Right across the street from the ISNA Convention at the DoubleTree Hotel -  Signature Room II

 

 

 

 

In the name of Allah the most Gracious, the most Merciful.

 

All praise belongs to Allah the Lord of the universe, and may His peace and blessings be upon His Messenger.

 

Alhumdulillah I have been spending my time here in pakistan along with my father working for the medical relief of our brothers and sisters in kashmir and NWFP parts of pakistan.  I have seen some TERRIFYING sights, and my heart is about to melt out of sadness. This entire time I have been reflecting upon my life and the sins ive committed.  I have been reflecting upon the GREATEST blessing given to me which was, is and WILL always be Young Muslims.  This was the gateway to my belief in Allah and therefore My heart belongs to this organization.  Subhanallah if you've seen what I've seen here "laduhhiktum qaleela walabakaytum katheera" (You would laugh little and CRY alot).  Subhanallah, I have found new meanings to the Quranic ayat Allah has blessed me with.  As Allah says in surah Mulk, "Do you feel that you are secure from Him who is in the heavens that the earth will not sink with you and Quake?!"  Subhanallah, my dear brothers this verse is just abstract imagination until you see the horrendous sights here!!!!  Wallahil Adheem we have wasted our lives!!!!   I visited Muzzaferabad, which is the capital of Azad kashmir and it was horrible.  Almost every other building was destroyed.  Everyone was living in tents. BUT nothing could have mentally prepared me for what I saw in BALAKOT in the North West Frontier Province.  Ya Allah, Im telling you guys that EVERY SINGLE BUILDING AND HOUSE WAS DESTROYED except for a few.  Three weeks after the quake still these houses are rubbles.  It smelled like DEAD bodies, because THOUSANDS of people are buried inside the rubble.

 

It looked like a complete disaster.  Like a nuclear bomb dropped and destroyed everything and everyone!  When I was there i saw some army personel digging in the rubble of one building which was a shope in the market.  As they were digging they were using incense to stand the HORRRRRIBLE smell of the dead bodies beneath.  They uncovered the leg of a child!!!  I could see the leg and the sandals of the child!  The smell was petruding my nose!  Then as the soldier was digging to further uncover this particular body he accidently chopped off a TINY foot of another child that died just near by!!!!!!  All this i witnessed and photographed.   These young children were with there parents and in 50 seconds THEIR LIVES WERE GONE! "And the stupor of death comes with truth!" (Surah Qaf)

 

The only pleasing sight after all this was the sheer dedication and commitment that many relief organizations contained to help our brothers.  Among them was teh relief organization of the Islamic movement of Pakistan called Al-khidmat.  Subhanallah, these brothers are sacrificing their days AND nights working for the Sake of Allah.  They have their base in islamabad, this is where they turned an unfinished building into the center for all their relief efforts.  All the thousands and thousands of relief supplies are brought here about 10 trucks a day!!!! their volunteers or the islamic movement come and spend their entire days and nights organizing and moving and transporting these suipplies.  Then at the camps there is a constant non stop level of organized relief.  This is all taking place in the mountains.  Some of the houses were high in the mountains and not in the valleys where the camps were set up.  So they send their SCOUTS of the Movement up with supplies and mules to hike up the mountains to provide these people with supplies.  These scouts are like 12-19 years old!!!!!!   All this was an UNPLANNED organized effort.  This organization was in the effected area within 3 hours after the Quake!!!!  The government took a day or two to get to work!

 

You guys have kno idea how blessed we are!  Wallahi I fear that on the day of judgment we will stand infront of Allah and he will ask us about the GREAT opportunity He has given us in America to work for Him and all we will say to Him is Ya Allah..."I passed out a few flyers at such and such masjid. Ya Allah I picked up some food for the fundraising dinner. Ya Allah i designed a flyer.  Ya Allah i talked at a few halaqat.  Ya Allah I just couldn't do anything else, I had family parties, I had school, i had work."  Allah will remind us of the sacrifices of others our SAME age and in the SAME situation, but THEY didn't make excuses in their minds! They didn't talk and talk and talk.  THEY DID WORK!  It's Aminu wa Amulisalihat (Believe and DO GOOD DEEDS.) NOT Believe and TALK about doing good deeds!!!  That's exactly what we've been doing. Talking about enjoining good and forbidding evil! It's about time we act.  Until Allah punishes us with a punishment never seen before, and we will be replaced!

 

 

A living scholar in Cairo

Written by Imam Suhaib Webb

There is a brother living next to me in Cairo. Mashallah, he is a great student of knowledge, inshallah, and studies very hard. I decided to take him to meet one of our Azhari Sheikhs here and I knew, inshallah, that we would learn more from him than just today's lesson.

But I could have never imagined the lessons we took tonight. We arrived at the majid just after the first Tasleem. The Masjid was beautiful with its tall minarets and lighted court yard. The weather was nice the wind was sweet and pleasant. We entered the Masjid, prayed and waited for the Sheikh.

Suddenly the Sheikh arrived with a bag and we greeted him. I informed the Sheikh about our guest and the Sheikh's face lit like the morning sun and a smile spread across his face. Then it was my turn to introduce the sheikh to the brother. The hard part is that this sheikh has me between a rock and a hard place.

He does, seriously, not like to be called sheikh or even ustadh! So, I was like, "This is is is is is is ...................is .........sheeeek....he looked at me like, "Boy if you do it!".....is is is is uh is, then he interrupted me, "I'm your brother ++++++ (if I write his name it would be going against his wishes). I turned, looked at the brother who was with me and saw an awe in his face. A short time latter the Imam of the Masjid, recognizing the Sheikh, came and begged him to lead the prayer. The Sheikh said to him, "Please excuse me. I can't" The brother was shocked. After our lesson the sheikh demanded that he walk us home (We live around 20 minutes from the Masjid) . We begged him and begged him, however, to no avail. As we were walking I decided to buy the Sheikh some sweets. I asked him and the other student with us to please excuse me as I needed to get something. The Sheikh began to follow me and I told him, "Sheikh the brother has some questions for you." Thus, seeing an opportunity to spread the elm, the sheikh stopped in his tracks and turned to the wide eyed American. I dashed into the store and purchased some sweets for the Sheikh on behalf of us. When I exited the store the Sheikh was taken aback and said, "What is this?" I said, "This is a gift from us to you." He said no and politely said he couldn't accept it. I stated to him, "Please sheikh accepting a gift is from the Sunna." I continued, "Please Sheikh! Please! It will make us happy!" He grabbed me and said (in Ammiyah Masriyaah so the student wouldn't understand him), "Suhaib, I don't have a refrigerator. I eat what I buy and store nothing!

"Enough said. May Allah bless Al-Azhar, protect the Ulema there and increase its bounties.

Oh! and by the way that sack that the Sheikh was carrying were sweets he brought for us to eat.

 

 

 

 

 

Allah sweetens his slaves:
A good end means when a person was guided before his death to keep away from that which angers the Lord and to repent from sin, and to focus on doing acts of worship and good deeds, and then he died in this good state. One of the indications of this is the saheeh hadeeth narrated from Anas ibn Maalik (may Allaah be pleased with him) who said: The Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: "When Allaah wills good for His slave, He uses him." They said, "How does He use him?" He said, " He guides him to do good deeds before he dies." Narrated by Imam Ahmad, 11625; al-Tirmidhi, 2142; classed as saheeh by al-Albaani in al-Silsilah al-Saheehah, 1334.

The Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: "When Allaah wills good for His slave, He sweetens him." He was asked, "What is this sweetening?" He said, "Allaah guides him to do righteous deeds before he dies, then He takes (his soul) whilst he is in that state." Narrated by Ahmad, 17330; classed as saheeh by al-Albaani in al-Silsilah al-Saheehah, 1114. 

 

He made some a shaheed:
Dying because of being crushed by a falling wall or by drowning, because the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: "The martyrs are five: the one who dies of plague, the one who dies of a stomach disease, the one who drowns, the one who is crushed by a falling wall, and the one who is martyred for the sake of Allaah." Narrated by al-Bukhaari, 2829; Muslim, 1915.

 

 

Inshallah they will be raised on the day of judgment as the fasting person, and inshaAllah will be recieved by the fasting door of jannah...just like if some one dies during hajj or umrah...they will be raised in ihraam...thats why this is a good death...also, when a muslim passes away in an accidental death, he/she is considered shaheed also...all mercies from Allah.

 

Please help support those in need.

 

 

Seeing an aerial view of a hurricane can be an overwhelming scene of disbelief. Something so big, with so much power but with what purpose? How does a simple storm become into a terrorizing event that brings out the worst and also the best in individuals.

 

 

What once was the big easy, is now nothing more than the looks of a third world country torn apart by war. As millions of people used to come year after year for enjoyment, relaxation, and to have a good time in New Orleans, unfortunately it is those same people and the many others that live there are trying to escape it as if its a sin to live there anymore. Clinging on to the life, health, and belongings they could get hold off, they are escaping the city.

 

 

 

The streets that used to be bustling with people during mardi gras and every other vacation time that people used to take are now deserted with many dead and thousands more displaced from their homes and places where they grew up.

 

 

 

So a place that is known as the crecent city looks a lot like the remains of war with all of its people evacuated and unable to return, with the looting of stores, the hazardous water and air, how can this be a good thing?

 

 

With many, from young to old, nowhere to go, no answeres for the questions they may have, there is some good that has come out of this. Dont get me wrong, I feel horrible for the innocent people that may be suffering because of this but with every bad there is some good just as with every good this is some bad.

 

With a lot of people having friends and family down in the gulf area, it can be hard to imagine that this can actually be a good thing. But put aside all the finger pointing of what has happend and what didnt happend with evacuation and the flooding of homes and streets.

 

 

Because of this hurraince thousands of people are being given the opportunity to help. Whether they are muslim or not, it is a good start and a chance that they may not have gotten to do this act of good if it was not for the hurricane. Many people are donating money, and even giving their place of residence as a place of shelter. The acts of good are pouring in and maybe in the grand scheme of things this was the intent of the hurriances after all. It's easy to sit there and think of whats left of peoples homes and lifes after this but also keep in mind the helping hands that have come forward. Allah swt has given so many people, including you and I to act with goodness and for many more to re-think their daily lives. To re-think their purpose and their intentions. Even if these adults dont become rightly guided maybe the children will see this as a life changing experience.

 

There is more to life than self-centeredness and greed. There is a purpose in this life for all of us and it's not hard for us to figure out what that is. Death will find us wherever we hide. It is upto us to plan for doing good as if we are going to live forever, but act good as if we are to die tomorrow.

 

 

Assalamualaikum,

 

It has been quite a while since i'ev posted, but I had some good reasons, well atleast one. Allhamdulillah my grandfather is doing much better after his by-pass surgery. There are many things on my mind to write about but thought why not begin with a good start of an escalating problem we see in the lobby every labor day weekend. For those who were sleeping or just decided not to be a part of the "Fitna 05" you may have missed whats possibly going to be remembered for many isna's to come inshallah as a positive thing for each others imaan and controlling our nafs. If you still dont know what im speaking of please be sure to click on ahussain9 on my subscriptions to see what the brothers thoughts are for that night.

 

Allthough I will try to refrain from listing my opinion of whether this brother should'ev did what he did and the implications this may have on his image as well as the youth groups he may be a part of, I will inshallah bring up a growing point of blaming the "fitna fest" issue solely on Isna.  I feel as if though ISNA is being unfairly discriminated against in this issue of free-mixing. Once a group gets to be of such great numbers it becomes hard to control what goes on outside of their premises most of the times. You can only divide the room or the hallway soo much before you run out of room. It's such a diverse crowd in age as well as race.

Plus there are many great positive impacts the Isna convention makes that always get overshadowed. They always do a good job with public relations with the community and the media, which is direly needed in the muslim ummah here in america. It's easy to hate but its harder to appriciate. Instead of throwing rocks at them, i wish sumbody wud just pray for them.

 

 

And in other news, once again the YM booth has left me with dissapointment (sorry azeem) as there relentless pursuit of keep selling the "got brotherhood?" tshirt continues. I was hoping for another CD set with more speeches. The sheik Feysal quran cd was really good. Here is a sample of surah Fatiha (click here) for those that havnt heard him.

 

But my dissapointment didnt stop there as i was really looking forward to the Anwar Al-Awalaki's Madinah period but was NOT on sale but merely there just for display purposes as its planned on releasing it later in the year.

 

Inshallah i'll try to be more active on this and write about better things! I just need to get back into the groove of things.

 

take care

wassalam

Assalamualaikum,

 

Grandfather is currently in the hospital, so not been able to update lately, apologize to anyone that comes here looking for an update.

 

In the mean time see if you or anyone you know is interested in going to this camp.

 

Young Muslims of North America

Invites you to attend their Midwest Summer Camp 2005:

The Inner Revolution: Reforming the Heart, Mind, and Body.
August 13^th through August 20^th

Midwest@ymsite.com

http://www.ymsite.com/summercamp/

312.617.5652

Speakers:
Sh. Abdool Rahman Khan

Sh. Omar Baloch

Imam Musa Azam

Activities:

Campfire, Swimming, Boating

Volleyball, Basketball, Barbeque,

A Week of Learning with Scholars of Islam

 

Topics:

Disease of Desire and Passionate Love

Traps and Tactics of Shaytaan

Four Actions Towards Taqwa

Four Poisons of the Heart

Migrating to Allah

·         

Venue:
Camp Pokagon
Angola, Indiana
$150 Early Registration (before Aug7th)

Brothers of High School and Colleges ONLY