Thursday, 15 November 2007

Video: Surah Yusuf; Verses 88-101 [Al Haidan]

Bismillahir Rahmanir Rahim



In the name of Allah, the Most Beneficent, the Most Merciful















The Prophet sal Allahu alayhi wa'sallam said:



"The Muslim is a unique Ummah among the whole of mankind:

Their Land is ONE, their War is ONE, their Peace is ONE,

Their Honour is ONE and their Trust is ONE."

[Ahmad]


Friday, 9 November 2007

Healthcare in the Khilafah

Bismillahir Rahmanir Rahim



In the name of Allah, the Most Beneficent, the Most Merciful





Healthcare in the Khilafah

Michael Moore’s documentary, “Sicko” discusses the failure of healthcare in America.Whether private or public, the failure of the healthcare system resides in man-made legislation. Only a system revealed by Allah (swt) will truly meet the needs of each and every individual.



In Late June of this year, Michael Moore released his latest documentary, “Sicko”. In it, he focuses on the failure of the American Health Care system. Particular attention is given to the Insurance Companies and how their purpose is not to help people in need but rather to increase profits. The solution proposed is to have a public health care system similar to those in Canada, Britain, France and Cuba.

Man-made legislation equals failure

The documentary reveals the following facts about America:

  • 50 million Americans do not have health insurance

  • Approximately 18,000 of the 50 million will die this year because they do not have health insurance

For the remaining 250 million people who have health care, their situation has not improved. For example, Larry and Donna Smith purchased health insurance. Both of them had established careers (Larry was a Union Machinist and Donna a newspaper editor) and raised 6 children. In time, Larry suffered from 3 heart attacks and Donna was diagnosed with cancer. The co-pays and deductibles for health insurance amounted to such an expense that Donna and Larry had to eventually sell their home and move in with their daughter.

In highlighting key individuals (in America) within the health industry and government – responsible for maintaining a private health care system that extorts the general public – the documentary provides the alternative view of public healthcare similar to that which is in place in other countries, including Canada. Although it appears that public healthcare works perfectly, it is not without its own problems. According to the Fraser Institute, total wait time for medical treatment ranges from 14.9 weeks in Ontario to 31.9 weeks in New Brunswick. Clearly the needs of the individual are not met by either private or public health care.

All of the countries addressed in the documentary have a common shortcoming: they rule by man-made legislation. Human beings laying down a system for life’s affairs are vulnerable to flaws since the individuals, no matter how intelligent, will create a system that is based upon their limited knowledge and experience. The flaws will surface once the system is confronted with the realities of man’s nature. The limits and flaws of a man-made system will allow those in authority to conduct the country’s affairs in a manner that will suit their own perception of personal benefit – most often to the detriment of the nation.


“Rulers usually appoint people to watch over their subjects. I appoint you a watcher over me and my behaviour. If you find me at fault in word or action guide me and stop me from doing it.” - Khalifah Umar ibn Abdul Aziz


Taking care of the affairs of the people

Islam is a unique system revealed by Allah (swt) that provides the needs for both the individual and society. Allah (swt) being Al-Khaliq – The Creator of all that exists – will evidently know what is best for us. With His infinite knowledge, His system will be able to provide solutions to any problem that human beings have or will encounter. With regards to governance, the Khalifah is entrusted in applying the laws of Allah (swt). The Khalifah is directly responsible before Allah (swt) for any issue that affects citizens in the Islamic State.

The Prophet (saw) said:

"A ruler who, having control over the affairs of the Muslims, does not strive diligently for their betterment and does not serve them sincerely, will not enter Jannah with them.'' [Muslim]



The ruler does not only have to respond to the people under his care but must also answer to a higher authority, Malik-al-Mulk (The Owner of All Sovereignty). As such, he must fulfill the obligations placed upon him as this is not only a mandate of the state but is the Ahkam of Allah (swt). Therefore the Khalifah must care for every citizen’s need and ensure that they are not facing any undue hardships such as lack of access to healthcare or even long wait times.



The Prophet (saw) also said:

"If Allah invests to someone the affairs of the Muslims and he (i.e., the ruler) ignores their rights, denies their access to him and neglects their needs, Allah will not answer his prayer or realize his hopes and will act towards him with indifference on the Day of Resurrection.'' [Abu Dawud & Tirmidhi]



The above hadith clearly shows the weight that lies on the shoulders of those in authority. When Umar ibn Abdul Aziz became the Khalifah, he was seen to be rather gloomy. His servant asked him why he was so sad and worried. Umar replied, “Anyone in my shoes should be so; I must deliver and grant all the nation’s citizens all their rights, whether they demand them or not.”

The care of those under the authority of the state is not judged based on the annual budget or political aspirations but rather it is based on the rights afforded to them by Allah (swt). This obliges the Khalifah to provide them with the utmost care to the best of his ability regardless of whether the citizens are aware of this right or not and whether they have asked for it or not.



Medical excellence of our past

When Islam is implemented as a complete system, it provides a means to excel in all fields such as science and technology. In the past, individuals under the Khilafah made a tremendous contribution to the medical field.


The Khilafah was blessed with many first class hospitals and doctors in several of its cities: Baghdad, Damascus, Cairo, Jerusalem, Alexandria, Cordova, Samarqand and many more. Baghdad alone had sixty hospitals with in-patient and out-patient departments and over 1,000 physicians.



Public hospitals like the Bimaristan al-Mansuri Hospital, established in Cairo in 1283, had accommodation for 8,000 patients. There were two attendants for each patient who did everything for his/her comfort and convenience and every patient had his/her own bed, bedding and vessel for eating. It treated in-patients and out-patients giving them free food and medicine.




There were mobile dispensaries and clinics for the proper medical care of the disabled and those living in the villages. The Khalifah, Al-Muqtadir Billah, ordered that every mobile unit should visit each village and remain there for some days before moving to the next.



From the above historical accounts, we see that when the Khulafaa’ properly implemented the rules of Allah (swt), then and only then did a society truly thrive and succeed. However, it is important to keep in mind that material advancement does not equate with true success – seeking the pleasure of Allah (swt). For the Khulafaa’ it was not about simply providing medical services, rather it was to fulfill the needs of the citizens entrusted to them for which they will be held accountable for.



Healthcare in the Khilafah

Healthcare is one of the services that the government must provide when the Khilafah is re-established Insha-Allah. Islam views healthcare as a basic need of every human being: Muslim or non-Muslim. The Prophet (saw) said:

“Each one of you is a shepherd. And each one of you will be asked about your flock. A ruler also is a shepherd and he will be asked about his flock…” [Bukhari & Muslim]



The Khalifah like a shepherd must attend to the affairs of those entrusted in his care. These affairs encompass the essential needs afforded to the citizens by Allah (swt).

The Prophet (saw) said:

"The Son of Adam has no better right than that he would have a house wherein he may live, a piece of clothing whereby he may hide his nakedness and a piece of bread and some water." [Tirmidhi]

These essential needs are afforded to each individual and if they cannot fulfill these needs and if their close relatives cannot fulfill them on their behalf, the obligation will fall upon the Khalifah as he has been entrusted with attending to the citizens’ affairs.


The Prophet (saw) also said:

“Whoever wakes up secure amongst his people, (physically) healthy, and has food for his day, it is as if the whole world had been gathered for him.”

[Tirmidhi and Ibn Majah]

Health is a necessity for each human being. Since the Khalifah must take care of the essential affairs of its citizens, healthcare is a service that the state must deliver in the same way food, shelter and clothing is provided.


The Khalifah is obligated by Sha’r (Quran & Sunnah) to spend whatever is required from the wealth of the central treasury (Bait-ul-mal) of the Khilafah to provide an efficient public healthcare system that is sufficient for the needs of the people no matter what the cost.

Unlike current systems today which charge regressive taxes, the funding will originate from various sources allowed in the Shariah, including natural resources. The Prophet (saw) said:



“Muslims are partners (associates) in three things: in water, pastures and fire.”
[Abu Dawud]


Natural resources, such as oil, are public goods for which the revenues can be used to fund the essential needs of society.


The Islamic system views the provision of healthcare to its citizens from a human perspective and not an economic aspect. This means that the leader of the Islamic State looks to provide adequate and good quality healthcare to the people, not for the sake of having a healthy workforce that can contribute to the economy but for the sake of fulfilling his duty of looking after the needs of the people in obedience to Allah (swt).


May Allah (swt) return the ‘Izza to the Muslim Ummah who longs for His justice under the banner of Laa 'ilaaha 'illallaah Muhammadan Rasoolallah.


Source: The Politically Aware Muslim









The Prophet sal Allahu alayhi wa'sallam said:



"The Muslim is a unique Ummah among the whole of mankind:

Their Land is ONE, their War is ONE, their Peace is ONE,

Their Honour is ONE and their Trust is ONE."

[Ahmad]

Thursday, 8 November 2007

Video: The Message

Bismillahir Rahmanir Rahim



In the name of Allah, the Most Beneficent, the Most Merciful








The Message is a film chronicling the life and times of the final Prophet, Muhammad, peace be upon him.






The Prophet sal Allahu alayhi wa'sallam said:



"The Muslim is a unique Ummah among the whole of mankind:

Their Land is ONE, their War is ONE, their Peace is ONE,

Their Honour is ONE and their Trust is ONE."

[Ahmad]

Wednesday, 7 November 2007

How a Pearl Develops: A Khutbah for Muslim Women

Bismillahir Rahmanir Rahim



In the name of Allah, the Most Beneficent, the Most Merciful





How a Pearl Develops: A Khutbah for Muslim Women

By Muhammad al Shareef || Khutbah.com




When news of the Christian army that had prepared on the horizons to wipe out Islam reached Abu Qudaamah Ash-Shaamee, he moved quickly to the mimbar of the masjid. In a powerful and emotional speech, Abu Qudaamah ignited the desire of the community to defend their land – jihaad for the sake of Allah. As he left the masjid, walking down a dark and secluded alley, a woman stopped him and said, "As salamu alaykum wa Rahmatullaah!" Abu Qudaamah stopped and did not answer. She repeated her salam again, adding "this is not how pious people should act." She stepped forward from the shadows. "I heard you in the masjid encouraging the believers to go for jihaad and all I have is this…" She handed him two long braids. "It can be used for a horse rein. Perhaps Allah may write me as one of those who went for jihaad."



The next day as that Muslim village set out to confront the crusader army, a young boy ran through the gathering and stood at the hooves of Abu Qudaamah's horse. "I ask you by Allah to allow me to join the army."



Some of the elder fighters laughed at the boy. "The horses will trample you," they said.



But Abu Qudaamah looked down into his eyes as he asked again, "I ask you by Allah, let me join."



Abu Qudaamah then said, "On one condition; if you are killed you will take me with you to Jannah amongst those you will be allowed to intercede for."



That young boy smiled. "It's a promise."



When the two armies met and the fighting intensified, the young boy on the back of Abu Qudaamah's horse asked, "I ask you by Allah to give me 3 arrows."



"You'll lose them," said Abu Qudaamah.



The boy repeated, "I ask you by Allah to give me them."



Abu Qudaamah gave him the arrows and the boy took aim. "Bismillah!" The arrow flew and killed a Roman. "Bismillah!" The second arrow flew, killing a second Roman. "Bismillah!" The third arrow flew, killing a third Roman. An arrow then struck the boy in the chest, knocking him off the horse. Abu Qudaamah jumped down to his side, reminding the boy in his final breaths, "Don't forget the promise!"



The boy reached into his pocket, extracted a pouch and said, "Please return this to my mother."



"Who's your mother?" asked Abu Qudaamah.



"The women that gave you the braids yesterday."



Think about this Muslimah. How did she reach this level of taqwa where she would sacrifice her hair and her son? Indeed, she spent her life in the obedience of Allah, and when exam time came, she passed. Not only did she pass herself, but her children shone with that same beauty of eman; children that she herself raised.



Most often the lectures, khutbahs, and talks are all directed to the Muslim men. We forget that from the hady (guidance and way) of RasulAllah sal Allaahu alayhi wa sallam was that he would allocate a specific day of the week to teach the women. Women would come up to him in Hajj, in the street, and even in his home to ask him questions about the deen. At the Eid salah, after addressing the men, he would take Bilal and go to the women’s section and address the women. Allah revealed an entire surah by the name of An-Nisaa’ (The Women), another by the name of Maryam (Mary), and yet another by the name of Al-Mujaadalah (The Woman Who Pleads). It is in enlivening this Sunnah that today this speech shall be addressed to the believing women – al-mu'minaat.



Dear sister, dear mother, and dear daughter, everyone is looking for happiness and fun, and I am sure that you are not excluded. Where is that happiness and fun though? And where and when do you want that happiness? Do you want to have ‘fun’ in this life at the expense of the hereafter? Or is it in the hereafter, when you meet Allah, that you want to be happy?



Everywhere you go you shall find a swarm of people, media, and culture swearing to you that happiness is the happiness of the dunya. Is it really happiness though? On the Day of Repayment, Allah shall take the most ‘happiest’ kafir of the dunya and dip him in Jahannam (Hellfire). Then He shall ask him, "Have you ever seen any happiness?" The Kafir will say, "Never!"



Nay, the happiness is only the happiness of the hereafter no matter what happens in this dunya. Allah shall bring on the Day of Repayment the most tested human and dip him in Jannah (Paradise). He shall then ask him, "Have you ever seen sadness?" And that person shall say, "Never!"



And don't think that this happiness and fun is exclusive to the Hereafter. It is very much tied to this life as well. Listen and understand the words of Allah:



Whoever works righteousness, whether male or female, while he [or she] is a true believer, verily to him We will give a good life [in this world with respect, contentment and lawful provision], and We shall pay them certainly a reward in proportion to the best of what they used to do [i.e. Paradise in the Hereafter] (An-Nahl 16/97).



Dear sister, you have to understand that you or anyone may enter Hellfire. By Allah, we are not better than Fatimah, the daughter of Rasul Allah sal Allaahu alayhi wa sallam. And he said to her, "O Fatimah, the daughter of Muhammad, ssk me whatever you wish from my wealth, for I shall avail you nothing to Allah." Meaning that it doesn't matter if you're my daughter; if you don't work for Jannah, saying to Allah that my father is so and so will not help you in any way.



Islam is filled with many mu'minahs who completed their taqwa of Allah. When the other girls put up posters of kafir singers, athletes and actresses, you should put up posters in your heart of Fatimah and many other mu'minahs.



One of these women was Aasiyah, the wife of Fir'own. Her eman in Allah thrived under the shadow of someone who said, "I am your Lord, Most High!" When news reached Fir'own of his wife's eman, he beat her and commanded his guards to beat her. They took her out in the scalding noon heat, tied her hands and feet, and beat her perpetually. Who did she turn to? She turned to Allah! She prayed, "My Lord, build for me a home with you in Paradise, save me from Fir'own and his deeds, and save me from the transgressive people."



It was narrated that when she said this, the sky opened for her and she saw her home in Paradise. She smiled. The guards watched astonished – she's being tortured and she smiles? Frustrated, Fir'own commanded a boulder to be brought and dropped on Aasiyah to crush her to death. But Allah took her soul before the boulder was brought and she became an example for all the believing men and women till the end of time:



And Allah has set forth an example for those who believe: the wife of Fir'own [Pharaoh] when she said, "My Lord, Build for me a home with You in Paradise, and save me from Fir'own and his deeds, and save me from the transgressive [disbelieving people] (At-Tahreem 66/11).



When we talk about jihaad and shuhadaa' (martyrs), do you know who the first Muslim in Islam to be killed in the path of Allah was? It was Summayah, the mother of Ammar. When Abu Jahl heard of her, her husband Yaasir, and her son Ammar’s Islam, he whipped them all and beat them, so much so, that RasulAllah would pass by them as they went through this test of their eman and would say to them, “Be patient, O Jannah!”



One day, as Abu Jahl beat Sumayyah, she refused to recant her deen; something that enraged Abu Jahl. He took a spear as she lay on the burning sand looking up to the sky, and he speared through her midsection. She was the first of her family and the entire ummah to meet Allah as a martyr.



Dear sister, our role models come from the Qur’an. You may have heard the story of the boy and the king. When the entire village became Muslim by the death of that young boy, the king ordered that an enormous fire be kindled and all those who would not recant their religion be burned alive. A mu'minah, stood with her baby over the fire. She looked at her baby, and seeking her child's weakness and innocence, she considered turning her back. The baby said to her, "What are you waiting for mother. Go forward, for you are on the truth!" She nodded. Then, with her baby in hand, she was pushed to her death.



And they ill-treated them for no other reason than that they believed in Allah, exalted in power, worthy of all praise! / Him to Whom belongs the dominion of the heavens and the earth! And Allah is witness to all things (Al-Buruj 85/8-9).



And dear sister, your role models can also come to you from today. As her son tells us, a senior woman in a Muslim land decided that all the vanity that normally happens in the gatherings of women was not for her. She turned to salah and praying at night, and in her old age, she found herself calling to her son one night from her prayer room. He son says, "I came in and she was in sajdah saying that she was paralyzed!" Her son took her to the doctors and she began a cycle of rehabilitation, but there was little hope. She then commanded her son to take her back home, back to her prayer room, back to that sajdah. As she prayed to Allah in her sajdah, the night came and she again called to her son. "Astawdi'ukallaah alladhee laa yadee'u wa daa'i'uh," which means, "I leave you in the trust of Allah, and whenever something is left in Allah's trust it is never lost." She passed away in her sajdah. Her muscles froze in that position and so they had to wash her body as she was in sajdah. They prayed janazah for her as her body was in sajdah. They carried her to the graveyard as her body was in sajdah. They buried her as she was in sajdah. The Prophet sal Allaahu alayhi wa sallam said that we shall all be resurrected on what we died on; she shall be resurrected on the day of Judgment in sajdah to Allah – jalla jalaaluhu wa taqaddasat asmaa'uhu - because that it how she lived and died.



There are many other stories that we know about of powerful believing mothers, wives and sisters, and many that Allah only knows about. Whenever a halaqah is going on, the Muslim women outnumber the men. Go to an Islamic teachers or schools conference, attend a lecture and you shall see the mismatch of sisters to brothers. Sometimes it is sad to see all these brothers lacking the motivation that many muslimahs have. But if there is a beautiful sign in all this, it is that, in sha Allah ta'aala, those sisters are going to raise an army of believing men and women in the coming generation, wAllahu Akbar!



When Imam Ahmad was still young, his father died. He would tell his students of the work his mother went through in raising him, and he would pray for her. In the cold Baghdad nights, she would wake long before him to warm the water so that her son Ahmad could make wudu for Fajr. Then she would wrap him in blankets, she herself cloaked in her jilbaab. She would guide him through the dark, cold alleys to reach the main masjid long before Fajr so that her son could get a good seat in class. Her son Ahmad, at that age in grade 2 or 3, would sit all day long studying Qur’an and Sunnah, and she would wait for him to finish so that she could drop him home safely. At the age of 16, she prepared money and food for him and told him, "Travel for your search of knowledge." He left for Makkah and Madinah and many other places, and met many great scholars. She raised Ahmad to become one of the four greatest imams in Islam.



PART II



Dear sister, after all this, ask a non-Muslim what it is that he wants from you. Does he want you to be liberated? Liberated from what? From Allah and his Messenger? From the Qur’an and the Sunnah? From Jannah? From this deen that Allah chose for you?



And what is he going to give you in return? Happiness? By Allah, he does not own any happiness to give. Is he going to give you love and protection from punishment in the grave and from the gatekeepers of Hellfire and from death? Why is it that they want to liberate young beautiful women? Why don't they liberate the seniors? Why don't they liberate the indigenous? Why don't they liberate the inmates? Why is their target audience a young, skinny and tall woman (their definition of beauty) between the ages of 13 – 28? And why is their first call for you to take off your hijab?



Remember that friend – if you consider him so – carefully, for without any doubt, by Allah, he shall be your bitterest enemy on the Day of Repayment.



Friends on that day will be foes, one to another – except the Righteous (Al-Zukhruf 43/67).



One kafirah summed up exactly what they think of women, "It's not who you are, it's what you wear and what you look like!" And listen to Fabian, a French 'model,' as she spit on the fashion industry. "Fashion houses made me into a mannequin, a wooden idol. The mission: to manipulate hearts and alter minds. I learned how to be worthless, nothing on the inside, but cold. We lived in a world of filth."



When the Prophet sal Allaahu alayhi wa sallam stood on the plain of Arafah and gave his farewell speech, he said to the ummah, "Treat the women kindly!" History records that in Europe, in the same year, at the same time that Islam was saying this, the Christian clergy were arguing whether a woman was a human or an animal! Those clergymen are the ancestors of the kuffar that now want to 'liberate' you.



There is much more than can be said. I shall conclude with the advice of RasulAllah sal Allaahu alayhi wa sallam to every Muslim mother, daughter, and wife:



"If the woman prays her five (salah), fasts her month (of Ramadan), protects herself (from committing zina), and listens to her husband, it will be said to her, that from any door you wish, enter Paradise!"



Allah and His Messenger are calling you to life. Dear sister, reply!











The Prophet sal Allahu alayhi wa'sallam said:



"The Muslim is a unique Ummah among the whole of mankind:

Their Land is ONE, their War is ONE, their Peace is ONE,

Their Honour is ONE and their Trust is ONE."

[Ahmad]

Friday, 2 November 2007

Humbling...

Bismillahir Rahmanir Rahim



In the name of Allah, the Most Beneficent, the Most Merciful




{The creation of the heavens and the earth is indeed greater than the creation of mankind...}











Pretty big, huh? But wait! There's more to the heavens than that!


Here are a few more stars out there:








Antares is the 15th brightest star in the sky. It is more than 1000 light years away.

Humbling, isn't it?




Now try to wrap your mind around this...



Below is a Hubble Telescope ultra-deep-field infrared view
of countless entire galaxies billions of light years away!







Below is a close up of one of the darkest regions of the photo above:






The heavens are so vast and great!

How much greater must the Creator be to have created such things?!




We're not even a speck in comparison to the greatness of Allah!

Yet many of us are arrogant and rebellious towards the One Who created us!



If Allah can create all of this, He can surely resurrect us after death.

He is capable of all things and to Him we shall return.




Think about it and fear Allah.












The Prophet sal Allahu alayhi wa'sallam said:



"The Muslim is a unique Ummah among the whole of mankind:

Their Land is ONE, their War is ONE, their Peace is ONE,

Their Honour is ONE and their Trust is ONE."

[Ahmad]