How does Islam continue to grow in the West?

Someone posted this question recently on an Islamic forum that I belong to:
There all kinds of people coming to Islam. There are some that even
convert in huge masses (20+ people). It's the fastest growing religion
in the UK and USA. Just visit Youtube. How is thata religion that is
put down in the media constantly is the most popular choice today?
Let me put it in marketing terms to start. I don't want to cheapen our
deen which is the most beautiful way of life, ordained for humanity by
Allah. But most people in this consumer culture of the West understand
marketing concepts.
In the marketing industrythey say that there is no such thing as bad
publicity. That may or may not be true, but I do believe it is true
when you have a quality product. Islam is a qualityproduct.
I have heard of many people who initially wanted to learn more about
this "terrible religion" that gets so much bad press. So they picked
up a book on Islam or a copy of the Quran, began reading, and
SubhanAllah, were guided to the truth.
That's the way of it.
Throwing a rubber ballat the ground
This deen is a clarion call,it is the sunlight through the clouds. It
is manifest truth. As much as the enemies of Allah try to badmouth
Islam, they only serve its cause. As Allah says (paraphrasing) in the
Quran, they desired to extinguish the light of Allah with their
mouths, but Allah will complete His light, though the disbelievers may
detest it.
Someone once said to methat those who try to damage Islam are like
someone throwing a rubber ball down on the ground. The harder they
throw it, trying to smash it, the higher it bounces back in the air.
When I say there's no such thing as bad publicity, that doesn't mean
that I am happy about things like terroristattacks, "honor killings",
female genital mutilationand other bad actions that bring bad
publicity to Islam. I despise those acts and I utterly condemn them,
not only because they damage theimage of Islam and make life harder
for Muslims, but because they are evil in themselves, and they bring
suffering to innocent people.
No, when I say there's no such thing as bad publicity, I am thinking
more of the lies that are told about Islam. Hateful preachers who
insult the Prophet (peace be upon him); or the often-made false claim
that Islam wasspread by the sword; or the bigoted epithets
(like"Islamofascists") that are used to try to discredit Islam in the
eyes of the public. In the end, all these lies will fail, because
truth is clear from falsehood.
Quran 61:8
(8) They want to extinguish the light of Allah with their mouths, but
Allah will perfect His light, although the disbelievers dislike it.
(9) It is He who sent His Messenger with guidanceand the religion of
truth to manifest it over all religion, although those who associate
others with Allah dislike it.
(Umm Muhammad translation)
The enemies of Islam think that Allah's light is like a candle that
can be blown out with the breath from their mouths, by propagating
false rumors and lies about this deen. They might as well try to blow
out the light of the sun. Allah's light is far more powerful even than
that.
Quran is a light
" O humankind, there has come to you a conclusive proof from your
Lord, and We have sent down to you a clear light." (Quran 4:174)
Allah has manifested His light in the revelation of the Quran. It is
an eternalbook, protected by Allah, unchanged, shedding light like a
lamp that never runs dry. It illuminates the souls of those who read
it and practice it, and so light spreads in the world, purifying it.
That's why the Messengerof Allah (pbuh) said, "The best amongst you
are those who learn the Quran and teach it." [Al-Bukhaari] Because
theQuran is the source of guidance and a light, andby spreading it we
ensure the victory of Islam over oppression, we perpetuate Truth in
the world, and we offer guidance to the lost.
The Quran is also a sourceof internal peace. Recitation and
contemplation of the Quran soothes the heart and carries away the
stresses of life, and it brings one closer to Allah.That's why the
Prophet (pbuh) said, "No people assemble in one of the houses of
Allah, and recite and study the Bookof Allah, except that tranquility
prevails over them, mercy encompasses them, the angels surround them,
and Allah makes a mention of them in the presence of those near Him."
[Muslim]
Wow. SubhanAllah.
So it's not surprising when you hear stories from people who were
non-Muslims; became curious about Islam due to the constant
fear-mongering in the media; decided to pick up a Quran and check it
out for themselves; and found themselves moved,and their hearts
touched,so that they accepted Islam. It's a very common story.
Trust in Allah
I started out by answering the question, "How does Islam continue to
grow in the West in spite of all the negative press and lies?" Now I
want to add a finalmessage for my Muslim readers: Don't despair when
you see the forces of falsehood arrayed in all their power against
Islam. When you read about Muslims being oppressed in Palestine,
Chechnya, East Turkestan (a Muslim province of China) and so many
otherplaces, you should feel pain and sympathy for your brothers and
sisters,but don't let your heart be filled with rage or hatred.
Don't despair! Hatred anddespair are the oppositesof faith; they lead
to corruption and are the fuel that drives evils like terrorism, where
people cast aside the principles of their religion, and allow
themselves to be seduced into blind violence, justifying it to
themselves because they are so angry.
Trust that Allah will perfect His light. Do your part to serve the
cause ofIslam (that is key!), and then trust that Allah will manifest
the Truth over all, no matter who standsagainst it. Trust also that
Allah will guide you, and bring you into the light, and reward you in
this life and the next.
In these next two verses there is a double message, one for the People
of the Book (the Christians and the Jews), calling them to the light
that Allah has revealed; and one to the believers, calling on them to
"pursue His pleasure to the ways of peace…", in other words to seek
Allah's pleasure through compassionate and righteous action on the
paths of peace.
"O People of the Scripture, there has cometo you Our Messenger making
clear to you much of what you used to conceal of the Scripture and
overlooking much. There has come to you from Allah a light and a clear
Book; By which Allah guides those who pursueHis pleasure to the ways
of peace and brings themout from darknesses into the light, by His
permission, and guides them to a straight path." (Quran 5:15-16)

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evil eye - Is witchcraft real? Is it permissible to seek treatment from practitioners of witchcraft

Is there anything such aswitch doctors? What should we do if someone
says "I don't believe in magic" because "this is just an illusion"?.
Praise be to Allaah.
Sihr (witchcraft or magic) is a word referring to something hidden. It
is real and there are kinds of witchcraft that may affect people
psychologically and physically, so that they become sick and die, or
husbands and wives are separated. Its effects happen by the will of
Allaah. It is a devilish action, most of which is only achieved by
means of shirk and drawing close to the jinn and shayaateen (devils)
by means of that which they love, and it is basedon associating others
with Allaah (shirk).
There are doctors who are also practitioners of witchcraft, who treat
people by means of seeking the help of the jinn. They claim to have
knowledge of the sickness with no need toidentify it, and they
prescribe for the patient foods and drinks that bring him closer to
his allies among the devils. He may tell them to slaughter a pig
whilst saying "Bismillaah" over it, or to slaughter a permissible
animal without saying "Bismillaah", or when saying the name of one of
the devils.
This is kufr or disbelief in Allaah, and it is not permissible under
any circumstances to go to people like these. The hadd punishment for
these people is execution. It has been proven from three of
theSahaabah (may Allaah bepleased with them) that the practitioners of
witchcraft are to be put to death.
The Standing Committee was asked a question about this matter, in
which it was said:
Please note that in Zambia there is a Muslimman who claims that he has
with him a jinn, and the people come to him and ask him to treat their
sicknesses, and thisjinn states what their treatment should be. Is
that permissible?
They replied:
It is not permissible for that man to use the jinn, and it is not
permissible for the people to go to him seeking treatment for sickness
through his using the jinn, or to meet any other need by this means.
Seeking treatment through human medical doctors and using permissible
medicines is sufficient and means that there is no need for that, and
it keeps peoplesafe from the sorcery of the magicians.
It was narrated in a saheeh report that the Messenger of Allaah (peace
and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: "Whoever goes to
afortune-teller and asks him about something, his prayer will not be
accepted for forty days." Narrated by Muslim.
And it was narrated by the authors of al-Sunan and by al-Haakim, who
classed it as saheeh, that the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah
be upon him) said: "Whoever goes to a soothsayer and believes what he
says has disbelieved in that which was revealed to Muhammad."
This man and his companions from among the jinn are regarded as being
among the fortune-tellers and soothsayers, so it is not permissible
toask them anything or to believe them.
Fataawa al-Lajnah al-Daa'imah, 1/408, 409
Shaykh 'Abd al-'Azeez ibn Baaz said:
Given that there are so many charlatans lately, who claim to be
doctors and to treat people by means of magic and witchcraft, and they
have become widespread in some countries and they exploit the naïveté
of the ignorant, I thought that in the spirit of sincerity towards
Allaah and His slaves, that I should explain the gravedanger that this
poses toIslam and the Muslims, because it involves dependence on
something other than Allaah and going againstHis command and the
command of His Messenger (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him),
so I say, seeking the help of Allaah:
It is permissible to seek treatment according to scholarly consensus.
The Muslim may go to a doctor to seek treatmentfor internal diseases,
injuries, nervous complaints, etc, so that he can identify the disease
and treat it in anappropriate manner, using medicines that
arepermissible according tosharee'ah, based on his knowledge of
medicine, because this comes under the heading of using the ordinary
means, and it is not contrary to the idea of putting one's trust in
Allaah. Allaah has sent down the disease but Hehas also sent down with
it the cure; those who know it know it and those who do not do not.
But Allaah has not created the healing for His slaves in that which He
has forbidden to them, so it is not permissible for the sick person to
go to a soothsayer who claims to know the unseen, in order to find out
from them what is wrong with him. And it is not permissible for him to
believe what they tell him, because they speak of the unseen without
knowledge, or they summon the jinn and seek their help in doing what
they want. The ruling on these people isthat they are kaafirs
andmisguided, because theyclaim to have knowledge of the unseen.
Muslim narratedin his Saheeh that the Prophet (peace and blessings of
Allaah be upon him) said: "Whoever goes to a fortune-teller and asks
him about something, his prayer will not be accepted for forty days."
And it was narrated fromAbu Hurayrah (may Allaah be pleased with him)
that the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said:
"Whoever goes to asoothsayer and believes what he says has disbelieved
in that which was revealed to Muhammad (peace and blessings of Allaah
be upon him)." Narrated by Abu Dawood and by the four authors of
al-Sunan;classed as saheeh by al-Haakim who narrated that the Prophet
(peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: "Whoever goes to a
fortune-teller or soothsayer and believes what he says has disbelieved
in that which was revealed to Muhammad (peace and blessings of Allaah
be upon him)." And it was narrated that 'Imraan ibn Husayn (may Allaah
be pleased with him) said: The Messenger of Allaah (peace and
blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: "He doesnot belong to us who
observes bird omens or has that done for him, orwho seeks divination
or who has that done for him, or who practices witchcraft or has that
done for him. Whoever goes to a soothsayer andbelieves what he says
has disbelieved in that which was revealed to Muhammad (peace and
blessings of Allaah be upon him)." Narrated by al-Bazzaar with a
jayyid isnaad.
These ahaadeeth demonstrate that it is forbidden to go to soothsayers,
fortune-tellers, witches and the like, and ask them questions and
believe them, and a warning is issued to those who do that. Community
leaders and those in positions ofpower and authority must forbid going
to fortune-tellers, soothsayers and the like,and not allow anyone who
deals in such thingsto operate in the marketplaces or elsewhere. They
should denounce them emphatically, and denounce those who go to them.
We should not be deceived by the fact that they may get things right
sometimes, or by the fact that many people go to them, because they
are ignorant and the people should not be deceived by them. The
Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) forbade going to
them, asking them questions and believing them, because that is a
great evil, a serious danger and leads to bad consequences, and
because they are immoral liars. These ahaadeeth also indicate that
soothsayers and witches are also kaafirs, because they claim to have
knowledge of the unseen, which is kufr, and because they only reach
their goals by serving the jinn and worshipping them instead of
Allaah, which is kufr or disbelief in Himand associating others with
Him (shirk). The one who believes them and their claims to have
knowledge of the unseen is like them. Everyone who goes to these
people and deals with them, is disowned by the Messenger of Allaah
(peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him). It is not permissible for
the Muslim to accept what they claim is a kind of treatment, such as
their muttering mumbo-jumbo or pouring lead and other kinds of
nonsense that they do. This is a kind of sorcery and deception of the
people. Whoever acceptsthat is helping them in their falsehood and
kufr.
Majmoo' Fataawa al-Shaykh Ibn Baaz, 3/274-281.
Secondly:
With regard to witchcraft (sihr), it is realand is not an illusion,
and it may have an effect by Allaah's leave.
Al-Quraafi said: Sihr is real, and the person against whom it is done
may die, or his nature orhabits may be changed, even if he does not
deal with it himself. This was the view of al-Shaafa'i and Ibn Hanbal…
Al-Furooq, 4/149.
The Mu'tazalis, Qadaris and some of the scholarsheld a different view,
but no attention should be paid to that. Al-Quraafi and others
mentioned that the Sahaabah were unanimously agreed that it is real
before there appeared those who denied that.
The evidence of Ahl al-Sunnah concerning that is as follows:
1. Allaah says (interpretation of the meaning):
"but the Shayaateen (devils) disbelieved, teaching men magic andsuch
things that came down at Babylon to the two angels, Haaroot and
Maaroot, but neither of these two (angels) taught anyone (such things)
till they had said,"We are for trial, so disbelieve not (by learning
this magic fromus)." And from these (angels) people learn that by
which they causeseparation between man and his wife, but they could
not thus harmanyone except by Allaah's Leave. And they learn that
which harms them and profits them not"
[al-Baqarah 2:102]
This verse clearly indicates what we are trying to say, which is that
sihr (witchcraft) is real, and that the practitioner of witchcraft may
create a division between a man and his wife thereby, and that he may
harm people by means of his witchcraft, but he cannot do any harm
except by Allaah's leave.
2. Allaah says (interpretation of the meaning):
"And from the evil of those who practise witchcraft when they blow in the knots"
[al-Falaq 113:4]
"those who practise witchcraft when they blow in the knots" refersto
female witches whosewitchcraft involved tyingknots then blowing into
them. If witchcraft were not something real, Allaah would not have
commanded us to seek refuge from it.
3. Further evidence is provided by the fact thatthe Prophet (peace
and blessings of Allaah be upon him) was bewitched by the Jew Labeed
ibn al-A'sam. Thisis a saheeh hadeeth that was narrated by al-Bukhaari
and Muslim.
Ibn al-Qayyim said: The witchcraft which can cause sickness, lethargy,
mental sickness, love, hatred and delusions is something that does
exist and is known by the masses. Many peopleknow it from experience.
Al-Tafseer al-Qayyim, p. 571
Thirdly:
There are many kinds of witchcraft, including illusions and deceiving
the eyes. But not all sihr is like that. Some of the scholars listed
different kinds of witchcraft, and counted eight kinds, the most well
known of which are:
1. Knots and incantations
i.e., reciting words and mumbo-jumbo by meansof which the witch is
able to use the devils to do what he wants of harming the person being
bewitched. But Allaah says (interpretation of the meaning):
"… but they could not thus harm anyone except by Allaah's Leave"
[al-Baqarah 2:102]
2. Sleight of hand.
They become skilled in this by means of practiceand training to do
things quickly, and bringout something hidden.
For example, the magician may bring a dove and strange it in front of
the audience, then he hits it with his hand and it gets up and flies.
But in fact there was a kind of anaesthetic in his hand and he made it
smell it and made the audience think that he had strangled it and
killed it, then when he hits it, he wakes it up from that stupor.
3. Bewitching the eyes.
This is very common among the liars; the magician does not really put
a sword in his body, rather he bewitches the eyes of the audience, and
puts the sword by his side, but the bewitched people think that he
puts it through his middle.
These tricksters have become well known among us, because among the
audience there are those who protected themselves with Qur'aan and
dhikr, and remembered Allaah a great deal whilst sitting in the
gathering watching the magician, so they saw what really happened,
unlike what those who were bewitched saw.
4. Using chemicals
This is done well by those who know how substances react with one
another, thus producing a substance that is not affected by some other
substances, such as the Sufi Rifaa'iyyah who make people think that
they are not affected by fire, when in fact they coat themselves with
some fireproof substances. Shaykh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyah (may Allaah
have mercy on him) challenged them to wash with hot water before
entering the fire and they refused because this would haveexposed
their deceit.
And there are many other things that the practitioners of witchcraft
do, which could not happen unless Allaah decreed it.
See Tafseer Ibn Katheer, 1/146; Majmoo' Fataawa al-Shaykh Ibn
'Uthaymeen, 2/178; al-Sihr by Shaykh 'Umar al-Ashqar.
And Allaah knows best.

evil eye - Was there anyone on earth before Adam (peace be upon him)?

Were there any people before Adam (peace be upon him) whose name was
Jinn and others whose name was Hinn?.
Praise be to Allaah.
There is nothing in the Qur'aan or Sunnah to indicate that there were
any people living on Earth before Adam (peace be upon him). Rather the
reports that speak of that are the opinions of mufassireen (Qur'an
commentators) among the Sahaabah and Taabi'een. For example:
-1-
The first opinion is that the earth was inhabited by the jinn, whom
Allah, may He be exalted, created from fire. This opinion was narrated
from most of the mufassireen.
At-Tabari narrated in his Tafseer (1/232) from Ibn 'Abbaas (may Allah
be pleased with him) that he said:
The first ones to dwell on earth were the jinn, and they caused
mischief therein, shedding blood and killing one another.
It was narrated from ar-Rabee' ibn Anas that he said:
Allah created the angels on Wednesday, and He created the jinn on
Thursday and He createdAdam on Friday. Then some of the jinn
disbelieved, and the angels used to come down to earth to fight them,
and there was bloodshed and corruption on earth.
-2-
The second opinion is that there was no one on earth, jinn or
otherwise, before Adam (peace be upon him).
at-Tabari narrated this view in his Tafseer (1/232) from 'Abd
ar-Rahmaan ibn Zayd, who said:
Allah, may He be exalted,said to the angels: I wantto create a
creature on earth and make him a vicegerent (khaleefah) therein. On
that day Allah had no creation except the angels, and there were no
creatures on earth.
Al-'Allaamah at-Taahir ibn 'Ashoor said in at-Tahreer wa't-Tanweer(1/228):
After mentioning the creation of the earth then the heavens, Allah
referred to His will, that He would create a vicegerent. This
indicates that creating the vicegerent was the first thing done on
earthafter it was created. The vicegerent here is the one who takes
control ofanother's property and manages it, and the original owner
does not necessarily have to have been in that place beforehand. So
the vicegerent was Adam, and his role as vicegerent was to do what
Allah, may He be exalted, wanted of developing the earth on the basis
of inspiration and revelation, and to teach his offspring Allah's plan
concerning this earthy realm.
End quote.
With regard to what some commentators andhistorians say about a race
called Hinn inhabiting the earth, then the Jinn came and killed them
and took their place, it seems that this is a story that cannotbe
attributed to any sound isnaad (chain of narrators).
Ibn Katheer said in al-Bidaayah wa'n-Nihaayah (1/55):
Many scholars of tafseer say that the jinn were created before Adam
(peace be upon him), and before them on Earth there were the hinn and
the binn, then Allah caused the jinn to prevail over them, so they
killed them and expelled them from the earth and inhabited it after
them. End quote.
Al-'Allaamah at-Taahir ibn 'Ashoor said in at-Tahreer wa't-Tanweer(1/228):
If it is true that the earthwas inhabited before by a race of
creatures calledal-hinn wa'l-binn or, it was said, they were called
at-tamm wa'r-ramm, this is a reference to something that never existed
and is unknown. Perhaps theseare among the myths of the Persians and
Greeks propagated by the storytellers, because the Persians say that
before mankind existed on earth, there was a race called at-tamm
wa'r-ramm, and the Greeks believed that the earth was populated by
creatures called Titans, and Zeus, the leader of their gods according
to their beliefs, drove themfrom the earth because of their evildoing.
End quote.
And Allah knows best.

evil eye - Jinn possession and the rulings on jinn possession

Can jinn possess humans? And if this is possible, then how will the
person be able to account for their actions,whilst they were
possessed, on the Day of Judgement?.
Praise be to Allaah.
Firstly:
Yes, it is possible for jinn to possess humans. Allaah says in His
Book (Interpretation of the meaning):
"Those who eat Ribaa [usury] will not stand (on the Day of
Resurrection) except likethe standing of a person beaten by Shaytaan
(Satan) leading him to insanity"
[al-Baqarah 2:275]
See also the answers to questions no. 11447 , 42073 , 39214 and 1819 .
Shaykh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyah (may Allaah have mercy on him) said:
The fact that a jinni may enter the body of a human is proven by the
consensus of the imams of Ahl al-Sunnah wa'l-Jamaa'ah. Allaah says
(interpretation of the meaning):
"Those who eat Ribaa [usury] will not stand (on the Day of
Resurrection) except likethe standing of a person beaten by Shaytaan
(Satan) leading him to insanity"
[al-Baqarah 2:275]
and in al-Saheeh it is narrated from the Prophet (peace and blessings
of Allaah be upon him) that "The shaytaan flows through the son of
Adam like blood." End quote.
Majmoo' al-Fataawa (24/276, 277)
Secondly:
Possession is a kind of sickness. If a person whohas this sickness is
rational, then he has the choice and he will be brought to account for
his words and actions. But if this sickness has overwhelmed him to
thepoint that he has lost his mind and free will, then he is like one
who is insane and is not accountable. Hence in Arabic the word mass
(possession) is used to refer to junoon (insanity). See Lisaan
al-'Arab (6/217). But if hecommits an act of aggression against
another when he is insane and destroys his property, for example, then
he must pay compensation for that.
See: Zaad al-Ma'aad (4/66-71)
It says in al-Mawsoo'ah al-Fiqhiyyah (16/106):
The fuqaha' are unanimously agreed that insanity is like
unconsciousness and sleep, rather it is more severe in the loss of
free will, and it makes whatever he says invalid. For the one who is
sleeping, all his verbal statements, such as divorce, becoming Muslim,
turning apostate, selling, buying,etc, are invalid. So it is more
appropriate that such statements be invalid in the case of insanity,
because the insane person has no power of reasoning or discernment.
They quoted as evidence for that the words of the Prophet (peace and
blessings of Allaah be upon him): "The Pen has been raised from three:
the sleeper until he awakens, the child until he reaches maturity and
the insane person until he comes back to his senses." Narrated by the
authors of Sunan with a saheeh isnaad. The sameapplies to all verbal
statements because of the potential for harm. End quote.
In (16/107) it says:
With regard to the rightsof people such as compensation and the like:
these are not waived, because he is not accountable for them, rather
his guardian is responsible for paying financial duesfrom the wealth
of the insane person. If he commits some crimes, heis accountable for
them financially but not physically. If he destroys a person's
property when he is in a state of insanity, compensation must be paid,
but if he kills someone there is noqisaas (retaliation), but the diyah
must be paid.
And Allaah knows best.

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And Allah Knows the Best!

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Published by :->
M NajimudeeN Bsc- INDIA

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