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Weekly Comment |
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Tomorrow is for those who
prepare for it; today.
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There are a number of
developments in recent days
which remind us that even events
which are apparently spontaneous
can create new scenarios which
though unanticipated, tend to
benefit those who are ready to
seize the opportunity.
In Egypt, the Muslim Brotherhood
had been in survival mode for
generations. The movement was
banned, leaders executed and
affiliates put under non-ending
surveillance.
Finding
themselves on centre stage of
Egyptian politics as the only
most organised political
movement in the post-Mubarak
era, the Muslim Brotherhood may
as well be exposed in a manner
they have never been.
Their level of preparedness as
an alternative
government-in-waiting is yet to
be tested to the limit. Already,
there have been reports of
splinter groups from the
movement breaking away on the
grounds of differences in
strategy. What happens to their
vision for Egypt amidst such
divisions?
As for Libya,
the rag-tag army of rebel
fighters are yet to show their
cohesion and a common political
vision for the nation in the
post-Gaddafi era. Many years of
repression created a power
vacuum which has yet to be
filled.
Such a vacuum
tends to be filled by any kind
of forces that have a good
degree of readiness and ambition
to take things in their hands
often to serve own interests.
Reuters have reported about
a yet-to-be published 50-page
report by a ‘British-led team
planning for a post-conflict
Libya. Among the recommendations
in the document is the
prescription of preserving
Gaddafi’s forces after the
anticipated fall of his regime.
The make-up of this team
coming with this recommendation
is interesting. It is has
members from the US, Italy,
Denmark, Turkey, Australia and
Canada. Other than Turkey, an
influential regional power and
sharing a Muslim heritage with
Libya, what’s in it for the
others?
The absence of
preparedness means that we lose
the opportunity of usher in
indigenous answers to the
emerging realities. Instead,
those who have dominated us only
as instruments of their
international agenda will again
take the opportunity to script a
future which would perpetuate
their self-serving interests.
It’s not enough to say:
“Nobody saw this coming” months
after the first signs of the
Arab Spring and all what we have
seen in Tunisia and Egypt. That
should be considered mediocre
indeed. The Muslim world has now
time to make sense of it all and
employ a strategy that brings
about desirable outcomes in its
own lands.
The paralysis,
inaction and silence from some
quarters that has greeted the
excesses of the regimes such as
the one in Syria is an
indictment on the collective
conscience of the people of
goodwill in general and the
Muslim world in particular. At
the minimum, it is necessary to
condemn these criminal acts of
state against its own people.
To sum it up, anything short
of preparedness and a strong
sense of purpose will make us
mere spectators in the unfolding
events that have long term
effects on our nations on the
world stage. |
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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 269.42 |
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Mahr Faatimi |
R 13,470.99 |
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Zakaat Nisaab |
R 5,388.40 |
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Words of Wisdom |
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Hadith of the Week |
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Gaining Proximity to
Allah |
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Abu Hurairah Radhiallahu
anhu reported: Messenger of
Allah Sallallahu ‘alayhi
wasallam said, “Allah the
Exalted has said: ‘I will
declare war against him who
shows hostility to a pious
worshipper of Mine. And the
most beloved thing with
which My slave comes nearer
to Me is what I have
enjoined upon him; and My
slave keeps on coming closer
to Me through performing
Nawafil (prayer or doing
extra deeds besides what is
obligatory) till I love him.
When I love him I become his
hearing with which he hears,
his seeing with which he
sees, his hand with which he
strikes, and his leg with
which he walks; and if he
asks (something) from Me, I
give him, and if he asks My
Protection (refuge), I
protect him.”
(Al-Bukhari)
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Quotation
of
the Week |
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Do what Allah Loves |
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Ahmad Ibn Hanbal
Rahmatullah alayhi said :“If
You Desire Allah to be
persistent in granting you
the thing you love, be
persistent in doing the
things He Ta’ala loves.”
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Point of Reflection |
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The Not-so-Helpful |
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Many will show you the way
once your cart has
overturned.
(Kurdish)
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Q and A |
Question:
Allah
Ta’aala has blessed our
family with a newborn baby.
We are aware that Tahneek
has to be done but would
like to know the proof
behind it as well as the
procedure of carrying it
out?
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Answer:
The practice of Tahneek is
Sunnah as Rasulullah
sallallahu alayhi wasallam
made the Tahneek of Abdullah
bin Zubair radiallahu anhu
and Abdullah bin Talhah
radiallahu anhu. Tahneek
means the placing of a piece
of date, softened by
chewing, on the palate of
the new-born. If dates are
not available then honey can
also be used. It is
preferable that a learned
Aalim or a pious elder of
the family carries out the
Tahneek. Otherwise any
Muslim male would suffice.
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U P D A T E |
More
Ladies are Empowered with Skills
Ulwazi Empowerment and Skills
Development Centre together with
Madrasah Ayesha in Lenasia have
seen the graduation of more
learners in computing and sewing
courses.
Today, 6
learners have completed the
computer course while another 6
have completed a course in
sewing at Madrasah Ayesha
bringing the cumulative total of
27 and 32 in the two fields
respectively.
The 10 who
have completed their course in
computing and the 11 who have
completed the sewing course have
brought the cumulative total of
graduates to 102 and 143 ladies
respectively in the two fields
at Ulwazi.
The skills
projects are ran under the
auspices of the Jamiatul Ulama
South Africa in Lenasia.
Madrasah Ayesha opened in 2009
while Ulwazi has been in
operation since 2007.
Zakaah Workshops
Marlboro Jami’ah Masjid will
tonight host a Jamiatul Ulama
South Africa’s Zakaah Workshop
on Zakaah. The programme which
will start after Esha Salaat
(Jamaat: 7:30pm) will focus on
how to calculate Zakaah. All are
welcome to learn about this
important pillar of Islam.
In another programme, Mufti
Muhammed Haffejee and Moulana
Bilal Vaid presented a workshop
on Zakaah at Masjid Nur in
Lenasia Ext 3 last night. The
workshop which was attended by
about 50 participants dealt with
practical issues in the
calculation of zakaat. The
appreciating audience was proof
that the programme was largely
well-received.
Meanwhile,
Mufti Haffejee will tomorrow
conduct a Savings Workshop for
senior learners at Roshnee
Muslim School. The workshop is
aimed at bringing awareness of
the values of saving among
youth.
Opening of Masjid al Ansar in
Soweto
Sunday
31 July 2011 will be a historic
day for Muslims in Soweto when
Masjid al Ansar officially opens
in Orlando East. The opening
ceremony will start at 10:00am
and end with Zuhr Salaat at the
masjid which is located on the
intersection of Mosaka and
Mofutsanyani streets.
Transport arrangements have been
made from Mayfair Jumuah Masjid
(011 373 8000) and Radio Islam
premises in Lenasia (011 854
7022).
The masjid is a
joint project of the Jamiatul
Ulama South Africa and the
Ikhwana Islamiya under the
Siddiqi Trust.
Jamiatul
Ulama South Africa Delegation
Visits Pakistan
Every journey has its
own share of joys, expectations
and challenges and this trip to
Pakistan was no different.
Pakistan a land of hope and
dreams, land of righteousness
and land of opportunities as
well as nightmares.
What
emerged for us this trip was the
wonderful pockets of excellence
in healthcare, education and
social welfare, stories that
seldom leave shores of Pakistan.
The resilience and excellent
stewardship is remarkable
despite the daunting challenges.
It is these “pockets of
excellent” that gives one the
feeling of hope.
Having
said that an observation is the
role of press. From the little
gleaned of the English papers
the press seems to be leading
the fold in bringing and
reporting stories of doom and
gloom and as one person said “it
(i.e. the press) is (Pakistan’s)
worst enemy.
Alhamdulillah despite the
ongoing violence (not unlike our
violence in South Africa the
early nineties) life continues
amidst the blaring of the sirens
(a grim reminder of the ongoing
violence). We were able to
fulfill what we had said out to
do.
On our arrival on a
sweltering hot day we had a
meeting with the “Citizens
Foundations” board and
management.
The Citizens
foundation runs over 700 schools
and hoping to reach a target of
1000 schools in the coming year.
It caters for 105 000 pupils
currently. All these pupils come
form “Urban slum areas” and are
open to all 3 religious groups
in Pakistan. The organization
has a dedicated team who
oversees to the day to day
running.
The Citizen
foundation in its day to day
curriculum has 3 period of
Islamiyaat a week,
They had
been introduced to the Tasheel
Series and are keen on its
implementation, if not totally
but parts of it initially.
To this end the meeting was
set up and the South Africa
delegation gave him overview of
what is being taught in South
Africa and the time spent on
teaching the Tasheel. What was
impressed upon this was the
importance of deeni taalim and
its positive influence it has.
Initially they are looking
at adopting parts of the
syllabus into their social
studies syllabus (ie; Akhlaaq &
Adaab) and Insha Allah it would
be a bridging mechanism for
future introduction of
Islamyiyaat into their
curriculum.
They have on
board a curriculum development
specialist who would be able to
adopt the program which
incidentally be Urdu.
They also showered interest in
the Teachers manual. The meeting
concluded with the understanding
that they could use the material
and acknowledge the Jamiat as a
reference.
The work, the
standard and personnel all of
this must be commended that and
these are models worthy of being
replicated.
(The
delegation to Pakistan was made
of: Moulana Dawood Cassim,
Moulana Ahmad Satharia, Ismail
Variawa and Hafez: Zubair
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Summarised Jumu’ah
Bayaan: |
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Excellence of
supplication (Part I) |
“And your Lord says:
Call on Me: and I will
answer you,” (40:60)
“If My slaves ask you
about Me, I am near. I
answer the call of the
caller when he calls on
Me,” (2:186)
“He Who
responds to the
oppressed when they call
on Him and removes their
distress.” (27:62)
• An-Nu’man ibn
Bashir radhiyallahu anhu
reported that Rasulullah
sallallahu alayhi
wasallam said,
“Supplication is worship
itself.” (Abu Dawud &
Tirmidhi)
•
‘A’isha radhiyallahu
anhu reported said that
Rasulullah sallallahu
alayhi wasallam used to
prefer comprehensive
supplications and
abandoned other kinds.”
(Abu Dawud)
•
Anas radhiyallahu anhu
said, “A frequent
supplication of
Rasulullah sallallahu
alayhi wasallam was, “O
Allah! Give us good in
this world and good in
the Hereafter and
safeguard us from the
punishment of the Fire.”
(2:201) (Bukhari &
Muslim)
• Ibn
Mas’ud radhiyallahu anhu
reported that Rasulullah
sallallahu alayhi
wasallam used to say, “O
Allah, I ask You for
guidance, fearful
awareness, chastity and
self-sufficiency.”
(Muslim)
•
‘Abdullah ibn Amr ibn
al-'As radhiyallahu anhu
reported that Rasulullah
sallallahu alayhi
wasallam said, “O Allah
who turns the hearts,
turn our hearts to
obedience to You.”
(Muslim)
• Abu
Hurayrah radhiyallahu
anhu reported that
Rasulullah sallallahu
alayhi wasallam used to
say, “O Allah, put right
for me my Deen in which
lies the protection of
my affairs and put right
for me this world in
which lies my livelihood
and put right for me the
Next World in which is
my future. Make life
increase in every good
thing for me and make
death a rest for me from
every evil thing.”
(Muslim)
• Anas
radhiyallahu anhu said,
“Rasulullah sallallahu
alayhi wasallam used to
say, “O Allah, I seek
refuge with You from
incapacity, laziness,
cowardice, senility and
miserliness. I seek
refuge with You from the
punishment of the grave
and I seek refuge with
You from the trials of
life and death.”
(Muslim)
• Abu
Bakr Siddiq radhiyallahu
anhu reported that he
said to Rasulullah
sallallahu alayhi
wasallam, “Teach me a
supplication which I can
make in my prayer.” He
said, “Say: O Allah, I
have wronged myself a
great deal and none
forgives wrong actions
except You, so grant me
Your forgiveness and be
merciful to me. You are
the Ever-Forgiving, the
All-Merciful.” (Bukhari
& Muslim)
• Abu
Musa radhiyallahu anhu
reported that Rasulullah
sallallahu alayhi
wasallam used to
supplicate to Allah
using this supplication,
“O Allah, forgive me my
error and my ignorance
and my extravagance in
my affair and what You
know of me. O Allah,
forgive me my
seriousness, my jest, my
inadvertence and my
deliberateness. All of
that is with You. O
Allah, forgive me my
past and future wrong
actions, what I conceal
and what I make public
and what You know of me.
You are the One who
advances and defers. You
have power over
everything.” (Bukhari &
Muslim)
• ‘A’isha
radhiyallahu anha said,
“One of the
supplications of
Rasulullah sallallahu
alayhi wasallam was, “O
Allah, I seek refuge
with you from the evil
of what I have done and
the evil of what I have
left undone.” (Muslim)
• Ibn ‘Umar radhiyallahu
anhu reported that one
of the supplications of
Rasulullah sallallahu
alayhi wasallam was, “O
Allah, I seek refuge
with you from Your
blessing to me vanishing
and Your gift of
well-being being altered
and the sudden arrival
of Your revenge and all
Your anger.” (Muslim)
• Zayd ibn Arqam
radhiyallahu anhu said,
“Rasulullah sallallahu
alayhi wasallam used to
say, “O Allah, I seek
refuge with You from
incapacity, laziness,
miserliness, senility
and the punishment of
the grave. O Allah, give
my soul Godfearing and
purify it. You are the
best of those who
purify. You are its
Master and Guardian. O
Allah, I seek refuge
with You from knowledge
which does not bring
benefit and from a heart
which is not fearful and
from a self which is not
content and from a
supplication which is
not answered.” (Muslim)
• Ibn ‘Abbas
radhiyallahu anhu stated
that Rasulullah
sallallahu alayhi
wasallam used to say, “O
Allah, I have submitted
myself to You and I have
believed in You. In You
I have put my trust and
to You I turn. I argue
by You and take You as
arbitrator. Forgive me
my past and future wrong
actions and what I keep
secret and what I make
known. You are the One
who puts forward and
defers. There is no god
but You.” Some of the
transmitters add, “There
is no power nor strength
except by Allah.”
(Bukhari & Muslim)
• ‘A’isha
radhiyallahu anha
reported that Rasulullah
sallallahu alayhi
wasallam used to make
supplication with these
words, “O Allah, I seek
refuge with You from the
trial of the Fire and
the punishment of the
Fire and from the evil
of wealth and poverty.”
(Abu Dawud & Tirmidhi)
• Ziyad ibn
‘Ilaqa radhiyallahu anhu
reported from his uncle,
Qutba ibn Malik, that
Rasulullah sallallahu
alayhi wasallam said, “O
Allah, I seek refuge
with you from disliked
things in respect of
character, actions and
erroneous opinions.”
(Tirmidhi)
•
Shakal ibn Humayd
radhiyallahu anhu said,
“I said, “Messenger of
Allah, teach me a
supplication,” He said,
“Say: O Allah, I seek
refuge with You from the
evil of my hearing, the
evil of my sight, from
the evil of my tongue,
from the evil of my
heart and from the evil
of my private parts.”
(Abu Dawud & Tirmidhi)
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Message from the Ameer of
the Jamiatul Ulama |
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There is no time for
despondency! |
Do not lose courage or
grieve you alone shall
remain victorious if you
possess faith (Imaan (S.3
V.139)
The verse
quoted above was revealed in
the time of infancy of the
establishment ofIslam. The
Muslims were being
persecuted, their resources
were meagre, poverty and
destitution was the common
lot for them. Their numbers
were apparently
insignificant, their homes
were of unbaked bricks and
mud and last but not least
their clothes were weaved of
coarse cloth.
The
Quran very lucidly describes
their condition in the
following verse ‘Remember
the time when you were a few
and subdued in the land
fearing the people will
snatch you away.” (Surah 8
verse 26)
Yet they
also had to deal with the
two superpowers beyond the
Arabian Peninsula: the
Romans in the west and the
Persians in the east.
History bears testimony to
their faith, conviction,
bravery and courage that
this first generation of
Muslims, the blessed
students of Rasulullah
Sallallahu ‘alayhi wasallam
not only persevered but
overcame all the hurdles
before them.
This
was a generation that was
totally unfazed by neither
the power of the Romans nor
the pomp of the Persians. In
a short time both these
powers were destroyed paving
the way for the rapid
advancement of Islam.
We as Muslims either
individually or collectively
face similar challenges
today as they faced then. We
also face persecution,
poverty, isolation and
ostracism. It is very easy
to fall into the trap of
despondency and a feeling of
hopelessness. However we
believe, reflection and
practise on the verse quoted
above can have the same
effect on us as it had on
the companions. They had no
time for self pity or
feelings of melancholy.
Instead the verse empowered
them to come out full of
faith, conviction, fervour
and prayer.
The great
Alim and thinker of India
Moulana Abul Hasan Nadwi
Rahimahullah described the
present Muslim Ummah as a
sea: a sea and ocean of
untold potential and
resources. He however
cautioned that we must not
become a waterless sea.
Muslims do not wallow in
despondency and self pity.
We are inherently
courageous. Let us tap into
our courage and take our
position as leaders in this
world.
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