Wednesday, November 24, 2004
What kind of a Muslim am I?????
Its good to hear Murtada and Zackariya are going to the MAC Islamic Workshop. This way there are two people who can spread the knowledge and we can all benefit. Brings a beautiful hadeeth to mind:
Narrated Ibn Masud:
I heard the Prophet saying, "There is no envy except in two: a person whom Allah has given wealth and he spends it in the right way, and a person whom Allah has given wisdom (i.e. religious knowledge) and he gives his decisions accordingly and teaches it to the others."
Read an article about a German province banning hijab, a British school suspending a girl for wearing a full Islamic dress (abaiya) and to my shock and amazement, in Malaysia (a Muslim country) banning three boys from wearing an Islamic turban/hat. Apparently all of the presented the excuse of fighting Islamic radicalism.
It seems like the latest fashion these days in the media and political circles to come up with new names for muslims. Heres some that I've heard: Liberal mulsim, conservative muslim, radical muslim, fundamentalist muslim, moderate muslim, extremist muslim.
These are just some that I can recall off the top of my head. Its funny to me the world use to be Muslim or non-Muslim but obviously I was living in some cave on Mars because apparently there are all these different kind of muslims now.
What these labels end up doing is that once someone who is not a very good Muslim gets the title of "liberal Muslim," he or she feels that they are pioneers who are "liberating Islam from its backwardness."
I wish I can take out a front page ad in all the major newspapers explaining this point but alas, their eyes are 'veiled' for they refuse to listen to the truth.
"Allah hath set a seal on their hearts and on their hearing, and on their eyes is a veil; great is the penalty they (incur)."
Narrated Ibn Masud:
I heard the Prophet saying, "There is no envy except in two: a person whom Allah has given wealth and he spends it in the right way, and a person whom Allah has given wisdom (i.e. religious knowledge) and he gives his decisions accordingly and teaches it to the others."
Read an article about a German province banning hijab, a British school suspending a girl for wearing a full Islamic dress (abaiya) and to my shock and amazement, in Malaysia (a Muslim country) banning three boys from wearing an Islamic turban/hat. Apparently all of the presented the excuse of fighting Islamic radicalism.
It seems like the latest fashion these days in the media and political circles to come up with new names for muslims. Heres some that I've heard: Liberal mulsim, conservative muslim, radical muslim, fundamentalist muslim, moderate muslim, extremist muslim.
These are just some that I can recall off the top of my head. Its funny to me the world use to be Muslim or non-Muslim but obviously I was living in some cave on Mars because apparently there are all these different kind of muslims now.
What these labels end up doing is that once someone who is not a very good Muslim gets the title of "liberal Muslim," he or she feels that they are pioneers who are "liberating Islam from its backwardness."
I wish I can take out a front page ad in all the major newspapers explaining this point but alas, their eyes are 'veiled' for they refuse to listen to the truth.
"Allah hath set a seal on their hearts and on their hearing, and on their eyes is a veil; great is the penalty they (incur)."
Faraz Ahmed 5:00 p.m.