A Coptic Christian from Egypt is battling for a court ruling to allow him to remain in the United States and avoid the sure torture he would face under Egypt's Islamic law, according to his supporters. Sameh Khouzam, 38, who has been in the United States for about nine years already, is facing a court date June 18, when a decision will be. . .
read more | digg story
Thursday, June 14, 2007
'JEWBERMAN' THIRSTY: MORE MUSLIM BLOOD! - Mel Gibson
Senator Joe Lieberman called for military action, this week, against Iran. Since, US Undersecretary of States Nicholas Burns told CNN the US has irrefutable evidence Iran is arming Taliban fighters in Afghanistan, defying a UN resolution. Many say former US secretary of defense, Donald Rumsfeld, is assisting in finding the evidence.
read more | digg story
read more | digg story
Bush using the word "Jihad" empowers terrorists... Try the word "hirabis"
"The term 'jihad' usually means Jihad fi sabil Allah -- "striving in the path of God,". To gain Muslim support, we should call terrorists "hirabis" (sinful warriors) ... which would be more accurate. Changing this vocabulary would work miracles! Send this article to your congressmen.
read more | digg story
read more | digg story
Having fled Iraq, she died at the hands of her father – and all because of
“We are Muslim and Kurdish. We are not like the English where you can be boyfriend and girlfriend.” This article from the Times Online (thanks to Sr. Soph) tells the whole tragic story of Banaz Mahmod, an honor killing victim...
read more | digg story
read more | digg story
Wednesday, June 13, 2007
UK: Muslim women abuse soldier at troops hospital
Yet another illustration of loyalties. "Muslim women abuse soldier at troops hospital," by Mark Nicol in the Daily Mail, with thanks to E.B.: A British Army officer has been abused by Asian women while on a hospital visit to troops...
read more | digg story
read more | digg story
Holocaust survivor: learn from the past
BALI, Indonesia - A Jewish Holocaust survivor made a plea for tolerance Tuesday at a conference in the world's most populous Muslim nation that also brought together religious leaders and victims of attacks by Islamic extremists. Some enlightened speech, it would be nice if this kind of thing would spread through out the Muslim world.
read more | digg story
read more | digg story
Muslim terrorist accuses the west of initiating conflict between Muslims
He also accuses Bush of 9/11 and being the biggest terrorist in the world. Maybe the democrats should put him on the ticket.
read more | digg story
read more | digg story
Thursday, June 7, 2007
Albanian Roofer has Big-Time Political, Financial, and Terrorist Ties
Krasniqi has contributed to the political campaigns of John Kerry, Wesley Clark, John McCain, Henry Hyde “and none other than Tom Lantos, who is now promising a Moslem state in the heart of Europe [Kosovo].”...Krasniqi and some of his KLA roofers are seen at a Kerry fundraiser joking around with Wesley Clark and...Richard Holbrooke...
read more | digg story
read more | digg story
Good Muslim, Bad Muslim -- An African Perspective
Ever since September 11, there has been a growing media interest in Islam. What is the link, many seem to ask, between Islam and terrorism? The Spectator, a British weekly, carried a lead article a few weeks ago that argued that the link was not with all of Islam, but with a very literal interpretation of it. This version, Wahhabi Islam....
read more | digg story
read more | digg story
If a man can have more than one wife, why Islam prohibit same for woman?
A lot of people, including some Muslims, question the logic of allowing Muslim men to have more than one spouse while denying the same right to women. Let me first state emphatically, that the foundation of an Islamic society is justice and equity. Allah has created men and women as equal, but with different capabilities and different [...]
read more | digg story
read more | digg story
Cameron condemns lack of Muslim integration in Britain
Of course, for this "cultural separatism" to be really effectively addressed, Cameron and others would have to confront the reality of Islam as a political and social system as well as a religious faith. But that is something they show...
read more | digg story
read more | digg story
Sex and the married Muslim | Salon Life
Veiled by a hijab, Dr. Heba Kotb appears weekly on a hit Arab TV show called "The Big Talk" with a message for Muslims: Have more sex -- and hot sex -- in the name of Allah.
read more | digg story
read more | digg story
Good Muslim, Bad Muslim: AsiaSource Interview (2004)
Mahmood Mamdani, a third generation East African of Indian origin, was born in Kampala, Uganda. He received his Ph.D. from Harvard in 1974. ...In this interview, Professor Mamdani discusses the arguments in his most recent book, Good Muslim, Bad Muslim: America, the Cold War, and the Roots of Terror
read more | digg story
read more | digg story
Wednesday, June 6, 2007
The Method of Shi`ism in Authenticating the Hadith
Shi`ism, in addition to seeking to authenticate the chain of transmission of hadith, considers the correlation of the text of the hadith with the Quran as a necessary condition forits validity. In Shi`ite sources there are many hadiths of the Prophet and the Imams with authentic chains of transmission which themselves assert that a hadith contrary to the Quran has no value. Only that hadith can be considered valid which is in agreement with the Quran. Basing itself on these hadiths, Shi`ism does not act upon those hadiths which are contrary to the text of the Quran. As for hadiths whose agreement or disagreement cannot be established, according to instructions received from the Imams they are passed by in silence without being accepted or rejected. Needless to say there are also within Shi`ism those who, like a group among the Sunnis, act on any hadith whatsoever which they happen to find in different traditional sources.
Traditions of the Companions
In Shi`ism hadiths transmitted through the companions are dealt with according to this principle: if they deal with the words and actions of the Prophet and do not contradict the hadiths of the Household of the Prophet, they are acceptable. If they contain only the views or opinions of the companions themselves and not those of the Prophet, they are not authoritative as sources for religious injunctions. In this respect the ruling of the companions is like the ruling of any other Muslim. In the same way, the companions themselves dealt with other companions in questions of Islamic law as they would with any Muslim, not as someone special.
The principle that the hadith possesses validity, as attested by the Quran, is not at all disputed among Shi`ites or in fact among all Muslims. But because of the failure of some of the early rulers of Islam in preserving and guarding the hadith, and the excesses of a group among the companions and followers of the Prophet in propagating hadith literature, the corpus of hadith came to face a certain number of difficulties. On the one hand the caliphs of the time prevented the writing down and recording of the hadith and ordered any pages contaning texts of hadith to be burned. Soemtimes also any increase in activity in the transmission and study of hadith was forbidden. In this way a certain number of hadiths were forgotten or lost and a few were even transmitted with a different or
distorted meaning. On the other hand another tendency also prevailed among another group of the companions of the Holy Prophet who had had the honor of seeing his presence and actually hearing his words. This group, which was respected by the caliphs and the Muslim community, began an intense effort to propagate the hadith. This was carried to such an extent that sometimes hadith overruled the Quran and the injunction of a quranic verse was even considered abrogated by some people through a hadith. Often the transmitters of hadith would travel many miles and bear all the difficulties of travelling in order to hear a single saying. A group of outsiders who had worn the dress of Islam and also some of the enemies within the ranks of Islam began to change and distort some of the hadith and thus diminished the reliability and validity of the hadith that was then heard and known. For this very reason Islamic scholars began to think of a solution. They created the sciences concerned with the biography of learned men and chains of transmission of hadith in order to be able to discriminate between true and false hadith.
The principle that the hadith possesses validity, as attested by the Quran, is not at all disputed among Shi`ites or in fact among all Muslims. But because of the failure of some of the early rulers of Islam in preserving and guarding the hadith, and the excesses of a group among the companions and followers of the Prophet in propagating hadith literature, the corpus of hadith came to face a certain number of difficulties. On the one hand the caliphs of the time prevented the writing down and recording of the hadith and ordered any pages contaning texts of hadith to be burned. Soemtimes also any increase in activity in the transmission and study of hadith was forbidden. In this way a certain number of hadiths were forgotten or lost and a few were even transmitted with a different or
distorted meaning. On the other hand another tendency also prevailed among another group of the companions of the Holy Prophet who had had the honor of seeing his presence and actually hearing his words. This group, which was respected by the caliphs and the Muslim community, began an intense effort to propagate the hadith. This was carried to such an extent that sometimes hadith overruled the Quran and the injunction of a quranic verse was even considered abrogated by some people through a hadith. Often the transmitters of hadith would travel many miles and bear all the difficulties of travelling in order to hear a single saying. A group of outsiders who had worn the dress of Islam and also some of the enemies within the ranks of Islam began to change and distort some of the hadith and thus diminished the reliability and validity of the hadith that was then heard and known. For this very reason Islamic scholars began to think of a solution. They created the sciences concerned with the biography of learned men and chains of transmission of hadith in order to be able to discriminate between true and false hadith.
Sunnah
The Holy Quran, which is the principal source of religious thought in Islam, has given full authority to the external meanings of its words for those who give ear to its message. The same external meaning of the Quranic verses has made the sayings of the Prophet complementary to the words of the Quran and has declared them to be authoritative like the Quran. For as the Quran says: "And We have revealed unto thee the Remembrance that thou mayst explain to mankind that which hath been revealed for them" (Quran, XVI, 44). And, "He it is who hath sent among the unlettered ones a messenger of their own, to recite unto them His revelations and to make them grow, and to teach them the scripture and Wisdom" (Quran, LXII, 2). And "And whatsoever the messenger giveth you, take it. And whatsoever he forbiddeth, abstain (from it)" (Quran, LIX,
And, "Verily in the messenger of Allah ye have a good example" (Quran, XXXIII, 21). It is quite evident that such verses would not have any real meaning if the words and deeds of the Prophet and his silence and approval were not authority for us just as the Quran itself is. Thus the words of the Prophet are authoritative and must be accepted by those who have heard them orally or received them through reliable transmission. Moreover, through such a completely authentic chain of transmission it is known that the Holy Prophet said, "I leave two things of value amidst you in trust which if you hold on to you will never go astray: the Quran and the members of my household. These will never be separated until the Day of Judgment." According to this and other definitely established hadiths the words of the Family and Household of the Prophet form a corpus that is complementary to the Prophetic hadith.The Household of the Prophet in Islam have authority in religious sciences and are inerrant in the explanation of the teachings and injunctions of Islam. Their sayings, received orally or through reliable transmission, are reliable and authoritative. Therefore, it is clear that the traditional source from which the formal and external aspect of religion is derived, which is an authoritative document and which is also the basic source for the religious thought of Islam, consists of two parts: The Book (Quran) and the Sunnah. By the book is meant the external aspect of the verses of the Holy Quran; and by the sunnah, hadith received from the Prophet and his revered Household.
And, "Verily in the messenger of Allah ye have a good example" (Quran, XXXIII, 21). It is quite evident that such verses would not have any real meaning if the words and deeds of the Prophet and his silence and approval were not authority for us just as the Quran itself is. Thus the words of the Prophet are authoritative and must be accepted by those who have heard them orally or received them through reliable transmission. Moreover, through such a completely authentic chain of transmission it is known that the Holy Prophet said, "I leave two things of value amidst you in trust which if you hold on to you will never go astray: the Quran and the members of my household. These will never be separated until the Day of Judgment." According to this and other definitely established hadiths the words of the Family and Household of the Prophet form a corpus that is complementary to the Prophetic hadith.The Household of the Prophet in Islam have authority in religious sciences and are inerrant in the explanation of the teachings and injunctions of Islam. Their sayings, received orally or through reliable transmission, are reliable and authoritative. Therefore, it is clear that the traditional source from which the formal and external aspect of religion is derived, which is an authoritative document and which is also the basic source for the religious thought of Islam, consists of two parts: The Book (Quran) and the Sunnah. By the book is meant the external aspect of the verses of the Holy Quran; and by the sunnah, hadith received from the Prophet and his revered Household.
In The Name of Allah
The Holy Prophet:
"I Leave two great and precious things among you: The Book of Allah and My Household"
Since Islam has offered humanity the most comprehensive value system for all aspects of life, the explanation of this system is of the greatest importance. We believe that Islam can meet all the spiritual and material needs of humanity. Islam presents its laws and principles as a mixture of spiritual and intellectual guidelines. Moreover, the harmony of Islam with human nature helps with the spread of Islam. Now our duty and mission is to present the noble and pure Islam, as it was revealed by Allah to His Prophet (S.A). We believe that a true and comprehensive understanding of Islam would not be possible without careful recognition of the Prophetic tradition and the Prophet's household. Nowadays, Muslims are being awakened throughout the world to there true identity. This awakening marks a new epoch in which on unprecedented search for understanding of Islam is taking place by means of which Muslims are attempting to solve their individual, social, spiritual and material problems within the life-giving teachings and doctrines of Islam. Indifference or negligence with regard to the Prophet's tradition is, in fact, negligence of the Glorious Qur`an, for the Glorious Qur`an confirms for Muslims all the words and acts of the Prophet (S.A). The Glorious Qur`an also has recounted traditions of the Prophet (S.A) as one of the original sources for the deduction of Islamic prescripts and laws. The Prophet (S.A) in a widely reported authentic tradition a says: "O. People, I leave among you two great and precious things which if you cling to them you not be led into error: The Book of Allah and my household."
Therefore:
1. The Infallible Imams relate all their traditions from the Prophet (S.A).
2. According to the Prophet's statements, the only way to salvation in the world is the obedience to The Glorious Qur`an and the Prophet's household.
DAR UL HADITH CULTURAL INSTITUTE
Sunnah and Hadith
"And whatever the Messenger gives you, take it, and whatever he forbids you, leave it. And fear Allah: truly Allah is severe in punishment. " [Qur'an 59:7]
In Islam, the Arabic word sunnah has come to denote the way Prophet Muhammad (saas), the Messenger of Allah, lived his life. The Sunnah is the second source of Islamic jurisprudence, the first being the Qur'an. Both sources are indispensable; one cannot practice Islam without consulting both of them. The Arabic word hadith (pl. ahadith) is very similar to Sunnah, but not identical. A hadith is a narration about the life of the Prophet (saas) or what he approved - as opposed to his life itself, which is the Sunnah as already mentioned.
In M. M. Azami's Studies in Hadith Methodology and Literature, the following precise definition of a hadith is given,
According to Muhaddithiin [scholars of hadith -ed.] it stands for 'what was transmitted on the authority of the Prophet, his deeds, sayings, tacit approval, or description of his sifaat (features) meaning his physical appearance. However, physical appearance of the Prophet is not included in the definition used by the jurists.'
Thus hadith literature means the literature which consists of the narrations of the life of the Prophet and the things approved by him. However, the term was used sometimes in much broader sense to cover the narrations about the Companions [of the Prophet -ed.] and Successors [to the Companions -ed.] as well.
The explosion of Islam in the 7th and 8th centuries confronted Islamic scholars with a daunting task: to preserve the knowledge of the Sunnah of the Prophet (saas). Hence the science of hadith evaluation was born. We recommend that you read the "Introduction to the Science of Hadith" below to understand the tremendous efforts that were required to sift the true reports from the false reports. The success of the early scholars is also captured below by some collections of hadith.
The Noble Qur'an
"Alif Laam Raa. A book which we have revealed to you (Muhammad) so that you may lead the people from out of the darknesses into the light by their Lord's leave to the path of the All-Mighty, the Praiseworthy." [Qur'an 14:1]
The Qur'an ("Qor-Ann") is a Message from Allah to humanity. It was transmitted to us in a chain starting from the Almighty Himself (swt) to the angel Gabriel to the Prophet Muhammad (saas). This message was given to the Prophet (saas) in pieces over a period spanning approximately 23 years (610 CE to 622 CE). The Prophet (saas) was 40 years old when the Qur'an began to be revealed to him, and he was 63 when the revelation was completed. The language of the original message was Arabic, but it has been translated into many other languages.
The Qur'an is one leg of two which form the basis of Islam. The second leg is the Sunnah of the Prophet (saas). What makes the Qur'an different from the Sunnah is primarily its form. Unlike the Sunnah, the Qur'an is quite literally the Word of Allah, whereas the Sunnah was inspired by Allah but the wording and actions are the Prophet's. The Qur'an has not been expressed using any human's words. Its wording is letter for letter fixed by no one but Allah.
Prophet Muhammad (saas) was the final Messenger of Allah to humanity, and therefore the Qur'an is the last Message which Allah has sent to us. Its predecessors such as the Torah, Psalms, and Gospels have all been superceded. It is an obligation - and blessing - for all who hear of the Qur'an and Islam to investigate it and evaluate it for themselves. Allah has guaranteed that He will protect the Qur'an from human tampering, and today's readers can find exact copies of it all over the world. The Qur'an of today is the same as the Qur'an revealed to Muhammad (saas).
About the Prophet Muhammad
"Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah." [Qur'an 48:29]
Much has been written about the Prophet Muhammad (saas), from indepth biographies by Muslim scholars and non-Muslim researchers to sayings upon sayings of others. Muhammad ibnu Abdillah was born in Mecca in the year 569 CE. He earned his living as a trader and was known by his people as al-amin (the trustworthy one). When Muhammad (saas) reached the age of 40, the angel Gabriel came to him with revelations that established his prophethood. Muhammad (saas) was first ordered to instruct his immediate family on Islam, including his beloved wife Khadija, but eventually it was revealed to him that he should begin delivering the message to all of mankind. In the next 20 years of his life, he communicated the message of Allah to his people, and set an example for how each human being should lead her or his life. This is especially valuable since Muhammad (saas) is the last Prophet of Allah. In the year 632, the year of his death, the Prophet delivered his famous last sermon.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
