Gratitide in the New Year!
(Excerpts from the khutba at Masjid Jamaat Al Muslimeen,
Baltimore, MD, delivered by Br. Ridwan Shoaib)
What is a new year? It's different from the past year and
everybody wants it to be better and happy. Everybody's
rushing into it come what may not having given thought to
what really matters. Everybody just want more. But who is
grateful?
Gratitude for what we already have is not a one day some day
thing. It's an everyday thing. We must show our gratitude to
Allah each day, thank Allah each day and pray to Allah for
what we want.
There is no wizard to give anyone anything no matter how
much noise we make, how many firecrackers we shoot, no
matter what we cannot conjure up a wizard.
There is no God but Allah and we must show our gratitude to
Him each day to have a New Year.
Pakistan
Massive crowd addressed by Maulana Fazal ur Rahman.
Total rejection of Imran Khan.
On January 6, 2021, at Bannu, Geo TV transmitted live the
entire speech
of Jamiat Ulema e Islam leader Maulana Fazal ur Rahman.
The crowd was huge and interspersed his speech with slogans
of Allahu Akbar and referred to Imran Khan as "Amrika ka jo
yar hay, ghaddar hay, ghaddar hay."
Here are the main points the Maulana made:
He will not talk to Imran but to those who brought
him.
Military units should be removed from all tribal FATA
areas and Baluchistan and sent back to barracks.
Internationally Pakistan has become isolated but Israel
and Qadianis are behind this government.
This regime has not kept any of its promises and the
people's conditions are going from bad to worse.
If the regime does not withdraw, there will be a march on
Islamabad.
India used to respect Pakistan but now it is taking
blatant steps as in Kashmir.
The live stream showed a crowd of hundreds of thousands,
many of them carrying flags of Jamiat Ulema.
In a separate tv program, senior journalist Hamid Mir said
that with this kind of mass support, maulana may not need
support of PPP and Muslim League.
Media supporting Imran khan have been saying that very few
people go to Maulana's speeches. At least half the
population of Bannu and many from all over former Frontier
province were there.
War News
Mali [West Africa]
French Air Strike on Wedding Party. [January 10]
BBC. Reportys from Mali say more than 20 people, including
children, were killed when an airstrike hit a wedding party
in a remote village at the weekend.
Residents of Bounti, in the central Mopti region, said a
helicopter opened fire on the ceremony on Sunday Villagers
in Bounti said a low-flying helicopter, which has not been
identified, carried out the strike in broad daylight.
Ahmadou Ghana said two of his brothers were killed. "It was
run for your lives," he said, according to AFP.
[France is saying it hit "militants."
In recent days 5 of France's elite troops were killed in
alleged al-Qaida attacks.This may have been the French
version of revenge]
[France has 5100 troops in Mali to maintain the pro-European
regime.]
Ethiopia
Oldest Mosque Damaged in Heavy fighting.
[Excerpted]
The Ethiopian government has promised to repair a
centuries-old mosque that was damaged during the conflict in
the northern Tigray region.
The al-Nejashi Mosque was reportedly shelled. Its dome, the
minaret and tombs of Islamic figures were damaged. Locals
believe al-Nejashi was built by the first Muslims to migrate
to Africa during the time of Prophet Muhammad. [pbuh]
A Belgium-based non-profit organisation, Europe External
Programme with Africa, reported on 18 December that
al-Nejashi Mosque was "first bombed and later looted by
Ethiopian and Eritrean troops".
"Tigrayan sources are saying that people have died trying to
protect the mosque," it added.
The government has not commented on the reports. Both the
Ethiopian and Eritrean governments also deny that Eritrean
forces are in Tigray to help in the fight against the
TPLF.
[More than 50,000 people have taken refuge in Sudan.]
Syria
SOHR Reports ISIS Attacks moving into three provinces
stopped by Russian Air Strikes.
January 10: Assad regime and Mujahedeen groups exchanged
heavy gun fire in Jabal al-Zawiya [Irbid province] and
several villages in Hama province.
Two Russian air strikes in Lattakia province are
reported.
January 7 to 10. Raids by Islamic State fighters in eastern
Hama province are continuing. SOHR is reporting 19 Assad
troops and 12 ISIS fighters killed.
Another 15 Assad troops have been killed or captured [no
sign of them] but their burned out bus has been found.
Further ISIS advances on a broad front in eastern Hama,
eastern Homs and southern al-Raqqa provinces have been
stopped after Russia went on an all out bombing campaign:
170 air strikes in 72 hours.
January 9: In Deir ez Zor province, 7 militia men working
for Assad were killed and several injured in a clash with
ISIS. Another dissident has died in Assad's Sednaya prison
after 8 years of imprisonment.
News Within the U.S.
Violating Divine Law to Meet the Budget. Things can't Get Better.
by Sis. Aisha
[Jamaat al-Muslimeen.]
" O ye who believe! Intoxicants and gambling, (dedication
of) stones, and (divination by) arrows, are an abomination,-
of Satan's handwork: eschew such (abomination), that ye may
prosper." (5:90)
New York State needs $50 million to close the budget by
April 2021. The two ways Governor Cuomo is going to meet the
budget is to get Online sports betting and marijuana
legalized. New York State is getting closer to legalizing
Online sports betting. In 2020, New Jersey became the Online
sports betting powerhouse making $5 Billion in profit. New
Yorkers contributed $837 million to that $5 Billion pot of
gold. If New York legalizes it then New Yorkers won't need
to travel to New Jersey, which would suffer a 20%-25%
decrease in Online sports betting profits, as a result.
Governor Cuomo is claiming that the profits generated from
Online sports betting will help New York rebuild from his
imposed lockdown. People are already arguing over who's
going to control the profits: The Lottery (NYS government)
or the casinos (free-enterprise)?
Casino gambling is more lucrative than any Lottery profits
because there would be more competition. Of course, states
have done everything to disrupt the mafia's illicit sports
gambling enterprises, as well as criminalized then, stole
the "policy games" concept, which was operated in
African-American communities, and renamed it the Lottery.
Now, states have been looking for another illicit way to
generate revenue: Online sports gambling.
America also criminalized heroin use but, its substitute,
methadone, is even more addictive. There are government-run
methadone clinics in poor neighborhoods throughout the
country. I always know a methadone clinic is in the area by
the number of people I see doing the dope-fiend lean. Well,
alcohol came under government control, after Prohibition,
methadone replaced heroin, and now, New York State is
looking to legalize cannabis or marijuana.
On January 6th, Gov. Cuomo's office released a statement
announcing a proposal to legalize marijuana, which would
mean over $300 million in yearly profits. Gov. Cuomo stated
that this lockdown has created hardship, as well as
opportunities to support "individuals and communities that
have been harmed by decades of cannabis prohibition." This
is a weak excuse for being greedy for money.
The effort to legalize mobile sports gambling and marijuana
use is diabolical because these politicians will be taking
advantage of people with weakened spirits. This forced
lockdown has contributed to even more New Yorkers being
unemployed and/or dealing with mental health issues. Some
people may believe that unemployed people are poor prospects
for placing bets and buying drugs but, Shai'tan knows better!
The poor and downtrodden are the best prospects for
enticement with games of chance and intoxicants. Many of
these people were already living from paycheck-to-paycheck,
anyway, and this lockdown has burdened them. Shai'tan's
solution for dealing with stress is to self-medicate. His
solution for money problems is for you to risk your very
last dollar for the chance to win a financial windfall with
no effort on your part.
As Muslims, we are seeing how kuffar politicians operate
within a kuffar government. Greed is the motivating factor
here. Their response to the critics of these un-Godly
efforts is that the potential profits generated outweigh the
risks to society.
These kuffar politicians don't want to list the numerous
problems individuals and families have incurred from
gambling and drug use: domestic violence, street violence,
sexual assaults, homelessness, etc. The almighty-dollar
rules, not God the Creator. One of Gov Cuomo's retorts was
that the lockdown has not deterred people from spending
money on gambling and marijuana.
So, see? The market for gambling and intoxicants already
exists! These governments are not enticing anyone. They are
just trying to get a slice of a pie that was already made.
These politicos are under in league with Shai'tan therefore,
they use his logic.
(Source: Forbes.com& Governor.NY.Gov)
Invitation to Think
Why did the Police not stop the
protestors from Breaking into the Capitol?
by Dr. Kaukab Siddique
The answer is simple. The protestors had
the support of the President of the United States. In fact,
but for Vice President Pence, a right wing regime would have
been installed in Washington, DC.
Some of those who broke in have been arrested but little
publicity
has been given to the Jewish crowd who came from Brooklyn.
Among them was a judge of the state Supreme Court and his
son.
The judge did not break in but his son did. Here is a tit
bit from the New York Post of January 8 [details are
available in JTA].
"The New York City man who joined a mob that breached the US
Capitol was seen leaving his home Friday for the first time
since he was revealed to be the son of a prominent Brooklyn
judge.
Aaron Mostofsky — who sported a wacky fur costume
inside the breached building as he griped about a "stolen
election" — was caught on camera leaving his home
while carrying a suit on a hanger and a plastic bag.
Mostofsky, the son of Brooklyn Supreme Court judge Shlomo
Mostofsky, a well-known figure in the Orthodox Jewish
community, was apparently still a free man Friday afternoon
— as other protesters who stormed the building were
arrested.
On Friday, Mostofsky had traded his fur getup for a bright
orange winter coat and baseball cap.
On Wednesday, Mostofsky breached the building with the mob,
telling the Post, "We were cheated. I don't think 75 million
people voted for Trump — I think it was close to 85
million. I think certain states that have been red for a
long time turned blue and were stolen, like New York."
Opinion
Good Riddance to 2020?
by Asma bint Shameem
Houston, Texas
So 2020 is gone. But as the last day of this year was
approaching, a lot of people *cursed* the year.
"Good riddance!
"What an 'evil' year!
"2020 brought 'bad luck'"
"I can't wait to see 2020 end!"
And they said much worse.
That's because they believed that it was the year 2020
*itself* that was "cursed" and "ill-fated" that brought them
bad luck and misfortune. And they were "relieved" that the
"evil year" was gone.
But it's not a certain 'year' or 'time' that is evil or
hexed or cursed.
Or that brings us good luck or misfortune.
Rather such a belief is *haraam*. Allaah has *forbidden* us
to curse time or complain about that. The Prophet ﷺ
said:
"Allaah Subhaanahu wa Ta'aala said: "The son of Adam
*abuses* me. He curses time and I am time, for in my hand
are the night and day." (al-Bukhaari 4549, Saheeh Muslim
2246)
And he said: "Do not inveigh time for Allaah is Time."
(Saheeh Muslim)
Inveigh means "to protest or complain bitterly". Remember
that years and months and days are nothing but *creations*
of Allaah.
Similarly diseases and viruses are also *creations* of
Allaah. A certain 'time' or 'year' does not have a "Will" of
its own. It cannot do anything in and of itself. It does NOT
have the ability to bring us harm or good. The year "2020"
did NOT bring us "bad luck" or "sickness" or whatever.
Rather it was the *DECREE* of Allaah Subhaanahu wa
Ta'aala.
Allaah says:
مَا
أَصَابَ
مِن
مُّصِيبٍَ فِي
الْأَرْض¦ وَلَا فِي
أَنفُسِك¥مْ إِلَّا
فِي
كِتَابٍ
مِّن
قَبْلِ
أَن
نَّبْرَأ¤هَا إِنَّ
ذَٰلِكَ
عَلَى
اللَّهِ
يَسِيرٌ
"No misfortune can happen on earth or in your souls but is
recorded in a decree before We bring it into existence: That
is truly easy for Allaah."
(Surah al-Hadeed 22)
And the Prophet ﷺ said:
"Allaah wrote the decree of all of creation 50,000 years
before the creation of the heavens and the earth."
(Muslim)
So whatever happened in 2020 was the Will and Decree of
Allaah.
And had NOTHING to do with 2020 itself. 2020 was NOT a
"cursed" year that brought bad luck and now that it's gone,
our lives would change.
Imaam al-Nawawi said:
"The Arabs used to inveigh against time when disasters such
as death, old age, loss of money, etc., happened. They
would say, 'Woe to time' and other phrases cursing or
inveighing against time.
So the Prophet Sal Allaahu Alaiyhi wa Sallam said:
'Do not inveigh against time for Allaah is time', i.e., do
not inveigh against the One Who brings about those
disasters, for that will be directed towards Allaah, for He
is the One Who causes them to happen.
Time (al-dahr) means al-zamaan (time) which cannot do
anything in and of itself, for it is just one of the things
that have been created by Allaah.
The meaning of the phrase "for Allaah is time" means that He
is the One Who causes those events and accidents to happen,
and He is the Creator of all that happens." (Sharh Muslim,
15/3)
Shaikh Ibn Uthaymeen said:
"Inveighing against time may be divided into three
categories:
Where the intention is to convey information without
blaming or condemning. This is permissible, such as when a
person remarks, "We are suffering from the heat (or the
cold) today" and the like, because deeds are judged
according to their intentions, and in this case a person is
merely describing what is happening without expressing
discontent.
Where a person inveighs against time as the *cause* of
events, as if by inveighing against it he means that time is
what causes things to alternate between good and bad. This
is *shirk akbar* (major form of shirk) because when a person
attributes events to something other than Allaah, this means
that he believes that there is another creator alongside
Allaah.
Where a person inveighs against time but believes that
the One who causes things to happen is Allaah, but he
inveighs against time because of the bad things that
happened. This is *haraam* because it is *contrary* to the
*sabr* that is required, but it is not kufr because the
person does not inveigh directly against Allaah.
If he were to inveigh directly against Allaah, he would be a
kaafir."
(Fataawaa al-'Aqeedah, 1/197)
So we cannot attribute good or bad to "time" itself, as
everything is in the Hands of Allaah Subhaanahu wa
Ta'aala.
It is He Who is the Disposer of everything. And it is ONLY
He Who decrees everything. Tests and trials will happen, no
matter what year or what time or what place. That's part of
life.
Shaikh Moosaa Richardson said:
"Misguided non-Muslims observe their New Year's Day by
speaking ill of the year ending because of difficulties
faced and they say "Good riddance, 2020!" and worse
things.
Muslims never speak ill of time (years, months, etc.); It is
forbidden; what happened is only from Allaah's Decree."
And Allaah knows best!
Guidance by Sis. Yasmin.
The recognition and respect of Parents is mentioned in the
Qur'an {11} eleven times ... !
In Surah Al-Isra' (Children of Israel) there is a very
beautiful description of how Parents are to be treated.
Allah {Azza Wa Jal} says...
" Your Lord had decreed, that you worship none save HIM and
(that you show) kindness to Parents. If one of them or both
of them attain old age with you say not 'Fie' unto them nor
repulse them, but speak unto them a gracious word. And lower
unto them the wing of submission through mercy, and say...
*My Lord ! Have mercy on them both, as they did care for me
when I was young.* *Rabbirhamhumaa Kamaa Rabbayaani
Sag-hiiraa* Source~'Qur'an'~Surat 'Al-'Isrā'~17~ A#
23-24]
'We have enjoined on humankind kindness to Parents.'
[Source~'Qur'an' Surat Al Ankabut 29 A #8 & Surat
Al-'Aĥqāf 46 A #15]
*The Wooden Bowl *
A frail old man went to live with his son, and
daughter-in-law, and four-year-old grandson. The old man's
hands trembled, his eyesight was blurred, and his step
faltered. The family ate together at the table. But the
elderly grandfather's shaky hands and failing sight made
eating difficult ...!
Peas rolled off his spoon onto the floor. When he grasped
the glass, milk spilled on the tablecloth.
The son and daughter-in-law became irritated with the
mess.
'We must do something about father,' said the son. 'I've had
enough of his spilled milk, noisy eating, and food on the
floor.'
So the husband and wife set a small table in the corner.
There, Grandfather ate alone while the rest of the family
enjoyed dinner. Since Grandfather had broken a dish or two,
his food was served in a wooden bowl. When the family
glanced in Grandfather's direction, sometimes he had a tear
in his eye as he sat alone.
Still, the only words the couple had for him were sharp
admonitions when he dropped a fork or spilled some
food...!
The four-year-old watched it all in silence...{!}
One evening before supper, the father noticed his son
playing with wood scraps on the floor. so, he asked the
child sweetly...
'What are you making'...?
Just as sweetly, the boy responded... 'Oh, I am making a little bowl
for you and Mama to eat your food in when I grow up'{!}
' The four-year-old smiled and went back to work !!!
The words struck the parents so that they were
speechless...!
Then tears started to stream down their cheeks... Though no
word was spoken, both knew what must be done... !
That evening the husband took Grandfather's hand and gently
led him back to the family table.
For the remainder of his days he ate everymeal with the
family.
And for some reason, neither husband nor wife seemed to care
any longer when a fork was dropped, milk spilled, or the
tablecloth soiled.
...My 'Salaams' to All...
Y a s m i n
Hadith of the Week
Narrated by Abu Said Al-Khudri, r.a.:
Allah's Apostle said,
"A time will come that the best property of a Muslim will be
sheep which he will take on the top of mountains and the
places of rainfall (valleys) so as to flee with his religion
from afflictions."
Bukhari, Volume 1, Book 2,
Number 18
[With thanks to Sis. Kristi]
What Should be the Role of Muslim Immigrants in the USA?
Imam Badi Ali's Khutba in North Carolina on January 8.
As-slamu alaikum,
Allah (swt) said:
"وَاعْتَصtمُواْ
بِحَبْلِ
اللَّهِ
جَمِيعاً
وَلاَ
تَفَرَّق¥واْ"
"And hold firmly to the rope of Allah all together and do
not become divided"
Allah (swt) brought us from different countries &
backgrounds to this country. This is our fate. This is what
Allah wanted, so use this opportunity & take advantage of it.
We can accomplish so much together.
Unity is strength. When there is teamwork & collaboration,
wonderful things can be achieved.
Oh Allah, unite our hearts, join the hearts of the believers
together, & let the Ummah thrive again.
Ameen.
Palestinian civilians held a demonstration, on Saturday, in
Kafr Thuluth village, southeast of Qalqilia, in the northern
occupied West Bank, in rejection of Israel's accelerated
settlement expansion, the Palestinian Information Center
reported.
The participants marched from the center of the town, toward
the Separation Barrier, built on Palestinian village lands,
flying the national flag and singing slogans affirming their
commitment to defending their land.
The protest was held to denounce the colonial activities of
the Israeli occupation state, with the aim to expel the
indigenous Palestinian population.
Demonstrators were able to open one of gates of the
Apartheid Wall and cut the barbed wire separating the
village of Kafr Thuluth from the state of Israel.
Article 49 of the Fourth Geneva Convention states that the
occupying power [Israel] is forbidden from transferring any
part of its civilian population onto the land on which it
occupies [Palestine].
Ukrainians did it but Germans are blamed.
On January 1, 2021, large crowds marched in Kiev, the
capital of Ukraine to celebrate Stepan Bandera, a World War
2 hero of Ukraine. This is an annual celebration.
When German armies liberated Ukraine from the Soviet Union
in 1941, thousands of Ukrainians
joined German forces to fight against the Communist Soviet
Union. One of their top leaders was Stepan Bandera.
The Ukrainians went on to kill thousands of Jews who had
supported the Communists. In conventional histories of the
war, Germans are blamed for the carnage.
The motivation for this intense hatred is the collectivist
history of the Soviet Union in Ukraine which seized the
lands of farmers and led to the deaths of millions of
Ukrainians.
After the rally on January 1, the Israeli ambassador
protested and accused the Ukrainians of anti-Semitism. His
protest was published in the Jewish Agency.
The next day, January 2, Ukrainian protestors demonstrated
at the Israeli embassy and called on Israel to take
responsibility for the genocide of Ukrainians under Soviet
rule.
A very Unusual Prisoner of Conscience.
British Court blocked Assange's extradition to US but won't
Release him.
[Muslim Umma owes him.]
Mr Assange faces an 18-count indictment from the US
government, accusing him of conspiring to hack into US
military databases to acquire sensitive secret information
relating to the Afghanistan and Iraq wars, which was then
published on the Wikileaks website.
He says the information exposed abuses by the US military.
But US prosecutors say the leaks of classified material
endangered lives, and so the US sought his extradition from
the UK.
Amnesty International welcomed the ruling but criticised the
UK for "having engaged in this politically-motivated process
at the behest of the USA and putting media freedom and
freedom of expression on trial"
The head of the National Union of Journalists, Michelle
Stanistreet, said the outcome was "the right one" but the
judgment contained "much that is troubling"
Journalist and documentary maker John Pilger, who has been a
vocal campaigner for Mr Assange, tweeted that it was
"wonderful", adding the UK ruling was a "face-saving cover
for the British to justify their disgraceful political trial
of Assange on America's behalf"
[BBC]
Big Cotton is Squeezed out of Chinese Muslim Slavery
[Source BBC]
Retailer Marks & Spencer has signed onto a call to action on
human rights abuses in China's Xinjiang region.
In December, the BBC revealed new evidence that China is
forcing hundreds of thousands of Uighurs and other
minorities into hard, manual labour in the cotton fields of
Xinjiang.
The report increased pressure on clothing retailers to
remove Xinjiang cotton from their supply chains.
M&S uses around 40,000 tonnes of lint cotton each year from
various [sources]
The call to action comes from a coalition of civil society
organisations and labour unions who want to end abuses
against Uighur people.
The coalition said it is almost certain that any brand
currently sourcing apparel, textiles, yarn or cotton from
the region is profiting from human rights violations,
including forced labour.
Marks & Spencer sources its cotton through businesses that
are accredited with the Better Cotton Initiative (BCI), a
not-for-profit organisation that focuses on sustainable
production.
In March last year, BCI suspended its activities in
Xinjiang, and as a result, there is no new licensed BCI
cotton coming from the region or in M&S products.
Nevertheless, M&S said it was important to sign on to the
call to action to encourage other companies to examine their
supply chain.
"When it comes to sustainable and ethical clothing, we can
only achieve real change at scale by working with others,"
said Richard Price, the managing director of M&S Clothing &
Home.
Anti-Slavery International welcomed the move and encouraged
other retailers to follow suit.
"The Call to Action sets out a clear path of action for
brands to follow in line with the UN Guiding Principles on
Business and Human Rights and we call upon other major
brands to follow suit with M&S and commit to the Call to
Action urgently," the organisation's chief executive Jasmine
O'Connor said in a statement
Xinjiang province accounts for roughly 20% of the world's
cotton production.
Cotton production isn't the only human rights issue that has
been documented in Xinjiang province.
Alongside a large network of detention camps, in which more
than a million are thought to have been detained,
allegations that minority groups are being coerced into
working in textile factories have already been well documented.
The Chinese government has long denied the claims, insisting
that the camps are "vocational training schools" and the
factories are part of a massive, and voluntary, "poverty
alleviation" scheme.
The January 3 issue of New Trend reached 159,239 Muslims Including 19,265 women.
The articles in this issue included:
Islamic prevention of Pandemics.
Guest editorial by Dr. Javed Jamil
Talking of insecurity in Nigeria, it's almost clear that
Nigeria government consider it to be restricted to
terrorism, which is mainly credited to Boko Haram members ;
banditry, which is almost a new word in the dictionary of
our insecurity ( reason for this wicked activities is still
a mystery to many);and kidnapping, which appears to be money
making route to Nigerian teeming 'lazy youths'. Little
mention is always made of rituals, which is responsible for
most missing of people in the western part of Nigeria,
especially.
When some antagonists of Islam baselessly criticize Islam
through actions and inactions of many people who answer
Islamic names, many real Muslims expectedly get paranoid and
sometimes create artificial rancour amongst people of
different faiths. We say repeatedly that for people to be
just in their submissions, recourse has to be made to Islam
and not necessarily to Muslims! This is because without
identification with Islam, many people would die in hunger
as they have refused to engage in any meaningful means of
livelihood.
I have said it repeatedly and written about it that if there
is no people laying claim to authorities as intercessor
between worshippers in Islam and Allah, there would be less
crime in Nigeria. Dealing in human parts transaction is on
the rise in Nigeria and this is always traced to Muslims .
This is because some Alfa that engage in private
consultation called ' Jalabi' are more criminals than the
traditional priests. Virtually all crimes bothering on human
rituals can be traced to these jobless Islamic consultants
in the regalia of scholars. Even many pastors in these
dastardly acts are always in conjunction with these
Alfas.
There is need for Nigeria government to establish a task
force looking into the affairs of all Muslim clerics to be
able to remove the bad eggs as well as minimize the
criminalities amongst these Jalabi Alfas
