Inhumanity

Shocked. Disturbed. Upset. But most of all saddened. Saddened at the state of people in the world today. The state of us, the Ummah of the Beloved (saw). Just watched some  news* and couldn’t believe what I was seeing and hearing. Two young boys, one aged sixteen, tied up and dragged around the streets in a Pakistani village being beaten up. They had their eyes beaten in and were then hanged and beaten to death all the while other people including the police (that were called for help) gathered and watched, and not a single person intervened! Not one single God- fearing person. Why did this happen? Over a cricket feud?

I just don’t understand how people, Muslims can just stand and watch something as inhumane as this? Is there no humanity left in people? Some people may feel that something like this is nothing to be suprised at, these kind of things happen all the time, they happened soon after the Prophet (saw) passed. So?? Does this mean that we shouldn’t consider these atrocities as a “big deal”? We shouldn’t be affected by them,in a sense, just desensitize ourselves? ?

I could not believe what I was seeing. Insan, who Allah blessed with the gift of reason, to know right from wrong acting worse than animals? If this is not Jaahilliyah then what is? As tears rolled down I prayed the Allah have Mercy on us; Allah have Mercy on us for we have are truly in need of His Mercy and guidance. Subhanallah, just today  I read the ayah,

“Truly! Allâh wrongs not mankind in aught; but mankind wrong themselves” (10:44).

If anything, one thing I will make sure I do is inculcate a sense of justice in my children. So that they  stand up to injustices and wrongs whether it be big or small, local or global between friend and foe. For what is worse then witnessing an injustice before your very eyes and doing nothing? We have been commanded to act:

“Whoever of you sees something wrong, let him change it with his hand. If unable to, then let him change it with his tongue. If unable, then with his heart. And that is the weakest degree of faith”. (Hadith)

On the Day Of Judgment when we will be asked why we let an injustice take place and we did not intervene when we could have, what will we say?

Oh Allah, guide us, have mercy on us and let us not be of the oppressors!

Ameen

* Footage of the event on the news-some may find it disturbing.

Ortokoy, Istanbul

The Value of Religion

$65 for a tasbih?! $100 for a tasbih??! Are you serious? Yes, some people pay as much as this for tasbihs. I never saw the sense in this; how did people justify spending so much money on one thing, when you don’t even have to use one to make your dhikr, you can use your fingers instead! Now, don’t get me wrong, I’m not going Salafi on you, I believe it is acceptable to use rosemary beads but I would never spend so much on it, especially when that money could be used in other beneficial ways.

It didn’t feel right to me so I asked a teacher about how we can justify spending like this and what constitutes “excessiveness” in our religion. She agreed that yes, sometimes spending large amounts of money on religious items can be unnecessary and can fall into excess, especially if the intention is not right, but then she also said there can be a benefit in it too.

Relating what she heard Shaykh Nuh once say, she said that these days religion has become cheap. Religious items such as the prayer breads, prayer mats and the Quran are so widely available that their price is not much and since they do not cost much, the value and care and significance we give to these items is not much either. Compare this back to when paper itself was an expensive and limited resource, imagine how valuable a copy of the Quran would have been to the ones who were able to afford one! If you had to spend months working and saving to get your shoes or your games wouldn’t you make the most of those items once you had them while taking good care of them? So by spending so much on a  prayer bead you would be more inclined to use it more often and thereby reap the rewards of dhikr.

So the more you spend on something, the more you cherish it and want to keep it in a good condition. My teacher said that Shaykh Nuh even advised on spending perhaps a little more on these religious things then one would normally, so that one reveres them and the religion and gives them the degree of importance and commitment they deserve.

I had never of thought of it like that before. I have to admit though, I do have one of  those $65 prayer beads…but it was a gift and it was a used and much blessed tasbih Inshallah. But would I now spend such amounts on religious items? Probably still not, but then I also hope that are our intentions behind purchasing (or not purchasing) these items are sincere and right Inshallah.

It Rained!

At the beginning of this week King Abdullah II, on advice from Scholars, made an announcement urging the people of Jordan to fast for three days and pray for rain. This country needs rain, alot of it.  It’s been a dry winter; in the four months I’ve been here I can remember it “raining” only two or three times and that too was nothing substantial. About 75% of the country can be described as having a desert climate with less than 200mm of rain annually (www.kinghussein.gov.jo/geo_env1.html).

Water is so precious here so when it rains it truly is a blessing. Last night it rained.

“Allah sends down water from the sky and by it brings the dead earth back to life. There is certainly a Sign in that for people who hear”. (Surat Nahl, 65)

 I don’t think I’ve ever been so happy to see it rain, Alhamdulillah.

“Supplicate to Me, I will answer you” (Surat Ghaafir, 60)

Allah is indeed the Most Merciful the Most Kind and the answerer of prayers.

Aramex- Delivering hope to Gaza

About three weeks ago the shipping company Aramex launched a campaign to help the people of Gaza.    

They’ve been recieving boxes and boxes of donations of food, medicine and blankets from the UAE that they have been sending to Gaza. Everything has to be sorted and then packaged with individual food items being checked for expiry dates (no less then six months) and where the item was produced (Israel not allowing items produced from the following countries: Libya, Lebanon, Iran, Syria, Sudan and Iraq).

So whenever we are able to, I and a few friends go to their warehouse to help. Subhanallah, there are so many boxes of food that have to be sorted. First the donations have to be loaded off the trucks. Then they have to be opened and sorted in to boxes of canned food (of which there are sub categories including, beans, hummus, tuna, canned fruit etc), flour, lentils, sugar, oil, milk, rice, medicine while also checking the expiray dates and country of production. Then once the sorting is done, a group of people make the cardboard boxes which are then packed by sub groups of people which are then taken away and loaded into trucks going to Gaza. And this is happening everyday.

Orthodox Judaism and Israel

The following is a speech given by Rabbi Y D Weiss from Neturei Karta which is a group of Orthodox Jews who oppose the state of Israel.

“May our words be pleasing to the Creator and cause His Great Name to be sanctified.

Assalaam Aleikhum:

The world stands aghast as the atrocities being committed by the Zionist regime in Gaza, becomes known in ever greater and shocking detail.

Mere words are insufficient to express the pain that all mankind feels at the plight of the Gaza and Palestinian people.

For over one hundred years, they have been subject to a carefully conceived plan, to drive them from their homes and their land.

Throughout their history, the Zionists have resorted to intimidation, war, ethnic cleansing and state—sponsored terrorism to achieve their goals.

This is, has been and continues to be, the criminal agenda of the Zionist movement. But among this movement’s greatest crimes, is that it has claimed to carry out these nefarious actions in the name of holiness, in the name of the Almighty, in the name of Judaism and the Jewish people !!

This is a wicked and monstrous lie !!

It is a desecration of our religion !!

Judaism forbids and rejects Zionism and the existence of the State of “Israel”. We have been expressly commanded by the Almighty that we are forbidden to have our own sovereignty in this heavenly decreed exile, we are also forbidden to rebel against any nation. Torah believing Jews, under the leadership of the most esteemed rabbis of the 20th century have always opposed and fought against Zionism and ultimately the State of “Israel”.

I am Me

A few days ago I was introduced to someone who knew my husband through work/studies. I was introduced as “so and so’s wife”. Hmm, that felt weird. I’ve never been introduced as someone’s wife and I never introduce myself as someone’s wife, but rather as Usma, myself. If I’m going to get to know somebody it’s going to as me and who I am, and what I’m like. Being introduced as the wife of somebody that people know of from beforehand makes me feel that they might perhaps assume that I’m very much like my husband in terms of interests and work ( and I kind of felt that by the questions I was asked by the person I was being introduced to).  Maybe I’m thinking too much into it, my husband thinks so :P.

The thing is this, for many years women were only studied (in terms of sociological research) in relation to others; they were either seen as a wife, a mother, a daughter, a sister and their identity was constructed mainly, if not only, around these relationships. Are women not an entity in themselves with their own distinct identities and their own self? In some traditional cultures women are solely seen in relation to their family and the work they do such as housework or being a mother. For example, in the Arab culture mothers are referred to as Umm so and so, the mother of so and so. All the mothers here are referred to as Umm and most of them aren’t Arab but come from the West. Why? I understand the honour and greatness of being a mother  but I don’t know if  I would want to be called Umm. Maybe it’s also related to the fact that the Arabs generally don’t ask about a man’s wife using her first name but rather use the word for family, again out of respect. I’m not saying that this is negative or backward or anything, but rather that women cannot and should not be limited to these aspects of their life. And this is why I felt weird being introduced as someone’s wife rather than me who they could get to know as Usma. I am a person outside of being married too. I don’t like to be lumped into the category of “married women” and be referred to as the “married one” who has to go home a little earlier or that it’s because I’m married that I can’t make it to a gathering or whatever (which  has been said to me by some single girls).

Yes, being married adds to who you are and plays an important part in your identity but you shouldn’t be defined just by it and neither should it limit who you are and what you can do.

Aunty Aisha

Here follows a little tribute to a individual who I have spent the last three months studying with, hanging out and travelling with. Known to all around here as “Aunty Aisha”, she was a fellow classmate studying Arabic and sat next to me in our classes. Old enough to be  a grandmother possibly, she is an Economist, from India, had a Hindu- Jai upbringing and converted to Islam and is involved in water management programs in her district back home. I didn’t not fully understand what her work involved until she did a presentation for us explaining the work, methods and the results that have been used and achieved in conserving and distributing safe clean water in her district over the last ten plus years. Starting off as a couple of people with what was then seen as an ambitious venture, her team has brought about a big change in her community including the education and involvement of  the local women in their project. She has an optimistic outlook of the world-some would say idealistic- but nothing is impossible  if people come together and work together on a common cause, change can be achieved.

Aunty Aisha is also very spontaneous and is up for anything. I remember she was leaving class early one day and we asked where she was going, “to syria” she replied! Another time, I was expecting her for  dinner and when I called to check that she was on her way, she said she wouldnt be able to make it because she was in the desert (Wadi Rum) with her husband! Lol. I’ve never met such a cool and hip “aunty” in my life and I hope I can have as much energy and enthusiasm like her when/if I reach her age.

We all miss her. It was so nice having an elder member around here, it made it feel more homely and just seeing how she was respected by everyone here was so beautiful.  A couple of times it would happen that she would come over and fall asleep on my bed, or we’d all be having a discussion into the early hours of  the morning and she’d always make this one brother walk her home.

Inshallah, we’ll stay in contact via email and I hope she comes back to visit us soon!

The In-Crowd

There’s definately one here, I have felt it, seen it and experienced it and it’s not nice. I thought it was just me but it’s not, I’ve spoken to a couple of friends who also live here and they have felt the same and everything seems to point to one thing: the fact that we are not part of this particular group/crowd/community even though we live right smack bang in the middle of this community. By this I mean that although we live here and see the same people and know the same people in this little neighbourhood, because we don’t dress a particular way or adopt certain practices we are kinda left out of or just not considered when it comes to some samller events/gatherings that the rest of the neighbourhood is invited to. How wrong and how sad. I thought that part of being a God fearing Muslim was that you looked out for others and considered their feelings when doing or not doing something and that you wouldn’t do anything that would hurt their feelings. There is a hadith in which the Prophet (saw) said that if there are three people together, two of them should not talk in private infront of the third as it would upset him. Maybe these things only apply to those who are part of the same crowd as you.

Having a good character and being easy going should extend to everyone, you should go out your way to make sure no one person is left out and should do everything to make them feel welcomed and part of the community especially if they have just moved to another place. So you can imagine how one must feel when on a number of occasions the whole neighbourhood is invited to your neighbours for dinner and you haven’t and are not even aware of this. You can also imagine how it must feel to be giving out of your kindness and behaving the way a Muslim neighbour should behave like visitng them when they are sick and sharing your food, and then not have it reciprocated back to you. It makes everything and everyone seem so superficial.

Being part of a group naturally brings about the feeling of belonging and exclusivity but I thought that the teachings of this particular group was above that; there is not meant to be any exclusivity or an in-crowd, this way is open to all and everyone is welcomed. I have heard the teacher say on a number of times that one should never think oneself better that another. Maybe outsiders are left out because the insiders don’t want to associate with those who are not like them and on the same way perhaps because they think that they won’t bring any good to them. But how can you judge like that?

I didnt come here with any preconceptions, only that this would be a place full of generally good people where I would grow spiritually but I say all this based on what I have seen and expereinced and it has been  upsetting and disheartening. Some people reading this would probably think that I must be talking about another neighbourhood based on thier experiences here, but like I said if you do the things that peole do here and dress the way and talk the way the people do here then you’ll fit in and of course you won’t understand what I’m saying. But I’m not going to conform and start dressing a particular way or join a paricular group just so that I can fit in. Intentions would be messed up and it’s just sad and wrong that an individual has to feel this pressure to conform.

Usma

Living in the U.S.

I wrote this a few months ago, but never got around to posting it.

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Lovely weather, big roads, nice houses, alot of food (great cheesecake!) and the people are nice (well the one’s I’ve met anyway) but nothing compares to home, wherever that may be. The main thing that’s felt different here, compared to London, is the visibility of Muslims out and about and Muslim catered events and just how quiet it seems around here. Coming from London (East London), I’m so used to being surrounded by Muslims (majority Asian); my neighbours, my work colleagues, classmates, the bus drivers and even some policemen. I’m now in an area where the majority of people are White and not Muslim. The first couple of times I visited here I never saw an Asian person or Muslim and it was so quiet! Now having been here for a couple of months, it’s been pretty much the same, the only sisters I’ve seen were at these weekly gatherings that I attended a couple of times and the first bearded dude I saw was in Target the other day. Not to say that there aren’t any Moozies out here, but you just don’t see alot of them.

I miss London, my home. So we might have “bad” weather, and some weird Muslims but there is a very diverse community there. My neighbours were a mix of Muslim Bengali ( with whom we very close), Muslim Pakistani, Muslim Gujerati, Muslim Afghani, White Christian, Indian Hindu, Indian Sikh etc etc. Where I lived, we had at least five mosques within a stone’s throw of each other, most of which catered for women; that had events and activities for women; a place where all the aunties would hang out. Most of all, there has been a growth of Islamic culture and art at local levels and related events that young Muslims and non muslims can attend. So much is happening there to educate non muslims  (and Muslims) about Islam, from local Muslim fun days to theatre group productions, to documentaries on mainstream t.v and our very own Islam Channel and radio stations during Ramadhan. London has also been so blessed to have Shuyukh such as Shaykh Hamza and Imam Zaid visit from the U.S visit on a number of occasions, and of course we have our very own Shaykh Abdal Hakim Murad.