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179

In the name of Allah most gracious most merciful.

Islam and Rerrorism

Written by: Sk Abd-Razzag Taher Farih

Translated by: Dr. Faheem Bukhatwa

17 Shawal 1437.

22 July 2016

Dearly beloved,

Dearly beloved in Allah,

Islam is a great gift and a tremendous mercy, and Islam is the faith or religion which Allah Has accepted for the entire humanity. In fact, Islam has also been defined and accepted by Allah as the faith and religion for those inhabiting the heavens. Allah says in His Quran: {As far as Allah is concerned, Islam is the religion}3:19. Allah the Almighty also says: {whosoever seeks a religion other than Islam, then it will not be accepted from them, and he will be a loser in the hereafter} 3:85.

Every single prophet and messenger was sent by Allah with the message of Islam. Starting with prophet Noah to our prophet Muhammad ppbu, the last and the seal of all prophets and messengers may peace and prayers be upon them all.

So, whosoever gets associated with Islam, and cherishes Islam then Allah will honour them in this life and will be with the people of paradise in the life after. Allah says that disbelievers seek out pride and honour by their denial and by worshiping other than Allah; and for that Allah shames and humiliates them. Allah says: {And they have chosen (other) Gods beside Allah that they may give them become honour and dignity for them. (81) Nay, but they will deny their worship of them, and become opponents against them. (82)} 19:81-82

While the hypocrites and those with sick hearts; those who from within are with the unbelievers; while on the outside they pretend to be with the Muslims; but Allah knows what’s inside their hearts. They sought power by giving support and loyalty to the unbelievers but Allah consequently humiliated them. Allah says: {Those who chose the disbelievers for their support and loyalty instead of the believers! Do they seek honour and power at their hands? All power and honour belong to Allah.} 4:139. Allah ordered His messenger ppbu to promise them a painful punishment. Allah says: {Let the hypocrites know that for them there is a painful chastisement or punishment} 4:138.

Our religion is the true religion, Whosoever is proud with it then Allah will grant them pride and power. Our religion is the religion of mercy, religion of justice and a religion that calls for balance and condemns extremism. This religion is the Islamic religion, the religion of Allah, the whole and complete; that is free from any omissions, free of any faults or any imperfections. It is an atrocious injustice for Islam to be accused with terrorism, or to be accused with backwardness or with extremism, and to the rest of the accusations thrown at Islam from all sides. Islam is absolutely innocent from all such accusations. We all know with certainty that Islam is a religion that does not ever embrace or adopt terrorism. In fact Islam denies and condemns all sorts and types of terrorism which is perpetrated by a Muslim or a non-Muslim. Dearly beloved, almost at every TV station you would see and hear about Islamic terrorism. This who kills in the name of religion or in the name of terrorism. Anyone who commits a murder, does that in his/her own name and not in the name of a religion. Terrorism is terrorising or murdering innocent civilians regardless of their ethnicity or race or association or what land they come from. Allah alone is the one who gave life to humanity. That is a great right which no one has the right to violate its sanctity, or to infringe its protection limits. Allah says: {whosoever kills a human life; for other than a life or corruption in the earth, it shall be as if he had killed all mankind, and whosoever saves a life, it shall be as if he had saved the life of all mankind} 5:32. The messenger ppbu said: {a believer still has a bit of a leeway or space as long as he has not killed someone}

Dearly beloved in Allah, Islam is a faith for the entire world. Allah says: {We only sent you as a mercy to all mankind (or to the entire world)} 21:107. Also, slaves of Allah, for a Muslim, caring and safeguarding this religion is not an option. In fact it is a heavy burden upon every Muslim; as the messenger ppbu said: {tell or inform others about me, even with as little as one verse}. Ask yourself, what have you done for your religion? The best service you can do for your religion today is to give a practical testimony reflecting the good morals of Islam and reflecting the Islamic behaviour and its true deeds and generosity. Allah says: {Say: This is my Way: I call on Allah with clear knowledge. I and whosoever follows me} 12:108. Ebn Qayem said that a man can only be considered with the followers of the prophet ppbu when he preaches what the prophet ppbu preached with clarity and knowledge.

Dearly beloved, our duty towards this religion is to take action for this religion with truthfulness and honesty in order to show the people in this land the greatness of this religion; which is being misrepresented and badly distorted by the media with the motive or intention to cause setback for Islam.

Listen to how our prophet ppbu interacted with Quraish after ten years of tyranny, affliction, oppression and torture he and his followers received from the people of Mecca. On the day when Muslims won back Mecca, Saad Ben Obadah said: We came to you with butchery. Today is the day of slaughter. When the messenger ppbu was told about Saad’s words, he said: {No, by Allah, Saad has lied. In fact today is the day of mercy. O people of Mecca, what would you say I am going to do with you?} They said: You are a noble man, and brother of a noble man, and the nephew of a noble man. The prophet said to them: {go, you are free}. This is the mercy in Islam, and justice in Islam. Islam calls for balance and moderation, and it does not call for exaggeration or extremism.

Dearly beloved I remind each and every one who has a heart, or can hear and comprehend (or soak in) what they hear, whatever place you have in society, either living here permanently or on a temporary stay, at a university or at a school, I remind us all that we shall be asked when standing before Allah; whether we delivered Allah’s message to the people in this land. Some of us might say: “I do not speak a good English; so how could I inform others about this religion?”. Listen to what Omar Ebn-Khattab may Allah be pleased with him as he said: “Inform or make dawa in silence”. He was asked: How? He said: “With your morals”.

And along the same theme here is another story. There were two Muslim friends studying in Britain. They both spoke Arabic and English. When they were together the conversed in Arabic, and whenever a British friend approached them they switched to speaking English. Their friend noticed that and asked them for the reason. They said to him: Our prophet ppbu warned us against speaking in a language which a third but present person cannot understand. He said to them: your prophet is a very cultured and mannered person. Six months later he became a Muslim. He concentrated on studying Islam. He was reported saying: the first thing that touched my heart is the beautiful taste Islam has regarding interacting with others.

We have a beautiful religion; all we need to do is practice it well. Religion is deeds and interactions; not just words.

Notes:

Adhan - The call to prayer.

Ahmad (Ahmed)- Another name for the messenger Muhammad (PPBU).

Allah - The Arabic word for "god." It is often used as a name for God in Islam.

Ansar (or Al-Ansar): The inhabitants of the city of Al-Medina that received and supported the messenger (PPBU) when he immigrated from Mekkah in the very early years of Islam.

Assalam Alaikum - The Islamic greeting, literately means: Peace be with you. Used when approaching or leaving. When used during approaching it will be like saying: I bring no harm to you . and when said during leaving somebody it will mean: No harm will come to you after I leave.

Aya (or Ayah): is a verse of the Koran. It also means a miracle or a sign from God.

Arafa (or Arafah or Arafat): is a mountain outside the city of Mecca that represents the climax of the Hajj worship. All doing Hajj must stay at this location on the same day.

Badr - The place of the first significant battle between the Muslims and the pagans of the Quraish. It is located in Saudi Arabia.

Caliph - A Muslim ruler. See: (Khalifa)

Dajjal - Antichrist or the False Massiah.

Dawah - The proliferation of Islamic teachings through word and deed.

Deen (Din) - Religion or way of life.

Duaa: a prayer in the form of talking to Allah; praising him and asking him for help.

Fatwa - Legal verdict given based on the Qur'an (Koran) and the Sunnah which are the recorded sayings and deeds of Muhammad.

Ferdose: is the highest level of the all the gardens of Eden or paradise.

Fiqh - Religious law.

Hadeeth: is something reported that the messenger have said. It includes all the speeches and ceremonies he gave. It is usually narrated or told by one of his companions. There is a list of hadeeths approximately 14000 that are reported and checked to be genuine. No more hadeeths are acceptably added to this list.

Hajar - The Black Stone set into the corner of the Ka'aba in Mecca. It is said to be a stone from Heaven.

Hajj - The pilgrimage to Mecca which takes place in the last month of the Islamic calendar. One of the five pillars of Islam.

Hasana or hasanas: is the reward for a good deed. a hasana is a point or a merit for a good deed.

Hadith - The sayings and not deeds of the prophet Muhammad recorded by his followers. Considered authoritative and perfect.

Hajj: is the worship of pilgrimage.

Hijra (or Hejrah): the event of the immigration of the messenger from Mekkah to Madina. This event marks the start of the Islamic calendar. the Islamic calendar has 12 months based on the lunar cycle, each is 29.5 days. Hijra is also used as a name for the Islamic dating system.

Ibadah - Worship. All the words and deeds with which Allah is pleased. These deeds could be prayer and charity.

Iblis - (Ibleese): On of Satan's names.

Ibn (Ebn): the son of. Used by Arabs as part of an individual's name. Example: Ali whose father is Omar or the son of Omar, would be called: Ali Ibn Omar.

Imam (or Emam)- The leader for a prayer. In the Shiaa sect, an Imam is the individual who has the religious authority.

Iman: belief or faith

Injil (Enjeel) - The Bible. The book inspired to Jesus for the Christians.

Islam - Submission, the religion of all the prophets of Allah culminating in Muhammad.

Jannah - The heavenly garden, Paradise. The place of the faithful in the afterlife.

Jihad: is striving in the line of Allah in many forms. Includes a very wide scope varying from improving oneself to fighting a defensive war in protection of Allah's word. The greatest Jihad is the fight one's self against temptations. It also means "holy war."

Jinn - Supernatural, invisible beings race of beings, below angels. They were made from fire. Like humans, there amongst them are the faithful and the non beleivers and Jinn shall be judged on Judgment Day.

Ka'aba: A cube shaped building in Mecca containing a stone laid there by Abraham and Ishmael. Some say Ka'aba was first built by Adam, and some say by Abraham. It is the holiest place for Muslims. It is where all Muslims face in their daily prayers. Ka'aba also makes a major part of the pilgrimage in a ritual known as Tawaf.

Khalifa: is the Muslim ruler. Head of the Islamic empire. Exact translation: "Successor".

Khutbah - A sermon given in a Mosque, usually on Friday.

Kufr - Denial or Disbelief. A term Muslims use for anyone who denies existence of Allah or the prophecy of Muhammed.

Koran - Also spelled Qur'an. The holy book of Islam revealed to Muhammad by Allah through the Archangel Gabriel. Koran literally means "the recital." It is the final revelation of Allah given to the prophet Muhammad. It consists of 114 surahs (or chapters.)

Madinah - (Medinah): A city in the Arabian peninsula (in the country known now as Saudi Arabia). A city where the messenger had to immigrate to. Then it was called Yathrib.

Masjid - A center for Muslim activity. It is referred to as a mosque.

Masiah - A sin, or a sinful act

Mecca or Makkah: is the holiest city for Muslims. It contains the Ka'aba mosque with the famous black cubical shape. Mecca is the birth place of the messenger (PPBU).

Mosque - A Muslim house of worship.

Muhajir - (Muhajireen) Immigrant, one who leaves his home town due to lack of religious freedom. It was first used to describe early Muslims immigrating from Mecca to Median and Ethiopia.

Muhammad - the final messenger and prophet of God whose message abrogated all previous revelations. He received the Koran through the angel Gabriel over a 23 year period. Born in Mecca and died in Medina at the age of 63. His full name: Muhammad ibn Abd-Allah

Muslim - One who holds faith to the religion of Islam.

Nafilah: a voluntary prayer other than the five obligatory prayers; performed at any time.

Nasara - Christians. Nasrani: A Christian individual. Nasraniah: Christianity.

Ommah: is the Arabic word for a nation. It usually refers to the Islamic nation unless otherwise specified.

Paradise - Another word for heaven. A garden of bliss, fruits, rivers and all forms of pleasures imaginable and imaginable. No suffering, disease or death. Service is provided by angels. All live in it an ever lasting youthful life. Promised by Almighty Allah to all faithful, true Jews, true Christians and True Muslims. Paradise is one of two places every person will go to, either Paradise or Hellfire.

PPBU (P.B.U.H.) : Peace and Prayers Be Upon him. A statement Muslims use any time they mention the name of the messenger or make a reference to him.

Qadar - Fate. Preordainment is the teaching that all things, good and bad, are preordained to occur.

Qadr - (night of Qadr): The night when the first revelation of the Koran took place. Most likely it happened during one of the last ten nights of the month of Ramadan. Or when the Koran was brought down to the nearest heaven in one go, and from there it was brought down in bits and few verses at a time over a period of 23 years. This night is considered the holiest night for Muslims with tremendous advantages.

Qibla - The direction which Muslims turn for daily prayers, towards Mecca.

Quraish - An ancient Arab tribe to which the messenger Muhammad belonged.

Ramadan - The ninth month of the Islamic calendar which is the month of the fast. The holiest month in the Muslim colander.

Salat - Prayers. Generally it covers all forms of worship, but more specifically refers to the Muslim rituals which is performed to worship Allah five times daily.

Shiaa: A sect of Islam that teaches that a religion leader (Imam) should be the political ruler and must be direct descendants of the messenger (PPBU). Therefore, disapproving of all Muslim leaders who ruled After the messenger (PPBU) except Ali, the messenger's grandson.

Shirk - Associating another god with Allah. Or associating anyone or anything with Allah. Or using anyone or anything as a medium to Allah. The opposite of Monotheism or Tawheed.

Siam or Soam- Fasting

Sunni: is a the title of those Muslims who are suppose to be following the life style of the messenger. This differentiates them from the Shiaa of Iran.

Sunna (Sunnah): Is how the Messenger PPBU lived, what he did or said. It includes the way he dressed, ate, drank, prayed, interacted with other people and fought. Basically, sunnah is the life style of the messenger PPBU. It is considered the second source of legislation in Islamic laws and it is considered to be an important reference to be used for concluding arguments and disputes. It is also a title give to the main stream Muslims who make 90% if all Muslims.

Surah - A chapter of the Koran.

Tawaf: part of the pilgrimage (Hajj) ritual. It involves walking round the Ka'aba Mosque in anti-clock wise direction a number of seven circles.

Tauhid - Tawheed - Monotheism, in Islam is the teaching that there is only one God who alone is worthy of worship. The first requirement of becoming a Muslim. It is included in the testimony of faith for new Muslims when declaring that God is one: (No God but Allah)

Taqwah - Proper fear and veneration of Allah. A divine spark that enables the person to understand God.

Taurat: The old Testaments and scriptures of Mosa.

Ummah - the word means: a Nation. Usually refers to the Islamic nation unless otherwise stated.

Umrah - (Amrah): A mini hajj. A Minor form of pilgrimage to Mecca. Unlike Hajj which can only be done on the 12th month of the Islamic year, Umrah can be performed at any time.

Wathoo (wadoo): a washing up ritual done by Muslims before each of the five daily prayers known as ablution.

Zaboor - The Psalms

Zakat - The third pillar of Islam. Alms giving, charity that is given to the poor.

Faheem Bukhatwa, my email address is : faheemfb@gmail.com