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Dr Kaukab Siddique | Editor-in-Chief Ramadan 18, 1432/August 29, 2010 # 34

Verse of the Week

It is not righteousness that ye turn your faces towards East or West; but it is righteousness to believe in Allah and the Last Day, and the Angels, and the Book, and the Messengers; to spend of your substance, out of love for Him, for your kin, for orphans, for the needy, for the wayfarer, for those who ask, and for the ransom of slaves; to be steadfast in prayer, and practice regular charity; to fulfill the contracts which ye have made; and to be firm and patient, in pain (or suffering) and adversity, and throughout all periods of panic. Such are the people of truth, the Allah-fearing. Holy Qur'an 2:177

Submitted by Sis. Abigail



Pakistan: Flood waters have inundated Thatta [north east of Karachi]. More than 10,000 people who fled Thatta are being fed and taken care of by Islamic volunteers of Jamaate Islami in Karachi itself.

Scroll down to Br. Kaukab's advice about helping flood victims.

Read historic efforts by al-Khidmat [JI volunteers] to face the catastrophe.



Flood relief efforts by Jamaate Islam's al-Khidmat group can be seen in power point on New Trend's web site: Pakistan Floods : power point


Latest War News

Somalia

August 24, 2010: Islamic fighters successfully attacked a hotel where puppet assembly members and government officials were living. At least 32 government people were killed including 6 assembly members and 8 high officials. The attack was led by a martyrdom operator of al-Shabab.

A few key points in Mogadishu are held by tanks and armored vehicles of Uganda [armed by the US and reportedly Israel]. They have set up a puppet "assembly." Al-Shabab has no heavy weapons to destroy the tanks.



Afghanistan

August 27: Three US troops were killed in fire fights with the Taliban in eastern Afghanistan. This brings to 38 the number of US troops killed in August and 56 total of NATO

August 25: In northern Badghis province, a Taliban sympathizer who had infiltrated Karzai's police opened fire on Spanish NATO troops killing three of them. [Reuters wire service.]

August 24: Taliban shot down a US drone aircraft in Kandahar province and took away its camera. [Source AFP] Apparently the aircraft was on the way to bomb villages in Pakistan.

August 24: In Kunar province, a US air strike killed 6 children, ages 6 to 12. They were collecting scrap iron on a mountainside. [Source: AFP]

August 24: In Kunduz province, Taliban strike force killed 8 police officers of the Karzai regime installed by the US. [Source: Reuters.] Reports indicate that the Islamic forces have established Sharia in parts of this northern province and are cracking down on sexual corruption.



Pakistan:

August 28: A US drone fired four missiles at two vehicles in the Kurram area killing 4 alleged Pak Taliban.



Iraq: Pro-US forces Under Attack

August 28: BAQUBA: Six members of a Sunni Arab militia that sided with US forces against Al Qaeda during Iraq's insurgency were killed yesterday, in the latest revenge attack against them, police said.

The Sahwa (Awakening) fighters, also known as the "Sons of Iraq," were killed in Shrwain, a village 90 kilometres northeast of Baghdad, around 4am, said police Captain Firas Al Dulaimi."Several members of Al Qaeda attacked a Sahwa office when nine people were inside," Dulaimi said. "Six Sahwa were killed, two were wounded and one was unhurt," he said.

Coordinated Al-Qaida attacks across Iraq: 60 pro-US killed 200 Wounded.

August 25: "The targets were mostly police and other Iraqi security forces. In Baghdad, a car bomb behind a police station the first of three in the capital - left several nearby buildings crumbling. Fifteen police and civilians were killed. In Kut, a hundred miles southeast of Baghdad, a similar blast between a police station and a local government council building left more than 20 dead and nearly 100 wounded. There were similar attacks in Mosul, Kirkuk, Ramadi, Falluja, Mugdadiyah, and several smaller towns. The wave of attacks, which were certainly coordinated, left many in Iraq shaken." [National Public Radio.]



Jamaat al-Muslimeen [News]

P.O. Box 10881

Baltimore, MD 21234

From Imam Badi Ali [National Shoora leader] Jamaat al-Muslimeen North Carolina

Spotlight # 1: Nowadays just about every immigrant Muslim wants to be a Shaikh and give fatwas. It's sort of like the trend in the 1980s when everyone wanted to be an engineer. So, not only do we have everyone giving religious rulings but every group wants to have its own mosque and its own imam. We have been successfully divided with Egyptians, Pakistanis, Sudanese each going their own way.

Spotlight #2: It is the same law for everyone, but if the law is applied differently to different communities, it loses its legitimacy. We see law being applied in one way to African Americans, another way to Mexicans and still another way to Muslims. The result is injustice.

Spotlight #3: Psychologists say that if you do something consistently for three weeks, it becomes a habit. If you wash dishes for three weeks, dish washing becomes your habit. We have Ramadan for about 30 days. If we pray Fajr every day in Ramadan, we should easily be able to pray Fajr after Ramadan. If we make extra prayers in Ramadan, it should be easy for us to pray extra after Ramadan too. The same applies to recitation of the Qur'an and to fasting itself. Try it!



Muslim Voices on the Radio

Hodari Abdul Ali Breaking New Ground:

9.11, Ground Zero "Mosque," US Wars, Imam Jamil

August 27, 2010: This was a rare day in US media history, when WPFW radio in Washington gave an entire hour to Muslim voices speaking LIVE to audiences in the capital city as well as across America. This was made possible by Hodari Abdul Ali, known as Br. Hodari to his friends, a prominent African American Muslim leader in the Washington, DC area who is actively trying to bring Muslim voices to the media. Owing to his outstanding role in working for peace in Sudan, he has gained the capacity to bring together a variety of viewpoints, sometimes opposing ones, to the same platform. In addition to Sudan, he made historic contact with the Muslims and Dalits of India when he was the guest of honor at a very large gathering in that country. Thus he has international outreach which is rare among Americans.

The main speakers introduced by Br. Hodari were Enver Masud, Mahdi Bray, Kaukab Siddique and Khalid Abdus Samad [from Cleveland]. [Br. Hodari made us promise that New Trend will not comment on the other speakers, specially two of them whom we differ with in great detail.]

Here are the main points Br. Kaukab Siddique made on WPFW:


Our America: #1 by New Trend's media monitor

Hijacking Dr. King's Legacy: Praise the Lord & Pass the Ammunition.

Large Right Wing Rally led by Glen Beck Supports Military Crusaders

August 28, 2010: Martin Luther King believed that Christians should follow peaceful means to achieve their goals. However, at the very spot where he delivered his "I have a dream speech, on the 47th anniversary speech, FOX TV's talk show host Glen Beck led a huge right wing rally to support and honor the military. He raised funds for the families of Special Forces killed in action against Muslims.

Sarah Palin notorious for her inane remarks, eulogized Navy Seals who fought against the Taliban. The marines came in for their share of praise.

At the grotesque conclusion of the program, soldier who had seriously injured himself while throwing a phosphorous grenade was honored. Beck referred to the power of such a grenade.

Some African American were naïve enough to let themselves be used by Glen Beck, among them Dr. King's niece and a singing group praising the memory of the Twin Towers.

Glen Beck has become something of a "Christian" preacher who wants to turn people towards God while extolling the military. Readers may remember that Beck spent months on TV attacking Iran's president Ahmedinejad in the most irresponsible way. He used to claim that America is under threat from Iran, regardless of Iran's efforts to improve relations with the US.

These right wingers are whipping up serious hate against Islam and Muslims. Eight years of Bush's bombing of Muslim countries has not taught the right wingers that the way to peace does not go via military subjugation of Muslims.



Our America: #2

Stupid & Drunk:

Film Maker-Zionist Allegedly Stabbed Bangladeshi Taxi Driver

August 25

There is a breaking news report about an attack on a Muslim cabbie, please, read below:

New York City - Michael Enright, a 21 year old college student, is being held without bail in the stabbing of a Muslim cab driver. He was drunk when he hailed the cab, which was driven by Ahmed H. Sharif. He asked Sharif if he was Muslim and when Sharif said, "yes", Enright responded with the "as-salaamu-'alaikum" greeting. Enright then stated, "Consider this a check point. I got to take you down m----- f-----" and he started stabbing Sharif. He slashed him in his face and neck.

It is being labeled a bias crime. The proposed "Islamic" center being built in Southern Manhattan has uncovered strong anti-Muslim sentiment.

Michael Enright was a volunteer with working in Afghanistan. Recently, he produced a documentary about the experience of American soldiers in Afghanistan called "Home of the Brave."

He has been charged with attempted murder and assault in a hate crime with a weapon. If convicted, Enright can face a maximum of 8 to 25 years on the attempted murder charge.

Mayor Bloomberg, a staunch supporter for building the Islamic Center near Ground Zero, has invited Sharif to meet with him at City Hall, August 26th. In spite of this tragic experience, Sharif, a Bangladeshi immigrant, claims that he still loves America.

Salaam,

Sis. 'Aisha (Jamaat al-Muslimeen, New York City)



Hadith studies: See Complete article at the end of this issue.

KNOWLEDGE, NOT GENDER is Important in Islam:

"Seeking knowledge is obligatory for every Muslim, male and female." [Hadith, Prophet Muhammad, pbuh]

Are you aware that some of the greatest transmitters of Hadith were women? Are you aware that in genuine Islam, often women were the teachers and men the learners?

Muslim women can gain equality with and even superiority to men by becoming SCHOLARS OF ISLAM. That's how it was in the past. Do you know that the greatest teacher, scholar and transmitter of Bukhari's Sahih was a WOMAN named Karima, the daughter of Ahmed' who died in the year 463 of the Hijra calendar.

[ Khateeb Baghdadi, the historian I wrote about in the article rebutting Parvezi fitna against Hadith, was a STUDENT of Karima bint Ahmed, as were other top level Islamic scholars of the time.

The famous scholar Ibn al-Jawzi states (in Al-Muntazim), in writing of the events of 463 H, that Karima was from Kashmehen, a township near the city of Merv in Central Asia. He describes her as "very scholarly and virtuous" and mentions a list of great scholars whom she taught Hadith.
Another famous scholar, Dhahabi, in his book Al-'Ibr, writing of Karima's passing away in 463 H, states that she was living near Makka at that time. He writes that she was known for her great wisdom and nobility and a huge number of people listened to her lessons on Bukhari's Sahih. Other classical books, such as Al-Kamil, Al-Bidaya wun-Nihayya, al-Siir, etc., indicate that she had an original manuscript of Bukhari's Sahih. She is described as outspoken, scholarly, very understanding and active in worship and good deeds. All these are male scholars praising a woman scholar. She was 100 when she passed away.]

Please scroll down for article on hadith.

After Juma khutba

How to help Pakistan flood victims?

August 27: Following Juma' khutba and salat at masjid Jamaat al-Muslimmen in Baltimore, Br. Kaukab Siddique was asked about flood relief activity for Pakistan. He said that every group is collecting for Pakistan but if these funds go to charities connected to the Pakistani government, that will help to solidify the extremely corrupt and anti-Islam Pakistani regime.

Br. Kaukab said that it is the duty of the donors to ensure that their funds go to Pakistani Islamic movements such as Jamaate Islami, Jamat ud-Da'wa etc. Allah is giving us signs to change Pakistan. This is Allah's warning to us. If we do not pay heed, next will come the wrath of Allah and our condition will become that of 'Ad and Thamud, Br. Kaukab said.

The US media are not publicizing Muslim suffering in Somalia and Niger. They don't care for Muslims anywhere. They are publicizing Pakistani floods so that large sums should go into pro-government groups and the Islamic movement should be countered. We are answerable to Allah for the funds we donate, he said.



Pakistan #1

Jamaate-Islami Breaks All records in Relief Activities for Flood Victims

[With thanks to Hafiz Naim-ur-Rahman in Karachi]

August 26: At a Ramadan prayer gathering in Karachi, Rs. 40,000,000 were collected in ONE HOUR at the appeal of Jamaate Islami Pakistan's ameer Syed Munawar Hasan. Checks for the relief fund were given to him by Muhammad Hussain Mehnati, ameer of JI in Karachi and Tanweer Magun of the Business Forum.

Munawar Hasan urged Pakistanis to seek forgiveness from Allah Almighty for their sins and to use Ramadan to transform their spiritual lives.

He severely criticized President Zardari, Prime Minister Gilani and General Kayani for their poor performance in the face of the catastrophe which has overtaken Pakistan. He urged Islamic volunteers to go all out to help the suffering masses.

[New Trend reporters say that Jamaate Islami distributed Rs. 50,000,000 worth of relief supplies to displaced persons across Pakistan before this new collection in Karachi began.]



Pakistan #2

US, Indian aid like poison

LAHORE, Aug. 24: The Jamaat e Islami chief, Syed Munawar Hasan, has said that any help or aid from the US or India for the flood affectees was nothing short of poison for the nation and the country.

The US and India are the biggest tyrants and terrorists on the face of the earth and aid or assistance from them would be hazardous and would lead to an epidemic, he said while addressing JI workers at the relief camps set up by Al-Khidamat Foundation in Karachi on Tuesday. JI Karachi chief Muhammad Husain Mehnati was also present.

Syed Munawar Hasan said it was the moral, religious and national duty of the JI leaders and workers to provide rescue and relief to the flood victims. It was a pity, he said, that the government and the major political parties had failed to discharge their duties in this respect. He said that almost every party was collecting relief fund but their activities on ground were nil.

He said supply of clean drinking water to the flood affectees was a big problem due to which there was a threat of an epidemic.

He reiterated his appeal to the rich and the philanthropists to extend every possible help in this direction.


Pakistan #3

Pakistani Taliban Urge Regime to Reject US Aid

[Excerpt]

August 10: MIRANSHAH: Pakistan's Tehreek-e-Taliban urged the government to reject American aid for people affected by the nation's worst floods in 80 years.

"The government should not accept American aid ; we can give 20 million dollars to them as aid for the flood victims," Azam Tariq, a spokesman for Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), told AFP by telephone.

The most devastating floods in Pakistan's living memory have affected up to 13.8 million people and killed an estimated 1,600 prompting the UN to prepare an appeal for several hundred million dollars for immediate relief.

"We will ourselves distribute relief under leadership of our chief Hakimullah Mehsud among the people if the government assures us that none of our members will be arrested," Tariq said.

"We condemn American and other foreign aid and believe that it will lead to subjugation. Our jihad against America will continue."

Critics say the government's relief effort was slow to get into gear and have heaped scorn on the unpopular President Asif Ali Zardari for pressing ahead with a visit to Europe at the height of the disaster.

Islamic charities, some with suspected links to extremist militants, are believed to have stepped into the breach on the ground, as international relief efforts mobilised.

-AFP



Pakistan #4

Attempt to Disrupt Massive Pakistani Support for NATO

[AP report.]

August 24, LANDI KOTAL: At least three oil tankers in an Afghanistan-bound convoy of tankers and containers were completely gutted when a powerful explosive device went off at a parking lot in Torkhum border town here on Tuesday.

Sources said that about 100 oil tankers and containers were parked at the site when the explosion took place. The explosion was so powerful that it was heard some seven kilometers away in Landi Kotal also.

Three tankers carrying thousands of litres of oil to Afghanistan were seen on fire after the explosion while drivers hurriedly moved away the rest of the long-haul vehicles in the parking lot to safety, the sources said.

It was second such incident in two days. On Monday, local militants had targeted two oil tankers in Landi Kotal in which two persons were killed.

A spokesman of local Taliban had claimed responsibility for that attack and warned of more such attacks.

In another incident, an FC [Frontier Corp, Pakistan army] man was killed and six others were injured in a roadside blast in Bara. The condition of two injured was stated to be critical.

Officials said that a convoy of security forces was on routine patrol at Alamgudar locality when the incident occurred. They said that some unidentified militants planted the explosive device at roadside and convoy of the security forces was its possible target.

The explosion also caused damage to an official vehicle. All the injured were immediately shifted to Combined Military Hospital in Peshawar where condition of two was stated to be serious.


Hadith Studies

Are Qur'an and Hikmah (wisdom) the same? Is Hikmah only in the Qur'an?
By Kaukab Siddique

In a posting on WideMinds, a prominent member of the Parwezi sect, Mr. Bashir Abid, tried to claim that Muslims should follow only the Qur'an because, in his words, "The Wisdom is in the Qur'an itself." He refers to Sura 17:23-38 which contains "principles and values" and then quotes verse 17:39: "These are (values and principles) among the Wisdom (Al Hikmah) which your Sustainer has revealed to you." From this verse, Bashir Abid concludes : "in other words, Qur'anic values and principles are sufficient for the sustained growth and development of an healthy society."
From this point he jumps to this strange claim, typical of Parwezi sect members, that "Therefore we don't need any secondary source to look for wisdom. It is absolutely childish view to think that Al Kitab means Qur'an and Al Hikmah means Hadith or Sunnah. The question is: If Qur'an does not contain Wisdom, then what does it meant for." (Quoted as in Mr. Abid's message.)

REBUTTAL:
1. The Qur'an does NOT say that Allah revealed ONLY the Qur'an to the Prophet Muhammad (pbuh). The Qur'an gives us the prayer of Abraham and Ismail (pbut) which Allah answered by sending Muhammad (pbuh):
"Our Lord! Send among them a Messenger of their own who will recite your verses to them and teach them the Book and Wisdom and purify them: For thou art the exalted in Might, the Wise." (2:129)

Thus the messenger was to:
1) Recite the verses revealed to him,
2) teach the Book,
3) teach wisdom, related to the Book,
4) purify them.

The tasks of the messenger obviously go beyond merely reciting or transmitting the verses received from Allah.
The Qur'an later on affirms that Muhammad's (pbuh) role is exactly as defined in the prayer of Abraham and Ismail (pbut). It says:
"It is He Who has sent among the unlettered people a messenger from among themselves, to recite to them His verses, to purify them, and to teach them the Book and Wisdom, - although they had been in error manifest." (62:2)
Note that the BOOK and WISDOM (Hikmah) are two SEPARATE items. The Qur'an is NOT saying "the wisdom in the Book."
Then the Qur'an goes on to point out that this role of the Prophet (pbuh) is not only for the time when the Book was being revealed in Arabia but for the FUTURE too. [Read on from 62:2 with reference to the "unlettered people."]

"Along with others of them, who have not already joined them: And He is Exalted in Might, Wise." (62:3)

So the Prophet (pbuh) is meant to teach and purify people who were not his immediate audience . This entire role of the Prophet (pbuh) has been preserved in the authentic hadith WHICH HIS COMPANIONS NARRATED. All who knew Muhammad (pbuh) and were faithful to his message knew that his teaching of the Qur'an and his wisdom plus his process of purification of the humanity must be preserved in its purity and transmitted.

The Qur'an, in addition to the verses referred to above, also uses the word HIKMAH in a variety of ways. There is HIKMAH (wisdom) in the Qur'an itself, as Bashir Abid noted from surah 17, but that does not limit it to the Qur'an. Here is an example of a verse which clarifies the fact that HIKMAH (wisdom) is not the same as KITAB (the BOOK). "We bestowed al-Hikmah (wisdom) on Luqman ..." (31:12) It does not mean that Allah gave a Qur'an or a Book to Luqman,

The Qur'an is a powerful and eloquent Book. That is all more the reason why Allah sent it to us through the Messenger (pbuh) so that we should not put our own desires into its interpretation. The teachings of the Messenger (pbuh) are essential to Islam and have been preserved in the authentic hadith owing to the tremendous effort of his Sahaba (the blessed companions). The scholars of Islam made sure that the Hadith were preserved in their purity. They still do not come up to the excellence of the Qur'an but they are the best human beings could preserve.

Make no mistake about it, Hadith are the revolutionary teachings of the greatest revolutionary of all times. The Qur'an has been applied to every aspect of life owing to its interpretation, the Hikmah, revealed to the Prophet (pbuh). It is this Hikmah which is the irritant to the sectarians who want to destroy the purity of Islam. Just as Allah and the messenger means Allah and the messenger (and not Allah and Allah, which would be redundant), Qur'an and Hikmah means Qur'an AND Hikmah (not Qur'an and Qur'an, which would be redundant.)

2010-08-29 Sun 06:01:17 cdt
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