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Weekly Comment |
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Values versus Interests
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For a long time the South
Africa’s policy framework and
the constitution have been
described as progressive.
Foreign policy has not been
exception.
South Africa has
been in the forefront of
advancing the role of
multi-lateral institutions such
as the UN. South Africa has also
been on the side of weaker
nations facing the wrath of
superpowers.
On this path,
South Africa has been viewed
with exasperation by imperial
forces that it has opposed at
international forums on one
hand, but also looked with a
degree of suspicion from other
countries for which it had tried
to champion a number of causes.
As the going gets tougher, one
cannot help but notice the
apparent inconsistencies
creeping in through the
different positions, a departure
from the familiar towards some
‘pragmatics’ of the ‘demands of
the time.’
At the time when
regionalism was in vogue, South
Africa touted Southern Africa
Development Community SADC.
Ideas such as expanded markets
in which people, goods and
services could move freely in
sounded great, with a promise of
a new Africa growing on trade
and not aid.
Today, with the
stalled WTO process, South
Africa enters into bilateral
deals that are no longer
entirely for the advancement of
SADC as a trading bloc. Instead
of SADC and the world, it is now
South Africa and Brazil; South
Africa and India or China, the
so-called BRICS.
Recently we
have been admitted into that
BRICS grouping of countries on
the strength that we represent
the continent’s most advanced
economy, perhaps a business
doorway of sorts into Africa...
The Arab Spring might also have
posed its own challenges to the
country’s foreign policy. Not
known to challenge the despots
of North Africa with the AU
structures with whom our leaders
had rapport in spite of their
well-known tyranny, to be
embraced by the newly emerging
regimes will also require a
great deal of convincing...
The last point is crucial as it
highlights the importance of a
level of consistency that earns
the trust which was supposed to
be the hallmark of our policy
all along claimed to be informed
by values.
Archbishop
Emeritus Desmond Tutu has vowed
to ‘pray for the downfall of the
ANC government’ because of its
inability to give the Dalai Lama
a visa to enable him to visit
South Africa. To the archbishop
and others the question is:
“Will South Africa remain
principled in her solidarity
with the occupied and oppressed
such as Tibetans in the case of
the Dalai Lama or simply ignore
the plight of such people?”
In the pursuit of certain
interests, values may be
forgone. Are we at that stage
already? Can we balance the two
with a fair degree of
consistency without 'selling out'
on our stated values?
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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 256.74 |
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Mahr Faatimi |
R 12,837.04 |
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Zakaat Nisaab |
R 5,134.82 |
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Words of Wisdom |
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Hadith of the Week |
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Brotherly Wish |
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‘Abdullah bin ‘Amr bin
Al-‘As Radhiallahu anhu
said: The Messenger of Allah
Sallallahu ‘alayhi wasallam
said, “He who desires to be
rescued from the fire of
Hell and to enter Jannah,
should die in a state of
complete belief in Allah and
the Last Day, and should do
unto others what he wishes
to be done unto him.”
(Muslim)
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Quotation
of
the Week |
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Vanity |
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"Do not follow vain desires
for verily he prospers who
is preserved from lust,
greed and anger."
(Abu Bakr Siddiq RA)
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Point of Reflection |
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Stay out of the Way |
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The man who says it cannot
be done, should not
interrupt a man who is doing
it.
(China)
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Q and A |
Question:
What is
a Wasiyyah? What are the
conditions applicable
thereto?
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Answer:
If a person attributes
something to the time of his
passing away then that would
be referred to as Wasiyyah,
e.g. if a person says "When
I die then this property
must go to so-and-so". There
are two main conditions that
apply to Wasiyyah; Wasiyyah
can only be made in favour
of a non-heir and the
Wasiyyah can comprise up to
a maximum of one third of
the estate after payment of
burial expenses and debts.
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Top> |
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U P D A T E |
Turkey’s PM Tour of
South Africa
Prime Minister Recep Erdogan who
is on an official tour of South
Africa met representatives of
Muslim organisations in South
Africa yesterday at the Sheraton
Hotel in Arcadia, Pretoria.
At the meeting PM Erdogan
spoke about the historic
relations between South Africa
and Turkey dating back
to
the 19th century when the
British had requested the
Ottoman Empire to send an expert
to Cape Town who would help with
the management of Islamic
affairs within the colonial
administration.
In the
discussions that followed,
representatives from UUCSA,
Jamiatul Ulama South Africa,
Awqaf SA, SANZAF, Muslim
Judicial Council as well as the
Association of Muslim Schools
made presentations of their
work.
Challenges of
facing Muslims such as
Islamophobia were discussed in
the context in which
Muslim-on-Muslim violence was
acknowledged and deplored with
special reference to Somalia.
PM Erdogan underscored the
importance of the spirit the
message of Islam through the
Qur’an which easily memorised
and recited without focus on the
substance of its teachings.
The visiting delegation
committed to the facilitation of
Islamic scholarship exchanges
between Turkish and South Africa
institutions.
Rescue 786 Ambulance
Service
Radio
Islam International and the The
Jamiatul Ulama South Africa are
pleased to announce the launch
of their Ambulance Service which
is now fully operational,
Alhamdulillah.
The
service has at the moment 12
experienced paramedics to serve
the community of Johannesburg
especially in the vicinity of
Fordsburg and Mayfair.
The service’s hotline number is:
083 9000 786.
Relief Efforts: Gaza and
Somalia
A
delegation of ulama from
Jamiatul Ulama South Africa,
Muslim professionals and
businessmen left the country on
Sunday 2 Oct 2011 for Cairo en
route to Gaza where they will
join Africa 1 Convoy to deliver
the last batch of relief
supplies.
The delegation
which has now joined Africa 1
Convoy team lead by the Muslim
Judicial Council and was
scheduled to enter the besieged
territory today.
Meanwhile, a three-man
delegation to Kenya has returned
after a fact-finding trip which
took them to Dabaab, the
country’s north-eastern town
which is now home to the largest
refugee camp in the world with
well over 600,000 Somalis living
there.
The Jamiatul Ulama
South Africa took an initiative
to help Somalis who have been
hardest hit in the three-year
long drought that has hit the
Horn of Africa.
The
delegation led by head of
welfare, Moulana Ismail
Varachia, identified a number of
projects that will be carried
out in order to meaningfully
alleviate the suffering of the
people. They also held
discussions with the relief
partner organization, the Young
Muslim Association of Kenya who
are based in Nairobi but also
have a major operation in
Garissa, the provincial capital
of Kenya’s North-Eastern
province.
The
devastation by drought in the
region is severe and it has
affected the two sides of the
Kenya-Somalia border equally.
Association of Muslim
Schools: Islamic Education
Conference
The Jamiatul Ulama South
Africa’s Taalimi Board,
participated in a two-day
conference between 1 and 2
October 2011 that was hosted by
the Orient Islamic School in
Durban.
A number of
resource person including ulama
and other experts spoke of the
importance of Islamic
instruction in the educational
programmes.
During the
conference, the Taalimi Board
showcased the complete Tas-heel
series including the pre-school
range of Taalimul Tas-heel
Atfaal which was launched last
year.
For many
participants, the exhibition was
an eye-opener as they were not
aware of the excellent resources
that are already available for
early Muslim child education and
Islamic orientation.
The
Taalimi Board offers a range of
services as well as support for
the implementation of the
syllabus using Tas-heel Series
textbooks now widely used
locally and abroad.
Educator Workshops:
Tas-heel Taalimil Atfaal Series
The Jamiatul
Ulama South Africa in
conjunction with Me'raj
Publications will be having
exciting interactive workshops,
which will pay closer attention
to the series, and give greater
detail to the content of both
the pre-school textbooks as well
as the Teacher Guide.
This is a great opportunity for
teachers to get more first-hand
information on how to use the
series to its full potential.
Watch out for these
workshops throughout October and
November in the following areas:
Laudium; Azaadville; Lenasia
Roodepoort and surrounding as
well as in the East Rand region.
For further info and date
confirmations, contact:
Sister Shanaaz - 011 622 0531 /
082 444 6056
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Summarised Jumu’ah
Bayaan: |
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Prohibition
against Cursing |
• Abu Zayd Thabit ibn
ad-Dahhak al-Ansari
radhiyallahu anhu, one
of the people of the
Pledge of Ridwan, said
that Rasulullah
sallallahu alayhi
wasallam said, “Anyone
who deliberately swears
a false oath that he
will adopt a religion
other than Islam (if he
is not telling the
truth), it will be as he
said. Anyone who kills
himself with an object
will be punished with
that same object on the
Day of Qiyaamah...
Cursing a believer is
like killing him.”
(Bukhari & Muslim)
• Abu Hurayrah
radhiyallahu anhu
reported that the
Rasulullah sallallahu
alayhi wasallam said,
“It is not fitting for a
truthful man to be
someone who curses.”
(Muslim)
• Abu
Darda’ radhiyallahu anhu
reported that Rasulullah
sallallahu alayhi
wasallam said, “People
who curse will not be
intercessors nor
witnesses on the Day of
Qiyaamah.” (Muslim)
• Samura ibn Jundub
radhiyallahu anhu
reported Rasulullah
sallallahu alayhi
wasallam said, “Do not
curse one another with
Allah’s curse or His
anger or the Fire.” (Abu
Dawud & Tirmidhi)
• Ibn Mas’ud
radhiyallahu anhu
reported said that
Rasulullah sallallahu
alayhi wasallam said, “A
believer is not an
attacker nor a curser
nor someone obscene or
abusive.” (Tirmidhi)
• Abu Darda’
radhiyallahu anhu
reported that Rasulullah
sallallahu alayhi
wasallam said, “If a
slave of Allah curses
something, the curse
rises to the Heaven and
the gates of Heaven are
locked against it. Then
it falls to the earth
and the gates of the
earth are locked against
it and then it goes to
the right and to the
left and when it does
not find any entrance,
it returns to that which
was cursed if it
deserves it. Otherwise
it returns to the one
who said it.” (Abu
Dawud)
• ‘Imran
ibn al-Husayn
radhiyallahu anhu said,
“On one of the journeys
of the Messenger of
Allah there was a woman
of the Ansar on a
she-camel. It was
unmanageable and she
cursed it. Rasulullah
sallallahu alayhi
wasallam heard that and
said, “Take off what is
on it and let it go. It
is cursed.” ‘Imran
radhiyallahu anhu said,
“It is as if I could see
it now walking among the
people and no one turned
to it.” (Muslim)
• Abu Barza Nadla
ibn ‘Ubayd al-Aslami
radhiyallahu anhu said,
“On one occasion a slave
girl was on a camel with
some people’s goods and
she saw Rasulullah
sallallahu alayhi
wasallam. The mountains
were hemming them in and
she said, “Move! O
Allah, curse it!”
Rasulullah sallallahu
alayhi wasallam said, “A
she-camel bearing a
curse will not accompany
us.” (Muslim) This means
that the camel was
forbidden to accompany
them. It is not a
prohibition against
selling it, slaughtering
it or riding it not in
the company of
Rasulullah sallallahu
alayhi wasallam.
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Message from the Ameer of
the Jamiatul Ulama |
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Pilgrims are Guests
of Allah, the Almighty |
“And perform properly
the Hajj and Umra for Allah”
(Surah 2 Verse 196)
It happened during the
course of the week in a
place called “Blikkies
Dorp.” so named because all
the homes in the area are
constructed of tin and
corrugated metal. It was on
the eve of the departure for
Hajj of an elderly couple
who reside in Blikkies Dorp
when virtually the entire
populace converged on their
humble home to bid them
Al-Wida. Perhaps they are
the first residents of that
locality that have been
afforded this blessed
opportunity. We can but
imagine the fervour,
excitement and sheer joy
that transpired that night.
Hajj still remains the
ultimate spiritual journey.
Modern travel, state of the
art facilities and five star
packages have made no impact
on the auspiciousness and
sacredness of this journey,
especially for those who
will only have one single
opportunity to travel there.
This spiritual journey which
is undertaken solely and
only for the pleasure of
Allah must feature as the
pinnacle of our spiritual
quests. This most definitely
underpins the aura and
fervour of this magnificent
journey.
We can only
empathise and feel for the
many that are still waiting
for their accreditation. The
reality is that no civil
servant or for that matter
diplomat can prevent anyone
from going. If the Almighty
has invited then rest
assured His guests will
reach the blessed lands.
This agonising waiting
period should serve only to
increase our desire and
enhance our ability to
remain steadfast and
patient.
It is our
du’aa that Allah facilitates
and makes easy for those who
have made the intention of
Hajj. May Allah return them
cleansed and elevated and
may the Harmain Shareefain
remain safe from those that
have evil intents. (Ameen)
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