Laa ilaha il-Allah

Frankly, if you became Muslim for any reason other than this, then you
never understood Islam to begin with. And if you were raised Muslim
but were not taught the infinite importance of this single sentence,
thenyou were not really raised as Muslim. You were only taught
culturalpractices.
This is Islam. This is what all reality is based on. This is what
religion has been since the beginningof time. This is what all the
Prophets brought (may Allah bless them all).Every element of
creationacknowledges this truth except us; every child is born on this
truth (whichis why we are all "born Muslim"): This truth that we were
created by a single, indivisible God; that our Creator is Loving,
Merciful and Compassionate; that everything we are and everything we
own comes from Him; that we began with Him as a breath, and we return
to Him as dust; that He witnesses everything we do; that He rewards
the good and punishes evil; that He loves us and wants good for us in
this life and the next; that He answers when we call and guides us
when we ask; that we owe gratitude to Him for every heartbeat, every
lung full of air, every biteof food, and every glimpse of truth.
No one deserves our love and obedience before Allah. Our first loyalty
is to Him.
No one can help us but Allah; and no one can harm us but Him. When
we're struggling and we cry out to ourselves, "What am I going to do?
Who will help me? What is the way forward for me?", we need to
addressthose cries to Allah! The answers will not come from our own
thoughts or tears; the answers won't come from banging our fists or
pulling our hair. The answers will come from Allah.
Forget for a moment about all those other factors that you are
reacting to: how so-and-so treated you, how your family treats you,
what the non-Muslims say, what the policies are at the Masjid, how
some Muslims gossip or discriminate, blah, blah, blah, these things
are distractions and traps.
I'm not saying that these things should not affect us. We're human
beings and we can't help being affected by how other human beings
treat us. Our relationships with family and society are real and they
matter. But these factors should never cut us away from Laa
ilaha-il-Allah. If they do, then the wolf has isolated us, cut us away
from the truth and begunto devour our souls.
Truth. If you are in Islam for any other reason, then indeed, what is the point?
This is a characteristic of a believing Muslim, that he or she is
committed totruth like a plant to the sun. We must have a passion for
the truth, we must be willing to die forthe truth.

The Heart of the Matter

Sometimes we have a problem with a Muslim orMuslims, and we get
frustrated and we think, "I don't want to be around those people
anymore." Or something happens at the Masjid (the mosque) that we
don't like, maybe the Imam says something we don't agree with, or we
don't like the Masjid policies, and we feel offended and we stop
going. Maybe we pray at home, and stop associating with Muslims,then
maybe over time webecome slack in our prayers, but we tell ourselves
it's okay because we're still Muslim "in our hearts".
That's one kind of trap.
On top of that it's hard to represent this deen among non-Muslims.
It's hard to carry yourself as a Muslim at work when you're the only
one thereand you're aware that some of your co-workers are bigots or
are operating on negative stereotypes. It's hard to wear the hijab
when some people look at you as if you're a terrorist.
So maybe we give up the outer trappings of Islam, telling ourselves
that we have to survive in this society.
That's another trap.
And if you're a convert and your family is opposed to your conversion
to Islam, that's another weight to carry. If they are openly hostile,
and if you still live with them as they mock your deen (maybe in front
of your children) and try to undercut your childrens' practice of
Islam by feeding them pork or letting them have"a little taste" of
wine… or something comes on the news about a conflictin the Muslim
world and your family says, "Look, those Muslims are at it again…" And
you don't know how to respond, oryou don't want to start another fight
so you keep your mouth shut, but inside you feel humiliated and
confused…
And if you are isolated from the Muslim community for racial reasons
(this is not supposed to happen but it does) or for simple cultural
reasons, because you can't speak Arabic or Urdu and you don't fit in,
and you haven't been able to make any Muslim friends, or you feel that
the Masjid crowd don't regard you in the same way as so-called "born
Muslims"… instead they look at you as an oddity, or a child, or a
trophy of some kind, as if your conversion somehow validates their
faith…
Well, then, you might start to say to yourself, "What's the point? Is
it really worth it? Is it even really true?"
That's obviously a huge, deadly trap.
Okay, if you're a "born Muslim" you might not reach the point of that
last statement ("Is it even true?") because for most of us who were
raised Muslim, Islam is bred into us from childhood, and it's a part
of us even when we don't understand it or appreciate it. But you
stillmight feel that identifying as a Muslim is too much trouble… it's
easier to associate with non-Muslims, abandon your prayers, drink wine
at the company dinner, have relationships with non-Muslims, and not
have to battle against society every day, not to mention battling
against your own nafs (desires). This is an easy trap to fall into if
you are a professional living alone.
We fall into these traps because we forget what this deen is. Shaytan
(Satan) isolates us just as a wolf isolates a sheep, driving it away
from the herd; then he plays games with our minds so that we become
reactive,responding emotionally to circumstances in our environments.
("That Muslim cheated me, so I don't trust Muslims anymore.") Shaytan
givesus pathetic rationalizations that we latch onto as if they
reallymean something. ("I'm a single Muslim alone in a non-Muslim
environment.It's not practical for me tolive an Islamic lifestyle
right now.")
Or whatever.
We fall into these spiritual traps because we forget what Islam is all
about. We forget the heart of the matter, the core, the fulcrum upon
which the universe turns,the foundation of reality itself:
Laa ilaha il-Allah.
There is no God but Allah.

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And Allah Knows the Best!

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Published by :->
M NajimudeeN Bsc- INDIA

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Challenges of Identity in the World of Islam

In 20th century, four main factors have causedthe individual and
social crisis in the Islamic societies. The considerable factors are;
1) The first is the system of governments or the famous pattern
of"nation - state", which has divided the unified Islamic communities
into the separate estates.
For instance, Bangladesh has been separated from Pakistan as a new
Islamicnation and also Pakistan has been isolated from Islamic nation
of India.
In Europe during the last years, Islamic country of Bosnia -
Herzegovina has been divided into separate parts of three and Muslims
in Albania and Kosovo, which have formed a unified Islamic Ummah, are
ruled by twodifferent systems.
Bangladesh has been separated from Pakistan as a new Islamic nation
and also Pakistan has been isolated from Islamic nation of India.
In Europe during the last years, Islamic country of Bosnia -
Herzegovina has been divided into separate parts of three and Muslims
in Albania and Kosovo, which have formed a unified Islamic Ummah, are
ruled by twodifferent systems.
2) The second factor, which had resulted from the political system
of"nation - state" or"national government", is the phenomenon of
nationalism among Muslims.
The concept of nationality, which alwayshas been praised by Muslims,
has changed into the concept of European and American nationalism.
By the way, the identity of individuals and groupsof the Islamic
nation will be transfer to the new national and governmental units.
Nationalism caused the divergence of the Islamic societies.
Islamic brotherhood, equality, freedom and justice have been replaced
by national and ethnic identity.
3) The third factor is the model of development ormodernism.
After the establishment of national governments and tendency to
nationalism is the next step to weaken the Islamic identity, the
plansof economic, national, political and cultural development were
thoroughly based on the pattern of modernity or development in Europe
and America.
So, during the recent century, the development patterns have
thoroughly changed the systems of education, bureaucracy, organizing
and organization, economic growth and expansion ofpress and media.
Islamic identity lost its value and was replaced by new identities of
modernity, such as classicidentities, Capitalism and Marxist.
4) The growth of the third factor in the Islamicsocieties, which
caused the weakness of Islamic identity, has not occurred in a natural
environment but has been grown as the Western powers began their
relations with the Muslim Ummah through colonial interventions and the
policies of cultural and economic invasion.
In other words, unilateralapproach to international relations and
diplomacy between Islamic countries and the European and American
powers caused spreadingthe non-Islamic identity.
At this time the systems of Media, universities, military,
bureaucracy, parliamentary and judiciary in Islamic countries, which
were built by the Europeans and Americans, acted as the load speakers
of non-Islamic and even anti-Islam identity.
A survey on the press dealing with Islamic identity indicates the
outstanding clues for the factors mentioned above.
The national press in Islamic countries has been imported institutions
and ideological organs for national and governmental systems.
Except for some limited periods, the national press and media always
served and promoted modernism, nationalism and non-Islamic identity,
and the national tendency is an undeniable issue in the present media
of many Islamic countries.
Internationally, the press until the Islamic Revolution of Iran
soughtto avoid the Islamic world concerns.
Over the past two decades that the Islamic movements caused the
extraordinary developments in the regional and international policies,
the main international media ruled by Europe and America intended to
blur the Islamic identity and primarily depicted a negative image for
developments in Islamic countries.
Islamic identity has been often mentioned"fundamentalists","religious
fanatics" and"insurgents and terrorists", in the international media.
In recent decades, cultural institutions and media companies have
launched a cultural aggression against Islamic countries throughthe
Western industries, which is completely along with their political and
economic plots.

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And Allah Knows the Best!

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Published by :->
M NajimudeeN Bsc- INDIA

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Quran Ta-Ha :

In the name of God, theGracious, the Merciful.
1. Ta, Ha.
2. We did not reveal theQuran to you to make you suffer.
3. But only as a reminder for him who fears.
4. A revelation from He who created the earth and the high heavens.
5. The Most Merciful; onthe Throne He settled.
6. To Him belongs everything in the heavens and the earth, and
everything between them, and everything beneath the soil.
7. If you speak aloud—He knows the secret, and the most hidden.
8. God, there is no god but He, His are the Most Beautiful Names.
9. Has the story of Moses reached you?
10. When he saw a fire, he said to his family, "Stay; I have noticed a
fire; Perhaps I can bring you a torch therefrom, or find some guidance
by the fire."
11. Then, when he reached it, he was called, "O Moses.
12. I—I am your Lord. Take off your shoes. You are in the sacred valley of Tuwa.
13. I have chosen you, so listen to what is revealed.
14. I—I am God. There is no God but I. So serve Me, and practice the
prayer for My remembrance.
15. The Hour is coming—but I keep it almost hidden—so that each soul
will be paid for what it endeavors.
16. And do not let him who denies it and follows his desire turn you
away from it, lest you fall.
17. And what is that in your right-hand, O Moses?"
18. He said, "This is my staff. I lean on it, and herd my sheep with
it, and I have other uses for it."
19. He said, "Throw it, OMoses."
20. So he threw it—thereupon it became a moving serpent.
21. He said, "Take hold of it, and do not fear. We will restore it to
itsoriginal condition.
22. And press your hand to your side; it will come out white, without
a blemish—another sign.
23. That We may show you some of Our greatest signs.
24. Go to Pharaoh; He has transgressed."
25. He said, "My Lord, put my heart at peace for me.
26. And ease my task for me.
27. And untie the knot from my tongue.
28. So they can understand my speech.
29. And appoint an assistant for me, from my family.
30. Aaron, my brother.
31. Strengthen me withhim.
32. And have him share in my mission.