Osama Siddiqui is a spoken word artist hailing from Markham City, Canada. He has performed at numerous events and competitions. For booking inquiries, please contact Osama at osama.siddique@live.ca

This is the Front Face of the Building

A group of Indonesian architectures designed the building
Look sharply, you will see the phrases: Laa ilaaha illa Allah and Muhammad Rasul Allah on the body

Recently, Indonesia built this new mosque in Alayrsyad in a space area of 970 square meters.
.display Alayrsyad

Outer casing classical and modern architecture of the building is designed perfectly.
Also, bright with comforting halls especially for praying and performing Islamic obligations have been designed in the internal courtyard of the mosque and is clearly displayed.

Take a look at this mosque! Does it give you a feeling of talking with Allah

Narrated Abu Huraira: The Prophet (p.b.u.h) said,

“Whoever performs Hajj for Allah’s pleasure and does not have sexual relations with his wife, and does not do evil or sins then he will return (after Hajj free from all sins) as if he were born anew.”
{Bukhari :: Volume 2 :: Book 26 :: Hadith 596}

The Messenger of Allah صلى الله عليه وسلم said:

“The Winter is the believer’s best season. The nights are long for him to stand in them (in prayer) and its days are short for him to fast in them.”

Do Muslims have a place in American society? Is Islam compatible with American ideas? The truth is Muslims helped build the ideas America is based on in the first place.

Today’s American political landscape can be quite a confusing and frighting place. The ideas of the Founding Fathers are commonly cited as the foundation of the nation. The Declaration of Independence and the Constitution are seen as the infallible documents on which American life are based. Freedom, democracy, and liberty are the cornerstones of political and social ideas in the United States.

At the same time, however, the rising tide of Islamophobia is making its presence felt. Politicians support the characterization of Islamic life as incompatible with American society. Media “pundits” decry the supposed influence Muslims are having on destroying the basis of American political and social ideas.

The truly ironic part of this is that Muslims in fact helped formulate the ideas that the United States is based on. While this article will not argue that Islam and Muslims are the only cause of the American Revolution, the impact that Muslims had on the establishment of America is clear and should not be overlooked.

Islamic Philosophy and the Enlightenment

The political and social ideas that caused the American colonists to revolt against the British Empire were formulated in a movement known as the Enlightenment. The Enlightenment was an intellectual movement that argued that science and reason should be the basis of human society, not blind following of monarchs and church authority. On July 4th, 1776, in Philadelphia  the American revolutionaries signed the Declaration of Independence, a document written by Thomas Jefferson and heavily influenced by the Enlightenment that made official their break from Great Britain and the establishment of the United States of America.

The Enlightenment was driven by a group of European philosophers and scientists who were going against the prevailing ideas of governance in Europe at the time. Among these thinkers were people such as John Locke, René Descartes, Isaac Newton and Montesquieu.

John Locke

John Locke, an Englishman who lived from 1632 to 1704, promoted some of the most influential ideas of the Enlightenment. He pioneered the idea that humans are naturally good, and are corrupted by society or government to becoming deviant. Locke described this idea in his An Essay Concerning Human Understanding as the tabula rasa, a Latin phrase meaning blank slate. The idea was not original to him, however. In fact, Locke directly took the idea from a Muslim philosopher from the 1100s, Ibn Tufail. In Ibn Tufail’s book, Hayy ibn Yaqdhan, he describes an identical idea about how humans act as a blank slate, absorbing experiences and information from their surroundings.

John Locke borrowed many of his Enlightenment ideas from the Muslim philosopher, Ibn Tufail

The same idea manifests itself in the life of Prophet Muhammad (Peace Be Upon Him). He stated that “No child is born except on the fitra.” Fitra here can be defined as the natural, pure state of a person. According to Islamic thought, all humans are born in a natural state of purity, with belief in one God, and that as they grow older, they adopt the ideas and beliefs of the people around them, particularly their parents. This is the intellectual forerunner of the tabula rasa that Locke learned from Ibn Tufail.

Through Locke, this concept will influence the political idea that humans should not be constrained by an oppressive and intolerant government. His ideas, which he borrowed from Ibn Tufail, end up forming a cornerstone of America’s revolutionary ideas that the colonists in America would be much better off if they were not under the oppressive British government. Locke further expanded on the subject by describing something he called the social contract. In this social contract theory, the people must consent to be ruled by a government that in turn agrees to protect the natural rights of its citizens.

This same concept is also seen in 1377 in the Muqaddimah of the great Muslim historian and sociologist, Ibn Khaldun. In it, he states “The concomitants of good rulership are kindness to, and protection of, one’s subjects. The true meaning of royal authority is realized when a ruler defends his subjects.” Here Ibn Khaldun is explaining one of the main political ideas of the Enlightenment, 300 years before Locke proposes the same argument: that a government must defend, not infringe on, the rights of its citizens. Later, in 1776, the preamble of the Declaration of Independence stated a similar argument: “Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed”.

John Locke also pioneered the concept of natural rights: the idea that humans all have a set of God-given rights that should not be taken away by any government. In the Declaration of Independence, this is stated as “…they [men] are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness”.

While most American and European textbooks promote this as a unique “Western” idea, the truth is that it is far older than John Locke and Thomas Jefferson. Again, in the Muqaddimah, Ibn Khaldun explains: “Those who infringe upon property commit an injustice. Those who deny people their rights commit an injustice.” He goes on to explain that this leads to the destruction of a state, and cites examples from the life of the Prophet (Peace Be Upon Him) where he forbade injustice. The concepts that a Muslim government should not infringe upon rights was very clear in Islamic law and was a well-accepted idea throughout Muslim empires.

Other Philosophers

Other Enlightenment philosophers were heavily influenced by earlier Muslims and Islamic ideas. Without going into great detail, the following are some examples:

Isaac Newton was greatly influenced by Ibn al-Haytham, the Muslim scientist who pioneered the scientific method, optics, and the laws of motion. In Europe, Ibn al-Haytham was well known as were his ideas about science and philosophy. Isaac Newton borrowed from Ibn al-Haytham the idea that there are natural laws that run the universe (an idea first proposed by Caliph al-Ma’mun as his rationale for establishing the House of Wisdom in Baghdad). Later Enlightenment philosophers used the idea of natural laws to support concepts of natural rights, the government’s role, and economic systems. All of these ideas influenced the Founding Fathers of America who cited them as the basis of the United States.

Montesquieu is usually cited as the first to propose the ideas of separation of government into several branches. During his time in Europe, monarchs held absolute power and shared control of the state with no one. The Muslim world had historically never run in such a way. While caliphs in the Umayyad and Abbasid Empires held most of the power, there also existed the idea of shura, which was a council whose job it was to advise the caliph. In those governments there also existed ministers who carried out tasks under the supervision of the monarch. Perhaps the most important however, were the qadis, or judges, who formed a legal system based on Islamic law and were independent of the ruling caliph. This system of government was well known in Europe from the Muslim European states in Spain and Sicily.

Coffee

All of the philosophical ideas already mentioned would not have had much effect if it were not for a curious black drink that came out of the Muslim world – coffee.

During the Middle Ages in Europe, the drink of choice was alcohol. In France and other areas that grew grapes, wine was the dominant drink, while beer and ale were popular further north. Drinking water was actually rare, as it was believed that alcoholic beverages were cleaner than water and more filling. The result of this belief was constant drunkenness among the European population.

In Yemen in the middle of the 1400s, a new drink was beginning to become quite popular that was made from coffee beans. The Yemenis were roasting and then boiling coffee beans in water to produce a drink that was rich in caffeine, a stimulant that causes the body to have more energy and the brain to think more clearly. Through the 1400s and 1500s, coffee spread through the Muslim world, and coffee shops began to pop up in major cities. These coffee shops became a center of urban society, as people met there to socialize and enjoy the company of others.

A British coffeehouse in the 1700s

By the 1600s, these coffee houses had spread to Europe as well. Although there was initial resistance to drinking a “Muslim drink” in Christian Europe, the beverage caught on. The coffeehouses became a central aspect of the Enlightenment, particularly in France. Whereas previously Europeans had been drinking alcohol regularly, they now met in coffee houses, where they discussed philosophy, government, politics, and others ideas that were the cornerstones of the Enlightenment. French Enlightenment philosophers such as Diderot, Voltaire, and Rousseau were all regular customers at the coffeehouses of Paris.

Were it not for this drink from the Muslim lands, Europe might never have had the Enlightenment, as the philosophers would never have met to discuss ideas, nor had the mental clarity (due to alcohol consumption) to think philosophically.

How Did This All Lead to Revolution?

As previously stated, the American Revolution was a direct effect of the European Enlightenment. The theories of rights, government, and the human self that were the basis of Enlightenment took form in 1700s at the hands of great minds such as Locke, Newton, and Montesquieu. They, however, borrowed their ideas from earlier Muslim philosophers such as Ibn Tufail, Ibn Sina, Ibn Khaldun. Were it not for their ideas which were rooted in Islam, the Enlightenment may not have been as insightful, or may not have even happened. Added to this was the effect that coffee had on Europe in giving the philosophers a forum to expand their ideas and learn new ones.

The signing of the Declaration of Independence in 1776 in Philadelphia

Without the Enlightenment, the American colonists never would have had the intellectual backing they needed to revolt. The ideas of freedom, liberty, and human rights that America is founded on are originally Muslim ideas formulated by Muslim philosophers working with the Quran and hadith as their basis. While it is not accurate to claim that Muslims single-handedly caused the American Revolution, their contributions and influences cannot be overlooked. Those who claim that Islamic ideas are not compatible with American society must remember that it was those Islamic ideas that helped form American society, freedom, and liberty in the first place.

Bibliography:

Khaldūn, I. (1969). The muqaddimah, an introduction to history. Bollingen.

Morgan, M. (2007). Lost history. Washington D.C. : National Geographic Society.

Russell, G. A. (1994). The ‘arabick’ interest of the natural philosophers in seventeenth-century england. Brill Publishers.

FULL ARTICLE

Abu Hurairah (May Allaah be pleased with him) reported:

I heard the Messenger of Allah (Sallallaahu ‘alaihi wasallam) saying:
“There is a Surah in the Qur’an which contains thirty Ayat which kept interceding for a man until his sins are forgiven. This Surah is

`Blessed is He in Whose Hand is the dominion.’
(Surat Al-Mulk 67).”[At-Tirmidhi and Abu Dawud]

http://halalfoodie.ca/foodie-directory/

The Messenger of Allah (Peace and Blessings be upon him) said, “Do you know who is bankrupt?” They replied, “Bankrupt among us is he who has no dirham or property.” He said, “Verily, the one who is bankrupt from my Ummah is he who will come on the Day of Resurrection with prayer, fasting and Zakat that he performed. However, he had cursed this person, falsely accused that person, ate up the property of another person, shed the blood of another person and beaten another person. So, this person will be given from his righteous deeds, and that person will be given from his righteous deeds. If his righteous deeds finish before his account is paid in full, sins from their records will be transferred from them to him, and he will then be thrown in the Fire.” Hadith Muslim

SubhanaaALLAHI wa bihamdihi. SubhanaaALLAHI al alatheem.

There, a tree has just been planted for you in Paradise.
How easy do you want it? Stay blessed, and keep planting.

-Abu Hafsa Abdul Malik Claire

بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم

Excuse # 1: I am too busy with Work

Some people delay Hajj because they say they can’t find time to take off from work. But don’t they see the very fact that they didn’t take time out for Hajj is the reason why Allaah kept them so busy with work?

The Prophet (Sal Allaahu Alaiyhi wa Sallam) said: “Allaah says: ‘Son of Adam: Fill your time with My worship and I will fill your heart with richness, and end off your poverty. But if you don’t, I would make your hands fully busy (i.e. in worldly affairs) and I would not end off your poverty.'” (At-Tirmidhi- hasan)

And he (Sal Allaahu Alaiyhi wa Sallam) said:
“Verily Allaah tests His servant with what He has given him. So whoever is content with whatever he has been assigned, then Allaah will bless him in it, and give him more! But whoever is not content (with what he has been given), then he will not be blessed in it.” (Ahmad-saheeh).

If you make your intention sincerely for the sake of Allaah and do your best to take time from work, Allah will provide it for you.

وَمَن يَتَّقِ اللَّهَ يَجْعَل لَّهُ مَخْرَجًا

وَيَرْزُقْهُ مِنْ حَيْثُ لَا يَحْتَسِبُ وَمَن يَتَوَكَّلْ عَلَى اللَّهِ فَهُوَ حَسْبُهُ إِنَّ اللَّهَ بَالِغُ أَمْرِهِ قَدْ جَعَلَ اللَّهُ لِكُلِّ شَيْءٍ قَدْرًا

“And whoever fears Allaah, He will make for him an easy way out and provide for him sustenance from sources he could never imagine. Whoever places his reliance upon Allaah, Allaah will suffice Him. Indeed Allaah is one who can achieve His purpose and He has appointed a measure for everything.” (Talaq:2-3)

Excuse # 2: I am not spiritually ready

Some people say I am not spiritually strong, I am not much of a believer and thus not ready to go or they say I think I should only do Hajj when I have figured out Salah and Zakah and I am practicing Islaam fully…
Don’t you see? That is the whispering of the Shaytaan in your heart. He does not want you to go and earn all the reward and Jannah.

All you have to do is to make the intention, try hard to improve yourself, put your trust in Him and surely He will guide you.

وَالَّذِينَ جَاهَدُوا فِينَا لَنَهْدِيَنَّهُمْ سُبُلَنَا وَإِنَّ اللَّهَ لَمَعَ الْمُحْسِنِينَ

“And (as for) those who strive hard for Us, We will most certainly guide them in Our ways; and Allah is most surely with the doers of good.” [Ankabut:69]

We all know people who weren’t fully practicing Muslims prior to making the Hajj, yet once they came back from Hajj they went under this amazing transformation and Alhamdulillah they are now practicing fully.

So don’t think like that, just go.

Excuse # 3: Yeah, insha Allah next year…..next year…..then next year

Subhaan Allah, some people have no excuse not to go for Hajj. Yet when you ask them when they are going, they say “Insha Allah next year”. But somehow that ‘next year’ never comes.

Don’t be like those people. Make your intention to go for Hajj NOW. Don’t even wait till tomorrow. Do it now and prepare for this journey, while you have the ability. For you never know when death will overtake you or some other trial may befall you that will unable you to go.

The Prophet (Sal Allaahu Alaiyhi wa Sallam) said:
“Take advantage of five before five: Your youth before your old age, your health before your sickness, your wealth before your poverty, your free time before you become occupied, and your life before your death.” (Bukhaari)

Ali, radhiAllaahu ‘anhu, once stood at the head of a grave and said to his companion, “If he had a chance to return to this life, what do you think he would do?” His companion replied, “He would do nothing but good deeds.” Ali (RA) then said, “If it is not going to be him, then let it be you.”

Excuse # 4: When Allah wants me to come, He will call me

Sure, guidance is in Allah’s Hands. That is true. Yet you have to work hard to qualify for that guidance. Remember that Allah will not throw the guidance in your lap from up above. It is YOU who has to make the effort. Just like if you are hungry… Allah will not throw the food down from the sky. You have to get up and cook that food.

Allah orders us to make that effort. Allah says:

يَا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آمَنُواْ اتَّقُواْ اللّهَ وَابْتَغُواْ إِلَيهِ الْوَسِيلَةَ وَجَاهِدُواْ فِي سَبِيلِهِ لَعَلَّكُمْ تُفْلِحُونَ

“O you who believe! Be careful of (your duty to) Allah and seek means of nearness to Him and strive hard in His way that you may be successful.” [Surah Maidah:35]

Excuse # 5: It’s too much hard work

Do you realize how much hard work we do for the dunya?

Most of our lives we spend working hard for our studies, our livelihood, our families, our businesses, and we can’t bear to work hard for the Aakhirah? Sure, Hajj is hard work but then, isn’t Jannah worth it?

The Prophet (Sal Allaahu Alaiyhi wa Sallam) said:
“The reward of Hajj Mabrur is nothing but Jannah.” (Bukhari and Muslim)

وَمَنْ أَرَادَ الآخِرَةَ وَسَعَى لَهَا سَعْيَهَا وَهُوَ مُؤْمِنٌ فَأُولَئِكَ كَانَ سَعْيُهُم مَّشْكُورًا

“And whoever desires the Hereafter and strives for it as he ought to strive and he is a believer; (as for) these, their striving shall surely be accepted.” [al-Israa‘:19]

‘Umar ibn al-Khattaab is quoted as saying, “I seek Allaah’s protection from the time when the ‘fasiq’ or disobedient will have much energy and enthusiasm and the righteous will be lazy.”

Excuse # 6: It takes too long

Some people use the length of time they have to take off for Hajj as an excuse each year for delaying or not going.

But think about it. How long does it take?! Just 2-3 weeks at max! Or even less than that. Come on… haven’t we taken that much time off for vacations?!

Remember, planning is everything. If you plan ahead of time for Hajj, you can save up your vacation time and use it for the most important journey of your life. Or you cam just choose an express Hajj package (about 10 days).

And also keep in mind that the stay in Madinah is not a part of Hajj.

Excuse # 7: It’s too hot

Heat and cold are all relative. Remember the battle of Tabuk. That’s when the Prophet (sal Allaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam ) rallied his troops for a long and exhaustive trip that, back then, would have taken them months. All that heat and all that hard work didn’t stop the Sahaabah from fighting in the path of Allaah. But the hypocrites…they were another story. They backed out of the fight and turned away from the Prophet (Sal Allaahu Alayhi wa sallam) at the last minute because they said: “It’s too hot”.

You know what Allah said to tell them? He said:

قُلْ نَارُ جَهَنَّمَ أَشَدُّ حَرًّا لَّوْ كَانُوا يَفْقَهُونَ

“The FIRE of HELL is even HOTTER; if they only understood!” (Tauba:81)

Excuse # 8: I’ll wait until my kids are older/get married

Some Muslims might delay Hajj and give themselves time by saying, “Let me wait till my kids are older, or till my daughter gets married, and their daughter may only be 5 years old!

Let me wait till I do this , let me wait till I do that.”

This is also just a way of procrastination and nothing else. Remember that hajj is an obligation in Islaam. It is fardh upon you. If you have the means and the ability, and you have not yet done your obligatory hajj, the ulama say that it is better for you to do Hajj first, rather than delaying it, if your kids are young.

The Prophet (sal Allaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam ) said, “Race to good deeds before a time and a fitnah comes, (a test) that will sweep over you like the darkest of the darkest nights.”

Obviously, for the one whose kids are of marriageable age and he has just enough money for either Hajj or marriage, the Ulama say:

“If there is a conflict between the father’s Hajj and the son’s (or daughter) getting married, because the father only has enough money for one of them, then he should see whether his son’s marriage is essential right now, or can it be delayed? If the son needs to get married and fears that he may do something haraam, then getting him married takes precedence over the father’s doing Hajj.” (http://www.islamqa.com/)

So beware of lame excuses and get rid of them. If you haven’t performed your hajj yet, it’s not too late…even now. There are still openings in the various Hajj groups and it’s not too late. Go ahead and make your niyyah for Hajj and insha Allah, He will take care of the rest of your affairs.

The Prophet (sal Allaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam ) advised a man:

“Pray your prayer as if it is your last, as if you are seeing Him (Allah), for even if you do not see Him then He sees you. And give up hope (of obtaining) what other’s possess, then you will live a rich life. And beware of anything that you might (later) have to make an excuse for.” (Bukhari in his al-Tarikh, and al-Tabarani-saheeh)

so beautiful ,simplicity at best
wish it looked this simple in our time.

رضيت بالله ربا وبالاسلام دينا
وبمحمد صلى الله عليه وسلم نبيا ورسول

Radhitu billahi Rabba
Wa bil Islami deena
Wa bimuhammadin salla Allahu ‘alayhi wa sallam
Nabiyyan wa Rasoola

I’ve accepted Allah as my Lord
And Islam as my way of life
And Muhammad – may Allah’s peace & blessings be upon him
As Allah’s Prophet and Messenger

And recite, [O Muhammad], what has been revealed to you of the Book of your Lord. There is no changer of His words, and never will you find in other than Him a refuge.

And keep yourself patient [by being] with those who call upon their Lord in the morning and the evening, seeking His countenance. And let not your eyes pass beyond them, desiring adornments of the worldly life, and do not obey one whose heart We have made heedless of Our remembrance and who follows his desire and whose affair is ever [in] neglect.

And say, “The truth is from your Lord, so whoever wills – let him believe; and whoever wills – let him disbelieve.” Indeed, We have prepared for the wrongdoers a fire whose walls will surround them. And if they call for relief, they will be relieved with water like murky oil, which scalds [their] faces. Wretched is the drink, and evil is the resting place.

Indeed, those who have believed and done righteous deeds – indeed, We will not allow to be lost the reward of any who did well in deeds.[18:27 – 18:30]

The Prophet (Sallallähu alaihi wa sallam) said: “On the Day of Resurrection, my followers will be called “Al-Ghurr-ul-Muhajjalun” from the trace of ablution (wudhu) and whoever can increase the area of his radiance should do so (i.e. by performing ablution regularly).’ ”

[Bukhari 0138]