Da’wah: An invitation usually to Islam or towards any good

Dhikr: Remembrance of Allah

Fitnah: In the Quran it is used to describe the trials and temptations that may face the believers. Now, it is used to describe the forces that cause mischief, chaos and scandal within the Muslim community, disturbing social peace and order

Hanafi: A person who follows the Hanafi school of thought, founded by Imam Abu Hanifa

Iddat: A period of waiting by a woman, after the death of her husband (four months and ten days) or divorce (three months), during which she may not marry another man and hence must abstain from sexual intercourse

Are you fed up with your local mosque not being the centre point of the Muslim community? Is your mosque catering for the needs of the local community? Are our Imams and committees providing what is really needed for our local Muslim community? The answer in most places is NO! But why is this? Has Islam become an outdated religion? Has culture overtaken the Sunnah of Prophet Muhammad (Pbuh)?  In majority of densely populated areas in the UK our mosques, Imams and committees are failing to provide for the needs of everyone.
 

So what do mosques really need to do?

What do we actually know about the Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) when it comes to his family? Who were the Prophets’ grandparents, parents, children and wives? How can we follow or even relate to someone if we don’t know much about their life?

Now let’s talk about the family of the Prophet (pbuh)…

Parents

The parents of the Holy Prophet (pbuh) were noble and pious people. They were free from all the evils of their society and never worshipped idols.

Abdullah, the Prophet’s (pbuh) father, belonged to a very famous tribe in Makkah called Quraysh. Shortly before the Prophet's (pbuh) birth while Abdullah was on a trade journey he fell ill and passed away.

There was a time you didn’t think there was anything worse than being somehow symbolically linked to people blowing up buildings and indiscriminately murder random people. You never accepted the guilt by association but yet you still had to apologise for it.

You never once thought there could be anything worse, anything more shameful for the community to go through. But now you know you were wrong.

Look at the news and there is a chance that you will either look at the murder trial of the parents of Shafilea Ahmed who was brutally butchered allegedly by her own parents and in front of her own siblings who were not even teenagers yet. They apparently witnessed their own mother and father suffocate her to death in her kitchen.

‘When’s Iftari time man??!! I’m starving!’ There’s nothing better than a delicious meal to break your fast now is there? So The Revival has put together some mouth-watering dishes for you to try out this Ramadan:

Chicken Manchurian (Dry)

Prep Time

20 Mins

Cook Time

30 - 35 Mins

Serves 2

Chicken Manchurian is one of the most popular Chinese chicken recipes, but it is usually prepared with a sweet and sour sauce.

Ingredients

1. Is divorce a sin? Can a person be considered sinful for going through divorce even if it is done in the right way?

To get the best out of this Ramadan, The Revival has put together a list of actions that you can perform in order to gain much reward and achieve the purpose of fasting which is to obtain Taqwa (fear of Allah). So, don’t let this Ramadan come and go without changing into a practising and spiritually strong person and finally turning your back away from your dodgy deeds and living as a part time Muslim.

Let me ask you something. What’s the biggest achievement in your life? May be passing your exams or doing a sky dive or getting a six figure job? Then again it could be climbing Mount Everest or even giving blood or adopting or sponsoring an orphan. It could be setting up a group/company or doing charity work/voluntary work or giving up drugs/alcohol.

So what’s yours?

Now let me ask you something else. What in your opinion is the most important cause, charity or project today? It could be fighting cancer or fighting poverty or fighting sexual abuse. Then again it could be tackling drugs/alcohol abuse or tackling anti-social behaviour or defeating the EDL/BNP.

Again, what’s important to you?

Have you ever noticed that all the books on science and technology somehow only seem to be filled with discoveries and inventions from the likes of Aristotle, Archimedes, Da Vinci and Thomas Edison... but what about all the Muslims? Where are all our discoveries?

A period of a thousand years exists between these thinkers and when great Muslim men and women expressed their religiosity through contributions made to society and the sciences. So what were these contributions? And how many of these are used today?

‘Diary of a Bad Man’ is an Internet phenomenon which has over 2 million hits on YouTube and has divided the Muslim community. He’s either in touch with the ‘yoof’ and talking about ‘their’ issues as a young, British Asian Muslim or he’s insulting Islam and Muslims and uses un-Islamic methods to portray his message.

The Revival has asked two of his followers to give their arguments regarding Diary of a Bad Man.

Diary of a very Bad Man By Samuel Iqbal

Promoting the ‘gangsta’ image, ladies not covered in accordance to the Shariah, loud, obnoxious and HARAAM music and showing Muslim parents in an ignorant and violent light. Is all this justified in pursuit of a pseudo-celebrity status?