Monthly Reflection

Monthly Reflection for May 2008: Thoughts by Abul Layth

As I was looking through Al-Hafith Ibn Hajr Al-’Asqalani’s Talkhis Al-Habir I came acrossed a hadith that struck my soul. The author writes as the section heading,

“. It is recommended (mustahabb) for the one placing the deceased into the grave to say,

بِسْمِ اللَّهِ وَعَلَى مِلَّةِ رَسُولِ اللَّهِ

“Bismillahi, wa ‘Alaa Millati Rasulullah”

“With Allah’s name, and upon the Religion of the Messenger of Allah.”

As that is reported by Ibn ‘Umar from the Messenger of Allah. When one places the deceased in the grave, place them in the lahd¹upon their right side, facing the qiblah, as that was done with the Messenger of Allah (sallallahu ‘alayhi wa sallam).”²

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Footnotes (Click ↩ at the end of the note to Go Back to Original Place in the article) :

1. A niche that is dug on the side of the grave where the body is placed, so that the dirt does not actually fall on the body [↩]
2. Talkhis Al-Habir, page 1231 Adwa’us-Salaf Edition [↩]

Written By ‘Ammar Diwan as a Monthly Reflection for March 2008

As human beings, we all experience periods of depression in our lives. Whether it be poor grades in school or disagreements with one’s friends, several challenges come our way that cause us to feel helpless and depressed. Several moments in my life have made me reflect on what the best method to cure depression is. I know a few of my fellow students at school who are using anti-depressants attempting to “cure the disease”. I even met someone who felt that alcohol was the best way to get rid of depression.

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    A good friend of mine who has quite a few kafir friends(jews, christians as well as atheists etc.) recently mentioned to me that has been getting tired of all the “jokes” an d “humour” that they make around in him in regards to Islam. This leads me to mention the question: is it permissible to take jews and Christians and other kuffar as friends? Is it permissible to eat and drink with them casually without any benefit?

 

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Monthly Reflection for Jan. 2008 Written by Abul Layth

 In 1965, Al-Muslimoon, a journal published by the Muslims of Geneva Switzerland, sent questions regarding Islam to Br. Malcolm  X¹. This was to be his last interview before his death. In it I saw a sincere cry to the Muslims to become active, to concentrate their efforts on Islamic ideals. The entire interview is of great worth and an entire Islamic sharh(gloss) could be written just on a couple of his statements. However, there is one question and answer that I felt was very pertinent in our times. It is the question of Muslim Women and their ignorance of Islam as well as general ‘knowledge’ from the arts and sciences. I remind you to read this while keeping in mind that Malcolm (Rahimahullah) is in an era of pure racism, where both the minority man and the disenfranchised woman were fighting for education.

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Footnotes (Click ↩ at the end of the note to Go Back to Original Place in the article) :

1. Note: This is after his conversion to orthodox Islam [↩]