Ramadan 25, 1432/August 26, 2011 # 36Islamophobia? No! It's the Government, Stupid!
$3.3 billion and 15,000 Informants Launched at USA's Muslims.
"Muslims" within Muslim communities are used to trap others.
[CAIR has been misleading Muslims into thinking that Americans are suffering from 'islamophobia.' If that were true, not one mosque would survive and Americans would not be converting to Islam. CAIR-ISNA are in bed with the government and have deflected the fact that the Zionist regime in Washington has been oppressing Muslims.]
{Mother Jones magazine in its latest issue, September-October, has pinpointed the regime's campaign against Muslims. Here is an extract- editor]
Ever since 9/11, counterterrorism has been the FBI's No. 1 priority, consuming the lion's share of its budget—$3.3 billion, compared to $2.6 billion for organized crime—and much of the attention of field agents and a massive, nationwide network of informants. After years of emphasizing informant recruiting as a key task for its agents, the bureau now maintains a roster of 15,000 spies—many of them tasked, as Hussain was, with infiltrating Muslim communities in the United States. In addition, for every informant officially listed in the bureau's records, there are as many as three unofficial ones, according to one former high-level FBI official, known in bureau parlance as "hip pockets."
The bureau now maintains a roster of 15,000 spies, some paid as much as $100,000 per case, many of them tasked with infiltrating Muslim communities in the United States.
The informants could be doctors, clerks, imams. Some might not even consider themselves informants. But the FBI regularly taps all of them as part of a domestic intelligence apparatus whose only historical peer might be COINTELPRO, the program the bureau ran from the '50s to the '70s to discredit and marginalize organizations ranging from the Ku Klux Klan to civil-rights and protest groups.
Throughout the FBI's history, informant numbers have been closely guarded secrets. Periodically, however, the bureau has released those figures. A Senate oversight committee in 1975 found the FBI had 1,500 informants. In 1980, officials disclosed there were 2,800. Six years later, following the FBI's push into drugs and organized crime, the number of bureau informants ballooned to 6,000, the Los Angeles Times reported in 1986. And according to the FBI, the number grew significantly after 9/11. In its fiscal year 2008 budget authorization request, the FBI disclosed that it it had been been working under a November 2004 presidential directive demanding an increase in "human source development and management," and that it needed $12.7 million for a program to keep tabs on its spy network and create software to track and manage informants.
The bureau's strategy has changed significantly from the days when officials feared another coordinated, internationally financed attack from an Al Qaeda sleeper cell. Today, counterterrorism experts believe groups like Al Qaeda, battered by the war in Afghanistan and the efforts of the global intelligence community, have shifted to a franchise model, using the internet to encourage sympathizers to carry out attacks in their name. The main domestic threat, as the FBI sees it, is a lone wolf.
The bureau's answer has been a strategy known variously as "preemption," "prevention," and "disruption"—identifying and neutralizing potential lone wolves before they move toward action. To that end, FBI agents and informants target not just active jihadists, but tens of thousands of law-abiding people, seeking to identify those disgruntled few who might participate in a plot given the means and the opportunity. And then, in case after case, the government provides the plot, the means, and the opportunity.
Here's how it works: Informants report to their handlers on people who have, say, made statements sympathizing with terrorists. Those names are then cross-referenced with existing intelligence data, such as immigration and criminal records. FBI agents may then assign an undercover operative to approach the target by posing as a radical. Sometimes the operative will propose a plot, provide explosives, even lead the target in a fake oath to Al Qaeda. Once enough incriminating information has been gathered, there's an arrest—and a press conference announcing another foiled plot.
127 Mosques: 85% Muslims are New Converts
Miracle of Islam in Land of Bikinis and Carnivals
After 9.11 Attacks, Islam is seen by Brazilians as "New Form of Resistance."
AFP [Via Dawn.]
RIO DE JANEIRO: "As-salam aleikum!" Omar greeted worshippers as he entered Mesquita da Luz, Rio's first mosque where he had just broken his Ramazan fast at dusk.
Those are some of the only words Omar knows in Arabic, and he quickly continued his conversation in Portuguese with fellow Muslims who mostly, like him, converted recently to Islam in the world's biggest Catholic country.
In a land known more for its bikinis and extravagant Carnival featuring scantily clad women, a small but growing number of Brazilians of various backgrounds call themselves Muslim.
For decades, it was primarily families of Libyan, Palestinian and Syrian descent who practiced Islam in Brazil.
Omar, who until just four years ago officiated as Catholic priest at a local church, explained why he embraced Islam.
"I found in Islam everything I had always looked for. I met God as he is, with no adaptation," the 34-year-old graphic designer told AFP.
Wearing a traditional long djellaba robe, he refused to give his official name, instead only revealing his Muslim one: Omar Israfil Dawud bin Ibrahim.
"At the seminary, you learn that Islam is one of the monotheistic religions. There is no prejudice against this religion," said Omar as he stood by his wife Alessandra Faria, who goes by the name "Fatima" after converting and deciding to wear the veil.
"In the beginning, my mother was mortified at the thought of going outside with me. I wear the veil to show I am Muslim and aware that I am part of a minority," she said.
Fatima's hijab may raise eyebrows in Rio, where it is more common to see women walking the streets in bikinis in seaside neighborhoods, but she says her beliefs can find a place here.
"Brazil is a mix, made up of several different cultures. This mix makes Brazilians very adaptable and tolerant." Like most practicing Muslims here, Omar and Fatima are only recent converts to Islam. They plan to travel to Saudi Arabia next year on a Saudi government grant to learn Arabic.
Brazilian Muslims pray at Rio de Janeiro's first mosque, on August 13, 2011 during the Muslim holy month of Ramazan. - AFP Photo
'New form of resistance'
Renovations on the mosque they attend in the suburb of Tijuca north of Rio got under way four years ago with donations from worshippers. It will soon hold up to 400 people during prayers, a major upgrade.
"The number of Muslims continues to grow, and most are Brazilians who are converting. We recruit members mostly online," said Sami Isbelle, a spokesman for the Beneficent Muslim Society (SBMRJ).
"In Rio, there are about 500 Muslim families, 85 per cent of them Brazilian converts who have no Arab links," Isbelle said.
Things are different in Sao Paulo state and southern regions of Brazil, where most Muslims were born as such and are often of Arab descent.
Brazil's census does not count the number of Muslims, and only provides data on Catholics, evangelicals, Jews, spiritualists and followers of Afro-Brazilian religions.
"Muslims are listed in the 'other' category, along with Buddhists, for example, said Islam expert Paulo Pinto of Fuminense Federal University, who estimated Brazil is home to about a million Muslims.
The best indicator of the growth of Islam in the country is the rapid increase in the number of places of worship, according to Pinto. There are now 127 mosques, four times as many as there were back in 2000.
After the September 11 attacks in the United States, "there was a growth of interest in Islam, and many people decided to convert," Pinto added. "Islam was seen as a new form of resistance." But it was a "telenovela" or soap opera launched just three weeks after the 2001 attacks, "The Clone," that sparked some Brazilians' infatuation with Islam.
Set in Morocco, the popular show showed a "positive image of that part of the world, with a benevolent Muslim hero," said Pinto.
"There is a tendency to think that Brazilian culture, as liberal and sensual as it is, is against the rules of Islam. But in fact, there are many conservative rules that are part of moral and sexual control. Look at how many evangelicals are successful in Brazil!"
Is religious bigotry the GOP primary 'X-Factor'?
By Dr. Wilmer J. Leon III
There is a very good reason that in 1802 Thomas Jefferson coined the phrase "...wall of separation between the Church & State."
Jefferson was expressing his support for the Danbury Baptists; a religious minority in Connecticut, who feared that a religious majority supported by the State might infringe upon their First Amendment right as individuals to freely exercise their religious beliefs. In 2011 this doctrine of strict separation between church doctrine and government policy is devolving into a religious cultural war between evangelical Christian politics and the constitutional construct of a secular American way of governance.
Today, an evangelical Christian minority is attempting to impose a narrow and sometimes bigoted interpretation of Christianity and "family values" onto the non-evangelical American majority.
This brand of evangelical Christian politics has a considerable influence over the political dialogue as Republican candidates vie for the 2012 presidential nomination.
Will this prove to be an X-factor in the 2012 general election?
Already, Christian conservatives are injecting distracting wedge issues into the debate.
The most recent examples of this are remarks made by Republican presidential candidate Herman Cain regarding former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney's electability as a Mormon.
Cain has also spoken out against the construction of a mosque in Tennessee and has expressed a deep distrust of Muslims.
Republican candidates Rick Perry, Rick Santorum and Michele Bachmann are also catering to Evangelical Christian politics with wedge issues such as same-sex marriage, abortion rights, and so-called "pro-family" values.
Cain stated publicly what most Americans would prefer to ignore when he mentioned that Romney's "religious problem" is a barrier to the GOP nomination. Cain stated, "Romney would be a good choice, but I don't believe he can win...I know the South, and you have to win the South...when he ran the first time, he did not do a good job of communicating his religion. It doesn't bother me, but I know it is an issue with a lot of Southerners."
The issue is not as simple as Cain states but, the most recent Gallup poll from June 2011 found "nearly 20 percent of Republicans and independents saying they would not support a Mormon for president. That is slightly lower than the 27 percent of Democrats saying the same." In the latest Pew Research Center poll, 34 percent of white evangelicals questioned stated they would be less likely to support a candidate who was Mormon.
The sentiments expressed in the survey would also apply to another Mormon: former Utah Governor and former Obama administration Ambassador to China, Jon Huntsman.
The perspectives reflected in the poll data are also perpetuated in Christian based journalism.
Warren Cole Smith, associate publisher of The World recently wrote, "Placing a Mormon in that pulpit (bully pulpit of the presidency) would be a source of pride and a shot of adrenaline for the LDS church. It would serve to normalize the false teachings of Mormonism the world over...To elect a Mormon President is to advance the cause of the Mormon Church."
Concerns regarding Romney's and Huntsman's Mormon faith are as irrelevant as erroneous "birther" and "tea party" claims that President Obama is a Muslim. Article VI of the U.S. constitution specifies that "no religious test shall ever be required as a Qualification to any office or public trust under the United States."
As astute as Cain's observations may be regarding Romney as a Republican candidate, his other statements about Mosque's and Muslim's feed right into the stereotypes driving this religious-xenophobic evangelical Christian bigotry.
Cain said in support of those opposed to building a Mosque in Murfreesboro, TN, when asked on Fox News Sunday, "so ...any community, if they want to can ban a Mosque?" "Yes, they have the right to do that. That's not discriminating based upon religion -- against that particular religion."
When asked if he would appoint a Muslim to his cabinet or as a federal judge, Cain stated, ""No, I will not...And here's why: there is this creeping attempt, there is this attempt to gradually ease Sharia law and the Muslim faith into our government. It does not belong in our government. This is what happened in Europe..."
While Cain is busy offending Muslims, Texas Governor Rick Perry is an equal opportunity offender.
Perry recently convened a day-long prayer meeting at Houston's Reliant Stadium. According to McClatchy news service, Perry prayed for Jesus to bless and guide the nation's military and political leaders and "those who cannot see the light in the midst of all the darkness..." Over 50 Muslim, Jewish and Christian leaders protested Perry's involvement in the event by signing a statement claiming his involvement was "an official endorsement of one faith over all others, thereby sending an official message of religious exclusion and preference to all Texans who do not share that faith."
Concern and interest in issues such as same-sex marriage, abortion rights, Islam's influence in America, and gay rights are not unique to evangelical Christians. The concern for most Americans should be the manner in which evangelicals are injecting their conservative religious ideals into the political dialogue. They risk creating an evangelical Christian politics that corrupts the secular American way of governance as they push towards constitutional amendments to impose their narrow ideology on the entire nation.
Herman Cain was correct in expressing his concern, saying, "we have a First Amendment. And I get upset when the Muslims in this country -- some of them -- try to force their Sharia law onto the rest of us."
What applies to Muslims should apply to Christians.
Many Americans are just as concerned that evangelical/conservative Christians are forcing their narrow interpretation of Christianity on the country.
Dr. Wilmer Leon is the Producer/ Host of the nationally broadcast call-in talk radio program "Inside the Issues with Wilmer Leon," and a Teaching Associate in the Department of Political Science at Howard University in Washington, D.C. Go to
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Dr-Leons-Prescription/15374067347310
www.twitter.com/drwleon
Letter: Taraweeh Prayers in Congregation are not Part of Islam
As Salaamu Alaikum,
Thank you for giving me such an excellent understanding of taraweeh prayer. It's always bothered me to see all these expressions of piety in the masjid during Ramadan and almost no expression of pain for what is happening to our fellow Muslims. It's as if people have on blinders. I'm frustrated by this every Ramadan.
Peace,
Sister Karen
[Los Angeles]
Letter: This sister thinks Iraq and Somalia Should not stop us from Taraweehs
[See Editor's response after her long letter. We publish it uncut to provide the full impact of the traditional viewpoint.]
Assalaamu alaikum
Dear brother,
Sincere advice is the essence of our deen. And out of this sincerity, for the sake of Allaah, I feel it is my duty to correct you if I see you making a mistake, just like it is your duty to do the same if you see me err.
I am hopeful insha Allaah, that you will read what I have written with an open mind since I am sure you would want to know the Truth and then to follow it. And whatever I will say, I will,, insha Allaah give you authentic proofs of what I say.
Brother, taraweeh is very much part of our deen and was very much part of the Sunnah of the Prophet (sal Allaahu Alahi wa sallam) as well as the practice of the Sahaabah.
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You say that you dont see the word "taraaweeh" in the
quran and sunnah. The reason for such confusion is that our
mother tongue is not Arabic. You see brother, the word
Taraweeh, qiyaamul Layl or tahajjud are all different names
of the same prayer, called "salatul layl' which means the
night prayer.
It depends on when you pray it and thus it has the specific names. Generally, it is called Salatul Layl or Qiyaamul layl, but if you pray it late at night when you wake up after sleeping, it is called tahajjud because it is difficult to wake up at that time thus you 'jahhada'. But if you pray it during Ramadhaan it is called taraaweeh because the Sahaabha used to rest or istaraahu in between the two or four rakaat because they used to pray very long rakaat and they would get tired and thus needed to rest or istaraahu between the rakaat.
Someone asked shaikh Munajjid about iqyam and taraweeh being the same prayer or different. He replied:
"Salaat al-Taraaweeh is classified as part of qiyaam al-layl; they are not two different prayers, as many people think. Qiyaam al-layl during Ramadaan is called Taraaweeh because the salaf or early generations of Islam (may Allaah have mercy on them) used to rest (istaraahu) after every two or four rak'ahs, because they made their prayers long in order to make the most of this season of great reward. They were eager to earn the reward mentioned in the hadeeth: "Whoever stays up and prays at night in Ramadaan out of faith and in the hope of reward, all his previous sins will be forgiven." (Reported by al-Bukhaari, no. 36). And Allaah knows best." Islam Q&A Sheikh Muhammed Salih Al-Munajjid
It is just like the early morning prayer called Duha prayer. The time range to pray this prayer is from about 15-20 minutes after sunrise all the way up to just before zawaal time which is when the sun reaches its zenith and it is forbidden to pray at zawaa time. Now , if you pray this prayer at its earliest time, soon after sunrise, hten specifically it is called "Ishraaq' although it is still generally, Duha. And if you pray it at its later time then it is called Duha or specifically what we call in desi terms "chaasht". So it depends on when you pray the prayer and thus generally it may be called something but specifically, it might be called something else.
This is and was a very common trend among the Arabs to call something they love or what is really important with a lot of different names. For example, the camel has over 10-15 names in Arabic, such as jamal, ibl, naqqah, aashir, etc. although they are all camel names. Similarly, the sword has over 50 names in arabic.
And since the prayers were beloved to the Prophet (sal Allaahu Alahi wa sallam) and the Sahaabah, they had various names.
-
The Prophet (sal Allaahu Alahi wa sallam) himself
regularly prayed the optional night prayer in Ramadhaan and
outside of it, because it is a very virtuous deed to pray at
night.
"The best prayer after the obligatory prayer is prayer at night." (Muslim)
And in Ramadhaan he prayed it with his family and Companions and even prayed with them in congregation for a few days. Of course, taraaweeh is not obligatory. But it is highly recommended and a confirmed sunnah that the Prophet (sal Allaahu Alahi wa sallam) did regularly and encouraged the Muslims to do the same as he said: "Whoever prays qiyaam in Ramadaan out of faith and in the hope of reward, his previous sins will be forgiven." (Bukhaari, Muslim).
And Abu Hurayrah (may Allaah be pleased with him) said: "The Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) used to encourage us to pray at night in Ramadaan, without making it obligatory. Then he said, 'Whoever prays at night in Ramadaan out of faith and the hope of reward, all his previous sins will be forgiven.' (Bukhaari, Muslim)
Look how the Prophet (sal Allaahu Alahi wa sallam) is encouraging 'prayer' during the nights of Ramadhaan.
'Amr ibn Murrah al-Juhani said: "A man from Qudaa'ah came to the Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) and said, 'O Messenger of Allaah! What do you think if I testify that there is no god except Allaah, and that you, Muhammad, are His Messenger, and I pray the five daily prayers, and fast in the month (of Ramadaan), and pray at night in Ramadaan, and pay zakaah?' The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: 'Whoever dies on that will be among the siddeeqeen (those who tell the truth) and the martyrs.'"
And there are many other ahaadeeth. The point is not whether the 'word' taraaweeh is there in the Sunnah or not. The point is that the action was there. And the Prophet (sal Allaahu Alahi wa sallam) showed us many many times with his action and words that he himself prayed at night in Ramadhaan and he encouraged the Muslims to do the same and left us instructions for it.
It says in al-Mawsoo'ah al-Fiqhiyyah (34/123):
"There is no difference of opinion among the fuqaha' with regard to it being Sunnah to pray during the nights of Ramadan (Qiyaam al-layl), because the Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) said: "Whoever spends the nights of Ramadan in prayer, out of faith and seeking the reward of Allah, his previous sins will be forgiven." The fuqaha' said: Taraweeh is the qiyaam (Qiyaam al-layl) of Ramadan. Hence it is best to spend most of the night in it, because it is Qiyaam al-layl."
-
The Prophet (Sal Allaahu Alahi wa sallam) prayed tarweeh
in congregation for a few days but later he stopped for a
reason. And that was out of mercy for you and me.
"The Prophet led his companions in praying for three nights, and on the third or fourth night he did not lead them, and he said: 'I am afraid that it may be made obligatory upon you.'" This was narrated by al-Bukhaari (872).
According to a version narrated by Muslim, "But I was afraid that prayer at night may be made obligatory upon you, and you would not be able to do it." (1271).
So it is proven that Taraaweeh is part of the Sunnah of the Prophet (Sal Allaahu Alahi wa sallam) . The Prophet (Sal Allaahu Alahi wa sallam) told us the reason why he did not persist in it, which was the fear that it might become obligatory; he did not say that it is not prescribed. This fear no longer applied following the death of the Messenger(Sal Allaahu Alahi wa sallam) , because when he died, the revelation ceased and there was no longer any concern that it might become obligatory. Once the fear that it might become obligatory was no longer present, because the revelation had ceased, then the reason for not doing it was also removed, and so it was restored to its position of being Sunnah by Umar radhi Allaah anhu.
Besides, as we all know, Ramadhaan is a great opportunity for us to worship Allaah and have our sins forgiven since it is amonth of mercy and forgiveness. And we also know what a virtuous act the night prayers are. So what better time to pray these night prayers and come close to Allaah than Ramadhaan, the month of earning rewards? Right? :)
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The number of tearweeh does not matter becuse it is
something unspecified. Taraweeh is a nafl prayer that is
highly recommended. Are theer any limits specified to nafl
prayers? NO. You can pray as many nafl as you want. Thats
why the Prophet (Sal Allaahu Alahi wa sallam) said to a man
when he asked about the number of night prayers he should
do:
"Prayers at night are to be offered two by two (two rak'ahs at a time). (Bukhaari, Muslim)
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The reason why you dont see the mention of taraweeh at
the time of the conquest of makkah or during the battle of
badr is that these were specific direct orders from Allaah
to the Prophet (sal Allaahu alyhi wa saalm) while Tarweeh is
NOT obligatory. Obviuosly you give up something optional for
something that is obligatory. Besides, Battle of Badr took
place in 2 hijri. Thats the same year when the fasting
became fardh. But the Prophet (Sal Allaahu Alahi wa sallam)
was praying night prayers regularly even before that and he
prayed all night at the battle of badr. In fact there was a
time when the night prayer was fard on the Prophet (Sal
Allaahu Alahi wa sallam) and the sahaabah and later Allaah
made it optional and mustahabb.
-
And finally, I agree that the state of the Ummah is
pathetic. That's NOT because we are praying taraaweeh.
Rather because we have left the Quraan and sunnah and some
of us who do try and follow Islaam have become confused
because we have started interpreting islaam according to our
understanding instead of following the Sahaabah in
understanding and interpreting and applying Islaam.
Allaah says about the Sahaabh approving of their Imaan:
"So if they believe like you (Sahaabah) believe, then they are rightly guided, but if they turn away, then they are only in opposition." (Surah Baqarah:137)
The Sahaabh were the best geneartion, the Quraan was revealed in their language in their time in their culture. If there was any confusuions/questions they would ask the Prophet and he explained to them with his living example what true Islaam is and they witnessed that with their own eyes. and Allaah says about them:
"And the first to embrace Islâm of the Muhâjirűn (those who migrated from Makkah to Al-Madinah) and the Ansâr (the citizens of Al-Madinah who helped and gave aid to the Muhâjirűn) and also those who followed them exactly (in Faith). Allâh is well-pleased with them as they are well-pleased with Him. He has prepared for them Gardens under which rivers flow ( Paradise ), to dwell therein forever. That is the supreme success." (Surah Taubah:100)
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We should and we must help our muslim brothers and
sisters all over the world but we can do it while still
praying taraweeh. That has nothing to do with that. Just
becuase our Muslim brothers and sisters in Iraq or somalia ,
etc. are in great trouble does not mean we should stop
praying or fasting or giving zakaat. We can do all that and
still help in every way we possibly can.
Sis. Asma [Houston]
Editor's response:
Dear sister
walaikum asalam
May Allah reward you for your extensive reply about taraweehs.
I am afraid your response does NOT prove that taraweehs are part of Islam.
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Praying at night is recommended but not required. We
should do it more in Ramadan. I am for it.
-
However Taraweehs are congregational prayers and the
Prophet, pbuh, STOPPED the sahaba from doing it.
You ignored the emphasis in Sahih Bukhari on STOPPING the congregational late night prayers.
The Prophet, pbuh, did it only three times but then stopped it. All arguments cannot change that. Up to three times is okay but after that it is bida'.
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Looks like Shaikh Munajjid is out of touch with the
world. The Muslims are facing global war. You can't be doing
taraweehs while the enemy is trying to kill you.
-
You can't ignore Somalia and continue taraweehs EVERY
NIGHT.
-
Have you tried praying maghrib and Isha WITHOUT anything
for iftar? Someone should inform Shaykh Munajjid. Let him
try it.
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The narrations about Umar, pbuh, don't make sense either.
He was constantly organizing JIHAD, not taraweehs.
-
As for the number of taraweehs, there is NO basis in
nass-e-sarih at all.
Your brother in faith
Kaukab Siddique
Sarcastic Letter: Re: Taraweeh: Are you Saying you know better than Khalifa Omar, r.a.
[See editor's response below]
Asak,
asatgfurAllah we get enlightenment from great people like DR Kaukab,
who have the courage and knowledge to question even Omar RZAT.
Lets check what is the status of Khalifa omar and who his teacher was.
His teacher was Prophet peace upon him.
When Omar saw the whole masjid was praying individually he asked one sahabi
who was hafiz to lead the prayer. and said that this is Bidat but this is BidatHasna.
He didnt order community to prayer in congregation and went home to sleep.
I am sure he joined them.
let me quote one Hadith :one woman came to prophet and asked him,
oh prophet of Allah what should I do after you, Prophet's reply was fpllow
Abubakr; then she asked if I dont find Abubakr what should I do.
Prophet replied : then follow Omar; then she again asked who shoud I follow after
Omar the reply was follow Osman :then she asked again after Osman , I believe
Iam not sure the reply was in exasperation to hide in somewhere.
What I am trying to say there are clear Hadith indicating our Prophet made it clear
Who to follow after him and mandated the following.
and whole Umma including the great companions followed all the caliphas.
the decisions or changes that were done were based on the Quran and Hadith and the great benefit of Umma. No body has proclaimed Taraweehs to be Fard:not only Taraweehs but many new things were done that were not done in Prophets' time, like calling two athans for Jumma were intoduced by Osman ra.
There were indications in the litrature that in the last days there will be people
who will even question and criticize the great Companions .
May Allah swt guide us.
Shameem Khan [Minneapolis, Minnesota]
Editor's Reply:
walaikum asalam
Only the teachings of the Prophet, pbuh, are essential to Islam.
No sahabi is equal to the Prophet, pbuh.
Abu Bakr, r.a., and Omar, r.a., did ijtehad in some matters. These ijtehads are not valid for all times to come. Only the Qur'an and the proven teachings of the Prophet, pbuh, are valid for all times.
Abu Bakr and Omar, Allah be pleased with them, differed with each other on many matters. Abu Bakr, r.a., did not try to organize taraweehs. So, was Abu Bakr, r.a., wrong and Omar, r.a., was right? No! Great scholars have the right to do ijtehad, but we can't be blamed for not following it.
I am studying the life of Omar, r.a. I don't find taraweehs in it. Did he really say that taraweehs should be of a certain number and should be done every night? Let me see if you can find that in his life, not in a narrative attributed to him.
If you want to follow great Muslims, do so, but you can't claim that it is required in Islam.
Focus on any one sahabi creates sects.
Omar, r.a., followed the Prophet, pbuh. The ijtehad of Omar, r.a., is not binding on Muslims night after night in Ramadan.
The same applies to Ali, r.a. We love them, all the Sahaba, r.a., but we obey ONLY ALLAH and HIS MESSENGER, Pbuh.
I am a humble Muslim but I have the right to give Nasiha, just as you do. There is no need to be sarcastic.
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