Rajab – The Opening of the Spiritual Season

How many times have we entered upon the month of Ramadan and found ourselves unprepared? Often times we go throughout the year indulging in our ordinary habits, anticipating that once Ramadan rolls around, we will instantaneously transform into better Muslims overnight. However, we find that when we enter into Ramadan with this attitude, we are rarely ever able to maintain our spiritual goals, let alone achieve them. Our most valuable asset is time, and here Allah (Swt) gives us a two-month period in order for us to prepare for Ramadan.

Flashback to your Junior year in high school. Recall how much time and effort you spent studying for your ACT. You may have taken a class to learn test-taking strategies in order to prepare. You probably began studying months in advance to ensure you would be able to preform your best. We did not simply show up on the day of our ACT without any prior preparations, in fact, preparing for that test became every student’s number one priority.

But why is it that we take such extreme caution to prepare for our worldly affairs, but neglect our spiritual ones? Just as we sharpened our pencils and double, if not triple checked the batteries in our calculator before the exam, we must begin charging the batteries of our iman before we find ourselves in the midst of Ramadan.

In surah Tawbah, we learn that Rajab is one of the most sacred months of the year. Therefore, we are not to violate these sacred months by committing sins.

“Verily, the number of months with Allah is twelve months (in a year), so was it ordained by Allah on the Day when He created the heavens and the earth; of them four are Sacred (i.e. the 1st, the 7th, the 11th and the 12th months of the Islamic calendar). That is the right religion, so wrong not yourselves therein” 9:36. 

Although committing sins is haram throughout the year, this ayah is stating that during these sacred months, it is even more forbidden, and we should take special precautionary measures to protect ourselves against sins.

Time is of the essence, and as we are at the threshold of month of Rajab, we should begin our spiritual cleansing process in anticipation of Ramadan. Eliminate harmful habits, increase in ibada and most importantly seek forgiveness from Allah (Swt) in abundance.

As Rajab commences the spiritual season, let us begin setting and working towards our spiritual goals so that when we enter into Ramadan, we will be fully prepared to make the most of it.

May Allah make us all successful in our travels to Him and have a blessed beautiful month of Rajab. 

-Lauren Tabakhi (Benedictine University)

A Look into the Revolution in Syria

Forty years ago the merciless tyrant Hafez Al-Assad wiped out the entire city of Hama, killing more than 10’s of thousands of people, in an effort to quiet those asking for change in the government. The rest of the country and the world remained silent, forgetting the thousands that died, the thousands that were widowed and the thousands that were orphaned. We live in a country where freedom of speech is included in our bill of rights, and are given the right to speak out against our government, our rulers and anything that we do not agree with. The people of Syria, and other countries involved in the Arab spring, live in the fear of not only of speaking out against the government, but simply of having someone claim that they spoke out.

Being part Syrian, I remember visiting Syria a few years ago and experiencing that fear of speaking out first hand. I would walk through the streets of the country that I loved and adored and notice the enlarged photograph of Bashar al Assad at every corner, on the back of every car, on the door of every building, and in every room of every public institution. My younger brother once stared at the huge photograph on the side of an entire building and innocently asked, “Why is there a picture of Bashar everywhere mama?” Immediately my mother, aunt and all my cousins hushed him and stared around double-checking to make sure no one had heard him making fun of the president. This was only a small example of the hushed fears.

In March of 2011, children in Daraa, a village on the outskirts of Syria near the Jordanian border, wrote on the walls of their town: Down with the government! Down with Bashar! The government swooped in and tortured the children, ripping off their nails and beating them. This was the initial spark causing the uprising in Syria that is still ongoing today. A people’s claim for freedom and a change of government has brought upon them the death of close to 4000 people and the detainment of 60,000 civilians. Civilians who peacefully went out to the streets in Homs, Deraa, Deir Ezzor, and other provinces, to call for change, and resulted in a repeat of the massacre of Hama. This weekend alone, more than 400 people including 30 premature babies died in the shelling that destroyed Homs. Homs is bleeding, and people are sitting in their homes still debating whether or not the Syrian government is committing these crimes. On a daily basis Syrian television, networks twist and bend the truth, claiming all these atrocities are being committed by rebels and terrorist groups. If indeed they were done by these rebel groups, why would they kill their own families and destroy their own neighborhoods? Why would Qatar, The United States of America, or any of the other countries the Syrian government is claiming is instigating this revolution, want to witness the death of so many innocent civilians? And at times it would be a mercy to be killed and become a martyr, instead of the ruthless torturing the 50,000 detainees are witnessing. A man had his throat ripped open and his voice box removed simply for singing a song calling for Assad to step down!!

This inhumane treatment is being condoned by Russia and China, who continuously use their veto power in the UN for their own selfish purposes. I think it has reached a point where intervention is necessary! How many people have to die, become orphaned, become widowed, lose a son, daughter, sister, brother, friend, teacher in order for the world to move?! What is happening in Syria is a genocide, and there is not any time for everyone to sit around and discuss what is happening, argue about viewpoints or speculate about the future! It is time to speak out, to pray and make duaa at every moment of the day for all the people who are suffering in the world! This silence is leading to a repeat of Hama, but it is even worse, in Hama there was no media covering the atrocities, now there is every form of media covering the current carnage and bloodshed; Twitter, Facebook, news channels, newspapers, etc., to let this pass by would be a dark mark in history on our parts.

Abraham Lincoln once said, “ You can fool some of the people all of the time and all of the people some of the time, but you cannot fool all of the people all of the time.” The Syrian government may be content with fooling and lying to themselves, but it can no longer fool the world. This bloodshed has to stop and it starts with speaking out, letting everyone know what is happening, but most importantly it is important not only for us to make duaa and pray, but to fix ourselves. Allah (swt) says in the Quran, “Indeed Allah does not change the condition of a people unless we change that within ourselves,” this is a huge test (balaa) from Allah (swt) and also an opportunity for all of us as a Muslim Ummah to come together and correct our mistakes, in order to build a better future. The revolutions in the Arab countries are not simply Syrian causes, or Egyptian causes or Libyan causes, they are Muslim causes, we should all work towards a better future involving freedom for all Muslims! All the revolutions relate to all of us as Muslims, we need to put aside internationalism and associate with all Muslims as one. It does not matter if your Syrian, Jordanian, Pakistani or American, Sunni, Shiite, Muslim, Jewish or Atheist, we are all humans and the rest of the world needs to give the world the opportunity to enjoy the basic human rights that only a few of us are offered.

Pondering Our Words

Abu Hurairah - radiAllahu' anhu - reported that the Prophet said,

“Indeed a servant may say a word from which Allah’s pleasure is gained and the servant does not realize it, Allah will raise him up levels. Indeed a servant may say a word from which Allah’s displeasure is gained and he does not realize it, Allah will put him in Jahanam due to it.” 

- Saheeh al-Bukhari (8/485)

I am writing simply as a reminder for us all on the importance of good speech. Speaking justly is
extremely important to emphasize in our daily lives, because our tongues can either speak good or bad upon us at Judgement Day. If it’s the latter, all our good deeds, prayers, fasts can be cancelled out if our language violates the etiquettes of Islam as shown in the hadith: The Prophet Muhammad
said:

"A man may be so close to Paradise such that the distance between him and it is one derah (an arm's length) and he speaks a word and he becomes distant from it further than Sana" (Ahmad).

It is immensely difficult to utilize proper vocabulary in an age where media and corporations
dictate what Americans should say and do, and it’s necessary to always reflect on your dialogues with
others to make sure our tongue is pure. I will briefly mention a couple common mistakes many of us
make in daily life that violates the Sunnah.

1. The Golden Rule. 

We were taught this in Kindergarten: don’t have anything nice to say about anyone then don’t say it. It’s best to avoid talking about anyone behind their backs, even if it is good (because it can often lead to other discussions about that particular individual). Abu Hurairah (May Allah be pleasedwith him) reported: The Prophet said,

"He who believes in Allah and the Last Day must either speak good or remain silent'' [Muslim]. 

Backbiting is a grave sin. A common trick by Shaytan is to think that as it’s okay because we may treat it as a joke with friends rather serious, but backbiting is still a major sin and should not be laughed off.

Anas (May Allah be pleased with him) said: The Messenger of Allah said,

 "During the Mi`raj (the Night of Ascension), I saw a group of people who were scratching their chests and faces with their copper nails. I asked, `Who are these people, O Jibril?' Jibril replied: `These are the people who ate flesh of others (by backbiting) and trampled people's honour" 

[Abu Dawud].

2. Foul words. 

We are at an age when we know every curse word possible. If you’re tempting to say
something vile, even a filler word, remember this hadith. Imam Ahmad and Tirmizi reported that IbnMasoud narrated that the Prophet (s) said:

 “A Muslim is not a person who slanders, curses, speaks obscene words or is abusive."

3. Useless talk.

 The Prophet would always speak good and avoid wasting time with conversations
that were of no use. We should try minimizing the amount we goof around and laugh with our friends, as The Prophet said,

 "Laugh little for much laughter deadens the heart.” 

Additionally, if we spend hours talking about basketball and football every week, then we should seriously reevaluate how much we value sports entertainment. The key to everything is moderation and not letting these petty distractions control our lives. Abu Hurayrah, May Allah be pleased with him, narrated that The Prophet said,

“A sign of one’s excellence in his Islam, is ignoring what does not concern him.’

[Ahmad, Malik & At-Tirmithi]

-Ahmad Noweder

In Perspective

 

His image in the mirror was blocked

Was not himself but the fear had stopped

But he was stuck on the path, and his steering was locked

He made no progress so his hearing had stopped

No longer progressing, became a parody

Was living a lie, but claimed clarity

What he had lacked to himself was verity

What he lacked to others was charity

What he needed was spiritual therapy

Gained respect of life through self, not inherently 

Through experience, achieved a greater perspective

Realized respect is required, and is not an elective

-Adil Qaisar

Surviving the Times

Somehow living life without any description

Won’t take the time just to sit down and listen

To all the people that he seems to lock up in prison

And he locks himself from all the help, just regretting decisions

Life seemed to be just passing through

His empty life seemed to be passed as truth

Driven to a point where he had to lose

Meaningless reasons is what he was acting through

See it’s easy to complain, but it’s hard to fix

Realize, life’s not shallow, it’s all abyss

Everything’s confusing until it starts to click

In the end this life here is a war and we have to conquer this

Consider this all into all your feelings

What is there to life, without any meaning?

Have to open our minds to understand what we’re seeing

Yes, we’re all human, but what are we being?

-Adil Qaisar

A Trial, A Tribulation

I stood there frightened, panic-stricken, and demoralized

The court room was cold; and my thoughts couldn’t be synthesized

Trying to recall the crime I’ve committed but nothing comes to mind

I looked deep into my heart too; but I swear there’s nothing I could find

The Judge names my sin; it is murder I have committed

I begin to doubt myself, as my self-respect is omitted

Explaining that I have killed many of his people, many of his friends

I stood there, vulnerable as ever, as he tied in the loose ends

“Punishment for life” he proclaimed.

I stood there in front of him; dumb, silent and maimed.

Years have passed now, and I haven’t made bail

My own brothers deserted me, denounced the peace; left me imprisoned in this jail

But here they don’t know I have time to think, and it makes me smarter

But here they don’t know I eat well, and this test makes me stronger

Here I got to catch up with an old friend, Al-Islam, who has always been kind

We have gotten to know each other well, all these years together confined

He too was falsely condemned, though he never did wrong

Too many wanted him gone, erased, but his message is today still strong

My brother, my sister; someone, somewhere will be judged too

Just stay strong my siblings, you will one day pull through

Because after hardship will always come ease

I hope and pray that this struggle will one day soon cease

But sometimes I get angry and wish to fight back

Incriminate them for my Identity Theft, and get my life back on track

But I learned: my prophet wouldn’t react; for he would respond

That we are people of peace and should cherish every type of human bond

It is sad, but I know that true justice may be too much to ask of today’s laws

We will one day face Al Hakm, the true judge of mankind, and we will each face our flaws

At times it is not the problem that matters, but the angle from which you choose to see

God tests those that he loves; I hope that God loves me

AUS

Did you not see?

Did you not see the green green grass

or the big white clouds that came to pass

Did you not see the tall brown trees

or the honeycombs and the buzzing bees

Perhaps you did not see the sparkling stars

or this cleverly crafted body of ours

Or maybe you missed the beautiful moon

Not to worry, the sun will be here soon

Then you will see my dear friend

to me your ear you must lend

Did you not see the vastness of the sky 

no mighty pillars keeping it up so high

its a different painting up there everyday

my Beloved changes it in his own way, anyways 

I'm talking about the marvelous wonder of the sunset

you must've missed that too I bet

don't let me get you worried

here comes a fragrant flower from a seed that was just buried

Poor fellow! I see you have eyes but still you are blind

Because His greatness you could not see neither from your heart nor your mind

My Beloved is not seen

However He is seen in every scene

-Bilal Memon

Nothing is Impossible

“…Then when you have taken a decision, put your trust in Allah, certainly, Allah loves those

who put their trust (in Him).” (Quran :159)

Nothing is impossible

Of course just as Musa was saved (from the pharaoh), and Younis (from the whale), they did not just sit there and wait to be saved. No they did their part. They acted. They were active.

Musa started by warning Pharaoh. He later had a challenge or competition with the magicians at that
time. He beat them by throwing his stick which turned into a real snake and swallowed all the other fake snakes. He had to "throw his stick." When he was by the sea he had to “strike his stick,” so the sea could open. Was it the stick that opened the sea? Was it the stick that ate all the other fake snakes? No, it was Allah (SWT) who was in control.

When Unis (AS) was in the whale in the darkness of the night, and the darkness of the ocean, and the
darkness of the whale, who would hear him? Who would see him? Who would save him? He made Duaa and was patient. Allah (SWT) saved him and took him to shore.

When the time of labor came for Mariam (the mother of Esa-Jesus), she sat under a tree. She needed to eat and Allah (SWT) ordered her to shake the tree trunk so dates will fall. Was Allah (SWT) able to feed her without any distress? Yes of course, but He (SWT) still ordered her to shake the tree trunk.

When Mohammad (S) wanted to go from Makkah to Madina in secret, he had a plan. He had his things ready and packed. He left at a time when it was so hot most people were inside. He traveled the opposite way of Madina. He had a Sheppard walk behind him with his cattle to cover up his steps. He hid in the cave of Thowr. He had his daughter bring him food. All these preparations and the Kufar still came near the cave, but they did not see them (The Prophet (S) and Abu Bakr (RAA)). Who is the one protecting them? ALLAH (SWT).

The point is, whatever you do, do your best, and trust Allah (SWT). Nothing is impossible. Just do your part, and if you do not succeed, do not give up. Noah (AS) made Dawa and warned his people for 950 years before he made his Dua. The harder things are, the more rewards, so just be sincere, be patient, and do your best!

-Raed Oweisi