Mosques in Dubai malls

M asha Allah. Another good story. Sheikh Mohammad, ruler of Dubai, has said all shopping malls there should have mosques.

Now I know that almost all do have their own praying areas, but his specific call to make it necessary is quite appreciable.
I remember when I was working in Dubai in the most poshest areas (on Sheikh Zayed Road), there weren't many or any mosque near by. There is not one on the main road itself. If one goes inside the localities behind the main road, there is one I believe, where everyone goes for Friday prayers.
It's a pretty sad situation. People can't walk to any mosque there.
Now I may be wrong. As there may be praying areas in towers like I know Emirates Towers has. But certainly an independent mosque whose minarets could be seen and from where Adhan could be heard wasn't anywhere to be seen on that business road.

May Allah increase the eemaan of the rulers and guide them to act in the welfare of Islam and Muslims.

And they say Muslims oppress women

Look at how women are being used/abused by the American military. This piece is just another one on the plight of women soldiers in the American army.

It's not surprising that they don't get justice or their complaints of rape aren't taken up, because the very purpose for their deployment is to "serve" the men soldiers. This becomes blatantly clear with how openly officials deny to hear sexual harassment cases. On the other hand they threaten these victims with dire action when they come up to complain.

This article is a MUST read!

And they say Islam oppresses women? That's a lie. Islam has honored women, because Islam doesn't equate men and women. Men are different and women are different - physically, emotionally, and mentally. They were created for primarily different roles. They don't challenge each other, but rather they complement each other. They are definitely not the same.

Regular posting insha Allah

No post since quite some time now. I've been in the dilemma of switching blogging platforms. I was seriously thinking of going to wordpress because I was v unhappy with blogger's comment platform. It's not that interactive. But I found this third party IntenseDebate that seems to offer all those services available in wordpress's comment and more.
So I decided against moving, although wordpress does seem to be better at this moment.

Having said that, I hope Insha Allah I will post regularly from now on.

Reflections on Dubai's ban of nudity

Alhamdulillaah, Dubai has taken a good step towards banning nudity, playing loud music, dancing, kissing, and holding hands in the public. People are advised to wear modest clothes and respect the traditions of a Muslim country.
Let's hope good for our Muslim countries. The point is, no matter how you try to justify, lewdness has a negative impact on the society as a whole. It disintegrates families and promotes spinsterhood. Youth may just get used to having relationships leading to more and more promiscuity.
Look at America for instance. Some decades back, the rate of marriages was high. Dating started becoming prominent, though the ultimate goal for dating in those days was to find a suitable partner for marriage. This goes against the Law of the Creator. He has permitted us to select and find out about the person (yes, vet them completely) and even talk to the prospective bride/groom in front of the Mahram (i.e. male relative like father, brother), but God hasn't permitted dating. Dating leads to relationships, and in fact in dating one may never know the true person (love is blind as they say; truth comes out only after marriage).
Anyways, the point is, what started as a culture of dating in America, today has developed or "progressed" into 'One Night Stands' or 'Hooking up' as New York Times columnist Charles Blow has put it. The culture of dating is dead. Now people there have become even more promiscuous, and have almost lost all forms of morality, as they accept one night stands and get their lusts out hoping for something good to happen out of it!
This is what happens when we ignore the law of our Creator. Our Muslim brothers and sisters should learn from this and satisfy our desires in the Halaal way - marriage. It has the blessings of Allah, it's pure and what comes from such a relationship is beneficial, productive and good for us and for the society.

Amazing two year old girl

Some of the questions she answers can leave adults puzzled. Masha Allah. Her parents, I'm sure her mother especially, must be congratulated for teaching her child Islam from such a young age. I pray that Allah makes her a pious and knowledgeable Muslimah. Aameen.

Just look at the difference between households that practice Islam and that don't. Practicing parents who know their duties towards children will Insha Allah bring up their offspring as bearers of truth who in turn will Insha Allah guide the society to good. Such children become good leaders that contribute to society's betterment and progress.

Library in a mosque nearby

I recently visited a Masjid (mosque) in Rehab, Jeddah. In one corner of the mosque, they have, as you can see in the pic, sofas to sit and read from the small library of books. I think that's pretty neat. It encourages reading and referencing. I mean if its out in the open, its more inviting than a closed out-of-sight room? At least for beginners like me.
Though such facilities may be common in large mosques, this particular one, isn't that big; in fact, it was a small Masjid.

Saudi reshuffle: Good or bad?

While I do not have any comments - in fact I hope for good Insha Allah - for the changes made in the offices of education, health, the Shoura Council and the Hai'a (Commission for Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vice, also known as Mutawwa or Religious Police), I do have few things to say about the change in the Council of Senior Ulema (Islamic Scholars).

International media, including that of Saudi Arabia's, are hailing the move of bringing in scholars of all Madhhabs (i.e. from all Sunni schools of thought) saying it will undercut or reduce the "hardline" Salafi dominance. Analysts are saying diverse and different opinions of all schools of thought will make religious laws and interpretation more moderate, giving room to different opinions.

On the face of it, the argument looks perfect and true. However, it is not so. The difference between Salafi method of approach and other schools of thought is: all schools of thought e.g. Hanafi, Maliki, Shafi'ee and Hanbali, stick to the view of their own school of thought. Meaning they do not have a broad view to accept other valid opinions. They do not consider looking into different schools of thought for analysis and coming to a conclusion as to which view is more closer to the truth or more closer to what is right.

As for Salafi scholars, this is their identification. The reason why some schools of thought despise them is because they do not make it obligatory to follow one particular school of thought and because they do not stick to one Madhhab. In fact, one of the greates challenges Salafi scholars face is to defend and explain why its not necessary to stick to one school of thought.

As an example, let me quote King Abdul Aziz, the founder of Saudi Arabia, who said in a speech in Makkah:

"They call us 'Wahhabis' and they call our Madhhab 'Wahhabi' with the idea that it is a distinct Madhdab. This is incorrect and it emerged from false propaganda which is spread by the biased people with personal interests, for we are not people of a new madhdab or a new creed.
Muhammad Ibn AbdulWahhaab did not come with anything new for our 'aqeedah is the 'aqeedah of the Salaf us-Saalih which is transmitted in the Book of Allaah, the Sunnah of His Messenger and what the Salaf us-Saalih followed."
He further said, "There is not a madhdhab like the madhdhab of the Salaf us-Saalih and we do not support one particular madhdhab over another, for Aboo Haneefah, Maalik, ash-Shaafi'ee and Ibn Hanbal are all our Imaams." (Al-Wajeez fee Seerati'l-Malik 'Abdil'Azeez, p.217)

There are numerous examples of Salafi scholars, including those in Saudi Arabia like Ibn Baaz and Ibn 'Uthaymeen, not favoring any particular school of thought in their verdicts. They have Insha Allah tried to their ability to arrive at the conclusion closest to the truth.

So the whole argument to bring in different opinions goes invalid because these scholars already look into different opinions. Yea, if the reason is to bring in people who will compromise and give verdicts according to what people - or the West - want, and not necessarily what Islam wants, then that's a different story. But again as a general rule, I keep a good opinion that this move was with the intention to tackle some of the genuine problems of Saudi Arabia. However, I don't know how far this move, with respect to the Council of Senior Scholars, is right or will yield good results. An Islamic senior scholar, with clear and good understanding of all these issues and who doesn't hesitate to speak the truth, can only clarify Insha Allah.