|
|
|
Weekly Comment |
|
Greece and Turkey: A Tale of
Changing Fortunes
|
Turkey has cemented itself as a
leading Muslim nation in
managing yet another election
with a credible outcome in a
peaceful manner.
The
Justice and Peace Party (AKP) of
Recep Tayyip Erdogan has managed
a majority though not strong
enough to allow it to re-write
the country’s constitution on
its own as it might have
desired.
Turkey’s
constitution was drafted in the
1980s by the military following
a coup. The AKP had been looking
for an opportunity to change the
constitution which would among
other things provide for a more
powerful presidency, through
parliament without having to
resort to a referendum.
This opportunity has however not
been secured through the outcome
of the recent elections. The AKP
required a two-thirds majority
in parliament to do so. A big
job then remains for the AKP to
seek ways of winning over
support to effect a new
constitution.
The
opposition is worried that the
AKP wants to concentrate power
within itself as a ruling party
for a more autocratic leadership
under the envisaged
constitutional changes.
There still exists other
challenges facing the ruling AKP
in matters of managing for
example the demands of the
ethnic groups such as the Kurds.
They have issued fresh threats
of violently destabilising the
country.
The AKP however,
has shown resilience in managing
the nation’s diversity while at
the same time playing a
balancing act in order to keep
the secularists at bay.
Perhaps the most important of
the AKP’s achievements which has
increased Turkey’s importance in
diplomacy even at a regional
level is the performance of the
economy.
Having averaged
at around 5% in the five-year
period ending 2010, The World
Bank revised Turkey’s 2011 GDP
growth forecast to 6.1 percent
up from 4.1 percent, reflecting
the country’s rapid recovery
from the effects of the global
financial crisis.
In this regard, fortunes have
changed indeed.
Greece,
a historic rival of Turkey has
been given the world’s lowest
credit rating by the agency
Standard and Poor’s. Financial
Times reports that Greece’s
triple-C rating could as well
become a D for default as
private creditors are more
likely to be involved in the
next bail out.
It is
amazing how the Eurozone was
touted as one in which the
soundest on macroeconomic
policies were in force yet a
member country is now mentioned
in the same breath with the
likes of Ecuador, Jamaica,
Pakistan and Granada.
Turkey, once regarded as the
‘Sick Man of Europe’ is on the
rise. It has had its own woes
and tribulations with a
religiously secular order
imposed on the country by its
rulers since the end of the
Ottoman Caliphate.
A once suppressed political
movement rooted in Islamic
values has restored pride in a
national identity which has made
the country so prosperous in
spite of the European
derision...
One wonders
whether Turkey really needs
Europe. And Europe should tell
us who is doing sick
now. |
|
|
C O N T E N T
S |
|
Summarised
Jumuah Bayaan |
|
Question and
Answer |
|
Update |
|
Message from the Ameer |
|
I N F O R M A
T I O N |
|
Min. Mahr |
R 242.76 |
|
Mahr Faatimi |
R 4,855.28 |
|
Zakaat Nisaab |
R 12,138.21 |
|
Words of Wisdom |
|
Hadith of the Week |
|
Prayers at their Time |
.
When ‘Abdullah Radhiallahu
anhu asked: “Which deed is
the dearest to Allah?” The
Prophet Muhammad Sallallahu
‘alayhi wasallam replied:
“To offer the prayers at
their early stated fixed
times."
(Sahih
Bukhari)
. |
|
|
Quotation
of
the Week |
|
State of Unrest |
.
Al-Murrudi’ reported that he
asked Imam Ahmad:
“How are you today?” He
replied: “How can I be while
I am required by my Lord to
perform obligatory acts of
worship, by my Prophet
Sallallahu ‘alayhi wasallam
to practice his Sunnah, by
the two angels to improve my
deeds, and my soul urges me
to follow it, Shaytaan
pushes me to commit?”
. |
|
|
Point of Reflection |
|
Freedom is a Priority |
.
I don't want the cheese, I
just want to get out of the
trap. (Latin)
. |
|
|
|
Q and A |
Question:
When
debtors pay their accounts
with us, they over pay an
amount in Rands. The amount
of over pay varies between
0.01cent to R2.50. Are we
entitled to write these
credits off?
Jazakallah.
|
Answer:
It will not be
permissible to write off
those amounts without the
permission of your debtors.
The amounts, although
minimal, belong to them and
a method to return or settle
them should be devised if
they have not given consent
to wave it. Yes, if
permission to write these
amounts off is granted, then
that is a different matter.
Shaami 5/662 & 664,
Badaa’i 6/204
<Go to
Top> |
|
U P D A T E |
Ulama Workshop on Personal
Finance and the Islamic Will
The Jamiatul Ulama South Africa
has today held a workshop for
its officials and staff. The
workshop took place at the
Baitul Hamd offices in Fordsburg
and was attended by at least
fifteen participants.
The
three-hour workshop which
started at 09:30 included a
presentation on Personal Finance
by Mufti Muhammad Haffejee
followed by another entitled The
Islamic Will by Mufti Yusuf
Docrat.
This in-house
workshop is part of occasional
staff skills development
programmes hosted by the Darul
Iftaa on topical issues.
Dinner for Immigrant Muslim
Community Leaders
The Jamiatul Ulama South Africa
hosted a dinner of leaders and
representatives of immigrant
Muslim communities on Wednesday
8 June 2011.
At the
dinner, a presentation of the
history Muslims in South Africa
was made by Moulana Bilaal Vaid
who described the three waves of
Muslim immigration to South
Africa starting with the Malay
community to the Cape in the
1600s and the indentured
labourers in the 1800s followed
by the current post-Apartheid
era.
Moulana Ebrahim I
Bham made welcome remarks on how
the Ansaar and the Muhajireen in
the Pact of Brotherhood forged
the first nucleus of a Muslim
community in Madina under the
leadership of the Prophet
Sallallahu ‘alayhi wasallam.
A guest of honour at the
event, Brother Moegsien
Williams, the editor of The Star
thanked the Jamiatul Ulama South
Africa for hosting the event.
Brother Williams
recounted how the xenophobic
attacks of 2009 led to the
formation of the Migrant
Communities Board which his
company, the Independent
Newspapers Ltd, hosts at their
premises in central
Johannesburg.
In the
course of the dinner,
participants representing
nationals from the Arab world,
Bangladesh, The Cameroon, DR
Congo, Kashmir, Pakistan,
Nigeria, Mali, The Gambia,
Somalia, Ethiopia, Senegal,
Turkey, Malawi, Zimbabwe and
Uganda discussed matters of
mutual concern, sharing
experiences of their stay in
South Africa.
Contrary to
popular beliefs, those present
dispelled myths and prejudices,
acknowledging the positive work
done and contributions of
migrant communities who are
entrepreneurial and creating
employment opportunities even
for the indigenous.
Brother Ismail Variava was the
coordinator of the event
following his visits and
meetings with these communities
in the course of last year.
Salman Khan, an activist for
Kashmiri human rights and
independence spoke on behalf of
all those invited and thanked
the South African Muslim
community for the welcome which
makes him feel at home wherever
he is in the country.
Earlier, the attendants at the
dinner underlined the need to
meet more regularly and
regularly as the challenges
facing migrant communities
remain many.
Meanwhile,
Monday 20 June 2011 is World
Refugee Day. In commemoration of
this day, the Consortium for
Refugees and Migrants in South
Africa (CORMSA), an
advocacy-based organisation
whose mandate it is to protect
and promote refugee and migrant
rights has approached Radio
Islam for a programme to be
aired on the day.
Muslim AIDS Programme (MAP)
holds AGM
The
Muslim AIDS Programme held their
annual general meeting on Sunday
8 May 2011 at Suliman Nana
Memorial Centre in Crosby.
At the AGM attended by the
MAP’s provincial branches in
Johannesburg, Middelburg,
Klerksdorp and Durban, the
delegates approved reports and
nominated national executive
members.
The delegates
also discussed other issues
affecting the MAP and looked at
strategic plans for the MAP.
MAP partners with government
departments and other NGOs in
helping orphan and vulnerable
children, conducting HIV/AIDS
life-skills and awareness
campaigns, running a care centre
for the infected.
At the
heart of the awareness campaign
is the promotion of abstinence
as an Islamic value among the
youth as the most effective way
of reversing the tide of HIV
infection.
The Muslim
AIDS Programme is an initiative
of the Islamic Medical
Association, the Jamiatul Ulama
South Africa and the Islamic
Careline.
Marital Classes
Under the adult education
programme, the Jamiatul Ulama
South Africa’s Dawah wal Irshaad
Department will host marital
classes at the Taalimul Islam
Hall in Lenasia’s Ext.5 from 20
– 22 June 2011.
Speakers
at the programme will include
Moulana Suliman Ravat of Radio
Islam, Moulana Anees Munshi, the
Imam of Lakefield, Mufti
Muhammed Saeed Motara, lecturer
in Hadith at Madrasah Arabia
ISlamia, Azaadville, Mufti AK
Hoosen of Channel Islam
Internation and Mufti Muhammed Y
Minty of the Jamiatul Ulama
South Africa’s Darul Iftaa.
The three-day classes will
commence after ESha Salaat
(Jamaat: 19h15). Separate
arrangements for seating have
been made for ladies.
The
classes are a must-attend for
married couples as well as
prospective brides and grooms.
|
|
Summarised Jumu’ah
Bayaan: |
|
Excellence
of Knowledge |
“Say: My Lord!
Increase me in
knowledge,” (20:114)
“Say: Are they the same
- those who know and
those who do not know?”
(39:9)
•
Mu’awiyah radhiyallahu
anhu stated that
Rasulullah sallallahu
alayhi wasallam said,
“When Allah desires good
for someone, He gives
him correct
understanding in the
Deen.” (Bukhari &
Muslim)
• Ibn
Mas’ud radhiyallahu anhu
reported that Rasulullah
sallallahu alayhi
wasallam said, “You can
only have envy for two
things: for a man to
whom Allah has given
wealth which he spends
in the way of the truth,
and for a man to whom
Allah has given wisdom
and he acts by it and
teaches it.” (Bukhari &
Muslim)
• Abu
Musa radhiyallahu anhu
reported that Rasulullah
sallallahu alayhi
wasallam said, “The
metaphor of the guidance
and knowledge with which
Allah has sent me is the
abundant rain which
strikes the earth. Some
of it is fertile and
accepts the water and
brings forth plants and
grass in abundance. Some
of it is hard and holds
the water enabling Allah
to let people make use
of it. They drink from
it, water their animals
and irrigate. Some of
the land it strikes is
level and barren and
does not retain the
water nor produce
plants. The first is a
metaphor for someone who
understands the Deen of
Allah and benefits from
that with which Allah
has sent me and learns
and teaches. The last is
a metaphor for someone
who pays no attention to
it for the sake of the
Allah and does not
accept the guidance with
which I have been sent.”
(Bukhari & Muslim)
• Sahl ibn Sa’d
radhiyallahu anhu
reported that Rasulullah
sallallahu alayhi
wasallam said to ‘Ali
radhiyallahu anhu, “By
Allah, for Allah to
guide one man by you is
better for you than red
camels.” (Bukhari &
Muslim)
• Abu
Hurayrah radhiyallahu
anhu reported that
Rasulullah sallallahu
alayhi wasallam said,
“Allah will make the
path to Jannah easy for
anyone who travels a
path in search of
knowledge.” (Muslim)
• Abu Hurayrah
radhiyallahu anhu
reported that Rasulullah
sallallahu alayhi
wasallam said, “Anyone
who calls others to
guidance will have the
same reward as those who
follow him, without that
decreasing their reward
in any way.” (Muslim)
• Abu Hurayrah
radhiyallahu anhu
narrates that Rasulullah
sallallahu alayhi
wasallam said, “When the
son of Adam dies, his
actions are cut off
except for three - an
on-going sadaqah
(charity) and knowledge
which brought benefit
and a virtuous son who
makes supplication for
him.” (Muslim)
•
Abu Hurayrah
radhiyallahu anhu said:
I heard Rasulullah
sallallahu alayhi
wasallam say, “This
world is cursed, and
everything in it is
cursed, except for the
remembrance of Allah and
obedience to Him, and a
scholar or a teacher.”
(Tirmidhi)
• Anas
radhiyallahu anhu stated
that Rasulullah
sallallahu alayhi
wasallam said, “Anyone
who goes out in search
of knowledge is in the
way of Allah until he
returns.” (Tirmidhi)
• Abu Umamah
radhiyallahu anhu
reported that Rasulullah
sallallahu alayhi
wasallam said, “Allah
and His angels and the
people of the heavens
and the earth, even the
ants in their rocks and
the fish, pray for
blessings on those who
teach people good.”
(Tirmidhi)
• Abu
Darda radhiyallahu anhu
said: I heard Rasulullah
sallallahu alayhi
wasallam say, “Allah
will make the path to
Jannah easy for anyone
who travels a path in
search of knowledge.
Angels spread their
wings for the seeker of
knowledge out of
pleasure for what he is
doing. Everyone in the
heavens and everyone in
the earth ask
forgiveness for a man of
knowledge, even the fish
in the water. The
superiority of the man
of knowledge to the man
of worship is like the
superiority of the moon
to all the planets. The
men of knowledge are the
heirs of the Prophets.
The Prophets bequeath
neither dinar nor
dirham; they bequeath
knowledge. Whoever takes
it has taken an ample
portion.” (Abu Dawud &
Tirmidhi)
• Ibn
Mas’ud radhiyallahu anhu
said: I heard Rasulullah
sallallahu alayhi
wasallam say, “May Allah
bless a man who hears
something from me and
transmits it as he heard
it. Many a person to
whom something is
transmitted retains more
than the person who
first heard it.”
(Tirmidhi)
• Abu
Hurayrah radhiyallahu
anhu reported that
Rasulullah sallallahu
alayhi wasallam said,
“Anyone who is asked for
knowledge and conceals
it, will be bridled with
a bridle of Fire on the
Day of Qiyaamah.” (Abu
Dawud & Tirmidhi)
• Abu Hurayrah
radhiyallahu anhu
reported that Rasulullah
sallallahu alayhi
wasallam said, “Anyone
who learns knowledge
which should be learned
for the sake of Allah,
the Mighty and Majestic,
only to obtain by it
goods of this world,
will not experience the
scent of Jannah on the
Day of Qiyaamah.” (Abu
Dawud)
•
‘Abdullah ibn ‘Amr ibn
al-aAas radhiyallahu
anhu said: I heard
Rasulullah sallallahu
alayhi wasallam say,
“Allah will not take
away knowledge from His
servants, but knowledge
will be taken away as
the men of knowledge are
taken away until there
is not a single man of
knowledge left. Then
people will take
ignorant men for their
leaders who will be
asked something and give
a fatwa (decision)
without any knowledge.
They will go astray and
lead others astray.”
(Bukhari & Muslim)
<Go to Top> |
|
Message from the Ameer of
the Jamiatul Ulama |
|
Our Youth, Our
Responsibility |
Thursday June the 16th
marks the 35 year
anniversary of the 1976
Soweto uprising by school
youth. It resulted in the
struggle not only gaining
momentum, but also
attracting unprecedented
international attention to
what Apartheid South Africa
was all about.
A
brief perusal of history
will show us that the youth
have always been in the
forefront of change and
revolution. What is
disappointing in our context
is that many of the dreams
and aspirations that the
youth have remained
unfulfilled.
Without
rationalising, perhaps this
is one of the reasons why
alcohol abuse, drug use and
clubbing has reached
critical levels in most of
the townships.
Our
counseling services running
from Laudium, Lenasia and
Fordsburg as well as
officials from all our
branches have experienced
that Muslim youth are not
immune from the rampant
alcohol and drug abuse.
The trend towards
instant gratification,
hedonistic attitudes and
promiscuity is a reality and
a challenge facing our
society.
From a
hadith, we learn that one of
the categories of those who
will enjoy the shade of the
throne of Allah on the Day
of Qiyamah are youth who are
nurtured in the worship of
Allah, Most High. That
should be a cue for a
solution towards upbringing
our children into
responsible youth.
Let us teach values to our
youth so that they grow up
with Allah-consciousness and
an understanding of the
purpose of life.
May
Allah protect all of us from
sin and vice. Ameen.
<Go to Top> |
|
|
|