There are three pillars or conditions for the marriage contract in Islam:

Both parties should be free of any obstacles that might prevent the marriage from being valid, such as their being mahrams of one another (i.e., close relatives who are permanently forbidden to marry),

whether this relationship is through blood ties or through breastfeeding (radaa’) etc., or where the man is a kaafir (non-Muslim) and the woman is a Muslim, and so on.

There should be an offer or proposal (eejaab) from the walee or the person who is acting in his place, who should say to the groom “I marry so-and-so to you” or similar words.

There should be an expression of acceptance (qabool) on the part of the groom or whoever is acting in his place, who should say, “I accept,” or similar words.

The conditions of a proper nikaah (marriage contract) are as follows:

Both the bride and groom should be clearly identified, whether by stating their names or describing them, etc.

Both the bride and groom should be pleased with one another, because the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: “No previously-married woman (widow or divorcee) may be married until she has been asked about her wishes (i.e., she should state clearly her wishes), and no virgin should be married until her permission has been asked (i.e., until she has agreed either in words or by remaining silent).” They asked, “O Messenger of Allaah, how is her permission given (because she will feel very shy)?” He said: “By her silence.” (Reported by al-Bukhaari, 4741)

The one who does the contract on the woman’s behalf should be her walee, as Allaah addressed the walees with regard to marriage (interpretation of the meaning): “And marry those among you who are single…” [al-Noor 24:32] and because the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: “Any woman who marries without the permission of her walee, her marriage is invalid, her marriage is invalid, her marriage is invalid.” (Reported by al-Tirmidhi, 1021 and others; it is a saheeh hadeeth)

The marriage contract must be witnessed, as the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: “There is no marriage contract except with a walee and two witnesses.” (Reported by al-Tabaraani; see also Saheeh al-Jaami’, 7558)

It is also important that the marriage be announced, as the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: “Announce marriages.” (Reported by Imaam Ahmad; classed as hasan in Saheeh al-Jaami’, 1027)

The conditions of the walee are as follows:

He should be of sound mind

He should be an adult

He should be free (not a slave)

He should be of the same religion as the bride. A kaafir cannot be the walee of a Muslim, male or female, and a Muslim cannot be the walee of a kaafir, male or female, but a kaafir can be the walee of a kaafir woman for marriage purposes, even if they are of different religions. An apostate (one who has left Islam) cannot be a walee for anybody.

He should be of good character (‘adaalah – includes piety, attitude, conduct, etc.), as opposed to being corrupt. This is a condition laid down by some scholars, although some of them regard the outward appearance of good character as being sufficient, and some say that it is enough if he is judged as being able to pay proper attention to the interests of the woman for whom he is acting as walee in the matter of her marriage.

He should be male, as the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: “No woman may conduct the marriage contract of another woman, and no woman can conduct the marriage contract on behalf of her own self, because the zaaniyah (fornicatress, adulteress) is the one who arranges things on her own behalf.” (Reported by Ibn Maajah, 1782; see also Saheeh al-Jaami’, 7298)

He should be wise and mature (rushd), which means being able to understand matters of compatibility and the interests of marriage.

More Info about walees in Islam:

The fuqahaa’ put possible walees in a certain order, and a walee who is more closely-related should not be ignored unless there is no such person or the relatives do not meet the specified conditions. A woman’s walee is her father, then whoever her father may have appointed before his death, then her paternal grandfather or great-grandfather, then her son, then her grandfathers sons or grandsons, then her brother through both parents (full brother), then her brother through her father, then the sons of her brother through both parents, then the sons of her brother through her father, then her uncle (her father’s brother through both parents), then her father’s brother through the father, then the sons of her father’s brother though both parents, then the sons of her father’s brother through the father, then whoever is more closely related, and so on – as is the case with inheritance. The Muslim leader (or his deputy, such as a qaadi or judge) is the walee for any woman who does not have a walee of her own.

If a Non Muslim lady reverts to Islam, to , none of her kaafir(non-Muslim) family members can act as a guardian (wali) of her interests; no kaafir can act in this capacity over a Muslim. If there is a Muslim with some authority in the area over the affairs of the Muslim community, then he can act in this capacity, based on the Prophet’s (peace be upon him) hadeeth:

“No marriage contract can be concluded without the presence of a Wali. A Sultan (authority figure) can act as a Wali for those without one.” (see Ibn Majah and Imam Ahmad, Hadith number 1880; also in Salih al-Jaami’, hadeeth number 7556.)

If there is no authoritative Muslim person, then one should refer to the community Muslim leader or any Muslim who is just (‘aadil), respected, and of high character, such as the director of the Islamic center or its imam, to conclude the marriage contract of the sister, with her consent

What is the meaning of Surah an-Nur ayah 31?

What does “what is apparent of it” refer to?

What type of garment is the khimar?

What is the woman’s jayb?

Summary

What is the meaning of Surah an-Nur ayah 31?

The Arabic text of this ayah is:

Wa qul li al-mu’minat yaghdudna min absarihinna wa yahfazna furujahunna wa laa yubdina zenatahunna illa maa zahara min haa wal-yadribna bi khumurihinna ala juyubihinna; wa laa yubdina zenatahunna illa li bu’ulatihinna aw aba’ihinna aw aba’i bu’ulatihinna aw abna’ihinna aw abna’i bu’ulatihinna aw ikhwanihinna aw bani ikhwanihinna aw bani akhawatihinna aw nisa’ihinna aw maa malakat aymanu hunna aw at-tabi’ina ghayri ulu’l-irbat min ar-rijal aw at-tifl alladhina lam yazharu ala awrat an-nisa wa laa yadribna bi arjulihinna li yu’lama maa yukhfina min zenatahinna. Wa tubu ilaAllahi jami’an, ayyuha al-mu’minun la’allakum tuflihun

A translation of this is:

And say to the faithful women to lower their gazes, and to guard their private parts, and not to display their adornment except what is apparent of it, and to extend their headcoverings (khimars) to cover their bosoms (jaybs), and not to display their adornment except to their husbands, or their fathers, or their husband’s fathers, or their sons, or their husband’s sons, or their brothers, or their brothers’ sons, or their sisters’ sons, or their womenfolk, or what their right hands rule (slaves), or the followers from the men who do not feel sexual desire, or the small children to whom the nakedness of women is not apparent, and not to strike their feet (on the ground) so as to make known what they hide of their adornments. And turn in repentance to Allah together, O you the faithful, in order that you are successful

As we can see, this ayah contains six commands for the Muslim sister, which I will list briefly, inshallah.

1) Lower the gaze.

2) Guard the private parts.

3) Not display the adornment “except what is apparent of it”.

4) Draw the khimar to cover the jayb.

5) Not display the adornment except to the people listed in the ayah.

6) Not stamp the feet so as to give knowledge of hidden adornment.

Three of these commands relate to behavior, which are lowering the gaze, guarding the private parts, and not stamping the feet. The other three relate to dress. It can also be noted that commands 3 and 5 are actually parts of the same command. Thus there are two basic rules for the dress of the Muslim sister:

A) Not display the adornment except “what is apparent of it” except to the people listed in the ayah.

B) Draw the khimar to cover the jayb.

There are three things that need to be explained in this:

1) What does “what is apparent of it” refer to?

2) What type of garment is the khimar?

3) What is the woman’s jayb?

Inshallah, I will deal with each of these questions in turn.

What does “what is apparent of it” refer to?

There is a difference of opinion on this, and was even among the Sahaba (rAa). The opinion of Abdullah ibn Masud (rAa) is that “what is apparent of it” refers to the outer surface of the woman’s garments. This would not permit any of her body to be seen whatsoever (uncovering one or both eyes is a concession to necessity).

The other opinion is that “what is apparent of it” refers to the face and hands and/or to the decorations that are worn on the face and the hands. This is the opinion of Aisha Umm al-Muminin (rAa), Anas ibn Malik (rAa), Abdullah ibn Abbas (rAa), and Miswar ibn Makhrama (rAa) – these are all Sahaba – and also of Ata (rAa), Qatada (rAa), Sa’id ibn Jubayr (rAa), Mujahid (rAa), al-Dahhak (rAa), and al-Hasan (rAa) – these are all Tabi’un (rAa). Almost every tafsir (commentary on the Quran) will include some if not all of these authorities for this opinion.

Among the commentators themselves, some of the most respected have followed the “face and hands” opinion. Among these are Imam Tabari, Imam Zamakhshari, Imam Fakhr ad-Din Razi, and Imam Qurtubi. Here is what they have written in their own words.

Imam Abu Jafar Tabari: “The strongest and most accurate view is that which says that the exemption refers to the face and the hands. Also included are kohl, rings, bracelets, and makeup. We say that this is the strongest and most accurate opinion because all scholars are unanimous that everyone who needs to pray must cover the awra in his or her salat. A woman may reveal the face and the hands in her salat, while she must cover the rest of her body. What is not awra is not haram to be revealed”
from his tafsir of Surah an-Nur ayah 31, this is in Volume 18, pages 118-119 of Jami Bayan Ta’wil al-Qur’an

Imam Abu’l-Qasim Zamakhshari: “Why is the woman permitted to display ‘what is apparent of it’? Because to conceal that would cause her inconvenience. A woman is forced to deal in commodities with her hands. She is compelled by genuine need to expose her face especially at the times of giving evidence, litigating in court, and marriage. She is compelled to walk the streets and expose her feet, especially poor women. This is the meaning of ‘illa maa zahara min ha’, that is, what the situations of ordinary life compel her to expose”
from his tafsir of Surah an-Nur ayah 31

Imam Fakhr ad-Din Razi: “Since the showing of the face and hands is necessary, the jurists had no choice but to agree that they are not awra”
from his tafsir of Surah an-Nur ayah 31

Imam Abu Abdullah Qurtubi: “Since the normal case is that a woman’s face and hands are revealed by the force of habit and for worship, as this is required in salat and hajj, then it is appropriate to say that the exemption applies to these”
from his tafsir of Surah an-Nur ayah 31

From this, we can see that the predominant opinion on the meaning of “what is apparent of it” is that it refers to the face and hands. In the context of the ayah, it means that around non-mahram men, women are allowed to display their faces and their hands. This is the exemption that Allah SWT has given. Everything else must be covered.

What type of garment is the khimar?

In common usage, the words “head” and “face” are distinct. Unless specified otherwise, the word “head” is not taken to refer to the face, but instead refers to the rest of the head, while the word “face” is specially used to designate the face. An example of this is the process of wudu; the Quran and hadiths mention washing the “face” separately from wiping the “head”, and we do not again run our hands over the face when we get to the stage of wiping the head. In order to say that the khimar is a garment which covers the face, therefore, it must be specified that it covers the “face”. If the khimar just covers the “head” then the general meaning is that it covers the hair. If you think about how we use these words, inshallah you will see that I am correct.

Keeping this in mind, here are some definitions of the khimar and what it means in classical Arabic:

Imam Abu’l-Fida ibn Kathir: “Khumur is the plural of khimar which means something that covers, and is what is used to cover the head. This is what is known among the people as a khimar.”

The dictionary of classical Arabic, Aqrab al-Mawarid: “[The word khimar refers to] all such pieces of cloth which are used to cover the head. It is a piece of cloth which is used by a woman to cover her head.”

Shaykh Muhammad al-Munajjid on Islam Q&A: “Khimaar comes from the word khamr, the root meaning of which is to cover. For example, the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: “Khammiru aaniyatakum (cover your vessels).” Everything that covers something else is called its khimaar. But in common usage khimaar has come to be used as a name for the garment with which a woman covers her head; in some cases this does not go against the linguistic meaning of khimaar. Some of the fuqahaa’ have defined it as that which covers the head, the temples and the neck. The difference between the hijaab and the khimaar is that the hijaab is something which covers all of a woman’s body, whilst the khimaar in general is something with which a woman covers her head.”

Shaykh Muhammad Nasiruddin Albani: “The word khimaar linguistically means only a head covering. Whenever it is mentioned in general terms, this is what is intended.”

Now, in case my argument presented above about “covering the head” versus “covering the face” does not seem convincing, we can also look at what some tafsirs say about the exact meaning of the commandment in Surah an-Nur ayah 31 regarding the khimar:

Imam Abu Abdullah Qurtubi: “Women in those days used to cover their heads with the khimar, throwing its ends upon their backs. This left the neck and the upper part of the chest bare, along with the ears, in the manner of the Christians. Then Allah commanded them to cover those parts with the khimar.”

Imam Abu’l-Fida ibn Kathir: “‘Draw their khumur to cover their bosoms’ means that they should wear the khimar in such a way that they cover their chests so that they will be different from the women of the jahiliyyah who did not do that but would pass in front of men with their chests uncovered and with their necks, forelocks, hair and earrings uncovered.”

Both Imam Qurtubi and Imam ibn Kathir are agreed that the women of jahiliyyah (in imitation of the Christian women, according to Imam Qurtubi) used to wear the khimar to cover their hair, but they threw its ends upon their backs. This sloppy way of wearing the khimar exposed the forehead, ears, neck, and upper chest. Subsequently, Allah SWT ordered them to draw their khimars to cover themselves. It is easy to see how pulling the ends forward again and pulling the khimar tightly around the circle of the face then fastening it at the throat, letting the ends fall downwards, would cover the forehead, ears, neck, and upper chest, as Imam Qurtubi and Imam ibn Kathir have specified. It should also be easy to recognize in this a description of the headscarf of the Muslim sister.

The point is, neither Imam Qurtubi nor Imam ibn Kathir describes that the khimar was to be pulled over the face, even though each specifies a variety of anatomical features of the woman.

This should be strong evidence that the word khimar means HEADSCARF. Its linguistic meaning is a headcovering, not a face veil, and the information provided by both Imam Qurtubi and Imam ibn Kathir clearly shows that the khimar is to be worn as a HEADSCARF not as a face veil.

What is the woman’s jayb?

Actually, the quotes from Imam Qurtubi and Imam ibn Kathir provide a pretty good explanation of what the jayb is. The usual translation of the term is “bosom”. The word “jayb” has also given its name to a certain type of mathematical curve (see The Origin of the Word Sine).

As well, Surah al-Qasas ayah 32 in Arabic reads “Usluk yadaka fii JAYB ka takhrur bayda’a…” which means “Thrust your hand into your chest and it will come out white…” (this is a story about the prophet Musa, alayhi salam).

Shaykh Muhammad Nasiruddin Albani says that the word “jayb” is related to the word “jawb” which refers to something cut out, and he says that in this context it refers to the neckline of the woman’s dress.

In any case, all of these definitions clearly point to the bosom, the upper chest, or the neck and upper chest. They certainly do not mean “face” or “entire body”!

Summary

Surah an-Nur ayah 31 gives two basic commands in regard to women’s dress. The first of these commands is that the Muslim sister shall cover all of her beauty except “what is apparent of it” whenever non-mahram men are present. The majority opinion on the meaning of “what is apparent of it” is the face and hands.

The second command is to draw the khimar to cover the jayb. In classical Arabic, the khimar is the headcovering or headscarf, and the jayb is the bosom or more generally the neck and upper chest. Imam Qurtubi and Imam ibn Kathir have provided a precise description of how the khimar is to be drawn to cover the jayb, and why this was necessary. Neither the word “khimar” nor the word “jayb” has anything to do with the face.

Therefore, the first command (to cover the beauty) contains a specific exemption that the majority of scholars have taken to refer to the face and the hands. And the second command (regarding the wearing of the khimar) does not mandate the covering of the face either.

In conclusion, I feel that there is a very strong case to be made that Surah an-Nur ayah 31 does not make niqab fard, but in fact allows the display of the face and hands.

Also read my essay What is the Final Rule on Hijab?, which is a follow-up to this essay.

Bonus note: This article is now featured at the Islam For Today site. See http://www.islamfortoday.com/almuhajabah01.htm 

The materials on this page are written by Al-Muhajabah. You may copy, display, or distribute these materials for non-commercial purposes as long as you give me proper attribution as the author

The term Taqwa is often translated as ‘piety’ or ‘God-fearing’, but a better equivalent would be ‘God-consciousness’. It is considered to be the essential quality of a believer. Taqwa of a believer should illuminate through all facets of his/her life, just like a bright light would shine through all openings of an empty house in an empty field in a dark night.  Taqwa, when coupled with Imaan (faith), makes a well-rounded believer. Taqwa goes hand in hand with Imaan; one cannot be complete without the other, and vice versa.

Taqwa is the state of hyper-vigilance against falling into sin in negligence. It is the idea that a believer is always on guard and is perpetually alert of not committing any action that would earn the displeasure of the Almighty. It is the state of preparedness of anticipating a situation where one might be coerced into doing Haram, and as a result of this readiness, to avoid and stay out of that Haram. In its higher forms, Taqwa is the fear of not of not taking the best path towards Allah’s Pleasure and His Grace.

Taqwa is often translated as ‘fear of God’, but the real essence of Taqwa is being hyper-vigilant and the ‘fear’ of doing Haram out of neglect of Allah’s orders. It is the state of consciousness to be mindful of Allah at all times and achieve His maximum pleasure at all times. Therefore, any such qualities of a person that would make him forgetful of Allah are detrimental to his/her Taqwa. The love of this world, greed, hatred or enmity towards a fellow human, pride, etc. are all examples of such traits that hurt a believer’s Taqwa. As a result, the more cognizant a believer is, and more alert (s)he is in protecting him/herself from such detrimental traits that would make him/her forgetful of Allah, the better his/her Taqwa or ‘God-consciousness’ is.

The consciousness that Taqwa implies is a reverential consciousness. The state of alertness when one is in awe and admiration of something or somebody. Imagine you met your lifelong role model, how attentive to their every need would you be? You would notice all their little quirks and nuances, their body language, behavior, what irks them, and what makes them happy. If they indicated that they want something, you would rush to get it done in the best manner possible and do it in a way that would make them most happy. You would suppress any internal resistance inside you that would keep you from doing the best job. You would be ‘fearful’ in becoming complacent to their need and not doing your best for their satisfaction. A parallel example is if you were in the company of someone you deeply and intensely loved. You would anticipate and plan ahead to make them feel as comfortable and at ease as possible. You will always be alert and vigilant and will think ahead so as to avoid any situations or scenarios that would make them even remotely unhappy. All your efforts will be focused in keeping them happy and comfortable as humanely as possibly. If they called upon you, you would drop everything you would be doing to attend to their need immediately. Also, you would be so conscious of the surroundings and especially vigilant to how you act, what you say or do in their presence, so that they don’t get turned off in any way.

Taqwa implies a similar sense of alertness, consciousness and vigilance towards the Pleasure and Mercy of Allah. To be constantly aware of what pleases or displeases Him and to ensure all our efforts are to make Him most happy and gain His maximum Pleasure. Taqwa means to rush in acting upon the orders of Allah and to suppress any inclinations that would prevent us from completing the tasks in its best form. But Taqwa goes a step further than the love for a beloved or the admiration of a role model as outlined above. To be hyper-vigilant in the presence of a beloved or a revered person may be commendable, but the essence of this endearment is measured if the level of alertness is same in their absence. Allah is not physically present and visible to our eyes: He is Haadhir (present) but Gha’ib (unseen). What makes Taqwa so challenging and rewarding is the idea of expressing this level alertness and attentiveness to Allah in His ‘absence’, when He is not visible.

As such, Taqwa cannot be classified simply as “piety” or “fearing God”; rather, it’s much deeper and intricate than that. A person who has Taqwa is a Muttaqi (pl. muttaqin). A Muttaqi demonstrates this constant state of endearment throughout his/her actions in every facet of his/her life. (S)he reduces all the obstacles that prevent him/her from dedicating everything to Allah. (S)he minimizes the distractions and all the ‘noise’ in his/her life that drown out his/her awareness of Allah. It is also said that God manifests Himself in the silences of the soul, and if a person has a lot of noise – desires, diseases of the soul, Haram passions, etc. – (s)he will never be able to feel the presence of Allah in his/her soul. The soul will never be awakened to the reality of the Eternal Being, because it is cluttered and clogged with all other pursuits. In order to hear His whispers, one has to be silent. If a person never stops talking, they will never be able to properly listen to Allah, as they are going to be preoccupied with their own complaints. They will never be able to reach a point of internal peace whereby they can speak to Allah. Just like the depths of a pond become invisible when the surface water is experience rough motion (waves, etc.), our own depths will remain invisible if we don’t calm the surface of the soul. That is to say, until one empties and removes all distractions of this world and cleans the diseases of the soul, (s)he will not be able to deeply connect with Allah.

As the Holy Qur’an says, “He (Allah) is with you wherever you are.” (57:4) He is neither absent, nor is He missing. It is rather our consciousness and our awareness – our Taqwa towards Him – that is absent and missing. He is with us along every step of the way, but we are aloof of Him at every moment. Only if we tuned in to Him, became conscious of Him, and awakened our souls to Him can we experience His manifestations with our own souls. (41:53)

These are the qualities of the Muttaqeen. We pride ourselves in being followers of Imam Ali (peace be upon him), who is also called Imam al-Muttaqeen – Leader of the God-Conscious Ones. If we truly want the Imam to accept us in his following, we have to cultivate the traits of the Muttaqeen in our lives. We have to be ever-alert and hyper-vigilant of the presence and pleasure of Allah in all aspects of our daily lives. Then we can start approaching the position and can emulate the Imam, where he says, “I did not do anything in life except that I saw Allah before it, within it, and after it.”

Or will he? What if he comes from Northern Virginia, like the five young men who were arrested in Pakistan on Dec. 8 and who have been accused of planning “terrorist activities,” according to Pakistani newspaper reports? The bottom line is that we can no longer assume that terrorists will come from any particular country or fit any particular profile. The more we learn about what makes people vulnerable to recruitment by terrorist organizations, the less any of the old generalizations hold up.

Most terrorists are spoiled rich kids

Many prominent jihadists are indeed well-off and well-educated. Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab, the suspect in the failed Christmas Day airline bombing, comes from one of the wealthiest families in Nigeria. After the 2001 attacks, much was made of the engineering backgrounds of some of the hijackers, and Osama bin Laden famously hails from a wealthy family with close ties to the Saudi royals.

But terrorists come from all socioeconomic backgrounds. For poor people in countries where economic prospects are bleak, jihad can be one of the few jobs available. Of the 25,000 insurgents and terrorism suspects detained by US forces in Iraq as of 2007, nearly all were previously underemployed, according to Maj. Gen. Douglas Stone, the commander of detainee operations at the time.

Al Qaeda recruits come from the Middle East

Al Qaeda’s core organization, which was responsible for the Sept. 11 attacks, is now based in Pakistan, but terrorist organizations claiming to be its affiliates include Northern Africa’s Al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb, Jemaah Islamiyah in Indonesia and al-Shabab, which is fighting in southern Somalia and has been recruiting Westerners.

The organization also has a more amorphous following of independent cells and individuals around the world. It is almost impossible to target or quantify this following because it isn’t centralized in any one location. Such self-made terrorists can be found anywhere, even in Fort Hood, Texas.

More broadly, there is no particular political system that reliably promotes or deters terrorism. And democracy is not the cure-all it is often assumed to be. There are many more terrorist incidents in democratic India, for example, than in non-democratic China or Saudi Arabia. (This may be because authoritarian regimes are good at controlling terrorism within their borders.) Failed and failing states, such as Yemen and Somalia, also make particularly fertile ground for terrorism.

Al Qaeda is made up of Islamic zealots

To the contrary, rank-and-file terrorists who claim to be motivated by religious ideology often turn out to be ignorant about Islam. The Saudi Interior Ministry has questioned thousands of terrorists in custody about why they turned to violence, and found that the majority did not have much formal religious instruction and had only a limited understanding of Islam. According to Saudi officials, one-quarter of the participants in a rehabilitation program for former jihadis had criminal histories, often for drug-related offenses, whereas only 5 percent had been prayer leaders or had other formal religious roles.

In the Netherlands and elsewhere in Europe, second- and third-generation Muslim youths are rebelling against what they see as the culturally contaminated Islam their parents practice and that is promoted in their local mosques, favoring instead the allegedly purer Islam that they discover online or via imams from the Middle East. But the form of Islam they turn to is often highly unorthodox. For example, the Hofstad group in the Netherlands — a network of radicalized young Muslims — practiced a sort of do-it-yourself Islam cobbled together from Web sites and the teachings of a self-taught Syrian imam who is also a former drug dealer.

Rather than Islam leading young recruits toward Al Qaeda, it may be an ignorance of Islam that renders youths vulnerable to Al Qaeda’s violent ideology.

Terrorists are driven by strong beliefs

Terrorist movements often arise in reaction to a perceived injustice, whether real or imagined. Yet ideology is not the only, or even the most important, factor in an individual’s decision to join. In my research and interviews with terrorists, many speak, in particular, about being motivated by a feeling of humiliation. A Kashmiri militant founded his group because, he said, “Muslims have been overpowered by the West. Our ego hurts … we are not able to live up to our own standards for ourselves.”

The reasons that some people become terrorists are as varied as the reasons that others choose conventional professions: market conditions, social networks, contact with recruiters, education and individual preferences.

Most terrorist groups disappear quickly; those that survive tend to have the sort of flexible ideology that can attract a diverse array of recruits and funders. Al Qaeda is among the most disciplined groups, but its goals and its list of enemies are constantly shifting. Documents analyzed by scholars at the Combating Terrorism Center at the US Military Academy reveal an astonishing lack of clarity about the group’s purpose, even among leaders of the organization. Abu’l-Walid, a leading strategic thinker for Al Qaeda, has complained about constantly shifting strategic goals, lamenting that “waging jihad like a rhinoceros is stupid and futile.”

Terrorist recruits are alienated loners

According to The Washington Post, Abdulmutallab, the alleged Christmas airplane attacker, wrote in an online Islamic forum: “I have no one … to consult, no one to support me and I feel depressed and lonely. I do not know what to do. And then I think this loneliness leads me to other problems.”

But for most terrorist recruits, the problem isn’t so much a lack of friends as having the wrong friends. This dynamic isn’t so different from the way gang recruiting works in the United States: Terrorists often join an armed struggle because they have a buddy who has done so. In a survey of 516 Guantanamo detainees, researchers at the Combating Terrorism Center found that knowing another member of Al Qaeda was a better predictor of who became a terrorist than was belief in the idea of jihad.

Ultimately, some individuals may join terrorist groups out of a misplaced desire to transform society. But over time, the social and psychological rewards of belonging can eclipse such motivations. Terrorists want to better their own circumstances at least as much as they want to change the world.

Jessica Stern, a lecturer at Harvard Law School, serves on the Hoover Institution Task Force on National Security and Law.

The Washington Post

But this year we too were, just days before, celebrating our Islamic ‘Eed Al-Adh-Ha, not in the same manner of course, but it was our time for celebration nonetheless. These unusual circumstances may present confusion and curiosity amongst children, teenagers and even new Muslims. It is essential that we address their questions and concerns in an honest, straightforward manner. The most effective method of clarifying and conveying accurate and detailed information is to deal with facts in an efficient and appropriate manner. Replacing normal curiosity with knowledge, will, Insha Allaah (Allaah willing), strengthen everyone in his conviction.

Among the numerous situations that may arise during this season are the Christmas lights. Little Omar –with awe and delight, one evening as you’re passing by lit up houses on the way to the Masjid –may exclaim: “Look, the lights are so pretty!” you look at him frowning, “No, no, no! Omar, those are ugly!” you reply scolding him.

Omar may never tell you he thinks the lights are pretty again, because he doesn’t want to disappoint you. However, that doesn’t mean that this is what he thinks. He may still believe that the lights are pretty; and in addition, he may feel that this is untrue!

It may even be hard for you to tell someone the lights are ugly – possibly because you don’t even believe that yourself. Why? Because the lights are delightful to most, young and old alike, that’s why they are used for all sorts of festive occasions. The fact is, although they may be nice to look at, the underlying reason is that they are used at this time of the year, and this is what is ugly… not the lights themselves.

All the children can see are the lights in a rainbow of colors, flashing and twinkling. They don’t see the Kufr (disbelief) that is being celebrated inside the lit-up houses. This is why it is so vital that the situation be fully explained and not simply brushed off. We must tackle these situations with a detailed explanation, and only with that will a new Muslim or a child fully understand why the lights or decorations are so unappealing during this time of the year.

It is important that they understand that the lights themselves are not Haraam (forbidden). They are simply small colored light bulbs on a string that can be used to any purpose whatsoever, just as any other light bulb. In many places all over the world, they are used for various reasons totally unrelated to any religious holiday. It is not the lights that should be the focus; it is what lies beneath that which is important.

You could spend the entire afternoon arguing your point that lights are ugly and the end result may still be that they don’t agree. Even after a debate on the issue, you may feel that you have come out the winner, but think about this: what was really won – your opinion? Unfortunately, that’s not a good enough reason for anyone, even a child, to agree with you and change their mind. Furthermore, by only discussing the irrelevant issue of the lights – what did they learn? Probably not much, except may be how to become a better debater next time.

Christmas, this year in particular, is a good opportunity to sit down and fully explain the major differences between Islam and Christianity to a new Muslim or a child. The explanation should be according to the age level of the child, and according to the knowledge of the teenager or adult. One should emphasize on the Kufr that is behind all of it, and how non-Muslim parents lie to their children about the fictitious Santa character! One should explain that the time of the year Christmas falls in is an ancient pagan holiday and that adorning the evergreen trees with decorations is a practice of pagans, and that it’s even forbidden in the Bible (Jeremiah 10:3-4)!

To further emphasize this fact, have them research this information in any encyclopedia and remind them of the following verse in which Allaah Says (what means): “And from those who say, “We are Christians” We took their covenant; but they forgot a portion of that of which they were reminded.” [Quran 5:14]

Next, take a few moments to allow them to ask questions. After you have fully explained to them the differences, and informed them in regard to the extreme Kufr that the decorations and lights are representing in pagan religions and in Christianity, ask them what they think of the lights and decorations now. Most likely, their response will be dramatically changed!

The distinction between a hasty incomplete answer and one with a full explanation is that you are not leaving room for lingering curiosity and also are not undermining their intelligence or opinion. By respecting their intelligence and opinion you are opening their minds to listen.

With an honest, straightforward explanation, you will, Insha Allaah, be able to take all the sparkle out of the lights, and instead, turn on the light of knowledge in their mind.

By: Michele Al-Nasr

Article from www.islamweb.net

This is a very good lecture from Hamza Yusuf from Zaytuna Institute. In this video series recorded in 1997, he explains about how the Qur’an was compiled. He talked about the oral culture and memorization by the Arab people in the time of the prophet Muhammad S.A.W. He also explains about why there are destroyed Qur’ans back in Sayyidna Uthman, Radi-Allahu anhu’s time. There is also a Q&A session at the end.

Shaykh Hamza Yusuf was born in Walla Walla, Washington, and grew up in Northern California in a Greek Orthodox family. He is founder of the Zaytuna Institute. He embraced Islam in 1977 in Santa Barbara, California when he was only 17 and set off almost immediately to study Arabic, Islamic jurisprudence, philosophy, and spiritual psychology with masters in the Muslim world. More about Hamza Yusuf.

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There is a very nice product to help Muslims with knee pain during prayer, especially when one have to prayer on a hard surface, this product will be very helpful. It is called PAC ™ comfort kneepads for praying.

PAC ™ is a protection for the upper end of the shin (tibia) which is put under strain when kneeling. This is particularly the case when repeatedly moving from the standing position to the kneeling position during the sujud. The silicone gel, Epithelium 29™, distributes the pressure evenly over the knee when kneeling. Thanks to its optimised adhesion, PAC ™ eliminates any friction or bruising of the skin. PAC soothes any pain when kneeling and avoids the build-up of calluses. PAC is an innovative product based on French technology and has undergone extensive research and testing.

You can get more information about this product and buy online directly from their website, www.prayandcomfort.com

“What we learned in the study is that US Muslim women are roughly equal to men and to women who are non-Muslims in America in their level of education, level of income, level of religiosity and mosque attendance,” Ahmed Younis, a senior analyst at the Gallup Center for Muslim Studies, told reporters.

“The Achilles Heel that has always existed — that Muslims are ‘not like us’ because their women are oppressed — well, the data speak to the proposition that that is absolutely not true,” said Younis.

The report, based on data culled from 946 people who identified themselves as Muslims out of a sample of more than 319,000 interviewed across the United States last year, showed that Muslim American women and the religious group as a whole are second only to Jewish Americans in terms of educational attainment.

Forty percent of Muslims have a bachelor’s or graduate degree, compared with 61 percent of Jews and 29 percent of the US population as a whole.

US Muslim women stand out, both compared to their global counterparts and women from other religious groups in the United States, in that they are statistically as likely as their male counterparts to have earned a university degree or higher.

Forty-two percent of Muslim women had degrees compared with 39 percent of Muslim men in the United States.

Jewish women trailed Jewish men by six percentage points in the higher-education achievement realm, and for the US population as a whole, 29 percent of women and 30 percent of men had bachelor’s degrees or better.

The study also showed that Muslim American women tend to earn the same as men, both at the low and high ends of the income scale, giving the religious group the highest degree of economic gender parity.

Muslim women in the United States also frequent mosques as often as their male counterparts, “in sharp contrast to women in many majority Muslim countries who are generally less likely than men to report attending a religious service in the last week,” the report said.

And more Muslim women than men in the United States — 46 percent versus 38 percent — said they are “thriving”, or categorized themselves as being at the upper end of a scale measuring life satisfaction.

“The Muslim-American experience for a woman yields to her the opportunities and freedoms that America generally yields to women,” said Younis.

“There is a uniqueness of experience among Muslim-American women vis a vis Muslims globally,” he added.

Indeed, Muslims in the United States as a whole fare well compared with the Muslim populations in other Western societies.

While 41 percent of American Muslims said they are “thriving”, only 23 percent in France and a mere seven percent in Britain said the same, the report showed.

The authors of the report called for a “rethink” of Americans’ understanding of the US Muslim community.

“Muslims are the most negatively viewed religious community among Americans,” Dalia Mogahed, executive director of the Gallup Center for Muslim Studies told AFP.

“Only 45 percent of Americans consider Muslims in the country as loyal and 25 percent of Americans said they wouldn’t want to have Muslims as a neighbor,” she said.

A huge survey of the world’s Muslims released by Gallup last year showed that Muslims admire the West for its democracy, freedoms and technological prowess.

But when Americans were asked in the same study what they admired most about the Islamic world, “most replied ‘Nothing’,” said Mogahed.

The study was the first-ever conducted across the United States of a randomly selected sample of Muslim Americans.

Source: http://www.mywire.com/a/AFP/Report-Muslim-Americans-chips-away/9244203?page=2

Islam: The Next American Religion?

Non-original post, taken from http://www.beliefnet.com/story/69/story_6982.html

The U.S. began as a haven for Christian outcasts. But what religion fits our current zeitgeist? The answer may be Islam.

by Michael Wolfe

Americans tend to think of their country as, at the very least, a nominally Christian nation. Didn’t the Pilgrims come here for freedom to practice their Christian religion? Don’t Christian values of righteousness under God, and freedom, reinforce America’s democratic, capitalist ideals?

True enough. But there’s a new religion on the block now, one that fits the current zeitgeist nicely. It’s Islam.

Islam is the third-largest and fastest growing religious community in the United States. This is not just because of immigration. More than 50% of America’s six million Muslims were born here. Statistics like these imply some basic agreement between core American values and the beliefs that Muslims hold. Americans who make the effort to look beyond popular stereotypes to learn the truth of Islam are surprised to find themselves on familiar ground.

Is America a Muslim nation? Here are seven reasons the answer may be yes.

Islam is monotheistic.

Muslims worship the same God as Jews and Christians. They also revere the same prophets as Judaism and Christianity, from Abraham, the first monotheist, to Moses, the law giver and messenger of God, to Jesus – not leaving out Noah, Job, or Isaiah along the way. The concept of a Judeo-Christian tradition only came to the fore in the 1940s in America. Now, as a nation, we may be transcending it, turning to a more inclusive “Abrahamic” view.

In January, President Bush grouped mosques with churches and synagogues in his inaugural address. A few days later, when he posed for photographers at a meeting of several dozen religious figures, the Shi’ite imam Muhammad Qazwini, of Orange County, Calif., stood directly behind Bush’s chair like a presiding angel, dressed in the robes and turban of his south Iraqi youth.

Islam is democratic in spirit.

Islam advocates the right to vote and educate yourself and pursue a profession. The Qur’an, on which Islamic law is based, enjoins Muslims to govern themselves by discussion and consensus. In mosques, there is no particular priestly hierarchy. With Islam, each individual is responsible for the condition of her or his own soul. Everyone stands equal before God.

Americans, who mostly associate Islamic government with a handful of tyrants, may find this independent spirit surprising, supposing that Muslims are somehow predisposed to passive submission. Nothing could be further from the truth. The dictators reigning today in the Middle East are not the result of Islamic principles. They are more a result of global economics and the aftermath of European colonialism. Meanwhile, like everyone else, average Muslims the world over want a larger say in what goes on in the countries where they live. Those in America may actually succeed in it. In this way, America is closer in spirit to Islam than many Arab countries.

Islam contains an attractive mystical tradition.

Mysticism is grounded in the individual search for God. Where better to do that than in America, land of individualists and spiritual seekers? And who might better benefit than Americans from the centuries-long tradition of teachers and students that characterize Islam. Surprising as it may seem, America’s best-selling poet du jour is a Muslim mystic named Rumi, the 800-year-old Persian bard and founder of the Mevlevi Path, known in the West as the Whirling Dervishes. Even book packagers are now rushing him into print to meet and profit from mainstream demand for this visionary. Translators as various as Robert Bly, Coleman Barks, and Kabir and Camille Helminski have produced dozens of books of Rumi’s verse and have only begun to bring his enormous output before the English-speaking world. This is a concrete poetry of ecstasy, where physical reality and the longing for God are joined by flashes of metaphor and insight that continue to speak across the centuries.

Islam is egalitarian.

From New York to California, the only houses of worship that are routinely integrated today are the approximately 4,000 Muslim mosques. That is because Islam is predicated on a level playing field, especially when it comes to standing before God. The Pledge of Allegiance (one nation, “under God”) and Lincoln’s Gettysburg Address (all people are “created equal”) express themes that are also basic to Islam.

Islam is often viewed as an aggressive faith because of the concept of jihad, but this is actually a misunderstood term. Because Muslims believe that God wants a just world, they tend to be activists, and they emphasize that people are equal before God. These are two reasons why African Americans have been drawn in such large numbers to Islam. They now comprise about one-third of all Muslims in America.

Meanwhile, this egalitarian streak also plays itself out in relations between the sexes. Muhammad (P.B.U.H), Islam’s prophet, actually was a reformer in his day. Following the Qur’an, he limited the number of wives a man could have and strongly recommended against polygamy. The Qur’an laid out a set of marriage laws that guarantees married women their family names, their own possessions and capital, the right to agree upon whom they will marry, and the right to initiate divorce. In Islam’s early period, women were professionals and property owners, as increasingly they are today. None of this may seem obvious to most Americans because of cultural overlays that at times make Islam appear to be a repressive faith toward women – but if you look more closely, you can see the egalitarian streak preserved in the Qur’an finding expression in contemporary terms. In today’s Iran, for example, more women than men attend university, and in recent local elections there, 5,000 women ran for public office.

Islam shares America’s new interest in food purity and diet.

Muslims conduct a monthlong fast during the holy month of Ramadan, a practice that many Americans admire and even seek to emulate. I happened to spend quite a bit of time with a non-Muslim friend during Ramadan this year. After a month of being exposed to a practice that brings some annual control to human consumption, my friend let me know, in January, that he was “doing a little Ramadan” of his own. I asked what he meant. “Well, I’m not drinking anything or smoking anything for at least a month, and I’m going off coffee.” Given this friend’s normal intake of coffee, I could not believe my ears.

Muslims also observe dietary laws that restrict the kind of meat they can eat. These laws require that the permitted, or halal, meat is prepared in a manner that emphasizes cleanliness and a humane treatment of animals. These laws ride on the same trends that have made organic foods so popular.

Islam is tolerant of other faiths.

Like America, Islam has a history of respecting other religions. In Muhammad’s (P.B.U.H) day, Christians, Sabeans, and Jews in Muslim lands retained their own courts and enjoyed considerable autonomy. As Islam spread east toward India and China, it came to view Zoroastrianism, Hinduism, and Buddhism as valid paths to salvation. As Islam spread north and west, Judaism especially benefited. The return of the Jews to Jerusalem, after centuries as outcasts, only came about after Muslims took the city in 638. The first thing the Muslims did there was to rescue the Temple Mount, which by then had been turned into a garbage heap.

Today, of course, the long discord between Israel and Palestine has acquired harsh religious overtones. Yet the fact remains that this is a battle for real estate, not a war between two faiths. Islam and Judaism revere the same prophetic lineage, back to Abraham, and no amount of bullets or barbed wire can change that. As The New York Times recently reported, while Muslim/Jewish tensions sometimes flare on university campuses, lately these same students have found ways to forge common links. For one thing, the two religions share similar dietary laws, including ritual slaughter and a prohibition on pork. Joining forces at Dartmouth this fall, the first kosher/halal dining hall is scheduled to open its doors this autumn. That isn’t all: They’re already planning a joint Thanksgiving dinner, with birds dressed at a nearby farm by a rabbi and an imam. If the American Pilgrims were watching now, they’d be rubbing their eyes with amazement. And, because they came here fleeing religious persecution, they might also understand.

Islam encourages the pursuit of religious freedom.

The Pilgrims landing at Plymouth Rock is not the world’s first story of religious emigration. Muhammad and his little band of 100 followers fled religious persecution, too, from Mecca in the year 622. They only survived by going to Madinah, an oasis a few hundred miles north, where they established a new community based on a religion they could only practice secretly back home. No wonder then that, in our own day, many Muslims have come here as pilgrims from oppression, leaving places like Kashmir, Bosnia, and Kosovo, where being a Muslim may radically shorten your life span. When the 20th century’s list of emigrant exiles is added up, it will prove to be heavy with Muslims, that’s for sure.

All in all, there seems to be a deep resonance between Islam and the United States. Although one is a world religion and the other is a sovereign nation, both are traditionally very strong on individual responsibility. Like New Hampshire’s motto, “Live Free or Die,” America is wedded to individual liberty and an ethic based on right action. For a Muslim, spiritual salvation depends on these. This is best expressed in a popular saying: Even when you think God isn’t watching you, act as if he is.

Who knows? Perhaps it won’t be long now before words like salat (Muslim prayer) and Ramadan join karma and Nirvana in Webster’s Dictionary, and Muslims take their place in America’s mainstream.

Michael Abdul Majeed Wolfe is the author of books of poetry, fiction, travel, and history. His most recent works are a pair of books from Grove Press on the pilgrimage to Mecca: “The Hajj” (1993), a first-person travel account, and “One Thousand Roads to Mecca” (1997), an anthology of 10 centuries of travelers writing about the Muslim pilgrimage. In April 1997, he hosted a televised account of the Hajj from Mecca for Ted Koppel’s “Nightline” on ABC. He is currently at work on a four-hour television documentary on the life and times of the Prophet Muhammad (P.B.U.H.).

Extracted 12/09/2005 from http://www.beliefnet.com/story/69/story_6982.html
Found on http://www.easyislam.com/blog/

“Advise me! “The Prophet said, “Do not become angry and furious.” The man asked (the same) again and again, and the Prophet said in each case, “Do not become angry and furious.”

[Al-Bukhari; Vol. 8 No. 137]

(one of the 40 hadiths selection of An-Nawawi)

background

This hadith is also related by other scholars of hadith. In another narration, it is related as:

A man came to the Messenger of Allah, sallallahu ‘alayhi wasallam, and said, “Messenger of Allah, teach me some words which I can live by. Do not make them too much for me, lest I forget.” The Messenger of Allah, sallallahu ‘alayhi wasallam, said, “Do not be angry.” [Abu Daud]

Some scholars say that the Prophet, sallallahu ‘alayhi wasallam, knew that the man who asked him used to get angry often and that is why the Prophet, sallallahu ‘alayhi wasallam, gave him that particular advice. This view may lead to narrowing down and limiting the benefit of the hadith, whereas it is very comprehensive, far-reaching and applicable to all Muslims because everyone is subject to anger.

There are other Qur’anic verses and hadith that emphasize the need to avoid getting angry. Allah mentions the qualities of the muttaqin:

“Those who spend (in Allah’s cause) in prosperity and in adversity, who repress their anger, and who pardon men, verily, Allah loves the al-Muhsinun (the good-doers).”
[Surah Al-Imran (3) : Ayah 133-134]

In another hadith, Abu Hurairah related that the Messenger of Allah, sallallahu ‘alayhi wasallam, said:

“A strong person is not the person who throws his adversaries to the ground. A strong person is the person who contains himself when he is angry.” [Al-Bukhari; Book 47, No. 47.3.12]

And from the du’a (supplications) of the Prophet, sallallahu ‘alayhi wasallam:

“I ask you O Allah, for truthful speech during times of pleasure and anger” [Nasaai and Ahmad]

lessons

There are four views, of which two of them are from the earlier scholars and the other two are from the contemporary scholars, about the interpretation of the Prophet’s, sallallahu ‘alayhi wasallam, statement “Do not get angry”:

1. A person should learn how to change his character and adapt the characteristics of generosity, kindness, calmness, modesty, patience and forgiving. If a person adapts these qualities, then he may be able to restrain himself when he is about to get angry.
2. One should not act based on anger or while being angry.
3. When a person is about to get angry, he should control himself, be patient and not get angry. This is a contemporary view from Sheikh Al-Bitar.
4. Ustaz Jamaluddin Zarabozo says that the text can be interpreted in the following way: a Muslim must think before acting or speaking. As soon as the feeling of anger appears to oneself, then there is a need to think of why the anger appears and whether it is necessary to be angry. While asking these questions, the person must remember Allah and the Hereafter (Akhirah). This will cause the person to calm down and not get angry.

All these interpretations can be applied as different strategies in handling anger in different situations.

conclusion

Socially, this hadith promotes better relationship among people. We need to restrain anger and be patient. We may dislike something in this life but it may have benefits that we do not know.

Our patience towards others who have been harsh on us may later lead them to think and change themselves to be better. Muslims need to set models for others to learn from.