Scores killed in Syria violence

06/11/2012
Scores of Syrian soldiers have been killed by a suicide car bomb in
the central province of Hama and at least 20 rebel fighters were
killed in an air strike in the northwest province of Idlib, activists
have said .
Monday's clashes came as the main Syrian opposition, the Syrian
National Council (SNC), in makeover talks in Qatar, agreed to expand
its structure to accommodate 13 other groups, a spokesman said .
The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said the bombing
in the village ofZiyara in Hama province was carried out by Jabhat
al-Nusra, anarmed group that has claimed several attacks on regime
targets .
The bombing killed more than 50 people, according to the Observatory,
a claim which cannot be independently verified .
In Damascus, a car bomb exploded in the western district of Mezzeh.
The part of the neighborhood where the bombing struck, Mezzeh 86 is
mainly inhabited by Alawites, belonging to the same sect as President
Bashar al-Assad .
State-run news agency SANA said 11 people were wounded in the blast.
Television footage showed bloodied people in the street andgaping
holes in residential buildings as firefighters worked to put out the
blaze .
Residents said senior security andmilitary officers of Assad's
regimelive in the area targeted late on Monday .
The Observatory also said at least 20 rebel fighters were killed when
Syrian air force jets bombarded the town of Haram inthe northern
province of Idlib, while fighting raged on between rebels and
government soldiers in Damascus and Aleppo .
The latest developments came as the rebels sought to keep momentum
after seizing a major oilfield and shooting down a fighter jet in the
eastern provinceof Deir Ezzor the day before .
Aleppo clashes
In Aleppo, fighting broke out at aroundabout at the northwest entrance
to the city in the Zahraa district and on the airport road to the
southeast, the Observatoryand residents said .
One resident of a district near Zahraa said Monday's fighting in the
area was the heaviest in recent days .
" It's been almost one week that we are living in terror at night. We
hear everything - gun battles, tank shelling, explosions ... The
clashes before dawn today were the worst all week," Samir, a
37-year-old pharmacist, told the AFP news agency .
Members of the Syrian Arab Red Crescent, meanwhile, said on Monday
that its main warehouse in Aleppo had burned down amidrecent fighting,
with the loss of crucial supplies including medicine, food and winter
relief items like blankets .
The rebels have scored significantgains in recent weeks and now hold
swathes of territory in the country's north, but have struggled to
gain ground in and around Damascus and in the commercial hub Aleppo
amid heavy bombardment from government air power .
Strikes from regime warplanes and helicopter gunships have reached a
new level of intensity in recent days as government forces try to
reverse rebel gains on the ground .
The escalating conflict has added urgency to a meeting of the Syrian
National Council in Qatar, where the United States is reportedly
pressing for a new umbrella organization to unite the country's
fractured opposition .
Doha meeting
Syria's main opposition bloc agreed on Monday to broaden its structure
to accommodate 13 other groups, a spokesman said .
The decision by the Syrian National Council (SNC) came on the second
day of a four-day meeting of opposition groups in the Qatari capital,
Doha, aimed at forging a more united front against Assad's regime .
Participants "have agreed a restructuring plan and to reduce the
number of [current] members of the general secretariat to accommodate
200 new members representing 13 political groups and independents,"
said SNC spokesman Ahmad Kamel .
Kamel said the existing membership would be reduced from 313 to 220 to
pave the way for the additional 200 members. The general secretariat
will convene in its revamped form on Tuesday, he added .
The meeting is also expected to discuss an initiative by leading
dissident Riad Seif, which appeared to enjoy US support buthas
encountered reservations from some SNC members, to unite all Syrian
groups opposed to Assad .
" We will form a political leadership that will in turn form a
government of technocrats," Seif said on Sunday, insisting his
proposal was "not to replace the SNC which should be an important
component ."
The initiative will top the agenda of a broader meeting on Thursday
called by host Qatar andthe Arab League .
According to the reports, which emerged after US Secretary of State
Hillary Clinton said the SNC was not a representative body, long-time
dissident Seif is touted as the potential head of a new
government-in-exile dubbed the Syrian National Initiative .
Syria's Deputy Foreign Minister Faisal al-Miqdad dismissed the
conference, accusing the opposition of following a foreign agenda .
"When the opposition parties follow the desires of Israel, the United
States and the Western countries, who stand against the interest of
the Syrian people, this then achieves the main goals of such
conferences which do nothing but help escalate the situation in
Syria," he said.
PHOTO CAPTION
This photo released by the Syrian official news agency SANA,
showsSyrians standing at the scene after a blast occurred according to
footage and reports shown onState-run Al-Ikhbariya television in the
Mazzeh al-Jabal district of the Syrian capital Damascus, Syria,
Monday, Nov. 5, 2012.

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Hadrat Khawaja Moinuddin Chisti (R.A) - Sufism Biographies

Khawaja Moinuddin wasborn in Sajiz village on Monday the 14 of Rajab
A.H. 537 and had his early education and upbringing in Khorasan. His
father died when he was 15. He had two brothers. On the divisionof the
property left by his father, he got a garden and a water-mill and made
a living by theincome derived from it. On contact with Ibrahim Kanduzi
(the ecstatic) majzub. Who one day came to his garden, he lost
interest in wordy possessions, sold the garden and other belongings
and distributed the proceedsamong the poor. He thenset out in search
of God. He first went to Bokhara and then to Samarkand where he learnt
the Quran by heart and acquired worldly knowledge. He them proceeded
to Iraq adding to his knowledgein the company o scholars and religious
persons like Shaikh Najmuldin Kubra, ShaikhAbdul Qadir Jilani, Shaikh
Ziauddin and Shaikh Shahabuddin Suharwardi. In Harvan village he
become disciple of Hardrat Shaikh Usman Harvani.
From Ghazna, Khawaja Moinuddin reached Lahore and stayed near the
Mazzars of Shailkh Hussain Zanjani and Shaikh Ali Usman Hajveri.He
remained in Lahore for some months and leftfor Delhi where he stayed
near the tomb of Shaikh Rashid Makki which had a mosque adjacent to
it. Delhi and Ajmer were then under the sovereignty of Raja Prithvi
Rai(also known as Rai Pithora), whose agents created hinderances in
the way of Khwaja Moinuddin and his companions, but he overcame all
these obstacles. Under Khawaja Sahib's influence, Hindus embraced
Islam in large numbers, including some of Rai Pithora's countries and
nobles; Apprised of this, Rai Pithora ordered Khawaja's arrest. Or,
hearing of it, Khwaja Moinuddin said: I have handed Pithora to
Muslims; soon after, Sultan Shahabuddin Ghori defeated Rai Pithora at
Tarawari in A.H. 588. Rai Pithora was captured near the bank of
Sarasvati river and put to death. After the victory, Islam spread all
over India. Under influence of Moinuddin and his spiritual
descendants, as many as 9 million Hindus were converted to Islam.
Today the descendants of these converts count more then 36. Khwaja's
life style was that of extreme simplicity, his hermit-like dress was
double stitched and was usually patched with rages. In his early
asceticdays, he would fast for 7 days on end, and break the fast with
a piece of bread. Khawaja Moinuddin slept little. Usually he offered
his morning prayers with the ablution performed for the previous
eveningprayer. He had the Quranin the morning and at night.
The Chistia silsila originated form the town of Chisht situated in
Afghanistan. Some 66 miles East of Herat, Chisht is now a small
village on the banks of river Hari Rood known, as Khawaja Chisht.
Chishita order flourishedin the sub-continent, while its other
branches did not survive for long in other Islamic countries. Shaikh
Abu Ishaque Shami (d. 329 A.H.) pioneered silsila Chishtia.
In the Indo-Pakistan sub-continet, it was Kahwaja Moinuddin Sijziwho
laid foundations of the Chishti silsila and worked out its
principlesat Ajmer which was thenthe seat of Chauhan Rajput politics
power. Khawaja Sahib was the embodiment of Islamic virtues and had
gained fame for this remarkablespiritual achievements. He also
performed numerous Karamat (miracles).
Prof. Khaleeq Ahmad Nizami writes: 'Ajmer was not merely the seat of
Chouhan power; it was religious centre alsowhere thousands of pilgrims
assembled from far and near, Shaikh Moinuddin's determination to work
out the principles of Islamic tassawuf at a place of such political
and religious significance shows greatself confidence. The Kahawaja
worked in themidst of a Hindu population which looked ask once at
everyforeigner. Khawaja Moinuddin's stay in Ajmer must have been a
serious trial for the promotion of Islam. On his success or failure in
Ajmer depended the future of the Islamic sufic movement in Hindustan."
The ruler and the high cast Hindus disliked Khawaja Sahib nevertheless
the common peoples flockedto him. Khawaja Moinuddin's life was that of
simplicity, piety and devotion to the cause of Islam. He alwayslaid
stress to assist the helpless and to feed the hungry.
He had an extraordinary capacity of overlooking faults and for
remissions.He held his disciples and Khalifas most dear. Food was
cooked in abundance in his public kitchen and the poor, travelers,
strangers, students, guest, beggars,had their fill. For his kitchen he
did not take asingle pie from anyone. When all was spent, he lifted
the corner of his prayer carpet for the deceased and burial , when all
had left the graveyard he sat by himself by the grave.
At the mention of the Day of Resurrection he fell to weeping and
sometimes cried cloud. Kahwaja Sahib followed religious injunctions
andwas very particular about observing religious ceremonies. He
recited the Duaa frequently and advised his disciples to do the same.
When he expatiated on the sayings of the Holy Prophet (S.A.W) he was
overcome with tears. He was transported when he referred to the life
of the Prophet (S.A.W). He has said somewhere in his writings: the
presence of the Holy Prophet. There would beno place for a person;
where will he go "he said". Having said this Khawaja Sahib cried
aloud.
All though his life, Khawaja Sahib was transported by love of Allah;
he was equally carried away by his love of the holy Prophet (S.A.W).
SAMAA or music is permissible in Chishti traditions. Khawaja had a
taste for it. It is recorded in Dalil-ul-Arifin that once,
whenresiding in Hazrat Abu Yousuf Chishti's monastery, hearing the
following verses in the musical assembly he remained in a state of
trance for two days.
"The lover is carried wayby the longing for the beloved
And is transported by the memory of his love.
Tomorrow when the people would fell lost onthe Day of Resurrection.
Thy name will resound in the breast and ears."
Khawaja Sahib maintains that music leads to insight into Creator. It
is a blessing inthree ways, i.e. illumination, states and signs; and
these pertain to the soul heart and thebody.
TEACHINGS
Khawaja Mo'in-ud-Din Chishti's teachings are extremely illuminating ,'
They may be summarized as follow:-
1. To Trust in God and noto desire any thing from anyone else:
2. One who is God's friend must be found to have the following
attributes:, Company of the righteous generosity, kindness
andcourtesy.
3. Three thing are the ornament of the soul: Befriending the enemy,
hiding one's own poverty and sorrows andsufferings from others,
complete trust in God;
4. The steadfast disciple is one who says the morning prayer and is
intoxicated by its enjoyment and memory till the next morning;
5. To be subject to some calamity or disease is a token of sound faith;
6. Love the poor, and avoid lying the backbiting;
7. God loves him who loves poverty and sickness.
8. One who repudiates prayer and the law of God is an infidel;
9. Alms giving is more praise-worthy than a thousand voluntary prayers;
10. Abusing a believer is like adultery with one's own mother or
sister, the prayer of such a person is not heard.
11. One who helps the needy is the friend of God. If a person engaged
in prayer or a religious duty is approaching by a needy person, he
should stop his prayer or religious duty, and attend to him and help
him according to his means;
12. The highest piety is to remember death;
13. Three persons shall never in-hale the fragrance of paradise; the
dervish who tells lies, a miser and a fraudlent merchant;
14. In addition to the prescribed acts of worship (prayer and fast),
the following five acts of devotion are incumbent upon the sufic.
Serving one's parents, reciting the Qu'ran respecting and be-friending
the ulema, paying a visit to Khana Ka'ba, devotion to the spiritual
guide;
15. Apart from other sinful acts, the neophyte must abstain from these
sins: laughing in a graveyard, eating and drinking there, for it is a
place of warning, oppression, and not to tremble on taking God's name;
16. The proof of the Arif's love is this that apart from repeating
God's name he should beattached to nothing else;
17. For the Ahl-e-Tariqat on the way to Saluk the following ten things
are imperative: Observance of paryer and fast, fear of God,
Steadfastness in Shari'at, abstinence in food, less sleeping, les
talking, less intercourse with people, search for truth, desire for a
perfect spiritual guide, respect, resignation, love an avoidance of
excess;
18. Likewise the following are necessary for Ahl-e-Haqeeqat: To be
perfect in ma'rfat to abstain from doing harmand giving pain to
others, holding such converse with people as may do them good here and
the world to come, to be courteous, to cultivate privacy, love and
hold others dear and think one self to be less than others,
submissions to the will of God, patience and resignance in adversity,
humility, sympathy and pity, contentment and reliance on God, frequent
recital of Darud;
19. To recite Darud frequently;
20. Praise God and perform routine duties before the spiritual guide
and abstain from relating his experience to anyone else;
21. Reading the writings of the auliya is beneficial.
It is related in Sair-ul-Aqtab that on the night Hardrat Kahawaja
Moin-ud-Din passed away, he shut the doors of his closet after evening
prayer and directed his friends not to come there. His special
intimates lingered near the closet and they heard all along the
thumping of feet heard when the lovers of God are in a state of
ecstasy. Late in the nightthe sound stopped. Afterthe morning prayer
his special disciples knockedat the door the called out but received
no reply from within. They broke open the door thefound that Hadrat
Khawaja had passed away. On his forehead was written in characters of
light "Haza Habib Ma'fi hubb Allah. (God's beloved emerges in His
love).
He died on Monday, the sixteh of Rajab 633 A.H. The greatest miracle
of Hazrat Khawaja Mo'in-ud-Din Chishti Ajmeri is that due to the
efforts ofthe line established by him as many as nine million persons
embraced Islam. His second miracles was thatwhatever sinner and
dissolute he looked at forthwith repented of his sins for ever. Dargah
of Chishti still Khawaja Mo'in-ud-Din vibrates with spiritual power.

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Some types of haraam transactions

What are the types of haraam transactions? Please quote the evidence for that.
Praise be to Allaah.
There are many types of haraam transactions, and it is not possible to
list them all in this brief answer. On our website, in the section on
haraamtransactions you will find many of these transactions.
Shaykh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyah (may Allah have mercy on him) mentioned a
useful principle concerning thismatter, which will help one to
understand the issue and by referring toit the issue will become
clear.
He (may Allah have mercy on him) said in Majmoo' al-Fataawa (29/22):
The second principle concerning contracts, both halaal and haraam: the
basic principle in thisregard is that Allah has forbidden us in His
Book to eat up one another's property unjustly (cf. 2:188); He
condemned the rabbis and monks who ate up the people's wealth
unjustly; He condemned the Jews for consuming usury (riba) when they
had been forbidden to do so, and for eating up the people's wealth
unjustly.This includes everything that is eaten up or consumed
unjustly in transactions and donations, and whatever is taken without
consent.
Eating up or consuming wealth unjustly in transactions is of two
types, which Allah mentioned in His Book. They are usury (riba) and
gambling.
The prohibition on usury, which is the opposite of charity, is
mentioned at the end of Soorat al-Baqarah, Soorat Aal 'Imraan and
ar-Room. The Jews are condemned for it in Soorat an-Nisa', and the
prohibition on gamblingis mentioned in Soorat al-Maa'idah.
Then the Messenger of Allah (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him)
explained in detail that which Allah had mentioned in general terms in
His Book. The Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him)
forbade ambiguoustransactions, as was narrated by Muslim and others
from Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him). Ambiguous
transactions are those of which the outcome is unknown, which leads to
the same negative outcomes as gambling, namely enmity and resentment,
in addition to consuming wealth unlawfully, which is a type of
oppression or wrongdoing. Ambiguoustransactions involve wrongdoing,
enmity andresentment.
As for usury, the prohibition on it in the Qur'an is more
emphatic.Hence Allah, may He be exalted, says (interpretation of the
meaning):
"O you who believe! Be afraid of Allah and give up what remains (due
toyou) from Riba (usury) (from now onward), if you are (really)
believers.
And if you do not do it, then take a notice of war from Allah and His Messenger"
[al-Baqarah 2:278-279].
The Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) included it
among the major sins, aswas narrated in as-Saheehayn from Abu Hurayrah
(may Allah be pleased with him). Allah stated that some good things
that had been permitted to the Jews became forbidden to them because
of their wrongdoing, their preventing people from following the path
of Allah, and their consuming people's wealth unlawfully. And He, may
He be glorified and exalted, said that Hewill destroy riba (usury) as
He gives increase for charity (cf. 2:276). Both matters are tried,
tested and true in people's experience. End quote.
So the basic principle is that any transaction thatincludes either of
these two forbidden matters – usury (riba) or gambling – or that is a
trick to get around the prohibition on these two things, comes under
the heading of haraam transactions.
Examples of transactions that are haraam becauseof usury (riba)
include: 'Eenah transaction [which means to sell something for a price
to be paid at a later date, then to buy it back for a lower price to
be paid immediately]; selling debts; combining a sale contract with a
loan; andthe like.
Examples of transactions that are haraam becauseof gambling include:
sales of unknown items; and sales of things that one cannot deliver.

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Ruling on the wudoo’ ofone who washes his arms from the wrists to the elbows, and does not wash the hands

In my community and in the Muslim world, many Muslims make the mistake
of only washing from the wrist to the elbows in elbows instead of
washing the hands also in wuduu. Although I try to tell people,
sometimes we are led by different people in prayer(we do not have an
imam). So if I do not know if this person does wuduu correctly or not,
should I pray behind him anyway? Does it depend on how much doubt I
have? Someitmes I may already know the brother who is going to lead us
and I have a big feeling he does wuduu in hte worng way yet should I
ask him as he is about lead prayer.
Praise be to Allaah.
Firstly:
The parts of the body that must be washed in wudoo' are mentioned in
the verse in which Allah, may He be exalted,says (interpretation of
the meaning): "O you who believe! When you intend to offer As-Salat
(the prayer), wash your faces and your hands (forearms) up to the
elbows, rub (by passing wet hands over) your heads, and (wash) your
feet up to ankles" [al-Maa'idah 5:6].
Allah, may He be exalted,has made it obligatory to wash the arms up to
the elbows after washing the face, and this cannot be done except by
washing the arms from the fingers upto the elbows. The one who limits
it to washing them from the wrists to the elbows has not performed
this obligation.
With regard to washing their hands at the beginning of wudoo', this is
Sunnah, and cannot suffice for the obligatory action, according to the
majority of scholars, contrary to the Hanafi view.
The majority of scholars are of the opinion that itis obligatory to
wash theparts of the body in wudoo' in the correct order as mentioned
in the verse: washing the face, then washing the arms, then wiping
over the head, then washing the feet.
Based on that, it is not valid to regard washing the hands at the
beginning of wudoo' as being sufficient and not washing them again
with the rest of the of the arm, because that leads to failure to
follow the proper sequence, washing of the face in the middle of
washing the arms. What is required is to wash the entire arm, after
washing the face.
To sum up: if a person does wudoo' and washes his hands, then rinses
his mouth and nose, and washes his face, then he washes his arms from
the wrists to the elbows, his wudoo' is not valid according to most of
the scholars.
Shaykh Ibn Jibreen (may Allah preserve him) was asked: What is the
rulingon one who washes his arms from the wrist to the elbow, without
washing his hands, thinking that his washing of his hands at the
beginning of wudoo' is sufficient? Does he have to repeat wudoo'?
He replied: It is not permissible when doing wudoo' to wash the
forearm only, without the hand. Rather when he has finished washing
his face, he should start to wash the arms, and he should wash each of
them from the fingertipsup to the elbow, even if he washed his hands
before his face, because washing them the first time is Sunnah, and
washing them after the face is obligatory. If a person only washes his
arms from the wrist to the elbow, then he has not completed wudoo' as
required, and he has to repeat his wudoo' after completing it, or
hehas to wash what he omitted if only a short time has passed (since
he completed it), so he should wash the hands and what comes after
that.
End quote from al-Lu'lu' al-Makeen min Fataawa Shaykh Ibn Jibreen, p. 77
Shaykh Ibn 'Uthaymeen (may Allah have mercy on him) said: Here we
should point out something that many people neglect, as they wash the
arm from the wrist to the elbow, thinking that they had finished
washing the hands before washing the face, but this is not correct. It
is essential to wash the arm from the fingertips to the elbows.
End quote from al-Liqa' ash-Shahri, 3/330
And Allah knows best.