Friday 26 August 2011

Levels Of The People in the Hereafter

Taken from ‘The Abridgment of the Levels Of The People in the Hereafter’ By Ibnul Qayyim Rahimuhullah

So these are the levels of the people, and their ranks in the Abode of the Hereafter, as mentioned by Ibnul Qayyim rahimuhullah, and they are eighteen in number.

The highest level is that of the Messengers, may Allah extol and grant them perfect peace and security: and they are of three levels, the highest of them being:

  • 1) ‘Those firmest in resolve’ (Oolul-’Azm): Nooh, Ibraheem, Moosa, ‘Eesa and Muhammad, may Allah extoll and grant them perfect peace and security ameen, then;

  • 2) Those besides them from the Messengers (Rusul) then;

  • 3) The Prophets (al-Anbiyaa), those who were not sent as Messengers their nations;and then;

  • 4) The truest and sincerest followers of the Messengers (as-Siddeeqoon)- the inheritors of the Messenges, those who established what the Messengers had been sent with, in their knowledge, actions and in calling to Allaah, then;

  • 5) The just Emaams and Rulers, then;

  • 6) Those who strove and fought Jihaad in Allaah’s cause, with their wealth and their persons, then;

  • 7) Those who preferred others over themselves, treated the people with goodness and performed charitable acts, then;

  • 8 ) Those for whom Allaah opened a door to performance of good which was restricted to themselves such as Prayer, Charity, Fasting, Hajj and so on, then;

  • 9) The level of the people of salvation, and they were those who carried out Allaah’s obligations and avoided that which He prohibited, then;

  • 10) The level of a people who wronged themselves and commited major sins forbidden by Allaah; however Allaah granted them sincere repentance before death. So they died upon sincere repentance, so Allaah accepted their repentance, then;

  • 11) The level of a people who combined righteous deeds and evil deeds, meeting Allaah whilst persisting upon their sins and not repentant. However their good deeds outweighed their evil deeds: the balance of the good they did being heavier. So they are also saved and successful, then;

  • 12) A people whose good and evil deeds were equal, and they are the companions of the Heights (al-A’raaf)-which is a place between the Paradise and the Hellfire; and they will eventually enter Paradise, then;

  • 13) The level of those who were afflicted and put to tahaadeeth trial-we ask Allaah for well being and security, and they were Muslims whose scales were light: their evil deeds outweighed their good deeds. There are ahaadeeth concerning them showing that they will enter the Fire and will be in it in accordance with their deeds; and then they will come out of it through the intercession of those who intercede and the Mercy of the Most Merciful of those who show mercy, then;

  • 14) A people who had no acts of obedience or disobedience, nor Unbelief, nor true Faith (Eemaan), and they are of different types; from them are those who the true call did not reach; and from them is the insane person who did not possess intellect; and from them is the deaf person who never heard anything; and from them are the children of the Mushriks who died before being able to correctly discern anything. So the scholars differ concerning them, having eight positions. The most correct of these is that they will be tested on the Day of Ressurrection, and a Messenger will be sent to them there: whoever obeys him will enter Paradise and whoever disobeys him will enter Hellfire. Because Allaah does not punish anyone until the Proof is established upon him and he then turns away from it and obstinately refuses it, just as He, the Most High said:

“And We do not punish until We send a Messenger.” (Surah al-Israa 17:15)

  • 15) The level of the Hypocrites (al-Munafiqoon) who outwardly displayed Islaam but inwardly concealed Unbelief (Kufr), and they are in the lowest depth of the Fire, then;

  • 16) The heads of Unbelief (Kufr), its leaders and its callers, then;

  • 17) The level of those Unbelievers who were blind-followers and ignorant ones, and the Ummah are agreed that they are Unbelievers, and lastly;

  • 18) The level of Jinn, and they were bound with duties-liable to reward of punishment in accordance with their deeds, just as Allaah, the Most High, said:

“And for all there will be degrees in accordance with what they did, so that He may fully recompense them for their deeds, and they will not be wronged.” (Surah-Ahqaaf 46:19)


JUDGING IMAAN AND KUFR BY WHAT IS APPARENT

JUDGING IMAAN AND KUFR BY WHAT IS APPARENT


How do we judge if someone is kaafir? Can we judge someone's heart, to see if he is kaafir? Is that possible? If we look to the example of someone who comes and says Assalamu 'Alaikum to us, we would undoubtedly say that he is Muslim. Do we need to check his heart? No, we know his Islam from his sayings and his actions. We do not need to check his heart, so why if someone's sayings and actions are kufr, should we need to check his heart? Rather when we see someone who is clearly in kufr and Shirk, or we see people competing with Allah (swt), i.e. that they are Taghout, there is no need for us to check his heart, we must make Takfeer on him - that is the Haq of Allah (swt). We have a principle in Islam, that:


"We consider only the apparent in regards to Imaan and kufr, we do not consider that which is concealed."

Usama bin Zaid was sent in an expedition, he spoke about one man in the battlefield, he said:"… I saw one of them, he said "laa ilaaha illallah". I stabbed him, and after that I felt bad and so told Muhammad (saw) what I did. The Prophet (saw) asked: "did he say laa ilaha illallah, and you killed him?" I said: "He said it, but only out of fear for my sword." He (saw) asked "did you check his heart to see if he believed it?" he kept on repeating that question until I wished that I was not Muslim yet until that day." [Muslim V-2 P-107]


Imam Nawawi repeated another narration where the prophet (saw) continued, "(the Prophet (saw) said) …did you kill him?" I said: "yes" he said "what will you do about that laa ilaha illallah if it comes to you on the day of judgement?" I asked "ask forgiveness for me o Rasulullah." and every time he saw me after that he (saw) would ask me "what will you do if laa ilaaha illallah comes to you on the day of judgement?""

Usama bin Zaid was dispraised by Muhammad (saw) strongly because he judged someone's intention i.e. what is inside his heart, though his APPARENT i.e. his sayings and actions was showing Islam.


Furthermore, Al Mikhdaad ibn Aswad asked:"If I found someone who came to me and he fought me, and he cut off my hand, then he went to a tree and I overpower him, and he said 'laa ilaaha illallah,' shouldn't I kill him?" the Prophet (saw) said: "do not kill him, if you kill him, he will take your place, before you killed him. And you will become in his position before you came to fight him." [Sharh Muslim - V-2 P -106]

It is agreed that anyone who says laa ilaaha illallah even in the battlefield, we cannot fight him. Imam Nawawi said: "Imam Shafi'I and Imam Maalik said, the hadith means, "his life has sanctity after he says "laa ilaaha illallah" the way your situation before you killed him, and your life after you have killed him, has no sanctity the way he was before he testified that there is no god but Allah."


This is because what is apparent from him is Islam, not kufr - so we cannot dig into his heart, to see if he is lying or telling the truth. Instead we must judge according to his sayings and his actions. In the same way on someones kufr, if they are committing clear cut kufr or Shirk like the rulers who rule by kufr law and ally with the kuffar against Muslims, we do not dig to what is in their hearts, we do not say that maybe in their hearts is Imaan - we judge them to be apostates.


Abu Sa'eed Al Khidree narrated:"A man came to Muhammad (saw), with squinted eyes, with large jaws, with a big forehead and a huge beard, a completely shaven head, with a very high izaar, and he shouted at the Prophet (saw) "Fear Allah!" and he (saw) replied: "dare you, am I not the most god fearing man? Allah trusts me from the seventh heaven, and you do not trust me?" Khalid bin Waleed was there at that time, he said "shouldn't I strike his neck?" he (saw) said, "No, because he prays." Khalid said: "how many pray on their tongue, what is not in their heart?" the Prophet (saw) said: "Allah did not order me to open their chest to judge on what is in the heart. From this man will be descendants who recite Qur'an so beautifully, but it will not reach their throat, they will leave the deen like the arrow from the bow, and if I meet them, I will kill them like the people of Thamud were killed." [Muslim]


This man was Dhul Khuwaisirah Al Tamimie, The Prophet (saw) knows that he is khawaarij, and that from his children will be khawaarij, and that he conceals kufr, but he judged his imaan on his sayings and his actions, not from what was in his heart. Imam Ali killed thousands from the khawaarij, but only after they made takfeer upon and killed one sahabi - Abdullah ibn Khabbab. He did not judge their hearts, rather he judged them when they committed actions and made takfeer on them when they did, despite that they do believe and testify that "laa ilaaha illallah".


Khalid bin Waleed learnt from this that he should not judge someone by intention, but rather by his actions. This helped him in the time of Musailamah Kazab, who used to claim to be the brother of Muhammad and another messenger. Musailamah even used to try to make ayat, similar to the Qur'an. However even his own followers told him that it is better to repeat the ayat of Muhammad, and that they will accept it from him, because his own verses were so obviously defective.


Muja'a was a man who spent some time accompanying the Prophet (saw), and he was from the same town as Musailamah. Khalid bin Waleed was the one who was sent to fight against Musailamah, he conquered, and he captured from them 20 apostates. Muja'a said to him:

"Assalamu 'Alaikum Wa Rahmatullah."

Khalid looked to him and said:

"Now you give me salam?"

Muja'a said:

"O khalid you know me, I was among them who gave baya'ah to Muhammad (saw) and I still believe in what I believed in the past …"

Khalid said:

"you do not believe in what you believed in the past, and your acceptance to live under this False Prophet (Musailamah kazab) and your silence is your consent. You are the most noble man in Yamamah, you knew that I was coming, yet you stayed with him and you did not come out with me, I cannot find any excuse for you at all, you heard what they said and you did not say a word, and there were among you people less than you, and they spoke against Musailamah, and they have been tortured and had been killed."

Muja'a said:

"I was fearing from my people,"

Khalid said:

"Why did you not come to me or send me a letter, I am going to stop killing you, but I am not going to let you free, between releasing you from my sword and releasing you completely is a middle solution, I am going to imprison you until Allah finds us a way."

He consulted with other sahabah and he killed Muja'a, because he judged his kufr actions NOT his intention.

Imam Shafi'I said about this: "Khalid bin Waleed considered Muja'ah kaafir because he was silent and he left what he believed in the past."


This Hadith has serious implications for all of the Muslims today, because today we find ourselves in a very strange situation, we are all surrounded by kufr and shirk, and we find false prophets and false gods all around us, calling for Democracy, for freedom, for capitalism. We find many people who claim that the 'western values' are 'human values', and that the whole world must embrace them even at the cost of Islam. we find rulers who do not rule by Islam, but by kufr law - i.e. we find many Taghout like Musailamah. If we are silent against these tawagheet, accepting to live under them without to say a word to condemn them, without to stand with the Muslims against them, then we would fall in the same hole and would be in the same situation as Muja'a. Imam Shafi'i explained that the silence of Muja'a was enough for Khalid bin Waleed to declare him kafir. Without a doubt we must protect ourselves from this kufr and forbid this munkar - the greatest of all munkars - i.e. Al Shirk. Furthermore, if the silence of Muja'ah is enough kufr, then what of those people who support and vote for the Musailamah of today (for the taghout rulers), or those who defend them and work for them?


Further evidence that we judge by what is apparent comes from the hadith, narrated by Nu'aim. He said:

"We were with the Prophet (saw), and a man came. They said he was a kaafir and conspired to take his money, the Prophet (saw) said: "didn't he say 'laa ilaha illallah?" they said: "yes, but only out of fear from the sword." The Prophet (saw) said: "do not kill him, I have been ordered to fight people until they say laa ilaha illallah, after that there life and wealth is protected." They said, "O Messenger, he feared our sword." The Prophet (saw) said: "I have been ordered to judge the apparent." [Nisaa'i 3714]

on this hadith, Sufyan Al Thawrie said: "This is so clear, that the pillars (the sayings and actions) are for people to see and hear (i.e. they are apparent)."


Another example of this is when a man had accused his pregnant wife of adultery, he had no witnesses but he wanted to make the five oaths, cursing her and cursing himself if he is a liar, and for her to do the same. The Prophet (saw) suggested to wait until after the baby is born, he spoke with the man and said that if the child looks like him then the child is his, and if it looks like the other man it is the other man's child. The child was born and it looked like the other man. The Prophet (saw) asked if she would make the oaths, and she did. He (saw) said:

"Just because of the oath she gave, there will be between her and me a different situation."

He judged her by what was apparent, i.e. the saying that she said, despite the likeness of the child to the other man, and so he did not accuse her further. Furthermore, The Prophet (saw) said:

"Whosoever prays our salah, and faces our qiblah, and eats our slaughtered meat, he is Muslim, and he has the dhimmah of Allah and the dhimmah of the messenger."

So whosoever has apparent actions that are Islamic actions, he is a Muslim. We do not dig further into his heart for his intention - what is apparent is enough for us.


Ali ibn Abi Talib narrated"Two slaves left on the day of hudaibiyah, from Makkah to Muhammad (saw), they said to Muhammad: "there are two slaves who make hijrah to you, not for your sake, but only to be freed from slavery." Muhammad (saw) angrily said: "you people of Quraish never stop misbehaving until Allah will send over you someone who will strike your neck because of this. I will never send them back, they are people whom Allah freed." [Abu Dawood]

Abdullah ibn Utbah ibn Mas'oud said: "I heard Umar ibn Khattab say, "there were some people excused by the wahi in the time of rasulullah, but now the wahi has stopped. now we account you by what you do that is apparent. And whoever shows us any corruption, we will never believe him nor trust him even if your intention was good." [Bukhari]

This saying was regarding Haatib ibn Abi Balta'a. Haatib was the one who had signalled to the Quraish that the army of Muhammad (saw) was coming to Makkah, Muhammad (saw) asked him about it, and he did not deny it. Umar ibn Khattab said: "Let me kill this kaafir."

Allah (swt) revealed to Muhammad (saw) that he did not commit Muwalaat Al Kubra, but that he committed Muwalaat Al Sughra i.e. kufr duna kufr. But also Haatib had special circumstances - he was a man who had fought, and he was from amongst the people of Badr, and was praised to the highest level by Muhammad (saw) in Badr, and he was from Al Sabiqun al Awwalun - i.e. Sahabi Akbar. He was a man who had family in Makkah - and it was to protect them that he did what he did. He did not commit Muwalaat out of kufr to fight with kuffar against Muslims.


Despite this, Muhammad (saw) did NOT condemn Umar for making takfir, nor defend Haatib from Umar's takfir, rather he just said: "I have been informed that Haatib did not say it out of Muwalaat."


This understanding of Umar ibn Khattab is clear, and is binding on us. Allah (swt) praised the companions of Muhammad (saw) to the highest level, and he declared them to be believers. Their understanding of the Qur'an and Sunnah is binding on us, and it is hujjah (shield) for us on the day of judgement. Umar ibn Khattab explained here that Haatib ibn Balta'ah was excused by the Wahi, while everyone after that is judged by what is apparent, as kafir if they show us kufr, and Muslim if they show us Islam. Furthermore, Muhammad (saw) consented to the takfeer of Umar ibn Khattab here, and only excused Haatib because Allah (swt) made excuse for him via the Wahi, however the Wahi stopped after Muhammad (saw). Furthermore, this is specific to Haatib, this is why in Islam, the judge does not ask for a motive as evidence, because the motive is what is inner not what is apparent, he will ask for a confession or for witnesses who saw the action. The Prophet (saw) said: "The confession is the master of all evidences."

And Imam Shafi'I said: "The intention, its place is in the heart. That is the way Sa'ed bin Musayyab taught us."


Furthermore, it is reported that,

"Muslims chased a man with ghanima, the man turned and said 'Assalamu 'Alaikum' they killed him. Allah (swt) revealed, "do not say to the one who says assalamu Alaikum, that you are not mu'min." and after that those Muslims never stopped paying kafarah."


However this is not so simple, the Tatarians used to say, laa ilaaha illallah, and pray, and give zakah. Yet because they referred to the Qur'an and alongside that, they followed the books of their leaders, fattawa were given to kill them even if they were praying in the masjid.

Furthermore, Abbas ibn Abu Muttalib was the one who went with the messenger (saw) even while he was still Mushrik. He warned the aws and khazraj to protect Muhammad (saw) and later he embraced Islam in Makkah and would report to Muhammad (saw) about the Quraish, however in Badr he was captured by the Muslims amongst the army of quraish. The Prophet (saw) said to him, "Why don't you ransom yourself? and ransom Uqayl ibn Abu Talib, and free Nawfal and Utbah bin Amru from your alliance" he (Abbas) said: "I am Muslim" the Prophet (saw) said: "Allah knows about your Islam, we found you among the army of Quraish" he said: "the people put ikrah on me." The Prophet (saw) said, "what is apparent is that you were fighting against us."

Abbas was not from among the weak in Makkah that Allah made excuse for in the qur'an. He was strong and even fought on a camel in Badr. Muhammad (saw) gave him no excuse, he was not interested in his intention for joining the army, rather he judged him on the kufr action that they found him on even though he professed his Islam and declared the shahadah.


THE ULEMAH ON JUDGING THE APPARENT


Abu Izz Al Hanafi said:

"We have been ordered to judge by the apparent, and Allah forbade us to doubt people, and to follow what we do not have knowledge, (Allah (swt) said: ) "O Believers, avoid the doubt … [49: 12] & [isra: 36]" [Aqeedah Tahaqiyyah]

In the Fiqh, it is asked, "what is the hukm to pray behind someone that you don't know if he is kaafir or not." - All the ulemah agree that the one who does not pray behind someone just because they do not know him - he is kaafir. And it is well known, that the one who refuses to pray behind someone until he knows his aqeedah, is deviant.


Imam Shafi'I said:

"The one who says, 'I do not pray jumu'a behind an imam, until I know his aqeedah in Batin (what is hidden in his heart)', he is a man who has deviated from the companions of Muhammad (saw)." [Kitab ul Umm]


Ibn Taymiyyah said:

"It is not a condition to pray behind anybody, to know his belief, nor to test him and he asks him 'what do you believe in?' Rather he is obliged to pray behind him without to know about his aqeedah, and the one who says 'I don't pray behind a man without to know his aqeedah' he is jahil, and no alim ever said so before."


Imam Ahmed said:

"The Imaan and the nifaq has its origin in the heart, but what appears is the sayings and actions, is its branch and is evidence about it."


IF THERE IS KUFR AND IMAAN BOTH APPARENT, WHAT DO WE CALL HIM?


The Prophet (saw) said:

"There cannot be two things in the heart of the mu'min, kufr and imaan, if they meet he is kaafir."

If there is Imaan and Kufr, the kufr overrides and takes over, so we call him kafir. Without a doubt what is apparent from many from the Muslim Ummah - is many kufr sayings and kufr actions, many people claim Islam to be 'out of date' or 'backwards', these kinds of kufr sayings are unacceptable and are declarations of the kufr in their hearts. Similarly we find that those who currently rule the Muslim lands throughout the world, rule not by Islam but by kufr, whether it be Democracy, Capitalism, Communism, or simply the desires of a dictator, and Allah (swt) said,"Whosoever rules by other than what Allah revealed, they are the Kafirun." [EMQ 5: 44]

We cannot excuse this Shirk in Allah (swt), Allah (swt) said, "the right of legislation is for none but Allah (swt)." [EMQ 12: 40] so to associate with Allah some other ruler in his legislation is evidence enough of their Shirk and Riddah (apostasy). Whether they say 'laa ilaha illallah' or not, whether they pray five times a day or not, or whether they fast in Ramadhan or not, they are Murtad Kafir (Apostate & Disbelievers) - because we do not look to what is in their hearts, we judge only what is apparent from their sayings and actions. Muhammad (saw) said, "every action is on the intention." so we judge the kufr actions of the taghout rulers to be in accordance to their kufr intentions, not to claim that they commit kufr with a good Islamic intention - this is both ridiculous and contradictory to the Shari'ah.


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Sunday 26 June 2011

'Izzah: Forgotten Concept, Lost Virtue

During his Caliphate, ‘Umar radi Allahu anhu set out for Ash-Shaam with Abu ‘Ubaydah. Along the way, they encountered a deep creek which could only be crossed directly, so ‘Umar took off his sandals and waded through the water. Concerned, Abu ‘Ubaydah said, “I fear that the people of the village will think you without honour.”

‘Umar replied, “Oh Abu Ubaydah! If only someone less knowledgeable than you had made such a statement. We were the most disgraced of people, and Allah granted us honour with Islam. Now, whenever we seek honour in other than that which Allah honoured us with, Allah shall disgrace us (once again).”


What would ‘Umar say if he could see us today? Given that we are as many as the foam upon the sea, and as useless? What would he say today, when our brothers and sisters are collateral damage, slaughtered left, right, and centre on demand while the rest us of are impotent to protect them?


The problem is that we have forgotten the concept of ‘izzah (honour). We have forgotten that no matter what our physical or financial state is, Allah has placed us in a position of superiority over all other creation.

By virtue of our tawheed, our emaan, our Islam, we are better than anyone else. And yes, while that sounds politically incorrect, our Rabb has clearly stated:

Surely those who disbelieve from among the followers of the Book and the polytheists shall be in the fire of hell, abiding therein; they are the worst of men.

(And) lo! those who believe and do good deeds, they are the best of creation. (al-Bayyinah, 6-7)

You are the best of people among all peoples, for you command Al-Maruf and forbid Al-Munkar, and you submit [in belief] to Allah. 3:110


Knowing this, why then do we still have inferiority complexes? Why do we find ourselves asking for help from those responsible for oppressing us? Why do we lower ourselves to such a position?

The fact of the matter is that we have lost our ‘izzah. We have lost the understanding of what it is and how we are to attain it.


So what is this ‘izzah? How do we attain it, and how do we lose it? How do we put this forgotten concept into practice, especially in this day and age? Insha’Allah, these questions and more will be answered in the following articles.

Part One: Literary Origins and Islamic Understanding


The Arabic word ‘izzah is from ayn-zay-zay, which means might, honour, respect, dignity, prestige, fame and glory. It also means to have the upper hand; sometimes ‘izzah is used positively for praise, and sometimes it’s used negatively for arrogance (such as surah Saad ayah 2).

عز/ العزة

‘Azz/ ‘Izzah

‘Azz

The root word for I’zzah, Azeez and Uzzah is ‘Azz which means to be or become strong, powerful or/and respected.


‘Azz’ can also mean to overpower/defeat.

{…and He overpowered Me In speech.} [Saad 23]

This is because there is a saying in Arabic من عز بز ‘whoever overpowers will defeat’, due to the other being more powerful in debating and speaking, and this is how he overpowered him in speech.

‘Izzah

Al ‘Izzah is a state which prevents a person from being overcome. When the Arabs call a land عزاز [‘azaaz’] they mean it is hard, solid, stiff and rigid.


Linguistically this term means: might/ power/ standing/ strength/ force/ honour/ glory/ high rank/ fame/ pride.

In the Qur’aan, ‘Izzah is sometimes mentioned in a praiseworthy sense and at other times it is mentioned in a blameworthy sense as the examples below illustrate:

‘But honour, power and Glory belong to Allaah, his Messenger (Muhammad Sal-Allaahu ‘alayhe Wa Sallam), and to the believers’ [Al Munaafiqoon 8]

‘Do they seek honour, power and Glory with them? Verily, then to Allâh belongs all honour, power and glory.’ [Al Nisaa 139]


When ‘Izzah is mentioned with regards to Allah, His Messenger (sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam), and the believers, it’s an everlasting honour, power and glory – it’s the true [haqiqi] ‘Izzah. On the other hand, when ‘Izzah is mentioned with regards to the disbelievers, it’s used to denote both disgrace and dishonour:

Nay, those who disbelieve are in false pride and opposition. [Saad 2]


And when it is said to him, “Fear Allâh”, he is led by arrogance to (more) crime. So enough for Him is Hell, and worst indeed is that place to rest! [Al Baqarah 206]


And they have taken (for worship) âliha (gods) besides Allâh, that they might give them honour, power, and glory (and also protect them from Allâh’s punishment etc.). [Maryam 81]

If only man would understand that honour belongs to Allah alone,


Whosoever desires honour, power, and glory, then to Allâh belongs all honour, power, and glory [Faatir 10]


Thus, we can see that in general, ‘izzah can be described as honour, dignity, and higher status. Hereafter, we shall use the term interchangeably with ‘honour’ for easier comprehension.

So:

‘Izzah is honour. And what is honour?

It’s not something tangible that we can see, hear, smell, taste, or touch. Honour is something else, something higher, something far more noble. It is pride and confidence, an aura of strength and serenity. It is a type of knowledge, a type of belief.


There was a time when any man, woman, or child would rather die than sacrifice their honour. Honour was a sense of pride and dignity people had that came from being absolutely confident and resolute in their beliefs, values, and identity.

To the Muslim, honour is something which Allah has blessed us with. It is the knowledge that in humbling ourselves to Him and Him alone, He has raised us above all other creation. It is the knowledge that by fearing Him and seeking reward from Him alone, no one and nothing else on Earth can inspire within us fear or interest in what they have to offer us. It is something which is attained by truly loving, believing, and acting upon the words of Allah’s Messenger (sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam) when he said:

Be mindful of Allah, and Allah will protect you. Be mindful of Allah, and you will find Him in front of you. If you ask, ask of Allah; if you seek help, seek help of Allah. Know that if the Nation were to gather together to benefit you with anything, it would benefit you only with something that Allah had already prescribed for you, and that if they gather together to harm you with anything, they would harm you only with something Allah had already prescribed for you.

‘Izzah is attained by worshipping Allah alone, obeying His commands, avoiding what He has prohibited, and placing our entire reliance upon Him and Him alone.


Thus, its loss occurs when we do the opposite: when our emaan weakens, and our tawakkul fades, and we allow into our lives that which Allah hates for us. What kind of ‘izzah can we have when we abandon the very actions which are the cause of this elevated status? How can we have honour of any kind when we humiliate ourselves by neglecting the salaah, replacing the Words of Allah with the Qur’an of the Shaytaan (music), and place more importance in political activism than spiritual strength?

‘Izzah is borne of action, and is manifested as attitude. It is an attitude of superiority and of confidence, an attitude which we need to reclaim.

First of all, we need to recognize that having such an attitude is not a bad thing. Politically incorrect? Sure. And according to the current standards of political correctness, so is the Qur’an and the Sunnah; so is the entire religion of al-Islam. Are we going to deny it? Hide it? In an attempt to bring people closer to Islam, will we prevent them from reading the very source of Truth? No, by Allah! No matter what the people say, this is our Deen, this is al-Islam, and we will never be shy of it. This is the source of our ‘izzah, and we must never forget it.

Allah has stated repeatedly that He has chosen al-Islam as the only acceptable religion and that the true believers are those whom He has chosen as the khulafaa’ of this Earth.


The (only) religion with Allah is Islaam, but if they dispute with you, say, “I have submitted myself entirely to Allah.” (3:19 – 20)


And whoever desires a religion other than Islam, it shall not be accepted from him, and in the hereafter he shall be one of the losers. (3:85)


So, do not become weak or sad, and you are superior if you are believers. [Al 'Imran; 139]

Once this is recognized, then we must go back to what we said in the beginning – this superiority and honour, this‘izzah, comes only from studying, understanding, and implementing Islam correctly in every sphere of our lives.

“So whoever hopes to see his Lord and be rewarded by Him, then let him make his worship correct and make it purely and exclusively for Him; and let him not give any share of it to other than Him.” [Surah al-Kahf 18:110].


If we obey Allah as we are supposed to, we will feel the peace, the tranquility, the strength and the confidence that befits those whom Allah is pleased with. And once Allah is pleased with a people, and He has promised them victory, is there anyone or anything on the face of this earth which could possibly stop them?

“Say: ‘O Allah. Lord of Power (And Rule), You give power to whom You please, and You strip off power from whom You please: You endow with honor whom You please, and You bring low whom You please: In Your hand is all good. Verily, over all things You have power.’” (3:26).

Friday 3 June 2011

: Last man to enter paradise :

Narrated Abu Huraira: Some people said, "O Allah's Apostle! Shall we see our Lord on the Day of Resurrection?"

He said, "Do you crowd and squeeze each other on looking at the sun when it is not hidden by clouds?" They replied, "No, Allah's Apostle." He said, "Do you crowd and squeeze each other on looking at the moon when it is full and not hidden by clouds?"

They replied, No, O Allah's Apostle!" He said, "So you will see Him (your Lord) on the Day of Resurrection similarly Allah will gather all the people and say, 'Whoever used to worship anything should follow that thing. 'So, he who used to worship the sun, will follow it, and he who used to worship the moon will follow it, and he who used to worship false deities will follow them; and then only this nation (i.e., Muslims) will remain, including their hypocrites.


Allah will come to them in a shape other than they know and will say, 'I am your Lord.' They will say, 'We seek refuge with Allah from you. This is our place; (we will not follow you) till our Lord comes to us, and when our Lord comes to us, we will recognize Him. Then Allah will come to then in a shape they know and will say, "I am your Lord.' They will say, '(No doubt) You are our Lord,' and they will follow Him. Then a bridge will be laid over the (Hell) Fire." Allah's Apostle added, "I will be the first to cross it. And the invocation of the Apostles on that Day, will be 'Allahumma Sallim, Sallim (O Allah, save us, save us!),' and over that bridge there will be hooks Similar to the thorns of As Sa'dan (a thorny tree). Didn't you see the thorns of As-Sa'dan?" The companions said, "Yes, O Allah's Apostle."


He added, "So the hooks over that bridge will be like the thorns of As-Sa-dan except that their greatness in size is only known to Allah. These hooks will snatch the people according to their deeds. Some people will be ruined because of their evil deeds, and some will be cut into pieces and fall down in Hell, but will be saved afterwards, when Allah has finished the judgments among His slaves, and intends to take out of the Fire whoever He wishes to take out from among those who used to testify that none had the right to be worshipped but Allah. We will order the angels to take them out and the angels will know them by the mark of the traces of prostration (on their foreheads) for Allah banned the f ire to consume the traces of prostration on the body of Adam's son.

So they will take them out, and by then they would have burnt (as coal), and then water, called Maul Hayat (water of life) will be poured on them, and they will spring out like a seed springs out on the bank of a rainwater stream, and there will remain one man who will be facing the (Hell) Fire and will say, 'O Lord! It's (Hell's) vapor has Poisoned and smoked me and its flame has burnt me; please turn my face away from the Fire.' He will keep on invoking Allah till Allah says, 'Perhaps, if I give you what you want), you will ask for another thing?' The man will say, 'No, by Your Power, I will not ask You for anything else.'

Then Allah will turn his face away from the Fire. The man will say after that, 'O Lord, bring me near the gate of Paradise.' Allah will say (to him), 'Didn't you promise not to ask for anything else? Woe to you, O son of Adam ! How treacherous you are!' The man will keep on invoking Allah till Allah will say,But if I give you that, you may ask me for something else.' The man will say, 'No, by Your Power. I will not ask for anything else.' He will give Allah his covenant and promise not to ask for anything else after that. So Allah will bring him near to the gate of Paradise, and when he sees what is in it, he will remain silent as long as Allah will, and then he will say, 'O Lord! Let me enter Paradise.' Allah will say, 'Didn't you promise that you would not ask Me for anything other than that? Woe to you, O son of Adam ! How treacherous you are!' On that, the man will say, 'O Lord! Do not make me the most wretched of Your creation,' and will keep on invoking Allah till Allah will smile and when Allah will smile because of him, then He will allow him to enter Paradise, and when he will enter Paradise, he will be addressed, 'Wish from so-and-so.' He will wish till all his wishes will be fulfilled, then Allah will say, All this (i.e. what you have wished for) and as much again therewith are for you.' "

Abu Huraira added: That man will be the last of the people of Paradise to enter (Paradise). Narrated 'Ata (while Abu Huraira was narrating): Abu Said was sitting in the company of Abu Huraira and he did not deny anything of his narration till he reached his saying: "All this and as much again therewith are for you." Then Abu Sa'id said, "I heard Allah's Apostle saying, 'This is for you and ten times as much.' " Abu Huraira said, "In my memory it is 'as much again therewith.' " (Book #76, Hadith #577)

Monday 30 May 2011

A Close Look At The American Society

A Close Look At The American Society

The "value system" of Jews and the traditional value system of America are NOT in line with one another. Jews have long held, and continue to hold a DUAL morality system: One set of values for dealing with other Jews, and another set for dealing with everyone else. In her early years, (most) people immigrating to America wanted ONE thing - the better life that the traditional value system of America promised. And they wanted to BECOME Americans - to ASSIMILATE into our great and highly admired CULTURE as quickly and thoroughly as possible. Jews, for the most part, had NO such desire to assimilate, but wanted only to suck at the tit of America - milking her for what she was worth.

Not being comfortable as a lone non-assimilating minority (which stuck out like a sore thumb), they started pressing SOCIAL issues, intending to stir up the country, and to divide us into a nation or quarreling factions, each group selfishly pursuing their own agenda. The Jews pushed "Civil Rights" (even founded and ran the NAACP) to create racial divisions, "Feminism" to divide the sexes, they pushed the "counter-culture" of Sex, Drugs and Rock & Roll" of the Sixties and Seventies to separate a generation of children from the values of their parents. Jews pushed the "Great Society" welfare State to further divide the races, create a cycle of poverty, and more importantly, to DESTROY the family unit, creating generations of fatherless youth, shiftless and prone to criminal behavior.

Jews pushed HARD for "Immigration Reform" which saw to it that non-Whites and immigrants from non-European countries were given preference, thus diluting the Whiteness of America, while creating sub-cultures that would almost certainly *never* fully assimilate. New media-driven "hyphenations" began to appear: "African-American", "Mexican-American", "Cuban-American", etc. The cohesion of the country was unraveling, just as they'd planned. Jews attacked religion on the issue of "separation of Church and State", in an attempt to destroy the idea that the US is a "Christian Nation" the intent being to further demoralize the nation. Jews pushed Affirmative Action to give race and gender based preferences to underqualified students and employees, creating tension and animosity between "minorities" and those who were stepped on in the name of *diversity*.

The Jewish media has long pushed interracial sex and marriage, from "Guess Who's Coming to Dinner" (written by the Jew William Rose, and produced and directed by the Jew Stanley Kramer) to Murray Rothstein's MTV, which shows Black "singers" chanting "Hate Whitey" messages, even as they grope and fondle White girls - a Jewish attempt to inspire race-mixing, and destroy racial identity. And the whole time, even as Jews worked to corrupt and pollute American society, and especially White Gentile who they sought to disempower, Jews have done their best to INSULATE themselves from the fires they started, and whose flames they fanned.

Within their OWN group, race mixing was shunned. In Israel, Jews want nothing to do with "ethnic diversity", or open borders allowing all comers, do they? Israelis have no interest in the "civil rights" of non-Jews, they stress FAMILY VALUES, where here they champion the virtues of single mothers raising children. Jews in Israel want no part of "Freedom of Religion", and have little tolerance for non-Jews "polluting" their religious monoculture. These are a *few* of the "wonderful" things that Jews have done for America. And when these are viewed in contrast to the way Jews choose to live in their OWN culture, any illusion that Jews may have had America's "best interests" at heart quickly vanishes. Jews work to serve the interests of Jews. They always have, and apparently always will.

The way I see it, there is no such thing as an American Jew, a Canadian Jew, an Argentinean Jew, or a French Jew. These are just Jews who *happen* to be living in some country or other - as a temporary matter of convenience. Of course, they'll happily support the interests of their country of residence - provided that these don't conflict with the interests of Jews, which are PARAMOUNT. Admittedly I paint with a broad brush, because certainly MANY Jews didn't support all of the planks in the Jewish platform for the attack on merica - but no more than Jews paint with a broad brush when they decry the Nazis. Certainly not ALL Nazis were in favor of ALL of the things that the Nazis were doing, but that doesn't stop people from being opposed to Nazis or Nazism in general. By the same token, not ALL Jews are in favor of ALL of the things that the Jews have done or are doing to the US, and virtually every country in Europe, but that shouldn't stop *all* thinking Gentiles who care about what is in THEIR best interests from being opposed to Jews and their pernicious machinations.

Addiction

American people are suffering from many types of behavioral and substance addictions today. Alcohol addiction is a major problem in America, and it has left untold misery in its wake. According to statistics from (Government) sources alcohol is involved in:

66% of fatal accidents.
70% of murders.
72% of assaults and robberies.
52% of fire deaths.
50% of problems at work.
60% of suicides.
56-70% of fights and assaults in homes.

Food addiction is becoming recognized as a major problem today, as the majority of Americans are overweight, and an unprecedented number are actually obese. Cigarette addiction is claiming the lives of hundreds of thousands of people annually, as Americans are finally succumbing to a wide variety of diseases associated with a lifetime of smoking. While some groups of Americans are giving up smoking, other groups, such as women and teens are showing dramatic increases. The death toll just continues to roll. Gambling is quickly becoming the new addiction.

Consider Adult Gambling:

There are many cities in which casinos and gambling are legal. The latest craze is for American Indian reservations to legalize gambling, creating brand new facilities in which people can lose their money. And the crowds filling these gambling halls are enormous. Bingo is sponsored primarily by churches and charitable organizations, Horse racing and Sports gambling is huge business. State lotteries have been conceived as the easiest way for governments to raise money. People who would protest vigorously against increased taxes simply do not mind losing even more money to a government sponsored lottery. Since children learn most effectively from observing role models, we might expect that, with all this gambling going on among the adults, teenagers might be developing this attitude themselves. Such is exactly the case. In high schools, 50% of the kids are now gambling; One in five (20%) has a serious problem-- stealing in order to gamble.

The Drugs of Sorcery

America, as a nation, has certainly embarked upon the usage of drugs. Drug abuse and addiction are now at a high epidemic level in the U.S., accompanied by the corresponding crime rate. The greatest loss, of course, is the human one. America's losses are occurring through several channels:

Drug overdose is killing thousands every year.
Drug dependency is killing family structure.
Drugs drain the nation economically.
Drugs drain the nation's health care system
Drug addicts now are being born from mothers who are addicts, passing the addiction in their womb.
Drug addiction is contributing greatly to the spread of AIDS.

The Drug Traffickers, the Banks and the White House

If the major US banks are the financial engines which allow the billion dollar drug empires to operate, the White House, the US Congress and the law enforcement agencies are the basic protectors of these banks. Despite the deep and pervasive involvement of the major banks in laundering hundreds of billions of dollars in illicit funds, the “court settlements” pursued by US prosecutors have led to no jail time for the bankers. One court’s settlement amounted to a fine of $50 million dollars, less than 0.5% of one of the banks (the Wachovia/Wells Fargo bank) $12.3 billion profits for 2009 (The Guardian, May 11, 2011). Despite the death of tens of thousands of Mexican civilians, US executive branch directed the DEA, the federal prosecutors and judges to impose such a laughable ‘punishment’ on Wachovia for its illegal services to the drug cartels. The most prominent economic officials of the Bush and Obama regimes, including Summers, Paulson, Geithner, Greenspan, Bernacke et al, are all long term associates, advisers and members of the leading financial houses and banks implicated in laundering the billions of drug profits. Laundering drug money is one of the most lucrative sources of profit for Wall Street; the banks charge hefty commissions on the transfer of drug profits, which they then lend to borrowing institutions at interest rates far above what – if any – they pay to drug trafficker depositors. Awash in sanitized drug profits, these US titans of the finance world can easily buy their own elected officials to perpetuate the system.

Mental illness or distress

Most people today understand that millions of Americans are suffering from some form of mental illness or distress. Of course, when someone does begin to suffer mental and emotional distress, they are far more open to the temptation of substance of lifestyle addiction.

In this country, killing has reached unprecedented levels. "A violent crime is committed (in America) every 5 seconds...In a typical year: There are 8.1 million serious crimes like murder, assault, and burglary. BUT:

Only 724,000 adults are ever arrested.
Only 193,000 of them are convicted.
Only 149,000 of them go to prison.
And, 36,000 serve less than a year (in prison).
If all this isn't enough, the 8.1 million crimes, above, represent only 50% of the actual crimes committed. The rest are never reported to the police."

Sexual lust

Americans today are caught up in a frenzy of sexual lust, on a wide variety of fronts. Our mass media -- TV, newspapers, magazines, and movies -- have been pumping sexual sin into the minds and hearts of Americans since the end of World War II; however, since the early 1980's, depiction of sexual sin have reached ever-increasing levels of frequency and stark reality. The predictable change in attitudes and values among the population has occurred, as many, if not most, young Americans have adopted the attitude that any sexual action is OK to do as long as it feels good.

Of course, our school systems have gotten into the act also, as they have continuously taught that there are no absolute right or wrong and that sex between students is inevitable. This entire process of eroding the traditional values system of the population of America began in 1963, when the Supreme Court ruled that prayer could no longer be said in public schools. The resulting change in behavior is startling, to say the least:

Pregnancies to girls 10-14: +553%
Suicide Rates for 15-24 year-olds: +102%, 20-24 year-olds: +98%
School dropouts: +650%
Divorce: +140%
Violent Crime: +160%
Sexually transmitted Diseases: +148%
Alcohol Consumption per person: +24%

The Epidemic Of Prescription Drug Overdose Deaths According to the U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency, more than 6 million Americans are currently abusing prescription drugs—that is more than the number of Americans abusing cocaine, heroin, hallucinogens and inhalants combined. With more current users, we can expect the mortality rates from prescription drug overdose deaths to continue to rise.

Children Of The Corn: GMOs Don’t Qualify As Food There has been a concerted national effort by citizens to have the US government label GMOs. Opposing it are government intent not only to keep them unlabeled in the US but efforts at the international level by the US government to remove all labeling of GMOs through Codex. The problem is that Codex applies to food, and GMOs don't qualify.

GMO Study: OMG, You’re Eating Insecticide… Most Americans remain blissfully unaware (or don’t care) they are eating genetically-modified (GM) organisms every day. Passivity and blind faith in the USDA, FDA and EPA have largely contributed to this attitude. Perhaps that will change now that a new study reveals an insecticide produced in GM corn actually gets absorbed into the human body. If you haven’t been paying attention to your food lately, biotechnology giants such as Monsanto thank you for that. Because behind your back, they’ve succeeded in replacing 86% of US corn with their patented insecticide-producing “frankencorn”.

Germany To Scrap Nuclear Power By 2022 Germany on Monday became the first major industrialised power to agree an end to nuclear power in the wake of the disaster in Japan, with a phase-out to be completed by 2022. Chancellor Angela Merkel said the decision, hammered out by her centre-right coalition overnight, marked the start of a "fundamental" rethink of energy policy in the world's number four economy. "We want the electricity of the future to be safer and at the same time reliable and affordable," Merkel told reporters as she accepted the findings of an expert commission on nuclear power she appointed in March in response to the crisis at Japan's Fukushima plant. "That means we must have a new approach to the supply network, energy efficiency, renewable energy and also long-term monitoring of the process," said Merkel, whose popularity had suffered over her previous pro-nuclear stance. The commission found that it would be viable within a decade for Germany to mothball all 17 of its nuclear reactors, eight of which are currently off the electricity grid. Environment Minister Norbert Roettgen announced the gradual shutdown early Monday after seven hours of negotiations at Merkel's offices between the ruling coalition partners. He said the decision was "irreversible". Seven of the reactors already offline are the country's oldest, which the government shut down for three months pending a safety probe after the Fukushima emergency. The eighth is the Kruemmel plant, in northern Germany, which has been offline for years due to repeated technical problems. Six further reactors are to be shut down by the end of 2021 and the three most modern would stop operating by the end of 2022. Monday's decision, which could run into legal challenges from energy companies, means Germany will have to find the 22 percent of its electricity needs that were covered by nuclear power from other sources. Italy scrapped nuclear power in 1987, one year after the Chernobyl disaster, while neighbouring Switzerland said last week it would phase out atomic energy by 2034.

May 29, 2011


UNJUSTMEDIA