The Islamic Community of Prophet Muhammed in America is our Responsibility

WITH ALLAH’S NAME, THE MERCIFUL BENEFACTOR, THE MERCIFUL REDEEMER

The Islamic Community of Prophet Muhammed in America is our Responsibility

Khatīb: Jibrīl Abdul-Hafīz (جبريل عبدالحفيظ)

E-mail: NewAfrica2@aol.com or new_africa_now@yahoo.com

Friday, December 19, 2008 / Khutba-tul-Jumu’ah, Dhul-Hijjah 21, 1429

As Salaam ‘Alaykum: We thank Allah, we seek His help, we ask for His forgiveness, we believe and put our complete trust in Him, Mighty and Sublime is He. We witness that there is no G’d but Allah, He alone is without partners, and we witness that Muhammed is His Servant and Messenger, the prayers and peace be on him, on his descendants, his companions, and peace be on Allah’s Messengers (all of them), and what follows after this noble invocation.

Wishful thinking does not make one righteous as illustrated by this narrative from the sayings and actions of a traditional report that Prophet Muhammad (ﺼﻠﻰ ﷲ ﻋﻠﻴﻪ ﻮ ﺴﻠﻢ) has said,

«إِذَا تَمَنَّى أَحَدُكُمْ فَلْيَنْظُرْ مَا يَتَمَنَّى، فَإِنَّهُ لَا يَدْرِي مَا يُكْتَبُ لَهُ مِنْ أُمْنِيَّتِه»

“When one of you wishes for something, let him be careful with what he wishes for, because he does not know what part of his wish is written for him.” Do Muslims in this city have a plan to build the model Islamic community in obedience to Allah (سُبْحَانَهُ وَتَعَالَى)? Do we know that we cannot to be an Islamic community, if we don’t have intentions to do the will of Allah, if we have intentions to do the will of Allah, we must know the will of Allah. Furthermore, we know that the will of Allah is expressed in the Qur’anic revelation, word for word, exactly as it was revealed to Prophet Muhammed (ﺼﻠﻰ ﷲ ﻋﻠﻴﻪ ﻮ ﺴﻠﻢ) that guided him to be the most excellent human example. This is the constitution that we follow in our quest to plan and build the model Islamic community of Prophet Muhammed (ﺼﻠﻰ ﷲ ﻋﻠﻴﻪ ﻮ ﺴﻠﻢ); if not, we are guilty of what Allah (سُبْحَانَهُ وَتَعَالَى) has said in The Qur’ān, 61: 9,

﴾ وَدُّواْ لَوْ تُدْهِنُ فَيُدْهِنُونَ ﴿

THEY WANT YOU TO COMPROMISE WITH THEM, THEN, THEY WILL COMPROMISE YOU.

We must get past wishful thinking, as we take into consideration what Allah (سُبْحَانَهُ وَتَعَالَى) has said in the Qur’ān, 53:38,

﴾ أَلاَّ تَزِرُ وَزِرَةٌ وِزْرَ أُخْرَى ﴿

NO ONE GIVEN RESPONSIBILITY CAN BE RESPONSIBLE FOR ANOTHER! The imperative for developing the model Islamic Community of Prophet Muhammed (ﺼﻠﻰ ﷲ ﻋﻠﻴﻪ ﻮ ﺴﻠﻢ) is in our hands.

A narrative from the sayings and actions of traditions report that Prophet Muhammed (ﺼﻠﻰ ﷲ ﻋﻠﻴﻪ ﻮ ﺴﻠﻢ) addressed the issue of doubt that had surfaced in one of his companions (ra) saying,

«أَنْفِقْ بِلَالُ، وَلَا تَخْشَ مِنْ ذِي الْعَرْشِ إِقْلَالًا»

“Spend Bilal! And do not fear that the Owner of the Throne’s provisions will diminish.” When it comes to mobilizing Muslims to make cooperative investments for developing Islamic community life; it is easy to spot the differences amongst those who have sincerely adopted the mindset of Prophet Muhammed (ﺼﻠﻰ ﷲ ﻋﻠﻴﻪ ﻮ ﺴﻠﻢ) and his companions (ra). They left everything and started all over again accepting collective responsibility for developing the Islamic community life based on living by the word of Allah (سُبْحَانَهُ وَتَعَالَى) as He said in the Qur’ān, 53:39 ﴾ وَأَن لَّيْسَ لِلإِنسَـنِ إِلاَّ مَا سَعَى ﴿

And 53:40,

﴾ وَأَنَّ سَعْيَهُ سَوْفَ يُرَى ﴿

Allah (سُبْحَانَهُ وَتَعَالَى) speaks the truth reminding us that we will only have Islamic Community life as a result of the time, effort and cooperative economics resources that we invest to transform our ideas into reality. Islamic community life will not be brought about by wishful thinking, adopting a certain style of dress, or ritualistic behavior. These revelations prepared the believers to remake their physical world in conformity with the proclamation (أَنْ لَا إِلَهَ إِلَّا اللهُ، وَأَنَّ مُحَمَّدًا رَسُولُ اللهِ ). This teaches us to trust that we can change the world while demonstrating that obedience to Allah (سُبْحَانَهُ وَتَعَالَى) is the greatest transformative force known to man.

Nevertheless, we have history to remind us how serious we must be in regards to developing Islamic community life. In the Qur’ān, 66:6, Allah (سُبْحَانَهُ وَتَعَالَى) has said in the imperative voice:

﴾ يأَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ ءَامَنُواْ قُواْ أَنفُسَكُمْ وَأَهْلِيكُمْ نَاراً ﴿

As long as we continue going along in this undeveloped superficial state in disobedience to Allah’s mandate to establish our life, we are making ourselves fit for nothing more than fuel for hell-fire.

أَقُولُ قَوْلِي هذَا وَأَسْتَغْفِرُ اللهَ لِي وَلَكُم

Talking Points on Beginning a Dialogue for Healing and Reconciliation of the Historical Divide in the American Muslim Community

WITH ALLAH’S NAME, THE MERCIFUL BENEFACTOR, THE MERCIFUL REDEEMER

Talking Points on Beginning a Dialogue for Healing and Reconciliation of the Historical Divide in the American Muslim Community

Documented by Jibril Abdul-Hafeez (جبريل عبدالحفيظ)

E-mail: NewAfrica2@aol.com or new_africa_now@yahoo.com

Friday, December 12, 2008 / Yaum-ul-Jumu’ah, Dhul-Hijjah 14, 1429

As Salaam ‘Alaykum: We thank Allah, we seek His help, we ask for His forgiveness, we believe and put our complete trust in Him, Mighty and Sublime is He. We witness that there is no G’d but Allah, He alone is without partners, and we witness that Muhammed is His Servant and Messenger, the prayers and peace be on him, on his descendants, his companions, and peace be on Allah’s Messengers (all of them), and what follows after this noble invocation.
Regarding the prohibition of division, in the Qur’ān, 3:103, Allah (سُبْحَانَهُ وَتَعَالَى) has said,

﴾ وَلاَ تَكُونُواْ كَالَّذِينَ تَفَرَّقُواْ وَاخْتَلَفُواْ مِن بَعْدِ مَا جَآءَهُمُ الْبَيِّنَـتُ ﴿

AND DO NOT BE LIKE THOSE WHO DIVIDED AND DIFFERED AMONG THEMSELVES AFTER THE CLEAR PROOFS HAD COME TO THEM! And the narratives of sayings and actions of traditions report that Prophet Muhammed (ﺼﻠﻰ ﷲ ﻋﻠﻴﻪ ﻮ ﺴﻠﻢ) has said,

«إِنَّ أَهْلَ الْكِتَابَيْنِ افْتَرَقُوا فِي دِينِهِمْ عَلى ثِنْتَيْنِ وَسَبْعِينَ مِلَّةً، وَإِنَّ هذِهِ الْأُمَّةَ سَتَفْتَرِقُ عَلى ثَلَاثٍ وَسَبْعِينَ مِلَّةً يَعْنِي الْأَهْوَاءَ كُلُّهَا فِي النَّارِ إِلَّا وَاحِدَةً وَهِيَ الْجَمَاعَةُ وَإِنَّهُ سَيَخْرُجُ فِي أُمَّتِي أَقْوَامٌ تَجَارَى بِهِمْ تِلْكَ الْأَهْوَاءُ كَمَا يَتَجَارَى الْكَلَبُ بِصَاحِبِه، لَا يَبْقَى مِنْهُ عِرْقٌ وَلَا مَفْصِلٌ إِلَّا دَخَلَه»

Surely the People of Two Scriptures divided their religion into seventy-two sects, surely this community will divide into seventy-three sects, all in the fire except one and it is the community. Some of my community will be guided by emotions like one who is infected by rabies, no vein or joint will be saved from these desires.

Muslim Alliance of North American hosted a gathering during the 28th, 29th and 30th of November at the Pennsylvania Convention Center in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania focusing on an American Muslim Agenda. The recorded intention is to initiate a campaign to start a national dialogue on the issue of our differences and how to heal them; leading to specific efforts and activities on a local level to bring about healing, reconciliation and peace within the American Muslim community in obedience to the commands of Allah (سُبْحَانَهُ وَتَعَالَى) and the observations mentioned herein by Prophet Muhammed (ﺼﻠﻰ ﷲ ﻋﻠﻴﻪ ﻮ ﺴﻠﻢ). Task forces are made up of national leaders who are committed to taking action steps together holding dialogues on race and ethnicity.

Among these are included, the Islamic Society of North America (ISNA), the Mosque Cares, the Council on American Islamic Relations (CAIR), the Muslim Students Association (MSA), the Islamic Circle of North American (INCA) and the Muslim American Society (MAS).
In the Qur’ān, 8:46, Allah (سُبْحَانَهُ وَتَعَالَى) has said,

﴾ وَأَطِيعُواْ اللَّهَ وَرَسُولَهُ وَلاَ تَنَـزَعُواْ فَتَفْشَلُواْ وَتَذْهَبَ رِيحُكُمْ ﴿

Herein we are given duties and there is no need to go to anyone else’s ﻣَﺬْﻫَﺐٌ | madh-hab| school of religious creed; the LAW-GIVER’S order: ﺗَﻧَﺎزَﻋُﻮاْ ﻻ | lā-ta-nā-za-عū | DO NOT DISPUTE is clear proof. What follows this order is obedience; if we allow ourselves to become agents of corruption by obeying our emotions, that is one of the acts of ﻛُﻔْﺮٌ |kufr | ungrateful disbelief; then تَفْشَلُواْ | taf-sha-lū | YOU LOSE COURAGE and وَتَذْهَبَ رِيحُكُمْ |tadh-haba-rī-hu-kum | your strength will depart.

The Qur’ān is appropriately described and there is not a better starting point for a dialogue on healing and reconciliation from destructive emotions that has caused the historical divide among Muslims in America and throughout the world as Allah (سُبْحَانَهُ وَتَعَالَى) has said, 41:44,

﴾ قُلْ هُوَ لِلَّذِينَ ءَامَنُواْ هُدًى وَشِفَآءٌ ﴿

The Qur’ān stands on 1,429 years of proof that its هُدًى | hudan | guidance and شِفَآءٌ | shi-fā | healing is the key element for bringing reconciliation among those who have separated themselves along lines of emotional sectarian divisions. The problems that plague first generation Muslims in America bear many similarities to the differences that arose as a consequence to the way the Meccans viewed the introduction of obedience to G’d in the Message that Prophet Muhammed (ﺼﻠﻰ ﷲ ﻋﻠﻴﻪ ﻮ ﺴﻠﻢ) delivered. Before Al-Islam, there were many issues that prevented you and me from caring about what ails African Americans, Hispanics, Anglo Saxons, immigrants, or the rest of humanity.

How do we heal our divided world in the midst of all of this madness? Prophet Muhammed (ﺼﻠﻰ ﷲ ﻋﻠﻴﻪ ﻮ ﺴﻠﻢ) has said,

﴾ مَنْ رَأَى مِنْكُمْ مُنْكَرًا فَلْيُغَيِّرْهُ بِيَدِهِ، فَإِنْ لَمْ يَسْتَطِعْ فَبِلِسَانِهِ، فَإِنْ لَمْ يَسْتَطِع فَبِقَلْبِهِ، وَذلِكَ أَضْعَفُ الْإِيمَان ﴿

Whoever sees wrong then let him change it with his hands, but it he is unable to do so, then with his tongue, if he is unable to do so then with his heart, and that is the weakest faith.

Talking Points from the Mind of A Servant of Allah

WITH ALLAH’S NAME, THE MERCIFUL BENEFACTOR, THE MERCIFUL REDEEMER

Talking Points from the Mind of a Servant of Allah

Documented by Jibril Abdul-Hafeez (جبريل عبدالحفيظ)

E-mail: NewAfrica2@aol.com or new_africa_now@yahoo.com

Friday, December 5, 2008 / Yaum-ul-Jumu’ah, Dhul-Hijjah 7, 1429

As Salaam ‘Alaykum: We thank Allah, we seek His help, we ask for His forgiveness, we believe and put our complete trust in Him, Mighty and Sublime is He. We witness that there is no G’d but Allah, He alone is without partners, and we witness that Muhammed is His Servant and Messenger, the prayers and peace be on him, on his descendants, his companions, and peace be on Allah’s Messengers (all of them), and what follows after this noble invocation.

In the Qur’an, 110:1-3, Allah (سُبْحَانَهُ وَتَعَالَى) has said,

إِذَا جَآء نَصْرُ اللَّهِ وَالْفَتْحُ- وَرَأَيْتَ النَّاسَ يَدْخُلُونَ فِى دِينِ اللَّهِ أَفْوجاً- فَسَبّحْ بِحَمْدِ رَبّكَ وَاسْتَغْفِرْهُ إِنَّهُ كَانَ تَوبَا

Glorify our Lord with praise, seeking forgiveness and repentance; these are standard duties in our daily worship practices. Needless to say, far too often we are neglectful in regards to making atonement for our daily transgressions. Therefore, when we gather in private or altogether in places of worship, Allah (سُبْحَانَهُ وَتَعَالَى) reminds us to make amends for the minor and major omissions that we deliberately or accidentally commit against ourselves and one another each and every day.

Being that this is the Hajj month wherein countless millions are visiting Masjid-ul-Haraam answering the call to worship in unified voices saying: “O Allah: I am here at Your service; You have no partner; O Allah: I am here at Your service. Surely the praise, grace and sovereignty belongs to You, You have no partners.” If we remember the essential characteristics that are implied in these sanctified words; and govern our life this way, especially during the times when we answer the call to worship, this would create a unified atmosphere of humility in obedience to Allah (سُبْحَانَهُ وَتَعَالَى).

It is reported in narratives regarding the actions and words of the nobles in Al-Islam, that during his Farewell Hajj, Prophet Muhammed (ﺼﻠﻰ ﷲ ﻋﻠﻴﻪ ﻮ ﺴﻠﻢ) said,

«إِنَّ دِمَاءَكُمْ وَأَمْوَالَكُمْ وَأَعْرَاضَكُمْ عَلَيْكُمْ حَرَامٌ كَحُرْمَةِ يَوْمِكُمْ هذَا، فِي شَهْرِكُمْ هذَا، فِي بَلَدِكُمْ هذَا»

“Surely, your blood, your wealth, and honor are as sacred among you as the sanctity of this day of yours, in this month of yours, in this town of yours.”

When we gather at Makkah coming from every quarters of the world to Mount `Arafat during Dhul-Hijjah; there is no better time to recall the wisdom in the Qur’an, 49:13, Allah (سُبْحَانَهُ وَتَعَالَى), has said,

﴾ يأَيُّهَا النَّاسُ إِنَّا خَلَقْنَـكُم مِّن ذَكَرٍ وَأُنْثَى وَجَعَلْنَـكُمْ شُعُوباً وَقَبَآئِلَ لِتَعَـرَفُواْ إِنَّ أَكْرَمَكُمْ عَندَ اللَّهِ أَتْقَـكُمْ ﴿

We see our beginning as all families start and we should want to make it a priority searching the word of G’d for a solution to overcome our divisions. Think about this, [ اﻟّﻬُﻢّ ﻟﺒّﻴْكَ ] O Allah: I am here at Your service! A report in the narratives regarding the words and the actions of Allah’s (سُبْحَانَهُ وَتَعَالَى) most noble servant, Prophet Muhammed (ﺼﻠﻰ ﷲ ﻋﻠﻴﻪ ﻮ ﺴﻠﻢ) said, “an ‘Arab is no better than a non-‘Arab. In return, a non-‘Arab is no better than an ‘Arab. A red man is no better than a Black man except in G’d consciousness. All mankind is Adam’s children and Adam was created from dust.”

Be mindful of the words of Prophet Muhammed (ﺼﻠﻰ ﷲ ﻋﻠﻴﻪ ﻮ ﺴﻠﻢ),

«إِنَّ اللهَ لَا يَنْظُرُ إِلَى صُوَرِكُمْ وَأَمْوَالِكُمْ وَلكِنْ يَنْظُرُ إِلَى قُلُوبِكُمْ وَأَعْمَالِكُم»

“Surely, Allah does not look at your shapes or your wealth, but He looks at your hearts and your works.”

Prophet Muhammed (ﺼﻠﻰ ﷲ ﻋﻠﻴﻪ ﻮ ﺴﻠﻢ) said, “O people: I am not succeeded by a Prophet and you are not succeeded by any nation. So I recommend you to worship your Lord, to pray the five prayers, to fast Ramadan and to give the prescribed charity out of your provisions willingly. I recommend you to do the pilgrimage to the Sacred House of your Lord and to obey those who are in charge of you then you will be awarded to enter the Paradise of your Lord. O Allah: bear witness that I have delivered Your Message. Let him that is present communicate it to him who is absent. Perhaps, people to whom the Message is communicated may be more mindful of it than the audience.

Surely, I leave you with the Book of Allah.” I believe that if we are of the same mind regarding putting nothing before Allah and His Messenger as the Prophet demonstrated by his excellent example of obedience to Allah, if we follow and live according to the best of what Allah revealed, we will earn the good of this life and it is our prayer the Allah save us from hell’s fire.

أَقُولُ قَوْلِي هذَا وَأَسْتَغْفِرُ اللهَ لِي وَلَكُم

Focusing on R&D Qur'anic Language Correspondence Sessions Promoting Obedience To G's

WITH ALLAH’S NAME, THE MERCIFUL BENEFACTOR, THE MERCIFUL REDEEMER

Focusing on R&D Qur’anic Language Correspondence Sessions Promoting Obedience to G’d

Documented by Jibril Abdul-Hafeez (جبريل عبدالحفيظ)

E-mail: NewAfrica2@aol.com or new_africa_now@yahoo.com

Friday, November 28, 2008 / Yaum-ul-Jumu’ah, Dhul-Qi’dah 30, 1429

As Salaam ‘Alaykum: We thank Allah, we seek His help, we ask for His forgiveness, we believe and put our complete trust in Him, Mighty and Sublime is He. We witness that there is no G’d but Allah, He alone is without partners, and we witness that Muhammed is His Servant and Messenger, the prayers and peace be on him, on his descendants, his companions, and peace be on Allah’s Messengers (all of them), and what follows after this noble invocation.

In the Qur’an, 68:1, Allah (سُبْحَانَهُ وَتَعَالَى) swears by the instrument He created to revolutionize learning; He has said,

﴾ وَالْقَلَمِ وَمَا يَسْطُرُونَ ﴿

A hadith speaking in metaphorical language points out that the pen was created to keep a record of significant events in creation from the beginning until the end. The report talks about the purpose and function of the pen’s creation; Prophet Muhammed (ﺼﻠﻰ ﷲ ﻋﻠﻴﻪ ﻮ ﺴﻠﻢ) has said,

﴾ إِنَّ أَوَّلَ مَا خَلَقَ اللهُ الْقَلَمُ فَقَالَ لَهُ: اكْتُبْ، قَالَ: يَا رَبِّ وَمَا أَكْتُبُ؟ قَالَ: اكْتُبِ الْقَدَرَ وَمَا هُوَ كَائِنٌ إِلَى الْأَبَد ﴿

Truly, the first of what Allah created was the pen, and then He said to it, write! It said, O my Lord, what shall I write? He said: write the decree and whatever will be throughout eternity!

Think about how difficult it would be without written history. The importance of keeping written records is so essential that Allah (سُبْحَانَهُ وَتَعَالَى) demands that we give our undivided attention to this concern. I believe one of our great failings today among many people is that we don’t encourage the process of keeping written records because we know it might expose the truth of our negative situations.

The Qur’an, 61: 9, Allah (سُبْحَانَهُ وَتَعَالَى) has said,

﴾ وَدُّواْ لَوْ تُدْهِنُ فَيُدْهِنُونَ ﴿

They wanted you to compromise with them, so that they too can compromise with you. This point to a weakness in unethical people. No one with this attitude can say that they are following the true Sunnah example of Prophet Muhammed (ﺼﻠﻰ ﷲ ﻋﻠﻴﻪ ﻮ ﺴﻠﻢ); he was not afraid of the truth, in fact, the whole of the Qur’an and the hadiths that reports what he and the companions (ra) said and did shows that their lives were an open book.

Therefore, be advised that our claim that we want the Sunnah of Prophet Muhammed (ﺼﻠﻰ ﷲ ﻋﻠﻴﻪ ﻮ ﺴﻠﻢ) must take into account what Allah (سُبْحَانَهُ وَتَعَالَى) has said in the Qur’an, 68:5,

﴾ وَإِنَّكَ لَعَلَى خُلُقٍ عَظِيمٍ ﴿

Too often we quote what the Prophet (ﺼﻠﻰ ﷲ ﻋﻠﻴﻪ ﻮ ﺴﻠﻢ) and his companions (ra) said and did because we don’t want anyone to expose t our behavior when it is in direct opposition to the truth and opposite of the excellent character of the Prophet whom we talk so much about to divert being asked, what does our record say about us? Now that we have been chosen to start all over again in the Islamic Community of Prophet Muhammed (ﺼﻠﻰ ﷲ ﻋﻠﻴﻪ ﻮ ﺴﻠﻢ), or now that we have chosen to demonstrate that we believe in Allah (سُبْحَانَهُ وَتَعَالَى) and His Messenger, we must prove it with our actions rather than our words and appearances.

Regarding this concern, it is recorded in hadith that the Messenger of Allah (ﺼﻠﻰ ﷲ ﻋﻠﻴﻪ ﻮ ﺴﻠﻢ) has said,

﴾ إِنَّمَا بُعِثْتُ لِأُتَمِّمَ صَالِحَ الْأَخْلَاق ﴿

I have only been sent to perfect righteous morals. And now in the interest of going forward we announce that we are expanding our Research and Development Qur’anic Language Correspondence Sessions, starting with alphabet worksheets and other materials we produced to work on developing a bilingual English| `Arabic appreciation of what Allah says in the Qur’an. All Muslims should be able to look at and understand what Allah says from a bilingual perspective.

When Allah (سُبْحَانَهُ وَتَعَالَى) introduces a subject, we should seek knowledge and understanding of what are the grammatical factors that bear heavily in translating His Message? After all, in this conversation, Allah is doing the talking to His servants. As we weigh through the issues, does it help, and in what ways do we have the capacity to carry out the agenda set by no other than Allah, the Creator of all the systems of knowledge?

In the Qur’an, 39:9, Allah (سُبْحَانَهُ وَتَعَالَى) wants us to answer this question,

﴾ هَلْ يَسْتَوِى الَّذِينَ يَعْلَمُونَ وَالَّذِينَ لاَ يَعْلَمُونَ ﴿