Who is a Muslim?

THE THREE POINTS OF THE AMMAN MESSAGE V.1
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In the Name of God, the Compassionate, the Merciful

May peace and blessings be upon the Prophet Muhammad and his pure and noble family

(1) Whosoever is an adherent to one of the four Sunni schools (Mathahib) of Islamic jurisprudence (Hanafi, Maliki, Shafi`i and Hanbali), the two Shi’i schools of Islamic jurisprudence (Ja`fari and Zaydi), the Ibadi school of Islamic jurisprudence and the Thahiri school of Islamic jurisprudence, is a Muslim. Declaring that person an apostate is impossible and impermissible. Verily his (or her) blood, honour, and property are inviolable. Moreover, in accordance with the Shaykh Al-Azhar’s fatwa, it is neither possible nor permissible to declare whosoever subscribes to the Ash`ari creed or whoever practices real Tasawwuf (Sufism) an apostate. Likewise, it is neither possible nor permissible to declare whosoever subscribes to true Salafi thought an apostate.
            Equally, it is neither possible nor permissible to declare as apostates any group of Muslims who believes in God, Glorified and Exalted be He, and His Messenger (may peace and blessings be upon him) and the pillars of faith, and acknowledges the five pillars of Islam, and does not deny any necessarily self-evident tenet of religion.

(2) There exists more in common between the various schools of Islamic jurisprudence than there is difference between them. The adherents to the eight schools of Islamic jurisprudence are in agreement as regards the basic principles of Islam. All believe in Allah (God), Glorified and Exalted be He, the One and the Unique; that the Noble Qur’an is the Revealed Word of God; and that our master Muhammad, may blessings and peace be upon him, is a Prophet and Messenger unto all mankind.

All are in agreement about the five pillars of Islam: the two testaments of faith (shahadatayn); the ritual prayer (salat); almsgiving (zakat); fasting the month of Ramadan (sawm), and the Hajj to the sacred house of God (in Mecca). All are also in agreement about the foundations of belief: belief in Allah (God), His angels, His scriptures, His messengers, and in the Day of Judgment, in Divine Providence in good and in evil. Disagreements between the ‘ulama (scholars) of the eight schools of Islamic jurisprudence are only with respect to the ancillary branches of religion (furu`) and not as regards the principles and fundamentals (usul) [of the religion of Islam]. Disagreement with respect to the ancillary branches of religion (furu`) is a mercy. Long ago it was said that variance in opinion among the ‘ulama (scholars) “is a good affair”.

(3) Acknowledgement of the schools of Islamic jurisprudence (Mathahib) within Islam means adhering to a fundamental methodology in the issuance of fatwas: no one may issue a fatwa without the requisite personal qualifications which each school of Islamic jurisprudence determines [for its own adherents]. No one may issue a fatwa without adhering to the methodology of the schools of Islamic jurisprudence. No one may claim to do unlimited Ijtihad and create a new school of Islamic jurisprudence or to issue unacceptable fatwas that take Muslims out of the principles and certainties of the Shari`ah and what has been established in respect of its schools of jurisprudence.

The 500 Most Influential Muslims

http://www.yale.edu/worldfellows/fellows/documents/500MostInfluentialMuslims.pdf

Egyptian Salafi Sheikh: A woman's face is like her vagina

Posted by: Angie Nassar share
Thursday, December 15. 2011

A Top Salafist / Wahhabi Sheikh in Egypt says a woman’s face is like her vagina


http://bl149w.blu149.mail.live.com/mail/InboxLight.aspx?n=438332998

Hasad- Evil Eye and Envy

by Yahya Adel Ibrahîm

On the authority of Abu Huraira (ra) who said: The Messenger of Allah (saw) said

“Do not be envious of one another; do not artificially raise prices against one another; do not hate one another; do not turn one’s back on each other; and do not undercut one another in business transactions. And be, [O] servants of Allah, brethren. A Muslim is the brother of a Muslim. He does not wrong him. He does not fail him [when he needs him]. He does not lie to him. And he does not show contempt for him. Piety is here”

- and he pointed to his chest three times.

“It is enough of evil for a person to hold his brother Muslim in contempt. All of a Muslim is inviolable to another Muslim: his blood, his wealth and his honor.”

Recorded by Muslim.

...If the Muslims were to apply the sublime teachings of this hadith, there would be a great change and improvement in their interrelationships and love for one another.

This disease of the heart and the sin which is known as hasad was one of the first sins ever committed. It was one of the main things that drove Satan away from his Lord. In fact, two aspects drove Satan to the horrendous situation that he is in today: pride and envy....[See al-Baqara 109].

According to ibn Taimiya, hasad is always accompanied by hatred. This is one of the evils of hasad. First the person is envious of the other person. After some time, this envy develops into hatred. [Ibn Taimiya, Majmu vol. 10, p. 127. Also see al-Duhami, Al-Hath ala Salamah al-Sadr (Riyadh: Dar al-Watn, 1416 A.H.), pp. 38-39.]

Hasad is a kind of opposition or discontent with what Allah has decreed...he is putting his religion into a dangerous and precarious position. He is practically declaring himself a better decision maker than Allah. [Ibn Uthaymin, Sharh Riyadh, vol. 4, p. 704.]

The Messenger of Allah (saw) said,

“Iman and hasad do not gather together in the heart of a slave [of Allah].”

[Recorded by al-Nasai. According to al-Albani, it is sahih. See al-Albani, Sahih al-Jami, vol. 2, p. 1262.]

According to ibn Uthaymin, one of the strong signs that a person is inflicted with the disease of hasad is that he always tries to conceal the virtues and goodness of others. He does not like it when others talk about the good that a person has done. He remains silent and pretends like he does not know of the good that the other one has done. A true believer who is free of hasad likes it when good things are said about others and when the good deeds of others are appreciated and spoken about...He has no envy in his heart for what Allah has bestowed upon the others and, therefore, he spreads that good news to others. [Ibn Uthaymin, Sharh Riyadh, vol. 4, p. 707.] This sign that ibn Uthaymin has explicitly mentioned should be considered a type of subtle sign that people may not notice in themselves. They must take note of this sign and repel it as quickly as possible as it is a stepping stone to the greater forms of hasad.
With respect to that feeling of hasad, people can be divided into the following categories:

1. There are some people who actively work to remove that bounty from the other person, without necessarily destroying the bounty itself. By their speech and their actions they will wrongly do whatever they can to bring an end to the other person’s blessing from Allah.
2. There are others who do not just seek to remove that bounty from the other person, but they also work to get the bounty for themselves.
3. The worst are those who simply wish to destroy the bounty, regardless of whether they themselves get it or if it is simply destroyed. They only want to destroy that blessing because it was not given to them in the first place.
4. There are those who cannot remove the feeling of envy from their souls.They cannot control it but they do not like it and wish they could remove it. Those people, Allah willing, are not sinful for their state that they cannot control. According to ibn al-Qayyim, the evil of hasad comes about when the person acts upon his hasad, even if just in his heart. This is why Allah guides the Muslims not to simply seek refuge of the envious one, but to seek refuge of the envious one when he is being envious. Allah says, “From the evil of the envious one when he envies” (al-Falaq 5).[Quoted in al-Salihi, vol. 6, p. 529.]
5. There are also those who, although they do not act upon their hasad, willingly have thoughts of envy, are pleased with them and continue to think in such a manner while putting up no resistance to such evil thoughts as removing blessings from one’s brother. This person is like a person who is dead set upon committing a sin. There is a difference of opinion among the scholars concerning whether this kind of person is a sinner or not. Al-Haitami says that such a person is definitely a sinner. [Al-Haitami, Fath, p. 249.] Ibn Rajab, furthermore, points out that such a person is rarely safe from doing some wrong act against his brother out of spite and envy. Therefore, in the end, he may definitely become sinful in action, without question. [Ibn Rajab, Jami, vol. 2, p. 262.]
6. Another group of people recognize the hasad that exists within them. They do their best to remove that hasad from themselves and to treat the one they are envious of in the best possible fashion. They pray for the person; they tell others of his goodness and of the bounties that Allah has bestowed upon him. They remove that hasad to the extent that they love their Muslim brother and they love that Allah has blessed him and bestowed him and bestowed His bounties upon him. This category of people are among the people of the highest level of faith, they love for their brothers what they love for themselves. [Ibn Rajab, Jami, vol. 2, p. 263.]

1. Hadith on Hasad from al-Bukhari
2. Volume 4, Book 55, Number 590:
   

   Narrated Ibn 'Abbas:The Prophet used to seek Refuge with Allah for Al-Hasan and Al-Husain and say: "Your forefather (i.e. Abraham) used to seek Refuge with Allah for Ishmael and Isaac by reciting the following: 'O Allah! I seek Refuge with Your Perfect Words from every devil and from poisonous pests and from every evil, harmful, envious eye.' "

   
   Narrated 'Aisha:
   
   

   The Prophet ordered me or somebody else to do Ruqya (if there was danger) from an evil eye.

Coping With Loss - Yasmin Mogahed

The Occupy Movement Led by Whom??

[2:276] Those who devour interest do not rise except as rises one whom Satan has smitten with insanity. That is because they say: ‘Trade also is like interest;’ whereas Allah has made trade lawful and made interest unlawful. So he to whom an admonition comes from his Lord and he desists, then will that which he received in the past be his; and his affair is with Allah. And those who revert to it, they are the inmates of the Fire; therein shall they abide.

[2:277] Allah will abolish interest and will cause charity to increase. And Allah loves not anyone who is a confirmed disbeliever and an arch sinner.

[2:278] Surely, those who believe and do good deeds, and observe Prayer and pay the Zakat, shall have their reward from their Lord, and no fear shall come on them, nor shall they grieve.

[2:279] O ye who believe! fear Allah and relinquish what remains of interest, if you are believers.

[2:280] But if you do it not, then beware of war from Allah and His Messenger; and if you repent, then you shall have your original sums; thus you shall not wrong, nor shall you be wronged.

[2:281] And if any debtor be in straitened circumstances, then grant him respite till a time of ease. And that you remit it as charity shall be better for you, if only you knew.


http://www.nationofchange.org/occupy-demands-let-s-radicalize-our-analysis-empire-economics-ecology-1321032200

Things do not change; we change.

Henry David Thoreau, Walden (1970)
US Transcendentalist author (1817 - 1862)

"Allah does not Change a condition Until people change what is inside themselves!"

Rather than listing demands, we critics of concentrated wealth and power in the United States can dig in and deepen our analysis of the systems that produce that unjust distribution of wealth and power. This is a time for action, but there also is a need for analysis. Rallying around a common concern about economic injustice is a beginning; understanding the structures and institutions of illegitimate authority is the next step. We need to recognize that the crises we face are not the result simply of greedy corporate executives or corrupt politicians, but rather of failed systems. The problem is not the specific people who control most of the wealth of the country, or those in government who serve them, but the systems that create those roles. If we could get rid of the current gang of thieves and thugs but left the systems in place, we will find that the new boss is going to be the same as the old boss.Rather than listing demands, we critics of concentrated wealth and power in the United States can dig in and deepen our analysis of the systems that produce that unjust distribution of wealth and power. This is a time for action, but there also is a need for analysis. Rallying around a common concern about economic injustice is a beginning; understanding the structures and institutions of illegitimate authority is the next step. We need to recognize that the crises we face are not the result simply of greedy corporate executives or corrupt politicians, but rather of failed systems. The problem is not the specific people who control most of the wealth of the country, or those in government who serve them, but the systems that create those roles. If we could get rid of the current gang of thieves and thugs but left the systems in place, we will find that the new boss is going to be the same as the old boss.The United States is the current (though fading) imperial power in the world, and empires are bad things. We have to let go of self-indulgent notions of American exceptionalism -- the idea that the United States is a unique engine of freedom and democracy in the world and therefore a responsible and benevolent empire. Empires throughout history have used coercion and violence to acquire a disproportionate share of the world’s resources, and the U.S. empire is no different.

Much of the good deeds (i.e. prayers, giving charity, fighting in the cause of Allah, reciting the Holy Quran, enjoining the good and forbidding the evil …etc,) which have their rewards multiplied in these days. The Muslim should observe Eid prayer in its place and attend the ceremony, which is after the prayer, and take lessons from it. Moreover, he has to know the wisdom of Eid prayer and know that it is a day of gratitude and doing good deeds, it is not a day of evil or season for committing sins. Sacrificing the animals should be done on the Day of Sacrifice (10th of Dhul-Hijja) and on the days of Tashriq (11th, 12th and 13th of Dhul-Hijja). It is the Sunnah of our father, Ibrahim (peace be upon him) when Allah ransomed his son with a great sacrifice. And it has been reported that “The Prophet sacrificed with his own hands two horned full grown rams reciting the name of Allah and glorifying Him (saying Allahu Akbar). He placed his foot on their sides (while sacrificing)” [Agreed Upon] «أن النبي صلى الله عليه وسلم ضحّى بكبشين أملحين أقرنين، ذبحهما بيده وسمّى وكبّر ووضع رجله على صفاحهما»متفق عليه Sheikh: Abdullah Ibn Abdurrahman Ibn Jibrin Compiled by: http://akhawat.islamway.com/ Translated by Wathakker.net website en.wathakker.net