Wednesday 26 October 2011

Nasheeds

Dear Readers, Salam Aleikum!

Insha'Allah you are all well and healthy. I would like to discuss the topic of music and its effect on behaviour. The following view on haram music is shared by both the Sunni and Shi'ite schools of Islam, for it is described by the Prophet (peace be upon him) and by the 12 infallible Imams (peace be upon all of them).
It is haram (not permissible) to listen to music which advertises satanic acts; such as disrespect towards women, discrimination, racism, criminal acts, drug taking, alcohol consumption, promiscuity and even polytheism (belief in multiple deities, other or next to Allah). Listening to songs which contain these factors can 'intoxicate' the soul and therefore are in the category of drinking and taking drugs. Any substance, behaviour or thoughts that feed addictions and lead one from the righteous path are considered haram. The reason for this is quite clear, when one is not fully conscious or aware of his/her acts, then irrational behaviour could lead to great sins. We must all remember that Satan (eternally damned he be) is always amongst us. Insha'Allah we can fight against his influences and pursue the path of truth towards paradise!
Insha'Allah
I would like to stress again, that this is a view shared by both schools of Islam. We must all work to reduce the deviation of the Ummah (the Islamic community), our Muslim brothers and sisters might not all follow the exact same path, but it benefits nobody to emphasize the differences. And no matter what, they are Muslims and just like the People of the Book (the Jewish and Christians) are to be respected.
Listening to haram music is forbidden in a couple of Hadiths (a saying, act, validly or invalidly, ascribed to the Prophet Muhammad, (peace be upon him)) and in the Holy Qu'ran itself. In addition I will share some interpretations of the Hadiths concerning music, by Ayatollah Seyed Ali Hoseyni Khamene'i.

 "And of mankind is he who purchases idle talks (i.e. music, singing, etc.) to mislead (men) from the Path of Allah without knowledge, and takes it (the Path of Allah, the Verses of the Qur'an) by way of mockery.  For such there will be a humiliating torment (in the Hell-Fire).
(The Noble Qur'an - 31:6)

"And Istafziz [literally means: befool them gradually] those whom you can among them with your voice (i.e. songs, music, and any other call for Allâh's disobedience), make assaults on them with your cavalry and your infantry, mutually share with them wealth and children (by tempting them to earn money by illegal ways usury, etc., or by committing illegal sexual intercourse, etc.), and make promises to them." But Satan promises them nothing but deceit.
 (The Noble Qur'an - 17: 64)
"From among my followers there will be some people who will consider illegal sexual intercourse, the wearing of silk, the drinking of alcoholic drinks and the use of musical instruments, as lawful. And there will be some people who will stay near the side of a mountain and in the evening their shepherd will come to them with their sheep and ask them for something, but they will say to him, 'Return to us tomorrow.' Allah will destroy them during the night and will let the mountain fall on them, and He will transform the rest of them into monkeys and pigs and they will remain so till the Day of Resurrection."
(Volume: 7, Book Number: 69, Hadith Number: 494v. Narrated Abu 'Amir or Abu Malik Al-Ash'ari)
 Both retrieved from : Islamic Network


Q. What is meant by lahwi mutrib music?  And how best can one recognize it? 
A. Mutrib lahwi music is that which due to its characteristics keeps human beings away from Allah, the Sublime, and away from moral merits and drives them towards sinful acts and carelessness. Its recognition rests with the common people. 
Q. Do such things as the personality of the musician, the place where music is conducted, and the aims of the music have any say in the ruling in the matter of music?
A. The haram type of music is that suitable for dissolute gatherings of sin. However, the personality of the musician, the vocalized words accompanying the music, the venue, and all other circumstances may contribute to place it in the category of haram, lahwi, mutrib music, or another haram category, e.g., if the music, due to the mentioned things, leads to certain corruption.
(Answers given by the Office of the Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Seyed Ali Hoseyni Khamene’i)
(Retrieved from : Practical Laws of Islam)
Before you figuratively throw away your mp3-players, there are however forms of music which ARE allowed. And not to contradict the case I just made I will explain which type of music is permissible and why.
The type of music which is halal is the Nasheed, which is an Islamic song executed in the name in Allah and has lyrics recommending the good and condemning the bad. Therefore it is halal (permissible) for a Muslim to listen to these songs, for they do not lead on astray and increases dhikr (rememberance of Allah) whenever they are played. To summarize this blog I will include the following video taken from the site of the Deen Show.
 
Insha'Allah I have enlightened you on the topic of music,
please do not hesitate to comment on any discrepancies.
Below I am listing a small selection of my favourite Nasheeds,
feel free to share your favourites in the comments below!
Until next time, brothers and sisters!


Sunday 2 October 2011

Tears for Gaza

In the Name of Allah, Most Gracious, Most Merciful
Dear Readers,
Salam Aleikum! (Peace be upon you)

I would have wanted to wait and research a bit more on the following topic, but I was so gripped by this movie that I found on this Blog on Occupied Palestine. I just had to share it with you.I am warning you dear readers, this film is highly graphic, but nonetheless it shows the reality for our fellow Believers in Palestine! I would urge you to watch at least a few minutes of it, I myself had great difficulty watching it without experiencing intense feelings of horror. Please do not take this movie as an attempt to scare or force ideologies upon you, I am here only to raise awareness.
I myself was blissfully unaware of these terrible crimes against humankind until not so long ago. Hearing more and more about what was really going on through non-Western media sources, made a great impact on my view of the world. I can say from personal experience that it is a highly pessimistic one, I found myself questioning whether human'kind' still had any kindness left. However when I saw the love, trust and hospitality of the Muslim community, I knew that these people had their priorities set correctly. Being as good of a person as one can be in this life will be hard, but this will make the reward all the better. Insha'Allah I will be able to show even half of the kindness I received from the Muslim community. I just wish that with this I can help stop this unjustifiable genocide of the Palestinian population.

Insha'Allah our brothers and sisters in Palestine will not have to go through this much longer and may they be rewarded in the Hereafter for their courage and sufferings in this life. May God help them through these horrible attacks and may God have no mercy on the ones that are ruthlessly killing off the children, women and men of Palestine. Insha'Allah all will be judged with ultimate justice on the Day Of Judgement. Amen.


Preliminary blog plan

Dear Readers,

after the short introduction in the last blog entry, I would like to take this opportunity to tell you about my preliminary plan for the blog. I would like to assess the following topics in the next few weeks of blogging entries, Insha'Allah:

1. Raise awareness of the ongoing genocide in Occupied Palestine, by giving links to websites that have true information on the current situation in Palestine.
 2. Elaborate on the wearing of the veil (Hijab), the Qu'ranic verses and Hadiths (reports of statements or actions of the final Prophet Muhammed, peace be upon him) referring to the Hijab. Next to this I will also provide a more personal view on the Hijab and my own experience, insha'Allah!
 3. Explain the importance of personal Iman (personal adherence to Islam) in the representation of Islam. One should first solve inner problems, before attempting to solve external problems, be it in the family, community, the country or even globally. When one is in inner turmoil, one will not be able to offer adequate help for others. This could also be referred to as the 'greater/inner struggle' (Jihad).

Other topics can certainly be addressed within these major topics, however this is an element that I would like to leave to the readers. You can ask questions, initiate discussions or any type of interaction, as long as it occurs in a respectful manner. Insha'Allah I will be able to provide a good overview and explanation of the individual topics, but do feel free to correct any information on this blog.

Saturday 1 October 2011

Introduction

In the name of Allah, Most Gracious, Most Merciful 
(Bismi'llah ir-Rahman ir-Rahiem)


Dear Reader,


I would like to wish peace unto you (Salam Aleikum) and
welcome you to my new blog!
I will take this opportunity to introduce myself and I will use a little survey to keep it as short as possible.


1. What is my name?
My name is Tahirah, this was the one of the names of the first wife of the Prophet Muhammed (peace be upon him) (Sallallahu Alayhi Wasallam), Hazret Khadijah (peace be upon her). (Literally the name means 'The Pure One').
2. How old am I?
I am 21 years old
3. What do I do?
I am in my last year of my studies to obtain a Bachelor of Science, where after I will, God willingly, do a research master in the field of Behavioural Cognitive Neuroscience.
4. Why did I make this blog?
God willingly (Insha'Allah), I can help others with my experiences and share knowledge about Islam.
I, myself, am a reverted Muslima. This means that I 'converted' to the religion of Islam, but I did not belong to any other religion before this, therefore I reverted rather than converted. I am therefore motivated to diminish some of the abundant misconceptions around Islam that are present in the Western World as we know it. God willingly I will be able to show the truth, by sharing the knowledge I am obtaining with time and elaborate on seemingly vague concepts.
5. Who will read my blog?
Well God willingly, a large amount of people will read my blog and allow some interaction between Muslims and non-Muslims. I am not out to convert anyone, because God knows that I can say from experience that that is not a decision anyone can make for you. However I would like to shed some light on issues and therefore my blog is certainly not just for Muslims. 
6. What else would I like to say?
All that I would like to say is that I hope I can interest you enough to keep reading my blog and that God willingly I will be able to answer your questions and elaborate on various issues. 
I am proud to be Muslim and I am glad to be able to share that with you!