Islamic Focus

Issue 108 Igniting the Spirit of Islam Dec 2012 Bukhara Publications/Tel: 078 672 7797/Fax: 086 651 2125 Email: islamicfocus@gmail.com/Korsten/Port Elizabeth

Muslim provocation during negotiations and stopped his followers from harming delegates.

COMPROMISE When the non Muslims ob-jected to the Prophet � signing as the ‘Messenger of Allah’, he agreed despite it being an open rejection of his status as God’s Prophet. Can we allow our egos to be crushed for the sake of the propagation of Islam by compromising on smaller issues in the interest of the bigger picture? Some ‘victories’ in life start out as apparent setbacks. The mills grind slowly, but as the years pass one real-izes how Allah favors His sincere slaves over His ene-mies and makes them ulti-mately successful. �

At times we encounter situations where at first the reason for it happening might not be obvious, but becomes apparent in the long-term. Allah, in His Su-preme Wisdom, sometimes hides from us the long-term outcomes of things that have been written in our fate, until His Divine Decree comes to pass, and when we analyze these events in retrospect, we realize in awe why Allah made them happen, and how beneficial they were for us. Here are some lessons we learn from a pivotal point in Islamic history:

FAR-SIGHTEDNESS

The treaty of Hudaybiyya was once such occasion, when the Muslims from Madinah were prevented from performing Umrah by the non Muslims of Makkah. The treaty which the

Prophet � negotiated with the non Muslims, at the time looked to be heavily in fa-vour of the non Muslims. To achieve the long-term goals of spreading Islam, the Prophet � displayed tact and restraint with the non Mus-lims and their unjust de-mands. Ultimately, the self-ish stipulations of the non Muslims were the turning point that was to become the stepping-stone for the con-quest of Islam in not just Makkah, but the entire Ara-bian Peninsula. TACTFUL NEGOTIATIONS

It is common see leaders of different political factions make derogatory remarks about each other, even dur-ing peace talks. They dish out threats and lose their cool at the slightest provoca-tion. The Prophet � displayed ex-emplary restraint at the non

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P8 Mohair

P10 Popes at Play

P3 Holiday

2 Islamic Focus

WORLD

NEW

S

SAUDI - 30 women took seats in the Shura Council

for the first time. (BBC, 19 Feb)

SYRIA - Israel fired into Syria after troops were

shot at twice in the occupied Golan Heights. (BBC,

24 Mar)

MALI - Islamist fighters attacked Gao in northern

Mali and were repelled after two hours of fierce

fighting. (BBC, 24 Mar)

BURMA - State of emergency imposed in the Meik-

tila following three days of violence against Muslims

by Buddhists led by monks. A BBC reporter saw 20

Muslim bodies which Buddhists were burning. 15

Buddhist monks burnt down a house belonging to a

Muslim family. Many mosques were attacked and the

dead include students and their teachers. (BBC, 23

Mar)

PALESTINE - Jewish PM apologised to Turkey for

Turkish activists killed in Jewish raid in 2010 on an

aid flotilla heading for Gaza. (BBC, 23 Mar)

TURKEY - Kurdish rebel leader Abdullah Ocalan

urged his PKK fighters to leave Turkish soil and an-

nounced a cease fire in the war with Turkey. (BBC,

22 Mar)

SRI LANKA - Fundamentalist Buddhist monks are

fanning a growing wave of anti-Muslim activities,

attacking Musjids and calling for the removal of the

Halaal logo on food. The Buddhist Strength Force

has used derogatory language to describe Muslim

imams and told Buddhists not to rent property to

Muslims. (BBC, 25 Mar)

PALESTINE - US president Obama said the Jewish

occupation entity of Israel has no greater friend than

the US, and that the US was proud to be Israel's

strongest ally, and that their alliance is eternal.

(BBC, 20 Mar)

MALAYSIA - A standoff in Sabah between Malay-

sian security forces and an armed group from the

sultanate of Sulu erupted into violence that killed 72

people. Sulu Sultan Jamalul Kiram III who, together

with more than 200 others, slipped into Sabah on

Feb 9 and seized the coastal village of Tanduo in

Malaysia to stake their clan's ancestral claim to the

eastern Malaysian territory. (Philippine Daily In-

quirer, Mar 21)

BANGLADESH - 4 killed in clashes between police

and Islamist protesters who took to the streets ac-

cusing bloggers of blasphemy. There is tension over

a tribunal judging war crimes during the 1971 inde-

pendence war. Government is using it as an excuse

to get at the country’s largest Islamist party, Jamaat

-e-Islami, whose leader was given a life sentence.

(BBC, 22 Feb)

KENYA - 7 killed in an attack on a mosque in a vil-

lage in north-eastern Kenya near the border with

Somalia. (BBC, 22 Feb)

EUROPE - Horsemeat found in tons of meat prod-

ucts in Italy, Germany and other countries under

wrong labels of other meats. (BBC, 22 Feb)

PALESTINE - Some schools in Hamas-ruled Gaza

started teaching Hebrew to Arab kids. (BBC, 21 Feb) �

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As Muslims we need to constantly make reso-lutions to better ourselves. ‘Everyone starts his day and is a vendor of his soul, either freeing it or bringing about its ruin.’ [Muslim] Umar � said: ‘Judge yourselves before you are judged, evaluate yourselves before you are evaluated and be ready for the greatest investigation (the Day of Judgement).’ Here is a plan on how to stick to those resolutions: #1: Identification ‘Wise is the one who continually assesses himself and performs good deeds for the life after death. Foolish is the one who follows his desires and entertains very high hopes from Allah.’ [Tirmidhi]. Identify something about yourself which needs improving. #2: Be Realistic Set a realistic target. No one knows you bet-ter than yourself, so don’t set yourself up for something that you know you’re not going to be able to carry out. It’s good to be optimistic but don’t kid yourself. #3: Practical Measures ‘The world is three days: As for yesterday, it has vanished, along with all that was in it. As for tomorrow, you may never see it. As for today, it is yours, so work in it.’ [Hassan Basri rahimahullah] Think of practical measures to help you implement that change. #4: Deadline Resolutions are incomplete without them. This is the part that a lot of people overlook, but by setting yourself a deadline, you boost your chances of actually fulfilling the resolution. �

Adapted from S Shaukat, Productive Muslim

Say, (O Muhammad �) ‘Travel through the land and observe how He began creation. Then Allah will produce the final creation… (Quran 29:20) Tips on planning an enjoyable and Halal holiday: Research Thoroughly! Gathering relevant information about your holiday destination is the first step towards planning a good holiday. Take advice or rec-ommendations from a friend or family member regarding an enjoyable place for a vacation. Prioritize different locations on the prepared list on the basis of how Shariah-compliant these locations are. Shariah-compliant Destination Allah enjoins us to lead a balanced life. Since you are holidaying and are a responsible Mus-lim, you should be mindful of the set of activi-ties that one may encounter and how to deal with their permissibility or impermissibility. Some aspects that Muslims should give par-ticular attention to while choosing their holiday destination: halal food, dining in alcohol-free areas, prayer facilities. Group Travel

Travel with a group of people whenever possi-ble. The Prophet � said: ‘If the people knew what I know about being alone, no one would ever travel alone at night.’ (Bukhari) Plan and Budget Plan a budget and adopt the middle path: avoid overindulgence as well as miserliness. ‘When a man spends on his family, seeking re-ward for that, that is an act of charity on his part.’ (Nasai) � Z Khan, Productive Muslim

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Signs of the Day of Judgment from Quran and

Hadith. The Signs are listed in roughly chrono-logical order, although not necessarily precise.

Details of each Sign can be found in other places.

Present Signs?

� Naked, destitute, barefoot shepherds will

compete in building tall buildings.

� The slave-woman will give birth to her mas-

ter or mistress.

� A trial (fitnah) which will enter every Arab

household.

� Knowledge will be taken away (by the death

of people of knowledge), and ignorance will

prevail.

� Wine (intoxicants, alcohol) will be drunk in

great quantities.

� Illegal sexual intercourse will become wide-

spread.

� Earthquakes will increase.

� Time will pass more quickly.

� Tribulations (fitan) will prevail.

� Bloodshed will increase.

� A man will pass by the grave of another and

wish he was in the latter’s place.

� Trustworthiness will be lost, i.e. when au-

thority is given to those who do not deserve

it.

� People will gather for prayer, but will be un-

able to find an imam to lead them. �

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HISTO

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The major reason behind the west’s wars over the centuries has been an insatiable greed for wealth. In the pursuit of this, they have thought nothing of killing thousands. Iraq is a classic case of a war for oil. The drug trade is another western ‘industry’ which they are will-ing to go to war for: Past The Opium Wars (1839-42 and 1856-60) saw 78,000 Chinese massacred by British and other western troops to secure the British trade in opium in China. When the Chinese moved to eliminate this harmful drug, the western nations went to war to reinstate their major money-spinner. The second Opium War was started by Britain on illegal grounds when the Chinese seized a British pirate ship. Britain ran a massive drug cartel in the 1800’s and the UK’s industry was built on this. Present Afghanistan is the greatest illicit opium pro-ducer in the entire world since 1992 excluding the year 2001 when Taliban outlawed opium resulting in one of the world's most successful anti-drug campaigns. Opium poppy cultivation was reduced by 91% from the previous year. Since the US invasion in 2001, opium produc-tion has been on the rise with more opium poppy cultivation in 2004–2007 than in any one year during Taliban rule. Ingredients for use in the manufacture of drugs are brought to Afghanistan from Europe. NATO refused re-quests for poppy field spraying to destroy opium crops. The multi-million dollar opium and heroin industry is an easy source of capi-tal for the US. �

5 Islamic Focus

QUESTIO

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ANSW

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Q: I am travelling more

than 82 kilometers from my home town and am

settling there for work for 35 days. In the place where I'm going for work,

I travel 15-20 kilometers from my room to my of-

fice. Should I pray Qasar (shortened) or regular Sa-laah? I am a Shafi.

A: If you intend settling for four days or more at the place you are travelling to for the purpose of a job, you will have to make full Ṣalah at your destination. You have mentioned that you intend settling there for 35 days. Therefore, you will have to perform complete Ṣalāh (i.e. the regular salah, not Qasr) while you are there. How-ever, you have the choice of making Qasr and Jama (combining between Ẓuhr and Asr; and Maghrib and Esha) while you are travel-ling towards your destination and returning home from your destination. While trav-elling from your room to your office and back, and while you are at your office, you will have to perform com-plete salsh (i.e. the regular salah, not Qasr).

Q: I have a question

about feeding Jinn. At the end of a meal I have been

told by the hosts to collect all the bones onto one plate to be fed to the Jinn.

When I asked why I was not given a direct answer.

Is this a common practice and can I have some in-formation on this subject?

A: Human beings and jinns are created for the worship of Allāh. Allāh Ta’ālā says in the Qurān: I have created man and jinn only for my worship. Both human beings and jinns are dependent upon Allāh Ta’ālā and have certain needs. Among the various needs of man and jinn is the need for food and nourish-ment. In a narration, it is mentioned that bones are provisions for jinns. Allāh Ta’ālā creates fresh meat on the bones for jinns to con-sume. Consider the following narra-tions: Indeed bones are pro-visions for your jinn broth-ers. (Tirmidhī) The Prophet � said, ‘The caller from the jinns ap-

proached me and extended an invitation. I accepted and went along with him. I re-cited the Quran to the jinns.’ Ibn Masūd � said, “He took us and showed us the traces of the jinns and traces of their fire.” The jinns then asked him regarding their (permissible) provisions. The Prophet � said, ‘For you is every bone on which Allāh Ta’ālā’s name was recited. It will fall in your hands filled with meat.’ (Sahīh Muslim) Allāh Ta’ālā through His un-seen system provides suste-nance for the jinns. Man is not responsible to collect bones for the jinns. After meals, one should dispose of the bones. There is no need to gather bones in one plate after meals for the jinns. Al-lāh Ta’ālā facilitates that for the jinns. Nevertheless it prohibited for man to utilize bones for Istinjā (cleaning after relieving oneself). �

SHAFI Q & ASHAFI Q & ASHAFI Q & ASHAFI Q & A From various Ulama

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HANAFI Q & AHANAFI Q & AHANAFI Q & AHANAFI Q & A From various Ulama

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QUESTIONS &

ANSW

ERS

Q: Some Shias raise

doubts about hadith from Abu Hurairah �. They

quote a certain Hadith. Are his narrations reli-able?

A: The narrations of Abū Hurairah � are reliable and authentic. Abū Hurairah � was among the greatest Mu-haddithīn (scholors of Hadīth) of this Ummah. Allāh Ta’ālā blessed Abū Hurairah � with an extraordinary memory that enabled him to remember every single Hadīth that he heard from the Prophet �. Consider the following Hadīth reported in Sahīh al-Bukhārī: Abu Hurairah � says: ‘I was with the Prophet � one day. He said, ‘The one who will spread out his sheet until my speech is terminated, and then will wear the sheet will never forget any Hadīth that he will hear from me.’ There-after I spread out the sheet I was wearing. By Allāh, I did not forget any Hadīth I heard from the Prophet �.’ The Hadīth referred to in the query is as follows: Abū Salamah heard Abū Hurairah � narrating another Hadīth saying, ‘A person with sick camels must not allow them to go near another person’s healthy camels.’ Abū Hurairah � denied having narrated the first Hadīth. Abū Salamah Rahimahullāh says, ‘We asked Abū Hurairah �, ‘Did you not narrate to us earlier that there is no con-cept in Islam of contagion in diseases?’ Abū Hurairah � angrily started to speak in an unfamiliar language.’ Abu Salamah Rahimahullāh says, ‘According to my knowledge,

this is the only Hadīth forgot-ten by Abū Hurairah �.’ (Sahīh al-Bukhārī) This Hadīth does not prove that the narrations of Abū Hurairah � are unreliable. Rather it proves the authen-ticity of Abū Hurairah �’s narrations. Abū Salamah is praising the memory of Abū Hurairah �. He is saying that the narration referred to in this Hadīth is the only one that was forgotten by Abū Hurairah � out of the thou-sands of Ahādīth narrated by him. In Fath al-Bāri, Hāfidh Ibn Hajar Rahimahullāh states that even this statement was a mere assumption of Abū Salamah Rahimahullāh. In reality, Abū Hurairah � did not forget even one Hadīth. Instead, Abū Hurairah � did not want to narrate the other Hadīth as the audience around him at that time would not be able to compre-hend the apparent inconsis-tencies in both Ahādīth and may not be able to contextu-alize the Ahādīth according to circumstances. Q: When reading Salah

and doing the niyyat (intention) do I have to

keep my hands by my ears? A: Niyyat is to make inten-tion which is from the heart. When making niyyat the hands do not have to be raised to the ears. The hands should be on the sides when making niyyat. Q: There are clear glass doors in a mosque and some people were offer-

ing salah on one side of

the doors. If the doors are closed then other side of

the doors is clearly visi-ble. In that case is it ok to walk through on another

side of the doors? A: It is permissible for one to walk on the opposite side of the glass doors. However, one should abstain from do-ing so as such an action may disturb the concentration of those performing Salaah on the opposite side of the glass doors. Q: If I buy any kind of

food, and realize it is haraam right after I buy

it, will it be better to throw away that food or give it to a non Muslim

friend/co-worker. Will I get the sin if I give that

haraam food to a non Muslim and he eats it? A: According to Islamic Law, it is not permissible to give any consumable items which contain Haraam (forbidden) elements to human beings, animals or any other crea-ture. Rather, one will have to dispose of consumable items which contain Haraam ele-ments. It is therefore sinful for one to give Haraam food items to non-Muslims. How-ever, if Haraam food is left in a certain place and someone picks the food up, then one will not be responsible for giving Haraam food. �

Checked by: Mufti Ebrahim Desai

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hya's site on the Chinese occupation and

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� www.muftiahmedkhanpuri.com - Mufti

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med Saeed Motara

� www.ageofislam.com - Moulana Ebrahim

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It was a busy morning, approximately 8:30 am, when an elderly gentleman in his 80's ar-rived to have stitches removed from his thumb. He said he was in a hurry as he had an appointment at 9:00 am. I took his vital signs and had him take a seat, knowing it would be over an hour before someone would to able to see him. I saw him look at his watch and decided, since I was not busy with another patient, I would evaluate his wound. On exam, it was well healed, so I talked to one of the doctors, removed his su-tures and redressed his wound. I asked him if he had another doctor's ap-pointment this morning, as he was in such a hurry. The gentleman said he needed to go to the nursing home to eat breakfast with his wife. I then inquired about her health. He told me that she had been there for a while and that she was a victim of Alzheimer' s Disease. I asked if she would be upset if he was a bit late. He replied that she no longer knew who he was, that she had not recognized him in five years. I was surprised, and asked him, ‘And you still go every morning, even though she doesn't know who you are?’ He smiled as he patted my hand and said, ‘She doesn't know me, but I still know who she is.’ I had to hold back tears as he left, I had goose bumps on my arm, and thought, ‘That is the kind of love I want in my life.’ True love is neither physical, nor romantic. True love is an acceptance of all that is, has been, will be, and will not be. �

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1. True Man. Let not the melodious humming of a man impress you; instead, one who fulfils trust and refrains from defaming the honour of people; he is a true man. (Umar �, narrated by Imam Bayhaqi) 2. Intercession. May Allah have mercy on one who guards his tongue from hurting the honour of people; My intercession is not per-mitted for one who condemns and insults (people). (Daylami) 3. Mistakes Wiped Out. He who guards his tongue from (attacking) the honour of Mus-lims, Allah shall cancel out his mistakes on the Day of Judgement. (Daylami) 4. Helping the Devil. Umar � said: ‘If you see one of you has slipped, correct him, pray for him and do not help the devil against him (by insulting him that he goes deeper in sin, etc).’ 5. Defending Honour. ‘The Muslim who for-sakes a fellow Muslim (and does not come to his assistance) at a time when his honour is at stake, will be denied the help of Allah when he is greatly in need of it, whereas the Muslim who stands by a fellow Muslim at a time when his honour is at stake, Allah will grant him His assistance when he will need it most.’ 6. Hiding Faults. ‘Every Muslim is the brother of a Muslim, he should neither harm him, nor should he leave him alone when others treat him unjustly … whoever will hide the faults of a fellow Muslim, Allah will keep his sins secret on the Day of Account.’ �

The Angora goat originated from Tibet making its way to Turkey in the 16th century. Until 1849, the Turkish province of Ankara was the sole producer of Angora goats and Muslim Tur-key controlled the industry. In 1554 the goats were exported to Europe unsuccessfully. The Sultan of Turkey placed a strict embargo on exports of Angora goats or mohair from the 15th century. In 1838 Colonel Henderson imported the first Angora goats from the Ottoman Empire to Port Elizabeth in the Cape Colony (now South Africa). The Turks had made the goats infertile as they did not want the breed to spread out-side Turkey. But one ewe gave birth to a kid during the voyage and it was from this that the original flocks in the Cape were bred. The fertile ram adapted well to the Cape climate and several flocks were eventually raised in the Cape. In 1852 and later more Angora goats were imported from Turkey. Mohair is a silky luxury fiber obtained from Angora goats and in 1857 the first mohair was shipped from the Cape to the UK. The word mohair is derived from the Arabic mukhayyar (choice). In 1856 the first Angora goats were exported to Argentina. By 1882 South Africa’s mohair was regarded as equal to Turkey’s in quality. By 1899 the quality of Cape mohair exceeded that of Turkey and the Cape passed Turkey in mohair export quantities. Today South African mohair is the purest and finest in the world and South Africa produces 61% of the total world production with most produced in the Eastern Cape. Port Elizabeth is the unofficial capital of the industry. �

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BIO

GRAPHY / TW

ITTER

In light of the increasing usage of social media, we

bring you Twitter accounts of interest to Muslims.

Not all content Islamic-compliant:

@DUZakariyya: Darul Uloom Zakariyya @MuslimPages: South Africa's Muslim Busi-ness & Services Directory @MrRandomMuslim: General information

@MSS702: Hafiz Mohamed Saeed. Journalist, social commentator @mljunaid: Moulana Junaid Adam. Ameer of Council of Ulama Eastern Cape @SulaimanMoola: Moulana Sulaiman Moola. Dynamic speaker @shaikhyawar: Mirza Yawar Baig. Interna-tional speaker and author @Fatwaa786: Mufti Ismail Moosa @channelislam: Channel Islam International radio @IACPE: Islam Awareness Centre in Port Elizabeth. Dawah centre @Mufakkier: Moulana Ihsaan Hendricks @HKadodia: Mufti Husain Kadodia. Bibliophile @LostIslamicHist: Forgotten facts of Islamic history �

Follow us on @islamicfocus

Our goals should be:

• To establish the oneness of Allah in kid’s hearts • To love the Prophet � • To teach them life skills and values for adult-hood But where do we start? Where Luqman � did! His main focus was to establish Allah in his son’s heart, by teaching him: • that Allah is One • that Allah knows everything • to develop clear goals and vision in life Some skills to raise productive Muslims: 1. The unique child

Each child is born with individual personality traits that are beyond our control as parents. It’s for us as parents to identify the unique characteristics and behavior of our children. 2. Embed the love of Allah in children Teach them to say ‘la-ilaaha illallah’ (there is no god but Allah) as a start of establishing the love of Allah. 3. Establish the importance of salah The Prophet � said: ‘Teach your children to pray when they are seven ...’ [Abu Dawud] Be punctual with your salah, get into the habit of praying at the earliest hour, teach this to your children, and they will be more than likely to be punctual in everything else they do. Make prayer times a family event: even if children are not of age, let them join in or sit quietly; so that when salah becomes obligatory upon them, they are ready to speak to the King of kings with full concentration. �

Adapted from article by K Abdulsalam

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HISTO

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Muslims are 90% or 148.6 million, which is the fourth largest Muslim population in the world constituting. Islam arrived in the region of Bengal from the 10th century, mainly by the arrivals of Arab traders and Persian saints, and Muslims conquests of the region. One of the notable Muslim saints was Shah Jalal who arrived in 1303 with many disciples to preach Islam. In the 13th century, the Muslim con-quest of Bengal took place. Large scale con-version to Islam began in the 13th century. Bangladesh came under Muslim rule until the British conquest of India. It was part of Paki-stan until 1971. Jamaat-e-Islami is one of the largest Islamic parties in Bangladesh. The Min-istry of Religious Affairs provides support to religious institutions as well as arranging Hajj. It also directed the Islamic Foundation Bangla-desh, responsible for organizing and support-ing research and publications on Islamic sub-jects. The semiofficial Zakat Fund Committee was established under the chairmanship of the president of Bangladesh. Main groups include the Deobandi movement and many people are part of the Tablighi Ja-maat. The Bishwa Ijtema (Tabligh world con-gregation) is an annual event attracting 5 mil-lion people. Most Muslim marriages are pre-sided over by the qazi, a traditional Muslim judge whose advice is also sought on matters of personal law, such as inheritance, divorce, and the administration of religious endow-ments. There are over 270,000 Musjids and 100,000 Madresas in Bangladesh. The govern-ment has recently cracked down on Islamist parties and Ulama. �

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According to the Catholic Church, the pope is infallible and preserved from the possibility of error. This belief is belied by the antics of past popes: Pope Benedict XVI - Pope who resigned re-cently (so does he retain his ’infallibailty’ after this?) was part of the Hitler Youth. He served in the Nazi army and was captured as a POW by the Allies. Pope Stephen VI - Ordered former Pope For-mosus' nine-month-old corpse to be exhumed, and tried for crimes. He chopped off three fin-gers of Fomosus and ordered the body to be stripped and dumped into a cemetery. Pope Alexander VI - Romanced several mis-tresses and fathered numerous illegitimate children with longtime mistress Vannozza dei Cattani (who was married at the time). Even as crime and violence overtook the streets of Rome, he busied himself with staging comedic plays, lavish banquets, masquerades and dance parties paid for with church funds. Pope Benedict IX - Pope Victor III wrote of Benedict IX's ‘rapes, murders and other un-speakable acts. His life as a pope so vile, so foul, so execrable, that I shudder to think of it.’ Pope John XII - Accused by clergy of mur-der, arson, gambling and adultery with nu-merous women. These are just a few of the grave acts commit-ted by popes, the leaders of the Catholic Church. �

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12 Islamic Focus ISSN 2223 - 1110 (Print) | ISSN 2223 - 1129 (Online)

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The UK-based organisation, Islamic Texts for the Blind (Kitaba) and their Scandinavian part-ners Dirasa have organised a few Umrah trips for the blind and partially-sighted. The trips are organized as study trips with Islamic classes also being taught in Madinah and Mak-kah. The trip uses specially designed material for the blind including tactile maps, Braille and screen reader accessible texts. Classes are conducted on Skype prior to the trip to help participants prepare for the rites of umrah and to explain what the holy cities are like. People from Norway, Denmark and UK meet up at Is-tanbul airport and travel from there to Jeddah. Among the material provided is an audio ver-sion o duas to be recited whilst performing umrah, as well as their translations in English in electronic format. There is always someone on hand throughout the trip so that there was always someone to go to the mosque with and to perform extra tawafs with etc. A guidebook on Madinah and Makkah is pro-vided in braille, audio and digital formats. Trips are arranged to historical sights and the Sheikh describes all the places. Camel rides are also arranged. Plans are afoot to offer blind and sight-impaired Muslims a Hajj pack-age eventually. �

Contacts Email: Dirasa@MuslimPhotos.net

Tel: +47 9591 1042 www.facebook.com/people/Dira-

Sa/100000746568591

Once a king gave his daughter a beautiful dia-mond necklace. The necklace was stolen and people searched everywhere but could not find it. The king put a reward for $50,000 for it. One day a clerk was walking home along a polluted river. He saw a shimmering in the river and saw the diamond necklace. He de-cided to get it so that he could get the $50,000 reward. He put his hand in the filthy river and grabbed at the necklace, but missed it. He took his hand out, looked again and the necklace was still there. He tried again, this time he walked in the river and put his whole arm in to catch the necklace. But strangely, he still missed the necklace! He came out and started walking away, feeling depressed. Again he saw the necklace. This time he plunged into the river and his whole body be-came filthy. He searched everywhere yet failed. A saint who was walking by asked what the matter was. The clerk told him about the necklace and how he tried to get it, but kept failing. The saint told him that perhaps he should look up, toward the branches of the tree, instead of in the filthy river. The clerk looked up and the necklace was dangling on the branch of a tree. He had been trying to capture a reflection of the real necklace all this time. Moral: Material happiness is just like the filthy river because it is a mere reflection of the true happiness in the worship of Allah. We can never achieve this happiness no matter how hard we endeavor in material life. Instead we should look toward Allah, who is the source of real happiness. �