8 The Truth, Thursday, June 14TH, 2007. Vol.

2 Issue 24
Poetry

Vol. 2 Issue 24
The Truth
A Weekly Bulletin Thu. Jun 14th 2007
Promises
Contemp. Issues Hijab - Unveiling the Mystery
American Muslim women today are rediscover-
God hath not promised ing the pristine Islam as revealed by Allah, (God), to Prophet Muhammed
Skies always blue, (P.), more than 1,400 years ago, but without any of the contradictions
Flower-strewn pathways of ancestral culture. Consequently they are essentially engaging in a
All our lives through. life-long exercise of rediscovering their own selves – what it means to
be a human, a Muslim, and more so, a Muslim woman. Wearing a head-
God hath not promised covering (Hijab) is an important part of their spiritual journey.
Sun without rain, Cont’d on Page 2
Joy without sorrow,
Issues How to end Racism
Peace without pain.
Recent events remind us that racism remains
rampant. How can it end? Only understanding and education can end
racism.
But God hath promised
People must realise that God created all humans from one couple. The
Strength for the day,
entire human race is therefore one large extended family. God says:
Rest for the labor,
“O mankind! Be careful of your duty to your Lord who created you
Light for the way
from a single soul and from its mate; and from the two of them He
spread abroad a multitude of men and women” [Al-Qur’an 4:1]
Grace for the trials, Cont’d on Page 5
Help from above,
Unfailing sympathy Ethics Whom Allah Loves Most
Undying love . . . The Messenger of God, Prophet Muhammed
(P.) said:
“All mankind belongs to Allah; therefore the most favoured by Allah is
LORD LET ME LAUGH AGAIN, the one who is good to his or her own family”.
A man once asked the Messenger of Allah (P.):
BUT NEVER LET ME FORGET THAT I CRIED. “What people does Allah love most?”
He said: “Those who are most useful to other people.”
Through the quoted holy traditions (Hadith), the Messenger of Allah
(P.) teaches us in simplistic terms how to deal with people and how a
Muslim should behave with individuals in society.
Indeed, a Muslim should be a useful member of the community in
which he or she lives, because human society is like the human body.
If you want to receive yourWeekly Digital Copy (PDF Format) Please subscribe to The Truth’s The human body consists of different organs for different functions, for
Mailing List @ http://groups.google.com/group/thetruth110 instance the eye takes the duty of seeing, the tongue for speaking, the
If you want any material to be published please send us an e-mail. legs for walking and the hands for working. Consequently, each of these
Please note that we have the right to Accept, Edit or Refuse any content.
organs has a benefit and use for the human body without which man
Editor in Chief: Hassan Tabatabai Editor: Ahmad Al Najjar
Designed by: Ahmad Haidar cannot live normally.
Please send us your feedbacks, comments, and suggestions to
 Ya’qoobi, Tarikh al-Ya’qoobi, vol. 2.
Contact-Us  Ibid.
the following e-mail: thetruth110@gmail.com Cont’d on Page 6
2 The Truth, Thursday, June 14TH, 2007. Vol. 2 Issue 24 The Truth, Thursday, June 14th, 2007. Vol. 2 Issue 24 7
Cont’d from 1 Page
st
Sayings CO-OPERATION THE KEY TO SUCCESS
One of the most common questions today, asked by Muslims and
non-Muslims alike, is: “Why do Muslim women cover their heads?” The Co-operation is to work together for a common good cause. It is
answer is very simple - Muslim women observe Hijab because Allah has to undertake a job in which everyone plays his part sincerely to finish
told them to do so: it. People in co-operation pool their resources for their common ben-
“O Prophet, tell your wives and daughters and the believing efit. We come to hear or see co-operative societies established in many
women to draw their outer garments around them (when they countries. Their benefit has been dignity of labor and self-dependence.
go out or are among men). That is better in order that they The co-operative movement has been the cause of rapid economic prog-
may be known (to be Muslims) and not annoyed...” (Holy Qur’an ress in many countries.
33:59). There is a story of an old man who was on his death-bed. He called
Muslims believe that their sole purpose in life is the worship of God his sons and asked them to break a bundle of sticks which was bound
alone, according to His instructions, as revealed in the Holy Qur’an, and together. Although the sons were strong and tried hard to break it, they
through the teachings of the Prophet Muhammed (P.). As such, wearing failed. The old man then advised them to untie the bundle and to break
the Hijab is an act of obedience to God and, hence, forms the primary the sticks separately. Every one of them could do so very easily. The
basis for wearing it. bundle of sticks is like co-operation and working together in unity which
Generalizations about Islam and Muslims are replete in today’s me- cannot be destroyed. Thus co-operation is strength.
dia. Muslim women in headscarves are frequently unfairly stigmatized. The Prophet of Islam, Prophet Muhammed (P.) was once traveling
They are regarded on the one hand as oppressed, and on the other, as with his companions. They stopped at a place to have something to eat
fanatics and fundamentalists. Both depictions are grossly wrong and and then rest. They decided to slaughter a sheep and roast it.
imprecise. Such portrayals not only misrepresent these women’s strong One of them said, “I shall do the slaughtering.”
feelings towards Hijab, but also fail to acknowledge their courage and The other said, “I shall remove the skin.”
the resulting identity Hijab gives them. There are even bans on wearing The third one said, “I shall do the roasting.”
the Hijab in some countries. When asked about this, Aminah Assilmi, a Each one of them volunteered to do one piece of work.
Christian convert to Islam, said: “To ask me to go out without my Hijab The Prophet of Islam said, “I shall collect and bring the firewood from
would be like asking a nun to go topless. It amazes me, and I cannot the forest.”
help but wonder, if they would have ordered Mary, the mother of Jesus The companions said, “Oh
(P.) to uncover her hair.” Prophet! You need not take the
Another misconception is the belief that Muslim women are forced to trouble. We shall attend to every-
wear Hijab. For the vast majority of Muslim women, nothing could be thing.”
farther from the truth. Indeed, deciding finally to wear Hijab is often dif- The Prophet (P.) said, “I know
ficult. Days of meditation, fear of negative consequences and reactions you can do everything. But I
from family and/or the wider American society, and ultimately, the need do not like to enjoy a pref-
for plenty of courage weigh heavily in reaching the decision. Wearing erential treatment from you.
Hijab is a very personal and independent decision, coming from appre- God Almighty does not like
ciating the wisdom underlying Allah’s command and a sincere wish to to see a person distinguish-
please Him. ing himself from his compan-
While the Hijab identifies women as followers of Islam, with it comes ions.” Thus the Prophet went
tremendous responsibility. Hijab is not merely a covering dress, but and brought firewood from the
more importantly, it is behavior, manners, speech and appearance in forest;
public. The headscarf is an outer manifestation of an inner commitment This is one of the examples set
to worshipping Allah – it symbolizes a commitment to piety. Self or inner by the Prophet of Islam on co-op-
morality is what gives meaning to the external scarf. This can be per- eration and working together for
ceived from the overall demeanor of any Muslim woman – how she acts, a common good.
dresses, speaks, and so on. In a land where misinformation about Islam
6 The Truth, Thursday, June 14TH, 2007. Vol. 2 Issue
Cont’d from First Page
Therefore, human society is made up of different people, who carry
out certain duties to perform necessary services.
A farmer supplies food, a doctor attends to the sick, the holy struggler
(Mujahid) defends his religion and country, and the teacher educates
people. These few examples show that each person offers advantages in
providing for people.
The Messenger of Allah (P.) likens human society to a single family by
saying:
All mankind belong to Allah, the Exalted, Who loves goodness and
benefits them; and Who preserves their interests and welfare, like a
man who takes care of his or her own family by providing care and as-
sistance.
Therefore, Allah loves those who do well to people and whoever helps
the needy, cares for the sick, provides food for the hungry, reconciles
people, discovers new medicines, builds a school or establishes an or-
phanage to look after children without parents. Indeed a true believer
does all these for the benefit of other people and is a useful asset to his
or her society.
Consequently, the most useful person in society is he who is the best
and most beneficial, whom Allah loves most, because an Islamic society
cannot be a strong and caring one, in which peace and happiness pre-
vails, unless people do well to the advantage of all and ignore their own
personal interests.
To Summarize
1. The best among people is the one who does well to all and is most
useful to society.
2. A Muslim is one who loves to do good for society.
3. Allah surely loves those who do well for society.
Anecdote Bohlool and Haroun
One day Haroun Rashid asked Bohlool, “What is Allah’s greatest
blessing?”
“Allah’s greatest blessing is the mind. Khawaja Abdullah Ansari says in
his supplication, ‘O Allah! Those whom You gave intelligence, what else
did You not give; those whom You didn’t
give understanding, what did You give?’ In
one reliable Hadith, when Allah decided to
take back His blessings from His slaves, first
of all He took their intellect away. Reason
is amongst subsistence. It is sorrowful
that Allah took this blessing away from
me.”
24 The Truth, Thursday, June 14th, 2007. Vol. 2 Issue 24 3
and Muslims abounds, Muslim sisters have the opportunity to portray
Islam in its true light
Saba M. Baig, a graduate of Rutgers University, NJ, was 17 when she
seriously started wearing Hijab. She feels that she is still in the process
of learning internal Hijab. “My biggest realization was that Hijab was not
just about wearing a scarf on my head, but more of a (veil) on my heart,”
said Baig. “Hijab is more than an external covering. That’s the easy part
of it all. It has a lot (more) to do with modesty and just the way you
present yourself.”
Katherine Bullock observed that “after I started wearing Hijab, I no-
ticed that people would often behave more circumspectly with me, like
apologizing if they swore. I appreciated that. I feel that wearing Hijab
has given me an insight into a decent and upright lifestyle.”
HIJAB IS AN ACT OF MODESTY
Modest clothing and Hijab are precautions to avoid social violations.
The following verses of the Qur’an highlight that this is not limited to
women only.
“Say to the believing men that they should lower their gaze
and guard their modesty; that will make for greater purity for
them; and Allah is well acquainted with all that they do. And
say to the believing women that they should lower their gaze
and guard their modesty; and that they should not display their
beauty and ornaments except what must ordinarily appear
thereof; that they should draw their veils over their bosoms
and not display their beauty except to their husbands...” (Qur’an
24:30-31)
According to Jabir ibn Abdullah, when he asked the Prophet (P.), about
a man’s gaze falling inadvertently on a strange woman, the Prophet re-
plied, “Turn your eyes away”. In another tradition, the Prophet (P.)
chided for looking again at a woman – he said, “the second glance is
from Satan.”
So, contrary to popular belief, Muslim and non-Muslim, Hijab is not
worn for men; to keep their illicit desires in check – that is their own
responsibility, as the above verse and Prophetic sayings show. Rather,
Muslim women wear it for God and their own selves. Islam is a religion of
moderation and of balance between extremes. Therefore, it does not ex-
pect women alone to uphold society’s morality and uprightness. Rather,
Islam asks men and women mutually to strive to create a healthy social
environment where children may grow with positive, beautiful, construc-
tive and practical values and concepts.
In fact, for many women Hijab is a constant reminder that they should
not have to design their lives and bodies for men. “Before I started cov-
ering, I thought of myself based on what others thought of me. I see that
Cont’d from Next Page
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Cont’d from Last Page Cont’d from First Page
too often in girls, their happiness depends on how others view them, “O mankind! We have created you male and female, and have made
especially men. Ever since, my opinion of myself has changed so much; you nations and tribes that you may know each other. The noblest of
I have gained (a lot of) self-respect. I have realized whether others may you, in the sight of Allah, is the best in conduct” [Al-Qur’an 49:13]
think of me as beautiful is not what matters. How beautiful I think of The noblest is the best in conduct. Such persons may belong to any
myself and knowing that Allah finds me beautiful makes me feel beauti- race or country. What really matters is their conduct and behaviour. This
ful,” Baig recounts. is why the prophet Muhammed (p) in a public address said that the
The concept of modesty and Hijab in Islam is holistic, and encom- Arabs are not superior to the non-Arabs, and one colour is not superior
passes both men and women. The ultimate goal is to maintain societal to another. He also said that people should obey their leader even if he
stability and to please God. is a black person.
Since Muslim women are more conspicuous because of their appear-
ance, it is easier for Furthermore, we must understand that no race is superior to another.
people to associate When we see a garden with many different flowers we appreciate the
them with the warped beauty of the entire arrangement. We have nothing against the colour
images they see in the
print and broadcast
media. Hence, stereo-
types are perpetuated
and Muslim women of-
ten seem “mysterious”
to those not acquaint-
ed with the religious
meanings of Hijab.
This aura of “mystery”
cannot be removed of any flower because each contributes something to the beauty of the
until their lifestyles, garden.In a similar way we may see the world as a garden decorated
beliefs and thought- with people of different colours. Let us appreciate that each variety of
systems are genuinely people contributes something to the spice of life in this world.
explored. And, this
cannot be achieved un- As a result of following these teachings, many people are able to end
til one is not afraid re- racism in their thoughts and actions. You can still see racial harmony
spectfully to approach today in the mosques of cosmopolitan cities. There you will find people
Muslim women – or of various colours worshipping together, all with equal status before
men for that matter. God. Rich or poor, black or white, king or pauper all line up side by side
So, the next time you to worship. No special consideration is given to anyone based on colour
see a Muslim, stop and or social status. In many mosques the leader is black and the followers
talk to them – you’ll white. There is no such concept as a “black mosque” or “white mosque.”
feel, God-Willing, as if Islam removes such destructive concepts.
you’re entering a dif- By: Shabir Ally
ferent world, the world
 Allah
is the name of God used by Arabic-Speaking Christians and Jews,
of Islam: full of humili-
and by Muslims of every language.
ty, piety, and of course,
 May peace, and the blessings of Allah, be on His messengers Mu-
modesty!
by Saulat Pervez hammed, Jesus, Moses and others.