fact
that in Islamic law leasing
is a contract of exchange,
the most important element
is that there should be no
uncertainty regarding the
details of the agreement. As
far as possible, things
should be mutually agreed
upon and put in writing as
per the Qur'anic injunction
(Al-Baqarah 282).
Among other things the
following should be included
in the contract:
• The
rate at which the premises
would be let out as well as
the rate of escalation per
annum.
• The duration of
the lease e.g. monthly or
annual
• The time frame
for payment of the leasing
figure e.g. rent can be paid
upfront or after services
rendered (end of the month).
Bear in mind that in an
Islamic contract of lease,
the lessee will be obliged
to pay rent if he had
unrestricted access to the
premises but did not utilise
it.
• The tenant will not
be allowed to carry out any
activity to the detriment of
the premises without prior
consent from the body
corporate e.g. unnecessary
making of holes in the
walls.
• The contract
should be free of such
conditions that will be to
the undue benefit of either
party or the premises in
this case e.g. the tenant
will be responsible for
replacing a geyser in the
event that such need arises.
• In the event of a dispute
arising between the parties,
the matter will be referred
to a person/organisation
agreeable to both parties.
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Top> |
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U P D A T E |
Ar Rasheed is Out
The Jamiatul Ulama’s official
print newsletter, Ar Rasheed
will be available soon in
masajid around Johannesburg and
other towns in South Africa. The
electronic edition is now
available for download from this
link:
www.jamiat.co.za/special/ar1202.pdf
Download a copy now and read
articles on spirituality,
Islamic heritage and updates of
what is happening at the
Jamiatul Ulama.
Orlando East Masjid Project
The Jamiatul Ulama is appealing
to all Muslims to contribute
towards the construction of an
Islamic centre in Soweto.
The project is the Jamiatul
Ulama’s collaborative initiative
with Ikhwana Islamiya in Soweto
where construction of the
purpose-built structure is
nearing completion.
The
project, which is under Siddiqi
Trust shall comprise of a masjid,
an imam's house as well as
madrasah classrooms in Orlando
East.
Donate generously
towards this project. A
Prophetic tradition according to
Bukhari and Muslim goes:
“Whosoever builds for Allah a
masjid, Allah will reward him
similar to it in paradise."
In another narration
according to Imam Ahmad,
“Whosoever shares in building a
masjid for Allah, even if it is
as small as a bird’s nest, Allah
will build for him a house in
Paradise.”
This is one
opportunity for earning thawâb
jâriya and a special statement
of support for the growing
Muslim community in Soweto.
Direct:
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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Backbiting |
“O you who believe!
Avoid much suspicion;
indeed some suspicions
are sins. And spy not,
neither backbite one
another. Would one of
you like to eat the
flesh of his dead
brother? You would hate
it (so hate backbiting).
And fear Allah. Verily,
Allah is the One Who
forgives and accepts
repentance, Most
Merciful.” (49:12)
• Major sins are
indeed the cause for all
misery, evil and torment
in this world and the
Hereafter. Among the
destructive major sins
are backbiting and
slandering. These two
sins were forbidden by
Allah through His
Messenger sallallahu
alayhi wasalam because
they sow enmity, evils
and discord among people
and lead to destruction.
They make their
perpetrator regret when
regret will be of no
avail. They cause
hostilities between
people of the same
household and between
neighbours and
relatives. They decrease
good deeds and increase
evil ones; and lead to
dishonour and ignominy.
• When one reflects
deeply over the
comparison of backbiting
to eating the flesh of
one’s brother in the
aforementioned verse, it
will be enough to keep
one away from
backbiting. Abu Hurairah
radhiyallahu anhu
narrated that Rasulullah
sallallahu alayhi
wasalam asked, ‘Do you
know what backbiting
is?’ They said, ‘Allah
and His Messenger know
best.’ He then said, ‘It
is to say something
about your brother that
he would dislike.’
Someone asked him, ‘But
what if what I say is
true?’ Rasulullah
sallallahu alayhi
wasalam replied, ‘If
what you say about him
is true, you are
backbiting about him,
but if it is not true
then you have slandered
him.’ (Muslim).
• O Muslims! Guard your
tongue from this
debasing sin, for
whoever guards his
tongue from sins and
uses his limbs in acts
of obedience to Allah,
has prospered. Sahl ibn
Sa’d radhiyallahu anhu
narrated that Rasulullah
sallallahu alayhi
wasalam said, ‘Who
protects his tongue from
unlawful utterances and
his private parts from
illegal sexual
intercourse, I shall
guarantee him entrance
into Paradise.’ (Bukhari
& Muslim) Abu Sa’eed Al-Khudri
radhiyallahu anhu
narrated that Rasulullah
sallallahu alayhi
wasalam said, ‘When a
man wakes up in the
morning each day, all
parts of the body warn
the tongue saying, ‘Fear
Allah as regards to us,
for we are at your
mercy. If you are
upright, we will be
upright and if you are
crooked, we become
crooked.’ (Tirmidhi)
• Anas radhiyallahu
anhu narrated that
Rasulullah sallallahu
alayhi wasalam said,
‘When I was ascended to
heaven (on the journey
of Mi’raj), I passed by
a group of people who
had copper nails with
which they scratched
their faces and chests,
and I said, ‘O Jibreel,
who are these?’ He said,
‘These are those who
used to eat other
people’s flesh and
attack their honour.’
(Abu Dawud) Therefore, O
Muslim, do not treat the
issue of backbiting with
indifference because it
is a great sin. Allah
says, ‘You considered it
a little thing, while
with Allah it was very
great.’ (24:15)
• Backbiting is so
widespread that it has
become the topic of
people’s meetings and an
avenue for expressing
their anger, misgivings
and jealousy with those
who indulge in
backbiting believing
that they are hiding
their own imperfections
and harming others. They
are oblivious of the
fact that they are only
harming themselves. This
is because on the Day of
Resurrection both the
wrongdoer and the
wronged will stand
before Allah and the
wronged will appeal to
Allah to avenge the
wrong done to him, Allah
will then give this
wronged person from the
good deeds of the person
who wronged him.
• Rasulullah sallallahu
alayhi wasalam said,
‘Usury has seventy
something types, the
smallest of which is for
a man to have
intercourse with his
mother and the highest
act of usury is for a
Muslim to attack the
honour of his Muslim
brother.’ He also said,
‘Whoever protects the
honour of his brother,
Allah will protect him
from Hellfire on the Day
of Resurrection.’ (Tirmidhi)
• Gossiping
about others is also
another vicious type of
backbiting. It means
carrying tales from one
to another with the
intention of sowing
dissention among them.
Allah condemned this
deed in the following
words, “And obey not
everyone who swears
much, and is considered
worthless. A slanderer
going about with
calumny.”(68:10-11)
Rasulullah sallallahu
alayhi wasalam said,
‘The gossiper will not
enter Paradise.’
• O Muslims! Fear Allah
and take stock of
yourselves before you
are called to account
and weigh your own deeds
before they are weighed
for you.
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Message from the Ameer of
the Jamiatul Ulama |
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An Evolving Muslim
Personal Law |
Last week the constitutional
court ruled that women in
polygamous Muslim marriages
could inherit from their
deceased husband's estate.
Cape High Court judge,
Dennis van Reenen, ruled
that wives should be treated
equally and their rights
recognized for purposes of
inheritance, where the
husband does not leave a
will.
The ruling
gives rise to the
recognition of inheritance
rights for women in a Muslim
polygamous marriage. It is
however also a tacit
recognition of actual Muslim
polygamous marriages.
Many Muslims and Muslim
bodies around the country
have lauded the decision and
hailed it as ground-breaking
.
It is however
important to realise that
the judgment will form part
of a set of laws that would
apply to Muslims. This set
of laws could develop into
an evolving Muslim Personal
Law for South African
Muslims. Simply put, these
decisions/judgments form
precedents that would be
applicable to all Muslims.
The precedents of these
individual judgments put
together could be considered
as a ‘Muslim Marriages Act’,
‘Muslim Law of Inheritance’,
or ‘Muslim Personal Law’.
In of this particular
case, the judgment was found
to be favourable by Muslims
and lauded as such. However,
judgements that may be
considered in a different
light will also form part of
this growing set of laws
that would apply to all
Muslims.
It is
important to note that, as
such, a set of laws that
would govern Muslims lives
in South Africa is evolving,
and there is no input from
Muslims on how these laws
develop or what they may
contain. It is also
important to note that the
laws applicable to Muslims
are evolving in this manner,
by default, in the absence
of an approved Muslim
Personal Law Bill or Muslim
Marriages Act, etc.
The reality is that a set of
laws relevant to Muslims
will come into place. This
set of Laws can come into
place through a Muslim
Personal Law Bill or Muslim
Marriages Act, and the like
... or it can evolve on its
own – through precedents set
in court.
The
question is – which would be
the preferred manner?
May Allah guide us to
make the right decision.
Aameen.
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