Death

I was watching Iqraa which is an arabic Islamic channel. One of the Sheikhs was talking about death. He was stating that Allah has to force it upon all humans because as humans we have a disliking for death. We tend to enjoy this world dearly and are afraid of death. We do not know when we will die for if we did we would probably delay preparing for death if it was 20 years away and if it was next year we would not live a productive material life.

We should constantly be prepared as if we would die within the next hour. We should not become too attached to this material world. We should not fear death and extend the mourning more than 3 days, for in Egypt women would wear black for over a year and stay depressed. By extending the mourning, you are telling Allah that you still have not accepted his judgement.

This reminds me during Gaza and Iraq when the slaughter of Muslims was occurring daily and they brought the family survivors on tv many would be crying but they always said alhamduallah and that they martyred a son, father, sister, etc. They all seem to recognize it is Allah's will and the dead is a shaheed which is something to be proud of.

Prayers

I was wondering does anyone drift off onto other thoughts during prayer. Do you think about todays' activities, other worries, etc. Then do you forget how many rakkahs you have done? Some say it is the shitaan playing with you. Now when I pray I try to concentrate more during the prayer, use a quiet room, remember the ayahs I will recite.

Interracial Marriages in Islam

49:13 O mankind! We created you from a single (pair) of a male and a female, and made you into nations and tribes, that ye may know each other (not that ye may despise (each other). Verily the most honoured of you in the sight of Allah is (he who is) the most righteous of you. And Allah has full knowledge and is well acquainted (with all things).

I am all for interracial marriages for that is how we break down barriers and prejudices and unite muslims. Imagine if Egyptians only married Egyptians and Pakistanis only married Pakistanis. We would never overcome our prejudices and remain isolated.

Interracial marriages will work only if both are of the same taqwah and imaan and if both place the religion above culture. For what is culture, it is man-made ideas and practices yet to many people that is more important than the deen. It should be the opposite. So when someone ask you who you are you should say I am muslim first.

I have seen many interracial marriages work when both are committed to the deen and they leave most of the cultural baggage behind. It is really the culture that usually causes problem for the marriage.

For example I have seen many young muslim Egyptian girls raised in the states get married to an Egyptian from back home and it usually ends in divorce. Why? Because the man is too ingrained in the culture and expects the wife to be his servant at home while he sits down. Yet religion has nothing to do with this. There is no hadith that states that it is incumbent on the wife to cook, clean, and serve at home. It is all cultural. The men from Egypt though cannot separate this from religion. But if both are truly committed to the deen and understand it, the marriage in general will succeed, for both are striving for taqwah, stronger imaan, and alm rather than worrying if this practice is Egyptian or Pakistani or not.

Do Not Forget Gaza and the Others

Since Obama's inauguration, Gaza has been out of the headlines. Yet the native Muslims and Christians continue to suffer. Many are homeless, weak, and Israel continues to bomb them sporadically. They even have forbidden pasta, lentils, tomato paste, and hearing aids (article). So keep them in your prayers and dua and try to help anyway possible. We must not be complacent and distracted. This also goes for Muslims in Chechenya, Kashmir, Afghanistan, Pakistan, Iraq, etc. True brothers and sister are happy together and sad together.

Trials and Tribulations

Every human will undergo tribulations in his or her life whether it be a disease, accident, financial loss, abandonment, etc. Tribulations are really a test. We should learn from them for their is always some longterm good in them. The faithful will be steadfast, patient, and says al-hamdullah. The ones of weak faith panic, get angry, and fail to acknowledge god.
I remember when I totaled my car. I was at an intersection and waiting at the stoplight listening to Abd al Hakim Murad CD. The light turned green so I slowly proceeded forward. Then all I remember was a loud boom and my car spun around while my hands were burning from the airbag. I was hit by some idiot who ran a red light going about 60. He hit my car right in front of the drivers front tire and then my car spun clockwise colliding again with the other car damaging the rear driver's door and the panel behind it. I dazed but did not pass out. I felt angry for car was severely damaged. My dad came along with my wife. After making sure I was ok my wife looked the car noticed that my door did not have a scratch on it yet the car was damaged in front and behind my door. She said sign or warning from Allah for it could much worse. I did not quite fathom that thought for I was angry at my wrecked car but now I do.
Many times we get attached to material things and angry if we lose them. Allah sometimes takes them away to see how react, whether we will become closer to him or wallow in sorrow and anger. Fortunately, I chose the former.

Business as Usual in the Imperial State But Not for Long

As I said before Obama will not be drastically different from Bush. He will simply use different tactics. The bombing in Pakistan and Afghanistan continue. Detainees in Bagram Air Base do not have the right to challenge their detention. Wiretapping in the US will continue unabated. True, he wants to withdraw troops from Iraq but he also wants to keep 50000 troops there permanently. See link for more detail on above.

Yet the American government is deluding itself in that it will remain a superpower. America is essentially bankrupt. They are funding their hegemonic expeditions and the latest Wall Street bailout through debt on top of debt all ready isssued. Never has a superpower that continuosly increases its debt remained a superpower. Remember the Ottoman and British, they collapsed mainly because of debt and inability to fund their empire. The same is happening to the US except it is accelerating given the collapse of their financial system.

As a side note remember this hadith, The Messenger of Allah (SAW) said to Mua’ad Ibn Jabal (RA),

‘Beware of the supplication of the unjustly treated, because there is no shelter or veil between it (the supplication of the one who is suffering injustice) and Allah (SWT)’ [Sahih Al-Bukhari and Muslim]

The prophet (SAW) said,

‘Three men whose dua is never rejected (by Allah) are: the fasting person until he breaks his fast the just ruler and the one who is oppressed.’[Ahmad, at-Tirmidhi - Hasan]

Well we know the main invaders of Iraq and Afghanistan, the US and Great Britain and now look at the collapse of their financial system and severe economic recession. I wonder if Allah has realized their dua or is there more to come.

Nationalism and Muslims

The other day I was having a conversation with a Muslim Egyptian friend and we were talking about Egypt and the Palestinians. He stated that Egypt has done more than enough for them and they deserve what they get. He also mentioned that he has never met a good natured Palestinian. We argued some but I realized that his myopic and bigoted view will not change. This view by the way is very common in Egypt after speaking to many Egyptians and reading the press.
To understand this, one must look back at their education. Egyptians and other Arabs, grew up with post colonial education; that is, the concept of a nation state and loyalty to the state, government, flag. They think of themselves as Egyptians first. This applies also to other Arabs. I am currently reading David Fromkin "Middle East, A Peace to End All Peace" which he meticulously outlines how the British carved up the Middle East according to their whim but also to make sure you have competing nation states for if they are divided they will remain weak.
They could care less for Indonesian muslims or Chechens.
Yet the Prophet Mohamed PBUH said, "The Muslims are like a body, if one part of the body hurts, rest of the body will also suffer". The Quran states, "The faithful are but brothers..." [Qur'an 49: 10].
Practicing Muslim who grew up in the West and converts in general I do not think are obsessed with nationalism and race, mainly because they feel that they are a minority and minorities tend band together and support each other. Plus, they tend not have inherit the stifling cultural baggage our parents have.
We as Muslims have to transcend this form of tribalism or Aasabiyah. We need to learn more about our history. We need to befriend Muslims from all backgrounds and learn about their history, culture, and struggles. We need to quit assigning labels and prejudjing them.