Significance of Muharram
Posted in Events
Join Sh. Omar Subedar and Sh. Yusuf Badat this Sunday at Islamic Foundation of Toronto
from 1:15-4pm
Posted in Events
Join Sh. Omar Subedar and Sh. Yusuf Badat this Sunday at Islamic Foundation of Toronto
from 1:15-4pm
Posted in Daily Islam
By
Raveena Aulakh
Staff reporter
The Toronto Star
Islam does not condone domestic violence. The Qur’an does not sanction the idea of honour killings.
This is the loud and clear message from almost 60 prominent Muslim organizations, dozens of community leaders and activists from all over Canada, and a sermon that will be delivered from mosque pulpits next Friday even as the high-profile Shafia trial continues in Kingston.
“This is a call to action within the Muslim community,” said Samira Kanji, CEO of Noor Cultural Centre in Toronto. “We want to make sure that no one can cite Islam as validation over horrific crimes or rights over anyone else.”
It’s the first time since the London bombings in July 2005 that this many community leaders and organizations have come together in Canada to issue a statement and tackle a problem head-on.
The Shafia trial was one reason for “this call to action within the Muslim community,” said Kanji. “But it was a conglomeration of events.”
Domestic violence is a huge problem everywhere and the Muslim community has its share, she said. “But it’s important to tell people that Islam doesn’t sanction it.”
The Shafia trial has captured headlines nationwide.
The bodies of sisters Zainab, 19; Sahar, 17; and 13-year-old Geeti Shafia were discovered with their polygamist father’s first wife, Rona Amir Mohammad, 50, in a car in the Rideau Canal in June 2009.
The girls’ parents, Mohammad Shafia, 58, and Tooba Mohammad Yahya, 41, and their son Hamed Mohammad Shafia, 20, face first-degree murder charges.
In recent days, sordid details have unfolded in the case, including a wiretap in which Shafia, the girls’ father, was heard saying that even if he is hoisted to the gallows, nothing is more important than his honour.
“They betrayed us. They betrayed Islam. They betrayed everything,” Shafia says in the recorded conversation.
Accounts of the trial have been disturbing for Sikander Ziad Hashmi, imam at the Islamic Society of Canada in Kingston.
There should be no ambiguity about the position of the community about so-called honour killings, he said. “We needed to be clear … to tell everyone that this is wrong. Islam does not condone it.”
Among other things, the special sermon says, “Domestic violence and, in the extreme, practices such as killing to restore family honour violate clear and non-negotiable Islamic principles.”
Nobody should take what comes out of this trial as having its source in Islam, Hashmi added.
Many Canadians will recognize that the trial and its tragic nature are not representative of what mainstream Islam is about, said Ihsaan Gardee, executive director of Canadian Council on American Islamic Relations-Canada.
“It boils down to what it is: a horrific crime,” he said.
The common sermon next Friday is the first step in tackling the issue of domestic violence. Community leaders plan to make resources available for mediation, conflict resolution and domestic violence.
“We want to organize workshops at different mosques,” Kanji said. “Fighting this … is a firm commitment and we are giving it priority.”
Posted in Daily Islam
Before I genuinely began to cultivate and nurture my relationship with God, I regarded the five daily prayers that Islam enjoins on believers as laborious. It seemed impractical to expect that I would be able to stop what I was doing during my busy work schedule to take time out and pray.
Working as a news wire journalist, I was often spending upwards of 10 hours a day in the office or at conferences, interviews and meetings, barely able to make time for a lunch break. If I wasn’t working, my time was divided between house chores, errands, family and friends, and exercise. I was punctual with everything in my life, except that I was late five times a day.
In my mind, it was not viable to expect that I could wake up before the crack of dawn to pray the early-morning prayer, fajr, otherwise I would be too tired to work effectively later that morning. It also seemed inefficient to interrupt my work meetings to pray duhr, the mid-day prayer, and asr, the afternoon prayer.
Making the sunset prayer maghrib was often a challenge because the window to pray is typically quite short and coincides with the time between finishing work, having dinner and returning home. So, in effect, the only prayer that was feasible for me to pray on time was isha, the evening prayer. For most of my life, thus, I would at best pray all five prayers in the evening, or skip prayers here and there to accommodate my immediate commitments.
Posted in Daily Islam
“And indeed they have led many astray. And (O Allâh): ‘Grant no increase to the Zâlimûn (polytheists, wrong-doers, and disbelievers, etc.) save error.’ ”
Posted in Daily Islam
Prophet Muhammad (sallallaahu ’alayhi wa sallam) said,
“Whenever sexual permissiveness spreads among the people until it becomes declared, infections and killing diseases, as well as illnesses not previously found in their ancestors will spread among them”
(Narrated by Ibn Majah)
World Aids Day is observed today by the non muslims who dedicate this day for raising awareness about the deadly disease of Aids. Aids has killed more than 25 million people and more than 33.2 million people worldwide live with HIV, making AIDS one of the most destructive epidemics in the history of mankind. But just raising awareness about a certain thing is not the solution, but finding the root cause is. The Prophet (sallallaahu ’alayhi wa sallam) warned us about this and it is a clear sign for the whole world that if we move away from the teachings of Islaam than more deady plagues will occur.
In another Hadith which is reported by Malik, the Prophet (sallallaahu ’alayhi wa sallam) said, “Whenever adultery becomes a widespread phenomena among certain people, death will spread among them.” Islaam blocks all the roots that will lead to the problem of such deadly diseases. Allah says in the Qur’aan : “And come not near to Zina (fornication). Verily, it is a Fahisha (i.e. a great sin) and an evil way.”
(The Holy Qur’aan 17:32)
In the “so called modernization” we have left the teaching of Islaam but can we tihnk that we can get away with anyting, no we cannot! It will only invite the wrath of Allaah, “Verily, the punishment of your Lord is severe.” (The Noble Qur’aan 85:12)
Therefore let us learn from the pain and devastation of AIDS the lesson that the Hudood (limitations) set up by Allaah, the Almighty must be followed strictly.
Doesnt it hurt you that so many Non Muslims are dying daily because of Aids? Have you ever invited them to the Path of Allaah and shown them its benefits?
Please share this Hadith will everyone Non Muslim you can, Jazak’Allaah.
Posted in Daily Islam
What is Sunnah?
Sunnah according to AL-Mawrid Institute of Islamic Sciences
Literally means well trodden path(Tariqah) in Arabic.
Are those Abrahamic practices and rituals that were adopted and revived (Hajj) by the Prophet Mohammad (pbuh), in some cases after modifications (Fatiha in salaah) and additions (Eidayaan), and instituted among his followers as integral part of God’s religion.
Sunnan have been transferred and established by the Prophet Mohammad (pbuh), through practical demonstration to his Companions.
From the companions, these practices have been transmitted uninterrupted through successive generations of Muslims with consensus and practical perpetuation to date.
They have reached us through the same mechanism of history. The Qur’an has reached us by verbal (documentary) transmission whilst the Sunnah by practical transmission.
What is Hadith?
Hadith literally means a saying or something new. In Islamic terminology, it is defined as the individual-to-individual narratives ascribed to the Prophet (pbuh) regarding his sayings, actions, expressed or tacit approvals, his life history and personal description.
It includes
Life history of Prophet Mohammad (pbuh), including his meetings with people, important events in his time e.g. Holy wars as narrated by his followers.
Record of the Prophet Mohammad’s (pbuh) everyday life, rituals and routines, these are those things that he liked but did not authorise their initiation as essential part of religion. These records reveal the Prophet’s (pbuh) excellent example (Uswa Al Hasana) in carrying out the directives of Islam.
Record of answers to questions and explanations given by the Prophet (pbuh) to his followers.
Record of any explanations about commandments in the Qur’an and the Sunnah by the Prophet (pbuh) to his followers
is the practice of formal prayer in Islam. Its supreme importance for Muslims is indicated by its status as the second of the Five Pillars of Islam.
is the giving of a fixed portion of one's wealth to charity, generally to the poor and needy. It is the fourth of the Five Pillars of Islam.
www.1loveislam.com/zakat
is the pilgrimage to Mecca, Saudi Arabia. It is the largest pilgrimage in the world, and is the fifth pillar of Islam. A religious duty that must be carried out at least once in their lifetime by every able-bodied Muslim who can afford to do so.
is an Arabic word for fasting. Meaning to abstain from eating, drinking, having sex and anything against Islamic law from dawn till dusk. The observance of Sawm during the holy month of Ramadan is the third of the Five Pillars of Islam.
