| Living \r\n the Quran |
Al-Anam \r\n (The Cattle)
Soothsaying and fortunetelling are things that belong to the realm of \r\n occult and have no religious or scientific basis. About the astrologers \r\n (manajjimun) it is correctly said, “They \r\n are liars even if what they say turn out to be true.” \r\n Whatever they say is based on illusion and imagination and not any solid \r\n knowledge. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) forbade Muslims \r\n from going to the fortunetellers. It is reported by Abu Hurayrah and Hasan \r\n (may Allah be pleased with them) that the Prophet said, “Whosoever \r\n went to a soothsayer or fortuneteller and believed in him, he disbelieved \r\n in what is revealed upon Muhammad.” (Reported by \r\n Ahmad) \r\nBelieving in those who foretell the future \r\n constitutes Kufr (disbelief). Islam's campaign \r\n was not confined to the soothsayers and diviners but included all those \r\n who go to them, ask their help, and believe in their superstitions and \r\n errors. The Prophet said, "The prayer \r\n of one who goes to a soothsayer, asks him something and believes in what \r\n he says, will not be accepted for forty days." (Reported \r\n by Muslim) \r\nOne should avoid going to fortunetellers even for amusement purpose, \r\n because this might lead to believing in them or supporting them in their \r\n falsehood. \r\nHowever, scientific predictions on the basis of calculations and analysis, \r\n which are required for all future planning, and preparations do not come \r\n in the prohibition of fortunetelling or soothsaying. \r\nSource: |
| \r\n Understanding the Prophet's Life |
Second \r\n Major Sin \r\nThe first commandment in Islam as revealed to all prophets \r\n is to worship Allah and the second is to treat one’s parents kindly. \r\n Accordingly, the first major sin is Shirk \r\n (association of partners with Allah), and the second \r\n major sin is mistreating one’s parents. \r\nThe Prophet (peace and blessings be on him) said: “Shall I tell \r\n you of the three most heinous sins?” He repeated this question three \r\n times and then said, “They are: to \r\n associate partners with Allah, to mistreat one’s parents, and to \r\n bear false testimony.” \r\nIn another tradition, the Prophet (peace and blessings be on him) said, \r\n “One who mistreats his parents cannot \r\n hope to enter Paradise.” \r\nAlso, he said, “The pleasure of Allah \r\n is in the pleasure of one’s parents and the wrath of Allah is in \r\n the wrath of one’s parents.” \r\nSource: |
| Tough \r\n Times! |
\r\n \r\n \r\n \r\n \r\n Soldiers Are Not Robotic Machines \r\nWhat is common between the images of American soldiers laughing \r\n at naked and humiliated Iraqi prisoners, the video of a terrorist \r\n group in Iraq slaughtering an American civilian, and the photos of \r\n an Iraqi mob desecrating and hanging the bodies of four American private \r\n commandos on March 31st in Fallujah? It is the hatred and inhumanity \r\n of the people doing it. \r\nWhereas one can find a mob and a terrorist \r\n behaving inhumanly, the same cannot be expected of soldiers of an \r\n organized, trained army like that of the United States. \r\n Considering that these cases are not isolated but instances of systemic \r\n abuse as the International Red Cross puts it, one must ask why did \r\n soldiers do it? Why did only one or two complain about it? Why did \r\n our military leaders and political leadership tolerate it? \r\nSoldiers are neither perfect people \r\n nor robotic machines. They are a part of our society. \r\n Their minds are set by the same media as that of civilians. They are \r\n just as likely to be influenced by Hollywood, where Arabs and Muslims \r\n are almost always the villains, and where talk show hosts can issue \r\n advisories to "kill all Muslims" and "bomb Mecca" \r\n and get away with it. Although soldiers are professionals who are \r\n expected to behave in better ways, they are also subject to the same \r\n hate waves against Islam and Muslims as other citizens. \r\nSource: \r\n \r\n |
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