Selamat Berpuasa

Alhamdulillah and peace be upon the Messenger of Allah saw and peace be upon his family, his companions, those who gave their loyalty to him, and those who followed him, tracing his steps and establishing the Islamic ‘Aqeeda as the foundation for their thought, and the Ahkam Al-Shar’iyyah as the measure for judgment in their actions and the source of their laws.

It was narrated by Al-Bukhari in his Sahih on the authority of Muhammed Bin Ziyad, who said, “I heard Abu Hurairah, may Allah be pleased with him, say: ‘The Messenger of Allah saw said : “Fast when you see it, and break your fast when you see it, and if you cannot see it then complete 30 days of Sha’ban.’”

And after seeking the Hilal of the blessed month of Ramadhan on this Saturday night, a legal (Shar’ee) sighting of the moon has NOT been confirmed, and therefore Sunday will be the completion of 30 days of Sha’ban inshaAllah. Monday 1st August 2011 will be the first day of the blessed month of Ramadhan.

A New Economy for the Muslim World

Thursday, June 23rd, 2011 | Posted by Syawal

With the revolutions in the Muslim world in full swing and now spreading from North Africa to the Middle East Western nations are attempting to hijack the Ummah’s demand for change and labelling the protests as demands for democracy, freedom and Western values. It should be remembered that those informing us of what the ummah demand are the very same countries that constructed the architecture the ummah is working to remove.

David Fromkin, Professor and expert on Economic History at the University of Chicago explained in his 2009 book ‘A peace to end of peace: the fall of the Ottoman empire and the creation of the modern middle east,’ how the West constructed the Middle East: “Massive amounts of the wealth of the old Ottoman Empire were now claimed by the victors. But one must remember that the Islamic empire had tried for centuries to conquer Christian Europe and the power brokers deciding the fate of those defeated people were naturally determined that these countries should never be able to organize and threaten Western interests again. With centuries of mercantilist experience, Britain and France created small, unstable states whose rulers needed their support to stay in power. The development and trade of these states were controlled and they were meant never again to be a threat to the West. These external powers then made contracts with their puppets to buy Arab resources cheaply, making the feudal elite enormously wealthy while leaving most citizens in poverty.“

Whilst we are all familiar with problems across the Muslim world, be they economic, social or legal, the Muslim world does not lack the building blocks for economic development and prosperity. British Prime Minister Henry Bannerman in 1906 confirmed that “There are people (the Muslims) who control spacious territories teeming with manifest and hidden resources. They dominate the intersections of world routes. Their lands were the cradles of human civilizations and religions. These people have one faith, one language, one history and the same aspirations. No natural barriers can isolate these people from one another … if, per chance, this nation were to be unified into one state; it would then take the fate of the world into its hands and would separate Europe from the rest of the world.

Many from the Ummah have braved the brutal crackdown by their rulers and came onto the streets in the hope of a new dawn. The removal of the rulers is the first aspect of this struggle, the second aspect would be the construction of a new order that placed the ummah at the centre rather then a ruling family or foreign power. Central to this is establishing an economic system that changes the current status quo where the majority languish in poverty and the minority treat the regions wealth as their personal wealth. In order to achieve this we would need to ascertain our strengths and advantages, whilst those elements considered necessary but absent would need the development of policies so they can be overcome.

An example of this is China, after a number of failures to develop the nation, beginning in 1979 Chinese technocrats led by reformers created various economic zones to attract foreign technology to deal with the lack of advanced industry. The use of Foreign Direct Investment (FDI), although greatly aided economic activity and job creation, it also allowed for foreign technical and managerial knowledge into China. This is why to this day all foreign companies in China are forced to transfer technical knowledge to China for access to the Chinese domestic market. In this way China has been able to achieve phenomenal economic growth, develop its military and created jobs for millions of its citizens.

Similarly Japan by the turn of the 20th century had managed to develop its industries, however the rapid growth of the economy had made Japan painfully aware of its limited natural resources. Japan overcome such disadvantages through a programme of aggressive territorial expansion through conquering the Korean peninsula and surging deep into China in order to exploit labour and resources. In a similar manner the British Empire conquered foreign territories for export markets and utilised slave labour to overcome small workforce.

These examples show that all nations need some very basic ingredients to emerge as powerful nations and ones that can very quickly establish prosperous standards of living for its people with secure borders. When we look at the Muslim world we find whilst it is blessed with the worlds energy sources – oil and natural gas, this has not been used to develop industry, which would allow it to create millions of jobs and secure its borders. The development of infrastructure, defence industries and energy are fundamental for any nation, the possession of mineral resources would place any nation in a strategic position to develop. The examples of Japan and Britain are examples of societies – rightly or wrongly, who overcame the absence of energy sources in order to develop.

When one looks at the potential of the Muslim world, the Muslim lands do not just posses the key building blocks for a new nation, but over and beyond this reality the Khilafah would emerge a very powerful state due to the many strengths it will inherit that are present in the Muslim lands.

The Muslim Ummah collectively possesses over 700 billion barrels of oil and half of the world’s gas. Both the worlds key energy sources. The Ummah globally number 1.6 billion, more importantly over 60% of the Ummah is below the age of 28. The importance of a large population is critical for domestic economic development. The absence of a large pool of labour means a nation cannot be constructed or in many cases would take decades before it was able to become self sufficient. On the emergence of the Khilafah for the defence of its borders the Khaleef will have the capability to deploy armed forces of over 4 million personnel.

The Khilafah would use its immense energy as a tool to bring technology and expertise to the Muslim lands. Rather than making the priority to provide to the international markets as the current rulers do, the Khilafah would make bilateral treaties with energy consumers around the world based on the benefit they can provide to the Muslim lands. Countries such as Japan and Germany could be provided with oil in return for technology.

A cursory glance across the Muslim world shows that the current Muslim nations fall into two camps regarding manufacturing, there are those nations which already have the characteristics of an industrial base, which are the minority of nations and then there is the majority of the Muslim world that lack heavy industry. This can be overcome through expanding manufacturing with the nations that have some industrial base and then linking the nations that do not have much industry with specific types of industry to the nations which have an industrial advantage.

The creation of heavy industry and its supportive industries will bring with it a massive injection of investment from the state and from industrialists. The State will oversee the creation and conversion of many factories which will brings opportunities not heralded before. This will be coupled with private investment from entrepreneurs keen to capitalize on the returns that will be generated. This policy will create jobs for those previously unemployed. The creation of jobs will naturally increase consumption as people will possess greater amounts of income. This in turn will increase demand for goods from the general masses. Such an increase in aggregate demand will push the development of other sectors of the economy such as the consumer goods sector. This demand will push people to supply these goods further creating more jobs and more wealth in the economy

The Islamic economic system when implemented focuses on wealth distribution, Islam views wealth creation as a technical matter, hence where an oil refinery should be constructed, whether manual labour or an automated process using robots should be used to make automobiles are seen as technical issues which can be concluded by understanding their reality. How such cars or a nations wealth should be distributed, should it go to the orphans or aristocracy is something that the reality cannot explain, hence for this area Islam has laid down a system.

Through the application of Islam’s economic rules sustainable economic growth can be achieved that all can share in. Islam’s taxation policy which focuses on wealth rather than income will leave citizens with much more disposable income. Islam does not have complex rules for taxation and has only seven revenue sources for the state, in this way the rules for taxation are much simpler, cheaper to administer and all citizens know where they stand.

This is just an insight on what Islam offers the Muslim world. There is only reason for why the Ummah remains in its current state and this is due to the rulers over the Muslim lands, who have never had any intention of making the right use of the huge wealth in the Muslim lands. The West have attempted to integrate the Muslim lands into their own domestic markets though policies such as the free market and globalisation and whilst they receive cheap oil and cheap labour the Muslim lands have gained nothing in terms of economic development. Countries such as Egypt went from being self sufficient in agriculture to today being a net importer. The Muslim lands posses all the necessary ingredients to take its own destiny into its own hands, it also possesses a way of life that will guide it in using such resources, it now just needs to fulfil its destiny and throw its rulers into the dustbin of history.

Source: alJunnah.com

Clarifying misunderstandings of Taqdeer

The following is the transcript of a circle given in the middle of the month of Shaban 143o Hijri.

يَا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آَمَنُوا أَطِيعُوا اللَّهَ وَأَطِيعُوا الرَّسُولَ وَأُولِي الْأَمْرِ مِنْكُمْ فَإِنْ تَنَازَعْتُمْ فِي شَيْءٍ فَرُدُّوهُ إِلَى اللَّهِ وَالرَّسُولِ إِنْ كُنْتُمْ تُؤْمِنُونَ بِاللَّهِ وَالْيَوْمِ الْآَخِرِ

“O you who believe, Obey Allah, Obey His Messenger and those in authority from amongst you and if you differ then refer it to Allah and His Messenger if you believe in Allah and the Last Day.” [An-Nisa: 59]

We have recently passed the 15th of Sha’ban, and the night which people call ‘Shabe barat’ or ‘Laylatul barat’ it is also known as Laylat al-Nusf min Sha’baan, in the Indian sub continent we see people engaging in all types of practices on this day, where some consider that it is like Eid, others go to graveyards saying the souls visit the world. People give out sweets, people spend the night in prayer, etc.

In Arabic Bara’a means forgiveness and pardon. The night of 15th of Sha’ban (the night between 14th and 15th) has come to be known as Shab-e-Bara’at, the night of pardon from sins, probably because of a narration recorded by Imam Tirmizi.

I want to begin by clarifying the issue and then discussing other points related to the issue of the confusions people have surrounding the topic of Taqdeer.

Before discussing this topic we need to be reminded that we base our actions upon evidences from the Quran and that which is authentic from the Sunnah. We do not base our actions on custom, tradition, the actions of people even scholars.

There is nothing about this night in Qur’an. Imam Tirmizi has recorded the following Hadith: “Narrated Ayesha that one night (she awoke and) she did not find Prophet (Pbuh) (in his bed). She went out (to search for him) and found him in Baqi’ (the graveyard in Madinah)... The Prophet (Pbuh) said: In the night of 15th of Sha’ban, Allah descends to the lowest of skies and grants pardon to the people more than the number of hair of the goats of Kal’b tribe.” (Tirmizi)

After recording the above Hadith Imam Tirmizi wrote the following note underneath: “I have heard Imam Bukhari saying that this Hadith is Za’eef as Hajjaj. One of the chain of its narrators is a’eef (less reliable). (Tirmizi; Abwab-us-Saum)

There are also various other narrations which people quote regarding this night but they are not authentic.

Al-‘Allaamah al-Shawkaani (may Allaah have mercy on him) said in al-Fawaa’id al-Majmoo’ah:

“The hadeeth: ‘O ‘Ali, whoever prays one hundred rak’ahs on Laylat al-Nusf min Sha’baan, reciting in each rak’ah the Opening of the Book [Soorat al-Faatihah] and Qul Huwa Allaahu Ahad ten times, Allaah will meet all his needs…’ This is mawdoo’ (fabricated) [i.e., it is falsely attributed to the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him]. Its wording clearly states the reward that the person who does this will attain, and no man who has any common sense can doubt that this is fabricated. Also, the men of its isnaad are majhool (unknown). It was also narrated via another isnaad, all of which is mawdoo’ (fabricated) and all of whose narrators are majhool (unknown).

In al-Mukhtasar he said: The hadeeth about the salaah for the middle of Sha’baan is false, and the hadeeth of ‘Ali narrated by Ibn Hibbaan – “ When it is the night of the middle of Sha’baan, spend that night in prayer and fast that day” – is da’eef (weak).

Al-Haafiz al-‘Iraaqi said: “The hadeeth about the prayer during the night of the middle of Sha’baan is fabricated and is falsely attributed to the Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him).”

Imaam al-Nawawi said in his book al-Majmoo’: “The prayer that is known as salaat al-raghaa’ib, which is twelve rak’ahs between Maghrib and ‘Ishaa’ on the night of the first Friday in Rajab, and the prayer of Laylat al-Nusf min Sha’baan, of one hundred rak’ahs – these two prayers are reprehensible bid’ahs. No one should be deceived by the fact that they are mentioned in the books Qoot al-Quloob and Ihyaa’ ‘Uloom al-Deen, or by the hadeeth which is mentioned in these two books. All of that is false. Nor should they be deceived by the fact that some of the imaams were confused about this matter and wrote a few pages stating that these prayers are mustahabb, for they were mistaken in that.”

It is recommended to fast in Sha’ban in general

'Aa'ishah (may Allaah be pleased with her) said: "The Messenger (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) used to fast until we thought he would never break his fast, and not fast until we thought he would never fast. I never saw the Messenger of Allaah fasting for an entire month except in Ramadaan, and I never saw him fast more than he did in Sha'baan." (Narrated by al-Bukhaari, no. 1833; Muslim, no. 1956).

Emotional belief and the wrong attitude

What we see today is a sign of the intellectual decline, where people follow Islam emotionally rather than believing in it intellectually and following its rules. We see so much hypocritical behavior such as people spending the whole night in prayer thinking that Allah will forgive them and the next day go back to committing haram such as riba, socializing with the opposite sex, tribalism, women not covering their awra, etc.

In fact if we have the correct understanding based on the authentic evidences we would realize that Allah accepts the prayers every night:

Allah’s Apostle said, “When it is the last third of the night, our Lord, the Blessed, the Superior, descends every night to the heaven of the world and says, ‘Is there anyone who invokes Me (demand anything from Me), that I may respond to his invocation; Is there anyone who asks Me for something that I may give (it to) him; Is there anyone who asks My forgiveness that I may forgive him?’ (Bukhari, Volume 8, Book 75, Number 333)

Misconceptions regarding Taqdeer

MISCONCEPTION: This is the blessed night on which the taqdeer is decided. Who will live…who will die. Who will get how much rizq…

The issue of qadar that the text refers to the knowledge of Allah. The mention in the text about Al-Lauh al-Mahfooz, the protected decree is an expression of the knowledge of Allah

There are various texts in the Quran and the Sunnah about this:

وَمَا كَانَ لِنَفْسٍ أَنْ تَمُوتَ إِلاَّ بِإِذْنِ الله كِتَاباً مُّؤَجَّلاً
"Nor shall a soul die except by Allah's leave, the term being fixed by writing." [Aali-Imran: 145]

The Prophet (saw) said: "The first thing which Allah created was the pen. Then, He said to it: Write. It asked: My Lord, what should I write? He said: Write the Qadar of all things up until the Hour." [Ahmad, At-Tirmidhi, and it is hassan]

It is narrated from Amru bin Al-‘Aas, he said: I heard the Messenger of Allah (saw) say: “Allah decreed the destinies ‘maqadeer’ of the creatures fifty thousand years before He created the heavens and the earth.” [Muslim]

Narrated Anas bin Malik: The Prophet said, "Allah has appointed an angel in the womb, and the angel says, 'O Lord! A drop of discharge (i.e. of semen), O Lord! a clot, O Lord! a piece of flesh.' And then, if Allah wishes to complete the child's creation, the angel will say. 'O Lord! A male or a female? O Lord! wretched or blessed (in religion)? What will his livelihood be? What will his age be?' The angel writes all this while the child is in the womb of its mother." [Bukhari]

Therefore it is false to say it occurs on this night, as the knowledge of Allah regarding this world and what will occur in it was written before we existed.

The confusing of people between al-qadar (the knowledge of Allah) and al-Qada wal qadar (fate and destiny) & free will

People confuse between the knowledge of Allah and the subject of al-Qada wal Qadar which was a debate that came about after the time of the Sahaba when the Muslims encountered the Greek philosophy. Essentially that topic is to do with free will, do we have free will or not? What do we control and what we don’t control?

If one was to come to an accurate understanding of the subject of al-Qadaa wal Qadar he must first have an understanding of the correct basis upon which the argument is built. This basis should not be whether the actions of man are created by himself or by Allah (swt). It is also not the knowledge of Allah (swt) (‘ilmullah علم الله), in terms of the fact that He (swt) knows that man will perform such an action and that His (swt) knowledge encompasses it. Nor is it the decree of Allah (swt) (iraadatullah إرادة الله) in terms that His (swt) decree was related to the servant's action, i.e., that the action must happen because of this will. It also shouldn't be that the servant's action is recorded in the Al Lauh Al Mahfooth (اللوح المحفوظ - Protected Decree or Register), so as a result he is inevitably going to carry out this action in accordance with what is recorded.

The fact that Allah knows everything it is to do with his attributes and that he is unlimited, it is a clear part of Iman. We cannot build any logical argument on that basis – that because he knows what we will do that we have no free will, this is completely false. As he knows everything and he has clearly given us free will and he knows what we will do with our free will as he is unlimited, beyond perception. In fact the Prophet (saw) warned us not to discuss the essence of Allah as it is beyond our reality as the Quran says ‘Laysa kamislihi shay’ ‘There is nothing like unto him’. The Prophet also specifically warned not to enter into discussing the unlimited knowledge of Allah and try to debate about it

Al-Tabarani extracted with a good [hasan] chain from the hadīth of Ibn Mas'ūd who reported it without mentioning the reference to the Messenger of Allah (saw) [marfū']:

إذا ذُكِرَ القَدَرُ فأمْسِكُوا

“If the qadar is mentioned leave it”, [Tabarani]

That is, if the Knowledge of Allah or His Determination for things are mentioned then do not involve (in discussion) about it, because the fact that the determination of thing is from Allah means that He Recorded them in the Lawh al-Mahfūdh, that is, He knew them. The fact that Allah is knowing about them is one of the attributes of Allah in which īmān is obligatory. So the meaning of the hadīth is that if it was mentioned that Allah is the One who Determined the things and He knew them, that is, He recorded them in the Lawh al-Mahfūdh, then do not involve yourself in discussing that, rather abstain from that and submit to it.

Allah is unlimited and he has all knowledge, this does not mean we become fatalistic and submit to what may be included in that knowledge, if we did this we would be sinful as we have free will and will be accounted upon our actions.

The subjects of the knowledge of Allah and the inclusion in Al Lauh Al Mahfooth of everything are detached from the subject of reward and punishment for the action. This is what needs to be our focus. In other words, is man compelled to perform an action, good or bad, or does he have a choice? And does man have the choice to perform an action or abandon it? Or does he not have the choice?

Any individual who studies the actions of man accurately will observe that man lives within two spheres: one of them he dominates, which is the sphere that falls within the domain of his free will and within it, his actions, which he carries out by his own free will, occur. The other sphere dominates him and it is the sphere within whose domain he lives and within it the actions, which he has no free will in, occur; whether they occur from him or not.

We can see the correct understanding in the Sahabah

The phrase ‘the qadar of Allah’ has come in the speech of the Sahabah with the meaning of the taqdīr of Allah and His Knowledge. It is narrated from Abdullah ibn ‘Abbas that, “Umar ibn al-Khattāb left for al-Sham, until he reached Sawgh where he met the leaders of the armies, Abu Ubaydah ibn al-Jarrah and his companions who informed him that plague had befallen the land of al-Sham. Ibn ‘Abbas said, Umar ibn al-Khattāb said, ‘Call for me the first Muhājirīn’. So they called them, he consulted them and informed them about the plague that that befallen al-Sham, but they differed. Some of them said, you went out for a matter and we do not think you should change your mind about it. Some others said that you have with you some people and the Companions of the Messenger of Allah (saw) and we do not think that you should expose them to this plague. Umar said ‘Withdraw from me’. He then said, ‘Call for me the Ansār’, so they called them, he consulted them, and they took the path of the Muhājirīn, so they differed like them. He said: ‘Withdraw from me.’ Then he said, ’Call for me whoever present here of the leaders of Quraish who are of the Muhajireen of the Conquest’, so they called them and even two men of them did not differ in their opinion to him. They all said, ‘We think that you should turn back together with the people who are with you and not expose them to this plague.’ Thus Umar announced to the people, ‘I will be riding (back) in the morning, so you do the same’. Abu Ubaydah then said, ‘(Are you) fleeing from the qadar of Allah?’ Umar replied, ‘had someone else said that O Abu Ubaydah; Yes, we are fleeing from the qadar of Allah to the qadar of Allah. What do you think if you had camels and you descended a valley that has two slopes (sides), one of them is fertile and the other barren. Is it not true that if you grazed (in) the fertile one you would do so with the qadar of Allah, and if you grazed (in) the barren one you would so that with the qadar of Allah.” The qadar of Allah here means the determination and the knowledge of Allah, that is, if you grazed (in) the fertile you did what Allah had decreed in the Lawh al-Mahfūdh and what He did know. Similarly if you grazed in the barren one you did what Allah decreed in the Lawh al-Mahfūdh and what He did know.

They had the correct understanding that there are some things we control which we are accountable and the things beyond our control are from Allah, so we should worry about that.

As narration by As-Suyuti in Tarikh al-Khulafah that a man came to Ali (ra) asking him about what we control and what we don’t. He asked him to lift one of his legs up and then the second leg – then said there are some things we control and others we don’t.

Narrated from ‘Imran bin Hussein, he said: “A man said; O Messenger of Allah! Are the people of the jannah and the people of the nar known? He said: Yes. He said: Why then the people have to strive? He said: Every one will strive for what he was created (jannah or nar), or for what he was facilitated.” [Al-Bukhari]

This is quite explicit that iman in al-qadar does not mean depending (on it), because al-qadar and recording, i.e. the knowledge of Allah, are not disclosed to any creature; so on what man has to depend? Therefore, the Messenger said to the one who asked him, should not we depend? He said: No, i.e. He forbade him from depending. He was not satisfied with that, he rather said to him as well: ‘strive’, i.e. he ordered him to strive. Thus his forbiddance from depending (on al-qadar) and his order of striving is explicit evidence on not linking the action with al-qadar.

Moreover, the knowledge of Allah that the particular matter would happen does not mean to neglect considering the causes and effects (la-asbab wal-musabbabat) and not to link the causes with their effects. This is because the knowledge of Allah was not revealed to any body so as to know the matter and thus he does not consider its causes; for recording and al-qadra are impossible to be known by the creatures so as to judge on whether the matter would happen or not. Therefore, they should not neglect considering the cause and effects under the pretence of al-qadar and the recording, for this is linked with unknown matter. They must rather consider the causes and the effects without linking them with al-qadar, i.e. without thinking of it.

The danger of al-Qadariya al-Ghaibiya (fatalism)

Muslims used to believe in the Qadr and keeping it in the realm of belief (Iman). But now, Muslims started noticing this Iman in the Qadr, before performing any action and they started to carry various actions shaped by this Iman in the Qadr. Thus, they surrounded themselves by what is predetermined. Muslims started to think that whatever Allah predetermined is going to happen, regardless if they became active or passive in carrying out an action. They started believing like this, despite the fact that they know for sure that, it is impossible for anyone to have access to Allah's knowledge. In other words, the Muslims do believe that it is impossible for anyone to know what Allah's knowledge is.

Muslims know all of this, yet they still link their actions with this knowledge of Allah. Thus, al-Qadaria al-Ghaibiya (fatalism) emerged. It became something different than believing in al-Qadr. This is because, believing in the Qadr is to believe conclusively that nothing will happen in this universe, other than what Allah has predetermined everything and wrote in al-Lowh al-Mahfooth. However, al-Qadariya al-Ghaibiya means to surrender to what is predetermined. There is a difference between believing in the Qadr and surrendering to the predetermined. Surrendering to this predetermined is simply the result of believing in the Qadr with the absolute surrender; which is that what is predetermined is going to happen and nothing will happen if Allah did not predetermined it.

e.g. The situation of the Ummah today, we can’t do anything to change it as Allah will bring the change
e.g. We cannot stand against the corrupt rulers as Allah has given them power over us
e.g. Accepting the occupation of Islamic lands and butchering of Muslims

We do believe that Allah knows or predetermined everything. This, however, should not be observed in our actions. We do not have access to Allah's knowledge. No one knows that there is going to be a failure or success. No one knows whether there is going to be obedience or disobedience. We do not have access to Allah's knowledge and consequently Allah's knowledge should not be observed and linked to our actions, because we do not know it and it is impossible for us to know. Thus, we do not surrender to it. Rather, we should put a thick barrier separating it (Allah's knowledge) from our minds. It should not be thought about, imagined or speculated before carrying any action. But, we should restrict ourselves to the issue, the hukm Sharii, causes of success, the factors of failure and keep this alone in mind.

Even in those matters beyond our control which are from Allah such as Victory (nasr), Rizk (livelihood), Ajal (lifespan), etc – The Prophet (saw) and the Sahaba were not fatalistic.

The Prophet was promised victory, yet he still followed the commands of Allah and tirelessly worked to change the society and establish the Islamic state and after that to prepare the armies for Jihad. He fought in numerous battles like Badr and Uhud.

There is a difference between the matters of Iman and the matters of Shariah. Regarding actions we have to refer to the Shariah, although Iman is permanent.

Anas bin Malik, who said: “A man said: ‘O Messenger of Allah, should I tie it and make tawakkul, or let it go free and make tawakkul?’ He (saw) said: “Tie it and make tawakkul.’” [At-Tirmizi]

The Prophet showed us to look after the means to achieve the results and have tawakal in Allah.

The Sahaba worked to achieve their rizk and did not wait for Allah to send it from the sky. In fact they were strictly against that, it was narrated that Umar bin Al-Khattab (ra) passed by some people, who were known as readers of the Qur’an. He saw them sitting and bending their heads, and asked who they were. He was told: "They are those who depend (al-mutawwakiloon) upon Allah (swt)." Umar replied: "No, they are the eaters who eat the people’s properties. Do you want me to describe those who really depend upon Allah (al-mutawwakiloon) are?" He was answered in the affirmative, and then he said: "He is the person who throws the seeds in the earth and depends on His Lord The Almighty, The Exalted (‘azza wa jall)."

Therefore we need to work to fulfill all the commands and prohibitions of Allah, at the same time believing the absolute knowledge of Allah and having tawakkal in Him.

Source: Islamic Revival

The Crisis in Somalia Continues

Since the beginning of this year, Somalia, Kenya and Ethiopia have been experiencing one of the most severe draughts in the last 60 years affecting more than 10 million people. Earlier this month, Antonio Guterres, the head of the United Nations High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR), visited a refugee camp in Kenya stating, “I have no doubt that in today's world, Somalia corresponds to the worst humanitarian disaster. I have never seen in a refugee camp people coming in such desperate conditions.” A UN report released this year stipulated that the situation in Somalia has, “drastically deteriorated due to the combination of drought, increasing food prices and conflict.

Geography & Resources
Somalia is bordered by Djibouti to the northwest, Kenya to the southwest, the Gulf of Aden with Yemen to the north, the Indian Ocean to the east, and Ethiopia to the west. The country occupies the tip of a region that, due to its resemblance on the map to a rhinoceros' horn, is commonly referred to as the Horn of Africa. Somalia occupies a very strategic position along the Indian Ocean and has the longest coastline in Africa running 2,720 km (1,700 miles). Somalia has two stretches of coastline, one running along the Indian Ocean to the east and another running to its northern side along the Gulf of Aden towards the Bab el Mandeb and the Red Sea. Thus, Somalia is strategically placed as the gateway to Southern Africa as well as the Arabian Peninsula – a location that can be used to control these territories. Based on geological studies conducted Somalia is also very rich in the resources of uranium, natural gas, and oil.

How Islam Came to the Region
The history of Islam in the region dates back to the time of RasulAllah (saw). In the 5th year of Prophethood, as the oppression increased by the Quraysh, RasulAllah (saw) permitted 12 men and 4 women to leave for Habasha (Ethiopia) which included Uthman ibn Affan (ra) and his wife Ruqaiyah (ra). During the Khilafah of Abdul Malik ibn Marwan, parts of modern-day Somalia including Mogadishu, came under the shade of the Islamic State. Other factors that contributed to the spread of Islam in Somalia include commerce and the migration of Muslims to the coastal cities of Somalia. Mogadishu became the center of Islam on the East African coast. The local merchants expanded commercial ties to Mozambique, which included mining gold from the Monomopatan mines in Sofala. In northern Somalia, Adal was in its early stages a small trading community established by the newly converted Muslim merchants.

European Occupation
After the Berlin Conference in 1884, European nations agreed on the invasion, occupation, colonization and annexation of Africa. Britain, France and Italy all laid claims to various parts of the area now known as Somalia.
For 40 years, the British controlled northern Somalia because of its access to the Red Sea, and the Italians ruled southern Somalia while the French had little impact on the region but controlled neighbouring Djibouti.

Both British and Italian territories gained “independence” in 1960 and merged to form modern-day Somalia. However, the country suffered from a tumultuous political atmosphere. For example, Somalia's sitting president was assassinated in a military coup in 1969; just 9 years after the Europeans left. Muhammad Siad Barre became Somalia's new president in 1969 and founded Barre's Supreme Revolutionary Council as the sole political party in Somalia. Barre also abolished the National Assembly and the country's constitution.

Post Pseudo-Independence
In 1991, Mohamed Siad Barre was ousted from power, and a power struggle ensued between clan warlords. From 1992 to 1995, through the so-called “Humanitarian” delegations under the auspices of the ‘Hope Again’ project, America deployed approximately 30,000 troops in Somalia to “restore order and protect the supply lines”. The mission was a failure and it resulted in a humiliating withdrawal for the US.

In 2006, the Union of Islamic Courts (UIC) took control of Mogadishu and other parts of the south after defeating clan warlords. After years of lawlessness, the UIC worked to bring some law and order based on implementing the Shariah of Allah (swt). In 2007, backed by American support, Ethiopian and African Union troops entered Somalia and dismantled the UIC. Today the country remains in conflict between As-Shebab and the Transitional Federal Government supported by the West and African Union troops.

Impact on the Muslims in Somalia
It has been estimated that between 350,000 and 1,000,000 have died as a result of the conflicts that began in 1991. This number can only be further magnified by the number of people who have been injured and displaced in the conflict. Furthermore, with the region being in constant conflict for 20 years, this has further exacerbated the plight of the Muslims.

Regarding the impact of the drought on the Muslims, a report by the UN published last month highlighted the following:

• At least one in three Somali children is malnourished in parts of southern Somalia. Malnutrition rates among new arrivals in refugee camps in Ethiopia and Kenya are alarming, ranging from 30-40 percent. Three in five children arriving in refugee camps in Ethiopia from southern Somalia are malnourished. In refugee camps in Kenya, more deaths were recorded among Somali children in the therapeutic feeding centers in the first quarter of 2011 than in all of last year.
• Because of lack of food in southern regions of Somalia, thousands are being forced to flee to neighboring countries Kenya and Ethiopia for assistance. An average of 10,000 new Somali refugees arrives in Kenya’s Dadaab camps per month and 5,000-6,000 at the Doolow Ado camp in Ethiopia. At the end of June, a total of 60,200 Somalis were registered in Kenya this year – more than a 100 per cent increase compared to the same time in 2010.
• UNICEF said earlier this week that at least 500,000 children were at risk of death in the Horn of Africa, while the International Committee of the Red Cross has said one in 10 children in parts of Somalia could die from starvation.

What is the Solution?
When we examine the major factors that are causing the crisis in Somalia it is clear that it is linked to the absence of the Islamic system of governance - the Khilafah. Applying the Islamic system would address the issues affecting Somalia in the following manner:

Internal Conflict – Throughout the history of the Khilafah, there were many attempts by the disbelieving colonial powers to forge alliances with Muslims living in the Islamic State with the hopes of creating a wedge between Muslims. For example when Ka’ab bin Malik (ra) was awaiting his judgment from Allah (swt) on missing the Battle of Tabuk, the King of Ghassan sent him a letter stating, "To proceed, I have been informed that your friend (i.e. the Prophet ) has treated you harshly. Anyhow, Allah does not let you live at a place where you feel inferior and your right is lost. So join us, and we will console you."Ka’ab (ra)’s response was to burn the letter as he knew what the King was intending to do.

Many of the internal conflicts in Somalia arose as a result of foreign influence and intervention. Allah (swt) has clearly forbidden Muslims from seeking military assistance or support from non-Muslims:

“Oh you who believe! Take not the Jews and the Christians as Auliya’ (friends, protectors, helpers), they are but Auliya’ of each other. And if any amongst you takes them (as Auliya’), then surely he is one of them. Verily, Allah guides not those people who are the Zalimun.” [TMQ 5:51]

Applying the Islamic system will mean the establishment of authority and security in the hands of the Muslims. This will allow the affairs of the Muslims to be decided based on the interests of the state (i.e. seeking the pleasure of Allah (swt)) and not the interests of any foreign power.

Drought and Food Prices – the first time the Muslim Ummah witnessed famine was in the year 18AH – during the Khilafah of Umar ibn Al-Khattab (ra). Bedouin people began to die because of hunger and epidemic diseases. People from all over Arabia gathered at Madinah (the capital of the Khilafah) where food was rationed. Soon the reserves of food in Madinah began to decline, and Umar (ra) wrote to the Wulaat (provincial governors) of Egypt, Syria, Palestine and Iraq for aid who responded by sending caravans loaded with food and supplies. Umar (ra) dispatched his men to the routes of Iraq, Palestine and Syria to take the supply caravans to the desert settlements deeper into Arabia, which in turn saved millions from starvation. For internally displaced people, Umar hosted a dinner every night at Madinah, which according to one estimate had an attendance of more than one hundred thousand people. By early 19AH, conditions began to improve as precipitation resumed in the drought-affected areas. Umar personally supervised the rehabilitation of the displaced people.

What Umar (ra) did can be applied to drought-affected areas such as Somalia and the surrounding regions today. Having a Khilafah for the whole Muslim Ummah and implementing the ruling system of Islam in the Muslim lands will allow the Khalifah to co-ordinate the rich and abundant resources available in one area to areas that are poor and depleted of resources. Each area of the Khilafah will be under his control and the Wulaat (provincial governors) of each region will work with him to solve problems such as droughts. Implementing these relief efforts will also eliminate the sharp rise in food prices we are witnessing in Somalia today as there will be more food available for the population to consume. As a result, the local sellers who have access to food supplies will have little incentive to raise food prices to exorbitant levels.

Reflecting on Those Who Died
Many of us may know, or be related to, someone who is personally afflicted by the drought in Somalia. While it is a tragic time for the grieving families, we should also remember that a believer is never at loss, regardless of the tremendous trials that befall him/her. We ask Allah (swt) to raise the ranks of those who have suffered and for them to be in a more comfortable place.

Just as Allah (swt) is testing our brothers and sisters in Somalia with hardship, He is testing us in our response. In this time of need and immediate crisis, we should help where we can and give sadaqa to those in Somalia whom we know personally.

The drought or any other natural disaster that befalls the Muslim Ummah exposes the current despotic rulers. They should be a reminder for us that the work to resume the Islamic way of life, by re-establishing the Khilafah Rashidah in the Muslim lands, needs to be undertaken with urgency so that we may seek the pleasure of Allah (swt). Only with a constructive and coherent effort at re-establishing the Khilafah Rashidah will this problem be addressed. Only with a comprehensive elimination of the current constitution, judiciary and systems, and their replacement with the constitution, judiciary and systems based on the Hukm of Allah (swt) can the direction of all Muslim lands including Somalia be comprehensively changed for the better. It is only the Khilafah Rashidah that has the track record of uniting Arab, Asian and African, of uniting white, brown and black under the Islamic Aqeedah. It can only be the Khilafah Rashidah that can be trusted with key resources which would be utilized in a manner allowed by the Shara’ and not circulated among the few. Only the Khilafah can end foreign occupation and political interference and bring stature and respect back again to the whole of the Muslim world.

“Oh you who believe! If you help (in the cause of) Allah, He will help you, and make your foothold firm.”
[TMQ 47:7]

Source

Somalia – Madina died because of the drought, she won’t be the last

JULY 21, 2011

Starving Somalis make the long journey on foot to refugee camps in Kenya, some of which have yet to officially open

Khadija Aliow Mohamed sits silently in the sand inside her tiny twig igloo, staring at the small bundle wrapped in a red and blue shawl on the bed. The 20-year-old Somali walked for 30 days with her two-year-old daughter Madina to get to this refugee camp in northern Kenya a few weeks ago.

Hungry and exhausted, the family escaped the worst drought in southern Somalia in decades, which has already claimed tens of thousands of lives, according to the United Nations. But while Mohamed regained her strength in Dadaab, the world’s biggest refugee settlement, Madina did not. Just an hour after the UN declared a famine in two regions of Somalia, Madina died. Her mother, who is pregnant, is too shocked to talk.

Instead her grandfather, Ali Mohamed, explains what happened. Mohamed escaped Somalia with them, and carried Madina’s body here along the sand road from the hospital at noon on Wednesday.

“The child never recovered from the malnutrition,” he says, clutching a small blue slip of paper with the words “Permit for Burial”.

“Madina died because of the drought.”

She will not be the last. According to the UN, more than six out of every 10,000 people are dying of hunger every day in some parts of the Bakool and Lower Shabelle regions of Somalia, with more than half the children there suffering from acute malnutrition. This is far above the normal famine threshold of two deaths per 10,000 people a day, and 30% malnutrition levels, UN agencies say.

While there have been numerous disasters in the Horn of Africa over the past decade, it is the first time a famine has been declared in the region since 1992, when hundreds of thousands of Somalis starved to death, prompting an international peacekeeping intervention.

“Somalia is facing its worst food security crisis in the last 20 years,” says Mark Bowden, the UN official in charge of humanitarian aid in Somalia. “This desperate situation requires urgent action to save lives.”

Other countries in the region, in particular Ethiopia and Kenya, are also facing a crisis because of the failures of rains in pastoralist areas – the worst situation for 60 years in some places – as well as soaring food prices and longer term issues such as underdevelopment and high population growth. Across the Horn 11 million people require humanitarian assistance.

But it is Somalia, where the situation is even more complex, that has been hardest hit, with 3.7 million people, nearly half the population, requiring food aid. The country has lacked an effective government since before the famine of the early 1990s. Most of southern Somalia is controlled by the al-Shabab Islamist group, which has prevented most international aid organisations, including the World Food Programme, from operating in its areas two years ago, only lifting the ban last week.

This has meant that many people have received little or no help since the drought first started to bite last year. At the same time, prices of staple foods such as sorghum has increased more than threefold over a year, due to the conflict and lack of supply.

First the animals perished.

Ali Mohamed, the 63-year-old grandfather of the dead toddler Madina, says he lost his entire herd of 90 camels, goats and cows this year.

“There was no water, no grazing, no food production. We lost everything. This is the worst drought I’ve ever experienced.”

Then people started to die of hunger-related diseases.

Over the past month the number of deaths has grown sharply, according to aid organisations, prompting an exodus from southern Somalia towards the capital Mogadishu, as well as across borders. Some 2,000 Somalis are crossing into Ethiopia a day, with a further 1,300 coming to Dadaab daily, according to Attidzah Fafa, head of the UNHCR office here. He says 30,000 people arrived in June alone, and he expects similar numbers in July and August.

The settlement, which was built for 90,000 people in Kenya’s arid and barely hospitable northeast, now houses more than 370,000 Somalis. Instead of in the igloo-shaped huts covered in plastic sheeting, which many people sleep in, new arrivals like Idhoy Abdinor are forced to sleep under thorn trees. The 53-year-old grandmother finally reached Ifo, one of the Dadaab’s three camps, on Tuesday. She had walked through the desert scrubland for 22 days wearing a pair of mismatched pink and yellow flipflops. She did not complain.

“Some of the others’ shoes broke, so they had to come barefoot,” she says.

With her came seven of her children, the youngest just eighteen months. After a night in the open on the outskirts of the camp, some other Somalis who arrived a few weeks ago shared some food rations with them.

Abdinor, who trekked from the town of Dinsor, says the situation there had became increasingly desperate.

“For the last three years we did not receive rain,” says Abdinor, whose reed-thin forearms are cabled with protruding veins. “We were farmers, but there are no farms anymore. No animals.”

War provided an extra push. Al-Shabab Islamist rebels and government forces had been clashing in the area recently. Abdinor’s eighth child went missing during fighting three months ago, as did her husband. She has heard rumours that he is dead.

Still, the decision to leave was not easy, as Abdinor had heard the stories of how bandits are preying on the refugees on both sides of the border. Fortunately she was not robbed during the walk to Kenya, but she suffered greatly because of the lack of food and water.

“Some of us had donkey carts but the donkeys died because there was no water,” she says. “We also had to leave some mothers and children behind on the road because they were too tired. People were very weak.”

The next rains are only expected in September or Ocotober, and even if they are good, subsequent harvests are expected to be weak because so many people have been uprooted. The UN warned that without immediate action the famine would spread to all eight regions of southern Somalia within two months.

Oxfam, which is assisting new arrivals in Dadaab, says that of the $1bn (£619m) needed to avert a humanitarian disaster only $200m had been pledged, and accused several European governments, including France, Italy and Denmark of “wilful neglect” of a crisis that has been known about for many months.

“There is no time to waste if we are to avoid massive loss of life. We must not stand by and watch this tragedy unfold before our eyes,” says Fran Equiza, Oxfam’s regional director. “The world has been slow to recognise the severity of this crisis, but there is no longer any excuse for inaction.”

But getting aid into Somalia is not going to be easy, despite al-Shabab agreeing to let humanitarian organisations in. The refugee agency UNHCR says it wants additional security guarantees from the rebels, who practise an extreme version of Islam, before stepping up assistance. The World Food Programme, which has experienced repeated problems in working with al-Shabab areas in the past, says it is ready to negotiate with local drought committees in rebel areas to ensure safety for its staff.

“Operations in Somalia are among the highest risk in the world, and WFP has lost 14 relief workers there since 2008,” says the programme’s executive director Josette Sheeran. “We will aggressively pursue efforts to mitigate against risk, through robust assessments and monitoring, but I am calling on all sides to stand together in recognising the inevitable risks that will be present in southern Somalia.”

The agency said it was considering sending shipments of high-energy biscuits and other supplementary foods for children and pregnant mothers by air to strategic location in southern Somali where the needs are greatest.

Meanwhile in Dadaab, aid agencies are struggling to cope with the rapid influx of refugees. The Kenyan government, which is reluctant to host more Somalis on its soil, has yet to officially allow the opening of new camp for refugees that has already been built close by. So in the areas where there are fresh arrivals sleeping, people are also defecating in the open, raising fears of an outbreak of disease.

Still, no matter how grim the conditions here, there is also a palpable sense of relief from people that they have arrived somewhere where help is near. Asked why she had risked the 20-day walk to get here from Saku in Somalia, Garmana Mohamed Aden, a 30-year-old mother-of-two, replied instantly. “People were dying there.”

Guardian