29.07.2001
Theme: Abu Summayah, and all Muslims brothers.
http://www.osaeed.com 016.125 YUSUFALI: "Invite (all) to the Way of thy Lord with wisdom and beautiful preaching; and argue with them in ways that are best and most gracious: for thy Lord knoweth best, who have strayed from His Path, and who receive guidance." This is what I am trying to do, 'arguing with them in ways that are best and most gracious', and this is what you all should do too. It is not for us to assume that Allah will never guide someone, only Allah has all knowledge. Also I completely support the Chechens, the Talibans, and the Kashmiris, and all Mujahideen, may Allah be pleased with them and give them victory in this life and in the Hereafter.
ABC

27.07.2001
Glory be to the Almighty Allah. Just one aspect of the law of Allah made France to shiver. That  is the HIJAB. Why are they so scared? What if we pratice all other Islamic laws? Won't they collapse? Ofcourse! Islam is unique. Only Muslims take their religion seriously. If the Kuffar expect us to take the religon as a kind of a part time job to make money or to hold on to power then they are greatly mistaken. They used Christianity to be in power and they miserably failed. Now the Churches are only used for ceremonial activities, including Gay Marriages. What a shame! Disasterous, isn't it? No! Islam will not reach that point since it has it's own mechanisms to stop such disasters. Islam is protected by Allah, although the other religions too were from Him. But those religions were not meant to be preserved for ever. When finally Allah sent Islam as the final and complete religion, as a way of life, all other religions ceased to exist. They were valid only for a per! iod until the next one came in to being. That is the very reason why those religions were easily corrupted by their followers. This is the clear proof to the unbelievers if only they can see the light. This is why Islam is different to all other religions. They expect us too to treat the religion like a joke. They simply say it is terroristic without even looking in to the beauty of it's system. They are very unfortunate in this respect. For this knowledge alone we have to thank Allah a million times for making us Muslims.
NY, Kuwait

26.07.2001
To: Pierre-You are using wrong phrases.
I can't understand why you unbelievers can't understand the situation as it is. Or is it that you make these statements out of desperation of being unable to stop the force of Islam? You say,Quote: "You(Muslims) are persecuting the people of other religions, by forcing them to live by your standarts because of Allah's will." UN_Quote. This is a gross misrepresentation. When we live in France we live acccording to the JUST laws of France. Similarly when you live in Afghanistan you got to live as per the just laws of Afghanistan. Ofcourse you could make your case if any laws are unjust with good reasoning. As you know France has banned the Muslims from wearing the Hijab to Schools which is totally unjust. I can understand if the Muslims wanted to go to school naked and if they banned it, then it is just and if we still continue to go nude then the Govt of France has the full right to prosecute and sack the students from schools. This is what is called just or unjust laws. So in Afghanistan if they tell you to dress modestly can you call it unjust. If they tell you not to practice prostitution, is it unjust? If they tell you not to bring in pornographic films is it unjust? If they tell you not deal in Liquor or consume( which is medically proved beyond doubt to be harmful to the health), is it unjust. If the! y tell you not to practice homosexualism or Lesbianism, which brought the AIDS and which has already killed millions, and another 200 million are infected and are waiting  for their turn to die, is it unjust? If they tell the unbelievers to pay a Tax called Jizya, which will guarantee their rights and protection, and at the same time charge the Muslims too a Tax called Zakat, the Tax of Purification, is it unjust? If they tell you to live a morally acceptable life of truth and not to rob or cheat the innocent, is it unjust? If they give first prefence for the man to work and earn his living to look after his wife and children, rather than sending his wife to earn and for the man to sit at home, is it unjust? What the HELL are you talking about. Simply because all these currupt, dirty habits are prevailing in your society should we Muslims too follow your dirty life. Don't we have the right to live according to our will? Please stop your damned nonsense, you uncivilised peopl! e. Don't think we MUslims are fools. We can see hoe you people are suffering in the west. We don't consider weatlh and facilities as a sign of good life. A good life is a life of modesty and sincerity. You asked why people are fighting there, it is because, inspite of the Taliban holding 90% of the country under their just rule, UN and US, Russia and others are financing and arming the small opposition group as they always do when they don't like a rigime. It is the dictatorial attitude of the West that is the cause and not the Afghans. Few days back Russia provided the opposition a large consigment of arms to make them fight. So you should ask this question from your cousins why they do it, if you have the slightest sense. You said,"Why you can't do everything like normal people." What do you mean? They are doing everything normal. It is you people who do abnormal things, like, allowing people to have sex on the road side, allowing people run brothels and infecting people with Siphilis and Gonnorhea, Allowing Homos and Lesbis to have a free go, infecting people with Aids, allowing liquor and cigerette companies to flurish. And oppressing the Muslims all over the world. So tell me who is normal and who is abnormal. About free elections, why not you tell your UN to lift their sanctions before elections. People will have to eat first and live to go to cast their votes.You said, "I think everything that you have done has nothing to do with Islam as well as any other religion" It has a lot to do wit Islam as well as humanity, as I have explained above. So don't you make any such STUPID statements in future. Being in the west doesn't mean you are intellegent, you find many dumbs like you too. May Allah help us spread this religion of justice and peace as it is the fastest growing religion in the world and in the west in particular.
NY, Kuwait

25.07.2001
Theme: Stupidity (for Paula).
Question:        
I am having difficulties explaining to a muslim that erecting a non-muslim statue is haram. His response was this woman was a heroine and fought the muslims to defend her land, and she is my ancester before islamization.. Can a muslim idolize a statue, or erect one in memory of a hero?, even if the hero and/or heroine was not a muslim?
Answer:
Praise be to Allaah. Firstly, it may be understood from your question that what is to be denounced is the fact that the statue is of a kaafir, and that if it was a statue of a Muslim it would be permissible to erect it. This is a mistake, because all statues of animate beings are equally haraam, regardless of whether they are made in the images of a Muslim or a kaafir. Indeed, making a statue of a kaafir is worse, because it combines two evils, that of making the statue and that of glorifying this kaafir. There follow details of the prohibition on the making of images and statues.
I. 
The prohibition on statues is not just the matter of fiqh; it goes beyond that to the matter of ‘aqeedah, because  Allaah is the Only One Who has the power of giving shape to His creation and creating them in the best image. Making images implies that one is trying to match the creation of Allaah. The matter also has to do with "aqeedah when these images are taken as idols which are worshipped instead of Allaah. Among the daleel (evidence) that image-making is the exclusive preserve of Allaah are the following:
1. Allaah says (interpretation of the meaning): "He it is Who shapes you in the wombs as He wills" [Aal ‘Imraan 3:6] "And surely, We created you (your father Adam) and then gave you shape (the noble shape of a human being); then We told the angels, ‘Prostrate yourselves to Adam'" [al-A'raaf 7:11] "He is Allaah, the Creator, the Inventor of all things, the Bestower of forms. To Him belong the Best Names. All that is in the heavens and the earth glorify Him. And He is the All?Mighty, the All?Wise" [al-Hashr 59:24] "O man! What has made you careless about your Lord, the Most Generous? Who created you, fashioned you perfectly, and gave you due proportion. In whatever form He willed, He put you together." [al-Infitaar 82:6-8] These aayaat clearly state the belief that creating and giving form to creation is the preserve of their Lord, Creator and Fashioner, so it is not permissible for anyone to encroach on that and to try to match the creation of Allaah.
2.  It was reported from ‘Aa'ishah Umm al-Mu'mineen that Umm Habeebah and Umm Salamah mentioned a church which       they had seen in Ethiopia, in which there were images. They  told the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) about it, and he said: "Those people, if there was a righteous man among them and he died, they would build a place of worship over his grave and put images in it. These will be the most evil of creation before Allaah on the Day of Resurrection." (narrated by al-Bukhaari, 417; Muslim, 528) Al-Haafiz Ibn Hajar said: This hadeeth indicates that making images is haraam. (Fath al-Baari, 1/525). Al-Nawawi said: Our  companions and other scholars said: making images of animate beings is extremely haraam and is a major sin, because severe warnings have been issued against it in the ahaadeeth. Whether the mage is made to be used in a disrespectful fashion or for other purposes, it is haraam to make it in all cases, because it implies that one is trying to match the creation of Allaah, whether the image is to appear on a garment, carpet, coin, vessel, wall or whatever. With regard to pictures of trees, camel saddles, and other pictures in which no animate beings appear, these are not haraam. This is the ruling on making images. (Sharh Muslim, 14/81).
3.  Sa'eed ibn Abi'l-Hasan said: I was with Ibn ‘Abbaas (may Allaah be pleased with him) when a man came to him and said, O Abu ‘Abbaas, I am a man who lives by what his hands make, and I make these images. Ibn ‘Abbaas said: I will only tell you what I heard the Messenger of Allaah  (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) say. I heard him say: "Whoever makes an image, Allaah will punish him until he breathes life into it, and he will never be able to do that."  The man became very upset and his face turned pale, so [Ibn ‘Abbaas] said to him, Woe to you! If you insist on making images, then make images of these trees and everything that does not have a soul. (Narrated by al-Bukhaari, 2112; Muslim, 2110).
4. "Abd-Allaah ibn Mas'ood said: I heard the Messenger of Allaah  (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) say: The people who will be the most severely punished before Allaah on the Day of Resurrection will be the image makers. (Narrated by al-Bukhaari, 5606; Muslim, 2109).
5. It was reported from ‘Abd-Allaah ibn "Umar (may Allaah be pleased with them both) that the Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: Those who make these images will be punished on the Day of Resurrection. It will be said to them, Give life to that which you       have created! (Narrated by al-Bukhaari, 5607; Muslim, 2108).
6. It was reported that Abu Hurayrah entered a house in Madeenah and saw somebody making images in it. He said: I heard the Messenger of Allaah  (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) say: [Allaah says:] Who does greater wrong than one who goes and creates something like My creation? Let them create a seed or a small ant! (Narrated by al-Bukhaari, 5609; Muslim, 2111).
Al-Nawawi said:
Concerning the words of Allaah. "Let them create a small ant or a seed or a grain of barley!" means, let them create a small ant which has a soul and moves by itself, like this small ant which was created by Allaah. Or let them create  a grain of wheat or barley, i.e., let them create a grain which is eaten as food or which can be planted so it will grow and which has the characteristics of a grain of wheat or barley or other seeds which were created by Allaah. This is impossible, as stated above. (Sharh Muslim, 14/90). None can bring forth living vegetation out of nothing except Allaah, may He be glorified.
7. Abu Juhayfah said: the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) forbade the price of a dog and the price of  blood, and he forbade tattooing and asking to be tattooed, and the consumption or paying of ribaa, and he cursed those who make images. (Narrated by al-Bukhaari, 1980).
II.
Islam prescribes that idols should be destroyed and smashed, not made and repaired. Among the evidence for this is the following:
1. "Abd-Allaah ibn Mas'ood (may Allaah be pleased with him) said: when the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon       him) entered Makkah [at the Conquest], there were three hundred and sixty idols around the Ka'bah. He started hitting them with his stick and saying, "Truth has come and Baatil (falsehood) has vanished. Surely, Baatil is ever bound to vanish" [al-Israa' 17:81 – interpretation of the meaning]. (Narrated by al-Bukhaari, 2346; Muslim, 1781).        
2. Abu'l-Hiyaaj al-Asadi said: ‘Ali ibn Abi Taalib said to me: Shall I not send you on the same basis as the Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) sent me? Do not leave any statue without destroying it, and do not leave any built-up grave without razing it to the ground. (According to one report: and do not leave any picture without erasing it). (narrated by Muslim, 969).
Ibn al-Qayyim said:
Tamaatheel is the plural of Timthaal (statue), which refers to a representative image. Shaykh al-Islam (Ibn Taymiyah) said:  The command is to destroy two types of images: images which represent the deceased person, and images which are placed on top of graves – because Shirk may come about from both types. (Majmoo' al-Fataawaa, 17/462). (al-Fawaa'id, p. 196).
III.
The Prophet  (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) warned against bringing images into the house, and said that this is a sin and deprives a person of good. Among the evidence for that is the following:
1. Abu Talhah said: I heard the Messenger of Allaah  (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) say: The angels do not enter a house in which there is a dog or statues." (Narrated by al-Bukhaari, 3053; Muslim, 2106).
2. "Aa'ishah Umm al-Mu'mineen (may Allaah be pleased with her) said that she bought a pillow on which there were images. When the Messenger of Allaah  (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) saw it, he stood at the door and did not enter. She saw on his face that he was upset, and said: O Messenger of Allaah, I repent to Allaah and His Messenger  (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him). What is my sin? The Messenger of Allaah  (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: What is this pillow? She said, I bought it for you so that you could sit on it and recline on it. The Messenger of Allaah  (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: On the Day of Resurrection, the makers of these images will be punished and it will be said to them, Give life to that which you have created. And he said: The angels do not enter a house in which there are images. (Narrated by al-Bukhaari, 1999; Muslim, 2107).
IV.
Making images is a way of falling into Shirk, because Shirk starts with the veneration of those who are depicted in the images, especially when people have little or no knowledge. The evidence for this is: Ibn ‘Abbaas said: The idols of the people of Nooh were known among the Arabs later on. Wadd belonged to (the tribe of) Kalb in Dawmat al-Jandal. Suwaa' belonged to Hudhayl. Yaghooth belonged to Muraad, then to Bani Ghutayf in al-Jawf, near Sabaa'. Ya'ooq belonged to Hamadaan. Nasar belonged to Humayr of Aal Dhi'l-Kalaa'. These were names of righteous men from the people of Nooh. When they died, the Shaytaan inspired their people to set up idols in the places where they had used to sit, and to call those idols by their names. They did that but they did not  worship them, but after those people died and knowledge had been forgotten, then they started to worship them. (Narrated by al-Bukhaari, 4636).
Shaykh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyah said:
The reason why al-Laat was worshipped was the veneration of the grave of a righteous man which was there. (Iqtidaa' al-Siraat al-Mustaqeem, 2/333).
And he said:
This problem – i.e., veneration – which is why Islam forbids (images), is the reason  why so many of nations have fallen into committing Shirk to a greater or lesser degree. (al-Iqtidaa', 2/334). Ibn al-Qayyim (may Allaah have mercy on him) said, describing how the Shaytaan plays with the Christians: He plays with them with regard to the images which they have in their churches and which they worship. You cannot find any church which is free of these images of  Maryam (Mary), the Messiah, George, Peter and others of their saints and martyrs. Most  of them bow to these images and pray to them instead of to Allaah. The Patriarch of  Alexandria even wrote a letter to the ruler of Rome supporting the idea of bowing to these images: (he said) Allaah commanded Moosa  to make images of cherubim in the Tabernacle; and when Sulayman the son of  Dawood built the Temple, he made images of cherubim and put them inside the Temple. Then he said in his letter: this is like when a king sends a letter to one of his governors and the governor takes the letter and kisses it then touches it to his forehead [a sign of  respect], and stands up to receive it. He does not do this to venerate the paper and ink, but to venerate the king. In the same way, when one bows to an image, it is to venerate the person represented by the image, not to venerate the paints and colours. This is exactly the same as the example given to justify idol worship. (Ighaathat  al-Lahfaan, 2/292).
And he said:
 In most cases, the reason why nations fall into Shirk is because of images and graves." (Zaad al-Ma'aad, 3/458). V.  The aayaat and ahaadeeth quoted above indicate that the prohibition of images is for two reasons: The first is: because it implies that one is trying to match the creation of Allaah. The second is: because it is an imitation of  the kuffaar. The third is: because it is a means of veneration and falling into Shirk. From the above it is clear that it is forbidden to make statues, whether the statue is of a Muslim or a kaafir. Whoever does that is trying to match the creation of Allaah and thus deserves to be cursed. We ask Allaah to keep us safe and sound, and to guide us. May Allaah bless our Prophet Muhammad. Islam Q&A (www.islam-qa.com)
Ibn Umar, Yemen