P.O. Box 10881, Baltimore, MD 21234
Phone: 410-435-5000
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Dear readers: asalamu alaikum. May the blessings of Ramadan be with you.
CNN
is carrying out a campaign of smearing and abuse against all that is holy
to Muslims. One aspect of this campaign is taken up in the letter below.
Please send similar letters to CNN.
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Producer CNN (Connie Chung Show)
cnn@cnn.com
lateedition@cnn.com
Dear Producer
Friday night, November 22, you brought a woman to your show from the
planned beauty pageant in
Nigeria.
CNN reported that she was the woman who
was referred to by a Nigerian newspaper as the one the Prophet Muhammad
(pbuh) would have liked to marry if he had been alive today.
Would you like to say to a Native American ('Red Indian') that the
occupation of the Black Hills by American cavalry was justified and
show pictures of the cavalry desecrating the Hills? This is a similar
outrage.
Is it possible that you are unaware of the hurt such reporting produces
among your Muslim audiences? The Prophet Muhammad (peace be on him) is
the most sacred personality for more than a billion Muslims around the
world. His
wives are referred to in the Qur'an as the Mothers of the Believers. No
Muslim worth the name can tolerate an insult aimed at the family of the
Prophet Muhammad (pbuh).
These women in beauty pageants, who take off most of their clothes and
make exhibits of themselves in public, are not worthy of respect by any
Muslim. Most Muslims think of them as sluts though they might not be
actual prostitutes. Beauty pageants are seen as exploitation and
commercialization of women. I am sure you know all this.
For you to bring a scantily clad woman to your screen and then to
associate her with the name of the Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) is a
sacrilege you have committed against
Islam
and Muslims and that too in the month of
Ramadan
when religious sensitivities are at their highest.
Even a pious, Islamic woman is not to be compared to the wives of the
Prophet (pbuh) without causing serious hurt to Muslim sensibilities.
I wonder if you realize how much damage you are doing to the relationship
between the U.S. and the world of Islam. Is this a deliberate effort on
your part or are you (incredibly) ignorant of the values cherished by the
Muslim world? Your constant support for
Israeli
outrages against
Palestinians
and your ongoing attempt to empathize with the
Zionist
occupiers of Palestine
create the impression that you are deliberately insulting the most
sacred personalities of Islam.
You owe your Muslim viewers an apology. Do you have the grace to extend
such an apology?
Sincerely
Kaukab Siddique, Ph.D
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IMAM ALI SIDDIQUI from California has provided the information about
Zakatul Fitr this Ramadan.
[It is $7 per person. We urge every person who likes Jamaat al-Muslimeen's
work to send it to our address above for speedy distribution.]
[Imam Ali has provided the following texts for zakatul fitr. Notice
that this
payment is not mentioned in the Qur'an but is still required because
the Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) ordered it.]
INJUNCTION
It is reported that the Prophet Muhammad (saw) said: Remember! Zakat-ul-Fitr
is Wajib (strongly recommended, just short of obligatory) on every Muslim,
man or woman, free or in servitude, adult or child.
(Hadith:
Tirmidhi's Sunan)
PURPOSE
Ibn Abbas (ra) reported that the Prophet (saw) made the Zakat-ul-Fitr
obligatory for the purpose of: purifying our fasting from vain talk and
shameful mistakes, to make arrangements for the poor and the needy for
food and clothing (for the festival of
Eid).
(Hadith:Abu Dawud, Ibn Maja)
WHO SHOULD PAY?
Every adult Muslim, with sufficient food for the family for a day, should pay
Zakat-ul-Fitr for himself/herself and all his/her dependents. Even those who
did not fast should pay it. Zakat-ul-Fitr should also be paid for the child
born or the person died before the Fajr (dawn) on the day of Eid.
HOW MUCH SHOULD BE PAID?
At the time of the Prophet (saw),payment of Zakat-ul-Fitr was made in terms
of weight of grain. It is one Sa for each person. One Sa is approximately
equal to 3 kg or 7.5 lbs. TheMuslim jurists agree that Zakat-ul-Fitr can also
be paid in cash equivalent tothe cost of 3kg/7.5 lb. of grain including
rice, wheat, lentils, corn, and dry cheese.
WHEN TO PAY?
Prophet Muhammad (saw) has said, whoever paid it (Zakat-ul-Fitr) before
Salatul Eid, it is acceptable Zakat before Allah. Whoever paid it after
Salat-ul-Eid, it is just a charity. The companions of the Prophet(ra)
used to pay it a few days earlier. (Hadith: Bukhari)
Imam Shafi'i held the opinion that Zakat-ul-Fitr can be paid as early
as the beginning of Ramadan. I suggest that Zakat-ul-Fitr should be paid
early enough so it will reach the needyand the poor before the Eid day. It
will enable them to use it for food and clothes and give them the
opportunity to enjoy the happiness of Eid-ul-Fitr.
WHO SHOULD BE PAID?
Zakat-ul-Fitrshould be paid directly to the needy and the poor. However, you
can also pay it to an organization, which would distribute it in
accordance with the teaching of Islam. Remember that it is still your
responsibility.
So, make sure before paying that the organization will distribute it
according to the teaching of Islam and before Salat-ul-Eid.
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2002-11-24 Sun 08:20ct