Chill Yo Islam Yo

I just got an email about a petition all of you should sign.

As all of you might know already their has been aggressive efforts to make Eid al-Fitr and Eid Al-Adha an observed school holiday. This comes by no surprise,  since their are around 800,000 Muslim New Yorkers and about 10% percent of children who attend NYC public schools are Muslim.

Recently, the resolution was almost passed until Mayor Bloomberg pulled a stunt on the Muslim community and rejected it. His excuse? It will give too many days off for students when added to existing school holidays. Come on Mr.Mayor, keep it real! Your jewish, listen to Rabbi Moshe Edelman.

We even have own U.S. postal stamps =), I’ll mail you a petition with the Eid Stamp, ha.

“If someone believes in something, you have to fight for it. I am sure there was a fight from the Jews to get their days off.”

Rabbi Moshe Edelman, Director of Congregational Standards for the United Synagogue of Conservative Judaism, says the conservative Jewish community would be supportive “of our brothers and sisters” in the Muslim community.

“With the growing number of Muslims, the mayor should have said yes, out of respect to the Islamic community,” he told IOL.

On a side note, A one week spring break is also scheduled every year to coincide with Easter and Passover.

So what can you do? Click on the link below to get the petition.

Eid-Al-Fitr Petition

Print it, sign it, pass it on to your friends and build the buzz.

You can send your signed copy to the following address:

The Honorable Micheal Bloomberg

Office of the Mayor

City Hall

New York, NY, 10007

insh’Allah the resolution gets past and Mayor Bloomberg stops being shady, after all American Muslims are productive members of society.

Spurred by a broad coalition of religious, labor and immigrant groups,the City Council overwhelmingly passed a resolution on Tuesday to add two of the most important Muslim holy days to the public schools’ holiday calendar.

But the vote, which was nonbinding, put the Council in conflict with Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg, who has the final say to designate the days off and has said he is resolutely opposed to the idea.

Read the rest of the article here

Salam,

Calling all goons and goblins, Trick or treat? Smell my feet, Oh wait I don’t have wudu, ha ha. Oh and if your wondering about the picture, you will probably see alot of people dressed up as joker this year, maybe even Sarah Palin since she is losing the election and will have time to waste.

First of all I would like to say I love eating candy although I should chill out because diabetes runs in my family like cheetahs. I don’t want to be shooting up insulin anytime soon. Back in the days when I didn’t know anything about Halloween and I was keeping it hood, I used to be mad cheap and just throw mad powder on face, the bootleg Casper. It was economically efficient for the hood, sort of like cleaning your jewels with toothpaste, ha.

Anyhows I am not against giving kids candy when they come to my door, with the condition they don’t toss eggs. What does bother me is Muslims celebrating Halloween without knowing it’s history.

Now of course as a Muslim you live life according to certain principles. We all know that Islam merges with culture as long as it brings about religious values. Now Halloween as a holiday has an interesting history, I didn’t say religious holiday because Christians don’t identify it as a religious holiday. Though there is still some uncertainty on my end.

Nevertheless here are some quick facts about Halloween that I believe you should know before you break out the jack o lanterns and take some ghost tours.

• Halloween has its origins in the ancient Celtic festival known as Samhain, the Traditionally, the festivalpagans to take stock of supplies and slaughter livestock for winter stores.
  was a time used by the ancient
• The ancient Gaels believed that on October 31, now known as Halloween, the boundary between the alive and the deceased dissolved, and the dead become dangerous for the living by causing problems such as sickness or damaged crops.
  
• The festivals would frequently involve bonfires, into which bones of slaughtered livestock were thrown. Costumes and masks were also worn at the festivals in an attempt to mimic the evil spirits or placate them

That’s some freaky stuff, oh yea and as far as jack o lanterns are concerned. This is a short history about how they came up with Halloween.(source:wikipedia)

Originating in Europe, these lanterns were first carved from a turnip or rutabaga. Believing that the head was the most powerful part of the body containing the spirit and the knowledge, the Celts used the “head” of the vegetable to frighten off any superstitions.

Now that’s how it all started, and yea you might say well now it’s completely different. It’s all about candy, wylin out, going to parties, watching eggs break. The bottomline is that it has an origin based on ideas and beliefs that contradict Islam, so as submitters to the will of the one true god (Allah swt) we fall back and celebrate when the time is right on the holidays given to us by God Almighty and celebrated by our beloved Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him).

Let’s keep it real, It’s all about consumerism. Everyone get’s hyped off some character they want to be, this year everyone is going to be sweating the joker costume and barrack Obama or John McCain. Oh yea one more quick point, this Halloween issue might not be that serious to most of you but it was relevant for the time so I put it up. So yea having your kids wear a devil mask and begging for candy will psychologically have an affect on them.

I conclude by saying that as Muslims we act upon intention and guidance. So it is what it is for the case of Halloween, don’t get it twisted. I end with this with a funny video, of one my friends a couple of years ago on the bus to the Icna convention asking one of our imams a question about Halloween. As you will see he gets the on the spot phatwa. (listen closely haha), so chill yo no hiding the face yo.

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Salam, 

Whether you are celebrating Eid on Monday or Tuesday, wherever you located on this planet.  I want to make dua that May Allah swt give all of you a happy, healthy, and halal Ramadan.

Shatan is finally locked up! Don’t bail him out. Ha-ha, Just playing but let me mention some dua’s that are very important. Inshallah try to keep them in your hearts and memorize it if  you already haven’t, this includes myself.

Alright Inshallah post again soon, till then time to work on the soul and step up my eman, Wasalaam.

Upon Sighting of the new Moon 

اللَّهُ اَكْبَرُ ، اَللَّهُمَّ اَهِلَّهُ عَلَيْنَا بِالآَمْنِ وَلاِيمَانِ ، وَالسَّلَامَةِ وَالاِسْلَامِ ، وَالتَّوْفِيقِ لِمَا تُحِبُّ رَبَّنَا وَتَرْضَى ، رَبُّنَا وَرَبُّكَ اللَّهُ

Allahu Akbar. Allahumma ahillahu ‘alayna bil-amni wal-imaani, was-salaamati, wal-Islami, wat-tawfeeqi lima tuhibbu Rabbana wa tardha. Rabbuna wa RabbukAllahu

Allah is the Greatest. O Allah bring us the new moon with security and faith, with peace and in Islam, and in harmony with what our Lord Loves and what pleases Him. Our Lord and your Lord is Allah
[at-Tirmidhi 5:504, ad-Darimi 1:336]

When beginning the fast- Suhur 

Wa bisawmi ghadinn nawaiytu min shahri ramadanI intend to keep the fast for tomorrow in the month of Ramadan
[abu Dawud]

When beginning the fast- Suhur

Allahumma inni laka sumtu wa bika aamantu [wa ‘alayka tawakkaltu] wa ‘ala rizq-ika aftarthu

O Allah!  I fasted for You and I believe in You [and I put my trust in You] and I break my fast with Your sustenance
[”wa ‘alayka tawakkaltu” is quoted in some books of knowledge - but not all, hence it is in brackets]
[abu Dawud]

The thrist is gone, the veins are moistened and the reward is confirmed, if Allah [Ta’ala] Wills
[abu Dawud 2:306]

O Allah, I ask You by Your mercy which envelopes all things, that You forgive me.
[a du’a that Abdullah ibn Amar (radiAllahu anhu) used to say when breaking his fast - as reported by Ibn abi Mulaykah (radiAllahu anhu)]

When someone offers you food when you are fasting and you decline 

When you are invited to eat, then reply to the invitation. if you are fasting, then invoke Allah’s blessings (on your host), and if you are not fasting then eat
[Muslim; 2:1054]

Upon reaching month of Rajab and Sha’ban 

When the Prophet (salAllahu alayhi wasalam) sighted the moon of Rajab (two months before Ramadan) he used to pray to Allah in the following words:

When you are fasting, and someone is rude to you 

Salam, Its good to hear one of the most recognized Islamic Scholars and Jurist in the World Mufti Taqi Usmani has wrote a response to Islamic Society of North America(the largest muslim organization in north america) on what he feels about the date they chose to celebrate eid and why it isn’t right.

Maulana’s Response

I have gone through the article of ISNA and with the utmost respect for their sentiment for Muslim unity, I am forced to say that the view expressed in the article (Eid al-Adha on next day of Arafat) is in total disagreement with the teachings of Quran and Sunnah, and with the Shari’ah position recognized throughout the centuries. This is an unprecedented view which has never been adopted by any of the Muslim jurists during the past 1400 years, and it has a number of intrinsic defects and anomalies, some of which are summarized here.
The article admits that the celebration of Eid al-Fitr should be tied to the sighting of the moon in each country and should not be linked with the celebration of Eid al-Fitr in Saudi Arabia. At the same time, however, the article calls for celebration of Eid al-Adha according to the Saudi Calendar regardless of the local dates, which means Eid al-Adha will be celebrated in North America on 8th or 9th of Zul-Hajjah. It is thus clear that the theory proposed in ISNA’s article is impractical.

The article has laid much emphasis on the concept of unity of the Muslim Ummah, which no one can deny. At the same time, however, one must appreciate that unity does not mean that the entire Muslim Ummah throughout the world should perform their acts of worship at one and the same time, because it is physically not possible. It is evident that when people in Saudi Arabia are performing their Fajr prayers, those in North America may still have not completed their Isha prayers of the previous day. Similarly, when Muslims in Los Angeles offer their Fajr prayers, those in India and Pakistan are offering their Maghrib or Isha prayer of the same day.

If it is made obligatory on all the Muslims in the world to offer their acts of worship at one and the same time for the sake of unity, such unity can never materialize (because of the time differences). It is, therefore, obvious that offering one’s acts of worship at different times do not affect the concept of Muslim Unity.

What does the Muslim unity mean?

It means that all Muslims should treat each other with brotherly sympathy and affection and should not spread disorder and dissension among them. Nor should they invent new ideas foreign to the teachings of Quran and the Sunnah which may lead to division and conflict among Muslims.

It is also astonishing that the article views the celebration of Eid al-Adha on different days as being against the concept of Ummah while in the matter of celebration of Eid ai-Fitr, this concept is dispensed with. If the celebration of Eid al-Fitr on different days does not affect the concept of unity, how can it be said to harm unity in the case of Eid al-Adha?

It is true that Eid al-Adha falls immediately after the day of Arafat in Saudi Arabia, but it is not necessary that the Muslims in every country should follow the same dates in their respective areas. Hajj, no doubt, is tied with a particular place but the celebration of Eid al-Adha is not confined to that place alone. It is celebrated everywhere in the world and cannot be tied to the Saudi calendar.

The article admits that the celebration of Eid al-Adha in other countries was never linked with its celebration in Saudi Arabia throughout the past 14 centuries. This, the author’s claim was because of a lack of communication facilities. With vastly improved communication today, they argued that everyone almost anywhere can find out the day of Hajj, and should celebrate Eid al-Adha based on Saudi calendar.

There is a clear admission in this argument that it is not obligatory according to Quran or the Sunnah to celebrate Eid al-Adha according to Saudi calendar. Had this been so, Muslims would have tried their best to find the exact date of Hajj in Saudi Arabia. It is not correct to say that it was not possible in those days for people living outside Saudi Arabia to know the exact date of Hajj, because this date is normally determined on the first night of Zul-Hijjah. There is a nine day period until which is more than sufficient to acquire this information. However, no jurists has ever stressed that such information be collected in order to celebrate Eid al-Adha according to Saudi dates.

Further, if the argument of the article is accepted and it is held that the real intention of Quran and Sunnah was to link the celebration of Eid al-Adha with the Saudi dates, as a mandatory provision for all Muslims in the world, it means that the Shari’ah has stressed a principle which was not acceptable for 1300 years. Is it not against the Quranic declaration that Allah does not make a thing mandatory unless it is practical for the human beings.

If the authors argue that the celebration of Eid al-Adha was not linked with the dates in Makkah in the past but it has become a mandatory requirement of the Shari’ah now, then the question arises, who has abrogated the previous principle and on what basis? There is no provision in Quran or the Sunnah which orders the Muslims to celebrate Eid al-Adha according to their local dates up to a particular time and to link it with the dates in Makkah thereafter. Whoever considers this and similar questions arising out of this unprecedented theory advanced in the article can appreciate its fallacy.

Finally, I would like to inform you that the question of sighting the moon for each lunar month including Zul-Hijjah was thoroughly discussed at the annual sessions of the Islamic Fiqh Academy (held in Jordan, October 11-16, 1986) attended by more than a hundred outstanding scholars of Shari’ah. The academy adopted the resolution recommended that all Muslim countries should determine all the lunar months including Zul-Hijjah on the same basis for both Eid al-Fitr as well as Eid al-Adha.

This resolution represents the consensus of Muslim jurists throughout the world. The proposal contained in the ISNA article, however, goes totally against this consensus - (see note below).

Before parting with the subject, I would like to emphasize that such unprecedented proposals can never advance the cause of Muslim unity. Rather, they may create a new point of disunity and dissention among Muslims. Before venturing such opinions as definite “Fatwa”, these should be discussed at some responsible international forum of contemporary Muslim jurists like the International Islamic Fiqh Academy in Jeddah.

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