Former UNRWA official Lex Takkenberg explains willingness of Western countries to play along with Israel’s attacks on vital UN agency.

Israel’s Gaza genocide is the product of colonial self-victimization, not "trauma."

Daily life in northern Gaza has numbed me to the sight of the dead.

This Ramadan, MuslimMatters is pleased to host the Institute Of Knowledge‘s daily Ramadan series: Keys to the Divine Compass. Through this series, each day we will spend time connecting with the Qur’an on a deeper, more spiritual, uplifting level.

Previous in the series: Juz 1 Juz 2 Juz 3 Juz 4 Juz 5 Juz 6 Juz 7 Juz 8 Juz 9 Juz 10 Juz 11

Juzʾ 12: Are They Equal?

Bismillah-ir Raḥmān-ir Raḥīm. All praise to Allah and peace and salutations upon his servant and final messenger Muḥammad (pbuh), Assalāmu ‘Alaykum wa Raḥmatullāhi wa Barakātuh! Welcome to another episode of our Ramaḍān Reflection series, Keys to the Divine Compass, where we go over verses of the Qur’an from every Juz throughout the month of Ramaḍān so that we can derive lessons and apply them to our lives.

InshaAllah today I will be going over verse 24 from Sūrah Hūd (Sūrah 11) in which Allah (swt) says, “The example of the two groups is like that of the blind and deaf compared to those who are hearing and seeing; are they equal? Do they not think? If we think over this verse it comes at the end of a series of verses where Allah (swt) highlights the differences between the disbelievers and the believers. Allah (swt) begins by talking about the disbelievers and says they are those who craft lies against Allah, either by saying that there is no Creator, or that the Creator is not worthy of worship, or that the Creator has equals who are also worthy of worship, or that the Creator is dependent on others. They lead themselves astray and become obstacles in the paths of others to believing in Allah (swt). Allah (swt) says the believers on the other hand are those who believe, do good, and humble themselves in front of Allah, so you have two contrasted approaches when it comes to thinking about existence and living a worldly life.

You have those who believe in Allah (swt) and you have those who do not, and Allah (swt) says these two groups can be compared to a blind and deaf person and a seeing and hearing person. Keep in mind: this verse is not talking about the natural blindness or deafness that a person might be born with, that is from Allah (swt). The idea behind this comparison is to alert us to the idea of spiritual blindness and deafness, which is characteristic of the disbelievers. The key difference between the ṣaḥābah that allowed them to become the companions of the Prophet (pbuh) and the disbelievers of their time was this characteristic: the believers were spiritually seeing and hearing, they were alert of the Revelation and were humble to accept it. The disbelievers, on the other hand, were spiritually blind and deaf and their insistence upon their lies caused them to become more blind and deaf until Allah (swt) sealed their hearts. The disbelievers knew who the Prophet (pbuh) was, they heard him recite the words of the Qur’an and heard the Revelation directly from him. Yet, it was as if someone was speaking to a deaf person, who obviously could not hear. It was as if they were blind, because despite the miracles that the Prophet (pbuh) did, despite his character that knew about, they acted as if they were blind and could not see the truth for what it was even though it was in front of them. Contrast this to the believers who were seeing and hearing in the spiritual sense. We had companions like ‘Abd-Allah bin Um Maktūm (R) who was physically blind but spiritually able to see, whose heart was open to the Revelation so even though he could not see the Prophet (pbuh) and did not see the miracles he acknowledged what was the truth.

Allah (swt) asks if you have these two different groups in front of you, can you, by all logic and reason, say that they are equal? Of course not. Allah (swt) says that if you cannot consider a physically blind and deaf person equal to a physically seeing and hearing person, then how can you consider those who are spiritually blind and deaf equal to those who are able to see spiritually and hear spiritually? How are you able to compare the two? The believers and the disbelievers are not one and the same. It is a rhetorical question. Are they alike? Of course not. Allah (swt) wants us to ponder and think that if they are not alike, then whose path are we on? Are we on the path of those who disbelieve, or on the path of those who believe but might not be strong believers, or might be actively hindering others from reaching Allah (swt), or on the path of those who believe, do good, and humble themselves in front of their Lord?

 

Allah (swt) says that the reason for the characteristics of the disbelievers and the believers (in this regard) being explained to you is so that you are aware of their ultimate consequences. On the day of judgment, when the disbelievers are being pushed into the fire, they will have no one to blame but themselves, they will be from among the biggest of losers. However, if a person believes, does good, humbles themselves in front of Allah (swt), accepts the fact that their existence is because of Allah (swt) and as a result He has the right to tell them how to live their existence, that Allah (swt)’s orders and obligations are more precious, valuable, and important than their own, then they will be from the inhabitants of Jannah wherein they will reside forever.

 

May Allah (swt) make us from amongst them, make us all sincere, strong, and committed believers, and guide, bless, and protect us all. Assalāmu ‘Alaykum wa Raḥmatullāhi wa Barakātuh.

The post IOK Ramadan: Are They Equal? | Keys To The Divine Compass [Ep12] appeared first on MuslimMatters.org.

Children should never have to experience such horrors.

Or as my husband so aptly puts it, “Ramadan 2024 is not ‘The Great Cooking and Baking Contest for the World’ that’s currently streaming.”

Take yourself back to Ramadan of 2020; our “Covid Ramadan”. It was a precursor to lessons we had never dreamed of experiencing in our lifetimes. Our Covid Ramadan of social gatherings during suhoor, iftar, taraweeh, and, as well, Eid celebrations had vanished; while quarantines, and for some, isolation appeared.

It was mind-blowing. How could we not enjoy one another’s company in breaking bread together? How could we not open our homes, masjid doors to meet newcomers, and neighbors to share in our Ramadan? How could we not relax after iftar with our community while sipping tea before taraweeh? How could we not stand shoulder to shoulder, or, as in this senior’s case, chair to chair, in unison during salat al-taraweeh?

While it definitely was a lot to sort out, we made it through.

Looking back now, we thought it was tough. We thought we had experienced it all. But guess what, think again.

Writing this article has been challenging. My inner best friend, procrastination kept nudging me, “hold on, you’re missing something.’” Procrastination was correct. But during those writing blocks my inner best friend had turned further inward to grasping my lifelong companion, faith tied to fate. Procrastination was packed and out the door.

As the month of Ramadan 2024 steadily progressed, the daily incidents of injustices toward Gazans increased. Beginning with Gazans posting on social media requesting Muslims not to post food photos from suhoor and iftars (aka, let’s not rub salt in their ever-increasing wounds of loss, hardships, and difficulties we have not experienced).
Personal exchanges as well, gifted me with another perspective to reflect on. While having my vitals taken at my doctor’s office, the nurse asked me various questions about Ramadan. All very normal, valid, and relevant.
It was this question that hit me the hardest, however, in examining how I approach Ramadan. She genuinely asked me, “But when you eat at night, don’t you stuff yourself?”

Muslim senior praying (PC: Imad Alassiry [unsplash])

I explained how it affects my metabolism, and how I gradually become used to the fasting along with the body changes, i.e., my stomach shrinks and overeating is a big turn-off. My mind was stuck on the question, “don’t you stuff yourself?” Every visual, spoken cry of Gazans replayed in my mind. The gradual loss of food supplies. The inhumane destruction of food. The refusals of food distributions. The water cut off. The starvation. All of it.

How could I stuff myself? How will I meet Ramadan this year? Which took me back to ask, were the tests of Ramadan 2020 sent to us to prepare for the gut-wrenching exams of Ramadan 2024? Such soul-searching tests are reminders for each of us to embrace the best of our abilities most especially this Ramadan.

We have numerous reminders to jump-start our souls into internal and external actions. Actions of dua’s from the heart. Actions of practicing what we preach.

The early Muslims were harshly forced into an embargo by the Meccans. They suffered severely in exile with grass, insects, roots, and shrubbery as sources of food. It was reported that ants ate the parchment detailing the unjust clauses of the proclamation by the Muslims, except for the wording in the Name of Allah .

The reference regarding the embargo against the early Muslims rewound in my mind, specifically with the brutality of which the apartheid regime of Israel has focused on Palestinians for over 75 years. It is most relevant now in Gaza and all occupied territories of Palestine.
It has often been relayed how Palestinians hold the highest levels of faith in Allah . Their trust, strength, patience, and perseverance are essential cores in their faith. How can we not follow their examples?

Because Ramadan is not, nor has it ever been, about the food.

It’s about digging deep into our relationship with Allah . Our relationship with ourselves, family, neighbors, community. The world. It’s about the blessings Allah has given us in striving to improve ourselves. To reflect on all of the blessings we see or know of and those we are not yet aware of in our lives.

As we (as Muslim seniors in particular) delve into the final days of Ramadan, consider these conversations, again and again, of pointers for an overall healthy Ramadan of mind, spirit, and body.

•  – Time may be our companion in faith or our companion in stress. Take hold of the rope of Allah as your companion in faith by managing time to the best of your abilities.
• – Continue to donate (more) in whatever ways are feasible to you financially and spiritually. Give monetary funds locally and internationally to Muslim organizations you are familiar with. Give spiritually more than you ever have before; a smile, kindness, a helping hand.
• – Make continual dua’s for everyone. Pray on time.
• – Muslim seniors, it is no embarrassment to utilize your time in taking naps. Naps are good as we age. They especially help us get through the fasting days and prayer nights to our goals of meeting the 29th or 30th day of fasting.
• – Focus on your connection with Allah . Use this month to be alone with Allah . It’s really okay to decline an invitation for suhoor or iftar. While they are spiritually uplifting in bonding with community members, they can also be very challenging when witnessing waste of food, or disregard for our environment by not going green.
• – Don’t waste water.
• – Don’t overeat. Eat simple foods.
• – For Muslim seniors with health challenges, make a doctor’s appointment when you can. Before, during, or even after Ramadan. Maybe schedule a tele-appointment. You may have diabetes, for example, and not sure how to approach fasting. As well, an appointment after Ramadan may point to health improvements made due to fasting. Diabetics sometimes find their blood sugar levels have vastly improved by leveling off to more of a safe zone. What a blessing of food for thought!
• – Remember, your body has a right over you:

Narrated `Abdullah bin `Amr bin Al-`As: Allah’s Messenger (ﷺ) said, “O `Abdullah! Have I not been formed that you fast all the day and stand in prayer all night?” I said, “Yes, O Allah’s Messenger (ﷺ)!” He said, “Do not do that! Observe the fast sometimes and also leave them (the fast) at other times; stand up for the prayer at night and also sleep at night. Your body has a right over you, your eyes have a right over you and your wife has a right over you.” [Sahih al-Bukhari 5199]

• – Meet each day striving to become closer to Allah . Read and absorb the Qur’an. Do you have a favorite scholar or series to gain knowledge from on YouTube, for example? The Ramadan Series from Yaqeen Institute with Dr. Omar Sulieman is full of inspiration and awe in continuing our education as Muslim seniors.
• – Perform salat al-taraweeh as though it is our last because time is more significant now more than ever as a Muslim senior.
• – We are living during a genocide during Ramadan. Something we would never have fathomed. Be a witness to the ongoing sufferings of Gazans, of Palestinians worldwide, and speak out. Fight the good fight.
• – Make plenty of dua’, dua’, dua’… and as often as possible.

May our Ramadan be a blessing for each and every one of us, inshaAllah. Ameen.

 

Related:

–Avoid Financial Elder Abuse Through Islamic Principles

– 5 Ways You Can Still Have A Healthy Ramadan

 

The post Advice For Muslim Seniors On Ramadan: It’s Not About The Food appeared first on MuslimMatters.org.

Retired general Giora Eiland has promoted making Gaza “a place where no human being can exist.”

Afghan regime’s return to public stoning and flogging is because there is ‘no one to hold them accountable’ for abuses, say activists

The Taliban’s announcement that it is resuming publicly stoning women to death has been enabled by the international community’s silence, human rights groups have said.

Safia Arefi, a lawyer and head of the Afghan human rights organisation Women’s Window of Hope, said the announcement had condemned Afghan women to return to the darkest days of Taliban rule in the 1990s.

Continue reading...

Talk on Gaza genocide banned at short notice.

This Ramadan, MuslimMatters reached out to our regular (and not-so-regular) crew of writers asking them to share their reflections on various ayahs/surahs of the Quran, ideally with a focus on a specific juz – those that may have impacted them in some specific way or have influenced how they approach both life and deen. While some contributors are well-versed in at least part of the Quranic Sciences, not all necessarily are, but reflect on their choices as a way of illustrating that our Holy Book is approachable from various human perspectives.

Introducing, A Ramadan Quran Journal: A MuslimMatters Series

***

Trust Fund and a Yellow Lamborghini

By Wael Abdelgawad

 

The Fools

Amirah heard the car coming from a distance. It could not be mistaken for any other car, as her brother’s Lamborghini uttered a growl like a tiger with its hackles up. She walked through the spacious lobby, preceded by the refrigerator-sized bodyguard, Bryce. In spite of his bulk, he wore a fine suit and walked with grace. She was paying him by the day for this short-term gig, and he wasn’t cheap. Not that it mattered much. $500 per day was a drop in the sea, but still, why be wasteful?

The lobby was decorated with antique Arabic plates and hand-written copies of the Quran in glass cases. Bryce insisted on walking ahead of her at all times. The man was taking the job to extremes, and Amirah was getting annoyed.

The hulking bodyguard swung open the massive front door and stepped out to stand, cross-armed, in front of it. Amirah followed. Their large estate had a long, winding driveway that came up from the gate below, and here came the Lambo, hugging the curves, going too fast as always.

The sleek driving machine sped into the circular driveway in front of the house and hit the brakes too late. At the last second the car swerved, sliding sideways into the circular flower bed at the center of the driveway, crushing the flower bushes and throwing up gouts of soil.

Her brother Thabet – his friends called him “Bet” – stumbled out of the car, laughing, wine bottle in hand – as always these days – and was followed a moment later by his two friends, Ziggy and Croc, as they called themselves. Ziggy held a tall can of beer, and Croc’s face was surrounded by a cloud of smoke as he puffed on his vape. They bandied insults with each other until they caught sight of Amirah and Bryce.

“Yo, Bet,” Ziggy said. “Your sister has a new boyfriend. Looks like an NFL linebacker.”

“Your sister is getting down,” Croc added.

“Shut up!” Thabet snapped. “That’s my sister, have some respect.”

“So what?” Ziggy countered. “You run her down all the time.”

The three men began to walk toward the door.

“Stop,” Amirah said firmly. “Thabet only may enter. You other two will have to call an Uber.” Belying the firmness of her own words, she tugged on her ear nervously. She’d set this whole thing up, but did not feel confident about it.

Take the Lambo

“Don’t be stupid,” Thabet said. “It’s my house too.” The men were about to push their way in when Bryce stepped forward and shoved all three back with one arm. Thabet dropped the wine bottle, which shattered on the paving stones. Ziggy’s beer sloshed in his face. Croc began to cough smoke.

What followed was a variety of curses, insults, and indignant objections, all tempered by the look of steel that Bryce gave the three men. Finally, giving up the fight, Thabet tossed the car keys to Ziggy, who dropped them.

“Take the Lambo,” Thabet said with a generous wave. “But you bring that candy back without a scratch or I’ll break your neck.”

On cue, Amirah took a small electronic device from her pocket and pressed a button. The Lamborghini uttered a chirp, and the doors locked automatically.

“I don’t think so,” Amirah said. “I shut it down.”

“Wha?” Thabet was baffled. “How?”

“I pay for the South Star service, remember? I can use it to shut the car down in case of theft.”

“Your sister is trippin’, Bet,” Croc commented.

In the end, the two friends ordered an Uber and Thabet stormed into the house alone, shouting for Amapola, the maid, to make him something to eat.

Slamming the Refrigerator Door

Amirah followed, motioning for Bryce to remain behind. Her heart was beating fast. Thabet could be impulsive and even violent. She’d bailed him out of jail more than once for fighting in the street. He’d never been violent toward his own sister, but he wasn’t above breaking things, even expensive things. This was the main reason she’d hired Brice. She needed backup for this confrontation. She found Thabet in the kitchen, looking around.

“Where’s Amapola?” he demanded.

“She’s on vacation. If you want something to eat, you can cook it yourself, after which I expect you to wash the dishes. If you don’t clean up properly, the fridge will be emptied and there won’t be any more food.”

Thabet rounded on her. “Have you lost your mind? Fine. I’ll go stay at the Ritz. At least those people know how to treat a man with respect.”

Amirah shook her head. “You’re no man. And I’ve terminated your credit cards and shut off access to the trust fund. You don’t have a penny to your name.”

Thabet turned red. “You can’t do that! Are you insane?”

“You don’t get control of your fund until you’re twenty-five. In the meantime, I have full discretion.”

“You can’t do this!” Thabet seized the refrigerator door, opened it, and slammed it shut, then again and again. A plastic box of grapes fell out and broke open, the grapes rolling in every direction like the heads of executed criminals. Thabet stomped on the grapes, which squirted juice across the floor.

Amirah flinched. “Don’t make me call Bryce. I’ll have him put you out of this house. You can go live on Ziggy’s couch for all I care.”

“Is that the hulk you hired? You got something going with him?”

“You know better than that.”

What Do You Want?

For the first time since his drunken arrival, her brother paused and took a breath. He studied Amirah’s face. A look of surprised alarm crossed his features. “You’re serious about this,” he said. “Why? What do you want?”

Amirah sighed and tugged on her ear. “I want you to grow up. You’re intelligent. Your IQ tested at a genius level. But what have you done since high school? You didn’t go to university. All you do is hang out with those idiot friends, drink, and play video games. You are twenty-two years old, for heaven’s sake, and you’re throwing your life down the tubes. Think of all that you and I have survived. Was it for this? What meaning does your life have?”

Even as she said this, Amirah wondered what meaning her own life had. She was thirty years old. She had a degree in finance, and spent much of her time either cleaning up Thabet’s messes or managing the family wealth, all of which – along with this house – had been left to her and her brother by Ammu Rahman. She’d received a few marriage proposals, but when one had as much money as she did, it was difficult to trust the sincerity of a potential partner. Money, money, money. Everything always seemed to come back to money, and she hated it. She’d never dreamed of being rich. She wanted a happy family. Yet her life consisted of managing a ridiculous amount of wealth, and living in perpetual anxiety about what her loose cannon brother might do next.

Alhamdulillah that she had her deen. When the loneliness was too much to bear, she had the Quran, which was a mountain spring that revived her heart every day. She had dua’, without which she could not survive. She had Allah , who she believed wanted good for her, in spite of all the hardships she’d faced. Of course, anyone else would find her pathetic, talking about hardships when she lived like a noble, she realized that. But everyone struggled in this life, in their own way.

A World of Horrors

As these thoughts passed through their mind, Thabet had been staring at her, his face growing red. “Meaning?” he finally said quietly, intensely. “There is no meaning, dear sister. This is a world of horrors. It’s a slaughterhouse, and we humans are the cows being led to the abattoir. It’s all emptiness. Why should I waste my time with university? I’m already rich. All that’s left is to have fun before they pile the dirt on my face. I read Shakespeare in high school, remember? ‘Life’s but a walking shadow, a poor player that struts and frets his hour upon the stage, and then is heard no more.’”

Amirah was shaking her head. “Don’t say these things. We were created by Allah for a purpose.”

“I’ve seen the purpose!” Thabet screamed. Amirah thought for a moment that he might start breaking things, but instead he collapsed into a chair at the big cherrywood kitchen table, his shoulders slumped. “I saw it all, remember? You were unconscious after the crash, but I sat there hanging upside down and crying, and I saw the blood pouring out of Baba’s neck as he tried to hold it in. Pouring out and spilling through the air. I saw Mama with her skull split nearly open but still conscious, trying to look at us, to see if we were okay. I was only five years old, but I remember. Where was the purpose in their deaths? Where was the meaning? And then Ammu Rahman ten years later, died of a heart attack on the floor of this very room. Like the universe is saying to us, you brats, I’m going to beat you down one way or another.”

Uncle Rahman

Amirah sat beside her brother and took his hand. “I can’t answer that, except to say that everyone dies. It’s only a matter of timing. Why did our parents die that day, while we lived? That knowledge belongs to Allah. But look at us. We were taken care of. Uncle Rahman loved us. Life goes on.”

“Rahman only did it because he had to. It was a family obligation. He didn’t give a crap about us.”

“Astaghfirullah! He doted on you.”

Thabet pulled his hand away. “Family obligation,” he repeated stubbornly. “Not the same as love.”

“I love you.”

“No, you don’t. Look at you, taking away my trust fund. You think that’s love? It’s control. Amirah, there are billions of people in this world, all trying to control each other. Half of them starving, another 45% struggling, and 5% living like kings. It’s all random. We live in the throat of Hell, about to be swallowed down. This world is an abyss.”

Amirah was shocked. She’d never heard her brother speak like this. Where was he getting these ideas?

“If you don’t like the word love,” Amirah countered, “call it mercy. There is mercy in this world. People help people. They sacrifice themselves. The Messenger of Allah sacrificed more than you can imagine to bring truth into the world.”

“What you call mercy is self-interest. People donate money and write it off as a tax deduction.”

Amirah tugged on her ear. “I’m going to tell you something that I wasn’t supposed to. “Ammu Rahman was not our uncle.”

Thabet glanced at her sullenly. “What do you mean?”

“You saw him around a lot because he was Baba’s business partner, and his friend since childhood. He took us in out of love. He didn’t have to do it. And he left us everything, just as if we were his own kids. He wanted you to think he was our blood uncle, to make the transition easier.”

Amirah saw the surprise on Thabet’s face. He mulled over her words for a while, then said, “Self-interest. He got companionship. Plus he lied to me. That’s not love.”

The Seventeenth Night

She said the only thing she thought might wake him up: “Did you know this is Ramadan? Tonight is the seventeenth night.”

That caught Thabet off guard, she could see. He had always loved Ramadan as a kid, but he’d drifted totally away from the deen after Uncle Rahman’s death.

“I didn’t know that,” Thabet muttered. “Not that it really matters. Look sis, just tell me specifically what you want.”

Amirah had an answer ready. “I want you to spend three days reading the Quran.”

Thabet scowled. “Are you serious?” When Amirah only nodded, he said, “Like a marathon? Three days non-stop?”

She shook her head. “Say, four hours per day. Starting now. For now, tonight, I want you to read it to me.”

“If I agree? Then what?”

“You get everything back. All your toys.”

“No conditions?” His tone was incredulous.

“No conditions.”

Thabet laughed. “Okay, bring me the Quran. I’ll start right now.”

“Take a shower first. And drink a cup of coffee.”

Open It Anywhere

A little later, back in the kitchen, sitting at the big cherrywood table, Thabet held a copy of the Quran in his hands as Amirah sat beside him.

“Open it anywhere and begin,” Amirah said. “Read it out loud to me. Arabic, then English.”

“I don’t know how to read Arabic anymore.”

“I’m pretty sure you do.” When they were kids, Uncle Rahman had hired the best tutors to teach them Arabic, Quran, and Islamic studies.

Thabet opened the Quran randomly. “Surat Al-Anbiyaa. The Prophets.”

SubhanAllah, Amirah thought. Al-Anbiyaa. Juz 17 on the seventeenth night of Ramadan.

Thabet began to read the first ayah in Arabic, but Amirah halted him.

“Aoothoo billahi –”

“Oh right.” Thabet recited the refrain against Shaytan, and the Basmallah, then continued. His Arabic reading was nearly flawless. He followed with the English:

1. [The time of] their account has approached for the people, while they are in heedlessness turning away.

2. No mention [i.e., revelation] comes to them anew from their Lord except that they listen to it while they are at play.

“Take a moment and think about those ayahs please,” Amirah said. “Consider that you opened this page randomly.” She knew he would see the obvious: that Allah was talking about him. Talking to him.

Life Is Not In Vain

Amirah listened as Thabet continued. In the surah, Allah went on to talk about the prophets. That they were human beings who ate food. They were not immortals, or angels. And Muhammad himself was not a wizard or a poet. They were infallible in their speech regarding Allah, but fallible in worldly matters. Men who suffered, experienced loss, yet stayed on the path. Past nations were destroyed because they took their Prophets and revelations as jokes or they rejected the concept of truth, preferring instead to live lives of pleasure. Like her brother had said, All that’s left is to have fun before they pile the dirt on my face.

He came to ayahs 16 and 17:

16. And We did not create the heaven and earth and that is between them in play.

17. Had We intended to take a diversion, We could have taken it from [what is] with Us – if [indeed] We were to do so.

“Do you get it?” Amirah broke in. “This life is not a joke, it’s not in vain. Allah didn’t create you to amuse Himself. He, the Creator of all things, designed this world with meaning and intent. It has to be one way or the other, you see? There’s no in-between.” She held out her hands, moving them up and down like scales on a balance. “Either Allah speaks the truth, in which case everything in this world has meaning, including the deaths of our parents and Ammu Rahman – or Allah is lying, and nothing has meaning, just as you said. It’s all a horror show without purpose. But I don’t believe you really believe those words. So tell me, do you think Allah Subhanahu wa Ta’ala is lying?”

“Well – no,” Thabet stammered. “I never said anything like that.”

Amirah stood up and jabbed him in the chest. “Then you have to acknowledge that everything Allah says is true. This world was not created in vain. Allah’s mercy fills this world, and goodness is real. Sacrifice is real, love is real.”

“I – I don’t know about all that.”

Truth Destroys Falsehood

“Read the next ayah. Read it!”

18. Rather, We dash the truth upon falsehood, and it destroys it, and thereupon it departs. And for you is destruction from that which you describe.

“Thabet,” Amirah said, “I love you. But all these false things you say, Allah will smash them with truth. And those falsehoods will betray you. I don’t know where you got those twisted ideas, but you need to heal your mind and heart, or the truth will destroy you.”

Thabet continued to ayah 24:

24. Or have they taken gods besides Him? Say, “Produce your proof. This [Qur’ān] is the message for those with me and the message of those before me.” But most of them do not know the truth, so they are turning away.

“I’m going to stop you one last time,” Amirah said. “With a question. Have you taken your Lambo, and trust fund, and wine bottles, as gods besides Allah? And if so, do you think they will save you when truth comes and smashes them?”

An Agreement of Trust

She stood. “Our agreement is an agreement of trust. I won’t monitor you. Three days of Quran.” Amirah turned and left. Before she went upstairs to her bedroom she dismissed Bryce and gave him his pay, informing him that his services were no longer needed.

Thabet read the Quran for three days, almost always at the kitchen table. He didn’t whine or make requests, and didn’t make any phone calls that Amirah saw, though she had not turned off his phone. Amirah backed off her threat to make him feed himself, as she cooked for the two of them, and let him wash the dishes. They ate together, mostly silently, though Thabet occasionally commented on something he’d read in the Quran. At the end of the three days, Thabet said, “Now what?”

“I already turned your Lambo and credit cards back on,” Amirah replied. “Actually I did it that first night, when you read Surat Al-Anbiyaa.”

“Huh.”

Amirah never saw Ziggy and Croc again. She wasn’t going to claim that Thabet changed overnight, or that a miracle took place that first night when he read Surat Al-Anbiyaa. But she did claim – to herself anyway – that truth had smashed into falsehood and destroyed it.

Thabet still lost his temper and raised his voice now and then, but he never broke anything, and never drank alcohol again, that Amirah saw. Gradually he transitioned into a thoughtful, inquisitive, and slightly introverted young man. It was as if Amirah was getting to know her brother for the first time, as an adult. The man he was capable of being.

Six months later he sold the yellow Lambo and donated the funds for Gaza relief aid. A year after that, Amirah got married, and five years after that, two children ran about the house. Thabet did not move out. The kids loved Ammu Thabet, and knew that in the evenings he could be found at the kitchen table, reading the Quran as Amapola worked around him to prepare supper.

THE END

***

Reader comments and constructive criticism are important to me, so please comment!

See the Story Index for Wael Abdelgawad’s fiction stories on this website.

Wael Abdelgawad’s novels – including Pieces of a Dream, The Repeaters and Zaid Karim Private Investigator – are available in ebook and print form on his author page at Amazon.com.

 

Related:

– A Ramadan Quran Journal: A MuslimMatters Series – [Juz 3] What Is True, And What Matters

– A Ramadan Quran Journal: A MuslimMatters Series – [Juz 1] Reflections On The Opening Chapter

The post A Ramadan Quran Journal: A MuslimMatters Series – [Juz 17] Trust Fund And A Yellow Lamborghini appeared first on MuslimMatters.org.

No evidence produced to back up allegations.

By Ibrahim Moiz

 

Bism Allah Al-Rahman Al-Rahim

Open Letter

U.S. Senator Chris Van Hollen (D-MD)

Over fifty imams and Islamic academics in the eastern American state of Maryland have written an open letter to Senator Chris Van Hollen, urging him to stand for justice and against the indiscriminate Israeli slaughter in Gaza. The letter highlights the importance of the United Nations’ regional aid agency (UNRWA), which Van Hollen defended against baseless Israeli accusations of militancy that had led to the suspension of its funds by a number of pro-Israel states two months ago. The letter also reminds Van Hollen of the war’s enormous costs, which have personally struck much of his constituency, and urges him to continue to take a principled stand for peace.

At last count a month ago, the bloody Israeli assault on the Gaza Strip, portrayed as a reprisal for a Palestinian raid from the long-blockaded region, has killed well over thirty thousand people, half of them children. A supposed retaliation for the October 2023 Palestinian attack led by Hamas, the Israeli campaign has torn up much of the region without discrimination, with officials as high as the presidency and much of the Israeli populace stripping the Palestinians of any humanity and calling instead for their displacement – in other words, ethnic cleansing – to the neighboring Sinai Peninsula so that the ethnonationalist militias that comprise a key component of the far-right Israeli regime’s support base might settle there.

The galling slaughter has been highlighted further by the glaring discrepancy between official claims, where most of Tel Aviv’s traditional supporters in countries like the United States have repeatedly echoed rapidly disproven Israeli propaganda, and the brutality caught on social media by both beleaguered Palestinians and their gloating opponents.

Attacking a Lifeline

Displaced Palestinians wait to receive United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) aid, amid the ongoing conflict between Israel and the Palestinian Islamist group Hamas, in Rafah, in the southern Gaza Strip, March 7, 2024. REUTERS/Mohammed Salem

The United Nations’ regional refugee agency – the United Nations’ Relief and Works Agency for Palestinian Refugees in the Middle East, or UNRWA, led currently by Philippe Lazzarini – has been a lifeline for Palestinians in the region since its foundation in 1949, taking on added importance after Israel occupied the Gaza Strip and West Bank in 1967. Given that Israeli policy since the 1980s has often been to make the region uninhabitable for its Palestinian natives – a key policy aim of the Likud Party and its governing coalition – UNRWA has often been targeted by Israel, notwithstanding official claims to international law.

Even as the International Court of Justice found plausibility of a genocide during a complaint issued by South Africa two months ago, Israel lashed out by accusing United Nations aid workers of having partaken in the October 2023 Hamas attack. Notwithstanding the fact that nearly every Israeli accusation since October 2023 had been belied by subsequent investigation and that Tel Aviv clearly had an established motive for calumny, a number of countries, foremost the United States, promptly withdrew their funds at a moment when the agency’s work was more vital than ever.

It transpired that Israel’s case against the agency rested on confessions obtained through torture; many United Nations workers have been killed under Israeli fire, so the targeting was hardly unprecedented. By then, though, much damage had already been done as Gaza enters an artificially imposed famine.

Flat-Out Lies

To Van Hollen’s credit, he dismissed the prevailing propaganda in no uncertain terms, calling Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s accusations against UNRWA “flat-out lies”. The open letter by Muslim community leaders applauds the senator’s stance and calls for the reinstatement of American funds, which comprised nearly a third of the agency’s pledged budget as of 2022. The European Union also restored funds to UNRWA, the letter quotes, after its humanitarian aid commissioner Janez Lenarcic found no corroboration for Israeli accusations. It also highlights the devastating impact of the war, even on Van Hollen’s considerable number of Muslim and Arab constituents: some 350 thousand Muslims, and nearly thirty thousand Arabs, live in Maryland.

“Here in Maryland, hundreds of our congregants have lost several members of their families,” the letter reads. “They have no pause in their grief as every day more people are losing their lives. Ramadan is not the same this year for so many of our communities.”

The letter also addresses the increased atmosphere of anti-Islamic sentiments, some of which have been pointedly stoked by official and semi-official Israeli platforms as part of a pattern of the Likud Party’s ideological history and political coalitions. Most shockingly, a six-year-old boy was murdered and his mother strangled by their landlord in Michigan explicitly for their Muslim faith only a few days after the Israeli campaign, with its rabble-rousing rhetoric, began. But more broadly, Israeli propaganda taps into and encourages a broader pattern of international anti-Muslim animus, violent and otherwise, that has gone on for years.

“The increased Islamophobia has impacted students, teachers and many of community members who dare speak up about their support for Palestine at work,” the letter goes on. “We are at a loss as the sin of paying for these massacres with our tax money weighs heavy on our hearts.” American support – financial, military, and diplomatic – has been a key bulwark of the Israeli state for decades: Tel Aviv is the biggest recipient of American foreign aid in the world.

Calling For a Just Solution

“As a retired educator, I recognize the need for our tax dollars to be invested in the education of our youth and the revitalization of our cities. The needs of our state are many, and I witness this daily as a resident of Baltimore. Maryland dollars must be reinvested in Maryland instead of being diverted overseas to commit atrocities against vulnerable populations. I appreciate your stance, speaking the truth about  Gaza, and I urge you to be relentless in the continued pursuit of justice,” states Ustadha C Islaah Abd’al-Rahim, who signed the letter to Senator Van Hollen. 

Though the United States has long portrayed itself as the guarantor of a lasting peace between Israel and the Palestinians, such a skewed bias in favor of one side has consistently stood in the way of justice. The letter highlights the importance of a just solution to resolving the conflict: “We firmly believe that peace can only be achieved through justice and mutual respect.”

The letter concludes with a prayer, “May you be guided by the principles of compassion and justice as you work to support the rights and dignity of all people, including Palestinians.”

 

Related:

– 5 Steps To Grow From Passive To Active Bystanders During The Genocide Of Gaza

– Real Time Scholasticide: The War On Education In Gaza

The post Religious Scholars Urge Maryland Senator To Stand For Justice On Gaza appeared first on MuslimMatters.org.

Weekly news roundup (01:09); Ali Abunimah on the latest collapse of Israel’s “mass rapes” fraud (21:33); Jon Elmer analyzes Palestinian armed resistance in Gaza and West Bank (01:00:03); Discussion with Abdaljawad Omar on Palestinian resistance (01:49:14).

Anger from politicians across the spectrum as principal resigns ‘for security reasons’ after asking students to remove headscarves

French politicians from across the spectrum have expressed dismay over the resignation of a Paris school principal who had received death threats after asking a student to remove her Muslim veil on the premises.

In a show of support, prime minister Gabriel Attal, a former education minister, was set to receive the principal late on Wednesday, his office said.

Continue reading...

Israel has destroyed my life.

ZAKA leader Yossi Landau’s stories wither under scrutiny.

by Ibrahim Moiz

Footballer Mahamadou Diawara has returned from the French national Under-19 squad in order to complete his Ramadan fast after the French Football Federation forced him into an exclusive choice. The move, indirectly discovered only after Diawara was spotted training at a club in his hometown Lyon, is the latest instance of France’s intrusive laïcité clashing head-on with the religious rights of its citizens and in particular Muslims.

Diawara, 19, was called up to the Under-19 squad last week for the 2024 Euro Elite U-19 tour. But his unwillingness to compromise his fast for the tour earned him the wrath of the football federation, which has long discouraged its considerable pool of Muslim players, many of West or North African background, from the fast during the season. Born in France of Malian descent, Diawara joined Lyon in summer 2023 and made his debut in the autumn of 2023, making this his first Ramadan in senior football. Given the ultimatum to postpone his fast, the teenager showed considerable resolve in standing his ground and was divested of his squad place as a result.

This hostility is neither new for French football where, as recently as last Ramadan, players were asked to postpone their fasts, nor for the French state, whose particularly punishing brand of secularism, laïcité, has long weighed particularly heavy on the country’s sizeable Muslim minority. Owing in large part to its colonial history in Africa, much of whose north and west was conquered in the nineteenth century, and wherein Paris continues to maintain controversially intrusive economic, political, and military interests as part of the so-called Francafrique, the historically autocratic Western European republic has one of Europe’s largest Muslim populations, estimated at about five million people.

French legislation and political campaigns have often disproportionately targeted Muslims in the minutiae of their personal and public lives. French politicians across the political spectrum, including incumbent ruler Emmanuel Macron, have also insisted on treating Islamic practice as part of a supposed “Islamist separatist” or “Islamo-leftist” project. The weaponization by both Macron and his political rivals of anti-Islam sentiments has even had international repercussions: in 2020 Pakistan’s former prime minister Imran Khan, for instance, condemned these tactics before major anti-France protests in the country.

The Madagascar-born French rapper “Rohff” Housni M’Kouboi applauded Diawara’s moral fiber in a tweet, and pointed out that fasting does not necessarily impede physical activity and has often been observed by practical sportsmen. “Everybody,” he observed, “has their own stomach! They want to police the mind, the clothes, and now the stomach lol. They mix everything up under whose orders? In the name of what? Atheism? The secularism of December 9, 1905 [the date that France adopted its laïcité]?”

M’Kouboi noted that the rule fails its own standard: the same secularist edicts’ first article officially guarantees freedom of religion, and yet “they want blacks and Arabs without religion, without culture, without spices… Lol.”

In spite of this, French institutions have pressed ahead as if nothing is wrong. Representative of this sentiment was Federation president Philippe Diallo – himself the son of a boxer born in France’s then-colony Senegal – who described the circumstances of Diawara’s removal as part of a “framework of neutrality” that supposedly does “not modify the conditions of practice for our selections for religious purposes.” In practice, as so often in French secularism, this means a censure on Islamic practice. The teenaged Diawara is simply the latest to fall foul of France’s warped relation with its Muslim populace, but his moral fortitude gives as salutary an example as anything he might do on the pitch.

 

Related:

– The Disenfranc(e)hisement Of Muslims And Why We Need To Stay Focused

– Conflating Laïcité with Free Speech: The French Are Making a Mistake about Charlie Hebdo

 

 

The post Too “Fast” For Football? French Footballer Mahamadou Diawara Leaves U19 Squad Over Fasting Ban appeared first on MuslimMatters.org.

Nuseir Yassin’s former partner spreads atrocity propaganda.

This Ramadan, MuslimMatters reached out to our regular (and not-so-regular) crew of writers asking them to share their reflections on various ayahs/surahs of the Quran, ideally with a focus on a specific juz – those that may have impacted them in some specific way or have influenced how they approach both life and deen. While some contributors are well-versed in at least part of the Quranic Sciences, not all necessarily are, but reflect on their choices as a way of illustrating that our Holy Book is approachable from various human perspectives.

Introducing, A Ramadan Quran Journal: A MuslimMatters Series

***

What Endures? Reflections on Surat Taha

by Ust. Jinan Yousef

 

Ramadan is the month of the Qur’an. Allah says,

“The month of Ramadhan [is that] in which was revealed the Qur’an, a guidance for the people and clear proofs of guidance and criterion. So whoever sights [the new moon of] the month, let him fast it; and whoever is ill or on a journey – then an equal number of other days. Allah intends for you ease and does not intend for you hardship and [wants] for you to complete the period and to glorify Allah for that [to] which He has guided you; and perhaps you will be grateful.” [Surah Al Baqarah: 2;185]

As the Qur’an is meant to guide us, pondering upon its meanings, taking lessons, and following its guidelines is part of our faith in it. The verses I will reflect upon are in Surat Taha, in the 16th Juz of the Qur’an. Allah begins Surat Taha with:

“Ta, Ha,”

“We have not sent down to you the Qur’an that you be distressed,”

“But only as a reminder for those who fear [ Allah ] – “ [Surah Taha: 20;1-3]

Towards the end, Allah says,

 

“And whoever turns away from My remembrance – indeed, he will have a depressed life, and We will gather him on the Day of Resurrection blind.” [Surah Taha: 20;124]

The beginning and the end of the chapter emphasize to us the role and effect of the Qur’an. The Qur’an is a reminder, not a cause of distress; in fact, turning away from the Qur’an is what results in a miserable life – here and in the Hereafter. But turning to the Qur’an is light and healing, in this world and the next. It connects us to Allah , reminds us of our purpose, helps us to prioritize, and strengthens and comforts our hearts.

In this article I will focus on when Allah uses the phrase “more enduring” (abqā) in Surat Taha.

The Tests and Temptations Of This World

Many will talk about how we are ‘wired’ to pursue pleasure and to eschew pain. While we may have certain tendencies, Allah reminds us that,

“And We have certainly honored the children of Adam and carried them on the land and sea and provided for them of the good things and preferred them over much of what We have created, with [definite] preference.” [Surah Al-‘Isra: 17;70]

Our soul has the potential for both good and evil, and we must work on ourselves in order to be of the people who choose good, even when it is uncomfortable or inconvenient. We rise above our base desires for a higher purpose. Allah says,

“And [by] the soul and He who proportioned it,”

“And inspired it [with discernment of] its wickedness and its righteousness,”

“He has succeeded who purifies it,”

“And he has failed who instills it [with corruption].” [Surah Ash-Shams: 91;7-10]

Part of the reason why we may not always persevere through hardship or refrain from giving in to illicit temptations is forgetting what actually endures. The tribulation has an end, and so does the pleasure. None of these last. Holding on to Allah and holding on to the Truth necessarily provides us the fortitude to be able to see beyond.

More Enduring

In this chapter, there are four places where Allah tells us what is more enduring (abqā); two in relation to what is better and more enduring [Surah Taha: 20;73,127], and two in relation to punishment that is more enduring [Surah Taha: 20;7,131).

The magicians

The first instance appears when Allah tells us about the magicians. These were people called upon by Pharaoh to challenge the Prophet Musa . When Musa performed the miracle of turning his staff into a snake, Pharaoh said,

“He said, ‘Have you come to us to drive us out of our land with your magic, O Moses?'”

“Then we will surely bring you magic like it, so make between us and you an appointment, which we will not fail to keep and neither will you, in a place assigned.” [Surah Taha: 20;57-58]

Pharaoh then gathered all the magicians in the land at the appointed time and place, where they all eagerly hoped to gain the favor of Pharaoh. While Prophet Musa warned them not to fabricate lies against Allah , they proceeded with the challenge. The magicians did not appear to be the most upright people. After all, their profession was literally deceiving people! But when Musa threw his staff and it devoured theirs, the magicians recognized that it was not a simple trick. It was a miracle, and what Mus was calling to was true. So, the magicians immediately fell down in prostration, declaring, “We believe in the Lord of Aaron and Moses!”

Pharaoh, of course, was outraged. He threatened them, saying

“[Pharaoh] said, “You believed him before I gave you permission. Indeed, he is your leader who has taught you magic. So I will surely cut off your hands and your feet on opposite sides, and I will crucify you on the trunks of palm trees, and you will surely know which of us is more severe in [giving] punishment and more enduring (abqā).” [Surah Taha: 20;71]

Here Pharaoh asserted that his punishment was more severe and more lasting. Indeed, what he was threatening them with what was an inhumane and tortuous death. It would have been natural – permissible even – for the magicians to apologize and to take back their words. However,

“They said, “Never will we prefer you over what has come to us of clear proofs and [over] He who created us. So decree whatever you are to decree. You can only decree for this worldly life.”

“Indeed, we have believed in our Lord that He may forgive us our sins and what you compelled us [to do] of magic. And Allah is better and more enduring (abqā).” [Surah Taha: 20;72-73]

The magicians countered Pharaoh’s assertion with the fact that Allah is better and more lasting. Despite the severity and immediacy of Pharaoh’s torment, they knew that what is with Allah is better and more lasting. And they chose Allah .

The Hereafter

Towards the end of the chapter, Allah again turns us to what actually lasts. After mentioning those who turn away from His remembrance, from the Qur’an, Allah says,

 

“And thus do We recompense he who transgressed and did not believe in the signs of his Lord. And the punishment of the Hereafter is more severe and more enduring (abqā).” [Surah Taha: 20;127]

In the previous verses, Pharaoh had told the magicians that his punishment was more severe and more lasting, whereas in this verse, Allah affirms that His punishment, which is eternal, is far more severe and enduring. Allah’s punishment is for those who reject and transgress.

Allah then reminds the believers:

 

“And do not extend your eyes toward that by which We have given enjoyment to [some] categories of them, [its being but] the splendor of worldly life by which We test them. And the provision of your Lord is better and more enduring (abqā).” [Surah Taha: 20;131]

It is tempting to look at outward blessings that people have and desire those things. Desires create in us a drive to pursue. They can, when taken to an extreme, distract us from what is truly important and cause us to transgress. This is what caused the downfall of Qarun, for example, who “was from the people of Moses, but he tyrannized them.” [Surah Al Qasas: 28;76] In telling us not to look at and crave what people have of enjoyment in this world, Allah also reminds us that these are tests. It is not that people enjoy these things without accountability; we will all be asked about how we used what was given to us. Whatever we have of provision can be used to remind us of His blessings upon us and come closer to Allah or to forget Him and turn away from Him. And Allah reminds us: the provision of Allah in Paradise is what remains.

Perseverance

As we go through challenges in life, as we sometimes ask why we do not have something while others do, Allah reminds us in the Qur’an that this life is fleeting and temporary. If we truly want what lasts, we have to aim for the Hereafter. Sometimes it will be easy for us, and at other times it will be hard, and we will have to choose between matters. Sometimes we will succeed, and at other times we will fall short. With these verses, Allah comforts us. Whatever we leave for His sake is never lost. Indeed, the Prophet said,

“Verily, you will never leave anything for the sake of Allah Almighty but that Allah will replace it with something better for you.” [Musnad Aḥmad 23074]  

Whatever you persevere through hoping for His pleasure, whatever you leave for His sake, remember that Allah is telling you that what He has for you is eternal provision. The conviction of the magicians helped them to withstand the torture of Pharaoh. And who knows what Allah has prepared for them – for you – in the Hereafter?

 

Related:

– Trust Allah in All of Your Affairs, and You Will Never Be Disappointed

– Yahya Ibrahim | Life Lessons from Sūrat ṬāHā: “Shepherding – The Way of the Prophets”

The post A Ramadan Quran Journal: A MuslimMatters Series – [Juz 16] What Endures? Reflections on Surat Taha appeared first on MuslimMatters.org.

Israel slaughters, paralyzes children.