Virtue of RiDaa
Cure for a troubled heart and a community in crisis.

In a serene courtyard of a madressah in Northern New Mexico, Abdal Hakim Murad sits down for an informal address on the topic of having peace and contentment with the decree of Allah. He reflects upon his experiences of the ummah over the years and describes how it became apparent that Muslims in modern times are neglecting this traditional virtue of riDaa. He further explains how the absence of contentment in one's life can lead to serious defects such as self-righteousness, anger and suspicion of others. The more widespread effects of such a void are lack of direction and unity at the collective level and a dented credibility on the world stage. This shrewd observation serves as a great starting point for individual revival and, on the collective level, prescribes the perspective necessary for prevailing over the tribulations facing the ummah and humanity as a whole today. Other topics discussed: Islamic theology vs. the problem of evil, contentment in the prophets' lives, the virtue of mercy, scholars as guides, strength in numbers, optimism, and the need for having a sound heart. (Duration: 1 hour, 4 min)

Islamic Values and the Nurturing programme

"I want to thank Family Links for producing an Islamic Values booklet highlighting the nurturing qualities of good parenting and good social interaction found in Islam. I feel this is a real step towards going back to some of the true messages of Islam which have been misinterpreted and taken out of context over time by Muslims and non-Muslims alike.

The BHMW can put you in touch with our trained Nurturing Programme coachers and Parent Group leaders who deliver both the standard 10-session programme and the 10-session programme with Islamic values.
For more information email us at the address accessible by the link in our blogsite header here above.

Favours taken for granted

Fabi-ayyi aala-i rabbikuma tukadh-dhibaan
(So, Oh jinn and mankind) Which of the Favours of your Lord will you then deny?
(Qur'aan Surah Rahman 55:13 )

High and exalted is AIIah (subhan AIIah), our heart beats around 100,00 times a day! Our blood is on a 60,000-mile journey.
Our eyes can distinguish up to one million colour surfaces and take in more information than the largest telescope known to man.

Our lungs inhale over two million litres of air every day, without even thinking. They are large enough to cover a tennis court.
Our hearing is so sensitive it can distinguish between hundreds of thousands of different sounds. Our sense of touch is more refined than any device ever created.
Our brain is more complex than the most powerful computer and has over 100 billion nerve cells. We give birth to 100 billion red cells every day.
When we touch something, we send a message to our brain at 124 mph.
We have over 600 muscles. We exercise at least 30 muscles when we smile.
We are about 70 percent water. We make one liter of saliva a day.
Our nose is our personal air-conditioning system: It warms cold air, cools hot air and filters impurities.
In one square inch of our hand we have nine feet of blood vessels, 600 pain sensors, 9000 nerve endings, 36 heat sensors and 75 pressure sensors.
We harbor and use copper, zinc, cobalt, calcium, manganese, phosphates, nickel and silicon in our bodies. Praise be to AIIah (Alhamdulillah)

DID YOU THANK YOUR CREATOR TODAY?

Brighton Green MEP visit to Egypt & Gaza

In his own words, Keith Taylor ex-Green Party councilor for Brighton tells us in 2 parts about his visit to Egypt and to Gaza last July. This part is about his vist to Egypt on 23/07 and his crossing into Gaza at the famous (infamous?) Rafah crossing.

"This is an account of my trip to Egypt and Gaza from 23-27 July which was organized by the Council for European Palestinian Relations. The trip’s purpose was to promote understanding of the Israel/Palestine conflict in general, and the situation in the Gaza Strip in particular. Thirteen parliamentarians representing the Commons, Lords and the Scottish and European Parliaments attended. (more ...)"
(photo: Keith and Ismail Haniyeh elected Prime Minister of Gaza)

"I have never seen people treated quite as badly as the Palestinians were, and felt quite helpless that I couldn’t intervene."

Click here for the rest of this 1st part account and for more photos.

UNITED AGAINST TERRORISM

British Muslims tell the terrorists they 'failed', on the tenth anniversary of 9/11

Friday 9th September 2011

UK Muslim community groups issue joint statement for first time on poignant anniversary. More than 50 Muslim community groups the length and breadth of Britain have united on the tenth anniversary of 9/11 to express their solidarity with victims of terrorism and to tell the terrorists that a decade on ‘they failed’ in seeking to divide society on religious grounds.


The message will be reflected today in Mosques throughout the UK, where Friday Sermons will be held to remember the victims and their families, as well as others affected by terrorism.


In the strongly worded statement issued by a diverse coalition of British Muslim organisations, the signatories claim that the terrorists’ violence has been counterproductive to their aims. “Those who seek to divide society have failed. Indeed their destructive actions have only brought communities closer together,” it states.


“Ten years on from the 9/11 attacks, our communities are growing stronger and more resilient. Communities have come together to find common ground and resolve differences,” it continues.


In a further rejection of terrorist means, the statement points out that the recent Arab Spring demonstrated the power of ordinary citizens standing in peaceful protest to secure greater political participation and freedom. It also draws attention to the recent riots in the UK and the social solidarity it engendered, stating: “We will continue to stand together in troubled times, not just against terrorism but against all forms of criminality that pervade our society.” It adds: “Only together can we defeat such problems.”


This is the first time such a large number of Muslim organisations have sought strength in numbers, coming together to use the opportunity of the tenth anniversary of 9/11 to express their sympathy for the victims and to look forward to the future with greater optimism. Among the organisations spearheading the initiative are the Islamic Society of Britain, Radical Middle Way and Inspire.


Dilwar Hussain, President of the Islamic Society of Britain said:
"Terrorism is an evil that no Muslim should feel the need to defend, or make excuses for. Terrorists are not 'on our side' - they are in fact our opponents. They are an obstacle to our cause, which is to be a force for good, to spread peace amongst our people - all the people of this country."


Kalsoom Bashir of Inspire said:
"Today we resolve with greater commitment to demand a world that does not rely on violence as a solution to its ills. We need to acknowledge our common bonds and to work with civil society and governments to make the next ten years those that are based on respect for our common humanity. It is only through actively working towards peace that we can rightly honour those that have died.”


Fuad Nahdi, Executive Director of Radical Middle Way said:
“The tenth anniversary of 9/11 should be marked as a time of celebrating the triumph of our humanity over the politics of hatred and violence. A decade later we should all be the wiser and work towards creating a world that is not dominated by the politics of despair and extremism, but strive for a future which has a stake for all – a future full of hope, compassion, love and mercy.”





Communications Department, Islamic Society of Britain, PO Box 42598, London E1 1WN

Telephone: +44 (0) 207 247 8088
Media enquiries: +44 (0) 709 201 3614
comms@isb.org.uk | isb.org.uk

The Lord of the Worlds

Praise be to Allah the Lord of the Worlds (Alhamdulilleh rabbil `aalameen).

Praise be to He who created in perfect shape and subtle balance all the worlds, the Seen and Unseen, the Small and the Inmense, Human, the Vegetal and the Animal, the Liquid and the Solid.

The natural world is a testament to Allah's infinite science, mercy and wonder.
Yet, some human activities and particularly that of big profit making companies are playing with the balance (el mizaan) Allah has put in place in our bodies and in our environment.
For example oil spills have made the headlines over the past months and years. Although we no longer hear about the disastrous effects they have on wildlife and human livelihoods. These victims in addition to the vegetation and other animal forms don't recover fast if at all.
The NGO Greenpeace is currently advocating and raising the alarm about oil Drilling in the Arctic. Our dependency on fossil fuel and the decline of oil resources means that Oil companies are ready to put at risk pristine environments to pump up oil, regardless of the ecological consequences, whilst we are asked to pay higher energy bills.
In Greenland, the remote location, extreme weather and freezing temperatures would make it very difficult to clean up a spill.
Greenpeace issued this plea to Cairn Energy, a British company which has already set up an oil rig off Greenland coastline. "Given the unique dangers faced by your Arctic drilling programme, surely you understand that your company’s plans for dealing with any potential disaster should be made public. Please publish your oil spill response now."


Please supplicate to Allah (God) to protect this beautiful part of the our world and support this worthy campaign by signing a petition here

SUMMER 2011 Events
Inshallah....

SISTERS' PICNIC
Tuesday 14th June 2011
Start 10H30
PRESTON PARK Brighton
Meet in Children's playground

Buses 5 & 5A

Soft drinks provided
Please bring food to share

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SISTERS' RAMADAN IFTAAR

Saturday 13th August
assemble 1/2 hour before sunset prayer

Top floor Al Medina Masjid
Brighton

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Family EID UL FITR PARTY
Saturday 10th September
Vale Park Scouts Hall - Portslade
More information to follow

OXFAM asked me....

In a bid to inspire others to discover their charitable side, Oxfam, one a the few charities I support, recently asked me to share my story by answering this simple question.

" What has inspired you to support Oxfam? Share your story!"

Here is what I had to say. Enjoy reading and unleash your deeply Good self!

Dear fellow Human Kind people !

As a child I traveled to accompany my parents who moved to work in Muslim developing countries. Working in education, my parents made the point of choosing to live outside expatriate camps and instead favoured living among the ordinary local indigenous people. Looking back, I feel I was very fortunate to witness and experience how very different people, could live side by side, be they poor or relatively richer, and how they naturally gave food, clothes and/or toiletries & essential basic medication to people in need. One memory that stuck in my mind was that our neighbours would regularly give food or part of their meal to passing by beggars who would knock on their doors at meal times on Fridays, or during the month of fasting (Ramadan). Keen to imitate such noble actions, which at first intrigued but later fascinated me, I too would soon urge my mother to help me prepare my own very special food pack ready to give to our weekly humble, yet dignified visitors. It is important to note that at the time, thanks to the kind and respectful attitude of our neighbours towards those special guests, it had never occurred to me they were people of lower status, nor indeed, that they were strangers to be feared. If anything, people appeared as though blessed to be in a position to share some of their best cooking with their special visitors.
Another vivid memory is that of an African dancer and tambourine whom, every spring, would come to perform extraordinary dance moves and sounds, all in exchange of food. I particularly remember the local children's excitement each time he visited. His fantastic outfit was made of knee-length goat's skin stripes attached around his waist and similar skin anklets, wrist bands and a head band from which hanged small seashell bells. Performing in a strange language, and after a few decades, his voice still clearly resonates in my mind. At the time seen through my child's eyes, this extraordinary character seemed to be of the same kind as our weekly visitors, only he was younger, more mysterious and all singing.

Later on as I grew up to become an adult and had moved back to the UK I realised I could help more needy people thanks to the many charities like Oxfam operating in more than one country . What's more there are so many good causes and so many locations were people need help, I decided to constitute a very personal portfolio of charities, which I would be supporting in turn and each in a different way.

Oxfam was the first charity I supported in the UK. I use it especially to donate or buy clothes, to buy Xmas gifts certificates, and to support various campaigns & projects. I also support Muslim charities (Islamic Relief, Muslim Aid etc..) especially during Ramadan, at times of emergency assistance in areas they have more access or expertise and for sponsoring orphans.
Today, a British Woodland Trust and a Protection of Animals Charity also feature in my ever growing projects/charity portfolio. Not that I have become a philanthropist millionaire , but as Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) said, " The action most dear to Allah is a good deed done persistently, however small it may be."

So thank you Oxfam, but also Muslim Aid, Helping Hands, The Woodland Trust, Amnesty International, Greenpeace and all the other 'human kind' charities, for delivering on my investment in 'Good'.

Anonymous Sadaqa (Charity) Investor