My Journey to Islam: Lauren Booth

Why aren't my prayers being answered?!

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My Journey to Islam: Yahya Birt

Can Qur'an be Insulted?

Verse 41 and 42 of Surah Fussilat explains that Qur'an is Aziz and Hameed. Falsehood cannot touch it from any angle and it's Worthy of All Praise.

The Monologue of The Believer from Surah Al Mu’min

During the time of Moses (pbuh), there was a secret believer in Pharaoh’s general. Surah number 40, Ghafir, also known as Al Mu’min (the Believer of Pharaoh’s people) details the monologue of this believer.

Virtues of Laylat al-Qadr LIVE with Sheikh Omar Suleiman

Muslim, pregnant and in jail as coronavirus sweeps through: India says this woman is ‘key conspirator’ in citizenship act riots

Police claim Safoora Zargar was a ‘key conspirator’ in riots against the Citizenship Amendment Act

As coronavirus infections sweep through its prisons India has in the past month released tens of thousands of inmates.
But Safoora Zargar, four months pregnant with her first child, is not one of them. Instead she languishes in the Tihar jail complex of New Delhi.
The 27-year-old PhD student is one of five Muslim students and activists arrested since India’s lockdown began on March 25 for their role in protests against a law that would make it easier for non-Muslims from neighbouring countries to gain citizenship.
Critics say the law entrenches rising Hindu nationalism and openly discriminates against Muslims, who form just over 10 per cent of the population.

Safoora, who is studying sociology at Jamia Millia University, has spoken to her husband twice from jail since she was detained on April 10. Both times, the call lasted for five minutes before automatically disconnecting, her husband said.
She has told him and her family that she is keeping well. “She is a tough character. But at the end of the day, there can’t be enough care that can be given to a pregnant woman. It is keeping us up at night,” he said.

Police allege Safoora was a “key conspirator” in the three days of communal violence in February, when at least 53 people, mostly Muslims, died and several hundred more were injured. She has been charged under the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act (UAPA) – a regressive anti-terror law under which a person can be denied bail for an indefinite period of time.

But activists involved in the protests say they were peacefully opposing the new law, known as the Citizenship Amendment Act or CAA, and the rioting was caused by Hindu groups who attacked mostly Muslim protesters. The activists allege police did nothing to stop the armed mobs and in some cases were even complicit in their actions.

Harsh Mander, a prominent rights activist, who took part in an anti-CAA protest, questioned the timing of Safoora’s arrest.

“It shows the cynical approach the government has taken to silence dissenting voices. They know at this time when we are all forced to stay home due to the pandemic, it won’t be possible for people to come out and protest [against] these arrests.”
Days before Safoora was taken into custody by Delhi police, Meeran Haidar, a student at the same university, and Shifa-Ur-Rehman, president of the Jamia Millia Islamia Alumni Association, were also arrested for inciting riots and indulging in hate speech. Police also booked Gulfisha Fatima, a 28-year-old MBA student and Khalid Saifi, a prominent activist. In each of the cases, police invoked the UAPA.

Aysha Renna, a student activist, believes by arresting student leaders under terror laws, the government is trying to suppress any future protests.

“The government is scared and is trying to do everything to sabotage our peaceful protests. But we have decided to regroup and restart the protests after the coronavirus lockdown is over. We won’t back down until the law is revoked,” she said.
The arrests have also come amid a rise in Islamophobia amid the coronavirus outbreak, which has infected more than 78,000 in the country and killed over 2,500.
In March, an infection cluster emerged from a large religious gathering organised by the Muslim missionary group Tablighi Jamaat in New Delhi. The gathering was linked to over 4,000 infections and more than 20,000 people, including foreign nationals, were quarantined. It prompted viral videos containing misinformation designed to spark anger against Muslims.
This month, Delhi police filed sedition charges against Dr Zafarul Islam Khan, chairman of the Delhi Minority Commission, for his Facebook posts. In one of the posts, Khan had termed the government’s decision to keep Tablighi Jammat members in quarantine despite being declared Covid-19 negative weeks earlier as “illegal detention”.

Safoora and her family have been trolled, with questions raised about whether hers is an out of wedlock pregnancy, which would be severely frowned upon in India’s largely conservative society.
Women activists have been up in arms with the Delhi Commission of Women asking the police to take action against the trolls.

With the entire country still under an extended lockdown, campaigns to set her free have been restricted to the internet. The Jamia Coordination Committee at her university, which organised the protests, and other rights activists have been drawing attention to Safoora’s plight on social media and started a petition for her to be released.
Safoora has spent the entire month of Ramadan in jail and her family holds little hope of seeing her on Eid, which is next week. Even so, her husband is keeping faith in the judiciary. “We believe the courts will set her free soon,” he said.

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What does Qur'an say about Conspiracy Theories?

In Ayah 4 of Surah 40, Ghafir, also known as Surah Al Mu’min (The Believer), Allah is telling his prophet (pbuh) to stop worrying about what the disbelievers of Makkah were plotting as Allah is aware of all things. Ustadh Nouman Ali Khan ties this to Muslims today believing in conspiracy theories.

India's lockdown: Narratives of inequality and Islamophobia

Angels in Your Presence, a Ramadan Video Series with Shaykh Omar Suleiman

Throughout our existence, there are angels in our presence. But it’s our actions that cause these angels to either praise us or disgrace us. Through this series, Sh. Omar Suleiman explores the actions that invite these blessed unseen beings to pray on us, and carry our name and mention to the One who created us all. The video lectures are embedded as playlist below.




More Information on Angels on Islam Awareness Homepage here.

My Journey to Islam: Yvonne Ridley

Asma-ul-Husna | The 99 Names | Atif Aslam

Allah's warning that he will replace Muslims slowly with other people

Holy Qur'an Surah 47 (Muhammad) Verse 38 says, "though now you are called upon to give [a little] for the sake of God, some of you are grudging. Whoever is grudging is so only towards himself: God is the source of wealth and you are the needy ones. He will substitute other people for you if you turn away, and they will not be like you."

Ustadh Nouman Ali Khan explains that this is much more scarier than most English translations and this is the warning that while the Ummah will remain the same, but the Qaum (nations) would be substituted by other Qaum's. Listen to the tafseer.

Transformed - Motivating Life Story Of Musab Ibn Umair

Tafsir of Qur'an Surah 97 - The Night of Glory (Al-Qadr) by Ustadh Nouman Ali Khan

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Miracle of Ayat ul Kursi | Linguistic Miracle

Hadith:Fasting

 

 

Abu Umamah reported: "I came to the [Prophet Muhammad, PBUH] and said: 'Order me to do a deed that will allow me to enter Paradise.' He said: 'Stick to fasting, as there is no equivalent to it.'" 

The Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) said: "If anyone fasts for a day out of a desire to please God, God will remove that person from (Hell) as far as a crow flies from the time it is a young bird until it dies of old age." Al-Trimidhi

The Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) said: "Whoever does a voluntary good deed during this month [Ramadan], it is as if that person performed an obligatory good deed at another time, and whoever performs an obligatory good deed, it is as if that person performed 70 obligatory good deeds at another time."

A rich man once said to the Prophet Muhammad (pbuh): "Tell me how to conduct my life and how to spend (my money)." The Prophet replied: "Give (regular charity) out of your property, for truly it is a purifier, and be kind to your relatives and acknowledge the rights of the poor, neighbors and (those in need who seek your help)."

Why is there no sectarian divide in the transgender community?

Qur'an Surah 44. Smoke (Al-Dukhan) - English Explanation

“Imam Ahmed Bin Hanbal” series, Episode 1

How Would Indians Feel if I Say Hindus Should Not be Allowed in UAE, Asks Princess Hend Al Qassimi

Over the last few weeks Princess Hend Al Qassimi, who belongs to the royal family of the United Arab Emirates (UAE), has been flagging hateful and Islamophobic comments on her social media timeline. Many of these were by Indian citizens working in the UAE.

Responding to the worrisome trend, Ambassador Pavan Kapoor told Indian citizens that “discrimination is against our moral fabric and rule of law” and Indians in the Emirates must remember this.

News 18 spoke exclusively to Princess Hend (which means India) and she sounded both anguished and angry over the remarks she has been reading from some individuals. She said Emirati-India relationship is over centuries-old “but this is new, we have never experienced hatred from the Indians."

"I have never heard an Indian attack an Arab or a Muslim before but now I have reported just one person but you can see my timeline is full of people insulting the Arabs, Muslims. This is so un-Indian.”

Princess Hend though realizes that the comments of a few individuals were not representative of the vast majority of Indians working and residing in the UAE but she did subtly put a message across when she said, “Is India trying to force us to pick and choose, who to allow in the Emirates – only the Muslim and the Christian? This isn’t how we were raised. To us, they are all Indians we don’t put them in any category - like we will work with them only because they are Indian Muslim.”

There are around three and a half million Indians in the UAE which is approximately 30 per cent of the population according to the embassy website. This makes Indians the largest ethnic community there.

“How would the Indians feel if I say publicly that that Indian Hindus should not be allowed in Emirates? Close to 14 billion dollars are being remitted back from the Emirates to India every year – in the past year. Imagine if that were to be cut off? The Indians work very hard in this country and I don’t think they deserve people who misrepresent them like that,” Princess Hend added.

She said she is not a political person and hence has not contacted the Indian government over her concerns. But she revealed that she has been in touch with the former Indian ambassador to UAE Navdeep Suri who expressed concern and told her that her message has gone out “loud and clear”. She said hate speech is illegal in her country and she will continue to raise her voice to put a stop to hate, because “she is just a friend of India.”

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Hold Your Pens | Angels in Your Presence

RISE IN ANTI-MUSLIM HATE CRIMES AS ISLAM WRONGLY BLAMED FOR CORONAVIRUS

There has been a rise in online anti-Muslim hate crimes during the coronavirus pandemic and many Muslims are fearful things could get worse in the run-up to Ramadan, an independent monitoring group has said.

It comes as counter-terror police say they are working closely with police forces from across the country to investigate far-right groups who are "exploiting the pandemic" to gain "support for their ideology", with conspiracy theories circulating online about mosques being open despite the lockdown and claims Muslims will be breaking the lockdown during Ramadan.

Iman Atta, the director of Tell Mama, which measures anti-Muslim hate crimes across the U.K., told Newsweek that her organization had noticed a "rise in online anti-Muslim hate incidents" during the coronavirus pandemic.


She said: "Muslims are being linked to the virus as though they are maliciously spreading it or doing it because they are not listening to the government and congregating en masse.

"This is just patently false and a ruse by far-right and anti-Muslim bigots to once again inflame tensions and hatred towards British Muslims."

Iman said that a number of false narratives had been spread online about Muslims flouting lockdown rules including the claim that "Muslims were congregating outside mosques and thereby spreading coronavirus".


A number of posts on Twitter claim mosques are still open during the lockdown or have circulated old videos of Muslims praying to show they are breaking lockdown rules.

"Mosques are likely to remain closed," Muslim Council of Britain (MCB) spokesperson Miqdaad Versi has said.

"Most closed before the government asked them to and not a single mosque is known to still be open."

Other narratives included blaming Muslims ahead of Ramadan for arranging family meetups which could help spread the virus.

Iman said: "There is this constant promotion of Muslims being 'virus spreaders' and thereby a threat within."

Newsweek has found the same video posted as early as March 3, well before social distancing guidelines were in place.

Ahead of Ramadan, Iman expressed her fears that further claims about Muslims would continue to spread.

She said: "We are concerned that these narratives will be used to catch those who are unaware that they are false stories and turn anger towards British Muslims.


"All of us are scared and worried at this time, and this emotion can be turned to anger pretty quickly if people believe that others are not listening and doing things that can supposedly spread the virus.

"The sad reality is that many people do not fact check such stories if they see them online."

With Ramadam approaching the U.K. on April 21, further misinformation is expected by authorities.


A spokesperson for counter-terror (CT) police said: "Terrorists and radicalizers will always look for opportunities to exploit in support of their ideology, and COVID-19 is no exception.

"We have seen reports of fake videos and information being shared by right-wing extremists which can instill fear and hate amongst our communities.

"[We] investigate material that breaches U.K. Terrorism Laws and where possible, seek the removal of the content by working with the relevant internet hosting company.


"CT Policing continues to urge the public to act as counter-terrorism citizens. If you see or hear something suspicious, trust your instincts and ACT. For information and advice, head to www.gov.uk/ACT. Your actions could save lives."

Meanwhile, the Muslim Council of Britain called on the government and media commentators to "actively dismiss dangerous conspiracy theories that only seek to dismantle community cohesion."


Secretary-General of the MCB Harun Khan said: "In the U.K., Muslims have been accused of flouting the rules and continuing to pray in mosques, despite the majority of mosques suspending all activities a week before the government's recommendation and ahead of other faith communities.

"In India, where violence against Muslims was already rampant, we have seen conspiracy theories blaming Muslims for the epidemic followed up by yet more attacks on Muslims.


"As we approach Ramadan, we have seen the mainstreaming of accusations of Muslims preparing to break the law, despite there being no evidence to suggest this, and even evidence on the contrary: a number of polls show that Muslims are more law-abiding than the general population."

Harun added that the rise in Islamophobia during the coronavirus pandemic "whitewashes over all of the incredible work being done by Muslims and Muslim communities" including "doctors and nurses on the frontline, key transport and delivery workers, and volunteers helping the vulnerable."

The government is keen to call for calm in these unprecedented times:

"This Government has a zero tolerance for the fake news that seeks to blame the British Muslim community for the spread of the COVID-19 virus," Conservative Communities Minister Stephen Greenhalgh told Newsweek.

"Deliberately spreading false information in order to undermine our respect and tolerance for each other is disgraceful and goes against all we stand for.

"I would like to thank Tell MAMA for the fantastic work they are doing to counter this fake and misleading online content."

The ruling Conservatives have been accused of Islamophobia and Prime Minister Boris Johnson promised to launch an inquiry into all forms of discrimination before the end of 2019. The scope of that inquiry has not yet been published.

Social media companies are keen to stress that they are working on taking posts down that are in breach of their guidelines.

A spokesperson for Twitter said: "We are committed to protect and serve the public conversation as we navigate this unprecedented global public healthcare crisis. We do not tolerate the abuse or harassment of people on the basis of religion.

"We take down content that is in violation of our Twitter Rules including dehumanizing language and we have expanded our safety rules around COVID-19.

"We have also increased our use of machine learning and automation to take a wide range of actions on potentially abusive and manipulative content."

Link

On the Trail of Ertugrul

Surah Al-Hadid - the first and the largest of the Musabbihat

Al-Musabbihat (Arabic: الْمُسَبِّحَاتِ‎) are those surahs of the Quran that begin with Allah's glorification 'Subhana', 'Sabbaha', and 'Yusabbihu'. The Musabbihat are a series of Madani surahs, and were revealed at a time when Muslims were feeling weakness in faith as a result of a growth in the Muslim community, and some of the people who had just accepted Islam were not as mature in their faith as those that had migrated with the Prophet.

That’s not to say that everyone who came into Islam in Madinah is weak, but a good number of new Muslims had not truly understood the gravity and the seriousness of the matter.

So what Allah عزّ وجلّ does in these surahs is that He rejuvenates the faith of the Muslim community, and Surah Al-Hadid, the 57th Surah of the Qur’an, is the first and the largest of the “Musabbihat”. It is a very powerful surah, and a remarkable one.

This is actually after a long series of Makkan surahs in the Qur’an where it is situated, after Surah Al-Waqi’ah, and from here (surah 57) all the way to surah 66 they are Madani surahs.

So this is the last large group of Madani surahs in the entire Qur’an, and this is the first of them.

Today, when Muslims have a weak Iman and they need to renew their faith and connect to the Creator, Allah عزّ وجلّ, we should listen to them and understand them. Here is a video to the first of the Musabbihat, Surah Al-Hadid with tafseer from Ustadh Nouman Ali Khan.

Why Did Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) praise the Christian King as 'Just King'

Another clip from Dr. Yasir Qadhi's lecture about Muslims living in non-Muslim countries and what did Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) mean when he called Negus a 'Just King'.

Episode 1: They've Got Your Back | Angels in Your Presence | Ramadan Series