For children, - Islam and Struggle: Struggle Stories, Parable of the Pencil

The Pencil Maker took the Pencil aside, just before putting it into the box.
"There are five things you need to know," the Pencil Maker told the
Pencil, "Before I send you out into the World. Always remember them
and never forget, and you will become the best Pencil you can be."
1. "You will be able to do many great things, but only if you allow
yourself to be held in someone's hand."
2. "You will experience a painful sharpening from time to time, but
you will need it to become a better Pencil."
3. "You will be able to correct any mistakes you might make."
4. "The most important part of you will always be what's inside."
5. "On every surface you are used on, you must leave your mark. No
matter what the condition, you must continue to write."
The Pencil understood and promised to remember, and went into the box
with purpose in its heart.
Now replacing the place of the Pencil with you. Always remember them
and never forget, and you will become the best person you can be.
1. "You will be able to do many great things, but only if you allow
yourself to be held in Allah's (SWT) hand. And allow other human
beings to access you for the many gifts you possess."
2. "You will experience a painful sharpening from time to time, by
going through various problems in life, but you will need it to become
a stronger person."
3. "You will be able to correct any mistakes you might make."
4. "The most important part of you will always be what's on the inside."
5. "On every surface you walk through, you must leave your mark. No
matter what the situation, you must continue to do your duties."
Moral:Allow this parable on the Pencil to encourage you to know that
you are a special person and only you can fulfill the purpose to which
you were born to accomplish.
Never allow yourself to get discouraged and think that your life is
insignificant and cannot make a change.

Sex in Islam, - Homosexuality: Refutation of Arguments in its Favor

Homosexuality and lesbianism have been dubbed "alternative
life-styles," "personal preference," "a natural variation," etc. in
the West today. Where homosexuality was considered an illness by the
Association of Psychiatrists, it is now removed from the list and
replaced by homophobia (the dislike of homosexuals and homosexuality).
Consequently, Islam and Muslims are considered intolerant and biased
due to their continued opposition. Arguments in favor of tolerance to
homosexuals are based on the assumption that homosexual behavior is
biologically based and not merely learned from society.
1.Early opposition to homosexuality was based on the argument that
such behavior was unnatural. Sodomy cannot produce children which is
one of the main natural consequences of sexual relations. "Mother
Nature" did not make us that way, it was argued. To counter such
arguments homosexual researchers scoured the earth until they found
supposed homosexual behavior among the animal kingdom. They found that
the males of some species of exotic fishes off the coast of Japan
imitated the behavior of females of the species in order to prevent
other males from impregnating their mates, and some rare butterflies
from islands of the coast of Africa also had males exhibiting female
behavior during mating season, etc. However, if the animal kingdom is
to be used to justify human behavior, there also exists a spider in
South America, whose female is much larger than the male. When mating
is complete, the female eats her mate.
2.During the 80's it was claimed that a gland in the base of the brain
which is small in women and large in men was found to be small among
homosexuals. However, this evidence, while seeming incontrovertible to
the layman, was immediately refuted by scientists. The data was taken
from cross-sections of the brains of dead adult humans whose sexual
preference was identified prior to death. Consequently, the reduced
size among homosexuals could have been a result of the practice and
not its cause. That is, they could have been born with normal sized
glands which then became small due to their deviant lifestyle.
3.Recently genetics has become the most commonly used foundation for
the pro-gay argument. In 1993 Dr. Dean Hamer, a researcher at the
National Cancer Institute, claimed to have discovered "the first
concrete evidence that 'gay genes' really do exist." Homosexual
orientation was supposedly transmitted to males on the X chromosome
from the mother. Hamer's findings, published in the prestigious
journal Science, transformed his colorless career as a government
scientist into a dynamic media personality and penned his memoirs. He
gave expert testimony to the Colorado Supreme Court that formed the
basis of the victorious decision striking down anti-gay Proposition 2.
However, a replication of his study at the University of Western
Ontario failed to find any linkage whatsoever between the X chromosome
and sexual orientation. It was also found that Hamer's study lacked a
control group; a fundamental principle of scientific research.
Furthermore, in June 1994, the Chicago Tribune reported that a junior
researcher in Hamer's laboratory who assisted in the gene mapping in
the homosexuality study, alleged that he selectively reported his
data. She was then summarily dismissed from her post-doctoral
fellowship in Hamer's lab. But a National Institutes of Health
investigation substantiated her claims and gave her another position
in a different lab. Though Dr. Hamer was coy about his own sexuality
in his memoirs, he later admitted in his lectures that the was gay.
4.It should be noted that Islam, in its final form, did not introduce
anti-gay legislature to the world. The texts of the Torah are replete
with clear condemnation of such practices.
5.The consequence of AIDS is enough to prove that homosexuality is
evil and dangerous to society. The early spread of AIDS was
concentrated among the homosexual community. It later spread to the
heterosexual community through blood transfusions and intravenous drug
usage and so-called bisexuals. And continues on a rampage among
promiscuous heterosexuals.
6.Islam considers homosexuality to be the result of a choice. It is
inconceivable that God made people homosexuals then declared it a
crime and prescribed punishments for it in both this life and the
next. To accept such a proposition is to accept that God is unjust.
Inclinations can exist within humans for a variety of natural and
unnatural acts, from fornication to rape and from necrophilia to
bestiality. These inclinations may come from jinn-suggestions, media
influence, or even from human whisperings or direct contact. Human
beings are not like robots who only do what they are programmed to do.
Humans choose and God holds them responsible for their choices. Were
homosexuality a product of genetic destiny, it would be unfair for God
to criminalize it and punish those who practice it. Currently, some
scientists are even claiming that murder is of genetic origin. To
accept that would mean to excuse murderers and tolerate murder.
7.Islam instructs parents to separate their children in their beds by
the age of ten in order to avoid sexual experiences which may result
from childhood experimentation. Such experiences may be reinforced by
contacts in schools and through abuse from adults. Also the
distinctions between male and female are strongly made in Islamic
teachings. The Prophet cursed men who imitated women and women who
imitated men. The Western fashion industry is controlled by
homosexuals who attempt to blur the distinction between males and
females in order to make their behavior more acceptable. Consequently,
men's fashion has become more feminine in style and color and women
are now wearing three-piece suits, ties and hats and traditionally
men's shoes. These distinctions may be relative and vary from society
to society. For example, in Scotland men traditionally wear little
knee-length dresses called "kilts". In Scotland it would not be
considered imitation of females, but in a society where only women
wear such dress it would be considered imitation.

Sex in Islam, - Zina - a Major Sin

Allah ta`ala says:"Do not come near Zina, for it is a shameful deed
and an evil path."17:32
"The male and female who commit fornication - flog each one of them
with one hundred lashes, and do not let compassion for the two of them
keep you from (complying with) Allah's religion, if you believe in
Allah and the Last Day. And let a group of believers witness their
punishment."[24:2]
The Jurists say that the last verse quoted above is the punishment for
fornicators who have never been married. If a person was ever married
before committing the crime of Zina, he or she is to be punished by
stoning to death. This is established by the practise of the Prophet
sallallahu `alayhi wa sallam. If they are not punished in this world
and die without repentance (by regretting, leaving the sin, and so
forth), they will be punished in the Fire with whips of fire.In a
tradition transmitted by Bukhari, on the authority of Samurah ibn
Jundab (raa), concerning a dream of the Prophet in which the Prophet
accompanied by Jibreel and Mikaail, the Prophet (saws) said: "We went
on and arrived near a pit which was like an oven, out of which we
could hear cries. We glanced into it and saw naked men and women, who
cried out when the flames reached them from below. I asked, "Who are
these, o Jibreel?" He replied: "Males and females who have committed
fornication."
In explaining the meaning of the verse concerning Hell,"It has seven
gates, to each of these gates a class (of sinners) is
assigned."(15:44); `Ataa says: "The most severe of these gates in
terms of heat, pain, sorrow, and stinking air is the gate for the
doers of fornication, who did it (even) after knowing the awfulness of
it."

Sex in Islam, - Defining Pornography

Have you ever notice the magazines staring at you from one side of the
checkout lane of every supermarket? I have. So one day I decided to
take action. I turned the first magazine in every row to its backside.
Not surprisingly, when I returned the next day they were turned back.
Why did I turn them over? Because they were pornographic. Why were
they turned back? Because they sell.
Perhaps most Muslims think that pornography is only that uncensored
filth that is accessible through XXX movies and certain Internet
sites, but in fact, by Islamic standards, much of what is considered
normal in American advertising is actually pornographic. The purpose
of flailing these seductive images is to arouse the lower desires of
people and to weaken their self-restrain and taint their thoughts. It
bombards the Muslim, especially the youth, with indecent and
suggestively seductive images. Unfortunately, most Muslims are so
oblivious of the presence and influence of these Shaytanic (Satanic)
images, that they regularly view them through various types of media.
Defining Pornography
Pornography is defined in the English language as an indecent form of
art or literature. Islam also views it as indecent and terms it
asfaahishain the Quran.
Allah says (what means):
"Say: The things that my Lord has indeed forbidden are: shameful deeds
whether open or secret…"
Faahishahis translated as "shameful deeds" because it refers to every
bad deed that is noticeably ugly to human beings. In many places in
the Quran, Allah (swt) refers to zinaa, adultery and fornication as a
faahishah. In another verse, Allah (swt) refers to the marrying of
one's father's wife also as being a faahishah because, like adultery,
anyone with a pure nature will clearly see it as hideous. Allah (swt)
also calls the crime of the people of Lut (as), homosexuality, a
faahishah. Likewise to view pictures of nudity, sexual suggestion,
intimacy between two people, or a person of the opposite gender who is
improperly covered (Islamically) is also an ugly sin to anyone who
wishes to adhere to piety.
Television
One of the most pervasive tools of pornography is the television.
Shows like "Dawson's Creek" and "Baywatch" have no other purpose
except to display blatant degrees of nakedness and indecent scenes of
intimacy. Movies also succeed in conveying lewd imagery by almost
always including a love/lust story in the story line. However there
are other forms of pornography on TV that are much more subtle. For
example, most Muslims would not realize that the viewing of several
sports events includes pornographic images. The swimsuits that are
worn by both men and woman during the Olympics are iniquitously
revealing. They expose the'awrahof a woman and a man for their
respective genders and the opposite gender.
The word 'awrah refers to those parts of the body which are
Islamically prohibited to expose in front of another (either the
opposite gender or the same gender). For example, it is a must for a
woman to cover all of her body except for her face and hands in front
of men who are permissible for her to marry - that is her 'awrah.
Likewise the man's 'awrah is everything between his navel and knees
while in front of a woman or a man. The skimpy swimsuits worn by these
athletes just don't meet the Islamic dress code.
Underwear Ads
Another subtle example regards women who view advertisements that
contain pictures of other women modeling bras and underwear. The
'awrah of Muslim women in front of other Muslim women doesn't allow
these areas of the body to be exposed and hence it is haram for even a
woman to view them.
It is also important to keep in mind that a person could be "clothed
but naked" as Rasoolullah (saws) said. For example, competitors in
races usually wear some sort of bodysuit that adheres very tightly to
their skin and the exact shape of their body parts is apparent. This
is almost equivalent to being naked, since it doesn't take much
imagination to figure out what is under such type of clothing.
Lowering the Gaze
When such images become prevalent in a society, what is deemed
pornographic changes drastically. The very standard of modesty, which
should be a defining characteristic of Muslim dress and behavior, will
become degraded. The Islamic standard must be upheld. The true
believer fears Allah's judgement and knows that no act will go
unaccounted for and that even his own eyes will bear witness against
him on the Day of Judgement. Allah (swt) says:"Until, when they reach
it (Hell-Fire) their hearing and eyes and skin will testify against
them as to what they used to do."Rasoolullah (saws) warned us that
there is a zinaa of the eyes just as there is a zinaa of the private
parts.
The Islamic solution to living in a society where pornographic images
are so visible is to lower one's gaze.
Allah (swt) says:
"Say to the believing men that they should lower their gaze and guard
their modesty: that will make for greater purity for them: and Allah
is well aquainted with all they do. And say to the believing women
that they should lower their gaze and guard their modesty; that they
should not display their beauty and ornaments except what (must
ordinarily) appear thereof… "
The scholars of tafseer say that this means that both men and woman
are obliged to direct their sight away from that which is haram and
that there is no harm in looking at that which is halal (such as
viewing one's spouse while they are uncovered).
In regard to these verses Ibn al-Qayyim (rahimahullah) says:
"So He (Allah) put purity after lowering of the gaze and protecting of
the private parts. For this reason lowering the gaze away from the
prohibited things warrants three great benefits. The first of them is
the sweetness of Imaan and the pleasure that comes from it, which is
more sweet and pleasing than that which he diverted his eyes away from
for Allah's sake. Verily, whoever abandons a thing for Allah's sake,
He (swt) compensates him with better than it…The second benefit is a
light in the heart and quality of intuition… and the third benefit is
the strength of the heart and steadfastness and courage. So Allah
(swt) would give him, by His strength, the ability of wisdom and
substantiation, and the devil would flee from him as it has been
mentioned in the saying, "Whoever fears his whims, the devil would
race out of his shadow."
Indeed, the opposite is also true. This is because the eyes are the
most direct path to the heart. One who allows his whims to overwhelm
him and indulges his eyes in the viewing of haram things has weakened
his heart, corrupted his soul, and invited shaytan to control him.