just reading all this...
salah according to he different schools of law
I actually managed to read through most of it, and then I had to take a panadol.
How many Prophets did we actually have praying how many different ways of prayer?
Just wondering..
musings
bismillah...
i keep wondering and wondering why and how I chose to be a muslim. It seems to hard. If I was to live in an islamic country, or would be married to a muslim, that would probbly explain things - it would make life a lot easier.
But instead, I appear to have made life more difficult (by choice that is, and this makes it just more incomprehensible)
I'm a bit of a thinker and philosopher myself, and not easily deceived. If there is SOMETHING wrong, I will usually sniff it out and leave it alone. Or at least I think it is. (I'm my own worst analyst and critic.)
For example I once made the Mensa entry test a couple of years ago, however I opted not to be part of Mensa as I didn't want to have that "Mensa" label however honourable it might look on a CV. Managing the (weirdest of all) entry test was enough for me.
It seemed to me paradox at that time that a supposedly intelligent person wants to participate in a society that does not want to judge but obviously aims to place it's members above the normal civilisation (I might arrogantly mention here that I can pick up arrogant attitutes quite well, lol).
I have many labels, starting above all from being a human, then a female, German, immigrant, all of these tell something about what and who I am but not necessarily in a bad, judging way.
Now I have the label Muslim attached to me, too, and as soon as I wear the hijab scarf, it's even quite a visible label (believe me brothers, I would LOVE to wear a beard instead and given enough time it would physiologically be possible, lol).
It's not the label "Muslim" itself, it's the other labels that people associate with it, such as being fanatic, terrorist, strange, unloving, uncaring, dirty, strangely dressed. Hmmm.
Maybe these labels do match with some people, but not with others and I do think, certainly not with me.
The sub-labels that I prefer with it are truth seeking, community orientated, peaceful, interested, God fearing, willing to learn....
but what are the true sub-labels of a muslim (non-subjective)?
i keep wondering and wondering why and how I chose to be a muslim. It seems to hard. If I was to live in an islamic country, or would be married to a muslim, that would probbly explain things - it would make life a lot easier.
But instead, I appear to have made life more difficult (by choice that is, and this makes it just more incomprehensible)
I'm a bit of a thinker and philosopher myself, and not easily deceived. If there is SOMETHING wrong, I will usually sniff it out and leave it alone. Or at least I think it is. (I'm my own worst analyst and critic.)
For example I once made the Mensa entry test a couple of years ago, however I opted not to be part of Mensa as I didn't want to have that "Mensa" label however honourable it might look on a CV. Managing the (weirdest of all) entry test was enough for me.
It seemed to me paradox at that time that a supposedly intelligent person wants to participate in a society that does not want to judge but obviously aims to place it's members above the normal civilisation (I might arrogantly mention here that I can pick up arrogant attitutes quite well, lol).
I have many labels, starting above all from being a human, then a female, German, immigrant, all of these tell something about what and who I am but not necessarily in a bad, judging way.
Now I have the label Muslim attached to me, too, and as soon as I wear the hijab scarf, it's even quite a visible label (believe me brothers, I would LOVE to wear a beard instead and given enough time it would physiologically be possible, lol).
It's not the label "Muslim" itself, it's the other labels that people associate with it, such as being fanatic, terrorist, strange, unloving, uncaring, dirty, strangely dressed. Hmmm.
Maybe these labels do match with some people, but not with others and I do think, certainly not with me.
The sub-labels that I prefer with it are truth seeking, community orientated, peaceful, interested, God fearing, willing to learn....
but what are the true sub-labels of a muslim (non-subjective)?
new life...
Introducing 9 week old Samir (aka Sammy) and 8 week old Samra (aka Snuffles)
two very sick kitties that I picked up from the animal shelter on the weekend.
They usually put unclaimed animals down after 7 days of arrival :(
There is a saying that purring is the cat's recitation of "ar rahman" ....
two very sick kitties that I picked up from the animal shelter on the weekend.
They usually put unclaimed animals down after 7 days of arrival :(
There is a saying that purring is the cat's recitation of "ar rahman" ....
Muslim washing rite goes hi-tech
"must read" of the day:
Muslim washing rite goes hi-tech
washing machines for 2.5 million hajj pilgrims? Howz that gonna work/look like?
Some ideas to make this thing a bit more efficient:
#recycle and reuse the water after each turn. Nobody will know/notice
#take a gold coin for each usage. USD of course, no dirham or riyal.
#having them only active for the five times of the day. who knows people would want to use it for the morning shower?
#a goat powered generator for countries where electricity is scarce.
#Oh, yes, and little wheels.
#having a child-setting installed that needs just half the amount of water
#a blow dry setting before and after wudu, before to get rid of all the dust and therefore even needing less water.
Posted using ShareThis
Muslim washing rite goes hi-tech
washing machines for 2.5 million hajj pilgrims? Howz that gonna work/look like?
Some ideas to make this thing a bit more efficient:
#recycle and reuse the water after each turn. Nobody will know/notice
#take a gold coin for each usage. USD of course, no dirham or riyal.
#having them only active for the five times of the day. who knows people would want to use it for the morning shower?
#a goat powered generator for countries where electricity is scarce.
#Oh, yes, and little wheels.
#having a child-setting installed that needs just half the amount of water
#a blow dry setting before and after wudu, before to get rid of all the dust and therefore even needing less water.
Posted using ShareThis
bismillahir rahmanir raheem
this is the story of an individual with exceptional skills being betrayed by the closest family members, abducted from the loving parents to a foreign country, put for many years into prison unjustified without a "fair trial" after being set up with a crime this individual didn't commit.
This individual always stayed a strong Muslim with high morals and ethic values and practised forgiveness towards the transgressors.
greatinjustice
Most of the world knows this story by now, but hasn't learnt anything from it (you certainly know what I'm talking about?!)
this is the story of an individual with exceptional skills being betrayed by the closest family members, abducted from the loving parents to a foreign country, put for many years into prison unjustified without a "fair trial" after being set up with a crime this individual didn't commit.
This individual always stayed a strong Muslim with high morals and ethic values and practised forgiveness towards the transgressors.
greatinjustice
Most of the world knows this story by now, but hasn't learnt anything from it (you certainly know what I'm talking about?!)
the maze....
A similar (favour have ye already received) in that We have sent among you an Messenger of your own, rehearsing to you Our Signs, and sanctifying you, and instructing you in Scripture and Wisdom, and in new knowledge. Al Baqarah Ayah 151
no, I'm not talking about the food... I'm talking about the confusing world of ahadith.
I decided that I had enough of sunnah and ahadith for a while at least. Not until I had the next hadith in my inbox (ok, I subscribed to at least 3 different daily hadith mailers, lol) that seemed to be randomly quoted, without further explanation and a lot of islamic decoration and other rubbish to it. And it challenged me!
My mind is by nature critical, and this is how I came to Islam in the first place, when someone told me something and disclaimed it was truth, I would not believe it. Only the absolute truth is acceptable for me, or, what I can experience for myself, this of course, did not change after finding the truth and becoming a muslim (the shahada doesn't switch your brains off).
Ok, how come that I have such a unshakeable belief in Allah, is a different topic altogether. (That doesn't mean though that my faith in Islam and the Muslims is unshakeable.)
The Quran, ok that is a miracle in itself, everyone with open eyes can see the truth in that. But hadith? How can you proof the truthfullness of Hadith and what in fact does the existance of Hadith teach (that is just my personal conclusion I came to)
There is a lot of "the prophet said that we have to do this, and that we have to do that" in the virtual and real ummah, and a lot of fatwas are sometimes solely based on hadith, not Quran. And they often contradict each other and, in my view the most confusing thing of all, they contradict blatantly the Quran!
I have even a footnote in one of my Quran translations in regards to an ayah in an Nisa and some other places - it states that this ayah was later overruled by a hadith.
Hang on a moment!
Before I just even start to squish the bit of grey matter out of my brain wondering about single hadiths that I don't understand yet, I decided to investigate "the maze" from the outside in.
I found in several books and websites the common opinion that people who quote random hadith for educational purposes have to consider the validity of this saying. A lot of born muslims however quote sayings and deeds of the Prophet because it has been taught by their parents and they again had it told by their parents or community that they were raised in.
A lot of them would out of respect to their elders never question the authenticity of this saying, after all it often held the community together. These sort of people repeat what they have been told by their elders without thinking (the one's that can read have a much reverred ancient collection of ahadith in Quran lookalike books that only the man in the house is allowed to touch).
Ok.... my impression was that the weirdest ahadith with the strongest language were quoted most and considered as law.
If that doesn't need a thinking cap on then I don't know! Most muslims are good at thinking about how western society corrupts the ummah and conspiracy theories but they don't waste a critical thought on the core teaching of Islam.
Similar to tafseer of the Quran, the collections of Hadith have caused the establishment of a "science of hadith" in fact the first proper scientific examination of things in my view. Imam Bukhari, Muslim and Dawood were some of the most famous collectors and examinors of ahadith and their hadith are often considered as most authentic. Those famous early scholars, may Allah bless them, realized the need for clarification and authentication of ahadith.
I have found the following classifications according to these scholars, and that made a lot of things clear for me (sourced from several different websites e.g. islamic-awareness.org)
A hadith is usually structured in 3 parts, the isnad (the chain of reporters), matn (the text itself) and taraf (the part that refers to the saying, action or characteristic of the Prophet quoted).
Most scholars classify Hadith into 5 categories according to the 1) reference to a particular authority (e.g. a direct revelation from Allah swt - classified as Qudsi, sacred, from Muhammad saw is Marfu, elevated, mauquf "stopped" for instance from one of the Wives of the Prophet etc...)
2) the isnad, or links and chain of reporters "isnad" or transmission chain (ranging form "Musnad" meaning supported to "muttasil" - continuous back to the Prophet himself to "mu'allaq" - hanging chain)
3) number of reporters involved in the isnad, there are "mutawatir", many, or "ahad", isolated
4) nature of the text AND isnad, for example a "munkar" is a hadith that contradicts another authentic hadith and is reported by a weak narrator (denounced hadith), and a "mudraj" appears to be several hadith mixed up by accident and quoted as one.
5) The reliability and memory of reporters and narrators: "sahih" means sound and "mawdu" means fabricated and forged, and yes, those unfortunatly exist plentiful.
You wouldn't accept a court ruling by an insane, corrupt or even non present judge, would you?
I was very surprised to see how many hadith actually are classified as da'id and munkar but instead of being cancelled out of ahadith collections they are still being quoted and also used for fatwas, this again supposed to be done with certain rules.
Why did the famous scholars that did so much service for Islam did not just disregard questionable ahadith and left the 100% sure ones, however the fact that they still exist and being quoted invited to investigate, think about and question the available sources. I think it wasn't just because they couldn't agree between each other what was authentic and what was not!
I have concluded that instead of being a faulty or incorrect collection of sayings that would make the sunnah invalid or at least to be considered as a morality and ethics codex, not law it makes the collections of various ahadith perfect.
Perfect because it is an open challenge and invitation to question, test and examine the core if Islam, investigate histories and accept truths and disregard falseness after thorough check. It's lesson in itself is "do not believe things in blind faith - examine thorougly and critically"
I see it as a direct invitation and a hint not to take rules and teachings in blind faith and not follow things out of convenience. The paradox of an imperfect pillar of islam is that it's imperfection is a teaching a itself, a lesson that also includes the solution - if that is not wisdom!
no, I'm not talking about the food... I'm talking about the confusing world of ahadith.
I decided that I had enough of sunnah and ahadith for a while at least. Not until I had the next hadith in my inbox (ok, I subscribed to at least 3 different daily hadith mailers, lol) that seemed to be randomly quoted, without further explanation and a lot of islamic decoration and other rubbish to it. And it challenged me!
My mind is by nature critical, and this is how I came to Islam in the first place, when someone told me something and disclaimed it was truth, I would not believe it. Only the absolute truth is acceptable for me, or, what I can experience for myself, this of course, did not change after finding the truth and becoming a muslim (the shahada doesn't switch your brains off).
Ok, how come that I have such a unshakeable belief in Allah, is a different topic altogether. (That doesn't mean though that my faith in Islam and the Muslims is unshakeable.)
The Quran, ok that is a miracle in itself, everyone with open eyes can see the truth in that. But hadith? How can you proof the truthfullness of Hadith and what in fact does the existance of Hadith teach (that is just my personal conclusion I came to)
There is a lot of "the prophet said that we have to do this, and that we have to do that" in the virtual and real ummah, and a lot of fatwas are sometimes solely based on hadith, not Quran. And they often contradict each other and, in my view the most confusing thing of all, they contradict blatantly the Quran!
I have even a footnote in one of my Quran translations in regards to an ayah in an Nisa and some other places - it states that this ayah was later overruled by a hadith.
Hang on a moment!
Before I just even start to squish the bit of grey matter out of my brain wondering about single hadiths that I don't understand yet, I decided to investigate "the maze" from the outside in.
I found in several books and websites the common opinion that people who quote random hadith for educational purposes have to consider the validity of this saying. A lot of born muslims however quote sayings and deeds of the Prophet because it has been taught by their parents and they again had it told by their parents or community that they were raised in.
A lot of them would out of respect to their elders never question the authenticity of this saying, after all it often held the community together. These sort of people repeat what they have been told by their elders without thinking (the one's that can read have a much reverred ancient collection of ahadith in Quran lookalike books that only the man in the house is allowed to touch).
Ok.... my impression was that the weirdest ahadith with the strongest language were quoted most and considered as law.
If that doesn't need a thinking cap on then I don't know! Most muslims are good at thinking about how western society corrupts the ummah and conspiracy theories but they don't waste a critical thought on the core teaching of Islam.
Similar to tafseer of the Quran, the collections of Hadith have caused the establishment of a "science of hadith" in fact the first proper scientific examination of things in my view. Imam Bukhari, Muslim and Dawood were some of the most famous collectors and examinors of ahadith and their hadith are often considered as most authentic. Those famous early scholars, may Allah bless them, realized the need for clarification and authentication of ahadith.
I have found the following classifications according to these scholars, and that made a lot of things clear for me (sourced from several different websites e.g. islamic-awareness.org)
A hadith is usually structured in 3 parts, the isnad (the chain of reporters), matn (the text itself) and taraf (the part that refers to the saying, action or characteristic of the Prophet quoted).
Most scholars classify Hadith into 5 categories according to the 1) reference to a particular authority (e.g. a direct revelation from Allah swt - classified as Qudsi, sacred, from Muhammad saw is Marfu, elevated, mauquf "stopped" for instance from one of the Wives of the Prophet etc...)
2) the isnad, or links and chain of reporters "isnad" or transmission chain (ranging form "Musnad" meaning supported to "muttasil" - continuous back to the Prophet himself to "mu'allaq" - hanging chain)
3) number of reporters involved in the isnad, there are "mutawatir", many, or "ahad", isolated
4) nature of the text AND isnad, for example a "munkar" is a hadith that contradicts another authentic hadith and is reported by a weak narrator (denounced hadith), and a "mudraj" appears to be several hadith mixed up by accident and quoted as one.
5) The reliability and memory of reporters and narrators: "sahih" means sound and "mawdu" means fabricated and forged, and yes, those unfortunatly exist plentiful.
You wouldn't accept a court ruling by an insane, corrupt or even non present judge, would you?
I was very surprised to see how many hadith actually are classified as da'id and munkar but instead of being cancelled out of ahadith collections they are still being quoted and also used for fatwas, this again supposed to be done with certain rules.
Why did the famous scholars that did so much service for Islam did not just disregard questionable ahadith and left the 100% sure ones, however the fact that they still exist and being quoted invited to investigate, think about and question the available sources. I think it wasn't just because they couldn't agree between each other what was authentic and what was not!
I have concluded that instead of being a faulty or incorrect collection of sayings that would make the sunnah invalid or at least to be considered as a morality and ethics codex, not law it makes the collections of various ahadith perfect.
Perfect because it is an open challenge and invitation to question, test and examine the core if Islam, investigate histories and accept truths and disregard falseness after thorough check. It's lesson in itself is "do not believe things in blind faith - examine thorougly and critically"
I see it as a direct invitation and a hint not to take rules and teachings in blind faith and not follow things out of convenience. The paradox of an imperfect pillar of islam is that it's imperfection is a teaching a itself, a lesson that also includes the solution - if that is not wisdom!
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