Halloween

Some people regard Halloween as the start of the holiday season. It's a season of happiness, relaxation, and fun. Some holidays are cultural or traditional holidays, while others may have religious significance. We as Muslims also have our own holidays. A month ago we celebrated Eid ul-Fitr, and you may also count the whole month of Ramadan as a holiday. And Insha'Allah in a bit over a month we'll also celebrate Eid ul-Adha.

Many Muslims live in Western countries, and sometimes we assimilate the Western lifestyle with our own. One aspect of the Western lifestyle (and a pretty signigicant aspect) are the holidays. There seems to be several holidays every month. There's always something going on, and sometimes we want to have a part of it. Of course, as Muslims we don't celebrate the specific holidays of other religions, but we want to get in on the fun of the traditional holidays, like Independance Day, Halloween, and Thanksgiving.

Today is Halloween, and there's many Muslim youth who are going to be Trick-or-Treating with their friends and dressing up in weird costumes. Forget about the origins of Halloween for now....but think, if Halloween didn't exist, and I told you that I'm going to dress up in an absurd costume and go door to door asking for candy, you'd probably think I'm crazy. But when lots of people do it and have been doing it for decades, it somehow becomes acceptable and isn't crazy anymore. People don't even care where Halloween came from, they just want to do it because everybody else is doing it and has been doing it as a tradition for years. Muslim children want to take part also, but apart from it not being a Muslim holiday, or from being some crazy, is it really something that they should do?

Personally, I think that if you want to dress up in a costume, do it in your room so that you don't look like a fool. If you want candy, go to the store and buy some. But some say it's just having fun, there's nothing wrong with it. But where did Halloween come from? I'm pretty sure that it wouldn't be such a popular holiday if some recent guy decided to dress up in a costume and go door to door for candy. It definitely has roots somewhere long ago, pagan (Mushrik) roots. I'm not going to copy and paste the entire story, but I would recommend you to read this article: http://islam.about.com/library/weekly/aa103098.htm

The point is, it's not a Muslim holiday, and it's not even a nuetral traditional holiday. It has origins from a Mushrik holiday, and even though that's not the intent with which it's celebrated anymore, Rasulullah (saw) warned us from imitating certain people...


It was narrated from Abu Saeed al-Khudri (ra) that the Prophet (saw) said: "You will certainly follow the ways of those who came before you hand span by hand span, cubit by cubit, to the extent that if they entered the hole of a lizard, you will enter it too." We said: "O Messenger of Allah, (do you mean) the Jews and the Christians?" He said: "Who else?" - [Bukhari and Muslim]


“Whoever imitates a people is from them.” - [Abu Dawud]

I'm not labeling anobody as a Kafir (even though this is the apparant meaning of this Hadith in relation to those who imitate the Kuffar), but at the very least this indicates that it is Haram to imitate the Kafir ways.



In the Qur'an, Allah warns us:

"When it is said unto them, 'Come to what Allah has revealed, come to the Messenger,' they say, 'Enough for us are the ways we found our fathers following.' What! Even though their fathers were void of knowledge and guidance?" - [Qur'an 5:104]



May Allah protect us from becoming victims of our own desires, from becoming victims of society and peer pressure, from becoming victims of those who we are not to follow, from losing our morals and ethics, from justifying our wrongs with oversimplified reasoning, and may Allah guide us to what pleases Him, and keep us on the path to His Mercy in this Dunya and the Akhirah.

A Cup of Water

A famous Sheikh once visited the Caliph Harun al-Rashid, and when he entered his presence the caliph asked him if he wanted anything. The Sheikh said that he only desired a simple cup of water.


When the cup of water was given to the sheikh he asked the Caliph, "what would you give if no water was available to you and you are forced to trade for this one cup of water?"


Harun al-Rashid replied, "I most certainly would give at the very least half of my kingdom."


The Sheikh then said, "and what would you give if you were not able to release the waste of that water from your body unless you traded something for it?"


The Caliph said, "I would certainly give the other half of my kingdom."


The Sheikh smiled and told the Caliph, "It is God that controls both these things, so what is the worth of all your kingdom if it can be so easily traded for a simple cup of water?"

Pearls of Wisdom - October 29th, 2008

When Umar bin Al-Khattab (radiAllahu anhu) despatched the army of Sa'ad bin Abi Waqqas (radiAllahu anhu) to the Battle of Al-Qadisiyyah, he advised him:

"Fear your sins more than you fear the enemy as your sins are more dangerous to you than your enemy. We Muslims are only victorious over our enemy because their sins outnumber ours, not for any other reason. If our sins were equal to those of our enemy, then they would defeat us due to their superior numbers and resources."


*Please remember to read the recent posts if you haven't read them yet! =)

Hadith of the Day - October 29th, 2008

Abu Mas`ud Al-Badri (May Allah be pleased with him) reported: The Prophet (PBUH) said, "When someone spends on his family seeking his reward for it from Allah, it is counted as a charity from him." [Bukhari and Muslim]


"Seeking his reward" means that one is supporting his family as a duty entrusted by Allah. It is also warranted by compassion for the near ones. A person who does it as a duty ordained by Allah and shows mercy to his deserving relatives to attain His Pleasure then what he spends with this intention on his children will be eligible for reward from Allah.

Hadith of the Day - October 28th, 2008

Hasan bin `Ali (May Allah be pleased with them) said: I remember (these words) from Messenger of Allah (PBUH): "Give up what is doubtful to you for that which is not doubtful; for truth is peace of mind and falsehood is doubt." - [Tirmidhi]

This Hadith leads us to the conclusion that one must always avoid doubtful things so that he does not do anything unlawful. This message is repeated in another Hadith which says that he who has saved himself from doubts has in fact saved his Faith and honour.

King Mahmud and the Beans

The mighty King Mahmud of Ghazna, out hunting one day, was separated from his party. He came upon the smoke of a small fire and rode to the spot, where he found an old woman with a pot.

Mahmud said:

'You have as guest today the monarch. What are you cooking on your fire ?'

The crone said:

'This is a bean stew.'

The emperor asked her:

'Old lady, will you not give me some?'

'I will not,' she said, 'for this is only for me. Your kingdom is not worth what these beans are worth. You may want my beans, but I don't want anything you have. My beans are worth a hundred times more than all you have. Look at your enemies, who challenge your possessions in every particular. I am free, and I have my own beans.'

The mighty Mahmud looked at the undisputed owner of the beans, thought of his disputed domains, and wept.


by Shaykh Farriduddin Attar (ra)

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I Feel Clean for the First Time

Once a pious Muslim brother got a job in a restaurant. He took with himself a container for water so that he can use it for toilet purposes. So, everytime he goes to the toilet, he fills the container with water and takes it with him. One day, a Christian man who also works there saw him taking water and asked him about the reason for it. The Muslim brother told him that after releasing the dirty materials, we should clean that place and that cleanliness is a major part of Islam. The man said that why not use the toilet papers? The brother asked him that if such dirty thing touched his hands, would he use a toilet paper to wipe it off or use water? The man understood and said that he would use water. The next day, the Christian man brought a container for himself and used it during relieving himself. When he came out of the toilet, he was crying and tears were rolling down his cheeks. The Muslim brother asked him about why he is crying. The Christian man said that "For the first time in my life, I feel completely clean." Thereafter, he accepted Islam and became a devout Muslim.

Subhanallah! =)

- - -

Muslims can do Dawah in many ways, and as we can see from this story, even by using the toilet! Our way of life is so beautiful that many aspects of it fascinate even non-Muslims. Unfortunately, the media and unfortunate events of the past and present stain Islam with a bad name. A religion that has such great and simple teachings and methods cannot be a religion of terrorism and violence. It's sad how our Islam is covered in misconceptions as it is...but that shouldn't deter us from continuing our efforts of Dawah. Dawah is not just passing out books and pamphlets, it could be just a simple smile and little gifts here and there. It could be wearing Hijab and modest Islamic clothing. It could be praying in front of people. Dawah doesn't even require us to initiate conversation. We could just continue doing what we would do normally as Muslims, and the questions will come when people notice and take interest. Let's try to display the beauty of Islam with our actions, and that will be powerful enough of a Dawah to make an impact, Insha'Allah! =)