The Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: “Islam began as something strange and will revert to being strange as it began, so give glad tidings to the strangers.”
Posted by
Rene´s Bare Essentials
Tuesday, December 29, 2009
... Because of Shirk, innovations and leaving the Sunnah
All Praise is for Allah (subhaanahu wa ta'aala) Lord of all the creation and May His peace and Blessings be upon is last Prophet Muhammad (sal-Allaahu 'alayhe wa sallam) and upon the Prophet's (sal-Allaahu 'alayhe wa sallam) family and upon the companions and on all those who follow the path of guidance until the last day.
Without doubt the Muslim Ummah is in a divided and fragmented state and that this division is prohibited in Islam. Rather Allah (subhaanahu wa ta'aala) has enjoined upon us to hold onto the rope of Allah (subhaanahu wa ta'aala), which we established is the Qur'an and the Sunnah as understood by the Companions. But how did we reach this state in the first place, what causes disunity?
Posted by
Rene´s Bare Essentials
Peace of mind, contentment, happiness and freedom from worries and anxiety. These things are what everyone wants, and these are the ways in which people can have a good life and find complete happiness and joy. There are religious means of achieving that, and natural and practical means, but no one can combine all of them except the believers; although other people may achieve some of them, they will miss out on others.
Here follows a summary of the means of achieving this aim for which everyone is striving. In some cases, those who achieve many of them will live a joyful life and a good life; in other cases, those who fail to achieve all of them will live a life of misery and hardship. And there are others which are in between, according to what the means he is able to attain. These means include the following:
Posted by
Rene´s Bare Essentials
In ancient pagan times, the last day of winter in the Northern Hemisphere was celebrated as the night that the Great Mother Goddess gives birth to the baby Sun God. It is also called Yule, the day a huge log is added to a bonfire, around which everyone would dance and sing to awaken the sun from its long winter sleep.
In Roman times, it became the celebrations honouring Saturnus (the harvest god) and Mithras (the ancient god of light), a form of sun worship that had come to Rome from Syria a century before with the cult of Sol Invictus. It announced that winter is not forever, that life continues, and an invitation to stay in good spirit.
Posted by
Rene´s Bare Essentials
Tuesday, December 22, 2009
AL-QUR`AN, The Miracle of Miracles
Ahmed Deedat
chap1
Say: If the whole of mankind and jinns were to gather together to produce the like of this Qur`an, they could not produce the like thereof, even if they backed up each other with help and support.
What is a miracle?
I think it is necessary that we have a clear picture of what we mean by a miracle.
Read more>>
Posted by
Rene´s Bare Essentials
Halal and Haram
The Prohibition of Things is Due to Their Impurity and Harmfulness:
It is the right of Allah, the One Who created the universe and bestowed innumerable favours upon mankind, to legalise or prohibit as He deems proper.
In Islam things are prohibited only because they are impure or harmful. If something is entirely harmful it is 'haram', and if it is entirely beneficial it is 'halal'; if the harm of it outweighs its benefit it is haram, while if its benefit outweighs its harm it is halal. This principle is explained in the Qur'an in relation to wine and gambling:
"They ask you concerning wine and gambling. Say (O Prophet); in them is great sin and some benefit for human beings, but the sin is Greater than the benefit..."(Qur'an, Al-Baqarah 2:219)
Posted by
Rene´s Bare Essentials
"You're American? Oh, your husband must be from the Middle East."
"But you weren't raised that way"
"You better watch out for those men, I saw that movie."
"But it's not you, I know you better"
"Why are you trying to look like an Arab?"
"You don't have to dress that way, modernize."
"Aren't you hot with all those clothes on."Read more>>
Posted by
Rene´s Bare Essentials
Friday, December 4, 2009
As a new Muslim changing your name to a muslim name might have crossed your mind or perhaps you have been pressured by other muslims to change your now that you are muslim. You are feeling confused and overwhelmed.
A convert to Islam is not obliged to change their name to a muslim name. However, if the non-muslim name has a meaning that is against Islam then selecting a new name would be advisable.
Posted by
Rene´s Bare Essentials
Wednesday, December 2, 2009
For new muslims, praying in Arabic can be overwhelming as well as intimidating. One of the first surahs from the quran that I memorized when I reverted to islam, was Surah 112, Al-Ikhlas (Purity).
Al-Quran is divided into thirty equal divisions, which are called juz in Arabic. There are 114 chapters, of varying length. The longest chapter is Al-Baqarah consisting of 286 verses and the shortest
