On the first of July 2013 in the city of Osh, Kyrgyzstan, three women were arrested due to their affiliation with Hizb ut Tahrir! There are several other women who remain in detention until this Thursday the first of August 2013 ... As for the three mentioned above, their apartments were searched and it was reported that compact discs (CDs) and books belonging to Hizb ut Tahrir were found, having ideas that call for the establishment of the Khilafah "Caliphate"
The danger faced by children at school in the US has become so great that teachers now carry guns to school. The decision to begin arming teachers came in response to one fateful morning on Friday the 14th December, 2012, when Adam Lanza forced his way into Sandy Hook Elementary School in Connecticut, USA. Opening fire without remorse, he hunted down and slaughtered 20 small children between the ages of 5 and 10 years old. His first victim that day was his mother; he shot her in the face, then he drove her car to the school at which he himself was once a pupil, and in addition to the 20 children, murdered 6 teachers before finally killing himself. The next day, US President Obama admitted: "As a nation, we have endured far too many of these tragedies in the last few years."
Indeed, mass murder in the US has become a regular occurrence. Five months before the Sandy Hook school massacre, James Holmes burst into a crowded cinema in Aurora, Colorado during a screening of the latest "Batman" film. Dressed as one of the characters in the film, he shot and killed 12 people at random. Three months before that, a former student at Oikos University in California opened fire killing 7 people; and two months before that, a former pupil of Chardon High School, Ohio, returned and opened fire on students; picking his targets randomly, he killed 3 and injured 6 others. The mass killings in the US keep on happening, and at the time of writing, funeral arrangements are being made for 6 random murder victims from an apartment building in Hialeah, Miami, who were murdered for no apparent reason.
The frequency of these killing episodes, and the death toll each time, is much higher in the US than it is in other Western countries, but this is related more to the ease of access that Americans have to automatic weapons than to any difference in the degree of alienation or anger felt by the murderers. For example, last month, July 2013, two multiple stabbings were reported in England (in the towns of Shipley and Brixton), each of which occurred for no apparent reason and resulted in the death of at least one person. In that same month, a 20 year conviction was given to Daniel Watkins who "stabbed two strangers in a random attack."
While murders happen throughout the world, and murder is as old as human history, Western civilization is plagued by the phenomenon of murder without motive, and one has to wonder why. The Western ideology is hollow inside and fails to provide tranquillity or higher purpose. The societies formed upon Western concepts push religion far from societal life, leaving many people to feel lost. There are fewer places of worship to choose from as the years go by, while hobbies proliferate in abundance; recreation, vacations, material possessions and pleasures compete to fill the void. For many, life is a futile carnival of wandering from fad to film to fantasy in an unending search for meaning: for some, the frustration and failure become too much.
Dr. Abdullah Robin
Four out of 5 U.S. adults struggle with joblessness, near-poverty or reliance on welfare for at least parts of their lives, a sign of deteriorating economic security and an elusive American dream. Survey data exclusive to The Associated Press points to an increasingly globalized U.S. economy, the widening gap between rich and poor, and the loss of good-paying manufacturing jobs as reasons for the trend. The findings come as President Barack Obama tries to renew his administration's emphasis on the economy, saying in recent speeches that his highest priority is to "rebuild ladders of opportunity" and reverse income inequality. As non-whites approach a numerical majority in the U.S., one question is how public programs to lift the disadvantaged should be best focused - on the affirmative action that historically has tried to eliminate the racial barriers seen as the major impediment to economic equality, or simply on improving socioeconomic status for all, regardless of race. Hardship is particularly growing among whites, based on several measures. Pessimism among that racial group about their families' economic futures has climbed to the highest point since at least 1987. In the most recent AP-GFK poll, 63 percent of whites called the economy "poor." While racial and ethnic minorities are more likely to live in poverty, race disparities in the poverty rate have narrowed substantially since the 1970s, census data show. Economic insecurity among whites also is more pervasive than is shown in the government's poverty data, engulfing more than 76 percent of white adults by the time they turn 60, according to a new economic gauge being published next year by the Oxford University Press. The gauge defines "economic insecurity" as a year or more of periodic joblessness, reliance on government aid such as food stamps or income below 150 percent of the poverty line. Measured across all races, the risk of economic insecurity rises to 79 percent. Marriage rates are in decline across all races, and the number of white mother-headed households living in poverty has risen to the level of black ones. "It's time that America comes to understand that many of the nation's biggest disparities, from education and life expectancy to poverty, are increasingly due to economic class position," said William Julius Wilson, a Harvard professor who specializes in race and poverty.[Source: Associated Press]
Syrian authorities and Iran signed a deal this week to activate a $3.6 billion credit facility to buy oil products with long term payment terms, officials and bankers said on Wednesday. The deal, which was agreed last May between the two allies and will allow Iran to acquire equity stakes in investments in Syria, was part of a package to extend Iranian aid to President Bashar al Assad's government, its main political ally. Another $1 billion credit line to Damascus has already been extended to buy Iranian power generating products and other goods in a barter arrangement that has helped Syria export textiles and some agricultural produce such as olive oil and citrus, trade officials say. Syria is short of diesel for its army and fuel to keep the economy running because of U.S. and European Union sanctions imposed after a crackdown on pro-democracy protesters. Its main supplier of petroleum products by sea has been Iran. Iran has steadily expanded economic ties with Syria to help it withstand Western economic sanctions and sealed a free trade deal that granted Syrian exports a low 4 percent customs tariff. [Source: Voice of America]
Pakistan has once again strongly denounced the CIA-led drone campaign in the tribal areas of Pakistan on Monday, warning that such unilateral strikes cast a ‘negative impact' on efforts to forge a cooperative relationship with the US. The condemnation from the Foreign Ministry came in response to the latest drone strike in Shawal Area of North Waziristan Agency on Sunday. "These unilateral strikes are a violation of Pakistan's sovereignty and territorial integrity. Pakistan has repeatedly emphasized the importance of bringing an immediate end to drone strikes," the statement said. It recalled that the Government of Pakistan had consistently maintained that drone strikes were counter-productive, entail a loss of innocent civilian lives and have human rights and humanitarian implications. "Such strikes also set dangerous precedents in inter-state relations," the foreign ministry spokesperson said. Aizaz Ahmed Chaudhry maintained that such drone strikes "have a negative impact on the mutual desire of both countries to forge a cordial and cooperative relationship and to ensure peace and stability in the region." The latest drone attack was the forth since the Pakistan Muslim League - Nawaz (PML-N) government took charge following the May 11 parliamentary elections. A recent report in the Washington Post suggested that the United States had drastically scaled back the number of drone attacks against militants in Pakistan and had limited strikes to high-value targets in response to growing criticism of the program in the country. Those actions appear to have temporarily appeased Pakistani officials, who publicly oppose the covert CIA strikes, US officials said. But some officials were still worried about a pushback from Pakistan's new civilian leaders, who took power in June with a strong stance on ending the attacks altogether. [Source: The Express Tribune]
The United States and its allies are clearly working well together to remind China that it faces enormous power and cannot act unilaterally without cost. The latest American fighters and bombers will be deployed in an arc from Japan to India, lacing across all of China's maritime regions, Carlisle made clear. America's most capable all-around air weapon, the F-35, will be deployed first in the Pacific once it achieves Initial Operating Capability (IOC), Carlisle said. Air Force F-35s probably will head to four bases: Misawa, Japan; Kadena, Japan; Osan Air Base, Korea; and Kunsan Air Base, Korea. No final decision has been made but Air Force Gen. Herb "Hawk" Carlisle made it pretty clear these bases fit the glove best. In Australia, the U.S. Air Force plans to send "fighters, tankers and at some point in the future, maybe bombers on a rotational basis," Carlisle said during a Defense Writers Group breakfast. They will operate near the Australian Air Force base at Darwin. Singapore is buying F-35Bs. Other US fighters will fly from Korat Air Base in Thailand. And American aircraft may operate from Indonesia and Malaysia, and a base in India, Carlisle said.
Abu Hashim
Allah (swt) informed the Muslims that He sent down the Quran, the revealed words of Allah as guidance to humankind, during the Night of Power, Laylut ul-Qadr.
إِنَّا أَنزَلْنَـهُ فِى لَيْلَةِ الْقَدْرِ
وَمَآ أَدْرَاكَ مَا لَيْلَةُ الْقَدْرِ
"Verily, We have sent it down (The Quran) in the Night of Al-Qadr (Power)." [Surah Al-Qadr 97:1-2]
And He (swt) further informed the Ummah that this night occurred within the most blessed of all months, Ramadhan. Allah (swt) says,
(شَهْرُ رَمَضَانَ الَّذِى أُنزِلَ فِيهِ الْقُرْآنُ)
"The month of Ramadan in which was revealed the Qur'an." [Surah ad-Dukhan 44:3]
And in His Mercy, He (swt) blessed this Night which witnessed such a momentous event, with abundant reward, for the one who seeks it.
لَيْلَةُ الْقَدْرِ خَيْرٌ مِّنْ أَلْفِ شَهْرٍ
"And what will make you know what the Night of Al-Qadr is? The Night of Al-Qadr is better than a thousand months." [Surah Al-Qadr 97:3]
Thus, during these, the last ten nights of Ramadhan, particularly in its odd nights, this vast Ummah, from Indonesia to Tunisia, seeks the Night of Power. The Ummatis of Muhammad (saw) whose lives span but mere decades, tirelessly seek to invest this night within which worship is worth more than a thousand months, over eight decades. A night of such blessing about which the first one charged with conveying the Book that this night yielded, RasulAllah (saw) said,
«مَنْ قَامَ لَيْلَةَ الْقَدْرِ إِيمَانًا وَاحْتِسَابًا غُفِرَ لَهُ مَا تَقَدَّمَ مِنْ ذَنْبِه»
"Whoever stands (in prayer) during the Night of Al-Qadr with faith and expecting reward (from Allah), he will be forgiven for his previous sins." [Bukhari]
So let us earnestly seek Laylatul Qadr, forsaking rest and striving with tired limbs. Let us seek the Night blessed by Allah (swt) with such immense reward and of such momentous occasion. A night about which the foremost of the commentators on the Quran, Ibn `Abbas (ra) declared, "Allah sent the Qur'an down all at one time from the Preserved Tablet (Al-Lawh Al-Mahfuz) to the House of Might (Baytul-`Izzah), which is in the heaven of this world. Then it came down in parts to the Messenger of Allah based upon the incidents that occurred over a period of twenty-three years.''
And whilst we seek this night, striving and restless, let us remember, even if it were for a little while, how the life of the one (saw) who was charged with conveying this Quran changed, as the very first verses of the Quran were revealed to him. Let us consider the consuming restlessness and tireless striving of the most beloved of all humankind, RasulAllah (saw), over those subsequent twenty-three years. Let us honor, with tears in our eyes and Darud on our lips, how he (saw) gathered the Companions (ra) and marched with them far and wide to convey this Quran, laying the strong seeds of a vast Ummah that is to embrace the entire world, its Easts and its Wests before the end of time. Let us remember, consider, honor and let us take heed.
Let us be in no doubt, the beginning of the revelation of the Quran heralded a long and tireless struggle. Muhammad (saw) had to convey this Quran to the people who have not heard of it before and were steeped in ignorance. When the Mother of the Believers, Khadija Bint Khuwaylid (ra) saw her husband burdened with the huge responsibility to convey the Message of Islam, she tried to console him by saying, اِرتحْ "Rest easy." However, deeply aware of the mammoth task ahead, he (saw) solemnly replied,
«لا راحةَ بعدَ اليومَ يا خديجة»
"There is no rest after today, O Khadija"
Sadaqa RasulAllah (saw), indeed, he spoke the truth. RasulAllah (saw) rose, as commanded, to his feet and measured up to the new task. There was no rest for him, our most beloved. It had been decided by the Lord of the World's (swt) that he would have to shoulder this burden of all burdens. Sleep, comfort, cool shade in the summer or warm beds in winter became items that were now alien to his life. RasulAllah (saw) arose quickly for the strife awaiting him. Grave responsibility had fallen upon his most beautiful of all beings, driving him into the turmoil of life to raise the word of Allah as the highest. RasulAllah (saw) went ahead in a spirit of complete selflessness, relentlessly striving and never relaxing in carrying the burden of the great Trust. He (saw) shouldered the burden of enlightening mankind and the heavy weight of twenty-three years of striving, nothing distracting his attention from this mission.
No rest at a time when over the age of forty, men would think about settling in their business and households. Whilst others would rest in the company of their wives, RasulAllah (saw) left the Mother of the Believers, Khadija (ra), to face hardship and rejection when he called upon the tribes with the Message of Islam. When other men found relief in the delightful antics of their young children, RasulAllah (saw) would spend hours discussing and teaching the handful of new Muslims so that they would meld with Islam. No rest at the age of fifty, when men focus upon the marriage and means of earning livelihood of their children. For Allah (swt) had chosen that Islam was to be established as a state and there would be no rest for him (saw) as a ruler, inviter of nations to Islam and the Faatih (Opener) of lands. And no rest at over sixty, when men retire to tend gardens and plan the lives of their grandchildren, he (saw) would stand tall to invoke the people.
Indeed, we witness this even as his death approached him. Recall his last days. When other men would resign to rest amongst their loved ones, cherishing their company in their last moments, RasulAllah (saw) strove with every fiber in his aged, ill and dying body. On Monday the twenty-ninth of Safar in the eleventh year of Al-Hijra, he participated in funeral rites in Al-Baqee‘. On the way back he had a headache, his temperature rose so high that the heat effect could be felt over his headband. On Wednesday, five days before he died the RasulAllah (saw) temperature rose very high due to the severity of his disease. RasulAllah (saw) fainted and suffered from pain. Even then, there was no rest for RasulAllah (saw). RasulAllah (saw) commanded, قال النبي صلى الله عليه وسلم في مرضه صبوا علي سبع قرب من سبع آبار شتى حتى أخرج إلى الناس فأعهد إليهم قالت فأقعدناه في مخضب لحفصة فصببنا عليه الماء "Pour out on me seven Qirab (water skin pots) of various water wells so that I may go out to meet people and talk to them." So they seated him in a container (usually used for washing) and poured out water on him until he said, "That is enough. That is enough." Then he felt well enough to enter the Mosque. He (saw) entered it band-headed, sat on the pulpit and made a speech to the people who were gathering together around him. He (saw) said, "لعن الله اليهود والنصارى اتخذوا قبور أنبيائهم مساجد" "The curse of Allâh falls upon the Jews and Christians for they have made their Prophets' tombs places of worship." Then RasulAllah (saw) said, " اللهم لا تجعل قبري وثناً " "Do not make my tomb a worshipped idol." Then he offered himself and invited the people to repay any injuries he might have inflicted on them, saying, " أيها الناس: من كنت جلدت له ظهرا، فهذا ظهري فليجلده، ومن شتمت له عرضا فهذا عرضي فليشتمه " "He whom I have ever lashed his back, I offer him my back so that he may avenge himself on me. He whom I have ever blasphemed his honor, here I am offering my honor so that he may avenge himself."
Let us remember the description of Hind bin Abi Halah, "The Messenger of Allâh (saw) was continually sad, thinking perpetually. He had no rest (i.e. for long)." No rest for RasulAllah (saw). It was in his eyes, thinking about the affairs of the Ummah, constantly searching for the best for it. It was in his pace and in the urgency of his movement, restless to complete the good actions and taste the sweetness of the Victory of Allah (swt). It was in the vigor of his individual ibaadah, when his legs would swell through standing in Qiyyam ul-Layl and when asked about it, he replied أفلا أكون عبدا شكورا "Should a servant not be grateful?" And it was in the seriousness and warmth of his speech, invoking others from their slumber, reviving the tired and creating restlessness in the satisfied to strive for more and more.
The fuel for this activity and urgency was from the Light that is inextinguishable, perfect, free from adulteration, the Nur (Light) of Revelation and the promises that it contains of pleasure of Allah Ar-Rahmaan, Ar-Raheem, His Jannah and the assurance of unparalleled rest in a life that knows no end, no death, no pain, no illness, no trial and no tribulation. Reflect upon the beautiful Ayaat, dear brothers, reflect upon them so the rust is lifted from our hearts and they burn brightly. Allah (swt) said,
أَمْ حَسِبْتُمْ أَنْ تَدْخُلُوا الْجَنَّةَ وَلَمَّا يَأْتِكُمْ مَثَلُ الَّذِينَ خَلَوْا مِنْ قَبْلِكُمْ مَسَّتْهُمْ الْبَأْسَاءُ وَالضَّرَّاءُ وَزُلْزِلُوا حَتَّى يَقُولَ الرَّسُولُ وَالَّذِينَ آمَنُوا مَعَهُ مَتَى نَصْرُ اللَّهِ أَلاَ إِنَّ نَصْرَ اللَّهِ قَرِيبٌ
"Or think you that you will enter Paradise without such (trials) as came to those who passed away before you? They were afflicted with severe poverty and ailments and were so shaken that even the Messenger and those who believed along with him said, "When (will come) the Help of Allah?" Yes! Certainly, the Help of Allah is near!" [Surah Al-Baqarah 2:214]
وَلَنَبْلُوَنَّكُمْ بِشَيْءٍ مِنْ الْخَوْفِ وَالْجُوعِ وَنَقْصٍ مِنْ الأَمْوالِ وَالأَنفُسِِ وَالثَّمَرَاتِ وَبَشِّرْ الصَّابِرِينَ
"And certainly, We shall test you with something of fear, hunger, loss of wealth, lives and fruits, but give glad tidings to As-Sabirin (the patient ones.)." [Surah Al-Baqarah 2:155-157]
لَتُبْلَوُنَّ فِي أَمْوَالِكُمْ وَأَنْفُسِكُمْ وَلَتَسْمَعُنَّ مِنْ الَّذِينَ أُوتُوا الْكِتَابَ مِنْ قَبْلِكُمْ وَمِنْ الَّذِينَ أَشْرَكُوا أَذًى كَثِيرًا وَإِنْ تَصْبِرُوا وَتَتَّقُوا فَإِنَّ ذَلِكَ مِنْ عَزْمِ الأُمُورِ
"You shall certainly be tried and tested in your wealth and properties and in your personal selves, and you shall certainly hear much that will grieve you from those who received the Scripture before you (Jews and Christians) and from those who ascribe partners to Allah, but if you persevere patiently, and become Al-Muttaqun (the pious) then verily, that will be a determining factor in all affairs, and that is from the great matters." [Surah Aali ‘Imraan 3:186]
So, it is little wonder that such a man, beloved of all beloved, RasulAllah (saw) inspired by such a Deen and the promise it contained, radiated a tireless energy in all those around him, igniting their hearts and minds in the singular, single-minded pursuit of the pleasure of Allah (swt). Remember, the striving for Islam as a state. Remember, Mus'ab (ra) leaving the life of luxury and the love of a wealthy mother to strive in carrying the deen and being honored with the establishment of Islam as a state. Remember the striving to expand the state. Remember, Hanzala (ra), the martyr who left the lap of his new wife for the sake of Jihad and who earned the honor of his body being washed by the angels in preparation for Jannah. And remember the preservation of that state. Remember, Ammaar bin Yassir (ra), at the age of ninety-three, yes brothers, ninety-three, abandoning his grandchildren and perhaps their children too, striding to the battle of Fitna, the Battle of Siffeen, against the rebellious forces of Mu'awiyah who earned the honor of being killed by the tyrant party, lighting the way for others in the time of Fitna. No rest for RasulAllah (saw), or his Companions (ra), except the eternal rest of Firdaus!
O those who yearn for the sweet companionship of RasulAllah (saw) in the next life, the life with no end! O those who wish to be the foremost of the foremost! O those who wish to be raised with martyrs! Convey this Quran tirelessly, so you deserve such a companionship and such rewards. Join your nights with your days for the return of the ruling by the Book of Allah, as a state that implements its revealed ayaat. Let not even minutes pass let alone hours in idle pursuits, with sleep only to replenish a need. Turn your faces away from the comforts and luxuries of life, investing your all for the return of the Khilafah "Caliphate", so that you can face your Lord with beaming faces. Strive so that your efforts are added to the material means, strive so that Allah (ra) is pleased with you and multiplies those material efforts in rewards and results. No rest for us, no rest for us, until the eternal rest!
Musab Umayr
