It’s Time to STOP the Hate!

Recently I reviewed the legal and religious section on the ACLU website which I do periodically. From appearances it seems that Arizona and particulary Maricopa County are getting quite the reputation. The ACLU has filed several lawsuits involving Arizona and Muslims. Of course we all know of the now infamous SB1070 Arizona Immigration Law which targets undocumented immigrants and sets the base for racial profiling in that state but that’s not what I’m going to address today. Let’s just say for now that I’m glad a US Federal Judge had the gutts to gut SB1070 or I’m certain Arizona would have become our Republics first Nazi-style state!

Getting back to the ACLU legal briefs, it appears that most of these suits have been filed by the ACLU in connection with one man and that man is Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio. Anyone wish to tell me why I’m NOT suprised? This is the now infamous Arizona Sheriff who loves conducting “sweeps” (ie: RAIDS) against undocumented immigrates in his county. I sometimes wonder if he does anything else BTW.

In May 2009 I former Maricopa Country Sheriff’s Detention Officer filed suit against the Sheriff and County because the Sheriff demanded he cut his beard. The former employee refused because he’s a practicing Muslim and, in fact, MCSO hired him with the beard and assured him he could keep it due to his religion! But, when Sheriff Arpaio saw his employee with the beard it became another story. The former employee got a pay cut and demotion to a clerical job simply because he refused to shave his beard because he was a Muslim. I guess Sheriff Joe thinks he IS the law and above the US Constitution. That’s DANGEROUS!

Continuing my review of ACLU religious legal briefs I then came across ANOTHER suit brought by the ACLU against the Arizona, Maricopa Country Sheriff dated 2/4/2010. In this matter the ACLU successfully challenged a Maricopa Country policy restricting religious head coverings worn by inmates and detainees in Sheriff Joe’s jail. The case centers around a Muslim woman who was denied the right to wear a head scarf while detained by the MCSO. The MCSO now allows Muslim women to wear head scarves during intake and booking after a brief initial search.

Of course it goes on and on and it’s just not Arizona but every other state across the nation that seems to have a seething underground hate based on skin color, gender preference, and religion!! In short, I’m thankful for organizations like the ACLU who stand up legally to protect OUR rights, meaning the rights of people of ALL RELIGIONS because if they didn’t then we all be forced to be one religion I’m sure and I’m certain that religion would NOT be Islam. Thank God someone has the gutts to stand up to someone like Sheriff Joe and his cronies who would have us trash our religion like so many others do today. Seems to me that he’s one elected Sheriff bent on violating CIVIL AND RELIGIOUS RIGHTS no matter what! Hopefully the man will NOT be re-elected as Sheriff and he can then retire along with his obvious HATE.

I then reviewed a map on the Southern Poverty Law Center website concerning the number of hate groups by state in the US and not surprisingly found 16 listed in the State of Arizona. Most of these groups are white supremists groups who hate and target undocumented immigrants from Mexico. Again, why am I NOT surprised??

After trying to digest all this I then kicked back in my office chair and began wondering just when all the hate is going to stop. When are we going to stop hating people based on the color of their skin, their legal status, or religion? When are we going to stop using each other as scapegoats for our woes (most of which are self created)?

Hate is a horrible thing, always! Hate breeds more hate and eventually that hate breeds acts of violence and human slaughter if left unchecked. Is this the kind of world we really want? A world drowned in hate and human death? How is hate going to make the world better? How is it going to make our personal lives any better?

I think people must stand up and challenge hate every time they see it and no matter where they see it! I’m not talking about challenging hate with violence but about challenging it in our legal system just like the ACLU and SPLC along with others are doing every day. And I think people need to challenge hate, racism, and religious racism until people start thinking twice about hating and discriminating.

Sometimes people hate because they are afraid and they tend to hate because they don’t understand people of other faiths, culures, etc. It seems to me educationing these people is also necessary. Educating them about other religions so they can begin to rip apart all the myths and lies they’ve been told about this or that faith. We often fear that which we do not understand and I think education is key to understanding and overcoming hate.

Of course, you are going to encounter people who do NOT wish to be educated just like I did a few weeks ago. I attempted a few weeks ago to educate a small group of people regarding some verses from the Qur’an they had wrote that were misquotes. They did not want to hear it and I suddenly became their target. Suddenly, Islam had a face and a name and it was ME! And, let me assure you these people directed every bit of their psychotic venom right at me!! Never have I encountered such intense hatred especially for TRUTH. That truth being I provided them with accurate quotes from the Qur’an that they did not wish to hear! These people called me every filthy name they could think of publically. They tried to demonize and marginalize me. And their response to me went far, far beyond simple hatred. And all because they were using misquotes from the Qur’an and I corrected them by providing them with the correct quotes from the Qur’an!

Obviously, these people did NOT wish to be educated about the Qur’an, Islam, Muslims, or anything else. They loved their hate apparently but what really got me was how miserable and negative they were. Did they enjoy that too? I guess so as they defended every aspect of their hate and miserableness as if it were gold.

I hope people like this are the minority and I’d like to think that the majority of people would be willing to be corrected and educated but I’m now unsure even about that. Do people love their hate so much that they are unwilling to surrender it no matter what? Do they love their myths so much that they will defend them even to the point of complete ignorance?

Of course I got a lot of “YOUR people are responsible for 9/11″ talk. Really? MY people? I don’t think so! My people had NOTHING to do with 9/11. In fact, some of MY PEOPLE died in the 9/11 horror and every one of them was a MUSLIM!! Interesting that I hear people talk about 9/11 and how many Christians and Jews died that day but when it comes to how many Muslims died that day who were in the WTC and Pentagon there is an unnerving SILENCE! Frankly, I don’t care what the hijackers/terrorists called themselves. They were NOT part of “my people” as far as I’m concerned!!

So I guess the deal is that if you happen to be a Muslim you are automatically a terrorist? And, thanks to the little group I mentioned earlier, I’m not aware that if you are a Muslim you cannot be a patriotic American either LOL. What?? Where the hell does that come from??? Most Muslims I know in the US are in the US because they value independence and freedom which America enshrines so how can they not be PATRIOTIC? Just because we are Muslims that automatically disqualifies us from being Patriotic? What kind of absolute IGNORANCE is that?

Ok so I get it. In fact every Muslim in America now gets it. We are hated because we are Muslim, right? We are all blamed for 9/11 no matter what, right? We all hate America and Jews, right? What a CROCK! I and many more do hate America, did not support the 9/11 terrorist illogic, and we don’t hate Jews either but I guess that all doesn’t matter because we are Muslims, right? Is that insane or is that insane? And that is what hate eventualy does…drives the hater into the arms of INSANITY!

Frankly, I wish more people would stop to consider something significant. And that is this: Just becasue others hate does NOT mean YOU have to be a part of that hate! In fact, YOU can make the choice NOT to be part of the hate and I hope you do make that choice because it’s the only way we are really going to STOP THE HATE!

I would also hope that the Muslim community does NOT return hate with more hate. That solves nothing and, in fact, what that does is only ensure that hate will continue to grow and become even more insane. Islam has a historical tradition of teaching by personal example. During the times of the Crusades and the Ottomans (and at many other times) people of other faiths chose to convert to Islam based mainly on the personal examples of tolerance and compassion they seen exhibited by Muslims. I would hope that we as modern Muslims continue that personal example because there is no better educator or enlightener than by personal example!

You don’t have to hate just because others around you have chosen to hate. You don’t have to be one of the psychotic haters in the world. You can be a living personal example of tolerance and mercy be you a Muslim or not. You can truly work to make the world and your own life better by making the conscious choice NOT to be part of the hate. And I’d hope that would be the choice you would make as that is the choice I have made.

Sa’laam

Hatred and What it Really Says

Hatred breeds only more hatred and eventually it sinks into the abyss and rots people’s souls from the inside out. Normally, the end result of hatred is human slaughter, oppression, torture, and persecution. This is what hate achieves and none of these things are good!

Those who are filled with hate are many today, sadly. And their hate tells the rest of us everything we need to know about them. Hatred seethes from these people like leaking ooze that smells of death and rot because, in fact, people who hate are already dead inside themselves. Their stench is that of their own inner rotting and death!

It has always amazed me how quickly people will latch on to hate but how reluctantly they are to latch on to love. Are we as a species really that miserable and misguided? Are we as a species so ignorant that we really believe hate will bring us what we so desire? The world has been deceived and it has been deceived greatly! The deception is that people have been made to somehow believe that hate is their friend and that it will get them what they want unscathed. Yet, those of us who are still sane know how delusional such thinking is. For, we know that hate will NOT get us what we truly want and it NEVER leaves the hater unscathed.

I cannot help but notice that people who hate also tend to be rather arrogant and self righteous. To watch them or listen to them they fancy themselves as perfect and untouchable. They go to and fro acting as if they are some sort of newly dawned messiah or prophet but I assure you they are neither. How do I know? Because hate and arrogance are of Satan not of God!

Arrogance, self righteousness, and hate have become the hallmarks of our global society and they are nothing to be proud of at all. In fact, we should all be ashamed of this. Where is humbleness? As believers and followers of Truth aren’t we suppose to be humble, not arrogant? Aren’t we suppose to have compassion and mercy, not hate? Sadly, many people hate thrown these things out the door in favor of their hate and arrogance and these two things PROVE such people are NOT rightly guided even though they might proclaim loudly that they are!

Another thing that has always amazed me is why we give haters so much of our attention. Why do we not give people of compassion and humbleness our attention instead? What so fascinates us about hatred and haters? Could it be that we love drama and, as we all know, haters are normally BIG drama queens be they male or female! So is it the drama we like or are we so miserable as a species that we secretly have a death wish? We all claim that we fear the end of the human race but do we, really? Or do we secretly desire it?

I’ve heard many people in my lifetime talk about the advancement of the human race. Yes, technological-wise we have advanced but spiritually and psychologically I really question just how far we have advanced. In fact I’ve often thought that what is really happening is not human “evolution” (growth) at all but instead it’s really human degeneration or de-evolution.

I really think that before the human race can really grow and advance at all that God is requiring of us that we get beyond our hatred. That we get beyond our arrogance and our self righteousness and be humble and compassionate. I think this is what Allah (God) wants of us, to be humble and compassionate. I think Allah wants us NOT to be filled with seething hatred or arrogance. And I think Allah’s Will is that we as a species will NOT advance and grow until we become humble and compassionate.

Hatred, open or not, stand at the very root of many if not most of our global problems today. And hatred stands at the very root of many of our personal problems today as well. Look around you. Hate is everywhere today! This one hates that one and “they” (whoever “they” are) hate them (whoever “them” are). This color hates that color and that religion hates this religions and on and on and on. There is no end to the hate! BUT somewhere along the line of human history there MUST be an END TO OUR HATE!!

Sound like I sit in a Ivory Tower doesn’t it? But you’re wrong! I don’t sit in a Ivory Tower thinking of utopia. But what I do do is listen to Allah and read His Word and it is clear to me that God wants us to END our hatreds! Not some of them but ALL OF THEM!

In another post I suggested that this coming Ramadan we look within ourselves and find forgiveness for all of those who have wronged us. That’s one one to stop the hate, YOUR hate. I have suggested that Muslims be sensible, merciful, and compassionate because I believe that is what Allah wants of us. That’s another way to stop the hate! And another way we can stop the hate is through NOT giving our attention to the drama queens, the haters! Why don’t we START giving our attention to those people who are humble and compassionate instead? Why must the spotlight always shine on those who hate? On those seething with self arrogance and obviously the children of Satan? And there are a thousand other ways to help stop the hate and the haters!

Recently I was made aware of a Christian outreach group that plans on holding an “event” this coming 9/11. They are calling is a “Burn a Koran Day.” There’s more hate! I really wonder with all the jokes I hear from some people about Islam being a religion of peace if Christianity is really what it claims to be (ie: a religion of peace). This “event” will certainly do nothing to strengthen the view that Christianity is a religion of peace. In fact, what it will do is support the idea that it is a religion of hate! Is that the image Christians really wish to project? I don’t think it is. I would hope that no one attends this “event” of HATE but I’m sure a few diehard haters will, sadly.

This is just one example of what must be stopped. These are the kinds of things we all must stop doing no matter what our faith or ideologies. We must stop promoting hate and start promoting humbleness and compassion! We must consciously remove the spotlight off of the drama queen haters and start putting it on the humble peacemakers.

In the end, all of our hate is going to get us all. None of us is going to be immune to the end effects of the world’s hate. Our hate is going to result in our own destruction and it’s just a matter of time. Is that what we really want? Do we desire mass death and disease? Do we desire to live in whatever comes after the destruction trying to survive in a nuclear wasteland? I don’t think that is what most people want and I know that is not what God wants!

When people hate it normally tells us more about them than we wish to know. It tells us how misguided they really are. It tells us how much under the influence of Satan they really are because Satan is the author of hate, not God. It tells us how arrogant and self righteous they are. And it tells us just how much they lack humility and compassion. Finally, it also lets us know how insensible and insane they are because, in the end, hate will ALWAYS drive one towards insanity and insensibility. Personally I’ve never met a hater with any sense and I’ve never met one that I thought was sane either.

In this world we have choices and two of those choices are choosing to hate or not to hate. The choice is yours and mine and we each much choose to hate or reject hate. I myself reject hate and I’ll keep rejecting it because I am absolutely certain that hate is NOT Allah’s Will for me. What about you?

Forgiveness and Mercy

As Ramadan approaches the Faitfhul have many things to consider. One of the things to be considered is how to change the world. How do we bring the world back from the brink of ruin and gross violence? How do we change the world so that humanity might become more compassionate and forgiving? The short answer is that these things all begin with you. But, you cannot do it alone because only Allah (God) can bring these things forth if it is His Will. And, personally, I think it is His Will.

The Holy Month of Ramadan is many things and part of it involves “soul searching.” During the Holy Month which begins in a few short days, Muslims all around the world are enjoined to look within themselves and to make changes in their souls and behaviors which will bring them closer to Allah (God) and which will help them to better know His Will.

In many ways Islam is an inner journey that takes a true Muslim closer and closer to Allah (God). It is a journey of growth and self purification. It involves inward struglle (jihad) and the overcoming of our own selfish wills in favor of Allah’s Supreme Will. That is no easy task for most! Most of us want to do our own will and, sadly, many only acknowledge Allah’s Will when it suits them. But this is no true Islam. True Islam involves acknowleging Allah’s Will all the time, just not sometimes. True Islam involves submitting to Allah’s Will even when it does not suit us. Islam is about coming to understand and know that life is about Allah and His Will and NOT about our selfish and flawed personal wills. It is about realizing that Allah is in control of all things and it’s about realizing and accepting the fact that nothing can befall us unless it is by Allah’s Will.

For most of us it is difficult to give up control or even to admit that we are not in control. This is especially true of people in the West because humanism has been rammed down our throats for decades. Humanism is based on man and it holds the erroneous view that man is all knowing and all powerful. It promotes the false claim that man is in control of his own destiny and God is nowhere to be found. Humanism is a false and lying doctrine contrived by evil men long, long ago. It puts Allah totally out of the picture of one’s life and world affairs. It is a false ideology that stands in direct opposition to Allah Himself!

Ramadan reminds Believers that Allah is ultimately in control of everything including world affairs and our lives. It reminds us that nothing can befall us except by Allah’s Will. It reminds us that the Faithful must stand strong against false doctrines and false ideologies like humanism. And most especially, Ramadan reminds us that God is NOT “out there….somewhere??” but that He is everywhere above and below us and all around us.

Ramadan also reminds us of unity. As Muslims we are suppose to be united not dividing ourselves into various sects but as you well know that is NOT the case today. There are many sects of Islam. One of the purposes of revealing the Holy Qur’an was to bring back the original faith, the faith of Abraham (pbuh). How can that possibly happen when we have divided ourselves into sects? How can this possibly happen if we have one saying this and another saying that? Muslims are suppose to be unite in their faith not divided.

In a post I made on this blog yesterday I said that Ramadan is also about forgiveness of others and it is. Ramadan is a time for setting aside our differences, our offenses, our grudges. It is a time for healing and renewal not only for ourselves but also for all other people around us. And one of the ways we can help others renew and heal is by giving them our forgiveness. The Hadith says that “Those who do not give mercy shall not receive mercy.” [Hadith Bukhari]. We should NOT expect mercy from Allah or from other people unless we are first williing to show mercy ourselves. The same holds true for forgiveness. We should not expect forgiveness unless we ourselves show forgiveness and Ramadan is the perfect time to show such forgiveness!

I’ve heard many people speak of something and conclude with something like, “I just can’t forgive them.” But, I really do not think it is a matter of CAN’T and it is more a matter of WON’T. It’s not that you cannot forgive, it is that you will not forgive! That’s wrong! There is no other way around it. Each of us must realize that when we refuse to forgive we are really hurting no one more than we hurt our own selves. Think about it. Our minds are consummed by thoughts of the person we won’t forgive. Our thoughts focus on our hatred towards that person. Is this where Allah wants our thoughts to be? Not at all. Allah wants our thoughts to be upon Him not on our hate!

As Ramadan approaches it is my hope that each of you who read this blog will use it as an opportunity to begin to forgive and show mercy so that you might receive forgiveness and mercy yourselves. Allah wants us to do what is right. When we refuse to forgive we are NOT doing what is right at all but what is wrong.

Ramadan is a time in which we can become something MORE, something BETTER as men and women. It is a time when we can walk closer to Allah and submit ourselves even more to Him and, thus, become better Muslims and people. No person is beyond comitting wrong. We have all committed wrongs in our lives and we have all been wronged by others in our lives. The important thing is how we handle it all and the best way I thiink to handle it is by being merciful and forgiving. In so doing we do Allah’s Will and not our own wills that wish to strike out and hurt. In so doing we do not lower ourselves to those who refuse to forgive but instead shine like beacons of light for the glory of Allah our Creator. And by forgiving and being merciful we establish a living example in our own selves to others showing them what the truly Faithful are and are NOT. And there is no better teacher to the world than your own personal example!

Ramadan: 8/10/2010–9/9/2010

Ramadan 1431 begins on the evening of Tuesday, August 10, 2010, so that the first day of fasting would be Wednesday, August 11, 2010. So Ramadan 1431 A.H. begins on August 10 and runs through Sept. 9, 2010. So what is it all about?

Ramadan is the 9th Month of the Muslim calendar. It is the month in which the Holy Qur’an was revealed to the Prophet Mohammad (pbuh). Ramadan is the holiest month in Islam and it is a month of fasting, prayer, and reflection. Most Muslims spend the daylight hours fasting during the holy month of Ramadan from dawn to sunset. At the end of Ramadan the first day of the next month is spent in a 3 day celebration and is observed as the “Festival of Breaking Fast” (Eid ul-Fitr).

Ramadan is a time not only for fasting but also for a month long struggle towards a higher spiritual state for Muslims. It is a time for focus on purifying our souls through prayer and self-sacrifice. By observing the month long fast Muslims are observing one of the 5 Pillars of Faith, that is, Fasting.

Traditionally, Muslims age 12 and older observe the fast. The Arabic term for “fasting” literally means “to retrain.” And this, in fact, is what is prescribed for the Faithful, that they not simply not eat and drink but that they retrain every part of their physical body. For instance, the mouth should be retrained to NOT engage in idle gossip while one’s ears should be retrained NOT to listen to obscenities. Ideally, a Muslim should engage his or her entire body in the physical observance of Ramadan by retraining it and making every effort possible to become whole and more holy and faithful to Allah.

The Holy Month of Ramadan is also a time for re-evaluating your own convictions and deeds. Thus it is a time of personal reflection. It is a time to make amends in troubled relationships, to give to charity, to find within yourself forgiveness for others, and it is a time to refocus on truly beginning to worship God (Allah).

To honor the revealation of the Qur’an to the blessed Prophet Mohammad (pbuh) each night 1/13 of the Qur’an is read during Ramadan and during evening prayers so that by the end of the Holy Month the entire Qur’an has been recited by the faithful.

During the Holy Month, Muslims are to rise before dawn and eat a pre-fast meal known as a “Suhoor.” Each night after sunset they break the fast by partaking of a post-fast meal known as the “Iftar.” At the end of Ramadan there is a 3 day feast known as the Eid al-Fitr (Breaking of the Fast) during which families celebrate with elaborate feasts dressed in their finest clothes. They also increase their efforts to give to charity and to the poor and make contributions to their mosque.

Ramadan is important and one of the reasons it is important is because it is a time for increasing our devotion to Allah (God) and for personal reflection. It is a time in which Muslims strive to become better Muslims and increase their Faith in Allah (God). It is a time for reciting of the Holy Qur’an and for reflection and contemplating upon it so that we might become stronger in our Faith and submit ourselves even more to Allah (God). It is a time for forgiveness and the world we live in right now is badly in need of such forgiveness. Our personal and collective grudges have done nothing to improve the world or the state of our lives. Only forgiveness can do that. All of our little arguements over the past year have done nothing to build peace in the world or in our daily lives. Only forgiveness can do that.

God (Allah) is compassionate, forgiving, and merciful and He calls upon the Faithful to be forgiving of each other, to show compassion to one another, and to be merciful upon each other. Ramadan is a time for taking up this challenge and applying it to every moment of our daily lives not only in our families but in our communities, nations, and the whole world.

It is my hope that with this coming Ramadan that Muslims all around the world will begin to set a new example and knock down the gross stereotypes of Muslims and Islam that the world holds at present. There is no better teacher than by one’s own personal and daily example and what better way to teach the world Islam? What better way to help bring the world of humanity to a place of glorifying Allah instead of continuing all the humanism and false glorification of man? Muslims have the opportunity to be shining living examples of wisdom, forgiveness, sanity, and compassion and what better time than Ramadan to start showing the world that their stereotypes are wrong? What better way to teach the world that submission to Allah is the only way the human race is going to survive and become something greater and more?

Let we who stand amid the truly Faithful become examples of wisdom, of compassion, of forgiveness, and of mercy! Let each of us this Ramadan make the conscious choice to be MORE than we are right now! Let us make the choice to be lights and living examples to the world around us so that people will look upon Muslims with respect but NOT for our own glory, rather for the glory of Allah!

Sa’laam

Hypocrisy and Today!!

“Closer and closer to mankind comes their reckoning, yet they do not heed and they turn away. Never comes to them a renewed Message from their Lord, but they listen to it as in jest.”
[Surah Al-Anbiya 21;1-2]

The world today is full of hypocrisy. People say one thing out of their mouths and in their actions they do something completely different. Take all the big name advocates who claim their cause is global warming and carbon emissions. They busy themselves telling all of us what we must do to save the planet yet they jet to and fro in their airliners emitting gross amounts of carbon emissions and doing just the opposite of what they tell the rest of us to do. And consider those who claim they are religious and they go all about preaching God is loving and forgiving yet they slaughter their fellow human beings either in body or in mind and spirit. It’s hard to tell that some of them are “God’s chosen” as they are some of the nastiest people one could ever meet! And consider those who forever are claiming they are victims of oppression and persecution expecting the world to cater to their feet yet, in turn, they persecute and oppress their fellow man before the eyes of the world and no one says anything! Hypocrites! They are all hypocrites!!

Most people today are full of themselves. They want everything their way or no way. They are double minded and full of hypocrisy. Many have bought into the greatest lie ever told. That being that man can do everything and he can do it all without God. They think God is “somewhere…out there??” and they go about their daily lives mistakenly thinking they are in control of their destiny and everything else. They never give God a second thought except when something bad befalls them. And then, of course, they cry out to God and/or begin to blame God wanting Him to save them from their perils and tribulations! And when things get good again they forget all about God and, again, they mistakenly begin to think they are in total control of everything and that they themselves are even gods.

Consider those who attend prayers no matter what their religion or be they Christian, Jew, or Muslim. Most simply mouth the words but their words have no meaning. They do not feel the prayers. They are simply reciting the words meaninglessly. Many attend prayers because they feel they “have to” or they think it is a network for social hook ups. God is the last thing on their minds! Many are Muslims, many are Christians, and many are Jews simply when it is convenient for them. And when it is not convenient for them they put God totally out of the picture of their lives.

Let us consider some verses from the Bible and in so doing let us remember that God’s Word is found in the Qur’an, the Torah, and the Gospels. One does not negate the other! In 2 Timothy 3 it speaks in the days before Judgment and it tells us that in those days there will be many troubles on the earth. It tells us that people will be lovers of themselves. That means people will be full of themselves, full of their own egos, and overflowing with arrogance. They won’t even realize and won’t even care that such things come not from Allah but from Satan! It goes on to say that in the days before judgment people people will become lovers of money, brag constantly about themselves, and be full of self pride. It says they will say all sorts of evil things against others and will not respect their parents nor will they be thankful or be the kind of people Allah wants. In fact they will be just the opposite kind of people Allah wants!

These verses from 2 Timothy 3 tells us that in the days before judgment people will not love others and that they will refuse to be forgiving and that they will be full of gossip and will have no self control. It goes on to say that people will be cruel and that they will hate what is good and right. That means they will hate the things of Allah! Further, these verses go on to tell us that in those days people will turn on each other, even on their friends and families, and they will do ignorant things without thinking.

In these passages we also learn that in those last days before Allah brings about Judgment people of the world will be conceited and will love pleasure instead of God! That they will act as if they serve Allah BUT will not have His power! That means they will be hypocrites full of hypocrisy!

2 Timothy 3 goes on to tell us that in those days the Faithful are to STAY AWAY from those people full of hypocrisy and full of arrogance. We are told they are full of many evil desires and they are people who are against God and against His Truth. Further, these verses tell us that such people’s thinking (minds) have been ruined. And so have their souls! And it tells us that not only are their minds ruined but that such people have FAILED in the Faith! But we are assured that such people will NOT be successful in what they do because everyone, including Allah, will see that they are fools! And finally we are also told that people who are evil and cheat others will go from bad to worse, that they will fool others, but they will also be fooling themselves. And they are!

This is exactly how many people are today. The Faithful had better wake up to what time it is! These verses from Allah’s Word found in the Christians Bible warn us and tell us what time it is and the Faithful MUST begin to take heed.
We live in a world of hypocrisy. A world in which the false doctrines of humanism have taught man that he is all knowing and all powerful. A world in which Allah’s Truth is rejected in favor of man’s own ignorance!

2 Timothy 3 relates to the Surah cited above in the opening of this discourse. Sura 21:1-2 CONFIRMS 2 Timothy 3 in the Bible! And that is exactly what Allah has told us through the Prophet Mohammad (pbuh), that God’s revelations found in the Holy Qur’an CONFIRM the scriptures sent before it.

God told the Christians what time it was and God has told Muslims what time it is. When will the Faithful (all of the People of the Book) open their eyes and see? When will they realize the times? How much longer will they tolerate blatant hypocrisy? When will the Faithful grow brave and instead of being silent, stand up and speak out for God and His Truth condemning the false truth of man and his egotistical humanism?

The Holy Month of Ramadan is approaching and these are things we should consider and ponder. Each of us must find the hypocrisy within ourselves and weed it out like thorn bushes. God detests hypocrisy! God calls on us to purify ourselves especially during Ramadan. He calls upon us to search our souls and minds and wherever we find darkness shine His Light, His Truth upon it. And God wishes that when we pray we feel the words of our prayers and not simply robotically mouth them as if they are meaningless words. When we pray Allah wants us to pray from our hearts and with meaning and intention. He detests hypocrisy of all kinds and that is why we must each weed it out of ourselves and help others to weed it out of themselves.

Ramadan is not only a time of devoted worship to Allah but it is also a time for us to search ourselves and to purify ourselves not only in body but also in mind and soul. It is a time for us to draw closer to Allah and His Truth and put distance between ourselves and man’s false truth! Ramadan is a time for all who are truly faithful to stand up and let the world know their position. That being that they stand on the side of Allah and Allah’s side alone! That they stand against man’s falsehoods and hypocrisy!

Aren’t you sick of it all yet? Aren’t you sick of all the hypocrisy being committed in the Name of God when you know God’s Name has nothing to do with it? Do you realize that in all areas of the world today the Faithful, the People of the Book, are being persecuted, oppressed, and even killed because of their faith in Allah and for no other reason! Are you blind and dumb to the FACT that it is NOT man’s right nor Satan’s right to rule this world but that that right belongs to Allah and to Allah alone!

Everywhere we turn today Muslims, Jews, and Christians are being slaughtered because of their faith in Allah. The hypocrites see clearly that we follow Allah’s Truth and that we REJECT their humanistic and lying false truth and they absolutely hate us for it because they absolutely hate God! These people are evil and the faithful are NOT to associate with them! The Qur’an makes that clear and so does the Bible! What more proof do you need? How much more warning do you need from Allah Himself?

We are living right now in the days before Judgment. Of that I have no doubt at all. These are NOT times for the Faithful to be cowards or silent! These are times for the truly Faithful to stand up and shout out Allah’s Truth to the whole world whether the world likes it or not. We must expose hypocrisy wherever we find it as true Believers! We must correct wrongs wherever we find them as true Believers! We must give the hypocrites and unbelievers warning and if they submit themselves to God then so be it. But if they don’t then it is up to Allah Himself to deal with them and He will. Ours is only to give them warning, to speak Allah’s Truth to them in hopes they hear, repent, and submit themselves to God. More violence is NOT the answer! SPEAKING GOD’S TRUTH IS THE ANSWER! The world MUST know that Truth and every person who truly is of the Faithful MUST speak out telling Allah’s Truth and challenging man’s false truth and lies!

As Ramadan approaches let us ponder these things. Let us pray to Allah who is Most Wise and let us ask him to give us the courage to speak out against the hypocrites. Let us decide once and for all that we stand on the side of God and His Truth and against man and his lying false truth! The hypocrites are NOT going to do Allah’s work. They hate God and they hate we who are the Faithful. They stand against God and the last thing they want is for the world to hear God’s Truth. Only those who are truly Faithful to Allah will speak to the world the Truth that comes from Allah! That is our task! Open your mouths be you Muslim, Christian, or Jew! Stand up! Shout out! Who cares what the world thinks! The world and man did not create you, God did! And it is to God, not man, that you will one day answer! But DO NOT do it out of anger. Do not do it out of hate! For if you do then you yourself are no better than the hypocrites you and Allah detest! Don’t lower yourselves to their level. Don’t commit violence because it will only breed more violence and the hypocrites love violence especially when committed by the Faithful because they use it against us to darken us and demonize us in the eyes of those who might listen to God’s Truth and submit themselves to Allah. And then they want nothing to do with us because they come to think that Allah’s Truth must be like man’s truth which is full of violence and hypocrisy. But, God’s Truth is NOT like man’s false truth and His Truth is NOT full of hypocrisy!

Now is the time for the Faithful to unite! Now is the time for every Muslim, every Christians, and every Jew who is truly one of the Faithful to speak out with boldness, intelligence, self control, and courage! ONLY Allah can and will save this world and bring us back from the brink of destruction. Man cannot and will NEVER do it! In Allah let ALL of the TRULY FAITHFUL put their trust! For, outside of Allah there is no other!!

Sa’laam

Brave New World

http://saladin128.wordpress.com/2010/08/01/brave-new-world/#comment-97

A great article on what Muslims have been and must become!!

Criticizing Others

A Muslim should not criticize other people for the sake of mockery or discussion and a Muslim should not criticize others in order to show his anger either. When a Muslim does criticize others he should only do so with the intention of providing benefit.

Muslims live in societies. Some live in Islamic societies while others do not. But whatever society a Muslim lives in really does not matter because a Muslim can set the example. He can be one who is truly set apart; one who is different; one who does not get all wrapped up in the insanity of the society with all of it’s rage, hate, and anger. A Muslim can and should be a beacon of light and of wisdom! He can be the rock in the midst of the societal storm. He can be the strong unbending tree standing against the ever-changing winds.

Let’s face it, many of our societies today are ignorant in terms of knowing and doing Allah’s Will. Many are bent on doing their own will and the arrogance and egotism that so permeates so many of our modern societies is outright astounding. Many people today are ignorant of God and His Will and many who are not simply defy God and His Will in favor of their own selfish and arrogant wills. When one is an unbeliever, full of arrogance, and stuck in his own egotism then that one is truly ignorant and this is the kind of ignorance I’m talking about here.

When compared to people of ignorant societies a true Muslim is different. Or, at least, he can and should be different. Typically, people of ignorant societies focus on the flaws they see in others and they busy themselves with criticizing and mocking them. Sometimes this goes to far and their mockery and criticism turns into rage and hate. Obviously they do not have the intention to help make the other person any better but they do have the intention to put down and hurt the other person. This is simply wrong and such behavior is behavior that a true Muslim should not engage in.

Normally, people criticize others when they see something in another person that they do not like or that reflects something they detest in their own selves. They latch on to what they find detestable in others and attack either verbally and/or physically. Attack does nothing for helping the other person become better and it does nothing for the attacker to become better either. In fact, when we attack others and mock them we are really harming our own interests and diminishing the quality of our own lives.

Some people just love to mock and criticize others. It’s as if they get some sort of kick out of doing so. They are constantly critical of others, constantly making fun of others even down to the smallest detail, and they appear to have a “need” to put others down in order to lift themselves up in their own eyes. A true Muslim should not engage in such behavior because it not only demeans others but it also demeans one’s own self. Further, it demeans the example that the Prophet Mohammad (pbuh) set for us and the message of Allah Himself.

Some people are ignorant of their flaws. Some are ignorant of their behaviors and bad habits. Mocking them and criticizing them for the sake of argument does nothing to benefit them or help them change. Some people are ignorant of their bad and negative attitudes. Criticizing them and mocking them only serves to make their negative and bad attitude worse not better. A true Muslim knows this and so when he does criticize he does so with the intention of helping to benefit the other person and not with intentions of attack or mockery. He tries to help the other person to change for the better because he knows that by helping others become better he is doing Allah’s Will instead of the dark and selfish will of the world.

In an ignorant society where people are selfish, unbelieving, and full of arrogance and egotism criticism only has the intention of fulfilling a selfish and wrong desire of anger felt for the person that is being criticized. Benefiting the other person and helping them to improve themselves and become better people is normally not even considered. This is where the true Muslim can stand apart and stand out as different and a true Muslim should do so!

A true Muslim should never argue or criticize with the intention of fighting, mocking, expressing anger, or causing trouble for the sake of causing trouble. A true Muslim studies and internalizes God’s Word found in the Holy Qur’an, the Torah, and the Gospels and in Allah’s Word a true Muslim not only finds true guidance but true WISDOM as well. So he takes that Wisdom and applies it within his own life and in the life of others. He uses it not only to guide and improve himself but also to guide and improve all other people he meets. Why? Because a true Muslim seeks the approval of Allah, not the approval of man or the world! He is not only a man of true Wisdom but also is a man of true Compassion and Understanding. And the reason is, is that this is what Allah has taught him to be as a man and as a true Muslim.

Allah demands of all Muslims that they do what is right and forbid what is wrong. As a result, a true Muslim does not criticize others because some flaw in another person bothers him or because he sees something in that other person that he detests in his own self. And he does not criticize another for the sake of gossip either! Gossip causes trouble and we should NOT engage in it! When a true Muslim does criticize he does not mock another and he criticizes with the intention of bettering and benefiting the other person and by so doing benefiting his own self.

A true Muslim voices his criticisms in such a manner that they are compassionate yet instructive and he does so without attacking or putting down the other person. His intention is never hate or anger! His intention is always for benefit of the other.

A true Muslim voices his criticisms concerning the imperfections he sees in others in order to be helpful in assisting the other person live the morals and values of Allah found in the Holy Qur’an. He seeks God’s approval and does so humbly and not with the intention of building himself up or making himself look “holier than thou.” For, he recognizes that all of us are flawed, that none of us is perfect, including his own self.

Most Muslims do not realize it but Allah has put great responsibility on Muslims. We are suppose to be leaders of Allah’s Way in this world that is lost, often deaf, and many times completely ignorant of Allah and His Will. We are suppose to be the rocks and beacons of Light in the world showing the way of God to the ignorant. Sadly, we often fail to be and do so. Allah demands that we be wise and compassionate. He demands that we work to increase closeness, brotherhood, friendship, warmth, tolerance, and compassion. He also calls upon us to increase trust and respect for Allah and for our brothers. Further, Allah demands that a true Muslim be sensible and not ignorant! These are great demands Allah places upon the Muslim and they are demands that we MUST meet.

So, when a true Muslim criticizes another person he should do so by being sensible and give that other person sound and true advice so that the person can benefit and become a better man or woman. And he should not doubt that the other person has the ability to become better as a person and as a believer. A true and sensible Muslim only criticizes for benefit and not for starting a fight or argument, not for offending other people, not for mocking, patronizing, or for expressing anger or revenge.

Those who receive such criticism from a true Muslim who is compassionate and sensible should not be offended. Rather they should take the constructive criticism of a true Muslim brother and use it to try to make themselves better in every way. And it should be made clear that the criticism is given out of a sense of compassion and wisdom and NOT out of mockery, attack, or for putting them down. The other person should realize that his Muslim brother speaks in order to help make him a better man and believer out of brotherly compassion.

When a true Muslim does criticize another person, he does so without ulterior motive and NOT with the intention of causing harm to the other person. Further, the person receiving the constructive criticism should realize that often times Allah voices their flaws and how to correct them through one’s Muslim brothers.

Sadly, in most ignorant societies people avoid criticism at any cost and they go about never correcting their flaws and, thus, never really becoming better people. These people blunder through life ignorantly never changing, never growing, never improving. They are like a stagnant wind that goes nowhere and that has the stench of death.

Allah demands of the true Muslim that we help each other grow, become wise, and become better people. Avoiding criticism is a false ideology of the world but it is NOT the ideology of Allah! God often uses our brothers to help make us better and we MUST realize this! Not criticizing constructively is a taboo of an ignorant society and no true Muslim should submit himself to such ignorance. He should stand out and apart and be different! A true Muslim should be sincere, compassionate, well mannered, gentle, trustworthy, and truthful not for his own glory but for the Glory of Allah.

Criticism coming from the truly faithful is usually helpful I have found. Often I have found it to be a blessing because it helps me to become better as a Muslim and as a man. The truly faithful criticize sensibly, compassionately, and gently. They NEVER do so out of anger, revenge, mockery, or attack! They criticize constructively not destructively. And it is by this that we know that Allah is using them to help us become better Muslims and better individuals. And this is what Allah wants of all people so that we might know and do His Will instead of our own selfish and destructive wills.