Islam in the NYPD: VC2

Habib Umar - God Will Not Change the Condition of a People Until They Change Themselves

Habib Umar bin Hafiz was in town this weekend. He gave a lecture at Masjid al-Abdul Razak on 25 April 2009. I arrived a little late, and so the first few minutes are missing from the recording. Apologies.

Until They Change Themselves - Habib Umar bin Hafiz

Muslim Women of Hip Hop

Although still a male-dominated realm, women have been an important part of the hip hop world both as artists and consumers. Anaya McMurray, in her journal article Hotep and Hip-Hop: Can Black Muslim Women Be Down with Hip-Hop? explores the relation of Black Muslim women to hip hop music and asks the question, “Can Black Muslim women be a part of hip hop and Islam?”



From Racialicious, 7 May 2008.

Beautiful

Give me a look, give me a face,
That makes simplicity a grace;
Robes loosely flowing, hair as free,—
Such sweet neglect more taketh me
Than all the adulteries of art:
They strike mine eyes, but not my heart.

- Ben Jonson

The Making of a Mumbai Terrorist

Unlike the stereotypical image of a terrorist — illiterate, fanatic and trained in madrasahs, or religious seminaries — the men had relatively high levels of literacy and were more likely to have been educated in government schools than in madrasahs. Religion wasn't necessarily the only reason they turned to jihad. A Pakistani who enrolled in a training camp in Kunar province, Afghanistan, told TIME that he went for "tourism and adventure."

Read the rest ...

Saudi scholar warns alcohol in bio fuel is a sin

Sheikh Mohamed Al-Najimi, member of the Saudi Islamic Jurisprudence Academy, based his statement on a saying by the prophet that prohibited all kinds of dealings with alcohol including buying, selling, carrying, serving, drinking, and manufacturing, the Saudi newspaper Shams reported Thursday.

Read the rest ...

Iraq's Unspeakable Crime: Mothers Pimping Daughters

'... a place where nefarious female pimps hold sway, where impoverished mothers sell their teenage daughters into a sex market that believes females who reach the age of 20 are too old to fetch a good price. The youngest victims, some just 11 and 12, are sold for as much as $30,000, others for as little as $2,000. "The buying and selling of girls in Iraq, it's like the trade in cattle," Hinda says. "I've seen mothers haggle with agents over the price of their daughters." '.

Read the rest ....

Challenges of Becoming Muslims - Last Week's Talk at the Muslim Converts' Association

Many years ago when he was 19 years old and in the Army, a Muslim convert sergeant by the name of Fauzi Rodriguez advised Mudpie to make himself useful and volunteer at the Muslim Converts' Association on weekends instead of going out and falling down drunk like most soldier boys. Mudpie was bored, and sauntered down to the then-newly formed Muslim Converts' Association, and helped them to do what he was used to doing - carrying heavy objects and arranging them where needed.
Mudpie was stuck.
He volunteered from then on, and counts some of his best friendships from his association with Darul Arqam (that's the Association's Muslim name).
There was a teacher there who taught what was called a "Beginners' Class on Islam". He was a university graduate from my university, spoke English well, and yet was traditionally trained in Islamic religious studies. He was passionate about bringing the message of Islam to non-Muslims, and also as much, to Muslims who needed a different pitch. Mudpie was his trainee and student, and he was Mudpie's mentor.
Many years later, Ustaz Zulkeflee left Darul Arqam and went over to Pergas. We kept in touch, although less frequently, until Mudpie helped out in the driving-and-carrying duties for a series of talks on Islamic Thought and Civilisation conducted by Pergas and ISTAC. This was Mudpie's introduction to Pergas, which inducted him into another, different world.
Ustaz Zulkeflee later fell ill with a stroke, and could not talk or move.
So it was with much happiness that Mudpie discovered Ustaz Zul was back, and giving a talk last Friday. Although the thrust and content was not a surprise to him, Mudpie was happy just to go and see the man who had, at a critical juncture of Mudpie's life, helped him take the other, less trodden, path.
May God bless Ustaz Zul and give him health and strength always.

Here is the presentation from his talk, with his kind permission.

Challenges of Being Muslim

View more presentations from Mudpie.

Pasts and Futures

Every saint has a past and every sinner has a future. (Oscar Wilde)

KimDonesia

Kimdonesia is an Australian girl who became a Muslim. She has a charming series of videos. Check it out.

6046

When Irish Eyes Are Smiling - in Islam

6046

Respect

from SunniPath Blog -

Habib `Umar b. Hafiz (may Allah preserve him) said,

No one will ever be fit for calling others to Islam except someone who respects those he is calling. Whenever someone displays contempt for anyone, he distances more often than he brings close, repels more often than he attracts, and cuts others off from him more often than he ties them to him.

…

This is why the poet said

من وقر الناس وقروه … و فاز بالعقل و الرئاسة
و مزدريهم لو كان مسكا … لقيل في أصله نجاسة

Whoever respects people will be respected by them, and will win unto intelligence and leadership.

But someone who has contempt for them, were he to be made of musk, he would be told that he was originally filth. [1]

…

This is why we must approach people with love, concern, mercy, and compassion. And that is how the Prophet (Allah bless him and give him peace) came to you: he was all mercy, compassion, humility, and politeness. This is why you will find that most of the early ones to respond to his call were the downtrodden people of Mecca … At the conquest of Mecca, Bilal [3] was the only one who climbed the Ka`ba when the Prophet (Allah bless him and give him peace) told him, “Climb and call the people to prayer.” (Habib `Umar b. Hafiz, Tawjih al-Nabih li Mardati Barih, Kuwait: Dar al-Diya, 2008, p. 167)

[1] Musk comes from the originally filthy secretions of the musk-deer that collect in a sac and solidify.

[2] In other words, at the height of the Prophet’s political supremacy (Allah bless him and give him peace).

[3] A former slave.

What About Now ?

Now the Great Crunch is coming, and we read it in our news everyday , and we're all thinking about what we are going to do to survive it.
Now we save money, spend less, keep our jobs.
Now we pray to God to keep our heads above water to ride out the bad time to come.

So things are gonna get bad NOW? For many people in this world, it wasnt better before. So, what's the difference about NOW?

Just a reminder of the other people in this world who are facing far, far worse trials and tribulations than we possibly can imagine at this moment, and the saints who stand against the tide - the tide of apathy and selfcentredness.

We will not go down (Song for Gaza)