Live Broadcast : Dawa’ay Shaafi Explained by Dr.Farhat Hashmi

Dawa’ay Shaafi a book by Imam Ibn Al Qayyium Al Jawziyah explained by Dr. Farhat Hashmi

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Mushkil Halaat mai kia kerain? What to do during difficult times?

Mushkil Halaat Mai Kia Kerain Mp3 ?

Lecture by Dr.Farhat Hashmi given on 28th Oct,2009.

Muslim Strategies for Halloween

A letter from a student of Dr.Farhat Hashmi regarding Halloween

Bismillah

Assalamo Alaikum WRWB dear Ustadhah,

May Allah SWT bless you for all your hard work and dedication to help us live our lives as Muslims.Alhamdulillah, my children never went trick or treating on halloween ever,instead we always tried to educate ourselves and others about this event. We tried different strategies every year. Couple of times I gathered my children and invited their friends to share the reality of Halloween on that evening that helped them stay away from the influence of this event. Alhamdulillah, children respondedvery well and they were shocked as well as disgusted when they found out the
reality behind this tradition. They were so exited that they even wanted to tell all this information to the children that were coming to the door for candy.

About the candy giving issue we tried different strategies as well. One year we just went to the Masjid during that time and came home after it was over. One year my children made different signs and put them on the entrance door facing outside. They had different messages like “sorry! No candy, your dentist will be mad! Etc.

Last year we tried a different approach as we are always apprehensive and  skeptical whether to give candy or not because generally it is not a good manner to let someone go empty handed when they come  to your door for whatever reason. So along side the candy we gave books. The book was “An illustrated guide to understanding Islam”, which we have been distributing in our community for some time now, Alhamdulillah.

Tonight, Insha Allah we plan to give the book  “One Message” along side the candy. Alhamdulillah, I believe this is a blessing from Allah SWT because the people are already coming to our door so we can do dawah work instead of letting this opportunity slip by or just get mad at them. We are fortunate in this way that we have a facility here which provides us with books for dawah in large quantity, Alhamdulillah. People can look for similar options in their areas, e.g. masaajid, Islamic libraries or dawah centers to provide them with materials or just print out something good and relevant to the occasion from the internet if possible.

I hope that we can all learn and practice our beautiful Deen the way we are supposed to and help others do the same. I hope and pray that this can be beneficial for others as well. Any ideas or comments to improve our ways further will be greatly appreciated.

I will insha Allah print out the pamphlet that Alhuda has sent us about Halloween and share it with other Muslims too.
JAK
Your student

Celebrating Valentine’s Day And Secular Holidays

Bismillah

Author: Sadaf Farooqi

As every year ends and a new one begins, Muslims all over the world face the dilemma of whether or not to celebrate some international holidays and festivals that follow close on each other’s heels. Examples of these are Halloween, Thanksgiving, Christmas, New Year and Valentine’s Day. These are soon followed by Easter.

Muslims living in Western countries in particular, get overwhelmed by a rush of partying, decorations, greetings, school holidays, seasonal sales, and merry-making on a communal level, leaving them with little options about what to do. 

Although most progressive societies claim to offer individual freedom-of-choice to their dwellers, boasting multi-ethnic populations which exhibit mutual tolerance and respect, the fact remains that Muslims are seldom genuinely respected for their lack of integration into these societies.

Since Muslims are unflinching about their worship and Islamic obligations in any sphere of life — be it social interaction, dress code, dietary rules, or work ethics — they usually face silent antagonism from their communities; one that brims quietly under the surface, but is very much present.

As a Muslim, when you and your family are faced with the dilemma of how to spend the time during which everyone around you is preparing for, or celebrating, a holiday that is not part of Islam, how should you think, act and react in general, with other Muslims, as well non-Muslim peers and colleagues?

Educate yourself and your family in a mature manner:

You can consult original sources of knowledge about what a Muslim should and should not do during secular festivals and celebrations. What exactly is it about partaking in these festivities that is frowned upon in Islam? Is it the aspect of imitating non-Muslims? Is it the extravagance and spending involved? Or is it the support of the beliefs and concepts on which these celebrations are based, that is disliked?

You can refer to your local mosque, or Islamic QA sources on the Internet for your answers, so that you make an informed choice about your actions. After that, you may choose to educate your fellow Muslims – those who are willing and eager to listen – about what you have learned. However, please do not forcefully lecture or preach to those Muslims who are not interested in listening – those who want to celebrate the holidays, and are unconcerned about the Islamic viewpoint of this issue.

Click here for a video by Sheikh Abdullah Hakim Quick, titled “The Truth About Holidays”, a lecture which he delivered at the University of Miami, regarding celebrations and holidays in Islam.

Enjoy the holidays alternatively:

Since the family might be getting a few days off any way, you should carefully plan some fruitful and fun outings to make the most of them. Visiting relatives in another town or in a different country is a good option. Going to parks, the zoo, on a lakeside picnic, or to a cabin in the mountains for the weekend, are other enjoyable options.

If on a budget, you can camp out in your own backyard, teaching your children how to set up camp and start a bonfire!

Once you get down to it, your creative ideas will start flowing. E.g. during Halloween, when all other children are trick-or-treating, or getting pumpkins from the pumpkin patch, you can buy your children some candy and a pumpkin anyway, explaining how Allah created it. Later on, after the holiday is gone, you can buy them a costume of their liking, if they feel too dismayed at not having one while other children do.

For older children, you can give them a short background about Halloween and why it is not celebrated in Islam. The same goes for Christmas – when your children ask you who Santa is, or why everyone is decorating a tree in their living room, you can give them the background of the whole celebration. But that will be possible only if you yourself know it first!

You should remember that unless you focus on providing fun alternative family entertainment and outings, your children will definitely want to join in with the international holiday celebrations, feeling left out and lonely. It is easy to deny them their joys, but more difficult to actually provide them with enjoyable alternatives. As Muslim parents, it is your duty to do the latter.

One of the questions many Muslims mothers have asked me is, “How do I not celebrate my child’s birthday? I give in to pressure from relatives, who say its just some harmless fun, but afterwards, I end up feeling bad about encouraging a celebration that has no basis in Islam.”

The answer to this question is: provide an alternative celebration to your child a month or so before their birthday comes up.

First of all, explain to them that their birth date keeps moving according to the lunar calendar, just like the annual ‘Eid celebrations move every year. Make them remember their lunar birth date and year (click here for a solar-to-lunar date converter), besides just the Gregorian one.

Because children should not be denied their fun and parties, organize a party every year for each of your children, before their birthday comes up, in which all their friends are invited for games, food and fun. That way, the child will not feel that his/her parents do not love him/her, when their birthday goes by uncelebrated; they will already feel special and thought of.

Instead of a cake, you can keep individual muffins. Leave out the birthday song, candle-blowing and the cake-cutting, but have the games, assorted party food, Islamic musical entertainment (such as duff-accompanied nasheeds) and colorful decorations, as part of the festivities. Instead of making your child expect gifts from guests, buy individual gifts that he or she can give to each friend when they leave. This will encourage your child to have a giving spirit.

Muslim parents should also plan special festivities on both ‘Eids, so that their children never feel that their family is “no-fun” or “boring”. If, in addition to annual children’s parties, picnics on the beach, trips to the park/playground, to the zoo, the museum, and to fun-fairs, in addition to swimming, cycling, archery, other sports and horse-riding, are a regular part of your children’s life, they will never, ever miss not having “birthday celebrations”, because their yearning for enjoyment will be more than satisfied.

You, as a Muslim parent, have to ensure that you provide healthy, Islamic alternatives for your children’s enjoyment, for this to be possible.

Respect others; abstain from preaching intolerance or judgmental behavior:

Just because you and your family are not celebrating a particular holiday, there’s no need to pass judgments on those who are. Allah alone is the Judge of mankind. You can pass the days calmly unaffected by the hearty festivities, and if asked about why they are being carried out, be factual and brief in your reply, for example, “They celebrate it because it is their cultural/religious tradition,” or “It is a special, festive day in their religious calendar.” 

Reflect upon your identity:

People do a lot of things in the heat of the moment just because everyone around them is doing it. This attitude is indicative of youth, immaturity and impulsiveness. Wise, mentally independent and intelligent people don’t just do something because the world tells them to do it. They think about who they are, what they believe in, and where they want to go in life before they do something.

As a Muslim, if you feel there is ‘nothing wrong’ with being part of a community celebration, even if it signifies, or is the result of, the belief-set of another religion; maybe you should ask yourself some key questions about your faith. What do you believe, and why? Why are you a Muslim? Because you were born one? Because your parents raised you as one? Or because you have chosen to be one, after serious study of Islam’s authentic sources? Are you akin to a leaf floating on a river, going where ever the flow takes it? Or are you a strong, confident individual; someone who knows who they are, what they want in life, and is not apologetic about it? 

Whether you choose to celebrate or not – there’s no need to be too vocal about your opinions:

So, maybe you are one of those Muslims who go ahead and celebrate every holiday under the sun with your entire eclectic group of friends. You pull out all the stops and don’t give two hoots about any kind of Islamic restrictions, when the time comes to eat, drink, and be merry. You, therefore, can not stand the sight, sound or company of Muslim men in thobes, wearing kufi’s and sporting beards, with their hijab-donning wives in tow, telling others about the reality of these holidays and how they are impermissible to celebrate in Islam. Whenever you get the chance, you snub, criticize and degrade these practicing Muslims, calling them demeaning names and rejecting their polite efforts at Islamic brotherly relations.
Be a little tolerant yourself; live and let live. If they make you feel guilty for some reason, causing you to go on the offensive to defend yourself, resist the urge to put them down in front of non-Muslims – it doesn’t look pretty. Just live and let live. Quietly.

Try not to get into arguments:

Your Muslim neighbor, sibling or friend might not be too keen about celebrating the New Year. They are not letting their children go to a New Year party. Your ‘weird’ cousin got no gift, chocolates, or flowers for his wife on Valentine’s Day, saying he “doesn’t believe in it”. Your married sister pulled her children out of a secular school when it held a Christmas celebration. Your parents refuse to buy a Christmas tree, presents or stockings for the living room on Christmas Eve; because, they insist, they are Muslims.

No matter how much you don’t understand, nor appreciate this apparent “extremism” or “narrow-mindedness”, try not to argue with them about their beliefs. They have their reasons for their actions, and maybe those reasons are genuine – to them. If you don’t mind your friends of other faiths making an effort to preserve their own cultures and traditions, don’t hate Muslims for intending to do the same thing. Ever wonder why Chinese restaurants are hued with red? Ever think why most Hindus do not eat beef? Ever criticize them for it? If not, treat your fellow Muslims with the same respect. 

If you are comfortable and confident about your faith in Islam, you won’t really be bothered about what the world thinks of you if you don’t participate in secular festivals and celebrations. However, if you are yourself inclined towards these celebrations, you will probably resort to complaining about, and criticizing, the restrictions of Islam, labeling those who adhere to them as extremists, bores, or fundamentalists. Whatever the case, try not to get into fights over each others’ choice of action, and remember that mutual respect and tolerance is preached by all religions of mankind; therefore, adhere to this universal law, especially with your own brothers and sisters in Islam, whenever pumpkins, fir trees, red hearts or Santa’s appear on the horizon.

The author writes for Hiba Magazine.

Muharram: Facts And Misconceptions

Facts About Muharram

• Muharram is one of the four sacred Months out of twelve. The other being ZiQad,ZilHajj and Rajab.
• These four months have been sacred since the creation of universe – as told by Allah Subhana Watala in the Quran.
• After Ramadan, fasting in the month of Muharram is most rewardable.

Facts about Ashura – The 10th of Muharram

• Fasting on the 10th Muharram i.e. Ashura was obligatory on the Muslims before the fasts of Ramadan were made obligatory.
• Fasting on the 10th of Muharram expiates the sins of the previous year.
• Musa (as) and the Bani Israel were saved from the Pharaoh by the parting of the sea on 10th Muharram.
• Prophet Musa (as) as a sign of gratitute to Allah used to fast on the day of Ashura and Jews did the same.
• Prophet Muhammad (saw) on hearing the fast of Musa (as) also ordered the Muslims to fast on this day and himself did the same.
• Prophet Muhammad (saw) decided to fast on 9th Muharram as well to differentiate from the Jews but he passed away before he could do so.

Misconceptions about Ashura

• This is the day Prophet Adam (as) was created
• This is the day when Allah accepted the repentance of Adam (as)
• This is the day when Ibrahim (as) was born.
• This is the day the Qayamat (doomsday) will occur. (From hadiths we know Qayamat will occur on a friday, but does not specify which month)
• Whoever baths of Ashura will never get ill.
• Muharram is an evil or unlucky month.( Due to  the battle of Karbala)
• Marriages should not be held in Muharram.

All of the above are misconceptions based on unauthentic traditions. This misconception can be easily removed by the fact that on the exact same day Husain (ra) was martyred, years ago Prophet Musa as and his followers were saved from Pharaoh, which is why Prophet Muhammad saw observed the fast on Ashura and ordered the Muslims to do the same. The day can not be lucky or unlucky at the same time.

Historical Facts about Muharram

• Companion Umar Farooq (ra) succumbed to his injuries and attained Martyrdom on the 1st of Muharram, 23 AH (After Hijri)
• Grandson of Prophet Muhammad (saw) Hussain ibn Ali (ra) along with most of his family members was martyred in the desert of Kerbala in Iraq on the 10th of Muharram.

Authentic Ibadaat (Worship) of Muharram

• Fasting in Muharram (any day)
• Fasting on 10th Muharram and combining it with the fast of 9th Muharram to distinguish from the Jews.

Innovations and things to avoid in Muharram

• Preparing special dishes meals in Muharram.
• Holding lamentation and mourning ceremonies in the memory of martyrdom of Sayyidna Husain (ra)
• Cursing the companions.
• Wearing black clothes and starving and refusing to drink in memory of Husain (ra)

All these are deviant practices which go against the basic teachings of Quran and Prophet Muhammad (saw) He said “”He is not from our group who slaps his checks, tears his clothes and cries in the manner of the people of jahiliyyah.” (Sahih Bukhari)

Sayyidna Husain ra before his demise advised his beloved sister Sayyidah Zainab, ra, not to mourn over his death in this manner. He said, “My dear sister! I swear upon you that in case I die you shall not tear your clothes, nor scratch your face, nor curse anyone for me or pray for your death.” (Al-Kamil, ibn Kathir vol. 4 pg. 24)