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Did you get my email about the Africa W/O borders conference?  FABU


>From: Abu-Hassan Koroma <[log in to unmask]>
>Reply-To: "AAM (African Association of Madison)"
><[log in to unmask]>
>To: [log in to unmask]
>Subject: Re: Fwd: Forbearance when Angered.
>Date: Sat, 25 Sep 2004 12:14:20 -0700
>
>Wilmot,
>
>I have forwarded your email to the appropriate authority on this matter.  I
>will share is thoughts on your question upon receipt of an answer.
>
>Thanks for asking.
>Askia
>
>
>"Wilmot B. Valhmu" <[log in to unmask]> wrote:
>** Please visit our website: http://www.africanassociation.org **
>
>Askia,
>
>Unless I missed something, I see a lot of emphasis here on taking the
>Prophet's (I understand, Mohammed's) way of doing things as the way
>Muslims, or adherents to Islam, should live. Where or how does the will of
>God come in? What does God say about how people should live? Or, is the
>exemplary life of the Prophet the embodiment of the will of God?
>
>- Wilmot
>
>
>
>============================================================
>From: Abu-Hassan Koroma
>Date: 2004/09/24 Fri PM 04:48:11 CDT
>To: [log in to unmask]
>Subject: Fwd: Forbearance when Angered.
>
>
>
>Musa Amadu Pembo wrote:Forbearance When Angered.
>People often get angry because someone says a word that is
>out of place, or something that detracts from their honesty
>or integrity. When someone is keen to be fair to people and
>he is accused of being unjust, he takes the accusation to
>heart. If he is honest but an accusation is leveled at him
>that implies dishonesty on his part, he is exceedingly
>hurt. When there is nothing in his conduct to provide
>justification of any kind for the accusation, he feels
>terribly aggrieved. In any such situation, the person?s
>reaction is interesting to monitor, particularly if he
>occupies a position of leadership.
>
>It is important, therefore, to gauge the reactions of the
>Prophet (peace be upon him) to such incidents, because to
>all Muslims, he provides the example to follow. God says in
>the Qur?an: ?You have in the Prophet a good example to
>follow, for those of you who hope to earn God?s pleasure
>and to be successful on the Day of Judgment.? (33: 21) In
>previous weeks we gave a couple of examples of how the
>Prophet conducted himself in a manner that wins people?s
>hearts when he was roughly treated. We will provide some
>more examples, hoping to show that such forbearance was his
>normal behaviour, which came to him naturally, without
>affectation of any sort.
>
>Abdullah ibn Masoud reports: ?God?s Messenger divided some
>property between people. A man commented: ?This division
>has not been meant to please God!? I reported this to the
>Prophet and his face changed color. He then said: ?May God
>have mercy on Musa(Moses). He was hurt far worse but he
>remained steadfast.?? (Related by Al-Bukhari, Muslim, Ahmad
>and Al-Baghawi).
>
>The fact that a change of color was visibly apparent in the
>Prophet?s face suggests that he was really hurt by the
>unjustified remark. Had it been said of a ruler and he came
>to know of it, he would have taken measures that would give
>vent to his anger.
>
>That would bring the person concerned into trouble. It
>would have also ensured that no one would be able to ever
>utter something of this sort. After all, it is a personal
>attack that questions intentions. For this to be said of
>God?s Messenger is greatly offensive, to say the least.
>
>What did the Prophet say or do to stop such remarks?
>Nothing more than to recall the attitude of an earlier
>prophet in similar situations: ?May God have mercy on
>Musa(Moses). He was hurt far worse but he remained
>steadfast.? Thus, the Prophet sets the example for us to
>follow: When any of us is hurt by an unfair and unjustified
>remark that questions his motives and integrity, the best
>thing to do is to forbear and leave it to God to ensure
>that justice is done.
>
>Yet the Prophet was only a human being who is affected by
>everything that normally affects ordinary human beings. It
>is true that God has given him the ability to rise above
>ordinary human concerns so as to give the best example to
>follow in all situations, but this does not mean that his
>feelings are not as keen as any other person. In fact, he
>was very sensitive, which means that what hurts other
>people would hurt him even more. Yet God always guided him
>to the best attitude. During the Battle of Uhud, in which
>the Muslims suffered defeat, the Prophet was injured, with
>his front teeth being broken. He also suffered other
>injuries. ?As he wiped the blood off his face, he said:
>?How could any people be successful when they have stained
>their Prophet?s face with blood as he called on them to
>believe in their Lord?? God revealed the verse that says:
>?You have no say in the matter.?? (Related by Al-Bukhari,
>Muslim, Ahmad and Ibn Majah)
>
>Here we see the Prophet showing a very natural reaction to
>his injuries. Such people who are prepared to attack their
>prophet physically and inflict injuries on him, aiming to
>kill him as some of them were determined to do: how can
>they be successful? Natural as this feeling is, God sets
>all values right. It is not up to the Prophet or anyone
>else to decide. Should these people subsequently believe
>and mend their ways, they will have all the benefits that
>faith brings. This was what happened later. The people of
>Makkah, who were the enemy in that particular battle,
>subsequently changed their attitude and believed in Islam.
>They were among its most committed advocates. And they were
>very successful indeed.
>
>Therefore, the Prophet kept this in mind. When he later
>suffered some misfortune, he took it lightly, putting
>matters in the proper perspective. Jundub, a companion of
>the Prophet, reports: ?As the Prophet was walking one day,
>he hit a stone and tripped. His toe was bleeding. He looked
>at it and said: ?You are but a bleeding toe, and what you
>have suffered is merely to serve God?s cause.?? (Related by
>Al-Bukhari, Muslim, Ahmad and Al-Baghawi)
>
>As we have seen, the Prophet would not reply to any
>personal remark that accused him of any wrong. He was not
>given to retaliation, not even when he was truly hurt. Abu
>Saeed Al-Khudri reports: ?We were attending God?s Messenger
>as he was dividing some booty. A man said to him:
>?Messenger of God! Be fair.? The Prophet said to him: ?Why!
>Who will be fair if I am not? A true loser I am if I would
>not be fair.? Umar said: ?Messenger of God! May I have your
>permission to strike his head off?? The Prophet said to
>him: ?Leave him alone. He has companions whose prayer and
>fasting are so good that any of you will be dissatisfied
>with his own prayer and fasting when comparing them to
>theirs. They read the Qur?an, but it will not go beyond
>their collar bones. Yet they will slip away from the faith
>like an arrow passes through game. Their distinctive mark
>is a black man among them whose upper arm looks like a
>woman?s breast, or like a shaking piece of flesh. They will
>rebel at a time when the community will be divided.? Abu
>Saeed says: ?I have certainly heard this Hadith as the
>Prophet said it, and I bear witness that Ali ibn Abi Talib
>fought them, and I fought with him. After the battle, he
>ordered a search for the man and he was brought to him. I
>saw him exactly as the Prophet described.? (Related by
>Al-Bukhari, Muslim, Abu Dawood, Ahmad and Ibn Majah)
>
>In this Hadith, the Prophet felt angry as a man criticized
>his distribution as unfair. But he did not retaliate. He
>only told the man that he, i.e. the Prophet, would have
>lost everything if he did not divide the booty in all
>fairness.
>
>When Umar sought permission to kill the man in punishment
>for what he said, the Prophet told him to leave him alone.
>He then changed the whole drift of the conversation to
>spare the man further blame or embarrassment.
>
>He alerted his companions to some future events. His
>description of the rebels applied most certainly to the
>Khawarij who rebelled against Ali, the fourth Caliph, at a
>time when there was already much tension and division among
>Muslims with Mu?wiyah and Ali fighting the Battle of
>Siffeen.
>
>Contact With a Dead Person.
>
>Q. A man is suffering a sense of great loss after his
>wife?s death. Someone has told him that he knows a way that
>would enable him to talk face to face with his deceased
>wife. I have been trying to persuade him that this is wrong
>and unacceptable. But his sense of loss is such that he
>would do anything to be in contact again with his deceased
>wife. Please comment.
>
>A. What we have to understand is that death is only a stage
>in a person?s life, leading to the life hereafter. It
>occurs when the spirit departs from the body holding it. It
>is the union of the body and spirit that gives us our
>present existence, subject always to God?s will. When the
>spirit departs from the body, this causes death.
>
>The body is buried, while the spirit goes to its Lord. How,
>where and by what means? We know nothing of this. No one
>does. We only know what is stated in the Qur?an, and what
>is mentioned in authentic Hadiths. Anyone who claims
>otherwise is a liar. In the Qur?an God says: ?They ask you
>about the spirit. Say: ?Knowledge of the spirit belongs to
>my Lord. You have been given but scanty knowledge.?? (17:
>85)
>
>This settles the matter completely. This person who claims
>ability to contact the dead is actually saying that he has
>been given certain knowledge which can only be imparted by
>God. Since knowledge of the spirit belongs only to God, the
>only way to learn it is through revelation or inspiration.
>So this person is claiming to receive that from God. Such a
>claim is akin to claiming prophethood. We know that Prophet
>Muhammad (peace be upon him) was the last prophet God will
>ever send to mankind. To suggest that a later person
>receives such knowledge goes against the express statements
>of the Qur?an. It is well known that no revelation is
>vouchsafed to any human being after Prophet Muhammad (peace
>be upon him).
>
>Even though the person concerned does not claim
>prophethood, he still claims to have contact with a realm
>that is known to God alone. How does he do that? It is only
>through lying and exploiting other people?s sorrow. My
>advice to the man who is so sad at his wife?s death is to
>try to improve her status by offering the pilgrimage or the
>Umrah on her behalf, giving money to charity and reading
>the Qur?an and praying God to credit her with the reward of
>such actions. In this way, he feels that he is contacting
>her through God Himself. His sorrow will ease as he begins
>to feel that she is with God, and that her position is, God
>willing, better than the one she departed from in this
>life.
>
>Punishment for Past Sins
>
>Q. May I put to you the case of a man who after marriage
>discovers that his wife had been in a sinful sexual
>relation prior to their marriage. Should he divorce her, or
>bring the case to court for punishment, or forgive her and
>remain married to her?
>
>A. The second option of bringing the case to court should
>not be considered at all. To start with, Islam does not
>like punishments to be enforced. They are there as a
>deterrent, to prevent people from committing serious sinful
>actions. Islam prefers that when a person commits a sin,
>serious as it may be, that person should repent, resolve
>not to repeat the sin and seek God?s forgiveness. If he or
>she is sincere in repentance and resolve, then God will, if
>He so pleases, forgive them. Besides, if the man brings the
>case to court, he must produce four witnesses to testify to
>having seen the sin being committed, or his wife must stand
>in court and admit her guilt.
>
>Thus, it is not up to him to decide on this option. If she
>trusts to God?s forgiveness after her repentance, he cannot
>compel her to do otherwise.
>
>The question is thus reduced to whether he should divorce
>her or continue their marriage. This is a personal choice
>that he should make on the basis of what he knows of his
>wife. If he feels that she is sincere in her repentance and
>that she will be faithful, and that he can overlook her
>past, then it is better to keep her. If he does not trust
>that this will be the case, then he should consider
>divorce.
>
>Graves and Mosques
>
>Q. In Islam, it is forbidden to have graves in mosques.
>Please comment on the status of the Prophet?s mosque where
>he is buried.
>
>A. The Prophet (peace be upon him) was not buried in his
>mosque. He was buried in the place where he died, as
>happened with earlier prophets. After his death, his
>companions were discussing where to bury him, and Abu Bakr
>told them that he heard the Prophet saying: ?Wherever a
>prophet died he was buried.? Therefore, his grave was dug
>at the spot where he died, in his wife?s, Aishah?s room.
>His home was adjacent to the mosque, not inside it. Thus,
>there is no question as to the legitimacy of what was done.
>It was perfectly appropriate, and according to the
>Prophet?s own instructions.
>
>The Prophet?s mosque has been enlarged time after time. Its
>enlargement has been mostly to the side of his homes.
>Moreover, his grave is enclosed in the building where it
>has been. Nobody sees it, and there is a wall between it
>and the worshippers, wherever they happen to be. As such,
>there is no problem with this. It is perfectly appropriate.
>
>How to Offer Witr Prayer
>Q. I have noticed that the follower of the Hanafi school of
>Fiqh offer the Witr prayer in three rak?ahs in the same
>fashion as Maghrib. This is different from the practice in
>Southeast Asian countries, where the Witr is offered in two
>portions, the first with two rak?ahs and the second with
>only one. May I ask which form is the correct one? How did
>the Prophet offer Witr prayer?
>
>A. The Prophet (peace be upon him) did both at different
>times. Hence, it is perfectly acceptable to offer the Witr
>prayer in either method. The question of similarity with
>Maghrib prayer is of little importance, because if you
>offer it in two portions, the first will be like Fajr
>prayer. And what is wrong with that? What we need to
>realize is that the Prophet did many things, particularly
>in worship, in different ways at different times, so as to
>indicate that such differences are acceptable.
>
>Thus, he made things easier for us. Had he indicated only
>one way which must be followed in all situations, that
>could be difficult at times. Thus, in order to ensure the
>simplicity and ease for everyone, he varied his methods.
>Moreover, he indicated that we should pray like he did.
>Therefore, if we use all the different methods he used, we
>will be within our rights, following his instructions.
>
>When we speak about differences among schools of Fiqh, or
>Madhhabs, we note that each school took up the method which
>was confirmed as the most practised one by the Prophet.
>This they learned from the Prophet?s companions who
>reported what was being done in the Prophet?s mosque.
>
>Increased Wealth, Increased Problems.
>Q. A married couple have experienced a marked improvement
>in their fortunes, earning much more than they used to.
>However, this led them to do things that they would not
>have done otherwise. They are fully aware that these
>practices are not permissible in Islam. But it also led to
>much friction between them, with either of them resorting
>to extreme measures, such as the wife preventing her
>husband from entry into their home when he was drunk.
>Please comment.
>
>A. The couple need to have a good look at their behaviour,
>not only toward each other, but also toward God who has
>given them plenty of wealth. They should remember that
>whatever God gives us is a means of testing us. Some of us
>are tested with poverty or limited means, while others are
>tested with having plenty. So, using what we have in a way
>that pleases God is the course of action that brings us
>God?s pleasure and His reward in the life to come.
>Moreover, it will bring us an increase of God?s favors in
>this life. He says in the Qur?an: ?If you are thankful, I
>will increase your blessings.? Now, using the riches God
>has favored us with to commit serious sinful acts such as
>drinking and gambling is not a way of thanking God for His
>favors. If one starts to gamble because he can afford that,
>he will soon lose his wealth. What he will be left with is
>the impulse to gamble, and when he does not have the money
>to satisfy this impulse, he will sell even his clothes to
>get hold of the money.
>
>What the couple should do is to examine their behavior and
>look for ways to bring it in line with Islamic values and
>principles. Unless they do, they will continue to have
>problems with their marriage in addition to problems
>resulting from the immediate action they take. They should
>also look at what happened between them as a lesson which
>they will do well to heed. If it brings them to the point
>of one of them putting the other out of their home, then
>they must do something quick to stop all their sinful
>behavior and start looking at their wealth as a blessing
>which they should use to earn reward from God, not to incur
>His displeasure.
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>____________________________________________________________
>Does your mail provider give you a free online calendar?
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>
>
>
>______________________________________________________________________
>Abu-Hassan (Askia) Koroma
>National Secretary General
>Natl. Alliance Democratic Party, Sierra Leone
>www.authorsden.com/askia
>
>"The greatest achievement was at first and for a time
>(only) a dream."
>-- James Allen
>
>
>
>
>============================================================
>
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>
>
>______________________________________________________________________
>Abu-Hassan (Askia) Koroma
>National Secretary General
>National Alliance Democratic Party, Sierra Leone
>"The greatest achievement was at first and for a time (only) a dream."
>        -- James Allen
>
>
>
>

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