Advice regarding Halloween !

Every year, on the evening of October 31st, millions of children across the world paint their faces, dress up in costumes, and go from door to door in order to collect treats. The adults often decorate their houses with ghostly figures, carve scary faces on pumpkins, and put candles in them to create 'Jack-O-Lanterns.' Unfortunately, among the millions partaking in this custom, many are Muslims. This article will shed some light on the significance and origins of Halloween, and why Muslims should not participate in it.

Origins of the Halloween Festival

The ancient Celtic (Irish/Scottish/Welsh) festival called Samhain is considered by most historians and scholars to be the predecessor of what is now Halloween. Samhain was the New Year's Day of the pagan Celts. It was also their Day of the Dead, a time when it was believed that the souls of those who had died during the year were allowed access into the 'Land of the Dead.' Many traditional beliefs and customs associated with Samhain continue to be practiced today on the 31st of October. Most notable of these customs are the practices of leaving offerings of food and drink (now candy) to masked and costumed revellers, and the lighting of bonfires. Elements of this festival were incorporated into the Christian festival of All Hallow's Eve, or Hallow-Even, the night preceding All Saint's (Hallows') Day. It is the glossing of the name Hallow-Even that has given us the name of Halloween. Until recent times in some parts of Europe, it was believed that on this night the dead walked amongst them, and that witches and warlocks flew in their midst. In preparation for this, bonfires were built to ward off these malevolent spirits.

“The Angels & Jibril ascend to Allah in a day the measure of which is 50,000 years.”

Answered by ash-Shaykh ‘Abdur-Rahman ibn Nasir al-Barrak 

Question: It says in Qur’an, “The angels and Jibril ascend to Allah in a day the measure of which is 50,000 years.” Does it imply that Allah is controlling the earthly matters sitting on the Throne? Then how can be Allah nearer to us than our jugular veins? 

Answer: Praise belongs to Allah. 

It is proven in the Qur’an and Sunnah and by the consensus (ijma’) of the Salaf (early generations) of this Ummah that Allah is above His heavens on His Throne, and that He is the Exalted, Most High. He is above all things, and there is nothing that is above Him. Allah says, “Allah it is He Who has created the heavens and the earth, and all that is between them in six days. Then He  rose over (istawa) the Throne (in a manner that suits His Majesty). You (mankind) have none, besides Him, as a Wali (protector or helper) or an intercessor. Will you not then remember (or receive admonition)?" [32:4] 

“Verily, your Lord is Allah Who created the heavens and the earth in six days and then rose over (istawa) the Throne (in a manner that suits His Majesty), disposing the affair of all things.” [10:3]

The True meaning of Defeat !!!

For Educational purpose only and to raise Intellectual and Political awareness!

If the enemy is killed in the battlefield, he considers that as defeat, but we do not. The conflict in its realities is a conflict of ideas that is translated into battles. If a person gives up these ideas, that is defeat.

The first form of defeat: 

"Never will the jews nor the christians be pleased with you till you follow their way. Say: ‘Verily, the Guidance of Allāh is the (only) Guidance.’ And if you were to follow their desires after what you have received of (revealed) Knowledge, then you would have against Allāh neither any protector nor any helper." [2:120] 
When a Muslim gives up what Allāh has given them, and follows any other way; Whether this following is partial or complete this is the greatest form of defeat. Following their way does not mean you declare it publicly, as this is rare. But the Āyah is referring to those whose actions and words are similar to those people mentioned in the Āyah, then you are following them. The Āyah is talking about adapting their method.
Proof of becoming a kāfir does not necessarily mean one has to declare it. We define Īmān to be; words, belief in the heart and actions. Kufr can be applied to all three of these. If someone’s words, beliefs or actions are that of the kuffār, then they are of them. Ibn Taymiyyah said, “The kuffār are pleased when the Muslimīn follow them, even in things that are classified as appearance.” We find that the kuffār are extremely happy when the Muslimīn don’t wear the hijāb. Even though is a matter of how we should dress. 

Those who disbelieve fight in the path of Taghout !

The second evidence: (And it is) from the Book of Allah:

"…those who disbelieve, fight in the path of Taghout. So fight against the allies of shaytaan; undoubtedly the plan of shaytaan is weak."

And the meaning of Taghout is what Ibnul-Qayyim stated: “Taghout is anything by which the slave transgresses the limits through worship, following, or obedience. Thus, the Taghout of any people is he whom they seek judgment from other than Allah and His Messenger (saws), or whom they worship alongside Allah, or whom they follow without guidance from Allah, or whom they obey in what they do not know to be in obedience to Allah. These are the Tawagheet of the world; if you were to contemplate them and, at the same time, contemplate the condition of the people, you would see that most people have turned from the worship of Allah to the worship of Taghout, from seeking judgment from Allah and His Messenger (saws) to seeking judgment from Taghout, and from obeying and following Allah and His Messenger (saws), to obeying and following the Taghout...”

And ash-Shaykh Muhammad Ibn ‘Abdul-Wahhab said: “The word Taghout is general. So everything that is worshipped besides Allah, while being pleased with this worship – whether it is something worshipped, someone followed, or someone obeyed in the absence of obedience to Allah and His Messenger, then that is considered Taghout. The Tawagheet are many, but their heads are five:

The First: The shaytaan who calls the people to worship other than Allah. The proof for this is His saying:

"Did I not command you O children of Ādam, that you should not worship the shaytaan. Verily, he is a plain enemy to you." [36:60]

The Mubtadi’ Ahmad ibn ‘Umar al-Hazimi

For Educational purpose only and to raise Intellectual and Political awareness!

After the working ‘Ulama and students of knowledge in the Arabian Peninsula were either killed or imprisoned like Sultan al-‘Utaybi, Nasir al-Fahd, ‘Abdul-‘Aziz at-Tuwayli’i, Faris az-Zahrani, ‘Ali al-Khudayr and many others, or managed to make Hjrah like Abu Malik at-Tamimi, ‘Abdullah ar-Rashud, Abu Anas ash-Shami, and Abu Sufyan al-Azdi; to fill that missing void many misguided heads suddenly became role models in knowledge being propped up as followers of the Salaf with some even taking those sitting back with no excuse as leaders and role models in Jihaad, like at-Tarifi and al-Hazimi. What will conspire in some of the following paragraphs and in some of the points mentioned is from the article written by Shaykh Abu Maysarah ash-Shami entitled, “Al-Hazimi; between the major sin of sitting behind and the misguidance of the Jamiyyah”, as well as other articles written by seekers of knowledge.

Ahmad Ibn ‘Umar al-Hazimi is from one of the heads of the newly formed Jamiyyah that emerged after the old Jamiyyah fell out. The Jamiyyah is the school that is pro-Saudi “Salafi” and they are named after Muhammad Aman al-Jami, who is renowned for his defending the Saudi government when they brought the kuffar armies into the Arabian Peninsula. This school, the older one more so, has also been referred to as and are similar to the Madkhaliyyah, and this is the most popular term since Rabi’ al-Madkhali is more well-known than the former. Though, most from the Madkhaliyyah would not consider those from the Jamiyyah “Salafi” enough, as is known from that soap opera of dramas. This school, the newer one that al-Hazimi belongs to, brought together some statements from Ahlus-Sunnah wal-Jama’ah in iman and Tawheed such as making Takfeer on the one who leaves the category of actions and on the jahil mushrik but follows the old path of the Jamiyyah in arguing in defense of al Salul, hardly speaking about the reality of tawalli to the Crusaders and the hukm on ruling by other than what Allah has revealed. For example, if al-Hazimi was to speak with regards to these rulings it would be from a theoretical angle with no ties to our realities and with no implementation. So one could say the Jamiyyah are more general in that they are those who ascribe themselves to Salafiyyah while inclining towards the Saudi government, not inciting or speaking about Jihaad or the modern day Crusade and keeping the hukm on those who rule by other than what Allah revealed in theory only.

Why do we delay Repentance?

Repentance is ultimately the goal that we all seek. All sane people are conscious of their numerous sins, and those who believe in Allah and His Messenger (saws) recognize that they will be held accountable for their sins, and therefore desire to be free of the evil consequences of their misdeeds. Islam offers man the ideal way by which he may be released from the burden of his sins.

The word Tawbah (repentance) in Arabic literally means 'to return'. In an Islamic context, it refers to the act of leaving what Allah has prohibited and returning to what He, Almighty, has commanded.

The subject of repentance is one that concerns all people who believe in Allah, and is vital for the Muslims to understand because our salvation in the Hereafter depends on our repentance to Allah, as Allah commands: "…And turn to Allah in repentance, all of you, that you might succeed." [24:31]

Allah also Says: "…Indeed, Allah loves those who are constantly repentant and loves those who purify themselves.” [2:222]

One may have a real intention to repent, but there may be some obstacles to the path of repentance. If this is the case, then he needs to act without hesitation and remove those obstacles to clear the way to a happy soul.

Rohingya Recount Atrocities: ‘They Threw My Baby Into Fire’!

COX’S BAZAR, Bangladesh — Hundreds of women stood in the river, held at gunpoint, ordered not to move. 

A pack of soldiers stepped toward a petite young woman with light brown eyes and delicate cheekbones. Her name was Rajuma, and she was standing chest-high in the water, clutching her baby son, while her village in Myanmar burned down behind her.
“You,” the soldiers said, pointing at her.
She froze.
“You!”
She squeezed her baby tighter.
In the next violent blur of moments, the soldiers clubbed Rajuma in the face, tore her screaming child out of her arms and hurled him into a fire. She was then dragged into a house and gang-raped.
By the time the day was over, she was running through a field naked and covered in blood. Alone, she had lost her son, her mother, her two sisters and her younger brother, all wiped out in front of her eyes, she says.

Rajuma is a Rohingya Muslim, one of the most persecuted ethnic groups on earth, and she now spends her days drifting through a refugee camp in Bangladesh in a daze.
She relayed her story to me during a recent reporting trip I made to the camps, where hundreds of thousands of Rohingya like her have rushed for safety. Her deeply disturbing account of what happened in her village, in late August, was corroborated by dozens of other survivors, whom I spoke with at length, and by human rights groups gathering evidence of atrocities.

Survivors said they saw government soldiers stabbing babies, cutting off boys’ heads, gang-raping girls, shooting 40-millimeter grenades into houses, burning entire families to death, and rounding up dozens of unarmed male villagers and summarily executing them.

SHORT FILM | Uyghur Muslims forced to hand over Quraans or face harsh punishment !

Chinese authorities in the northwestern region of Xinjiang have ordered Uyghur Muslim families to hand in religious items including prayer mats and copies of the Quraan to the authorities.

"We received a notification saying that every single ethnic Uyghur must hand in any Islam-related items from their own home, including Quraans, prayers and anything else bearing the symbols of religion. They have to be handed in voluntarily. If they aren’t handed in, and they are found, then there will be harsh punishments."
– Dilxat Raxit, World Uyghur Congress

Video written and produced by Isa Ath-Tha’ir and Zein Khalifa

Reality of openly displaying your Deen

By Shaykh ‘Abdul-‘Aziz al-Jarbu’

Many people believe that what is meant by “openly displaying one’s Deen” (amongst the disbelievers) is simply that one prays, fasts and reads the Qur’an in the lands of disbelief or the lands that are at war with the Muslims, and nobody opposes you or harms you. So, if you do this, then you have fully and openly displayed your Deen amongst them (and fulfilled your responsibilities). And this is a terrible mistake, and a profound miscalculation that must be cleared, since Allah says:
Indeed there has been an excellent example for you in Ibrahim and those with him, when they said to their people: ‘Verily, we are free from you and whatever you worship besides Allah, we have rejected you, and there has emerged between us and you, hostility and hatred for ever, until you believe in Allah Alone,’ except the saying of Ibrahim to his father: ‘Verily, I will ask for forgiveness (from Allah) for you, but I have no power to do anything for you before Allah .’ Our Lord! In You (Alone) we put our trust, and to You (Alone) we turn in repentance, and to You (Alone) is (our) final Return."

Therefore, the open display of one’s Deen is done by announcing one’s disbelief in these organizations, and clarifying this hostility to them, and to inform these disbelievers and apostates that we have disbelieved in them and that our enmity is for them, and that if we were to gain the upperhand, we would not leave them on the face (of the Earth), as ‘Umar (ra) said when he was asked by the Messenger of Allah (saws) : “What do you think, O son of Khattab (regarding the prisoners of Badr)?” So he replied: “I said: ‘By Allah, I do not agree with Abu Bakr (ra), but I think that you should give me a relative of ‘Umar so that I may strike his neck, and give ‘Aqil to ‘Ali, so that he may strike his neck, and give Hamzah his brother so that he may strike his neck- so that Allah would know that there is no space of any depth in our hearts for the disbeleivers. Those are their nobles and leaders and commanders.’ So, the Messenger of Allah (saws) leaned towards what Abu Bakr had said, but not towards what I had said. So, he took the ransom from them. The next day, I went to the Prophet (saws) and Abu Bakr (ra) and found them both crying, so I said: “O Messenger of Allah, tell me, what has made you and your companion weep? If there is a reason to weep, I will weep with you, and if there is no reason, I will pretend to weep in sympathy with you because you are weeping.” So the Prophet (saws) said: “I am weeping because I was shown the torture to which they were subjected. It was brought as close to me as this tree.” Then, Allah revealed:
"It is not for a Prophet that he should have prisoners of war (and free them with ransom) until he had made a great slaughter (among his enemies) in the land…" until the verse "…so eat of the permissible and good things that you have obtained as war booty…" 

Believers support each other!

Islam came when people were separated into sects, factions and tribes. Allah united people by Islam and brought their hearts together, as He Says: "And remember the favor of Allah upon you - when you were enemies and He brought your hearts together and you became, by His favor, brothers." [3:103] Islam teaches its followers to feel that they are individuals in a group and that they are part of this large group. Feeling that he is a part of the group, a Muslim likes for the other parts what he likes for himself. There are rights and duties that result from a Muslim belonging to the group, the greatest one being the way the believers support one another.

The Importance of Supporting One Another in the Ummah

Supporting one another is of great importance in the life of this Ummah, and without it the Muslim community is exposed before its enemy and is liable to any defeat. On the other hand, if the society members adhere to supporting Allah and one another, then this would definitely lead to the Muslims gaining every good and victory over their enemy. This is a fulfillment of the promise of Allah, for He Says: "And Allah will surely support those who support Him." [22:40] The Muslims support their Lord, and this is attained through obeying Him, not violating His limits and abstaining from disobedient acts. The Muslims support their brothers and sisters and this is achieved through helping them whenever they need it, warding off oppression if they are oppressed and deterring them if they are oppressors. The Prophet (saws) said: “Support your brother whether he is an oppressor or is oppressed.” A man enquired, “O Messenger of Allah, I will support him if he is oppressed, but how can I support him if he is an oppressor?” He (saws) said: “You can prevent him from committing oppression, and that is how to support him.” [Al-Bukhari]

Doubt in the Kuffr of the Tawagheet ?!?

Regarding those who hesitate or doubt in the Kuffr of the Tawagheet who ascribe to Islam, their (the Tawagheet) condition has become to a large majority unclear. Especially due to the fact that they bring many features of Islam to the fore front like Salaah, Hajj, building Masajid, handing out Qur’an, Sadaqah etc. Those who do not declare their Kuffr are in one of three categories: 

1. Those who help and support the Tawagheet, obey its regulations, neglect the commands of Allah, seeking to extinguish the Light of Allah and His Word, and fights against His Awliya who protect the Deen. These are the servants of the Tawagheet and its mouthpieces that call the people to worship it. They are the secularists, democrats and people who have no share in the Akhirah. As for this type there is no doubt in their Kuffr. 

2. Those who do not know the general state of the Tawagheet, their condition or what they have fallen into from Kuffr but they believe what Allah says on those in this matter. These have a correct belief and are not sinners, this is simply called ignorance. An example of this is a person who believes anyone who claims knowledge of the ghayb is a Kaafir but he does not know that fulan claims knowledge of the ghayb and is unaware of his condition. This will not harm him or effect his īman. 

3. Those who know the acts of the Tawagheet and what they have fallen into from the Nawaqid and Mukaffirah (acts of Kuffr) but are holding back of doing Takfeer. Under this category we have two kinds of people:

Our Future is in the Hands of the Best Planner !!!

"Losers live in the past. Winners learn from the past and enjoy working in the present towards the future." 

We can develop a positive attitude towards our future by refusing to dwell on past hardships, realizing that they cannot be changed, and knowing that stressing oneself over them is useless as well as foolish. We must train ourselves to shun depressing thoughts and reject feelings of fear and anxiety over what might happen in the future.
All future events and circumstances, whether good, pleasant, evil or difficult are impossible to predict and are totally under the control of The Almighty and All-Wise; none of the slaves of Allah have any control over them. All we can do is to strive hard to achieve virtuousness and prevent harm from befalling us.
 
A believer should rely on Allah for favours and well-being and be content with his lot in life. This makes the heart tranquil, improves his general circumstances and removes anxiety and grief.
 
A beneficial way of dealing with anxiety about the future is to use the supplication of the Prophet (saws) in which he used to say: “O Allah! make my religion easy for me by virtue of which all my affairs are protected, set right for me my world in which I live, make good for me my Hereafter which is the resort to which I must return, make my life a means of increase in achieving all types of good, and make death a relief for me from every evil.” [Muslim].

 

“Shaykh” Salih al-Fawzan testifies to his own ignorance !

By Shaykh Abū ‘Imād ‘Abdullāh Ibn ‘Abdullāh at-Tūnisī 

It is not my habit to expose those “shuyūkh” whom knowledge is attributed to, and how often do I advise myself and my brothers to avoid talking about them from the same angle as the statement of the Prophet (saws), “Let him be! So that people do not say that Muhammad kills his own companions,” and I do see that it was enough to explain and narrate the correct Manhaj to their blind followers so that they may know and realize the worthlessness of those people and their level of deviation from the right path, with so much anticipation in Allāh to guide their deviants and return them to correctness, through the knowledge Allāh has given them (our brothers). 

However, we do not see them in this gloomy circumstance except as drowning in supporting the enemies of Allāh and allying with them and decorating their falsehood in challenge against the people of Tawhīd and Jihād and even ruled on them as misguided and some even as disbelievers and they ascribed them to the Khawārij sect that kills the people of Islām and leave alone the people of idols in their usual manner of helping – not leaving – the people of man-made law and incitement to kill the people of Tawhīd, and whenever we dream and anticipate about their guidance, they increase in ignorance and tyranny and indulging in obscurantism and misinformation, in an era when the Ummah is being invaded and its Deen being targeted even before its resources at the hands of the Crusaders and their tails from the hypocrites whom these “shuyūkh” legalize their tāghūtī rule. 

“Shaykh” Sālih al-Fawzān is one of these icons whom the tawāghīt use to polish their image and justify their combination between Islamic Sharī’ah provisions and the provisions of man-made law, and their resort to the tawāghīt of the East and West with an ugly open support for Christians in killing the people of Islām within a stone’s throw from the Haramayn.

Qualities of those who love their Lord !

Loving our Lord is mandatory upon each of His slaves since the Prophet (saws) informed us that it is a characteristic of belief and a sign of enjoying the sweetness of faith. Anas ibn Malik (ra) narrated that the Prophet (saws) said: “One who attains the following three things will taste the sweetness of faith: To make Allah and His Messenger more beloved to himself than anything else; to love a person for no other reason except for the sake of Allah; and to hate to return to disbelief just as much as he would hate to be thrown into fire.” [Bukhari and Muslim] 

The question arises: If the love of Allah is obligatory and if it is one of the qualities of belief, where do we stand with respect to this love? Are we amongst those who truly love Allah? Are we amongst those whom Allah loves? 

Allah says: "O you who believe! Whoever from among you turns back from his religion (Islam), Allah will bring a people whom He will love and they will love Him; humble towards the believers, stern towards the disbelievers, fighting in the way of Allah, and never fearing the blame of the blamers. That is the Grace of Allah which He bestows on whom He wills. And Allah is All-Sufficient for His creatures' needs, All-Knower." [5:54] 

This verse mentions four of their qualities: