Islamic Focus Issue 131

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In the month of Ramadaan we concentrate of building our relationship with Allah Ta’ala though fasting, Quran, charity and other good deeds.

But there’s also the angle of improving on our relationship and interaction with people.

CHARACTER BUILDING The hadith teaches us to avoid arguments when someone ticks us off while fasting by saying: “I am fasting.” This is character building under provocation.

Ramadaan is also termed the month of feeling for others less fortunate than ourselves. This is character building by not only focusing on oneself.

Then the hadith teaches us to help someone else break their fast. This is character building by others’ needs before oneself.

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Issue 131

THE MIRROR The Prophet sallallahu alaihi wa sallam in a hadith describes a Muslim as a mirror for another Muslim.

Here are ways that this analogy helps us better our character through others: 1. Things you can’t see A mirror shows you things about yourself that you would not be able to otherwise see. A Muslim advices another Muslim about things that might be visible to him in his character.

2. No record A mirror has a one on one interaction with a person.

Once he leaves, no record is kept. When a Muslim encounters the faults of a Muslim, he will advice him privately and not broadcast his faults for all the world to know.

3. A mirror gives a true image No lies or exaggerations, either of the good it sees or

May 2017 the blemishes. It gives a fair and just assessment of the person. We need to also be fair in our judgment of others.

4. You go to the mirror When you wish to check your faults, you go to the mirror. Don’t go seeking out the faults of others.

INNER REFORM The Hadith teaches us a dua when using the mirror: Oh Allah, You have beautified my external features, so please beautify my internal aspect.

Just as we want to look presentable our actions need to be noble as well.

Abu Dujana radhiallahu anhu was looking happy at his imminent demise. On being asked the reason he said that he had a clear heart for every Muslim and was thus hopeful in Allah’s Mercy.

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WORLD NEWS

THAILAND - 40 people were wounded after two bombs detonated outside a shop in the Pattani province of Thailand's violence-plagued south.

Thailand is mostly Buddhist, but parts of the south are majority Muslim. The region has been plagued by a long-running separatist insurgency as ethnic Malay rebels battle Thai troops for more autonomy from the Buddhist-majority rule.

According to Deep South Watch, an independent monitoring group, daily shootings and bomb attacks have claimed more than 6,500 lives since 2004. (AJ, 9 May 2017) AFGHANISTAN - Taliban has captured a district in Kunduz province, the second area to fall to the group a week after they launched their spring offensive. Taliban fighters attacked the district of Qala-eZal and took full control. Afghanistan has seen intensified Taliban attacks across the country, leaving Afghan forces stretched on multiple fronts.

They have faced high casualties, up 35 percent in 2016 with 6,800 soldiers and police killed. More than 16 years after they were driven from power, almost half of the country is either contested or under the control of the Taliban. (AJ, 7 May 2017) PAKISTAN - 15 people killed and dozens wounded after a cross-border battle between Pakistani and Afghan forces during a Pakistani population census near the border. Nine Pakistanis and six Afghans were killed in the clashes, which lasted for several hours. (AJ, 6 May 2017) AUSTRALIA - Australia's grand mufti won a defamation case against The Daily Telegraph newspaper

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over claims that he failed to condemn the 2015 Paris attacks.

The tabloid, which is owned by Rupert Murdoch's Newscorp, published the articles about Dr. Ibrahim Abu Mohamed depicting him in a front-page spread as the proverbial three wise monkeys, calling the scholar the "unwise" mufti. The publication lead to widespread condemnation and outrage in Australia's Muslim community. (AJ, 5 May)

INDIA - A hotel owner in Rajasthan has expressed his frustration over the fact that his hotel has been closed for weeks over false accusations that it had served beef on the premises.

Police said forensic tests on meat seized from the Hayat Rabbani hotel showed it was definitely not beef, but chicken. The hotel was closed after a group of "cow vigilantes" protested in front of it for hours in March, chanting nationalist slogans.

A member of the group said they had gathered after reading about rumours of a beef party at the hotel on WhatsApp, allegedly sent by Jaipur's mayor.

Such vigilante groups have been involved with several incidents of violence in India, particularly after the Hindu fundamentalist BJP party came to power in 2014. Last month, police investigated the death of a Muslim man who was attacked by a vigilante group while transporting cows in Rajasthan.

Mr Rabbani said the city authorities had yet to reopen his hotel, even though he had obtained a court order at the end of April telling them to do so. He said its closure had cost him tens of thousands in earnings. (BBC, 10 May 2017)

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Making wudhu before going to bed is one Sunnah that yields much gain.

Dear son, you will not attain good fortune in your home except by certain characteristics which you show to your wife, so remember them and be enthusiastic in acting upon them. Among these are:

1. The dua of the Angels 'Purify these bodies and Allah will purify you, for any slave who goes to sleep in a state of purity has an Angel that spends the night with him. Every time he turns over, [the Angel] says, ‘O Allah! Forgive Your slave, for he went to bed in a state of purity.' (Tabarani)

1. Attention Women like attention and they like to be told clearly that they are loved. So don’t be stingy in expressing your love for your wife. If you become limited in expressing your love, you will create a barrier of harshness between you and her.

2. Looking Good Ladies like from their husbands what their husbands like from them, i.e. kind words, good looks, clean clothes and a pleasant odour. Therefore, always remain in that state.

3. Family A woman wants to love her husband, but at the same time she does not want to lose her family. So do not put yourself and her family in the same scale, because then her choice will be down to either you or her family. And even if she does choose you over her family, she will remain in anxiety, which will then turn into hatred towards you.

4. Overlook It is in the women’s nature to be ungrateful towards their husbands and to deny favours.

If you were to be nice to her for her whole life but you grieved her once, she will say, “I have never seen any good from you”. So don’t let this attitude of her make you dislike her or to run away from her. If you dislike this feature of hers, you will be pleased with some other good habits within her, so create a balance.

2. Sajdah under the Throne of Allah Ta'ala 'When a person sleeps, his soul rises to the throne of Allah. If he slept with wudhu, the soul is permitted to make sajdah (by the Throne of Allah). If he slept in the state of impurity, permission for sajdah is refused.' (Kitabuz Zud) 3. Salah and dhikr the entire night 'Whoever retires to bed in the state of wudhu and falls off to sleep while engaging in the dhikr of Allah Ta’ala, his bed will be regarded as a Masjid. He will receive the reward of being in salah and dhikr until he awakens.' (Musannaf Abdur Razzaq) 4. Raised on day of Qiyamah with Wudhu Ibn Abbas radhiallahu anhuma advised: 'Ensure that you spend the nights in wudu, for the souls will be raised in the condition [of purity] that they were taken in.' (Musannaf Abdur Razzaq) 5. Protection from nightmares ‘One who sleeps with wudhu will see better dreams.’ (Fathul Bari) Moulana Muhammad Zakariyya Kandehlawi rahimahullah says: ‘One who sleeps with wudhu is saved from bad dreams.’ (Taqrir Bukhari 2:78)

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LIFE / SUNNAH

Imam Ahmed ibn Hanbal’s advice to his son on his wedding day:

BUSINESS / HISTORY

It is the responsibility of a Muslim man to earn for himself and his family a pure and halal sustenance. Whether you are a very lowly paid servant or a prestigious professional, feeding your family with halal sustenance can be a means of earning immense rewards from Allah if you do it according to the commands of Islam.

Here are some of the occupations and how you can turn these careers into means of earning great blessings from Allah.

An employee: W ork w ith all sincerity and trust. Train yourself to work efficiently. Maintain strict punctuality. Have good relationships with your colleagues and co-worker even if they are not Muslims. Always be content.

A businessman: W hether you ow n a small shop or a large supermarket, be considerate about your customers all the time. See that you always give them the best. Never hide any faults or defects that might be in the items you are selling. Always ensure that you stock halal items in your establishment.

An industrialist: if you are involved in the manufacturing business, especially that of the food products, you have to establish the best Islamic ways of manufacturing your products.

If you are in the production of food items then ensure that the raw materials you use in the manufacture of your products should not be from haram or doubtful sources.

A farmer: Allah has given you a very special responsibility- that of feeding the Ummah with food crops, halal meat and dairy products. This job brings you very close to Allah because you depend on Him to bring rain and various other weather conditions that are required to grow crops in your farm.

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Agmat Galant was the public benefactor who brought fish and chips to Cape Town. He was at Rogge Bay every day, buying fish for his shop. One day Nelson fell into conversation with him and found to his surprise that Agmat was a widely-travelled man with expert knowledge of the fish trade. Agmat had made the pilgrimage to Makkah at a time when few Muslims in Cape Town had been able to find the money. He worked his passage to London where he found a job in a Billingsgate café.

There he learnt the fish trade, every detail of the fish trade from boiling lobsters to stewing eels.

By the time Agmat left the most important art mastered at Billingsgate was fish-and-chips frying. This homely newspaper-wrapped meal had become part of the English scene, though it was still fairly recent. Agmat realised that here was something Cape Town was waiting for. At first he sold fish from a barrow, then from a cart. He then rented a shop in Waterkant Street and equipped it. Very soon Agmat was making a name for himself. He used good oil, so that his shop attracted customers.

Agmat dried his fish well, dipped it in flour, brushed it with egg and coated it with breadcrumbs. He waited for the blue haze before lowering the fish into the fat. It came out sealed and crisp. Agmat supplied his customers with salt and vinegar and wrapped each order in the “Cape Times” or “Cape Argus”.

Nelson declared that Agmat Galant was not only Cape Town’s fish-and-chips pioneer. He was also responsible for introducing the eel to a wide audience.

I doubt whether the flavour of Agmat's fish has ever been surpassed.

~When the Journey's Over, Lawrence Green

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www.shafiifiqh.com Q: Is it permissible to touch the Quraan without wudhoo according to the Shafi Mathab?

A: I t is required that one be in a state of wudu’ to touch a copy of the Qur’an.

(Sharh al-Rawd 1/61) And Allah knows best.

Answered by Shaykh Yaqub Abdurrahman Q: Can we use miswak while fasting according to the Shafi Mathab?

A: I t is makrooh to use the miswaak while fasting, whether the fast is wajib like Ramadan or sunnah like Mondays and Thursdays.

However, this ruling only applies from after zawaal (beginning of zuhr) until maghrib. The reason for it being makrooh is the sahih hadith: The [changed] scent of the fasting person's mouth is more pleasant to Allah than the scent of musk.

The reason why it is makrooh only from after zawāl and not the entire day is due to a hadith narrated by imam Ahmad in which our beloved Prophet sallallahu alaihi wa sallam mentioned five blessings that were bestowed upon this ummah during the month of Ramadhan, the second of which is that during the masa the scent of their mouths is more pleasant to Allah than the scent of musk. In Arabic, the time of masa begins after zawaal. In addition, in the beloved Prophet sallallahu alaihi wa sallam's saying that 'the scent is more pleasant than musk' is evidence that one should keep this scent, thus removing becomes makrooh.

Allah knows best.

Answered by Shaykh Omar Mohsin Islamic Focus

Q: What is the case if someone had intercourse twice with his wife during Ramadan and this happened two Ramadans ago and the person never made kafara for that, how would the person go about fixing it?

A: I f a person breaks his fast during Ramadan by having intercourse, while being conscious that he is fasting, then his fast is nullified. Upon invalidating his fast in this manner, he is required to make up for the day [qada] and pay kaffarah kubra.

If he had intercourse several times on the same day, then he will only need to make one qada and one kaffarah.

The kaffarah is essentially for his first intercourse of that Ramadan day, since the first one is actually what nullified the fast. (Nawawi, Rawdah al -Tālibīn, vol. 2 p. 243) However, if he had intercourse on different days, then qada and kaffarah become compulsory per nullified fast day. The increase is in accordance to the number of broken fast days, whether he paid for the first day or not. (Ibid) Kaffarah kubra [major expiation] becomes obligatory due to intercourse breaking one’s Ramadan fast. This kaffarah is freeing a slave. When one cannot free a slave, then one must fast for two full lunar months; this is calculated as sixty consecutive days. As well, if one cannot fast the sixty consecutive days, then the last resort is to feed sixty needy persons.

If a person delays the qada until the next Ramadan without a valid excuse, then he is obliged to pay kaffarah

sughra [minor expiation].

This is likewise the case when it would not be possible to complete the qada, meaning, if the make-up days exceed the number of days left before Ramadan.

Then, he will be obliged to pay kaffarah sughra which is fidyah [expiation] – one mudd – for each day he delayed. (Ibn Hajar, Tuhfah with the Hawashī, vol. 3 pp.

477, 478) Note: the obligation to make qada still remains.

Therefore, the person involved in the above question needs to make qada for his nullified fast days, pay fidyah for delaying the qada (per fast day for each year delayed), and pay kaffarah.

The qada and kaffarah kubra will be limited to the number of broken fast days, while the fidyah will increase with each new Ramadan.

Allah knows best.

Answered by: Ml. Yusuf

Yaqub

Q: How much is a Mudd of Rice and a Saa of Rice?

A: One Saa is 2.03 litres.

That comprises of 5 ½ Iraqi ritl, or 4 mudd. This makes each mudd 0.5075 liters, which for ease is often seen rounded off as 0.51 liters.

According to the Shafi’i school, Zakat al-Fitr must be given in the staple food of ones locality. [Minhaj alTalibin, Kitab al-Zakah] The Hanafi school permits paying Zakat al-Fitr by giving its monetary equivalent, which has been said to be preferable in the the school. It is permissible to act upon this view.

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QUESTIONS & ANSWERS

SHAFI Q & A

QUESTIONS & ANSWERS

HANAFI Q & A www.askimam.org | www.askmufti.co.za | www.daruliftaa.net Q: What is the status of performing Salaah on an animal skin?

A: Animal skin w ith the exception of pig skin is considered to be pure when it goes through the process of tanning even if the animal is unlawful to consume (such as a lion) or the animal is not slaughtered according to Islamic rituals. Therefore, to perform salaah on an animal skin is permissible.

And Allah Ta’ala Knows Best Checked by Mufti Ebrahim Desai Q: Was it a practice of Rasululaah sallallahu alaihi wa sallam to drink cold water?

A: Nabi Sallallahu Alayhi Wasallam preferred cold beverages. Consider the following hadith: The drink most liked by Rasulullah Sallallahu alayhi Wasallam was that which was sweet and cold.

And Allah Ta’ala Knows Best Checked by Mufti Ebrahim Desai Q: What is the status of having inviting others for a meal on the happy occasion of a family member completing Hifdh, Aalim, Iftaa etc?

A: I slam recognises expressing happiness when a happy event takes place. The practise of inviting people after completing Hifdh and Aalim course is precisely to express one’s happiness and gratitude to Allah Taala.

Moreover, Hazrat Umar Farooq Radhiallahu Anhu slaughtered a camel and invited the public when he completed Surah Baqarah.

And Allah Ta’ala Knows Best Checked by Mufti Ebrahim Desai Islamic Focus

Q: If the imam makes a qiraat mistake in salaah and someone corrects him but he does not take the correction does the corrector's salaah break?

A: I n the scenario in reference, the corrector’s Salaah shall be valid. It is disliked for individuals performing Salaah behind the Imam to make haste in taking out a mistake of the Imam. Also, the Imam should go into Ruku (if he has already recited enough for the Salaah to be valid) or move to another verse if he does not know the next part of the verse that he is reciting.

And Allah Ta’ala Knows Best Checked by Mufti Ebrahim Desai Q: There are some families who work and at the same time have a family member who is ill and needs alot of medical care. I can't ask them if they are legible to receive zakaat. Should I simply access the condition in their home and make a decision myself as to whether they can receive zakaat? Asking this family what they earn as a salary would be impolite.

A: Y ou may assess their condition and apply your discretion. After you are certain that they are valid recipients of Zakah (After having deducted their liabilities and basic necessities, they have less than the Zakat Nisab), you may assist them by paying off the medical bills with their permission or hand over the Zakah as a gift without mentioning it being Zakah.

There is more reward in assisting one’s relatives. Zakat can however not be given to one’s parents, grandparents

and upwards and children, grandchildren downwards.

Likewise, a husband cannot give Zakat to his wife and vice-versa.

And Allah Ta’ala Knows Best Checked by Mufti Ebrahim Desai Q: In terms of salaah for a traveller, what's the ruling on someone who lives 6 months in one location and 6 months in another?

What's the ruling on a person who has no place of residence at all (e.g. gypsy/caravan dweller) and is constantly travelling, with no intention to ever stay in any location for long?

A: W hen a musafir [traveller] makes the definite intention of staying at a place for fifteen days or more, then he is the Muqeem and he will have to perform full Salah. There is no Qasar Salah for such a traveller.

The place where he intends to stay more than fifteen days is known as his Watan al-Iqamah [place of stay].

The intention of staying fifteen days has to be for staying the full fifteen days at one place. If he makes an intention of staying for 15 days at two different places, [E.g 8 days at one place 7 days at the other place] and the distance between the two places is such that the adhan of one place cannot be heard at the other, then he will be musafir in both those places.

Caravan dwellers who do not intend to stay in one place for more than 15 days and keep travelling more than 78km will keep making Qasar in their Salaah.

And Allah Ta’ala Knows Best Checked by Mufti Ebrahim Desai 

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Amazing Qur'anic facts There are 286 verses in Surah Baqarah. If the first digit is removed from 286, it becomes 86. That's the count of Makki Surahs. If the last digit is removed from 286, it becomes 28.

That's the count of Madani Surahs. 86 + 28 = 114 Surahs!

Besides Jibraeel alaihis salaam, none of the Angels are able to recite the Qur'an Shareef, hence they flock to listen to Qur'an recitation.

Besides the Ambiyaa alaihimus salaam, none of their Ummah memorised the Holy Scriptures. Memorizing of the Qur'an Majeed is a speciality of this Ummah alone.

Ibn ul Muqanna, one of the most accomplished Arab poets, spent a whole year in solitude to compose poetry to match the Qur'an but after a year he couldn't produce even one verse and admitted defeat.

Majlis of Mufti MS Motara; Sun 30 April 2017

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"Let not your tongue mention the shame of another. For you yourself are covered in shame and all men have tongues. If your eye falls upon the sins of your brother, shield them and say: ‘O my eye! All men have eyes!’" (Imam Shafi rahimahullah) “I advise you, to have a good opinion of all people, especially the scholars. And it is part of having a good opinion of someone to look for the most positive possible interpretation of his words, and if you cannot find [one], then blame your own inability to find it [rather than him].” (Imam Ghazali rahimahullah)

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INTERNET / QURAN

Enrich your web experience. Not all content on all sites Islamic-compliant. Consult Ulama

HISTORY / MUSLIM INFLUENCE

The first electric bulb used in Masjid Nabawi sallallahu alaihi wa sallam is kept as an historical memento in the Masjid.

It was used more than a 100 years ago around 1908. This was the time when electricity was first introduced to the Arabian Peninsula. At that time, Madinah Munawwarah was under the rule of the Ottoman Empire.

The Masjid was expanded and renovated and the bulbs were installed in the era of Sultan Abdul Majid on 22 September 1908.

For the first time Masjid Nabawi sallallahu alaihi wa sallam glowed with light five days before the Ramadaan of that year.

Prior to that oil lamps were for lighting purposes. In the era of King Abdul Aziz, the number of bulbs and lamps was 2,427.

According to M Al Wakeel in his book The Holy Mosque of Madinah, the Sahabi Tameem Dari radhiallahu anhu changed the lights in Masjid Nabawi sallallahu alaihi wa sallam to oil lamps when he came from Palestine.

Before this, the method of lighting was lit dry branches and leaves of date palms.

Some historians say that the oil lamps were first lit by the Khalifah Umar radhiallahu anhu during Taraweeh prayers.

When the Ottomans introduced electricity to the Arabian Peninsula, the first place to be lit up was the mosque of the Prophet sallallahu alaihi wa sallam.

By some accounts, it would be a few more years before the Sultan himself had full electricity in his own palace in Istanbul.

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The Zouaves’ heritage was North African, running back to the indigenous Berber fighters who served the Arab ruler of Algiers prior to the French occupation of 1830.

In 1855 US Army Captain George McClellan witnessed the French Zouaves in action against Russian troops. He praised the Zouaves “as the finest light infantry that Europe can produce.”

Not long after that, Zouave units were springing up all over northern and southern states of America. By the 1860s a hundred Zouave volunteer regiments entered the US civil war— more than 70 for the Union and about 25 smaller units for the Confederacy.

The first Union officer to die in action was a Zouave. So was the first Union soldier to win the Medal of Honor. And the last Union trooper to die before the war ended in 1865 was a Zouave.

The Zouave uniform was an Oriental style with bright red baggy trousers, short braided jacket and vest. Some units were known for the tasseled fez of the original French Zouaves, with wrap-around white turbans for dress wear.

The “Zouave craze” was so intense that tailors began creating Zouave-style uniforms for young children, and customers included President Lincoln’s son and General Ulysses S. Grant’s son. Zouave paper cut-out dolls, coloring books and other toys began appearing in the marketplace. Women’s fashions also adopted the Zouave style with embroidered jackets, short vests and other Eastern flourishes.

On May 24 the Fire Zouaves became part of the first Union force to occupy Confederate territory when they captured the river port of Alexandria, Virginia, across the Potomac River from Washington.

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The first of five keys you need to make this the year you break free from unwanted sexual habits and keep that freedom long term!

An article on Quartz explains how the mistreatment of a migrant crisis caused the collapse of the Roman Empire. The beginning of the fall of the Roman Empire is commonly attributed to 378, and the battle at Adrianople between the Romans and Goths.

1. Start With A Clear Why Each time you are sexually tempted you are faced with two choices: to indulge or not indulge. If you indulge you may feel angry that another promise of many promises has been broken. Sure it weighs on your mood for a day or a few days.

But how did the empire, which has so successfully conquered and managed their resources crumble so completely?

Two years before Adrianople, the Goths, who lived in what is now Eastern Europe, were forced to leave their territory by the invading Huns. Displaced by war, the Goths travelled across Europe. They were fleeing war similar to the way Syrians are today. They ended up in Thrace. Initially, they were seen as an asset by the Romans.

But that attitude that the Goths were Barbarians eventually prevailed. The officials in charge of managing the immigrants were corrupt, and saw the Goths merely as something to exploit and profit off. Famine and sickness became companions of the Goth people, and Roman administrators forced the starving Goths to trade their children for dogs to eat.

A Goth king was held hostage during a Roman banquet. Tensions spilled over, and though the Romans realised their error and released the king, it was too late – war had begun.

The two Goth groups fought against an unprepared Roman army - and won. A beneficent and inclusive policy could have prevented the cascade of events that heralded the beginning of the end for the Roman Empire. Or in other words, history suggests it’s better to treat refugees with humanity and compassion.

But it’s not noticeable (at least to anybody on the outside)! There are no long-term marks left on your body or face that would make it visually obvious to you or someone else that you’ve indulged. A few days can go by and then you are able to bounce back into the “normal” grind and let this misery be temporarily forgotten.

You know that the slip is going to be painful, but in the grand scheme of things it’s not THAT bad, so what do you decide? You decide to indulge in the heedless pleasure. And this cycle easily can repeat itself on and on until you wake up and realize it’s been going on for multiple decades of your life.

You like the possibility of being able to stay away from this habit that’s taken so much away from you in wasted time, energy, and happiness.

Simply put, quitting is an internal struggle between wanting to quit and wanting to indulge.

You’ve got to start with honesty and asking yourself – which side is stronger?

The side of me that wants to be free, not just for today but for the long-haul or the side of me that wants to stay addicted?

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HISTORY / SOCIAL

Donald Trump's decision to ban refugees from Syria, and several other Muslim countries, entering the US deserves a history lesson.

SUNNAH / LESSON

Means of attaining barakah (blessing): 1. Recitation of the Quraan: And this [Qur'an] is a Book We have revealed [which is] blessed. (Quran 6:155) Allah has made the Quraan a source of blessing, if we ponder over its meaning and we live our lives according to its teachings.

And for this reason the Prophet sallallahu alaihi wa sallam said about the home in which Quraan is recited: It expands for the family, goodness increases in it, the Angels live in it, the devils flee from it. (Ahkaamul Hadith) 2. The Name of Allah Ta’ala The Prophet sallallahu alaihi wa sallam said: If a man enters his home and he mentioned Allah's name upon his entrance and before he ate, the devil says to his companions, there is no home nor food for you here.

3. Waking up early to search for your livelihood It is mentioned in a Hadith: Blessings are found for my ummah in the early part of the day.

This includes making an effort in the early parts of the morning to attain sustenance.

4. Repentance Seeking repentance for sins on its own is a means of increasing our sustenance.

The Prophet sallallahu alaihi wa sallam said: Whoever makes Istighfaar (repents) Allah will make a way out of every difficult situation for him, and he will ease his sorrow, and he will sustain him from where he perceives not.

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An economics professor at a local college made a statement that he had never failed a single student before, but had recently failed an entire class. That class had insisted that socialism worked and that no one would be poor and no one would be rich, a great equalizer.

The professor then said, "OK, we will have an experiment in this class on this plan: All grades will be averaged and everyone will receive the same grade!"

After the first test, the grades were averaged and everyone got a B. The students who studied hard were upset and the students who studied little were happy.

As the second test rolled around, the students who studied little had studied even less and the ones who studied hard decided they wanted a free ride too so they studied little.

The second test average was a D! No one was happy.

When the 3rd test rolled around, the average was an F. As the tests proceeded, the scores never increased as bickering, blame and name-calling all resulted in hard feelings and no one would study for the benefit of anyone else.

To their great surprise, all failed and the professor told them that communism would also ultimately fail because when the reward is great, the effort to succeed is great, but when government takes all the reward away, no one will try or want to succeed.

Variety of Cakes, Biscuits and various Savouries Custom-made Cakes to Meet the Occasion Westend Shopping Centre Tel: 041 481 9123 Fax: 041 482 2326 Cell: 084 329 8507

Islamic Focus

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FINAL FOCUS

There are several versions of how the ice cream cone became popular. One of the common threads is that Syrian immigrants to America popularised it in the early 1900’s: The cone was introduced in the 1904 St. Louis World's Fair by Ernest A. Hamwi, a Syrian concessionaire. Hamwi was selling a crisp, wafflelike pastry in a booth right next to an ice cream vendor. Because of ice cream's popularity, the vendor ran out of dishes. Hamwi saw an easy solution to the ice cream vendor's problem: he quickly rolled one of his waferlike waffles in the shape of a cone, or cornucopia, and gave it to the ice cream vendor. The cone cooled in a few seconds, the vendor put some ice cream in it, the customers were happy and the cone was on its way to becoming the great American institution that it is today.

It is also claimed that Nick Kabbaz, an Syrian immigrant, and his brother, Albert, were the originators of the cone. The Kabbaz brothers may have worked for Ernest Hamwi in his booth at the Fair and came up with the idea of folding cakes to insert ice cream in and also the idea of making them in the cone shape.

Sixteen-year-old Abe Doumar, a recently arrived Syria immigrant, was met at the dock by a recruiter. He was given unique items to vend at the St. Louis Fair. In Arab robes, he set up shop in one of the streets of Jerusalem section of the St. Louis Fair. One evening while talking to one of the waffle concessionaires, he suggested that he could turn his penny waffle into a 10-cent cone if he added ice cream. He then bought a waffle and rolled it into a cone, to which he added ice cream from a neighboring stall. In one fell scoop, he invented what he called “a kind of Syrian ice cream sandwich.”

America is the result of immigrants from many countries including Arabia. This makes Trump’s anti immigrant stand ridiculous.

Islamic Focus

The oldest existing door of the Kaaba was made in August 1630, by orders of the Ottoman Sultan Murad IV. When Makkah suffered from a flood the holy mosque sank to the level of half the wall of the Kaaba. The northern wall was knocked down. The eastern wall, which holds the door of the Kaaba, was also affected by the rain.

The prince of Makkah asked Sultan Murad IV for assistance. The sultan ordered the governor of Egypt to take measures to repair the Kaaba. Sultan Murad IV also sent a special delegate to follow up the construction work.

The engineers decided to demolish the eastern wall of the Kaaba and rebuild it again.

Due to the demolition of the eastern wall, the door of the old Kaaba was removed. Sultan Murad IV hired Egyptian engineers to design a new door for the Kaaba that is similar in design to the old one. The work on the door of the Kaaba began in October 1629 and was completed in March 1630. The same door survived until 1947 when the Saudi King Abdul Aziz ordered the manufacturing of a new door.

The Egyptian engineers mastered the creation of the Kaaba’s door. They divided it into two shelves and decorated it with geometric shapes plated with 75kg of silver. The rest was coated with Benedict gold. Special metal sheets with high quality and durability were used to resist climate factors. The door survived for four countries at the eastern wall and was only replaced in the Saudi era.

During the Saudi era, the Kaaba door was changed twice. The first was placed during the reign of King Abdul Aziz, which was made of aluminum supported with bars of iron and covered with plates of silver plated with gold, and the second door is currently in place, which was ordered by King Khalid and was made with 280kg of pure gold.

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