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Dr Kaukab Siddique | Editor-in-Chief Jamada al-Awwal 14,1427/June 10, 2006 #36


Think about it: The World Cup games have revealed that PROSTITUTION is LEGAL in Germany. Thus the Allied victors of 1945 and the Israelis have tried to undermine Germany by destroying its cultural foundation. Jews are being brought back to be re-settled in Germany in large numbers. By contrast, PALESTINIANS are not allowed back into their homeland occupied by the Jews.


On June 9, Israeli artillery shelled a beach in Gaza killing 7 Palestinians, including 5 children. Every day the Zionists attack the Palestinians killing at will, using helicopters, jets and artillery to murder helpless victims. ONE CAR was hit by an Israeli air strike. The UN watches in silence as the slaughter goes on.

Finally Hamas is showing some backbone. It has condemned the assassination of al-Zarqawi and decided to end its truce with Israel following the slaughter on the beach on June 9.

Muslims worldwide must boycott Israel and all businesses connected to Israel. Any idea of recognition of Israel is nothing but treachery.
[Do you drink Coca Cola or Nestle's water and products, or Starbuck's coffee? You are helping Israel.]


Women in Islam: The Way they Were Supposed to be

by Kaukab Siddique

Umm Darda is one of the great women of the first century of Islam. She passed away in the year 82 of the Hijra. Although she did not meet the Prophet Muhammad, pbuh, she met his Companions [sahaba], may Allah be pleased with them.

One of the Sahaba, Abu Darda, r.a., who was her guardian, noticed that although a child and an orphan, she wore her headcover and came to prayers in the lines of the men. Then she would stay after prayers with the men to hear the recitation of the Qur'an. Even though a child, she learned to recite the Qur'an with great power and then memorized the entire Qur'an.

Abu Darda, r.a., impressed by her seriousness, encouraged her to become a scholar of Islam. After some years, he told her that as she was turning from a child to a young woman, she should go and sit in the separate prayer lines of women. Umm Darda became a scholar of Islam and went on to become a Faqiha [expert in Islamic jurisprudence]. Still later she married Abu Darda, r.a., her guardian, took the name Umm Darda and the two were known for their mutual devotion and love.

The classical scholars of Islam praised Umm Darda in the highest terms. The historian Ibn Kathir wrote: "Umm Darda was tab'ai, a great scholar, very pious and an expert in Islamic Law and jurisprudence."
[Al Bidaya wun Nihaya, vol. 9, p.50]

Famous biographer of the classical era of Islam, Dhahabi writes of Umm Darda that she was the embodiment of virtue, God-consciousness, knowledge and good deeds and that she was a scholar and expert in Islamic Law.
[Seer 'alam al-Nubala, vol. 4, p.279.]

The Hadith Umm Darda narrated are proof that during the first century of Islam, the same Hadith existed which were later compiled by the Hadith collectors of the third century. She narrated Hadith not only from her husband, Abu Darda, r.a., but also other Sahaba of the Prophet, pbuh, such as Salman Farsi, r.a., Abu Huraira, r.a., and Fadala bin Ubaid, r.a.

She was a teacher and leader of men and women. Many men narrated Hadith from her, including the great Syrian scholar Makhul. Her Hadith are to be found in four of the six canonical collections of Hadith: Those of Muslim, Abu Dawud, Tirmidhi and Ibn Maja.

Every day she held meetings in her home in Damascus where scholars and seekers of knowledge, those who sought the Hereafter rather than this world, would come to listen to her teachings. After her husband died, she started spending six months out of the year in Masjid al-Aqsa in Jerusalem where she would teach and learn some of the time and the rest of the time she would mostly spend in worship of Allah.

Why do Muslims not study the achievements of Umm Darda today? Perhaps a woman leader is a problem for them. A sectarian reason for neglect is also there. Umm Darda lived in Damascus during the Ummayad era. When her husband died, Ameer Muawiyya, r.a., hearing of her great beauty and learning wanted to marry her. She refused saying she wanted to be with her husband Abu Darda, r.a., in heaven and would not marry anyone else. The Shi'ites abhor Ameer Muawiyya, r.a., although their second imam, Hasan, r.a., had accepted him as rightful Caliph.


Interview with Syed Munawar Hasan

Secretary General of Jamaate Islami, Key Organizer of Islamic Coalition, MMA

Pakistan's Army is Incompetent and Working for the enemy: Islamic Volunteers in Earthquake Areas Showed Quality of Islamic leadership: Women offer their Children for Jihad

In May 2006 New Trend interviewed Br. Munawar Hasan in Lahore to guage the situation in Pakistan. Here are a few questions and answers from the interview.

New Trend: With so much corruption in this country, what hope can be there for the future. The gap between rich and poor is so wide. During the day, the poor work in 110 degrees farenheit. At night, the rich come out to flock to the classy restaurants. Every night, there is a huge traffic jam in Gulbarg, flashy cars moving towards rich food. These secularist enclaves own this country. Why do you claim Islam is winning? Look at the Internet cafes? What filth is being read on line by Pakistani youths! Even America can't compare with this pornography!

Syed Munawar Hasan: You have not seen the real Pakistan. Large numbers of people are seriously turning towards Islam. The secularists are lost people. They have nothing to offer Pakistanis. You should spend some time with me. I'll take you to the villages and smal towns. See the real Pakistan and you'll be surprised.

NT: How can you say that when the army is in full control. Every now and then they kill Muslims or hand them over to America in the name of fighting "terrorism."

SMH: The army is incompetent and should be disbanded. They have become the agents of imperialism. This army is actually helping the enemies of this country. However, most of their boasts of killing "terrorists" are empty. They are not able to show any bodies of Islamic leaders they claim to have killed or captured. They are killing Pakistani Muslims, and the army has in turn suffered heavy casualties.

NT. How do you know that Islam is winning in Pakistan? Where's the evidence?

SMH: The best evidence came in the aftermath of the cataclysmic earthquake. The men with the long beards, the "mullahs" so-called were in the forefront of the relief effort. The army's incomptence became very clear in the earthquake stricken areas. The Islamic volunteers were working round the clock till they would collapse from exhaustion. The army worked from 9 to 5 as if it was a job. The Islamic people showed their love of humanity and were willing to do anything for the victims.

NT: Alhamdulillah!

SMH: Also, the Islamic Ummah was re-discovered in the massive relief activity. Islamic workers came from all over the world to help the people of Kashmir and Frontier. Top level physicians who don't have time to talk to anyone during their daily routines worked with the bearded volunteers; these experts simply left their careers and worked for 8 weeks in the stricken areas. The suffering was unthinkable but the efforts of the Islamic workers too were unimaginable.

NT: All praise belongs to Allah!

SMH: Also, promise to come with me and I will show you the spirit of Jihad among our people. Women in our cities are offering their children for Jihad. We don't need any army. I will show you families who have already sacrificed 2 sons for Islam [in Kashmir, etc] and the mother sends a message: I have three more sons to give for Jihad!

NT: But our friends in America say that Jamaate Islami does not work among the poor and the oppressed.

SMH: Those are the thoughts of what we call "coffee house intellectuals." These are elites who like to pass judgement without any " hands on" experience. You should have seen the spirit of the Pakistani poor masses rising up to condemn the caricatures of the Prophet, peace be on him, in extremes of heat and bad weather with little or no food to eat. Yes, we do build hospitals, schools, roads, child welfare and female refuge places too, right across the country. But without the human spirit, without Islam, without the flame of faith, without the love of the Prophet, peace be on him, this country would crumble. We are Pakistanis because we love Islam.

NT: I think it was a mistake for Jamaate Islami to oppose Nawaz Sharif's Muslim League. You should try to patch up that situation. Don't you see how much General Musharraf hates Nawaz Sharif? Javed Hashmi, Muslim League leader, was so unjustly imprisoned by Musharraf!

SMH: In Pakistan, there is a traditional political leadership which comes to power whenever the army leaves. The Islamic constituency, not based on land or feudalism or money, does not fit into the framework of any of the established political constituencies of this country, but I will not reject your suggestion. We are willing to be flexible without jeopardising our principles.


Analysis

What the Assassination of Abu Mus'ab al-Zarqawi Means to the U.S. and to Islam

New Trend Special Report

based on international media coverage

June 7. It was a superbly carried out execution of the top Islamic leader in Iraq, Abu Mus'ab from the town of Zarqa in Jordan. The air raid which killed him, his Islamic teacher Shaikh Abdur Rahman and four of his associates, was carried out by two U.S. F-16s which dropped two 500 pound bombs on the home where he was staying. The first bomb, laser guided, hit its target but a second one was let loose to make sure he was finished off.

The initial photos of the bombed structure turned out to be those of collateral damage. CNN soon acknowledged [June 8] that the shattered home being shown was not the target but was more than half a kilometer away from the target. The number of civilians killed has not been mentioned but the death of a woman and a child is mentioned.

It appears to have been a great victory for the U.S. and highlighted the technological superiority the U.S. has over the Muslims, with the skillful use of a drone which pinpointed the target followed by two F-16s which dropped 500 lb laser guided bombs.

From the early hours of June 8, the wave of jubilation spread from the Australian leader, to Israel, to Tony Blair and to President Bush [who spoke at 7.30 AM, Eastern Standard Time, quite an early hour for the easy going President]. Israel's Olmert was the first to call Bush to congratulate him.

One theme was common to the expressions of these four regarding al-Zarqawi: They agreed that they had liquidated their main opponent in Iraq and thus opened up the way for the success of the democracy they have installed in Iraq.

At a slightly lower level, Senator Joseph Lieberman [D-Connecticut], who led the charge for the invasion of Iraq, declared that al-Zarqawi was pure "evil." [Tendentially, the Senator proudly pointed out that he had called for the "overthrow of Saddam" as far back as 1998, nearly five years before the invasion.]

To give the U.S. media and President Bush credit, it should be pointed out that they were restrained in their expressions and did not declare outright victory as they had done on the capture of President Saddam Hussain. The media noted that the "terrorists" will not stop fighting because of the elimination of al-Zarqawi. In fact those connected to U.S.-intelligence related services, who monitor Islamic web sites [known as "jihadi" web sites in western parlance] noted that the "jihadis" are vowing revenge for the killing.

Al-Zarqawi's Death might Prove a Serious Setback for the U.S.:

During his last months, Abu Mus'ab al-Zarqawi seemed to have been courting martyrdom. He came out in April with an extensive video openly showing his face, his environment and his activities. He was wearing an explosives vest in the video indicating his line of thinking.

The way he was killed appears to be the best end an Islamic martyr could hope for, a very rare combination. The three components of his death are as follows:

1. Aerial monitoring and air strike by the U.S.

2. Intelligence provided through torture of captured Islamists by the Jordanian King Abdullah.

3. Ground work by Shi'ite collaborators of the U.S.

Thus Al-Zarqawi has overnight become a saint for the Islamic world. This impression is fortified not only by the coordination through which he was killed but by an important aspect of his personality: that he was in Iraq solely for the purposes of resistance to the U.S. occupation forces and its Shi'ite collaborators. No other motivation is alleged by observers on both sides. Thus the martyrdom aspect of his personality is unambiguous. Muslims revere him now because of what the Qur'an has said about people like him:

"Think not of those who are slain in Allah's Way as dead. Nay, they live, finding their sustenance from their Lord. They rejoice in the Grace [fadl] provided by Allah. And with regard to those left behind, who have not yet joined them [in their bliss], the [martyrs] glory in the fact that on them is no fear, nor have they [cause to] grieve. [3:170]

Al-Zarqawi seems to have been under the impression that without Jihad there can be no Paradise for the Muslim, especially in circumstances like those of Iraq, Afghanistan, Palestine, Kashmir, Chechnia, Somalia, Sudan etc. Here is a central verse on the subject from the Qur'an:

"Did ye think that ye would enter Paradise [al-Jannah] without Allah testing those who did Jihad and remained steadfast?" [3:142]

As a martyr, al-Zarqawi subsumes within himself the three essential and most outstanding characteristics of Islam as adumbrated by the Qur'an:

"Those who believe, and do hijrah [leave their homes for Allah's sake], and do Jihad in Allah's Way, as well as those who give them asylum and aid - these are in very truth the believers: For them is forgiveness of sins and a provision most generous." {8:74]

Muslims know that Jihad is very difficult as it is carried out against the forces of oppression which may be much superior in numbers and in firepower. In Iraq, an estimated 15 to 30,000 mujahideen are facing 131,000 U.S. troops. There is no comparison in firepower. Al-Zarqawi had no way of spotting the F-16s and certainly no way of shooting them down. In such circumstances, Muslims like to quibble that Jihad is really not armed struggle but that an examination of the Arabic verb for struggle connotes any kind of struggle. A fabricated narration is popular among Muslims which indicates that fighting against one's nafs [inner self] is a greater Jihad than fighting with weapons.

Hadith of the Prophet, pbuh, indicates that Jihad does not mean any general kind of struggle. It is specifically armed struggle, though support work for Jihad is included in Jihad. Hence, al-Zarqawi was not following the modern versions of "jihad" but Jihad as interpreted by Prophet Muhammad, pbuh:

Narrated by 'Umru bin 'Absa: A man asked: O messenger of Allah, what is Jihad? He [the messenger, pbuh] replied: It is that you go to war with weapons against the kuffar. [Hadith Musnad of Ahmad, 4:114] [All the narrators of this Hadith are reliable and authentic.]

Muslims venerate al-Zarqawi and others like him because of Hadith which place Jihad above all other actions of a true believer. For instance:

"Abu Huraira, r.a., narrates that a person asked the messenger of Allah, pbuh: Tell me of a deed which can replace Jihad? The messenger replied: I do not see any action which can equal Jihad." [Hadith in Sahih of Bukhari, kitab al-Jihad.]

The Prophet Muhammad, pbuh, repeatedly taught that Jihad is the greatest human action. Here is one Hadith which states it clearly:

"From Sahl ibn Sa'ad, r.a. : The messenger of Allah, pbuh, said: Going forth in Allah's way [for jihad] for a night and a day is better than the entire world and all that is in the world."
[Hadith Sahih of Bukhari, kitab al-Jihad.]

Finally, it should be noted that martyrdom was the quest of the Prophet Muhammad, pbuh, himself. By achieving martyrdom, Muslims believe, al-Zarqawi has attained a very high position in the hierarchy of Islamic values. This authentic Hadith leaves no doubt that the Prophet, pbuh, is talking about the battlefield:

[From Abu Huraira, r.a.] The messenger of Allah, pbuh, said: "It is my desire that I should fight in Allah's way and be killed, [be brought back to life] fight again and be killed, [be brought back to life], fight again and be killed." [Hadith, Sahih Muslim, Kitab al-Imarat, section on "The superiority of Jihad and Going Forth in Allah's Way.]

Thus by killing him, King Abdullah's men, President Bush's forces, and "Ayatullah" Ali Sistani's men have given al-Zarqawi the greatest honor a Muslim can have.

Asymmetrical Warfare made Abu Mus'ab al-Zarqawi Controversial:

The American invasion of Iraq began with "Shock and Awe," which involved impressive bombing of Baghdad in a clear attempt to kill the President of Iraq. Thereafter, the U.S. and Britain have indulged in an orgy of mass murder in Iraq. According to calculations by Lancet magazine, the U.S. air force had killed nearly 100,000 Iraqis BEFORE the U.S. assault on the city of Fallujah. Thereafter the U.S. destroyed the ENTIRE city of Fallujah, house by house, mosque by mosque. [In the mosques which survived, U.S. troops were stationed to have their "after hours" activities.] [President Bush put the number of Iraqis killed at 30,000.]

In the months after the destruction of Fallujah, the U.S. embarked on a CITY by CITY destruction of the Islamic resistance in Anbar province and Mosul. Special targets were Islamic schools, mosques and libraries run by the Muslims who follow the Qur'an and the authentic Hadith [known in America as "Wahhabis."]

U.S. acts of terrorism in Iraq have only recently come to public attention owing to the systematic killings of unarmed Muslims by the U.S. in Haditha and other towns. Systematic torture and humiliation of Muslims came out earlier because of the discovery of photos from Abu Ghraib which [photos] were being used as entertainment on "porno" cards distributed by U.S. troops to their friends. A woman named NOOR smuggled out a letter from prison to indicate random rape of Iraqi women by U.S. troops,

Research of the war situation in Iraq suggests that seeing the suffering of the Muslims, al-Zarqawi decided to retaliate and to invoke those aspects of warfar taught in Islamic texts which permit the use of guerrilla tactics against a powerful enemy. He started a series of operations against "soft targets" where the American firepower would be ineffective. ALL elements associated with the occupation forces in Iraq became his targets. He attacked:

1. U.S. tanks, humvees, troops out in Iraqi cities and villages.

2. U.S. contractors and contractors from other countries working with the U.S.

3. The UN Heaquarters and related facilities.

4. The Jordanian embassy.

4a. An American hotel in Amman, Jordan where a top intelligence officer was killed. However a wedding party was accidentally caught in the blast and immediately the King mobilized his "people," soldiers, police, civil servants, tribals and the Christian minority to come out with quickly manufactured banners to condemn al-Zarqawi.

5. Shi'ite collaborators of the U.S., in particular police and military recruits.

Some of these attacks missed their targets and ended up killing ordinary people, in particular Shi'ites, who are not part of any fighting entity. Al-Zarqawi believed that Shi'ites have coordinated the greatest betrayal in Muslim history, second only to the destruction of Baghdad by the Mongols where too a Shi'ite was involved in gross acts of betrayal. The Shi'ites, according to the Jihad fighters, were busy doing business with the U.S. while the U.S. was destroying Fallujah DURING RAMADAN. Ali Sistani was cosying up to the occupiers even when U.S. TV and radio broadcast LIVE the adhans coming out of the mosques of Fallujah during LAILATUL QADR only to be drowned out by the explosions of the strings of bombs being unloaded on the city by U.S. aircraft. For al-Zarqawi, those who were collaborating with the oppressors while the greatest sacrilege against Islam in recent Muslim history was being committed, can only be considered collaborators, and not Muslims.

We pray that the U.S. will withdraw its forces from Iraq. Al-Zarqawi has created a situation in which Muslims will fight America. Certainly, Islam will be victorious, inshallah. Allah has promised it in the Qur'an. If the number of Muslims fighting the U.S. increases to 5% out of a population of ONE BILLION worldwide, it could spell disaster for the U.S. Military occupation will not be accepted by Islam. Withdrawal of occupation troops and self-determination for the people is the answer

2006-06-10 Sat 16:24:10 cdt
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