Archive for August, 2006
08.29.06
Posted in Personal at 2:43 pm by Abbas
Many of us feel incompetent when we see the environment around us, specifically the Muslim community and the Ummah. We see the mosques filled with people, but we see very few youths. Most programs are not catered to the youth and very few are actually organized by the youth. The affairs of the community are always left to the elder generation. The youths are either marginalized and if not that, they are mostly inactive. Few of us, maybe one or two or three of us have a great deal of ambition. We have great ideas and suggestions, but the society and the filth around us discourage all of that and make us give in to societal pressures.
However, this is what distinguishes us from them. And when I say us, I mean the followers of the greatest creation known to mankind, the Seal of all the Prophets, Prophet Muhammad (saw). There will be nothing, no trial or situation, where we would be unable to overcome. We will be able to overcome the “impossible.” We need faith and intelligence. And if we dig deep enough into our hearts and minds we possess both qualities. We should not and cannot doubt this. We must take part and become pro-active. And being a Muslim Youth is no excuse; in fact it is a responsibility for us since most of us have been born and raised in this society (the West). Imam Ali (a) was very young when he embraced Islam. He was considered a youth and he dedicated his entire life to Islam and spreading the message.
We cannot let the small numbers lead us astray. We must start somewhere, and we must initiate. All grandeur concepts start from something small. Once the ball is rolling and we are consistent, everything else will gradually fall in place. Allah says,
“Let there arise out of you a band of people inviting to all that is good, enjoining what is right, and forbidding what is wrong; they are the ones to attain a happy state! And be not like those who are divided amongst themselves and fall into disputations after receiving clear signs; for them is a dreadful punishment in store.” (Quran 3:104-105)
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08.26.06
Posted in Current Events at 9:58 pm by Abbas
A very interesting article. It talks about the rebuilding/reconstruction efforts of Lebanon and New Orleans and compares the two. It is a sad reality, unfortunately that our goverment has so much wealth but it does not care about its own populace.
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Lebanon rebuilds, New Orleans waits
By Joyce Chediac
In the Middle East, after a month of Israeli bombing, the people of Lebanon are digging themselves out from the rubble and struggling to return to their homes. In the United States, a full year after Hurricane Katrina, the people of New Orleans are still fighting to do the same thing: return home.
It might seem odd to compare the two. After all, Lebanon is recovering from war, and New Orleans from a natural disaster and broken levees. But this is only the superficial story. A look at the New Orleans relief effort and its aftermath shows that poor people’s right to return home has become just as much a battle there as it is in Lebanon.
In the United States, the New Orleans relief effort was spearheaded by the Federal Emergency Management Agency, Washington’s disaster relief arm. In Lebanon it is being organized by Hezbollah, the grassroots Lebanese resistance movement that George W. Bush calls “terrorist.”
Which group would you want conducting a rescue effort if you lost your home? Let us see how the relief efforts compare.
Read the rest of this entry »
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08.24.06
Posted in Personal at 5:43 pm by Abbas
Today was my orientation. Got my paperwork done; now they are background checking me and I think they will drug test me next week (like I do any drugs!). I met my boss, whom by the way lives off the same street I do! He is a post-doc and only been in the lab for 3 months, but he is mad chill and laid back. He swears a lot though, but he is nice. The work right now is pretty straight forward. He wants me to be really comfortable with the linux environment, so he gave me a few tutorials for it.
Housing is cool. I discovered that one of my room mates has a copy of “Nahjul Balagha” or “Peak of Eloquence” by Imam Ali (a). Trying to find out exactly who it is now 
. I got an Afgani, an Arab, and two Pakistanis room mates so far. Most of ‘em will be coming when school re-opens (third week of september).
They just brought a new masjid here in SD. It costs 1.8 million dollars and its a huge warehouse type building. The capacity is like 5,000 people (I think they are competing with the Orange County center). InshaAllah, will be going there tonight. I am going to start balling again (basketball) regularly. I need to get in shape and plus I miss basketball. Might be go paintballing and hiking this weekend. By the way, there are a lot of Persians here .
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08.21.06
Posted in Personal at 9:44 am by Abbas
I am leaving in the evening for California (God, I wish I knew how to cook well)!. It’s a long flight (7 or 8 hours); will probably sleep and read most of the time. I have a mixture of excitement and nervousness. InshaAllah, I will do well. Wish me luck with my new work and keep me your in du’as and prayers.
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Posted in Personal at 9:39 am by Abbas
Many Muslims concoct this; they say, “we need to do evil first to see good,” meaning in order to recognize what Truth-hood is we need to first experience false-hood. This is a very lame excuse. It just a sorry excuse to feed our egos and desires. I, certainly, do not buy such a statement. At first glance it does make sense, I admit. However, rationally and Islamically speaking it is very flawed. I will paste to you a brief explanation about what I really mean.
An absolutely perfect God does not create an imperfect system, nor or is there such a thing like evil, in its absolute sense. Let me give another example, lies versus truth. You will find that to lie is evil and to speak the truth is good. You will see that lies cannot exist without the truth, but on the other hand, truth can exist without lie. For example, if I say, I always lie. Does it make sense? No. Because there is no essence of truth in my statement, thus it becomes nonsensical. Therefore, truth is a necessary constituent to lies. But I can certainly say that, “I always speak the truth”, or “I sometimes speak the truth”, it makes perfect sense, because there is an element of truth in my statement, and thus my statement makes sense.
After careful reflection and analysis, one can definitely recognize Good and Truth, without necessarily experiencing evil or falsehood. So, we do not have to lie in order to speak to truth, we do not have to party (haram type) in order for us to pray and prostrate, we do not have to listen to music (haram music) in order for us to listen to Du’as and Qur’an, and we do not have to do bad, in order for us to do good.
May Allah give us all the courage and desire to do and spread goodness. Ameen.
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08.18.06
Posted in Current Events at 9:31 pm by Abbas
Sa’adi, a great Muslim poet, once said,
Human beings are like parts of a single body; if one part is wounded, the rest hurts. You, unmoved by the pain of others, are not worthy of being called human.
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08.17.06
Posted in Personal, Essay at 2:33 pm by Abbas
When we strike out to do something good for the community or the Ummah, especially if it involves public involvement (ie. rallies, talks, meetings, etc) people tend to hesitate. This is because we have fear in our hearts. We can get involved and be passionate and at the same time be rational about it. We need rationality, with determination and faith to be truly successful. We cannot let all of the Islamophobic pressures get to us and ultimately lead us to be ashamed of labeling ourselves Muslim. And with the same token, we cannot let the extremist and the pseudo-Salafi pressures lead us to detest and hate the religion of al-Islam (or make us into “progressives”).
As Muslims, activism is a very integral part of our faith. Allah has commanded us to spread the message of peace and justice by any means permissible to us. We need to uphold the message and defend it at all costs. It is incumbent on every one of us. We need to be firm and confident on our beliefs and stances.
For Allah (swt) has said in Quran(chapter 4, verse 135),
O ye who believe! Be ye staunch in justice, witnesses for Allah, even though it be against yourselves or (your) parents or (your) kindred, whether (the case be of) a rich man or a poor man, for Allah is nearer unto both (them ye are). So follow not passion lest ye lapse (from truth) and if ye lapse or fall away, then lo! Allah is ever Informed of what ye do.
We cannot discriminate in regards to whom we speak out against. And if you think you can, remember that Allah is the best of planners and he very well knows what you are upto. What is wrong is wrong, regardless of who supports it. However, depending on whom we are dealing with, the means we use to approach them with will be different. We need not to put forth our personal agenda(s), but the agenda of the Qur’an and Sunnah.
We need to dig deep into our hearts and find ourselves. Once we find ourselves, we will be leaning towards His path. Once we find ourself, we will be fearless. True freedom is liberation from the worldly matters and enslavement towards Allah (swt) and His path.
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08.16.06
Posted in Poetry/Quote at 11:09 am by Abbas
Imam Husayn [a] said: “Verily, people are the slaves of the world and their religion is superficial, only on their tongues. They are attentive to it as long as their material benefits are provided, but when they are tested, the number of true devotees dwindles.”
(Bihar-ul-Anwar)
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Posted in Current Events, Poetry/Quote at 12:21 am by Abbas
Dying in the way of Allah is the best of things we can pray for. Being slain for His sake will grant us instant paradise and possibly change the dynamics of a region, community, or ideology. Islam is all about sacrificing our souls and hearts in order to further the cause of Allah (swt). The Holy Prophet [s] said,
“No drop is more beloved with Allah, Almighty and Glorious, than the drop of blood which is poured in the way of Allah.”
May Allah (swt) make us all martyrs and defenders of this very faith we possess, inshaAllah.
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08.15.06
Posted in Poetry/Quote at 11:31 pm by Abbas
Here is some Hafiz (mystic/poet) for you people.
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School of Truth
O fool, do something, so you won’t just stand there looking dumb.
If you are not traveling and on the road, how can you call yourself a guide?
In the School of Truth, one sits at the feet of the Master of Love.
So listen, son, so that one day you may be an old father, too!
All this eating and sleeping has made you ignorant and fat;
By denying yourself food and sleep, you may still have a chance.
Know this: If God should shine His lovelight on your heart,
I promise you’ll shine brighter than a dozen suns.
And I say: wash the tarnished copper of your life from your hands;
To be Love’s alchemist, you should be working with gold.
Don’t sit there thinking; go out and immerse yourself in God’s sea.
Having only one hair wet with water will not put knowledge in that head.
For those who see only God, their vision
Is pure, and not a doubt remains.
Even if our world is turned upside down and blown over by the wind,
If you are doubtless, you won’t lose a thing.
O Hafiz, if it is union with the Beloved that you seek,
Be the dust at the Wise One’s door, and speak!
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08.14.06
Posted in Current Events at 4:11 pm by Abbas
وَمَن يَتَوَلَّ اللّهَ وَرَسُولَهُ وَالَّذِينَ آمَنُواْ فَإِنَّ حِزْبَ اللّهِ هُمُ الْغَالِبُونَ {56}
[Shakir 5:56] And whoever takes Allah and His messenger and those who believe for a guardian, then surely the party of Allah are they that shall be triumphant.
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08.13.06
Posted in Personal, Current Events at 12:22 pm by Abbas
Just returned from Washington DC. The rally was great. I wish more people showed up, but there was a large gathering. I met people all the way from South Carolina, Louisiana, Canada, Illinois, and Michigan. The were bus loads of people pouring, alhamdulillah. There were a lot of flags and chants, including pro-Hizbollah, and Nasrullah. Many people including, Imam Elayhi, Imam Qazwini, Moulana Naqvi, the former attorney general, Ramsey Clark, and Rabbi Weiss (from Neura Karta International) were present. Met lots of new people. InshaAllah, may this rally make a difference.
For pictures please visit - http://naqvia.myphotoalbum.com/albums.php and comment on here.
We also went to the lecture at IEC in Maryland. The event at the IEC with Imam Abdul Alim Musa was amazing, even though it was heavily delayed. He explained how the Islamic World is now starting to wake up and how an Islamic Revival is now taking place and is heading towards the right direction.
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08.11.06
Posted in Personal at 5:50 pm by Abbas
Keeping your Muslim identity is getting difficult day and day. Having the “Muslim” label is now considered bad and evil. The enemies of Islam are widespread. The enemies of Islam are now from within. We have “experts” making irrational comments about the principles laid for to us by Islam. We have “educated” people trying to persuade us to leave our religion. We have individuals who think they know everything and love to give their “ijteehad” on certain issues. They think they know more than Allah (swt). We must realize that Allah is the best of planners. We can never let go of our principles and beliefs.
For the Prophet has said,
“Ahead of you are days which will require endurance, in which showing endurance will be like holding hot coals.”
We cannot permit ourselves to drop these “hot coals.” The coals will burn our hands and skin. They will leave marks, but we need to continue to struggle and fight under any means necessary (and permissible).
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Posted in Personal, Current Events at 3:54 pm by Abbas
According to the Prophet (saw) if a Muslim wakes up in the morning without thinking about the affairs of his fellow Brothers and Sisters, he is not considered Muslim (sahih hadith). We have no choice, but to act and stand up against injustice.
A special campaign has been designed. It is spearheaded by AMYNA (Allied Muslim Youth of North America). AMYNA is simply a network of youth and student groups in North America. It’s a platform in order to empower each other through sharing of resources. In the wake of the crisis, AMYNA launched a sort of resource center aimed at aiding youth/student activists across North America. The site and campaign developed can be found here. If you would like to help out with it, please let me know asap and you can definitely join the task-force/committee.
Also check out this clip once you get a chance. I will be going to the rally early (after Fajr salaat) tomorrow. Please keep us in your duas and prayers!
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08.10.06
Posted in Personal at 5:32 pm by Abbas
Sometimes people may seem and feel that coming or being “last” may be the worse position; however that is usually not the case. The last issues, numbers, books, and persons, historically speaking, were amongst the best. Our Prophet (saw) and the Holy Quran were considered to be last. The point I am trying to make is that we should not lose hope. In fact, sometimes it is a blessing. God usually saves best for last.
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