Muslims

[HLM 1]

During the Prophet's time, there were Muslim women who converted many years before their husbands, inculding the Prophet's own daughter, Zainab, and the parents of the ahadith transmitter Ibn Abbas. His mother was the second woman to convert to Islam after the Prophet's revelations, but his father did not convert for 20 years after his wife. Also, Aisha was engaged to a Christian man by her father, Abu Bakr, a close companion of the Prophet and the first Caliph, before that engagement was withdrawn so she could marry Muhammad. He would not have done such a thing if it was forbidden by Allah.

VW; wd u plz add the hadiths for this part becoz i dont know them. Thank you

I'll be happy to help you with that, sis! Be patient with me, please, cause I don't have the sources memorized.

take ur time sister im here

[Sofiyya 1,687]

It was never my intent to undermine your credibility, Rahma. I'm apologize that you took it that way. My life and environment is what it is, but it is not something I wish to use as a weapon. Your passion and enthusiam for the faith and your eagerness to share it is a blessing.

Thank you, I appreciate the kind sentiment.

It is well deserved.

You are also so right about Tarek Fatah. We have done battle many times and are no longer speaking, at this point.

I don't think he's speaking to anyone, lol.

I don't doubt that.

However, you completely missed my points, and I may be a bit sensitive about the issue of adab because there is a tendency among students to believe that scholars are so well-mannered. I've had more than my share of their bad behavior, which may be why I'm come across so assertively in posts much of the time.

Scholars are human beings, and can fall into the same cesspits of nasty disagreement that all of us are suseptible to. However, there are some who rise above, and I'll look to those for my example of how to behave. Sh. Faraz Rabbani and Sh. Yasir Qadhi are friends. Sh. Faraz is about as traditionalist as they come, hanafi and a student of tasawwuf. Sh. Yasir is a saudi educated salafi. They spoke together at ISNA awhile back, and everyone was expecting a Friday Night smackdown kinda thing. But, they suprised everybody by holding a cordial discussion.

I cannot speak for either of these gentlemen, but scenes rarely take place in public. It is normally left to the political domain. There would be no marginalization if there was no sniping in the background.

I appreciate my teachers, too, but I know when to disagree with them. An issue I have is the convert's ability to discern who is a good teacher who will not lead you astray and who will help you enrich your life in the faith, and what are proper sources. Where should you place your emphasis and what constitues the Middle Way? I have seen too many times students afraid to question or raise issues that could lead to conflict. Few certainly have the ability of substantive knowledge to challenge a teacher. I grew up in the faith, read fluent Arabic, have a Ph.D in Islam. For decades, I sat at the feet of venerated sheikhs, worked with ulema and jurists, and I'm still told I have a nerve to question anything from fiqh, no matter how ludicris. I can't imagine how a novice stands up to that.

So what do you suggest for a convert? What programs/teachers/books would you recommend? Because that's what this is really all about, advising the converts on this thread where they can best learn the deen. We don't all have access to scores of teachers, and endless amounts of time and resources.

Even when I converted back at the beginning of this decade, there wasn't anything aside from what the salafis had to offer. If you wanted to have anything with a solid foundation, you picked up books by Bilal Phillips, or what someone gave you for free at the masjid from Dar us Salam.

That is why I am so thrilled that Sunnipath, and even it's more salafi-esque counterparts like Al Maghrib are available now. They're teachers with credentials, offering courses specifically for the newbie and the western muslim. Now a convert isn't just handed a stack of books and sent to a half @ss lecture or 2 at the mosque with an imam who was imported from the home country and doesn't speak english very well. No, now they have teachers are known, who are knowledgable, and who can speak understand their audience. These institutions seek to be comprehensive, teaching Islam, Iman and Ihsan, where as before there was a heavy emphasis on haram haram haram and not much else.

If you have an alternative to these institutions, I'd be interested to hear them.

I am a policy wonk whose areas of concentration are Muslim law, history and culture, and this issue falls under my purview as a student of social change. This is an area that social scientists are examining and trending in an effort to measure the effects of decentralization and formulate an apprpriate response. Unfortunately, interest in what happens to converts was slow in developing, while scholarship was also waning. You have been around long enough to be aware of and have benefitted from some of the more positive changes, while, at the same time, gaining knowledge that there is more than one perspective of Islam, more than one emphasis, more than one "sect". Not everyone is so fortunate.

And, numbers show that they don't; the residivism rate for converts is rather high. That, I have deep concerns about. The ability to have a personal relationship with Allah is being slowly overridden with an over abundance of opinions, making Islam appear to be more monolitic in some ways, and more ambiguous in other ways.

There are two stereotypical camps converts fall into

Convertitis Type I

Convertitis Type II

The goal of those who call to Islam and do convert education should be to help the newbies navigate these two extremes and find the middle path. From my own, personal experience, I believe the best way to do this is through a more traditional approach to the religion, as opposed to what the first and second salafi dawah has done in the US in the last 3 decades.

Ah, I wish convertitis could be averted, but people come to any faith to satisfy something in themselves. Thus, their response is entirely individual, and, well, sometimes totally annoying lol. I remember when one of my cousins converted from Islam to Christianity, and snagged a bad case of convertitis. For about 10 years, we were all heathens and he could not do enough to bring us to this glorious revelation in his life. He was a real pain, but he eventually calmed down, and became sane again, and he remained a Christian.

I was very taken by Jeffrey Lang's tome, "Losing My Religion", an examination of the state of turmoil in the NA ummah. I have no doubt we must do more to stabilize the convert experience.

Edited August 27, 2008 by Virtual wife

[UmmSqueakster 54]

Another good book for the disillusioned is Believing as Ourselves. Newbies needent read it right off the bat, but if anyone ever feels fed up with the community, this is the book to read. You are not alone.

[Tunisia216 2]

I Just wanted to share these youtube videos, they are GREAT to go along with Rahma's cards which are also wonderful!

This is done in a step by step way and I think is great for those learning to pray and who need something visual. Also in English (the man narrating sounds Australian, so very easy to follow.

Source for all instructional videos : http://www.youtube.com/view_play_list?p=85A0EC87D924601C

Step-by-Step Guide to Prayer 1/7 (Intro & Wudu)

Blueprint productions & IISNA present "Step-by-Step How to Pray". In this part (1)is a short introduction to Salat, the second pillar of Islam. It gives information on how to perform wudu (abulution) as well.

Step-by-Step Guide to Prayer 2/7 (Reminders)

Blueprint productions & IISNA present "Step-by-Step How to Pray". In this part (2)are some important reminders for Salat.

Step-by-Step Guide to Prayer 3/7 (Fajr)

In this part (3)is how to perform the first prayer which is "Fajr".

Edited August 27, 2008 by Ash * Habibati

[Tunisia216 2]

In this part (4)is how to perform the second prayer, which is "Dhur"

In this part (5)is how to perform the third prayer which is "Asr".

In this part (6)is how to perform the fourth prayer which is "Maghreb".

Another version, some problems in the first one :

In this part (5)is how to perform the fifth prayer which is Isha

Edited August 27, 2008 by Ash * Habibati

[Tunisia216 2]

I just wanted to add, this may help some with pronunciation if you are following the cards that Rahma generously shared. They are following slowly, and you could listen, have your cards to read in arabic phonetic, as she gave, and the English translation, but use this to listen to them being said in Arabic and also watching as the motions are being made.

[Tunisia216 2]

I like this one too :thumbs:

( just hit home as I was currently debating with someone regarding this same topic and I really like the message here)

Muslim Woman Can Pray in Masjid - Do Not Stop Them

[RAKASA 0]

Another good book for the disillusioned is Believing as Ourselves. Newbies needent read it right off the bat, but if anyone ever feels fed up with the community, this is the book to read. You are not alone.

This book is :thumbs: . A friend sent this to me right after I said shahada and it was the first thing I read really helping me to understand some things about myself and dispelled many fears I had of not being a "perfect" Muslim. I highly recommend it to anyone, but specially for new converts. I was really "put off" by the community I had met for the most part and this really enlightened me.

[nunyab 0]

Loved the book too.... i have it in my ever increasing Islamic library...

[nunyab 0]

stupid question here but how would i know which "sect" of Islam I am????? how do you know which one you identify with if ???

I had no idea when i said my Shahada that there were so many branches?? crazy me

[Tunisia216 2]

I'm not sure how you go about "choosing one" I would imagine by more in depth study - although some are what they are because of their families, or where they grew up, etc... But here's a brief over view ...

According to the Traditions, Muhammad predicted that his followers would become divided into seventy-three sects, every one of whom would go to hell, except one sect, the religion professed by himself and his companions. However the number of Islamic sects, now over 150, has far exceeded Muhammad's prediction.

Summaries of the major sects within Islam

Sunni Muslims

Sunni Muslims are followers of the Hanifa, Shafi, Hanibal and Malik Schools. They constitute a 90% majority of the believers in Islam, and are considered to be mainstream traditionalists. Because they are comfortable pursuing their faith within secular societies, they have been able to adapt to a variety of national cultures, while following their three sources of law: the Qur'an, Hadith and consensus of Muslims.

The Sunnis are by far the largest sect in the Muslim world. They take the title of Najiyah, meaning those who are being saved. They acknowledge the first four Khalifs as the rightful successors of Muhammad. They received the "six correct books" and belong to one of the schools of jurisprudence founded by the four Imams.

The Sunni emphasize the power and sovereignty of Allah and his right to do whatever he wants with his creation, as strict predeterminism is taught. Its rulership is through the Caliphate, the office of Muslim ruler who is considered the successor to Muhammad. This successor is not through hereditary lineage. The Sunni believe, based on specific provisions of the Qur'an and the Sunna, that the Muslim people are to be governed by consensus (ijma') through an elected head of state, the khalifa, according to democratic principles.

Shi'ite Muslims

The Shi'ites (also known as the Ja'firi school) split with the Sunni over the issue of the successor to Muhammad. This split occurred after the assassination of the fourth caliph in 661. Shi'ites believe that the successor to Muhammad should have been Ali, his son in law, and that subsequent successors should have been through his lineage through his wife Fatima. The shi'ites strenuously maintain that they alone are right in their understanding of Islam, and like the Sunnis, they call themselves "al-Muminun," or the "true believers." They believe in the divine right of the successors of 'Ali. His rightful successor is now concealed, they say, but will appear at the end of the world as the "Mahdi," the one rightly guided by Allah, thus able to guide others. They reject the "six correct books" of the Sunnis, and have five collections of their own.

Shi'ism is broken into three main sects. The Twelve-Imam (Persia, Iraq, Afghanistan, Lebanon, Pakistan, and Syria); the Zaydis (Yemen); the Ismailis (India, Iran, Syria, and East Africa). Each group has differences of doctrine.

Shi'ite theology includes a doctrine known as the five supports. These are Divine Unity (tawhid), prophecy (nubuwwah), resurrection of the soul and body at the judgment (ma'ad), the Imamate (imamah), and justice ('adl). The first three are found in Sunni Islam, albeit with some differences of emphasis. The Imamate, however, is the essence of Shi'ism, and the last, justice, is an inheritance from the Mu'tazilites, or rationalists, whose system is in many ways perpetuated in shi'ite theology.

Shi'ites are numerous in Iran, where they have deposed the Shah and in his place, installed the Ayatollah Khomeini and enforced Islamic law as the rule of the government. Khomeini has gone beyond that by declaring that his command is ### good as that of the prophet Muhammad.

Wahhabis

The founder of the Wahhabi sect was 'Abd al-Wahhab, born in Nefd in A.D. 1691. He maintained that the Muslims had departed from the precepts of Muhammad. He accepted only the Quran and the Traditions, rejecting the two other foundations, Ijma and Qiyas. He condemned the worship of dead holy men at tombs. He said, "They run there to pay the tribute of their fervent prayers. By this means they think that they can satisfy their spiritual and temporal needs. From what do they seek this benefit? From walls made of mud and stone, from corpses deposited in tombs. the true way of salvation is to prostrate one's self before Him who is ever-present and to venerate Him - the one without associate or equal."

The war cry of the Wahhabis was "Kill and strangle all infidels which give companions to Allah." On the day of battle, the Wahhabi founder gave each soldier a letter addressed to the Treasurer of Paradise. It was enclosed in a bag which the warrior suspended from his neck. The soldier believed that by dying in battle he would go straight to Paradise, without being examined by the angels Munkar and Nakir. Many Iranian prisoners today have confided to their Iraqi captors that they were duped into hanging a small Quran around their necks so they would become invisible in battle and not be seen by their enemies.

The Wahhabis condemn astrology, trusting in omens, and believing in lucky or unlucky days, as well as praying at tombs. They disallow the use of a rosary but attach great merit to counting the ninety-nine names of God on their fingers.

Suffis

The meaning of the name Suffi is disputed. Suffis are a Muslim sect that have set aside the literal meaning of the words of Muhammad for a supposed spiritual interpretation. Their system is a Muslim adaptation of the Indian Vedantic philosophy. They believe that only Allah exists. All visible things are really distinct from Him. There is no real difference between good and evil. Allah fixes the will of man. In fact, transmigration is accepted. The principal occupation of the Suffi is meditation on the unity of God and the remembrance of God's name so as to obtain absolution.

Suffis are most numerous in Iran, once called Persia. The three chief Persian poets, Jami, Sa'di, and Hafiz were Suffis who dwelt on love to God. Many of the writings of the Persian Suffis contain indecent passages. The Suffis are divided into innumerable sects which find expression in the numerous order of Faqirs, or Darweshes. Faqirs are divided into two great classes, those who govern their conduct according to the principles of Islam and those who do not, although they all call themselves Muslims.

Bahaiism

The Bahai sect began with a man who was born in 1817 in Tehran, Persia, and whose real name was Mirza Hussayn Ali. In 1847 he declared that he was the glory of Allah, "Bahau Allah" from two Arabic words. His acquaintance with a religious movement led by a man called the Bab(Gate) convinced him that he himself was the prophet that the Bab had predicted would appear.

In 1850, the Persian government executed the Bab for his teachings, and Mirza took over the leadership of the movement. In 1863, ten years after he was banished to Baghdad, Bahau Allah declared he was the expected prophet. From 1868 until his death in 1892, he lived in a prison colony in what is now Akka, Israel. He tried to unite the three monotheistic religions of Judaism, Christianity, and Islam through his writings, which comprise 100 volumes.

Bahais believe in good works, nondiscrimination, and a federated world government. Their headquarters are in Haifa, Israel, and they have over 17,000 local counsels, called local spiritual assemblies, with 1,500,000 adherents. Ten percent of them live in India.

stupid question here but how would i know which "sect" of Islam I am????? how do you know which one you identify with if ???

I had no idea when i said my Shahada that there were so many branches?? crazy me

[RAKASA 0]

stupid question here but how would i know which "sect" of Islam I am????? how do you know which one you identify with if ???

I had no idea when i said my Shahada that there were so many branches?? crazy me

By default, I would say you will probably follow (if any) the Maliki tradition since your husband is Moroccan and *most* (not all) Moroccans follow the Maliki school of fiqh.

I would tend to say, however, that may not be the case for everyone. Just my 2 cents.

[nunyab 0]

stupid question here but how would i know which "sect" of Islam I am????? how do you know which one you identify with if ???

I had no idea when i said my Shahada that there were so many branches?? crazy me

By default, I would say you will probably follow (if any) the Maliki tradition since your husband is Moroccan and *most* (not all) Moroccans follow the Maliki school of fiqh.

I would tend to say, however, that may not be the case for everyone. Just my 2 cents.

wow Ash habitik that was very informative...

I asked my husband what he is or follows.. is reply "just normal Islam" lol okkkkk but i noticed when there we had a lot of back and forth over what i read and doing versus what they did and doing

ie.... I read we are to only show our hands and face so wore socks with my shoes.... when there the women asked "Rajaa why do you wear socks on such a hot day?" I said I am only to show my face and hands right? Ohhhh you thought i just questioned the propeht (pbuh) himself

the conversation was divided in english, french and arabic back and forth back and forth when finally a woman came in and said... she is right it is Maqroob (spelling?) I wasn't sure but they all agreed... my husband came home and i asked him "are you ok if i wear sandles with no socks out side of the home?" he said... with thought "yes I am but only show to your ankle"

not sure if that helps which "branch" but I am here in the U.S. and find we're more "hard" as my husband puts it than they are there.

any ideas?

oooh and when i questioned him about hijab not specifically being in the Qu'ran he was confused...

[UmmSqueakster 54]

Ash * Habibati, I'd like to clarify a few of those sect classifications:

Sufis - not a sect. Tasawwuf (translated into english as sufism) is an islamic science. Following the death of the Prophet (saws), different disciplines were codified into sciences, so that future generations could have a framework from which to work and interpret the Qur'an and the traditions of the Prophet. These sciences include, among others, fiqh (jurisprudence, the halal and the haram and everything in between), hadith (classification as to soundness, the trustworthiness of the narrators, etc), kalam (theology) and tasawwuf, the inner science of the heart.

When one decides to study the religion, they can chose from any number of disciplines and sciences. Some become scholars of hadith, others scholars of kalam, and still others study tasawwuf. Being a sufi does not negate one being a sunni or a shia. One is a sunni or a shia who studies/practices tasawwuf.

There are some "goofy soofis" out there who believe that they've reached such a high plain that they are allowed to ignore the sharia. These people may say that they don't need to make salat anymore, among other spurious claims. This is a load of baloney. The Prophet Muhammad (saws) is the role model a sufi should want to imitate, the person who was the closest to Allah (swt), and he always prayed, always strove to follow what Allah (swt) had commanded.

The best explananation of what sufism is is found in a hadith qudsi (a hadith that is the words of Allah, not the Prophet) recorded in bukhari:

“Whomever is hostile to a friend of Mine I declare war against. My slave approaches Me with nothing more beloved to Me than what I have made obligatory upon him, and My slave keeps drawing nearer to Me with voluntary works until I love him. And when I love him, I am his hearing with which he hears, his sight with which he sees, his hand with which he seizes, and his foot with which he walks. If he asks Me, I will surely give to him, and if he seeks refuge in Me, I will surely protect him. I do not hesitate from anything I shall do more than My hesitation to take the soul of the believer who dislikes death; for I dislike displeasing him” (Bukhari, 8.131: 6502. S).

A sufi strives to follow the sacred law, to increase his/her acts of worship and good deeds, in an attempt to submit in their utmost to Allah (swt). When they are striving to please Allah (swt), Allah (swt) draws them close to Him.

Sh. Nuh Keller wrote about the place of tasawwuf in islam. It is probably a little bit technical, but it clearly rebuts the idea that sufism is seperate and apart from what is mainstream islam.

Bahai's - not a sect, rather a seperate religion. While they came out of the shia tradition, they do not call themselves a sect of Islam, but rather a continuation of the revelation that all Prophets have revealed. BahauAllah is the next "manifestation of God" following the Prophet Muhammad (saws).

[Nothing1234 2]

Interesting...I have read it before but it was just sent to me again in email.

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Woman's Reflection on Leading Prayer

By: Yasmin Mogahed

Friday, March 25, 2005

'Given my privilege as a woman, I only degrade Myself by trying to be something I'm not--and in all honesty--don't want to be: a man. As women, we will never reach true liberation until we stop trying to mimic men, and value the beauty in our own God-given distinctiveness.'

On March 18, 2005 Amina Wadud led the first female-led Jumuah (Friday) prayer. On that day women took a huge step towards being more like men. But, did we come closer to actualizing our God given liberation? I Don't think so.

What we so often forget is that God has honored the woman by giving her value in relation to God not in relation to men. But as western feminism erases God from the scene, there are no standard left but men. As a result the western feminist is forced to find her value in relation to a man. And in so doing she has accepted a faulty assumption. She has accepted that man is the standard, and thus a woman can never be a full human being until she becomes just like a man-the standard.

When a man cut his hair short, she wanted to cut her hair short. When a man joined the army, she wanted to join the army. She wanted these things for no other reason than because the 'standard' had it. What she didn't recognize was that God dignifies both men and women in their distinctiveness—not their sameness. And on March 18, Muslim women made the very same mistake.

For 1400 years there has been a consensus of the scholars that men are to lead prayer. As a Muslim woman, why does this matter? The one who leads prayer is not spiritually superior in any way. Something is not better just because a man does it. And leading prayer is not better, just because it's leading. Had it been the role of women or had it been more divine, why wouldn't the Prophet have asked Ayesha or Khadija, or Fatima-the greatest women of all time-to lead?

These women were promised heaven-and yet they never lead prayer.

But now for the first time in 1400 years, we look at a man leading prayer and we think, 'That's not fair.' We think so although God has given no special privilege to the one who leads. The imam is no higher in the eyes of God than the one who prays behind.

On the other hand, only a woman can be a mother. And God has given special privilege to a mother. The Prophet taught us that heaven lies at the feet of mothers. But no matter what a man does he can never be a mother. So why is that not unfair?

When asked who is most deserving of our kind treatment? The Prophet replied 'your mother' three times before saying 'your father' only once.

And yet even when God honors us with something uniquely feminine, we are too busy trying to find our worth in reference to men, to value it-or even notice. We too have accepted men as the standard; so anything uniquely feminine is, by definition, inferior. Being sensitive is an insult, becoming a mother-a degradation.

In the battle between stoic rationality (considered masculine) and self-less compassion (considered feminine), rationality reigns supreme.

As soon as we accept that everything a man has and does is better, all that follows is just a knee jerk reaction: if men have it-we want it too. If men pray in the front rows, we assume this is better, so we want to pray in the front rows too. If men lead prayer, we assume the imam is closer to God, so we want to lead prayer too. Somewhere along the line we've accepted the notion that having a position of worldly leadership is some indication of one's position with God.

A Muslim woman does not need to degrade herself in this way. She has God as a standard. She has God to give her value; she doesn't need a man.

In fact, in our crusade to follow men, we, as women, never even stopped to examine the possibility that what we have is better for us. In some cases we even gave up what was higher only to be like men.

Fifty years ago, society told us that men were superior because they left the home to work in factories. We were mothers. And yet, we were told that it was women's liberation to abandon the raising of another human being in order to work on a machine. We accepted that working in a factory was superior to raising the Foundation of society -just because a man did it.

Then after working, we were expected to be superhuman-the perfect mother, the perfect wife, the perfect homemaker -and have the perfect career. And while there is nothing wrong, by definition, with a woman having a career, we soon came to realize what we had sacrificed by blindly mimicking men. We watched as our children became strangers and soon recognized the privilege we'd given up.

And so only now-given the choice-women in the West are choosing to stay home to raise their children.

According to the United States Department of Agriculture, only 31 percent of mothers with babies, and 18 percent of mothers with two or more children, are working full-time. And of those working mothers, a survey conducted by Parenting Magazine in 2000, found that 93% of them say they would rather be home with their kids, but are compelled to work due to 'financial obligations'. These 'obligations' are imposed on women by the gender sameness of the modern West, and removed from women by the gender distinctiveness of Islam.

It took women in the West almost a century of experimentation to realize a privilege given to Muslim women 1400 years ago.

Given my privilege as a woman, I only degrade myself by trying to be something I'm not--and in all honesty--don't want to be: a man. As women, we will never reach true liberation until we stop trying to mimic men, and value the beauty in our own God-given distinctiveness.

If given a choice between stoic justice and compassion, I choose compassion. And if given a choice between worldly leadership and heaven at my feet - I choose Heaven.