sheik speare

awlaki and the constitution.

2011-09-30T19:31:00.005-05:00

A couple people emailed me today asking about the “legality” of the US killing Anwar al-Awlaki. Admittedly, my knowledge on the legal ramifications of such an act is quite narrow. I never paid much attention in Constitutional Law and my schooling in International Law was limited to one course. That course focused on international courts and forums which doesn’t pertain to this.

As we know, Awlaki was a US citizen. As a matter of law, US Citizens are entitled to the rights laid out in the Constitution (for our purposes, due process, fair trial, right confront your accuser – which in this case would have been the US Govt). As an aside, I would like to point out that even non-US Citizens within the United States are afforded the rights enumerated in the Bill of Rights.

From what I’ve gathered there are mainly two arguments on his killing:

1.as a US citizen, Awlaki should have been arrested and given the Constitutional rights entitled to him – defend himself via fair trial, etc; and
2.he was a hostile actor on a foreign land engaged in/facilitating combat with the US and thus subject to killing without exercising his rights.

Some, including strict Constitutionalists (Ron Paul), argue Awlaki’s killing was illegal due to its “unconstitutional” nature in that he wasn’t afforded the Constitutional rights as a US Citizen. The idea that the government can step in and kill/assassinate a US Citizen without affording him his rights is completely contrary to the protection of civil liberties that the Founding Fathers intended to give us. Furthermore, they see such a killing as an affront and impugning the integrity of the Constitution and strictly against American values. America isn’t supposed to engage in extra-judicial killings, especially against its own citizens. That’s one side of the coin.

Naturally, this begs the question: was Awlaki, as a “US Citizen”, entitled to a fair trial under the Bill of Rights? I don’t know. But those that say he wasn’t, including the Government, claim that Awlaki was a combatant on the battlefield, affiliated with Al-Qaeda, and thus subject to such a killing. Their argument is that simple and concise.

One more important point. Many question if Awlaki was still even considered to be a US citizen. Though he may have renounced his citizenship, according to US case law, he was a US Citizen:

In order to lose his citizenship, it must be shown that the U.S. citizen joined the foreign military or swore allegiance to another state "with the intention of relinquishing United States nationality" -- a very tough standard.
•http://blog.foreignpolicy.com/posts/2011/09/30/was_anwar_al_awlaki_still_a_us_citizen

Whether Awlaki announced his citizenship is a very interesting matter, though. But I won’t write about it here because it’s a digression from the main topic.

Ultimately, Awlaki went from being an inspiration to thousands, an advisor to the government on Muslim-Americans, to holding some very harsh views and ultimately being killed by the US. Somewhere down the line Awlaki’s views underwent a great transformation:

•http://www.cnn.com/2010/WORLD/meast/11/08/yemen.al.awlaki/index.html?iref=allsearch
•http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20091109/ap_on_re_us/us_fort_hood_muslims
•During the 2008 election, he wrote: "I wonder how any Muslim with a grain of iman in his heart could walk up to a ballot box and cast his vote in endorsement of creatures such as Mcain or Obama?!"
oEmphasis on “grain of iman”

What happened to him? I don’t know. But he did a complete 180. And this left many of his followers very confused.

In closing, I’d like to say one thing: whether his killing was “legal” or not, Awlaki likely died the way he wanted.

Now his judgment is left to Allah.

lockers in law school.

2011-09-28T14:30:00.003-05:00

confession:

i have the lowest locker. not only is it the on the very bottom, but its below 5 other lockers. this reminds me of junior high when the cool kids had the prime real estate in top lockers and the losers had the bottom ones.

i was a loser in junior high. and given the locker location rule, im a loser now

regards.

veggie burger

2011-09-13T17:16:00.000-05:00

salams.

during preparation, the chef asked if i wanted "lettuce, onions, and tomato" on my veggie patty burger. i said yes. afterwards i thought, "this will be one redundant burger."

regards.

reflections on the janazah prayer.

2010-11-20T17:22:00.001-06:00

Bismillah :o)

I had epiphany midway through Namaaz-e-Janaazah. My focus shifted now from the actual prayer to the one ultimate truism: that there is only God and He comes before everything else. It’s quite remarkable how the Almighty has a way of reminding you of this. It comes when you least expect it.

When we pray Namaaz-e-Janaazah, the notion is that we’re pray for the deceased. We ask Allah to forgive the person’s sins, that mercy be administered and the transition to the afterlife be one of ease, culminating to an entry in Jannah.

But the reality of the prayer is quite different than perception. You see, the Namaaz-e- Janazah doesn’t actually begin by praying for the deceased. The prayer itself is comprised of one rakah with 4 takbeerat. The first takbeer is followed by a praise of Allah and a recitation of the Fatiha. Then after the second takbeer, we pray to Allah to send peace and blessings upon the Prophet. It’s only after the third takbeer that we pray to Allah for the deceased, or that which we perceive to be the true purpose of the Namaz-e-Janazah. This is when I had the epiphany.

What exactly did this chronology imply? To me, Allah was essentially reminding us that while we may pray for the deceased, we must do so only after first praising Allah. Such an affirmation serves as a reminder to the one praying that regardless of how aggrieved we are, we must recognize that rightful place of Allah, al-Khaliq, and acknowledge that His Being comes before everything else. The subsequent evocation of the Prophet’s name is another reminder that after Allah and before any other individual comes our love and reverence for Muhammad (in Bukhari a hadith reads “no one can be a true believer without loving me more than his fortune, his children and all people"). Then we pray for the deceased.

Even in these moments of intense pain and grief, Allah reminds us that we are ultimately created to worship Him. The hierarchy is clear. Allah, our raison d’être, always comes first, regardless of the circumstance we’re facing. Then his beloved prophet. Then everything else.

"idle hands are..."

2010-09-19T03:55:00.002-05:00

assalamu alaikum :o)

bismillah.

"idle hands are the devil's playground."

at some point in our lives, we've likely heard this. or at least some variation of it.

start to appreciate time for what it is. its a blessing. take advantage of it and see it as an opportunity to better yourself, be it for the dunya or the akhira.

because each moment we let go without doing something beneficial for ourselves is a moment wasted. each moment that you fail to act, someone else may very well be seizing that opportunity to surpass you, whether it be a fellow classmate studying for an exam in a curved class, a coworker diligently completing his project and earning a promotion, or a fellow brother in humanity earning ajr by feeding a starving child.

do not be distracted or mistaken by the blessing of free time. when the human mind is idle, it tends to engage in thoughts and actions counterproductive to your ultimate goals. stimulate your mind and you'll be in a much better place than you were previously.

our beloved prophet (saw) spoke to this when he said "there are two bounties of allah wherein most people are deceived: health and free time."

call me ryan seacrest. because i am out.

punjabi poetry

2010-02-06T02:36:00.003-06:00

bismillah :o)

mazb dey puttar saaray nay,
magar banday da puttar koye nahin.

mankind zealousy follows religion
yet man lacks the decency of respect and tolerance
then what good is a religion, if it does not teach these things?

your brother.

the coca cola baby polar bear.

2009-11-06T01:44:00.003-06:00

salams

:o)

were still a few weeks away from the official start of the holiday season. and though we dont celebrate christmas, ive always loved the winter holidays. partly because of the cute baby polar bear we see in coca cola commercials and on their products.

seeing the little baalu evokes feelings of nostalgia for me. heres one of my favorite commericals:

sheik speare.

aphorisms - 5

2009-09-26T19:24:00.003-05:00

assalamu alaikum :o)

bismillah.

'you keep chillin now, you'll thaw out in the hellfire.'
-imam suhaib webb, 9.25.09

the muddy beard.

2009-08-04T02:45:00.007-05:00

assalamu alaikum :o)

bismillah.

last friday, about twenty minutes before the jumah khutba was to start, a thunderstorm moved in. it rained so heavily that the masjid parking lot and road leading into it filled with water. its important to note that the undeveloped plot of land adjacent to the paved parking lot is a now a makeshift parking lot. because it is nothing but dirt, whenever it rains, the whole plot quickly turns to mud. many problems stemmed from the rain. particularly people walking around the masjid with muddy shoes and parking their cars in the middle of the parking lot, blocking the sole entrance and exit. when the khateeb received word of how bad it actually got, he was visibly upset. he then narrated and old story.

during the reign of umer ibn al khattab (r), the streets of medina were still dirt roads. whenever a rain storm came, the roadways would quickly become muddy, making transportation quite difficult. following one of these rare downpours, a young tabien made his way to the masjid for prayer. during this trek, his shoes naturally became covered in mud. it was impossible for them to not be so. upon entering the masjid, he removed his shoes, and proceeded to clean the mud by wiping his shoes on the door of the masjid. ameer ul mumineen, umer ibn al khattab, just happened to be seated in the masjid, with a perfect view of what was taking place. angered and disappointed, he leaned over to a companion and said “it would be better if he took his muddy shoes and wiped them on my beard rather than desecrating the house of Allah.”

hmm.

and Allah Almighty knows best.

2009-06-20T01:23:00.003-05:00

assalamu alaikum :o)

bismillah.

Prostration

Then you go down in prostration. This is the highest level of submission, for you are bringing the most precious part of your body, namely your face, down to meet the most lowly of all things, the dust of the earth. If possible, you should make your prostration directly on bare ground, this being more conducive to humility and a sure sign of self abasement. When you place yourself in this position of lowliness, you should be aware that you belong there. You are restoring the branch to its root, for of dust you were created and to dust you shall return. At the same time you should renew your inner awareness of Allah’s majesty, saying: “Glory to my Lord Most High!” Repeat this to add confirmation, for saying it only once is not sufficiently emphatic.

When your inner feeling has clearly been refine, be confident in hoping for Allah’s mercy. For His mercy quickly flows towards weakness and lowliness, not towards arrogance and vanity.

As you raise your head, say “Allahu Akbar!” and ask for what you need, making the supplication of your choice, e.g. “My Lord, forgive and have mercy! Overlook my faults of which You are aware!”

You then make a second prostration, reinforcing your submissiveness.

Source: The Inner Dimensions of Prayer by Muhammad al-Ghazali.

aphorism - 4.

2009-05-02T18:59:00.002-05:00

'the test of affluence is at times much harder than the test of calamity.'
-mahmoud el gamal, 5.1.09

aphorism - 3.

2009-04-26T12:09:00.002-05:00

'look not at the minuteness of the sin, but rather see the greatness of the one you sin against.'
-4.24.09

may 19: houston, chicago, london, limerick.

2009-02-28T17:11:00.009-06:00

assalamu alaikum :o)

bismillah.

the flight to chicago was nothing special. once in chicago, i undertook a trek around the airport looking for a chapel. when i couldnt find it, i decided to pray to pray next to some phones at an empty gate. after that, i made my way to the food court and ate my aloo di roti. mother made a couple and forced me to take them along. not knowing what to do with the container, i tossed it in the trash and made my way to the gate. the flight from london to chicago was quiet boring. i sat next to a guy that was going to kiev, ukraine to visit his relatives. we discussed our trips for while and how the experiences should be amazing. he turned to his laptop for entertainment, while i read. the rest of the flight consisted of me sleeping, waking only to the plane wobbling during periods of turbulence.

as we landed i made my way to the immigrations area. there were quiet a few uncles and aunties directing the lines and even working as immigration officers. the line moved swiftly and soon i was on my way to baggage claim. after collecting my bags, i stored one in an airport locker, and then made my way down to the heathrow tube station. id been in london's gatwick airport a few times, but it was my first trip to heathrow. since it is one of the world's largest and busiest airports, it was only expected for me to get lost. eventually i found my way to the tube and jumped on. i spent the hour and a half trip to redbridge just talking to locals on board. since it was early in the morning many were on their way to either work or school.

i made it to redbridge and was soon picked up by my cousin bilal bhai's wife, hina bhaabi. the last time i saw him was during 2006, when i made a stop in london while returning from france. we chatted about family matters for hours, ate, and then continued to talk. bilal bhai is a business man, so he could just go on and on about his many successful business endeavours. the rest of the day consisted of me playing basketball and soccer with neha and heading down to the local zabiha fried chicken place for. upon returning home, i was physically and mentally drained. needing some rest, i decided to take a short power nap. upon waking up, i gathered my stuff together and got ready to head out for the airport. at that point i noticed that my phone was missing. frantically looking for it, i realized that it was lost, left either on the plane or the tube. this was a real downer for me, as id grown quite close with that phone. anyway, i had no time to mourn my loss. i said my goodbyes to the family and was on my way. the ride to the airport was very nice, with me taking in the english countryside as well as discussing family issues with bilal bhai.

i arrived at stanstead airport, checked in, and made my way to the securtiy checkpoint. everything went pretty smooth, expect for when they had to measure the length of my deodorant part to make sure it was within the allowable size. once they approved, i was on my way. the walk to the gate was very long, approximately 15 minutes or so. once i got there, i quickly realized that many eyes were on some, some belonging to people that appeared quite nervous. among all of the passengers, i was the only colored person. anyway, we walked down to the plane, boarded, and an hour or so later, we landed in shannon, ireland.

i went through immigration and customs, got my bag, and spotted amir bhai and sadia. we got home in limerick, ireland around 11 pm, irish time, which is 5 am houston time. i hadnt showered in approximately 2 days, so the first thing i did was take a nice long hot shower. after that, i joined the rest of my cousins and phuppo for a nice hot dinner, which was followed up by a couple hours of catching up over delicious sameya.

its 2 am now, and i have a few prayers to make up. night night.

and the 08 odyssey begins.

nephews always love a trip to the airport.

pop's shoes and the passport.

chicago. sears tower.

landed at london-heathrow.

took the tube.

cousin's house. north-east london.

london-stanstead airport.

flight to limerick, ireland.

shannon airport.

aphorisms 2.

2009-02-26T23:35:00.002-06:00

assalamu alaikum :o)

bismillah.

"half a doctor is dangerous for the body. but half a scholar is dangerous for the soul."
-apparently a south-asian proverb.

and Allah Almighty knows best.

your brother.

aphorisms.

2008-11-01T14:36:00.004-05:00

assalamu alaikum :o)

bismillah.

the following are a couple of enlightening and thought-provoking aphorisms i heard during my previous two khutbahs.

the khateeb cited an indian scholar's work, but i didnt catch the name, title of the work, or the quote verbatim. the scholar basically said that when a tree bears fruit, its branches are lowered. likewise, the more knowledge a person attains, the more he should lower himself. the idea being that as the tree increases in beauty and its ability to provide sustenance or assitance, it humbles itself. similary, knowledge should lead a person to "lower" oneself and be more humble. humility is an indicator of true knowledge.
- 10.31.08
"to sin is to self-oppress."
- 10.24.08

and Allah Almighty knows best.

your brother.

role reversal.

2008-09-05T19:22:00.000-05:00

assalamu alaikum :o)

bismillah.

"Most people will lose two things: good health and free time." Such were the words of Muhammad SAW.

Following jumah prayers today an uncle asked me for a ride home. This particular uncle suffered a stroke a few years ago, rendering him weak and unable to walk without assitance. Another effect of the stroke was the development of a speech impediment and some loss of memory. As I drove, he constantly kept instructing me on which route to take. With each gesture of his hand and order of his tongue, I had to calmly remind him that we lived in the same neighborhood, and that I knew where he lived.

As we got to talking, I told him of how I remembered running through the prayer hall with his children as a kid. After the rakat was over he would get up and yell, shouting "this is Allah's house to pray, not to play!" Forced to play outside, we would return back into the masjid and continue where we left off. After telling a few of these old stories from my childhood and his days of good health, the car felt silent. Uncle seemed to be in quiet a pensive mood, remembering happier days of ease and mobility, where he could run after us kids and worship his Lord without hardship. Now it was impossible for him to stand in prayer or even go into sujood. Yet, he didnt offer any excuses for himself, and continued to pray.

Here was a man who once looked after and disciplined us as kids. And here I was now, quite a number of years later, assisting him in walking to the car, sitting inside, exiting, and then getting situated into his own home. Man can be reduced to so little, so fast.

Countless are the bounties of Allah. Among them, is the blessing of good health. Remain cognizant of this and dont take it for granted.

Your brother in islam.

khutba rant.

2008-07-18T12:58:00.002-05:00

assalamu alaikum :o)

bismillah.

to have a vibrant and viable muslim community, it is vital to have a profound and enlightening khutbah on fridays. but last week, i had to endure one of the worst khutbas ever. i consider myself very tolerant when it comes to imams and sheikhs that migrated from overseas, simply because they tend to have a unique and more orthodox perspective due to their upbringing and education.

the purpose of a khutbah is to move the masses in such a way that they better themselves by reflecting upon the words of Allah, the teachings of Muhammad SAW, etc. but reaching this ideal becomes extremely detimental when the whole sermon is given in such a thick accent that the congregation has trouble deciphering and seperating the arabic from the urdu and the urdu from english. if thats not bad enough, the sermon had no organization or flow. from the outset it was painfully obvious that the khateeb had not prepared for the khutbah. even during the khutbah al hajaj he would take long pauses, as if to gather his thoughts, only to forget about them when delivering the next sentence.

as i have stated in earlier posts, the friday khutbah, sadly, is the only time of the week where many muslims are exposed to a sprinkle of islam. i completely understand why the prototype muslim american teenager may not enjoy listening to a khutbah or even entering the masjid because of khutbahs like this. with that being said, we shouldnt bend over backwards to accomodate the petty and trivial needs of such people. but its very important to not create an atmosphere where they think of attending the masjid as a punishment. rather, it should be a place where they want to go.

the desired and result would be to have let these sorts of imams lead the prayer, teach quran, and give lectures in their own language while they continue their education of the english language. such figures can still have quite a profound impact on the community. the roles they play need to be examined, defined, and narrowed so that their tools are used in an effective way, while the rest of the community can listen to a khutbah that they can understand and benefit from.

and Allah Almighty knows best.

your brother.

khutbah: 2.1.08

2008-02-04T09:06:00.000-06:00

assalamu alaikum :o)

bismillah.

to be candid, im usually critical of khutbas. it's the only time of the week where many muslims are actually in an environment that can be conducive to islamic learning. wrongs pertaining to understanding the deen can be redressed, communal ties can be continuously strengthened, and the masses in general can be educated. ideally, that's what one would like to happen, but such is not the case. to be fair, the congregation contributes to this subpar result just as much as the khateebs. it's the listeners responsibility to come and actively engage themselves with whats being preached, while it's the duty of the imam to be cognizant of what his community needs to hear. im not ultimately pessimistic though, because I see a slow and gradual change occurring, and inshallah this will continue. (we have some visionaries such as imam suhaib webb talking about starting imam training academies. see his blog) the Houston community has, i feel, made good strides, but there is always room for betterment.

last fridays khutba was giving by a man id last heard in the early part of 2004. since then he had not given any sermons at any major houston masaajid so I was curious to hear what hed have to say. overall, I thought it was a very good. understanding his congregation, mostly college students, he spoke directly to us in a very candid matter.

i don't remember what he said verbatim. below are some of the key points paraphrased and infused with personal commentary.

the vitality of learning the deen, was, I think, the central thesis of the whole khutbah. the khateeb mentioned a couple of times how we, being young bright minds on a university campus were adept to acquiring knowledge. thus there was a burden of responsibility upon us to go out and learn about our religion. it would be our duty to eventually educate the misinformed about the true reality of our religion and all that it stood for. but in order to do so, we need to be informed about our deen beginning with the very basic tenets of islam and gradually working our way up from there.
its important for us to combat the negative image of islam that is depicted by others that don't know of its genuine nature, including fellow muslims. they don't define islam, rather we do ourselves. its for us to go out and show that islam isn't a middle-eastern, female oppressive, and pro-violent religion.
one of the main reasons islam and the holy messenger Muhammad saw was sent down to earth was for the specific purpose of preserving and uplifting the dignity of humans. This was exemplified in how he treated all that he came into contact with, enemy or friend, muslim or non-muslim: "and we have not sent you except as a mercy to mankind" (al-anbiyah 21:107). the analysis here should be on the keyword "mankind" which is inclusive of all humanity.
early islam's process of resolution was to approach and examine problems in their own context. when we go to the educated, they should adopt this method and attempt to solve these issues, when necessary, on a case-by-case basis. we should respect those that come from overseas but that doesn't necessarily mean their rulings are iron clad. they may lack the required understanding to remedy the matter at hand or just to provide adequate advice regarding that it. another important point mentioned with this was that sometimes exceptions apply to the general rule. and if the issue is neatly confined to the boundary of that exception, it must be looked at accordingly. giving blanket rulings without looking at the background and context should be discontinued.

that's all i can seem to recall for now. i wonder if itd be permissible to takes note during jumah. hmm.

and Allah Almighty knows best.

your brother.

the secular uncle v. the religious youngns

2008-01-29T22:08:00.002-06:00

assalamu alaikum :o)

bismillah.

an interesting thing happened this past weekend. about 20-25 guys went out to eat at Shehnai after the an islamic seminar’s daily session concluded. as we stood in line for the buffet, a middle-aged desi uncle walked in. not far behind was his caucasian begum.

after making his rounds, he cut between us to get into line, and remarked something to the effect of “hey look, what is the tablighi jamaat doing here?!?!” as people turned to look at us, the smug smirk he donned turned into outright laughter. this was followed by a quick glance toward his wife to seek her stamp of approval. Granted, she probably had no clue as to what the tablighi jamat was, or what his joke meant, but he got his point across. gori aunty’s smile bespoke of commendation. Because we donned beards, we had the same repulsive mentality of the mullahs back home. he could mock us and laugh, because, after all, we weren’t as ‘modern’ and ‘cultured’ as he was. truth be told (not that I havent been candid with you all along), I was more disappointed than angry. uncle ji, biryani belly and all, seemed to be embarrassed simply by our appearance so much so that that he didn’t want his wife to know that we were his ‘people’. poking fun gave him a medium by which he could channel his insecurity and prove a point to the wifey: that he was the paragon of assimilation, while young practicing muslims like ourselves were the furthest thing from it. we offended uncle ji, and he just had to unequivocally show to mem-saab that he was not one of us.

people are always subjected to harsh comments due to their race and/or religion.god knows I have been. though what uncle ji said may not be vitriolic speech rooted in hatred and prejudice, it is something that we should be cautious of doing.i do get condescending remarks from ‘non-practicing’ muslims. perceiving me to be self-righteous and judgmental, theyre the ones that end up passing judgment. yes, ironic. on a greater scale, belittling one another, whether one be practicing or not, is not only detrimental to our cause in establishing a muslim american identity and strong community, but also to cultivating good character. not to mention the fact that its contrary to the sunnah.

muslim and bukhari report that the prophet saw once said “let whoever believes in Allah and the Last Day speak good or remain silent.” this hadith can see seen as one promulgating the basic manners of speech between 2 people. yes, we always violate it. some more than others. but at the very least we can use it as a guide to reduce unnecessary judgmental remarks.

perhaps uncle ji’s blind complacency and insecurity will give way to a nicer, tolerant man. one that no longer has to suffer from an inferiority complex.

and Allah Almighty knows best.

dada was a solja.

2007-08-06T00:13:00.000-05:00

assalamu alaikum :o)

bismillah.

so im sitting around with the old-timers just listening to them reminisce about days of past. turns out my grandfather fought in the indian regiment of the british army in germany during ww2.

when he was chosen to be presented with a medal for valor, he stated that he needed no medal, just the desire to perform hajj.

i found it interesting so i thought id share.

and Allah Almighty knows best.

masalama

sheik speare

7 year old victim of child abuse dies.

2007-07-10T03:26:00.000-05:00

assalamu alaikum :o(

bismillah.

news stories like this make me want to cry. sadly they are becoming more prevalent in our society.

http://www.thedenverchannel.com/news/13648026/detail.html

Coroner: 34-Pound Boy Died Of Starvation
Chandler Grafner's Death Ruled A Homicide

A 7-year-old boy who weighed only 34 pounds died of dehydration and starvation, the Denver coroner said.

According to the coroner's report, which was released Monday, Chandler Grafner's death was ruled a homicide because his death was due to "restricted access to fluids and caloric intake."
The boy also had dozens of cuts and bruises on his body, and died after going into cardiac arrest on May 6, the report said.

His legal guardians, Jon Phillips and his girlfriend Sarah Berry, face charges of first-degree murder. Prosecutors said they locked Chandler in a closet and didn't feed him.

Chandler and his 5-year-old half-brother, Dominick Phillips, were removed from their mother's custody and temporarily placed in their maternal grandmother's care. Denver Social Services then removed the boys from their grandmother's care and gave Dominick's father custody of both boys earlier this year.

7NEWS has learned that officials had clear warning signs that if heeded, could have prevented Chandler's death.

Documents held by several agencies and obtained by 7NEWS show that on Jan. 17, 2007, officials at Holm Elementary School made a hotline call to the Denver Department of Human Services. The call was to report the suspected abuse of Chandler and said he had a "bruised and swollen right ear" and a "mark on his neck."

According to the report, Chandler told his kindergarten teacher, "Dad kept slapping my ear in the shower. He smacked me in the neck and kept putting me in the water."
Sources close to the investigation say it wasn't until Jan. 19 that a case worker from Denver attempted to contact Chandler, but his foster parents kept him out of school.

On the same day, the social worker and police went to the apartment of Phillips and Berry, but found no one at home. On Saturday Jan. 20, three days after the initial report, police finally found Chandler at home. Multiple sources said a report confirms the officer found the child's ear badly bruised, scratches on his face, and a bump on his head.
Chandler initially told the officer that his foster father had hit him, but then said he had fallen in the bathtub. On Jan. 23, sources say case workers interviewed school staff and learned that Chandler had been sent to school in the December snow with one shoe and no coat. They also learned that Chandler told his teachers that his parents were angry and that he could not talk with [his teachers] anymore.

Three months later, on April 17, Denver Human Services received another hotline call from Holm Elementary about Chandler. The report said, "Child has not been seen in school since March 9, 2007," and "Staff called home many times. Dad reported there were 'family problems.'"

irshad manji discussion.

2007-03-27T23:54:00.000-05:00

assalamu alaikum :o)

bismillah.

a couple years back i attended the RIS convention in toronto. imran khan (yes the famous pakistani cricketeer) discussed how "progressive muslims" were actually "regressive muslims." he deemed them as group that wasnt actually advancing the religion.

initially when i was speaking to pbs about the event, we werent on the same page. this was due to a number of reasons, one being pbs' refusal to allow us to choose our own speaker. but after a few days of thinking and politicking, i decided to get on board. not to "refute" irshad, but to point out that her "reform" wasnt a solution to the current state of islam, or at least how she portrays it. more importantly though, i didnt feel as if i had to convert her over to mainstream islam, but just to represent the muslim youth of america and state our position on the religion. i knew that this wouldnt neccessarily be an easy task. not because she had mastered the sciences of the religion, but because she was a seasoned veteran in speaking out vehemently against traditional islam. many times she'd been given a podium and mic to vocalize her agenda and blast her disenchantment with the religion, but i had yet to see her engage in a public debate with a person well versed in the deen. in my eyes, irshad manji was nothing more than a pretentious sophist that tried to offer a panacea without any tangible remedies.

i got to the program a little early for sound check. after meeting ms. manji and her people she and i had a short little talk. basically, just getting to know one another. to her credit, she was very cordial and warmly polite when we spoke both and after the event. anyway, at that point i asked the organizers if they had made proper arrangements for maghrib prayers. when they replied in the negative i requested that they remedy this. i was lead to think 2 things: 1. they didnt think many muslims would show up or 2. it was an innocent mistake and they had simply forgotten about this.

the event started by a special screening of irshad manji's "faith without fear," a documentary made for pbs' series "america at the crossroads." the panel discussion was set to begin following the screening. i joined the discussion a couple of minutes late so i wasnt able to witness the opening remarks, but right as i made my way to the stage the moderator asked "mr. khan, does islam need reform?"

i stated that first, we needed to define what was meant by reform. as we know, islam as a religion is perfect, and its theological foundation cannot be touched. if by reform, we meant rejecting hadith and questioning the divine authenticity of the quran, then reform, in that sense, was not needed. we need to distinguish between what islam actually advocates, and how some muslims may manipulate the religion in order to further their own agenda (including irshad). also, we tend to overlook many factors, such as the legacy of colonialism and discord caused by its aftermath in muslim lands. the baby shouldnt be thrown out with the bathwater. what muslims need is to undergo a massive reeducation campaign focusing on early classical islam and then applying that to modern times.

the discussion moved on and irshad questioned the perfection of the prophet and launched an attack against hadith. hadith, she said, contradict one another and by revering the prophet and his words we are committing idolatry. before i could address this though, an audience member asked another question, thus changing the topic. but again, the topic of hadith and quran was revisited. irshad stated that islam grants us the freedom to explore. i then asked what she meant by the freedom to explore. did she mean that its central beliefs, the dictums upon which it stands were open to debate? i asked for her stance on the prophet, and she answered "the prophet does not define islam.... belief does." a little later she questioned the perfection of the quran. immediately this stirred many whispers among the audience members.
it was a setup question intended for irshad to once and for all state her position on the prophet saw and the quran because many in the audience, if not most, were unaware of her stance on these.

a few more excerpts from the discussion:
upon being questioned about her aims and credentials to reform islam, manji bluntly stated "i am not a reformer...i have never claimed to be a reformer." as she finished speaking i held up her book and read the subtitle to the audience: " a muslim's call for reform in her faith." here the purpose was to show that she wasnt exactly being candid with the audience. in fact, she was backpedaling when put on the spot.

as irshad continued to question the practices of islamic beliefs and rituals, dr. dina asked if we were to stop praying and quit fasting, basically if we abandon the prescribed orders of god and practiced by the prophet saw, then what islam wouldnt be islam. manji's reply started with "i struggle..."

a sister from the audience asked about irshad's stance on prayer. ms. manji replied that her prayer consisted of spontaneous conversations with god, and often times she did it much more than just 5 times a day. she questioned the practice of facing and prostrating towards the kaabah in mecca and cited the ayah "no matter where you turn, whether it be the east or west, you find gods face." ironically, she used the very literalism that she accuses everyone else of using. she deems prayer an insignificant ritual, and writes in her book "...reciting specific verses, and prostrating at a nonnegiotable angle, all at assigned times of the day can degenerate into mindless submission - and habitual submissiveness."

anyway i replied by first bringing up a passage in her book that pertained to the night oh the prophet's ascension.
the issue i had with this passage was that first shes using a hadith and according to her, hadith cannot be relied upon. the other issue was that the latter portion of the hadith consisted of the injuction that muslims had to pray at least 5 times a day, and many scholars say that the purpose of allah calling muhammad up to the highest heavens was to not only give the command of prayer, but also to signify the importance of this noble act.

i asked why she used a hadith when hadith were unreliable, and why she coincidentally left off the latter part of one of her favorite hadiths that referred to prayer. to me it was rather paradoxical for her to use hadith in the first place and i also stated that regardless of sectarian affliliation, muslims agreed upon prayer. it was views like this that not only alienated her but lead to many people not even listening to some of her other points. if i recall correctly, her answer was that this sort of hadith speaks volumes about the pluralism and diversity of islam. fair enough. but to the 2nd part of my question, ms. manji stated that the hadith didnt mention anything about prayer. she took the first portion of the hadith literally, but rejected the bit about the prayer and then denied that its even a part of the hadith.

its a rather lenghty hadith found in bukhari and muslim:

http://www.usc.edu/dept/MSA/fundamentals/hadithsunnah/bukhari/093.sbt.html#009.093.608
http://www.usc.edu/dept/MSA/fundamentals/hadithsunnah/muslim/001.smt.html#001.0309

i find many inconsistencies in manji's talk and book, and she often comes across as being hostile, accusastory, and condescending. she mentions in her book that there was "muslim complicity in the holocaust," a rather scathing indictment. had she forgotten about muslim contributions in defeating rommel in northern africa or crippling hitler at stalingrad?

and then come the plethora of contradictions. she uses hadith, yet says theyre antiquated and cannot be replied upon. she challenges the quran's perfection and if it is truly in fact the word of god by stating that its "contradictory," "at war with itself," and biased due to humans. yet she doesnt hesitate to use it in order to lend credence to her points. for example, when it came to defend her stance on prayer she cited the following ayaah from surat al baqarah:

"To Allah belong the east and the West: Whithersoever ye turn, there is the presence of Allah. For Allah is all-Pervading, all-Knowing. "

the irony here is not only is she using a "questionable" ayaah to prove her point, but is also hypocrtically taking it literally - something she accuses muslims of doing.

regarding the saying of the prophet saw, in her book she cites the hadith "...'beware of new things, for every new thing is an innovation and every innovation is a mistake.' great way to build a future, dont you think?" again, the irony is that irshad the intellectual takes the hadith literally at face value. she removes the saying from its original context and fails to see that this hadith addresses the advent of new matters in islamic theology. its a bit paradoxical, that she, the champion of critical thinking would accept this verbatim without exploring the actualy reasoning behind it. discrepancies in her talks and books abound. is she using islamic texts as mere fashion accessories?

she does make good points and touch on sensitive issues, such as women's rights to education, domestic abuse, etc. these undeniable rights are endowed and extended to us by allah. no one with a a shred of sanity can possibly dispute this. but the reality is that many people dont even pay any attention to what manji says, simply because of her rhetoric and propensity to be patronizing. to disagree with her is to be labelled a "jihadist." she has alienated so many people with her views on the quran, prophet saw, hadith, and approach in general, that even self-proclaimed "progressives" have distanced themselves from her. perhaps most damaging to irshad is that she paints with an extremely broad brush and belittles many muslims. an audience member asked about her engaging the local muslim community and how she felt. her reply was "why would i want to be part of a community thats intellectually impaired and morally atrophied." to say the audience was aghast would be a great understatement. here in america, the muslim community is comprised of many highly educated professionals that are known to be financially secure. society in muslim nations may not be bastions of righteousness or the pinnacle of civlizations, but the issue of morality in western secular nations is nothing to be lauded either. among the problems facing my country are the rate of violent crime and use of drugs; the rate of incarceration- which is the highest in the world, the issue of domestic violence - each day an average of 4 women are killed due to this heinous practice and every year approximately 570,000 women visit the ER due to this; the rate of poverty, etc. sexual promiscuity is championed while devotion to faith is jeered. how far have we strayed from the protestant moral tradition that this country was founded upon.

in conclusion, i feel as if irshad did more harm than good at the event. she stated herself that she didnt expect such a large muslim turnout and this may have thrown her off kilter a bit, especially when it came to answering questions. muslims and non-muslims respectively took offense with her remarks and were at times surprised by her take on matters. when discussing her views, people didnt even know where to start. instead many adopted a "why even bother" attitude. perhaps it was her approach or ambiguity while addressing questions, but many people stated that they didnt even know what exactly it was that she wanted. even my co-panelist, dr. dina, shared this sentiment. thus, i believe she was detrimental to her own cause.

discussion is good. but its extremely difficult to have fruitful dialogue with this camp because there isnt much common ground that can serve as a starting point for discussion. both sides come to the table with irreducible differences. she denies the validity of hadith and questions the quran and if we cant even agree on the sanctity of the texts that our religion is derived from, then there is no real basis for discussion.

"I debated a scholar and beat him. Then I debated a layman and that layman beat me - he had no knowledge of the principles and texts. I had nothing to say."

- Imam Shaafi

and Allah Almighty knows best.

europe.

2006-07-19T03:36:00.000-05:00

assalamu alaikum :)

bismillah.

the following is from an email i sent out:

as some of you may already know, inshallah today ill be heading off to europe where i will meet up with my cousins for a week and a half. now i tend to think of myself as being of the optimistic ilk, but the sunnah of the beloved prophet (saw) teaches us to hope for the best, while preparing for the worst. therefore, id like to ask for all of you to make dua that my journey brings me back home safely. and as always, keep those that are suffering daily around the world in your prayers, because when you pray for others, you are in essence praying for youself. though these goodbye emails have become quite cliched, i feel that theyre very important in that they give us all another chance to forgive and forget past mistakes and start anew. so please forgive me if i have ever hurt you guys in any way. may Allah help me overcome my shortcomings.

and Allah Almighty knows best.

masalama, your brother in islam
sheik speare

outback steakhouse 'taps' into halal market

2006-05-18T18:57:00.000-05:00

assalamu alaikum :)

bismillah.

i come to you with glad tidings, o clones.

this past week my sister referred me to an article in the houston chronicle regarding the halal restaurant business in america. the article discussed that many people were beginning to realize the potentially high profit margin in this sector, with the premise being that many restaraunts were beginning to cater to these needs. thus, the market was finally being "tapped" into. throughout the article, one tidbit jumped out at me:

"One American chain restaurant now offers halal at all its locations.

Outback Steakhouse began serving halal lamb, though Muslim customers have to make sure they don't get their vegetables dressed with "seasoned butter," which contains bacon in the seasoning, and avoid the cabernet sauce. The chain's supplier of lamb meat is a New Zealand-based company that follows halal standards because of its large business in the Middle East."

i couldnt find the original article on the chronicle's website, but i was able to find it on the dallas morning news website via google news. the paraghraph pertaining to outback steakhouse can be found near the end of the article. the chicago sun times also briefly mentioned it. if i can, ill scan the chronicle article and post it on here inshallah.

and Allah Almighty knows best.

masalama, your brother in islam
sheik speare

beautiful recitation of surah yasin.

2006-03-26T01:18:00.000-06:00

assalamu alaikum :)

http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-4510352835243450579

and Allah Almighty knows best.

maslama, your brother in islam
sheik speare

origin of abu hanifah's name.

2006-03-23T14:15:00.001-06:00

assalamu alaikum :)

i came across this on my msa's message board and i thought id share. no source was posted, so im not 100% sure if this is correct. if anyone can validate whether or not this is factual, i'd greatly appreicate it.

In a delightful report about how Imam Abu Hanifah received his name (his original name was Numan bin Thaabit bin Zuta bin Mah), an account of why the wife is forbidden to take more than one husband is recounted. 'Abu Hanifah' is an unusual name because it means 'the father of Hanifah', and Hanifah was his daughter. It was not the custom in those days to do this. Normally, the name would be 'the father of the name of a son.' How this came about is quite edifying. One day the great Imam Abu Hanifah was asked a question that, for the first time in his illustrious career, he was unable to answer. The question was, "Why were women forbidden to marry more than one husband at a time?" To make a long story short, Abu Hanifah's daughter said that she knew the answer and would solve this question if her father would make a promise to her that if she succeeded in solving this problem, he would then assure her a place in history. Abu Hanifah agreed. So she gathered a group of women together and gave each of them a cup. Then she brought in a large bowl of milk and asked each of them to dip their cups in the milk and to fill their cups. They did so. She then asked them to pour back the milk into the bowl. They did this too. She then asked them to re-fill their cups taking back only their own milk that they had poured into the bowl. This, obviously, was impossible to do. Hanifah had clearly demonstrated the kind of predicament that would be created if a woman had several husbands. With more than one husband, if she were to become pregnant, she would have exceptional difficulties determining who the actual father was. Identifying parentage and lineage would then be insurmountable for the offspring. Imam Abu Hanifah was so pleased with her answer that he took the name 'Abu Hanifah', 'the father of Hanifah', so his daughter did indeed earn a place in history.

and Allah Almighty knows best.

masalama, your brother in islam
sheik speare

alhamdulillah, yes, i am alive.

2006-03-12T01:06:00.000-06:00

assalamu alaikum :)

bismillah

the past two weeks have been interesting, i must say. our msa intramural basketball team, which in all humbleness was superb, suffered a 3 point overtime defeat in the first round of the playoffs. our undefeated season had came to a painful end with a heart-rending defeat. to make things better, that same night 2 incredibly painful blisters developed on the achilles of both my feet. i was in dire pain, hurting both physically and emotionally. my remedy? pop the blisters, which seemed to only worsen the situation. as of now though, im healed. but im left with 2 battle scars which serve as a testament to my manhood. quit laughing. moving right along. i had made up my mind to to run for the position of senator in the university government association this year. after filing my paperwork the campaigning period began, consisting mainly of me going around begging classmates and fellow muslims for votes. these efforts were accompanied by nightly qiyam sessions in which i begged the Almighty for divine intervention. it just so happened that i was running against 2 other people for a controversial seat (a number of complaints were filed by candidates regarding this position), and i was the only one lacking party affliation. the result? i came in third with a whopping 18% of the votes. after gathering myself, i went ahead and conceded the election. it was a hard fought battle, but unfortunately i came up a little short. id like to take a few moments to thank all those who were with me from the beginning, when the prospect of me running for election was nothing more than an idea being floated by me, myself, and i. yes, i served as my own campaign manager, campaign treasurer, and every other position relatin to my campaign. perhaps that explains the reason behind my defeat. again, quit laughing. with that, the first half of the spring 06 semester came to an end. alhamdulillah, a much needed break was now here. but it was back to campus a day later. i, with a couple friends were on hand to help with mist bowl preparations, but our duties today didnt consist of doing much. seeing that i had a very rare day off of work, i decided to pay a visit to the galleria to get an adapter for my sisters laptop. and with that the day came to an end.

and Allah Almighty knows best.

masalama, your brother in islam
sheik speare

free speech: islam and the west

2006-02-23T03:01:00.000-06:00

assalamu alaikum :)

bismillah

in light of the western world's defense that publishing the cartoons of Muhammad saw was an act of free speech, yesterday the MSA held an event comparing the concept of free speech in the eyes of islam and the west. below is an article from the school paper summarizing the event:

Speaker weighs Islam, West
Both cultures' idea of free speech is important, scholar says

by ZACH HAVERKAMP
The Daily Cougar

The UH Muslim Student Association sponsored a lecture Tuesday titled "Freedom of Speech: Islam vs. the West?" by Islamic scholar and UH alumnus Ubaid Qazi.

The event was held in response to the controversy surrounding the caricatures of Muhammad disseminated in European media. Qazi argued the conflict is between secularism and moral traditions, rather than Islam and the West.

"The concept of free speech, in its essence, is really a secular humanistic concept," Qazi said.

The western concept of free speech came about in response to governmental tyranny, whereas Islamic free speech is rooted within the teachings of Muhammad. This is an integral concept to understanding the conflict brought on by the cartoons, Qazi said.

"A lot of times people become confused in comparing secular free speech with Islamic free speech because they are not comparing the same thing. You cannot compare a legal framework with a moral framework; it's a separate issue," Qazi said.

Though freedom of speech is one of Western society's mainstays, it is not unlimited, as evidenced by the West's laws against libel, slander or speech that incites violence. The Western concept of free speech within reasonable boundaries is similar to the Islamic concept of freedom of speech, Qazi said.

"(Islam and the West's ideas of free speech are) similar in that Islam gives you a framework saying, ëYou can say anything you want to Ö but these are the limits.' So rather than having court precedents set those limits, the difference in Islam is that we believe God told us, "Look, these are the things you can't do. Don't cross these lines, and other than that, you're free,'" Qazi said.

In contrast to the stereotype that Islam itself is based around laws of subservience and oppression, the prophet Muhammad's teachings encourage Muslims to always question life around them, even if it is heresy, Qazi said.

"The Muslim perspective is, you are free to debate, discuss (or) differ. But the goal is not to insult; the goal is to find the truth, and the highest form of truth is justice," Qazi said.

In the Islamic tradition, freedom of speech is to be used to find truth and justice. Qazi said this concept differs from western societies' idea of freedom for freedom's sake.

"So justice in society is the primary goal of freedom of speech, not simply, ëLet me express myself artistically by dancing nude on a stage.' That doesn't necessarily expand the horizons of society from the Islamic perspective. But if you want to even debate the existence of God, fine. Bring your truths; we'll bring our truths. We can even debate that because the purpose here is to search and seek out the truth," Qazi said.

and Allah Almighty knows best.
masalama, your brother in islam

sheik speare

reply to the CY forum regarding the removal of my thread(s)

2006-01-18T00:22:00.000-06:00

assalamu alaikum :)

bismillah.

the issue at hand was the removal of my threads pertaining to an event where sh. hamza yusuf and imam zaid shakir were speaking. i do have one request: after reading it, please refrain from commenting on this particular post. any negative remarks regarding any individual, be it the shyook or the brother im discussing this with, will be deleted immediately. and let it be known, i have no animosity towards anyone, and this brother is well aware of this. i love all for the sake of Allah.

first and foremost, id like to expression my sincerest thanks to shariq for finally replying to me on this matter.

Your reponse was given to you via IM by me last night in the same manner you had approached me when you first addressed your concern (which wasn't specific).

nonsense. i asked "what happened to my thread?" there was nothing vague about that, since i was referring specifically to my thread.

In case you didn't get those im's I will post it here for everyone to see. There are a few organizations that CY will promote and will allow promoted on it's website, message board, and e-mail list. Of the organizations that we WILL promote are:
* Texas Dawah
* Houston Dawah
* MIST
* SEMY
* CAIR-Houston
* Islamic Relief
* MSA-UH
* Daughters of Adam
* and all exclusive ISGH activities

oh? well then i violated NO rules thus far. if you take a look at the flyer of the event (which you cant, because it was deleted), you will see that the only organizations mentioned on it are MSA and ISGH, both of which are on your list of acceptable organizations. last year MIST was one of the promoters for the Hamza Yusuf and Zaid Shakir event, and a portion of the MIST bow's questions were to be derived from that event, yet all posts related to that event were eventually deleted as well. so here we have 3 organizations which you have on your list supporting or promoting these events, yet all posts related to them were systematically deleted. also, there are numerous advertisements of Al Maghrib on the forum. in fact one of them is by you yourself regarding a scholarship. since Al Maghrib isnt on your list of approved organizations, are you not violating the very rules you came up with?

Furthermore if you refered to rule #10 in the category entitled "RULES OF THE BOARD" (http://www.crescentyouth.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=116) it read "DO NOT promote any organization on this board that is not in the following link: http://www.crescentyouth.com/listpolicy.htm." Note the past tense.

Since then i have revised the rule to read "Please DO NOT promote any organization on this board that is not in the following link: http://www.crescentyouth.com/listpolicy.htm or without emailing the Moderator (moderator@crescentyouth.com)."

in other words, you changed the rules after my post was made, after it was deleted, and after i asked for an explanation? anyways, the link and "endorsement policy" now read like this:

We cannot promote ALL third party events because of server restrictions and because we don't like to flood the inboxes of our subscribers. -We WILL send out
emails from the following organizations FOR SURE:
• Texas Dawah
• Houston Dawah
• MIST
• SEMY
• CAIR-Houston
• Islamic Relief
• MSA-UH (exclusive)
• Daughters of Adam
• MYBA
• and all
exclusive ISGH activities -We will NOT send out third party emails unless it is
a SPECIAL reason and it must have a unanimous vote within the shura. No
exceptions whatsoever.

once again, i wasnt even in violation of any of these newly concocted rules. i NEVER (yes, i too can use caps for dramatic effects) once asked you to send out emails. theres an enormous difference between sending out emails and posting a thread about a certain events. secondly, the reasons you list for not sending out emails is a desire to not flood inboxes. which is perfectly reasonable and understandable. but your deletion of the thread about the program is not in accordance with the stated reasons on your own link.

Also... so everyone knows... Crescent Youth is not a customer-service organization. This is a volunteer based da'wah organization. If something is deleted, it is deleted because it violates the rules of the board.

i wasnt aware i violated any rules, because i didnt. and when my threads were being deleted, i kindly asked for an explanation.

Now if I or another moderator see something that is in violation we might not
have a chance right then and there to provide a lengthy explanation or ANY sort
of communication.

so you admit youre a moderator? but you said you werent. are we being forgetful? and please, dont twist my statements. i request for you to please, go, check the archives and tell me where i asked for a "lengthy explanation". you know what, ill save you the time and effort of having to go back and sifting through the piles of deleted threads in the archives. i myself will provide snippets of my past (deleted) threads. from thread 2:

if someone could please explain to me who deleted my thread, and on what grounds.

and from thread 3 (i hope you guys can keep count of the thread numbers):

is it really that difficult for one of the moderators to simply state what was
wrong with the thread?

keyword = simply. "simply" implied that i was looking for a "plain" "easy" or "straightforward" answer. never did i ask for a dissertation paper on why my threadS were deleted. not once. thats wonderful and great. i commend you for running such a tight ship. but again, i wasnt in violation of any of the rules. a moderators job is to make sure rules arent being violated

Alhamdolillah we have lives other than CY just as every other poster on this
message board and sometimes we get wrapped into things. A moderator's job is to
scan the board and see violations and delete them. If the mod has time then he or she will shoot the person an email otherwise they'll do it when they have some free time and sometimes these "explanations" fall through the cracks and we forget.

thats wonderful and great. i commend you for running such a tight ship. but again, i wasnt in violation of any of the rules. a moderators job is to make sure rules arent being violated, not delete threads which arent violating rules. and yes, i know yall have lives other than cy. but in this case, the mod had plenty of time to provide a brief explanation. i mean, if they didnt have time and had other things to do, why would my threadS be deleted on a few hours after they were made? youre saying that the mods are busy and have other stuff to do, yet they had plenty of free time to sit and wait patiently for my threads and then delete them, but not "shoot" me back a reply or email. but yes, sometimes these "explanations fall through the cracks"...3-4 times.

Let's remember to give everyone benefit of the doubt EVEN if they act in a way
that you do not appreciate. Take a step back and look at all options and possibilities instead of gunning for "CY is censoring like the communists".

this statement is paradoxical. im being asked to give someone the benefit of the doubt (which i do, because Islam teaches us to do so. 70 excuses, remember?), yet your CAPLOCKS imply that i am not giving CY the benefit of the doubt. so much for me being given the "benefit of the doubt" by CY. and all "options and possibilities" were pursued, used, and exhausted.

Which brings me to another point. Manners. I don't want to go into manners 101, because im sure that this post in itself lacks some manners. Something simple though... if you have a grievance you goto the person which you have the gripe with. You don't go on a message board and post it in a public forum for the world to see. If you want to criticize you criticize privately and not in front of the entire public. This is simple etiquette.

wow. i dont know whether to laugh or take this post seriously. this statement is the essence of contradiction. you dont "want" to go into manners, yet youre saying that im ill-mannered? fantastic. i always thought i was a well-mannered boy. i guess all the aunties at the family dawat lie to me when they say "mashallah, kitna acha bacha yeh hain." shariq, whyd you have to shatter my paradigm. seriously though, im offended. i have displayed nothing but respect and manners, yet here im being told that i lack manners. sorry. but since youre well mannered and the epitome of perfect character, could you please explain to me how i could better my manners? and if you want, you can continue to openly scold and talk down to me like im a 4 year old toddler. once again you assume and exaggerate what i said. to make it clear, i voiced my support for CY because i believe it is an organization that has done a lot of good for the community, especially the youth, and i never once attacked cy. so for you to claim that i openly criticize is uncalled for. i dont have anything against you or any person on this forum, and you, and those that know me on this forum know that. ask anyone that knows me, i defend CY whenever someone comments against it. and i didnt post anything wrong on the message board, the whole matter at hand pertains to something being posted on a public message board, so it only makes sense to discuss it here. so please, lay off the personal attacks. in islam there is a beautiful way of giving naseeha, and this approach, certainly, goes against the beautiful teachings of islam. see the story of Hussan RA and Hussain RA and how they dealt with the elder man when he wasnt doing wudu correctly. now this is "simple etiquette. and as for making a private matter public, youre one to speak. I recall an ISGH petition circulating througout the whole houston community a few years back (a petition I signed) protesting the quality of the ISGH website. Classic example of handling something in private.

You did not email the admins, you did not call me or the other mod, but instead
resorted to posting about it on the message board.

i discussed this above.

Yes, you did aim me with something very vague and since i am NOT a moderator i
didn't know what you were talking about.

it was not vague. you knew what i was talking about, especially after 3 threads were deleted. and that in that AIM convo we didnt discuss anything of substance relating to this matter. you mentioned that you were being quirky and you stated how it was in your personality to divert the topic. now since that was a private convo, i will not go into any other details because that would not be right of me to do so. but just to be clear, VERY little of this was discussed on AIM. and how can you not be a moderator when earlier in this post (see above) you stated "now if i or another moderator" (not "i or a moderator) implying that you are a moderator. freudian slip?

I did tell you to give me a call so we could talk about it and so i could figure out what had been moderated but you didn't. You didn't even email about it even though i expressed that i had no clue of what you were talking about. There are tons of posts on this message board and many have to be moderated very quickly. Alhamdolillah we have a wonderful team of moderators and i believe they all act in accordance with the rules. If you have a gripe or complaint let's act civil and in accordance to proper adab.

again, i have been especially kind and ive approached this matter in the nicest way possible, so why are you making these personal attacks and assumptions? am i not acting in a civil manner? is my adab incorrect? is it unislamic? perhaps you can teach me, because an unmannered person like myself can only be taught by a well-mannered person of your status. in this thread you seem to constantly berate me, but tell me, is this being "civil" and acting in "accordance to proper adab?"

This is also why your last two anti-cy strings were removed. Why all the negativity?

why are you accusing me of being negative? search through your archives (archives sounds like a lot) and tell me where have i been hostile? if anything, ive shown the utmost respect, "civilty," and "adab" - all of which you claim i lack. so i think its inherently clear whos being negative.

If you have a super-gripe shouldn't you address it with memebers of the shura? You even know me personally... but did you send me an email? And this is towards all the other guys who posted in the same string with negative comments.

lol, youve used the word gripe atleast 4-5 times in the post up to this point. was it the merriam-webster email word of the day? or are you just very fond of it. anyway, why would i send you an email when i mentioned it to you via aim, and made 4 threads which voiced my requests, which were deleted by yall. if it was deleted all 3 or 4 times (i lose count) then obviously yall saw it and read its contents. and please, if you could, list the people in this shura so we actually know who to talk to? they arent available on your website. or atleast i couldnt find a list when i searched for one.

It is NOT proper to criticize someone or an organization like that in public WITHOUT first addressing the issue with the target of the criticism. This is BASIC etiquette.

umm, what? you seem to be blowing this out of proportion, not me. calm down a little, bro, i didnt seek out a "target" to criticize. it seems as if your paranoia is leading you to change and twist the words i said. you act as if i maliciously maligned you and cy, when i only asked why my thread was deleted. again, i request for you to search the archives of deleted threads and show how i blatanly targetted CY. keep in mind, i have nothing against the organization, and you yourself know that i have helped with events, and you have on occassion personally asked me to do so.

Let's take things to another level. Say for instance that a noob comes on this message board (we get 150-200 unique hits a day to the message board) and reads your post.

congratulations, but isn’t calling someone a “noob” rather disrespectiful and condescending in itself?

What if the person thinks that CY is run by narrow-minded, unmannerly, and ultra-conservative fools?

then that person is a fool himself for letting one incident shape his view of an organization. but also, you yourself have mentioned that CY only promotes a select group of organizations’ events (again i mention that they themselves supported the hamza yusuf-zaid shakir event). im not saying anything, but by your statement of admission, you imply that those are organizations not your list of acceptable organizations are deemed “unacceptable.” So one may argue, and before you take this out of context, keep in mind that I stress the word “may”, that CY might just be “narrow-minded.” as for CY being unmannerly, please, for the love of God, don’t speak such blasphemy. how can CY be “unmannerly” when clearly i am the ill-mannered and brute individual lacking the very “adab, manners, and etiquette” all muslims are required to possess by faith. no no no, please don’t be so harsh on yourself, you don’t give yourself enough credit. CY serves as a superb model in all aspects, and from now i will look to that model in order to learn some manners.

I woudl like to think this isn't the case BUT if the person were to read the type of stuff you and the two other guys wrote... then do you think there would be a slight possibility of them thinking this?

see above. but before you do that, why would you attribute what 2 other people are saying to me? i don’t speak for them, and they don’t speak for me. and i don’t even know which “two other guys” youre talking about because those were removed for being too “critical.” they have their thoughts. i have mine. so please don’t read the replies of others as being my own. and read the “type of stuff I wrote?” please don’t tell me you are being serious. Not ONCE did post anything negative or critical of CY. If you or the readers dont believe me, then again, for the 97th time, i cordially invite you to dig through the archive of deleted and censored threads, and produce some sort of evidence from my posts supporting this contemptible claim. i cant, in no way possibly shape the mindset of others. only the organization can do such a thing. and if anything, if they possess one iota of common sense or intelligence, they wont see my threads as a reason to, as you claim, turn away from cy. but rather they might notice the unexplained and consistent deletion of my threads as a reason to do so.

You think they would come to any of our activities then?

why are you making this an “us vs. them” ordeal. see above.

Do you think that perhaps they would go around and maybe spread this idea to
others?

the irony. the irony. oh wait i mentioned that already. i think the potential ramifications of this matter are being blow out of proportion. people are forgetful, and theyll just as soon forget that this happened. but as i mentioned above, it
would be rather foolish of them to do such a thing.

So to sum up:
1. You did not contact me about anything specific. Just a complaint. If it was of
genuine concern at the time you would have followed up with me but you didn't.
2. All the mods have other things to do as well and sometimes things fall through the
cracks.
3. Please read the rules. Maybe another incident can be avoided in the future.
4. Let's remember manners and how to address concerns properly.
5. Let's remember to give others benefit of the doubt even if they did something that's so unappreciated.
6. If you feel you are wronged ADDRESS the concern individually with a member ofthe shura.

1.yes i did. more than once. see above.
2. they might have other things to do, but in this case they somehow had enough time to delete my threads 4 times without a “simple” explanation. and granted sometimes people do get busy, but again something that has been dominated the board for quite a few days "falling through the cracks” is rather laughable.See above.
3.inshallah. this reminds of me gradeschool when the teacher used to yell at me for breaking the rules and then taking away my recess time. man how i hated that. it just killed me to see my other friends playing teatherball (sp?)while i sat all alone against the brick wall :(. only difference here is that I followed the rules. See above.
4.sorry for my lack of manners. since you are infallible, i will turn to you and seek lessons from your highness. again, see above.
5. a paradox. you ask for me to give benefit of the doubt when clearly here you are not giving it to me. see above.
6. again, who is on the shura? See above.

I am sorry that you have had such a bad experience with one of your strings being removed a couple of times from the message board without explaination. I hope insha'Allah that something like this will be avoided in the future.

i had no such thing. i enjoy posting here on cy, even if sometimes my threads vanish into the twilight zone.

I've only responded to this publicly because of your insistence to lambash CY and it's moderators in public and also because so many people have read your post.

lambash? lollll. what in the name of something unsacred are you talking about? are you making up whatever comes into your mouth and saying it? again, go through your archives of deleted threads and produce one instance where i was disrespectful or where i “lambashed” anyone. if anything, i was a hundred times more kind and respectful than you were. my approach was one devoid of personal attacks.
and one more thing, is “lambash” a word that you made up? because its not even a word. i believe the correct term you were looking for was “lambaste.”

If I have said anything to insult you or anyone else then i ask for your forgiveness.

yes, insult then seek apology. even though i have been ridiculed, i forgive you for speaking to me in such a harsh and stern manner, because, after all, it is in my religion to so do.

In conclusion, id like to say that this is all tired and redundant rhetoric. rather than addressing the matter at hand, you resorted to making a lengthy post in which large and sometimes made-up words blanket very moot points. perhaps the only positive thing in your reply though was to point out that i lacked sufficient manners, but inshallah, your extremely holier than thou attitude will serve as a model for me and all others, including the youth of houston, as one to be emulated. please, let me take a hold of the reigns of your horse (high) so everywhere you go i can follow, and hopefully learn from the best. And while doing so, maybe you can explain to me why my threads were deleted

and Allah Almighty knows best.
masalama, your brother in islam
:)

eid ul adha.

2006-01-10T13:50:00.000-06:00

assalamu alaikum :)

bismillah.

eid mubarak to all. may you have a wondeful and blessed festival. remember to keep your less fortunate brethren in mind.

i posted some pictures of hajj taken from cnn.com. inshallah, if i can, ill also post some pictures up from eid prayers in houston.

An elderly man prays outside a mosque Sunday in Arafat, Saudi Arabia.

Muslim pilgrims gather at Jabal Al Rahma, the mountain of

forgiveness, in Arafat outside Mecca, Saudi Arabia, early Monday.

Muslim pilgrims pray at Jabal Al Rahma, the mountain of forgiveness, in Arafat outside Mecca, Saudi Arabia. More than 2 million Muslim pilgrims raised their hands to heaven and chanted in unison as they hiked through a desert valley Sunday to a tent city on the outskirts of Mecca in preparation for the annual Hajj.

and Allah Almighty knows best.
your brother in islam, sheik speare

sheik speare encounters a fellow sheikh.

2005-12-22T03:50:00.000-06:00

assalamu alaikum :)
bismillah.

as i was walking through the mall today, i noticed a new shoe store that wasnt there the last time i visited. i decided to turn back and do some window shopping, and perhaps even go in and browse the clearance section if, by chance, i happened to see anything pleasing to the eye. upon entering i saw a rotund desi uncle -mustache, belly and all - sitting behind the register, ringing up customers and eating, while simultaneously barking orders at his employees. the shirts these employees wore displayed the word "sheikh" and rested atop a nike swoosh. yes, it was quite strange. the in-store set up was actually pretty good though. unlike your typical desi business, it had a nice, welcoming, professional feel. as i slowly made my way around, picking up shoe after shoe, only to set them right back down after discreetly seeing the costly price-tag, i noticed that mariah carey's "shake it off" had been playing the whole time. the chorus went a little something like this:

I gotta shake it off
Gotta make that move
Boy I gotta shake, shake it off
Gotta do what's best for me Baby
and that means I gotta Shake it off

by this time i realized that a pattern was developing. certaintly, something was up. the sherlock in me begged to ask if there could possibly be a connection between all that i had witnessed: desi uncle, "sheikh" shirts, and mariah carey's "shake it off" playing on repeat. baffled, confused, and upset, i walked out of the store (without shoes of course), proving to be a failure in my quest to to connect the dots and unravel the problem. then, in a moment of epiphany, i realized that the final piece of the puzzle lay in the store name. slowly, i turned, almost afraid to look up. "sheikh shoes" read the sign. uncle sure knew how to do business. my prediction? the "sheikh shoes" experiment will turn out to be a success.

and Allah Almighty knows best.

masalama, your brother in islam
sheik speare

its that time of year, the holiday season is here (haram!) sarcasm

2005-12-18T03:13:00.000-06:00

assalamu alaikum :)

bismillah.

this past thursday i took my last final and with that the fall '05 semester came to an end, alhamdulillah. in retrospect i feel i did well grade-wise, but it vexes me to know that with a little extra time i could have done better in a couple classes. i also would have liked to post my thoughts on some particularly significant events which took place this past semester, such as the earthquake in asia, eid, the situation in iraq, and so forth, but likewise due to time constraints i was unable to. but whats done is done, and with this month off of school i hope to catch up on a lot of things, especially my reading. and perhaps even update this ol' blog o'mine on a consistent basis. it may seem like an unrealistic goal, but inshallah ill be able to.

now, i, along with this unbelieveably painful canker sore which lingers along and refuses to go away, will sign off.

and Allah Almighty knows best.

masalama, your brother in islam
sheik speare

2.two.2.two.

2005-11-15T20:39:00.000-06:00

assalamu alaikum :)

bismillah.

as i was numbering my paper in class today, i decided that i was going to change the way i wrote my 2s. the current form bores me, so i figured adopting the style i used in my earlier years is bound to bring some excitement back into my life.

from this:

to this:

now we sit and wait. stay tuned.

and Allah Almighty knows best.

ma'salama, your brother in islam
sheik speare

reflections:hurricane katrina

2005-09-18T01:50:00.000-05:00

assalamu alaikum :)

bismillah.

death, destruction and mayhem - thats what hurricane katrina brought to the gulf coast. "one of the worst natural disasters this country has ever seen" stated president bush, and the devastation left in the storm's wake proved difficult to disprove his statement. the fallout was catostrophic, and all too often deadly. for days the world watched as people lived liked animals in the city of new orleans. people clung on to dear life by climbing on rooftops, while others resorted to looting businesses, and in some instances raping one another. people drowned while attempting to cross floodwaters in order to reach safety. like a buoys in the open sea, dead bodies bobbed in the waters. passerbys, looked on casually, as if it was a scene they became all too familiar with. all this as the world watched. all this a few hundred miles away from me. all this in 21st century america.

the leaders of new orleans soon realized that their city would be unable to provide food, shelter and medical aid to all those affected by the storm. by the tens of thousands they were bussed to cities around america, with the majority of them ending up in houston, tx. as a fellow human being, and even more so as a muslim, i felt compelled to do whatever was in my capabilities to help these people out. so one week ago from today - on september 11th, 2005 - i, along with 2000+ muslims from around the greater houston area, went down to the george r brown convention center and fulfilled an article of faith: help those around you who are in need. we fed them, cleaned after them, provided medical care, played games with the children, but most importantly we sat and chatted with them. we heard their stories, and hopefully learned something from their experiences. uncles with fist-length beards donned gloves and aprons and wiped down tables, while others provided moral support and became a shoulder on which they could lean. how humbling it truly was. i spoke with a family that had lost everything, and they didnt know what to expect next. their house was under water, and so were their workplaces. no house, no job, nothing but uncertainty. but they remained strong and seemed thankful that they atleast survived. this past summer at camp i met a few muslim brothers from the new orleans area that i got to know very well. i spoke to one of them just a few days ago and he told me how is 2nd story apartment was still flooded with water.luckily they evacuated before the storm hit, but his older brother had decided to stay home and ride it out. for a week he lost all communication with his brother. distressed by incertitude, finally his brother had called. the roof of their house had collapsed, but somehow by the help of Allah they had managed to make it out to safety.

http://www.cnn.com/2005/US/09/11/katrina.muslims.ap/index.html

so many people lost everything overnight. and we sit here and let the minorest of inconvenieces agitate us and create a rift in our lives. be thankful to The Almighty for everything you have, even if its very little. and know that Allah does as he pleases.

about 80% of the city was flooded
with water up to 20 feet deep.
(source: cnn.com)

and Allah Almighty knows best.
masalama, your brother in islam
sheik speare

isna 2005: brief recap (updated pics 9.12.05)

2005-09-09T02:32:00.000-05:00

assalamu alaikum :)

bismillah.

below is a brief recap of isna 2005 which i originally posted on islamicaweb.com:

one week ago i was packing for isna 05. one week later i begin packing for isna 06.

honesly, i dont know where to start, so i guess ill begin with the program. compared to isna 03 and isna 04, i thought it was horrible. the topics werent that interesting and im sorry but abdallah idris ali isnt the greatest speaker out there. that being said, id like to move on.i arrived in chicago thursday night along with my cousin hatattack. from the airport we proceeded directly to the rosemont convention center where we overlooked the construction of the infamous islamica booth. there we ran into azher, afeef, resay and mirza, who kindly lent us the keys to his nicely equipped infiniti fx35. hello devon street. hello italian express. after eating we hung out on devon for a couple hours or so, and then made our way to farasat's (worked the islamica booth) apartment where we called it a night. friday afternoon we arrived at isna.

[list of fellow islamicans that i met which i decided not to include here.]

overall, i had a blast hanging out with my brothers from across the country. from our antics in the bazaar, walking to mcdonalds at 2 am, handing out MSA session flyers with random witty comments, pulling an all nighter in bud's hotel room and discussing muhajibas, congregating in the empty quiet corner of the hyatt lobby with nihari and fried chicken and then being given the boot by the lawmen, to protesting the naseeb party at the roadside with posterboards, everything was amazing. i thank Allah for bringing us together i ndeen and brotherhood. know that i love each and every one of you. isna 06 can not come soon enough.

he just grabbed ahold
and wouldnt let go.

myself and bud in
the hyatt on sunday night.

myself and goldi
outside the naseeb party

my isna credentials.

scorcher.jaysh.me.meraj.bud.goldi.

i found this toy near the dumpster.
figured id get my cardio workout done
and avoid the lobby

(ill try to update as more pictures come in.)

and Allah Almighty knows best.

masalama, your brother in islam

sheik speare.

it was a dark and stormy night...

2005-08-29T00:25:00.000-05:00

assalamu alaikum.

bismillah.

we left the restaraunt quite late last night due to the stormy weather. after closing everything down and locking the doors, i jumped into my car, happy to finally be headed home. from the outset the drive home proved to be very difficult. the high wind gusts and rain made it almost impossible to see ahead, so i drove extra cautiously just to be safe. later on the weatherman on the news said that this rain was due to the hurricane in the gulf coast, which sat just a few hundred miles away from coastal lousiana. the thunderstorms that brought the rain had only a few hours ago been as far north as oklahoma, but due to the shear suction power generated by the hurricane it acted as a vaccum by pulling all of the moisture from the atmosphere towards itself. as i was driving down the highway i noticed that a few cars had stopped with their hazards on, scattered across 3 lanes. as i got a little closer i saw what seemed to be an accident scene: a pile-up of cars, one in the ditch, and what seemed to be an overturned minivan. without stopping to think i slammed on my breaks and ran out, fearing for the worst. as i ran past the cars i saw a couple of men, one holding an umbrella and the other tending to some man that lay on the ground. as i approached i saw a twisted heap of metal, or what once was a bicylce strewn across the pavement. it was at that precise moment when a sense of fear overcame me. nonetheless, i got myself together and ran to the scene where the man lay on the ground. he lay there motionless, with blood all across his neck chest and stomach. the man who was holding the umbrella threw it towards me and told me to hold it over him while he went to get something from his car. the other man, who happened to be holding up the mans head to stabalize it incase of any injuries to his neck told me to hold his hand and check for a constant pulse. there we were, on our knees in the middle of the highway, rain pelting our bodies from every direction with lightening flashing in the skies above, trying to help a stranger cling on to dear life. later on i recalled how i was shivering, but i wasnt sure why: was it because of the cold rain and strong wind which caused my wet clothes to stick to my body, or because i was in some state of uncertainty, not knowing if this man whose hand i was holding would die. for 15 minutes he fell in and out of conciousness, and then finally from a distance we heard the sirens and saw the flashing lights. now what became of the man, i sure dont know. as i held his hand i just prayed to Allah to give him a second chance at life, a life which hopefully he would live by accepting Allah as his Rab.

let this be a reminder to all of us: death can come at anytime, and when it comes, die in the state of al-islam.

and Allah Almighty knows best.

masalama, your brother in islam
sheik speare.

AIM Convo II: righthandman

2005-08-18T00:25:00.000-05:00

assalamu alaikum :)

bismillah.

iballufall: theres also one hadith that says "cleanliness is half of ones faith"
iballufall: so ima go shower.
righthandman: so is marriage
righthandman: ima go holler

myself and righthandman at my nephews
birthday party in december 04.

and Allah Almighty knows best.

masalama, your brother in islam

sheik speare

niaz starts school.

2005-08-10T18:14:00.000-05:00

assalamu alaikum :)

bismillah.

today the eldest of my two nephews embarked on a new chapter in his young life - his first day of prekindergarten. he woke up extra early, ate his breakfast, put on his clothes, grabbed his brand new spiderman backpack and he was off. so young, innocent, and pure, he was extremely eager to head off to school without really comprehending what it meant; without being aware of the rigors and hardships of public school, especially at the junior high and high school levels. but all he thought about was his new spiderman backpack. the excitement on his face brought to mind the day we brought him home from the hospital. they grow up so quick.

may Allah make it easier on them than it was for me. and may Allah bless them immensely. ameen.

niaz at one in his first nikes.

niaz with my cap on last week.

showing off the backpack this morning.

making a goofy face.

abdullah watching his older brother go to pursue knowledge.

niaz and his mother walking to class.

and Allah Almighty knows best.

masalama

your brother in islam, sheik speare.

birthday - being thankful to Allah.

2005-07-27T00:54:00.000-05:00

assalamu alaikum :)

bismillah.

two weeks ago yesterday, i turned 21. truth be told, my family didn’t really celebrate, primarily because i give no real significance to birthdays. my sister brought home a little cake and we ate dinner as a family, only because my nephews love the whole concept of blowing candles and cutting cakes. and as desi tradition goes, my mother followed that with smearing frosting across my face. that was about it. when all was said and done, man did i feel old. 21 is ancient. i miss my youth :(.

throughout that day and up till a few days afterwards, my friends would IM and email me with birthday greetings, often offering me duas and asking if there was anything i desired to have. i would always reply in the negative, because honestly there wasn’t anything that I really needed. sure there are some things id like to have, but i wasn’t in dire need of possessing these things. i mean just the other day i saw something that really moved me. i was driving through a rundown city housing complex when i saw a little girl, 5-6 years old at most, riding her bike through the pot-hole ridden parking lot. i thought to myself “she seems young, someone should be out supervising her,” because this complex wasn’t exactly the safest place for kids to play. as i rounded the corner, i saw that someone was actually out watching her - a much older lady, probably her grandmother, but she was sitting down in a chair. seeing that it was nighttime i couldn’t clearly see, so as I drove closer i was able to make out that her chair was actually a wheelchair. I continued to drive, and when I was only few feet away my heart sank. I saw that this lady had no legs. who knows, the one thing she probably wanted most in this world was to be able to play with this little girl of hers, but because of her disability she was unable to do so. though confined to the wheelchair for the rest of her life, she seemed to be thankful. every time this little girl would ride her bicycle past her, her face lit up and she waved to the smiling little girl. though her mobility was limited, thus making it impossible for her to fully enjoy playing with this little girl, she seemed fully content with her situation. after all, she probably knew it could be worse. just the smile on her little girls face was all she needed.

by witnessing this i was reminded of this one amazing story i heard in a khutbah a few years ago. upon hearing it, something took hold and shook me, and ever since ive been affected by this. now im going to narrate this strictly from memory, so forgive me for any discrepancies between this recollection and any others that you may have heard.. its been quite some time, and seeing that im human im prone to forget and commit error. there was a poverty-stricken man that lived in extremely destitute conditions, but in spite of his situation he remained a loyal slave to Allah Ta’ala. he would pray night and day, living in fear of his Creator. he owned only the clothes on his back, and on his feet he wore the sole pair of sandals he possessed. the aged sandals were in such a wretched condition that they had become ragged. tattered with rips and tears, the sandals would often break apart, causing the man to constantly repair them with a thread and a needle. he understood his situation and never got angry at anyone, until one day while he was on his way to the masjid his sandals once again came undone. he quickly returned home, but because of the amount of repair work he had done, the shoes were beyond repair. the holes had become so many, that there was no place where he could stitch the sandals together with a needle. in a state of extreme anger he blew up and began to yell and scream, voicing his disgust to Allah Ta’ala. in a fit of rage he infuriously yelled “I PRAY TO YOU DAILY, AND TO YOU IVE DEVOTED MY LIFE. AND NOW, WHILE GOING TO THE MASJID TO WORSHIP YOU, THIS HAPPENS AGAIN.WHY WOULD YOU DO THIS TO ME? IVE DONE ALL THIS, YET YOU CANT EVEN GIVE ME A PAIR OF SHOES!” he continued to express what he felt, then dejectedly he put his head down and made his way to the masjid. barefoot, he walked back to the masjid and right before he reached the entrance he looked up and began to uncontrollably weep, falling to the floor in sujood. he had seen an old, frail man without legs, crawling with great difficulty into the masjid, only to worship Allah. upon seeing this, he realized what he had done, and began to ask Allah to forgive him for his transgression. he understood that there were people out there with a lot less than him, and that perhaps they faced many for afflictions and hardships than he did. he realized that he may not have had his sandals, but he did have his legs, and for that he was extremely thankful.

i guess the whole point of this thread, is that yes, its fine that we all desire nice things. but in the process we should never forget what we have, and that our situation could always be worse. the Holy Prophet SAW stated that when it came to worldly possessions we should look at those below us for a good reminder. desire as much as you want, but always be mindful and thankful to Allah for what you have.

and Allah Almighty knows best.

masalama, your brother in islam,

sheik speare

Ridin' through the dirty-dirty (southern US roadtrip).

2005-07-19T04:37:00.000-05:00

assalamu alaikum :)

bismillah.

alhamdulillah, ive experienced so much in the past few weeks that ive been meaning to write about, but time restraints have limited me from being able to make a thoughtful blog entry. in an hour or so im set embark on a roadtrip with a few cousins to atlanta, so inshallah when i get back later this week ill try to sit down and make a post.

please pray that we have a safe trip, inshallah.

and Allah Almighty knows best.

ma'salama, your brother in islam
sheik speare.

Uncle Passed Away

2005-06-15T01:07:00.000-05:00

assalamu alaikum :(

bismillah

yesterday my mother's brother passed away in pakistan. please remember him in your duas, inshallah.

inna lillahi wa inna ilahi rajiun

and Allah Almighty does as He pleases.

masalama
your brother in islam, sheik speare.

the past few weeks. asaabey3 al maadi

2005-05-31T18:43:00.000-05:00

assalamu alaikum :)
bismillah.
amma baad.

ahh, its been quite a while since i made an entry in my blog. why the long hiatus? i guess ive been occupied with life. over the last few weeks of the semester i was busy trying to balance work and studying for finals. alhamdulillah, my efforts paid off and resulted in good grades, but unfortunately i received no monetary compensation for the labor services i provided at the pizza place. but i can look beyond that because its a family business and i am obligated to help the folks out, especially after all theyve done for us. well that and the fact that father ji scares the crap out of me. this is one of the main reasons why im always reluctant to ask him for money, even when it comes to something essential as buying books for school.

what disgusts me nowadays is how some individuals treat their parents: name-calling, lack of respect, going against their wishes, etc. sadly, the very thing i speak of is sometimes common amongst my relatives. whatever happened to caring for your parents no matter what? does islam not stress the concept of jannah being in your mother's feet? (not literal in the sense of the word. it means caring for her.) for this very reason i humble myself and massage my mother's feet whenever she requests it. additionally, us kids (up till a few years ago. he is now retired.) used to remove my father's shoes and socks whenever he came home from a hard day's work. anas RA, the slave of RasoolAllah SAW said "i never once heard the Holy Prophet say "uff" or express displeasure towards me." if this is how a servant was treated by the Holy Prophet SAW, then you can only imagine how we should treat our parents. Imam Shafi RA wouldnt eat until his mother had finished eating because he was worried that he may take a piece of food which she had wished for. it all comes down to bir ur walidayn (sp).anyways i can go on and on regarding this topic, but i didnt originally set out to discuss this, so ill stop here.

a couple of saturdays ago my good friends father passed away. around the age of 50, he fell victim to a heart attack. as you can imagine, i was deeply moved by this. how hard must it be to lose one's parent, or any loved one for that matter. now my friend becomes the man of the household and he is responsible for the well being of his widowed mother and two younger siblings. what a heavy burden he has on his shoulders. all this while hes in his early 20s. we prayed salat ul janazah then made our way to the graveyard to bury his father. afterwards i didnt know how to approach him. ive been to a few funerals but i never really was good at consoling people. i hugged him and uttered a few words of condolence. other than that, i didnt know what to do, and frankly i dont think my words would mean anything to him. i mean the guy just lost his father, and the last thing he wants to hear is "dont worry, everything will be alright." perhaps he would find some comfort and closure in his lamentations. inshallah everything will work out for anas and his family, ameen.

as i stated earlier, the whole experience was deeply moving and served as a reawakening. while seeing the body being lowered into the grave and then covered by the dirt a sense of fear descended upon me (im sure i wasnt the only one that felt this way). "what condition will i be in when i enter my grave" i asked myself as i prayed, "in what state will i present myself to Allah?" there is some hikma in RasoolAllah's encouraging us to visit the graves of deceased, perhaps so we will be reminded that we will have the same fate. and maybe this reminder will instill fear in us, a fear that will make us strive to be on the path of rightesousness. so goes the reality of life, and the reality of death.

and Allah Almighty knows best.

ma'salama
your brother in islam, sheik speare.

socks, mozay, jiraab, etc.

2005-05-11T01:50:00.000-05:00

assalamu alaikum :)
bismillah.

yo, guys, dont tell anyone this but i wore unmatching socks today! *gasp* they were both white though. one said "hanes" in red while the other in gray.
now hows that for a thought-provoking entry. (rhetorical question, no need to answer)

islamic portion of entry: RasoolAllah's SAW preferred footwear was sandals.

and Allah Almighty knows best.

ma'salama,
sheik speare.

compassion

2005-04-16T15:47:00.000-05:00

assalamu alaikum :)
bismillah.

the local schools were closed yesterday, resulting in a mass influx of kids to salat ul jumah. as a subsequent result of this, the masjid was packed to its periphery, meaning that any late comers would be subjugated to the nooks and crannies of the mosque. this meant no elbow space while one prayed. and that your feet actually had to touch your neighbors feet. anywho, i entered the main prayer hall, offered my sunnah supplications, sat down, and began to listen to the khutbah. a few moments later my eyes turned to kashif as he entered the room. now ill break for a moment to give you some much needed background on kashif:

kashif has been a member of the local muslim community for as long as i can remember, and the people of this community share a unique love for him. you see, kashif came into this world without the ability to see all that was around him. because of this ailment, people naturally sympathized with him. he, however never let his blindness keep him from living his life. coming to the masjid as a kid (often escorted by his brother or father) he would sit and talk with all his friends while the elder prayed, and as he entered his teen years he began to pray in congregation with the rest of the men. i recall a night during this past ramadan when i, along with my friends, took a break from qiyam during laylat ul qadr. kashif however never swayed, he stayed and prayed. as ashamed as i was of myself for not praying, i found some sort of solace in watchin him stand before His Lord. here he was, a man that had never seen the light of this world, still the the Message of Allah had permeated his heart, and as corny as this sounds that in itself became his source of guidance. what more could one need if they found Allah?

anyways i wont delve into his life too much, because personally i dont know him that well. my purpose for the brief background was solely to introduce you guys to kashif, so that you may better understand the following:

as i mentioned earlier, the masjid was jam-packed and there was next to no room in the hall. near the main entrance there was only enough space for one person, and a few feet down another space also enough for just one person. at this time, kashif and his father entered the masjid. seeing that his walking stick would be of no use (reason being the amount of people in the hall) kashifs father had kashif fold his walking stick as he scanned the masses for an open seating space. seeing that there was no space, the two decided to sit down right where they were. only problem was that there wasnt enough room for both father and son. his fathers eye however fell upon that open space a few feet down, and seeing that one cant speak during the khutbah, he kindly motioned to the brother next to that space to move down a little. the brother however didnt budge. my eyes soon became attentive to what was going on: kashifs father repeated his request, but the brother again ignored him. this happened three more times, and as you can imagine this made people angry and uncomfortable. kashifs father again did the same, but this time in a more desperate manner; he made it known that his son was blind and that he needed to sit next to him. this however was obvious, but again, the brother seemed to show no compassion. finally, in a harsh and unpolite manner he said "why dont you get up and move yourself!" at this moment i became enraged. i was about to get up and confront the brother (which did violate the rules of jumah) but i got control of myself and sat back down. i looked to my left and right and all the uncles shared my feelings. then what i saw moved me: kashifs father, obviously emotionally stirred by what had just occurred didnt say anything to the guy, but instead moved right along and ask another brother to move down a little. the expression on his face was apparent though. as much as he tried to hide it, the guy's actions had affected him. a look of saddness coupled with anger showed on his face. perhaps he was wondering how one could be so primitive and ill-mannered in conduct, especially in the House of Allah. i decided that id wait till after salaah, then id approach the brother and try to talk to him. however during the middle of the 1st rakat, a sense of calm came over me. i no longer wanted to confront the brother, rather i decided to leave him alone. i dont know what the verses being recited meant, but they fulfilled their task in reminding me to be conciouss of Allah and nothing else when i was in the masjid. what i saw though did have an impact on me. as muslims are we not obligated to help out our brethren? especially when they are in need of our help? i thought we were supposed to lay down our lives and more for our brothers? have we already forgotten the innumberable sacrifices the sahaba RA made for us? or are we simply ignorant of our history? in this precious religion of ours, every action of the believer affects another believer. thats why something as simple as smiling is considered charity, because one smile can in effect brighten up someones day. our Prophet SAW was a Prophet that wielded a bow and arrow simply for the well-being of his community, and nothing more. if we cant make miniscule sacrifices for our brothers, if we cant even yield way so that a blind brother might find some comfort in sitting in Allah's house, then what is left to say about us? can we not put aside our desires and self-interests for the greater cause? how are we to unite when matters like this cause division amongst us.

and this is why RasoolAllah SAW used to cry out in the night "ya Ummati, ya Ummati."

let Allah makes us righteous people, those who show compassion for all the afflicted, regardless of their faiths.

and Allah Almighty knows best.

ma'salama, your brother in islam
sheik speare

deen intensive, day one:

2005-03-20T01:26:00.000-06:00

assalamu alaikum :)
bismillah.

"brothers, smiling is sadaqah. sisters, smiling is sadaqah. now brothers dont be going around trying to give sisters any sadaqah."

- Imam Zaid Shakir

then i saw sh. hamza yusuf in his lunghi. homeboy can pull it off. now thats gangster.

seeing that its been a long day, thats gonna be all for now. inshallah ill come back and post my thoughts on today at some other time.

the bed beckons me to sleep. and sleep i shall, in comfort and tranquility.

ma'salama
your brother in islam, sheik speare.

nasheeds

2005-03-05T15:03:00.000-06:00

assalamu alaikum :)
bismillah.

please, check these out:

http://www.enshad.net/audio/Fartaqi/Fartaqi_-_08_-_Ya_3a'6eeman.ram
http://www.enshad.net/audio/Fartaqi/Fartaqi_-_04_-_Ketaab_Allah.ram
http://www.enshad.net/audio/Al-Qodso_Tonadeena/Al-Qodso_Tonadeena_-_02_-_Mawlaya.mp3

and Allah Almighty knows best.

sheik speare, faqih of love.

Fiqh of Love

2005-02-27T17:12:00.000-06:00

assalamu alaikum :)
bismillah.

"Of Love--may God exalt you!--the first part is jesting, and the last part is right earnestness. So majestic are its diverse aspects, they are too subtle to be described; their reality can only be apprehended by personal experience. Love is neither disapproved by Religion, nor prohibited by the Law; for every heart is in God's hands."
- Ibn Hazm

as some of you might know, this past month i attended a class entitled "Fiqh of Love," which was offered by the AlMaghrib Institute. sheik yasir birjas, the instructor for this particiular class, graduated as class valedictorian with highest honors from Madinah University's College of Shariah (Fiqh and Usul) in 1996. suffice it to say, this guy knew his stuff.
the focus of the class encompassed everything related to love in islam: the Sunnah of RasoolAllah saw (treatment of his wives RA); the rulings of love from an islamic perspective; love stories from the Prophet SAW's companions RA; the marriage contract; the wedding night, etc.

the topic of love, which sadly is almost always equated with "sex" here in the west, holds a place of its own in islam. scholars of past have dissected this natural desire or passion called "love" for centuries, but due to cultural beliefs and restrictions, its almost become a taboo for us to discuss "love." due to our own ignorance when it comes to understanding our religion, many of us percieve love as something diabolical, or something "haraam." if you take love, and see it from the islamic perspective, you will know that there is nothing further from the truth than this. in fact there are countless ahadith detailing the love of RasoolAllah saw for his wive's, especially Khadija RA and Aisha RA. these ahadith tell us of his life as a family man, how he would help with the housework: Aisha RA narrated that RasoolAllah SAW would often times sweep the floor, stitch his own shoes, and do whatever else was needed to be done around the house." we arent talking about an ordinary man, rather one who was on the receiving end of divine revelation! the messenger of Allah Ta'ala would do these things!

i could go on and on, and inshallah ill post some more later, but for now id like to share some memorable quotes from sheikh yasir birjas:
sheik: okay, and now on to chapter five: the wedding night and intimacy. i know some of you have been looking forward to this chapter the whole weekend.

sheik: okay guys, so you get the nikkah done, come home from the wedding reception, all the guests have left, and now youre all alone and you dont know what youre gonna be doing...

sheik: ...you know, change it up a little...take it to the garage or some place...

sheik: oh my, i feel so sorry for those of you who arent married. please do dhua that you soon get to experience this...

you know the old phrase "there is no such thing as a stupid question." well, untill last week i was a believer, but then that whole notion was suddenly dismissed when...
question: so if i dont have a wali nearby, and i live on campus, can the local MSA president be my wali?
sheik: ...

and id like to close with reference to an earlier blog post of mine:

May Allah grant glory and eternal salvation to those who know how to stroke a soft cheek in an accomplished manner, to give just accolade to a slender waist, and to enter the sweetest farj with a befitting skill!
~Imam al-Suyuti

and when they came to him and begged "ya faqih! ya faqih of love, share with us what you know, so that we may know what you know, and know not to do that which is disliked when it comes to love! apportion your knowledge, share it with us! educate us so that we may learn to love like you."

and Allah Almighty knows best.

ma'salama
sheik speare, faqih of love.

thurzday, furburrry 17, 2005.

2005-02-18T02:26:00.000-06:00

assalamu alaikum :) (my mom cant say feb-u-wary)

bismillah.

ring ring ring. "please, let this be a dream." but no, this was reality. my old brick sized SIM-less cell phone, which now doubled as my alarm clock, sat there ringing nonstop. damn that annoying bell. i heeded its call to awaken but it paid no attention to my desire to have five more minutes of sleep! i had to put an end to it. eyes still half shut, i somehow managed to overcome my lethargic state and pull my arm out from underneath my blanket, which by the way felt like 7565 lbs. with it outstretched, the quest to locate that phone had begun. wherever my arm would reach i patted, for the limits were not endless (obviously, seeing that my arm couldnt extend over a certain distance due to the length of my bones): i inspected the crevice between the headboard and mattress; i dove deep in and explored the pile of clothes sitting on my bed (i didnt find my the phone but i did manage to find the remote control teeheee); i...i... knocked over my glass of water. all this hard work however was done in vain. where could it be? where was that damn sound coming from?!?!?!? i tried to tune it out for a second but i just couldnt overcome it! there i lay, lost in absolute darkness with my face resting in a pool of my own saliva. i felt pathetic, but what choice did i have? i was too tired to do anything. finally, the phone shut up. the misery, pain, and anguish had ended. i soon forgot about my expericence and managed to doze off. that period of sleep though was short-lived, seeing how my mother barged in yelling at me to wake up. "five more minutes" i cried out. she threatened to slap so i jumped up. lo and behold, there was the phone. it was under me the whole time. i wanted to throw it across the room, but good thing i didnt because by the colossal size of that antique, it would have gone straight threw the wall and hit my mother in the head. and you do not want to hit my mother in the head with an old cell phone. especially at 6 am. because she WILL chase you with a shoe in one hand, and chai cup in the other.

so i got up, prayed fajr, decided not to go to my 8 am islam class, then went back to sleep. a couple hours later i woke up to the playful laughter of my nephews hiding in my closet. music to my ears. they often come into my room in the morning and just goof around. im so lucky, alhamdulillah.

the rest of my day was just like any other typical day, except for the sensation which occurred around zhur time. yes, a sister joined haffiz morebeans and myself in jamaat. later on morebeans messaged me on AIM with the following:

more beans: dude, we should always pray zuhr over there, good things are bound to happen

the kid cracks me up sometimes.

we then got a chance to meet akbar mohammad, son of elijah muhammad and friend of malcolm x aka hajji malik shabazz. now thats not an everyday occurrence.

an updated they wanted, and an update they got.

ma'salama
sheik speare, faqhi of love.

AIM Convo II: Hafiz Morebeans and Hajji Iballufall

2005-02-11T16:35:00.000-06:00

assalamu alaikum :)
bismillah.

iballufall21:are you taking fiqh of love?
more bean s: no
iballufall21: why not?
more beans: my mom said no
more beans: u?
iballufall21: HELL YES.
more beans: you can teach me the stuff tth 2:30-4

sheik speare.

sheik speare = static-x? i think not.

2005-02-11T01:15:00.000-06:00

assalamu alaikum :)
bismillah.

recently someone noted that i resembled the lead singer of some band called static-x. " what the hell is a static-x," i asked myself. unable to answer my own question, i became inquisitive. i inquired, google image answered. the result was rather amusing:

lol. inshallah one day my beard will be that long. ameen.

and Allah Almighty knows best.

sheik speare.

rain.

2005-02-08T01:18:00.000-06:00

assalamu alaikum :)

bismillah.

i stood there waiting patiently. i stood and i stood. the elevator never came. the button was lit, but still the urge to press it got the best of me. so i pressed, hoping that itd somehow get to my floor quicker (dont ask, its a desi trait). i pressed and pressed. but that damn elevator never came.

realizing what i had to do next, i turned to make way towards the stairwell. yes, that dreaded lonely walk down the stairwell. all three floors of it. but as i turned, i was captivated by what i saw outside. itd been raining for a couple days now, but at that exact moment something dawned upon me. subhanallah, it was so beautiful. illuminated by the light from the towering lamposts, the rain fell to the earth with such peaceful grace. perhaps it was all the more beautiful because the time for maghrib had arrived. whatever it the reason was, i was in awe. i stood there for a few more moments praising the name of Allah, for only He could create such beauty.

there i was, basking in the miracles of Allah Ta'la, when i suddently heard someone yelling "dude, dude, the elevator is here." what seemed like an eternity turned out to be a period of mere seconds. but alhamdulillah, the elevator had arrived.

RasoolAllah SAW lived in Arabia, a desolate desert peninsula which was often deficient of precipitation. it was not uncommon for the drought-stricken lands to go without water for months and even years at a time. in fact, at times conditions got so bad that the Sahaba RA would ask RasoolAllah SAW to pray to Allah Ta'ala to send forth rain:

“Once I visited Makkah at a time of scarcity. The Quraishites approached Abu Talib, saying: 'O, Abu Talib, the valley has become barren and the young children hungry. Go forth and pray for water for the people’. Abu Talib headad for the Ka’bah, taking with him a young boy (Muhammad). Abu Talib made the boy stand with his back close to the Ka’bah, where the boy then lifted his finger towards the sky, which was cloudless. But soon clouds appeared in the sky and rains fell down heavily. The valley became fertile and crops later harvested”.

-Sahabi RA

also:

And We send down from the sky rain chartered with blessing, and We produce therewith gardens and grain for harvests."

Surah Qaf, 9

take not for granted the fact that we often see rain. tis truly a blessing from Allah.

and inshallah the rain will continue to fall, giving sustenance to all which Allah created.

and Allah Almighty knows best.

sheik speare.

RasoolAllah saw

2005-02-06T02:40:00.000-06:00

assalamu alaikum :)
bismillah. im compelled to share the following:

"Anyone who saw him suddenly stood in awe of him, and anyone who made his acquaintance loved him. Those who described him said they had never seen anyone like him before or since."
-Sahabi RA

and Allah Almighty knows best.

sheik speare.

milk (milluk)

2005-02-02T01:11:00.000-06:00

assalamu alaikum :)
bismillah.
its 11.45 and im driving home from work. relieved that the day is over, and realizing that tomorrow is going to another long day, i just want to go straight home and relax. and then the phone rings. the caller id displays "home." immediately my brain triggers "DO NOT PICK UP." what do i do? i answer.

me:salamalaikum ami ji.
mom: SALAMALAIKUM ATIF?!?!
me: haan ji ami ji, its atif.
mom: OH HELLO ATIF??!?!??!
me: AMI, haan ji its atif!
mom: oh, acha, acha, teri avaaz naye aundi (i cant hear you.)
me: okay, but dont yell.
mom: acha, kar dood naye haiga. (okay, we dont have milk at home)
me: ami ji, its almost 12, plus its cold and rainy. can we not make it through the night?
mom: bachiyan ney dood peena hain, tay main subha chaa peeni hain.(the kids it, plus i need it for chai in the morning)
me: mannnnn
mom: oye, 'man man' na kar! chal, sun, randall tay dood sale tay hain: do gallon chaar dallar day. tay naal bread vi laikay aye. (don't 'man man' me! listen, its on sale at randalls for two for 4 dollars. get bread while youre at it,)
me: okay, okay.
mom: pulli na! (dont forget)

and so goes the story of my life...

sheik speare.

Romance in Islam

2005-01-31T01:41:00.000-06:00

bismillah :)

The more a woman feels desire, the more she will be desired.
~ Ibn Qutayba, Uyun al-Akhbar
May Allah grant glory and eternal salvation to those who know how to stroke a soft cheek in an accomplished manner, to give just accolade to a slender waist, and to enter the sweetest farj with a befitting skill!
~Imam al-Suyuti, Kitab al-Idah fi ilm al-nikah

hehe...

sheik speare

Hanzalah RA and Jamilah RA.

2005-01-28T02:05:00.000-06:00

assalamu alaikum :)
bismillah.

i wanted to share with you guys excerpts from 'Muhammad: his life based on the earliest sources' by Martin Lings (Abu Bakr Siraj ad-Din). i specifically chose the story of Hanzalah RA and his wife Jamilah RA:

Chapter L: Preparations for Battle (Uhud):
...After the prayer two men waited behind to speak to the Prophet, each having an urgent decision to make.One of them was Hanzalah, the son of the self-styled Abrahamist Abu'Amir, who was even now, unknown to his son, in the enemy camp below Uhud. It was Hanzalah's wedding day - a day which had been chosen weeks in advance. He was bethrothed to his cousin Jamilah, the daughter of Ibn Ubayy, and he was loth to postpone the marriage, yet determined to fight. The Prophet told him to celebrate his marriage and spend the night in Medina. There could be no fighting before sunrise, and Hanzalah would have ample time to join him on the battlefield early the next morning. He could find out by inquiry which way tthe army had passed.

the story carries over to the next chapter:

Chapter LI : The March to Uhud:
In Medina that night Hanzalah and Jamilah had consummated their marriage; and in her sleep, during the small hours, Jamilah had a dream in which she saw her husband standing at the outside of Heaven; and the door opened for him and he entered through it, whereupon it closed behind him. When she woke, she said to herself: "This is martyrdom." They performed their ablutions and prayed the dawn prayer together, after which he bade her farewell. But she clung to him, and would not let him go, and again he lay with her. Then he tore himself from her embrace, and not even staying to repeat his ablution, he put on his coat of mail, seized his weapons, and hastened from the house.

Hanzalah reached the camp and joined the ranks of the Army, and went off to fight in the Battle of Uhud:

Chapter LII: The Battle of Uhud:
...Abu Sufyan narrowly escaped the sword of Hanzalah, who was fighting valiantly near the centre and who was about to cut him down, when a man of Layth came in from the side and thrust Hanzalah through with his spear, felling him to the ground and killing him outright with a second thrust.
The battle had gradually moved down the slope away from the Prophet as the Meccans were driven back towards the camp. He could no longer discern in any detail what was happening, though he could see that so far his men were winning the day. But now his attention was drawn upwards from the battle and his eyes were raised as one who watches the flight of the birds. After a moment he said to those beside him: "Your companion - he meant Hanzalah - "The Angels are washing him." And afterwards he said to Jamilah, as if seeking an explanation: ""I saw the Angels washing Hanzalah between heaven and earth with water from the clouds in vessels of silver." Then she told him of her dream, and how through fear of being late for battle, he had not made the ablution he would normally have made.

Later after the battle when the muslims were burying their dead, every person that came into contact with Hanzalah's body dared not to touch him. He lay there as the Angels had laid him, with his hair still wet with water upon the noon-dry earth. His beauty and peace were as a sign from heaven, to inform the rest of them of the condition of their martyred kinsmen.

subhanallah, a story resplendent with the sacrifices the sahaba RA made for Islam. subhanallah.

and Allah Almighty knows best.

sheik speare.

Muhammad SAW.

2005-01-26T01:58:00.000-06:00

assalamu alaikum :)

bismillah.

Muhammad is a man, but not like men;
He is an emerald, and others mere stone.

sheik speare.

Tablighi Jamat

2005-01-25T23:57:00.000-06:00

assalamu alaikum :)

bismillah.

yesterday for salat ul maghrib i decided to head over to one of my favorite masjids, mission bend masjid. now i like this mosque for a couple of reasons: its brand new; the huffaz are usually guys around my age with amazing voices; and it has extra high ceilings, amplifying the recitation which only adds to the effect.

after parking my car in the uncle-made-gravel-driveway, (which i believe is the reason behind my mutliple flat tires), i racked my shoes, performed wuddu, and finally made way into the prayer hall. thats when i saw it...sleeping bags. my eyes, like my mamoo shareef at a paan stand, began to assess the hall. yes, there, perched in the corner of the prayer hall were sleeping bags, straw mats, and makeshift suitcases made of plastic shopping bags. this meant only one thing: the tablighi jamaat had arrived. all 64785634756997586. and with them they brought their pots and pans.

now you sit there, stroking your beard, wondering what the heck im talking about. recall if you may...you know, those uncles that come over and knock on your door asking for your dad, while your dad, realizing whats about to happen tells you to tell them that he's not home. and then you tell the uncles that father isnt home, but thats no problem for them. they just pull you outside infront of all of your friends and give you a 2 hour talk on why you should attend the masjid 5 times a day while your friends point, stare, and laugh at you. yes, 2 hours of hardcore urdu, of which you only understand 6 words. but now its too late to use the "mujhe urdu nahin aati" excuse because youve already replied with the "haan ji uncle, inshallah aya karoongah masjid." all this while your father peeks through the blinds continuously thanking Allah for not being in your place.

dont get me wrong now, i have nothing against tablighis. alhamdulillah, theyve done a lot for the ummah, and inshallah they will continue to spread their message. may Allah Ta'ala increase our iman and reward them for all their efforts. ameen.

by the way, a friend of mine, known to the cyberworld as "jaysh," posted his thoughts on his trip with the jamat. grab a hold of your biryani bellies, read, and laugh:
http://www.geocities.com/freejaysh/TJ.html

and Allah Almighty knows best.

sheik speare.

Eid-ul-Adha

2005-01-24T23:36:00.000-06:00

im just copy-pasting this from my naseeb journal.

Assalamu alaikum :)

Bismillah.
labbayk allahuma labbayk! labbayka la shareeka laka labbayk!

eid was great, alhamdulillah. i woke up yesterday morning, shaved my mustache, ironed my thobe, plucked my peek-a-boo nose hairs and then made my way to the reliant center. as soon as i stepped foot outside the door, bittersweet memories of my schooldays came flooding back to me. what is there not to love about mornings? the crisp cold air, the sun peeking over the horizon, the morning mist rising over the fields, and to top it off, the fearful looks on your neighbor's faces when they see you and your kin dressed in thobes and turbans.

alhamdulillah, we have a large central gathering for eid salaat, and ive never taken that for granted. it truly is a blessing from Allah Ta'ala to be able to pray with thousands upon thousands of your brothers and sisters. subhanallah, there we were all gathered in one place, unified by one belief, that belief which manifested itself on Bilal Ibn Rabah's RA lips. that belief which led to the merciless torture of Bilal Ibn Rabah RA. that belief i being the Oneness of Allah Ta'ala. in unision we chanted:

AllahuAkbar AllahuAkbar AllahuAkbar
La Ilaha Ilallah
AllahuAkbar AllahuAkbar
Wa Lillah ilHamd

salaat was made, hugs were exchanged, love for the sake of Allah filled the air, and the abdundance of qurbani goat biryani was felt in our stomachs. the legacy of Hadrat Ibrahim AS lived on.

i went on reciting throughout the whole of the day, often by myself, but i knew that millions of other around the world uttered the exact words i uttered:

AllahuAkbar AllahuAkbar AllahuAkbar
La Ilaha Ilallah
AllahuAkbar AllahuAkbar
Wa Lillah ilHamd

if i were not a muslim, then what good would life be?

and Allah Almighty knows best.

sheik speare.

Initial Public Posting

2005-01-24T23:15:00.000-06:00

(no, i am not a business major, Alhamdulillah)

assalamu alaikum :)

Bismillah.

wow, i have my own blog. i feel like such a loser.

and Allah Almighty knows best.

sheik speare.

sheik speare

awlaki and the constitution.

lockers in law school.

veggie burger

reflections on the janazah prayer.

"idle hands are..."

punjabi poetry

the coca cola baby polar bear.

aphorisms - 5

the muddy beard.

aphorism - 4.

aphorism - 3.

may 19: houston, chicago, london, limerick.

aphorisms 2.

aphorisms.

role reversal.

khutba rant.

khutbah: 2.1.08

the secular uncle v. the religious youngns

dada was a solja.

7 year old victim of child abuse dies.

irshad manji discussion.

europe.

outback steakhouse 'taps' into halal market

beautiful recitation of surah yasin.

origin of abu hanifah's name.

alhamdulillah, yes, i am alive.

free speech: islam and the west

reply to the CY forum regarding the removal of my thread(s)

eid ul adha.

sheik speare encounters a fellow sheikh.

its that time of year, the holiday season is here (haram!*) *sarcasm

2.two.2.two.

reflections:hurricane katrina

isna 2005: brief recap (updated pics 9.12.05)

it was a dark and stormy night...

AIM Convo II: righthandman

niaz starts school.

birthday - being thankful to Allah.

Ridin' through the dirty-dirty (southern US roadtrip).

Uncle Passed Away

the past few weeks. asaabey3 al maadi

socks, mozay, jiraab, etc.

compassion

deen intensive, day one:

nasheeds

Fiqh of Love

thurzday, furburrry 17, 2005.

AIM Convo II: Hafiz Morebeans and Hajji Iballufall

sheik speare = static-x? i think not.

rain.

RasoolAllah saw

milk (milluk)

Romance in Islam

Hanzalah RA and Jamilah RA.

Muhammad SAW.

Tablighi Jamat

Eid-ul-Adha

Initial Public Posting

its that time of year, the holiday season is here (haram!) sarcasm