I know I've been quiet lately

Just to let you know that I haven't had a chance to post anything in quite some time. I am going to be a bit late with my "Great Women in Islam" post this time, but inshaa Allah it will be up soon.

The reason for my absence is something that many of you will be able to relate to:

RAMADHAAN PREPARATION

The plan was to get all the necessary things done before the Blessed Month arrives so that inshaa Allah during the month of Ramadhaan we can concentrate on more important things, so things have been quite busy. As soon as I can I will be posting regularly once again....

...In the Meantime:

RAMADHAAN KAREEM TO ALL OF YOU, MAY THE ALMIGHTY ALLAH SHOWER YOU WITH BLESSINGS AND GIVE YOU A MONTH OF PEACE, WHICH SERVES TO BRING YOU CLOSER TO ALLAH!

Great Women in Islam

The answer for the quiz question (Which one of the wives of the Prophet (PBUH) was married to the Beloved Prophet (PBUH) for less than three years, then the Prophet (PBUH) passed away?) is:

• Like Juwairiyah (May Allah be pleased with her), Maymoonah (May Allah be pleased with her) was also first named Barrah, and her name was also changed for the same reason that Juwairiyah’s name was changed. The Prophet (PBUH) didn’t like self-praise (as was mentioned in the previous Great Women post).
• The Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) died less than three years after marrying Maymoonah (May Allah be pleased with her).
• She was first married to a man named Masud Bin Umar Saqfi.
• After divorce she married Abu Rahm, who died shortly thereafter.
•  She lived as a widow in Makkah, till the age of 51 years. 
•  The people proposed her to marry the Noble Prophet (PBUH).
• The Holy Prophet (PBUH) proceeded on Umrah (minor pilgrimage) in the month of Dhul Qaddah,  in the 7^th year after Hijrah (migration to Madinah) and that is when their maariage took place.  
•  Abbas (May Allah be pleased with him) the uncle of the Prophet (PBUH) arranged the marriage.
• This marriage led to the establishment of close links between Arab Tribes.

• Maymoonah (May Allah be pleased with her) was extremely pious and gentle.
• She was much afraid of Allah Almighty and strengthened the ties between kith and kin. 
•  She always followed the commands of the Prophet (PBUH). 
•  The Holy Prophet (PBUH) called her a symbol of goodness.
• She was very fond of reforming women and teaching them to be good and virtuous. 
•  She was also very fond of freeing slaves. 
•  Once she got a maid servant freed and the Beloved Prophet (PBUH) said, “Allah would reward you for this.”
• Maymoonah (May Allah be pleased with her) borrowed money on and off. Once she borrowed a large amount and someone said, ‘how will you pay this debt?’ Thereupon she answered; “The Holy Prophet (PBUH) said; “Allah himself pays off the debt of a person who intends to do so.”
• Although she was married to the Beloved Prophet (PBUH) for a short time only, she narrated 48 ahadeeth (sayings of the Prophet).
• She was also a great authority in Fiqh (Islamic Jurisprudence).
• After the death of the Prophet (PBUH) she lived her life quietly and peacefully, preoccupying herself with acts of worship and performing Hajj (Pilgrimage) every year. 
•  During her final Hajj, she became very ill on her way back to Madinah from Makkah.
• She died in a place called Sarif, which is some miles from Makkah. It was the same place in which a temporary dwelling was set up for the Prophet (PBUH) and Maymoonah where they consummated their marriage. That she died in the same place where her wedding to the Prophet (PBUH) took place could be according to Muhammad ‘Ali Qutb (in Women Around the Messenger (PBUH); “ a noteworthy indication, from which lessons can be learnt, of the purity of her will and her strong affinity for the Messenger of Allah (PBUH). “

Subhan'Allah indeed this is another great woman, and although we know less of her life than other of The Mothers of The Faithful, she is nonetheless a role model and a true example for us, May we learn from this example and from all our Great Women in Islam, Inshaa Allah!

To read more on this and other topics, books can be downloaded here: http://www.kalamullah.com/index.html
http://www.islamicbulletin.org/services/all_ebooks_p1.aspx

We should have all been there

I was driving past the local police station when I noticed a few people with placards, protesting about something. At first I thought its probably one of the usual protests; people complaining about poor service delivery, or something like that, but as I drove past I saw what was written on the placards and I felt really bad that I was not there with the handful of women who stood outside in the cold protesting against the rape of women!


I should have been there, we all should have been there, men and women uniting against something that I regard as the most terrible crime. A violation like no other, because it completely disregards the sacredness of a woman. “Mr President we did not vote so that women could be raped”, read one of the placards; “stop rape against women”, read the other, these words, so bold, so important, so profound, and yet so easily ignored!


Sadly, no one paid much attention to the women who were protesting, people seemed to be walking past as if it wasn’t a big deal at all. This is the level to which we have been desensitized and this is why we continue to accept this, even though South Africa has the highest rape statistics in the world.


But, this is not something that is unique to South Africa. No, all over the world, women and their bodies are used as targets. In times of war and unrest, rape of women increases, it’s like a tool that the opposing teams use to demoralize each other, and through it all, the fact that women are human beings is ignored. It makes me feel sick just to think about this. In some places, people are even given orders to rape women as a strategy to weaken their enemies. Such strategic abuse and violence against women, and no one does anything about it!


So why wasn’t there more of us protesting outside the police station. Why don’t we organize more of such protests, on a larger scale so that our governments know that we won’t accept crimes such as rape, so that harsher punishments get put into place for rapists, thereby making it more difficult for them to commit the same crimes again. Why? Because most of us deep down believe that this is not our problem, this is not something that we can do anything about, and unless we’ve been affected, we think it has little to do with us; we all probably agree that it's terrible, but we also tend to feel that we can't do anything about it- and it’s this very attitude that results in a handful of women protesting about something of major importance, and simply being ignored.


We are supposed to be living in a civilized world, yet we are faced with such barbarism. It’s simply crazy to think that this is still allowed to continue. But it will continue and continue if only a few people make an attempt to bring about some change!

We should have all been there, we should all be protesting against things that matter. We should be proactive. Rape of women, in fact any abuse of women should not be happening. Not to our neighbours, not to our family members, not to our country people, not to anyone in the world! Our voices might be small, but speaking out about these things is far better than sitting back and doing nothing. Dealing with issues such as these is not the work of social workers or community organizations alone, this should be the work of every single person.


The honour of a woman needs to be protected. There’s a story in the history of Islam that I’m sure many people already know. It goes something to this effect; a Muslim woman went into a shop, and the men there planned to dishonour her by letting her body become exposed, so they did something like tie her outer garment, and when she walked, some part of her body became exposed. What did the Muslim men of that time do? They did not say, “well there’s not much we can do about it, it’s already happened even though it shouldn’t have.” Or, “We all agree that its bad but all we can do now is send the woman for counselling and help her to deal with what has already happened,”-NO! They took action. They killed the man responsible for dishonouring a woman. I’m not saying that we should go around killing people, but this example shows us that taking action prevented this from happening in the future, it was a proactive step, and it probably saved many other women from been dishonoured. Now imagine if these men from that time had to find out that a woman was raped! What do you think they would've done?

I pray to Allah that this terrible crime could cease to happen, it’s not only me that I pray for, not only my sisters, or my friends, or my colleagues, it’s not only my country folk that I pray for, it’s for all the people of the world! I wish that we could get rid of this evil, and I pray that Allah Almighty protects us all!


May Allah make it easy for those people who have been affected by this evil crime, and for those who commit this crime, I pray for them too, I pray that Allah Almighty removes the evil from their hearts!


MAY ALLAH BE WITH US ALL, INSHAA-ALLAH!


IMAGE FROM: http://www.indymedia.ie/article/99499

What are you reading?

Knowledge is a fundamental part of Islam and indeed of humanity as a whole, but the reason that I say it's particularly a fundamental part of Islam is because Islam basically began with knowledge. Most of us know that the first words uttered by the angel Jibraeel (Gabriel) to our Beloved Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) was "Read!". And the Prophet (PBUH) urged all Muslims, both male and female to seek beneficial knowledge "from the cradle to the grave".

I find it strange that so many people readily admit that they do not read! Maybe this is because I grew up loving reading, my father has always loved books and has always read a variety of different books, so I grew up reading all sorts of things, and having books in our home was a norm. Till now, even though you can read so many different things on the Internet, I still have to admit that I love books in the old fashioned way, with its shiny new covers and interesting pictures. I love to see how the cover represents what's inside the book, basically I prefer having an actual book in front of me and its very sad that reading books is something that people are doing less and less.

The latest book that I am reading is a beautiful and different one. I somehow came across the write-up about it (on the Internet, as you'd all agree Internet reading is simply unavoidable, especially when you're a blogger so I say its best to have both). Anyway, this book sounded interesting. The first thing I read about it was that it tells the story of the life of the Prophet (PBUH) completely in poetry. That was enough to get me intrigued.

So Alhamdullillah I managed to get a copy of the book and I have to tell you that it lives up to its reviews. It's simply heartfelt, honest and true but told in a way that almost forces you to love the amazing Prophet Muhammad (PBUH). I love the cover of this book also, it takes me back to earlier times, and it's just eloquent, and in this case, the cover truly depicts what's inside the book, so yeah, this is a book you can judge by the cover!

So here's a link to the book for any of you who might be interested, and if you do get to read it or already have, please share your thoughts.

But the other thing I'd like to hear about is what books are other people reading. So please feel free to share, tell us what's the last book you've read and whether its worth reading, or share any thoughts on the topic. A friend of mine used to run a book club and I think this idea is so great and a while back I considered having a cyber book club, but that never happened, I do still think it's a nice idea though, its always good to discuss important topics and people all come with their own perspectives.

Anyway, I'm off to read some more of "Noble Brother" now, I know I'm going to enjoy it and I hope that you all enjoy your reading too!

DON'T FORGET TO LEAVE YOUR COMMENTS THOUGH, I'LL BE LOOKING FORWARD TO READING THAT TOO!

Great Women in Islam

Firstly I have to apologise for posting this so late. It was supposed to be done yesterday, and I like it that way because it gets posted on the best day of the week, a Friday. Unfortunately though this week I just couldn't manage. The past few days I have not been feeling very well as I have a flu. Alhamdullillah I am recovering and this has also reminded me of how much we take our health for granted. Everything is so much easier when we are feeling well and we should always be thankful.

Okay, having said that; The answer for the quiz question (Whose name did the Beloved Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) change from Barrah to another name?) is:

• The Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) named Juwayriyah . He changed her name from Barrah to Juwayriyah.
• The name ‘Barrah” was linked to the times of ignorance and was “self-praising”, and the Prophet (PBUH) didn’t like this.
• Juwayriyah is used as an expression of praise, commendation and love.
• She was the daughter of the Chief of a Tribe called Banu al-Muṣṭaliq, who was one of the tribes who wanted to wage war against the Muslims.
• It was when the Muslims defeated the Tribe of Banu al-Muṣṭaliq in battle, that Juwayriyah (May Allah be pleased with her) entered the home of our Beloved Prophet Muhammad (PBUH).

• She was married to a cousin of hers and her husband had just been killed in the battle between her tribe and the Muslims.
• She was taken as a captive after war and was allotted to a Companion named Thabit ibn Qays al-Ansari (May Allah be pleased with him).
• She bargained with Thabit ibn Qays to buy her freedom with nine measure of silver.
• She then went to the Prophet (PBUH) to ask for his assistance with the ransom she had offered.
• She addressed the Prophet (PBUH) as follows: “O Messenger of Allah! I am the daughter of Al-Harith, the leader of his people. You are not oblivious to what has happened to me. I was part of the share of Thabit ibn Qays and I bargained with him to ransom myself with nine measures of silver. So help me free myself.”
• The Noble Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) then asked her if she would like to marry him and she agreed. The Prophet (PBUH) paid her ransom to Thabit ibn Qays and married her.
• The implications of the Prophet’s (PBUH) marriage to Juwayriyah were far reaching.
• A’isha (May Allah be pleased with her) has reported that; “the news of the marriage came to the people, and they started saying, ‘Will the Prophet’s in-laws be held as captives?’ Thus the people freed all the captives they held of the tribe of Banu al-Muṣṭaliq, and the number of those reached one hundred households- this was as a result of the Prophet’s marriage to Juwayriyah.”
• When Juwayriyah’s father heard about what had happened to her and that she had married the Prophet (PBUH) he decided to go to Madinah to ransom her with one hundred camels, hoping that the Prophet (PBUH) would accept that from him.
• When he came close to Madinah he scrutinized his camels and saw two good camels that he really liked , so he decided to keep those two. He set the camels aside, tied them up in a safe place and assigned some guards to watch over them.
• He then went to meet the Prophet (PBUH) while the Prophet was in the mosque and he begged him to accept his ransom and give his daughter back.
• The Messenger of Allah (PBUH) welcomed him and asked him with a smile, “What about the two camels that you set aside and tied up in such and such a place?”
• The man became speechless and was amazed. His tongue was then unable to tell a lie and he spoke the following words; “I testify that there is none worthy of worship other than Allah and that you, Muhammad are a Messenger of Allah! By Allah! No one knows of this matter except Allah alone.”
• Following Al-Harith’s embrace of Islam, all the members of Banu al-Muṣṭaliq, also embraced Islam, for he told them what had happened and he invited them to Islam.
• This is a manifestation of Allah’s blessing upon Juwayriyah and her tribe, through his Messenger (PBUH). It was also partly due to her marriage to the Messenger of Allah (PBUH) and her entrance into his household.”

Masha'Allah this is such an interesting story. I urge you to please read more about this to gain a better understanding. There are many books available on the subject, but if it's difficult for you to get books then you can download books for free at the following link:

http://www.kalamullah.com/index.html

May Allah Almighty increase us all in knowledge and grant us understanding, Inshaa Allah Ameen!