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Muhammed: All That Matters - Understanding the Faith and Culture of Muslims



The basis of shirk (ascription of partners to Allah) is when you equate Allah, may He be exalted, with His creation in terms of some of that which He alone deserves to have ascribed to Him, because no one ever equated anything to Allah in all respects. So whoever worships anything other than Him, or puts his trust in that thing is a mushrik who has associated something else with Him.


There is consensus that one who does not regard any of the Jews and Christians as disbelievers, or does not regard anyone who leaves the religion of the Muslims as a disbeliever, or does not take a stand with regard to this issue, or is unsure about it, is himself a disbeliever.




Muhammed: All That Matters




Whoever hates something that was brought by the Messenger (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him), even if he complies with it, is a disbeliever, because Allah, may He be exalted, says (interpretation of the meaning):


Whoever ridicules any part of the religion of the Messenger (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him), or its promises of reward or warnings of punishment, is a disbeliever. The evidence for that is the verse in which Allah, may He be exalted, says (interpretation of the meaning):


All the scholars are unanimously agreed that if the Muslim reviles or criticises the religion, or reviles or criticises the Messenger (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him), or ridicules him, then he is an apostate and a disbeliever, who may be executed and his wealth seized.


But if he does not do any such things, then most of the scholars are of the view that he is also a disbeliever just because of his practising magic or witchcraft. This has been discussed previously in fatwa no. 69914


Islam teaches the importance of both belief and practice; one is insufficient without the other (except for some Sufis). The following six beliefs are those that are commonly held by Muslims, as laid out in the Quran and hadith.


The historically responsive equity framework is not just for literacy instruction or literacy educators per se but for all teachers across the disciplines. The framework does bring diverse texts and literacies into all content areas in K-12 classrooms. In my research, I take up the ways in which literacy was defined historically within black communities, particularly in black literary societies. And I found that literacy was synonymous with education. Literacy was also defined within the four frames of identity, skills, intellectualism, and criticality, the four-part equity model. In other words, as black people were learning, they were cultivating each of those four areas of their lives. If we compare these four areas to schools today, I find that most educators are teaching skills only, or their state learning standards. Yet, our students need more.


I learned that black literary societies were developed by black males in 1828 in the urban Northern cities like Boston, Philadelphia, and New York City. Membership was from 10-100 people. They were also called reading rooms, lyceums, literary institutions, and writing clubs. They met regularly in basements of churches, classrooms, homes, or anywhere where they could be in community with one another. They paid membership fees, and many of their funds went to texts and cultivating their libraries. Often, they would check out a book, read it, and present a short lecture on the content of the book upon returning it. They read across topics of mathematics, science, history, and English. But literacy was central to all their content learning. They did not just come together to read and enjoy literature (like many book clubs today), but they also had goals of using knowledge to benefit other black people and the conditions of society at large.


To change the mindset, teachers must do their self-work or find another profession. Just as a person has to heal from abuse in order to be whole, happy, and productive, if teachers have deficit perspectives, they must recognize them, name them, and work toward disrupting and dissolving this type of thinking. That may come from proper education, therapy, or exercises that lead toward anti-racism, anti-bias, and anti-oppression.


I am reminded by many wonderful teachers with whom I work that some of the greatest anti-oppressive leaders and change agents in the world have held a strong sense of self and knowledge of other people (identity), skills, intellect, and criticality. We want to help cultivate students who will not be neutral on oppression or students who would contribute to more oppression in the world. Instead, we want to cultivate young people who, across the course of their lifetimes, will disrupt, disquiet, or unhinge oppression.


Many people have the following questions in mind: Was Muhammad a liar? Was he just a social reformer? Did he invent the teachings of Islam by himself? Or was he a true prophet like all the Noble Prophets that preceded him?


Muhammad prophesied many things that later occurred to him and to the Muslim community after he died. These prophecies spoke about the victory of Muslims, removal of the tyrannical kingdoms of the Chosroes (Zoroastrian king of Persia) and Caesar, and establishment of the religion of Islam in earth. These events occurred exactly as Muhammad foretold, as if he had been reading the future from an open book.


The life of this Noble Prophet presented a perfect example of the life of a person who is upright, merciful, compassionate, truthful, brave, generous, distant from all evil deeds, and ascetic in all worldly matters. He was striving solely for the reward of the hereafter. In all his actions and dealings, he was ever mindful and fearful of Allah.


The human history has never witnessed a man who has received such love, respect, honor, and obedience in all matters as Prophet Muhammad. Allah instilled great love for him in the hearts of all those who knew him and followed him.


This love reached such a degree that anyone of his Companions would willingly sacrifice his or her life, mother, or father for his sake. Until today, those who follow Muhammad honor and love him, though they have not seen him. Anyone of them would forsake his or her family and wealth just to see him, even once.


To this day, the followers of this Noble Prophet have fully adhered to his teachings. Some Muslims love the Prophet to the extent that they adhere to his personal habits, though following these habits is not a religious duty. For example, some Muslims eat only the specific foods or wear only the specific garments that the Prophet liked.


Moreover, all Muslims should repeat, day and night, those praises of Allah, special prayers, and invocations that he used to say (e.g., upon greeting people; entering and leaving the house, the mosque, and the bathroom; sleeping; awaking; beholding the new crescent; seeing the new fruit on trees; eating; drinking; dressing; riding; traveling; and returning home).


Muhammadascribed to Allah all perfection, limitless ability, knowledge, and greatness. This Prophet and his followers have the creed that Almighty Allah established perfect laws based on justice, equality, and mercy for all human activities on earth (e.g., commercial transactions, marriage, divorce, testimony, governance, and all the contracts necessary for the advancement of life and civilization on earth). For the human mind, all these laws are unreachable and even unthinkable. Almighty Allah says,


(And there is not an animal (that lives) on the earth nor a bird that flies with its two wings but (forms part of) communities like you; We have neglected nothing in the Book; then to their Lord shall they be gathered.) (Al-An`am 6:38)


It is beyond the capacity of the human mind alone to come up with similar teachings or comprehend all of them. This unequivocally indicates that Muhammad did not invent this religion; it was all an inspiration that he received from the One Who created the universe with miraculous architecture and perfection.


The creedal makeup of the religion that Muhammad was sent with resembles the formation of the heavens and earth. This indicates that the One Who created the heavens and earth is the One Who sent down this great law and upright religion.


The divine law revealed to Muhammad is beyond imitation, just as the divine creation of the heavens and earth. Just as humans cannot create anything that Allah has created, they cannot make a law like that revealed by Allah to His Messenger, Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him).


36 Days Of Type is a project that invites designers and creators to develop a letter or number every day for 36 consecutive days. This project is a simultaneous act that showcases and demonstrates the art of perspective and representation. Some designers choose to create their artworks in a similar style, while others go completely rogue and test out wild combinations and new thought processes each day. It's 36 days of pure creativity, and the designs that come from it are pretty remarkable.


Muhammed Sajid's set of designs for the challenge are just that: remarkable. This illustrator has created mini-stories through each letter's designs. Almost as if they're an optical illusion, the letter appears at first glance, but if you stare hard enough or long enough, the letter form starts to disappear, and the storyline comes to life. Take the "A" for example; at first look, the letter is brightly illuminated in a neon salmon hue, but stare longer, and you'll find silhouettes of trees rising from deep white holes. Move your eyes upward, and you'll find a shadow of a being floating towards the stars right above a swamp-like form.


We all, to some extent, spend our lives with the thought that at the end of the day it has to mean something. Whether it for our kids, the world, ourselves, our partners and no matter what religion and creed we are birthed into and die from, we believe or want to believe that it matters on some elemental level. However self-contained it may be, or however gifted to the world at-large, we want our lives to live on in those songs that wander here, there, everywhere. 2ff7e9595c


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