Often times as students of knowledge we set our goals in terms of Ayāt and Abyāt, or how many verses and lines of text to memorize. It is easier to gauge our progress by taking measure of how much we have memorized. In times of distress or confusion regarding what to do in our lives, it is natural to seek out the counsel of trusted scholars and supplicating to Allah to remove the distress from us.

However is there anything else that we can focus on in our daily lives that can limit what we are caused to forget of the Qur’ān or Ahādīth? Is there anything we can do every day that will open our heart and intellect and make them better receptacles for knowledge?

Imām ash-Shafi’ī undoubtedly had a powerful memory. It is reported that he memorized al-Muwata from Imām Mālik in a single day. However he began to sense a deficiency in his ability to memorize and retain information, so he asked his Shaykh, the famous Wakī’ bin al-Jarrāh about that. So this situation was turned into prose:

شَكَوْتُ إِلَى وَكِيعٍ سُوءَ حِفْظِي... فَأَرْشَنِي إِلَى تَرْكِ الْمَعَاصِي
I complained to Wakī’ of a deficiency in my ability to memorize ** So he instructed me to abandon sin

وَقَالَ بِأَنَّ الْعِلْمَ نُورٌ ... وَنُورُ اللهِ لَا يُؤتَاهُ عَاصِي
And he said to me that knowledge is a light ** And the light of Allah is not granted to a sinner. [1]

For the rest of this article click here

[video:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=58g-ZNWxv20&feature=player_embedded]

Is there any leniency with the punishments? Or does every crime have to be punished?

Does context matter? E.g. would a poor person still have his hand cut off for stealing

What kind of punishments are given and for what crimes?

Salaam

Its time to think about all the positive contributions from Muslim personalities in the last 12 months....

Apart from Joie de Vivre who has impressed you? who has stood out? who has stood up for the Muslims? who deserves credit for their hard work etc.... Joie de Vivre is a cut above everyone, and it wouldn't be fair on everyone else to include him.

So we should have :
1. Muslim personality of the year
2. Non Muslim personality...
3. Revival Forum personality...

so let the nominations begin...

wasalaam

By my little sister:

Assalamu alaikum wa rahmatullah,

My dear brothers and sisters i am sorry i have taken so long to deliver hadeeth of the week to you but i have a been a bit busy..

So i know how disappointed you must be because like WHERES MY HADEETH OF THE WEEK EMAIL ITS THE ONLY THING WORTHWHILE

 IN MY LIFE 😃 lolz i am only joking not all of you have very sad lifes lol (joking again). Sorry for my terrible jokes

 (imbarasing)

So this topic is a suggestion from my one of my very good friends and as you read along try to guess but eventually i

will tell you.

In the name of Allah, the most beneficent, the merciful.

The modern world is a very dangerous place for the Muslim as the rapid and expansive increase in knowledge and

 technology which means that new questions arise that need answering. The Ullema of today have to be increasingly

 aware of the advances in medical science, finance, farming, biology, chemistry and physics. Is it permissible, for

 example, to work in stem cell research? New ‘halal mortgages’ are springing up everywhere and seem so complicated,

 are they halal? What happens if a Muslim goes into space, how does he pray? Is it permissible to stun an animal with an

 electronic current before slaughter? There are so many new situations that are springing up each year due to advances

 in technology.

There is an issue that is relatively old but has an increasing level of importance due to the rise of digital technology, that

issue is Photography. Many sisters I know immediately shout “haram” whilst others exclaim “halal” so what is average 

Muslim to do when he or she attends a wedding (for example) and there are cameras and video cameras everywhere? Or

what if he or she needs to take a picture for a passport or a library card?

This situation affects all of us so I thought about posting the positions of some of our Ullema.

Mufti Ebrahim Desai (may Allah preserve him) states:

Photography, taking of pictures, video, etc. are all totally prohibited in Shari’ah. No matter where photography, video,

 etc. of animate objects are done are all Haram. However, photographs at time of severe necessity only, e.g. passport,

 will be allowed.

Mufti Ebrahim quotes the hadith in which our beloved Prophet Muhammad SAW said, 

“Verily the people who are punished the worst by Allah are the Musawwiroon (picture-makers).’ (Bukhari)

Mufti Ebrahim also quotes the following hadiths:

Hadhrat Abu Talha (Radhiyallaahu Ánhu) narrates that Prophet Muhammad SAW said, ‘Angels do not enter a house 

where in there is a dog or picture.’ (Mishkãt vol. 2 p. 385)

Abdullah ibn Masóod (Radhiyallaahu Ánhu) narrates that Prophet Muhammad SAW said, ‘The people with the most severe

punishment by Allah will be the picture makers.’ (Ibid).

Hadhrat Ibn Abbas (RA) narrates, ‘I heard the messenger of Allah  saying, “Every picture-maker will be in the fire.

 A life will be created for every picture the picture-maker made, and he will be tortured in Hell.” If you have to make

pictures (says Ibn Abbas then make a picture of a tree or such things which are inanimate.’ (Bukhari and Muslim)

This is the position of the majority of scholars however I have found that in the issue of photography there is a

difference of opinion. Shaykh Muhammad Bakhit al-Muti’i of Egypt, a 2oth Century scholar known for his knowledge and 

piety, wrote a whole treatise titled al-Jawab al-Shafi fi Ibahat Surat al-Photography in support of this view of 

permissibility.

His basic understanding is that the reason behind the prohibition of painting pictures (in the words of the Hadith) is 

challenging Allah in His Creating of living creatures. In camera photos, however, one does not produce an image

through one’s own imagination; hence one is not challenging the Creating of Allah  as such. It is merely a reflection of

a living being already created by Allah Most High.

Live Broadcasting

Shaykh Mufti Taqi Usmani (may Allah preserve him) and many other scholars have declared that live broadcastings of

 images do not fall within the ambit of picture-making (taswir). A picture is something that is permanent and static

, whilst the image broadcasted live is not permanent hence cannot be termed a picture. A live broadcast is in reality a 

reflection of the actual image, similar to seeing an image in a mirror.

Therefore, if an image of a human or animal is broadcasted live, then this does not fall into the unlawful picture-making.

 It will be permitted to broadcast something live or view a live programme, provided the content of the programme is 

lawful (halal). (Taqrir Tirmidhi, 2/351)

Video Recording

According to Shaykh Taqi Usmani, that which is recorded in a videotape or DVD is also not considered a picture. In a

videotape, the particles of an image are gathered and then re-opened in the same order to view the image. This is the 

reason why it is not possible to see the picture in the rail of the tape without playing it. (ibid)

Therefore, if a permitted and Halal event, such as a lecture of a scholar, is played and viewed on a videotape or DVD, it 

will be permitted, Inshallah.

Shaykh Taqi Usmani (may Allah preserve him) sums this up in one of his Fatawa:

“The images appearing on live programs or recorded programs on television are not the pictures in the strict sense

 envisaged in the Ahadith of the Holy Prophet Muhammad SAW unless they are printed in a durable form on paper or on

 any

 other object. But the basic reason why Muslims are advised not to keep TV sets in their homes is that most of the 

 programs broadcast on the TV channels contain impermissible elements.”

 Up to this moment I have not prevented people from taking my picture when the situation arises but I can see the

 position of the prohibition quite clearly. There seems to be a difference between video and still pictures too, that is,

 video (either live or recorded) being rather more acceptable.

 For me the safer position is to avoid pictures but not condemn those who do because there is a genuine difference of 

 opinion amongst our Ullema and as the ullema say: “Allah  would not punish people for following recognized qualified

 scholars, even if they turned out to be “wrong.”

 Allah knows best

  untill next time

      inshallah 

 peace be with you

Hope you enjoyed it, don't ask me where she gets her lame jokes from.

Warner Bros. to release a Lollywood Pakistani called film Waar

Pakistan’s director Bilal Lashari has shot his first full-length feature film called Waar, in collaboration with ISPR.

The film will be releasing on FEB 2012

Everyone please support Lollywood

[video:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-HBjWcFV_ZY]

DEADLINE 5th JAN

http://towardshuda.wordpress.com/2012/01/02/kiu-offers-full-scholarship…

An effort to convince families in England that they can eat healthily on a budget is being launched.

Four million recipe leaflets will be mailed to families already signed up to the government's Change 4 Life public health campaign.

Three supermarket chains have also agreed to offer discounts on products such as fruit, vegetables and fish.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-16365230

Allah swt has told us it the Quran.

A few ayahs as examples

[qs:3:31]

[qs:21:107]

[qs:68:4]

[qs:33:56]

[qs:48:9]

[qs:94:4]

[qs:3:164]

It should be self explanatory from them that our beloved Prophet ﷺ is truly a mercy upon mankind, the gateway to our forgiveness and whatever praise we give him ﷺ can never be enough - because even Allah (swt) sends His durood to him ﷺ so our words are nothing in comparison!

But sending durood upon the Prophet ﷺ will increase our love for the Prophet ﷺ and raise our status with Allah swt!

We say we love the Prophet and make a fuss when non-Muslims draw/write/say stuff wrong about him ﷺ but on a normal day we don't pay much attention to this love. We need to show that we truly love the Prophet ﷺ by following his actions, doing what he did, staying away from what he stayed away from, and send salutations upon him like Allah (swt) does.

-Reminder for myself, before anyone else-

May Allah guide us all, bring us closer to Him and his beloved ﷺ Ameen.

Salaams everyone. I was recently watching a channel 4 documentary on transgenders in Pakistan and it got me wondering what Islam said on the issue of transgenders and by that I mean people born with both sets of sexual organs and hormones not people with gender issues and sex changes.

In Islam are these transgender people seen as haram, outcasts or as a third gender because at the end of the day they too are creations of Allah (SWA). Are they allowed to marry, do Hajj and Umrah? Are they allowed to fast and read namaz?

Your help in this conundrum of mine would be greatly appreciated.

The Seeker