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Qur'an
Our Helper
The Table Spread:
5:55 Behold, your only helper shall be God, and His Apostle,
and those who have attained to faith - those that are constant
in prayer, and render the purifying dues, and bow down [before
God]
Editorial
July
Message from MAS Bay Area President
Assalamu alaikum Brothers and Sisters of the San Francisco Bay
Area
If you have been following the previous couple of month's
newsletter about individual action and attended any of the
Exemplary Muslim - Better Society program that is currently
taking place, you realize that this is a call to individual
accountability and responsibility. So often each day, we hide
behind others action or inaction as an excuse for us to do or
not do something.
But the time is now for each and every one of us to step up
and take ownership of their own behavior as a Muslim. The
verses in the Quran with the meaning that each soul shall
carry its own burden and the verses that state that the
activities of the sight, hearing and the heart shall be
questioned by Allah on the Day of Judgment should give us
pause to think. How can I improve as a Muslim? How can I be a
better model for human behavior? more...
Article
Independence Day
By Sh. Abdullah bin Bayyah
Translated by Ustadh Suhaib Webb
The Question:
“Is it allowable to celebrate a holiday that commemorates the
independence of my country?”
The Answer:
“A holiday [that commemorates] the independence of a country
is not a [religious] holiday. The holidays which are forbidden
[for Muslims] to observe are those with religious overtones
[such as Christmas and Easter*] not the festive gatherings
people observe due to certain events. Therefore, people are
allowed to celebrate wedding anniversaries, birthdays or any
occasion as such celebrations are not related to religious
holidays. It is imperative that we work to remove the
confusion surrounding this misunderstanding and the doubts
that have affected many people [regarding this issue].
[Because of this misunderstanding] people find hardship and
difficulty in their religion. Especially when a religious
minded person holds [such non religious celebrations] to be
from the major sins or rejected acts when, in fact, they are
not. more...
New Muslim
Helping Hands to Guide Me
By Zainab Morrow
I think I converted to Islam to fill a void in my life. As I
was ill last year, I had a lot of time to search for answers
to fundamental questions. Why am I here? What is going to
happen when I die?
I was raised in the Roman Catholic faith, and quite a few
ideas did not make sense to me. It did not make sense to me to
pray to saints to get answers to my prayers. I always had
trouble with the concept of Trinity. I was searching for a
direct and meaningful relationship to Our Creator.
Throughout the years, I had looked into other spiritual paths
such as Buddhism and Hinduism, but again these paths did not
answer those fundamental questions. Despite the misconceptions
conveyed by various media outlets, I started being curious
about Islam around the end of January 2006.
I began to read books that dealt mainly with an introduction
to Islam. Through my readings, I found there were differences
between Islam and Christianity but there were also
similarities.
more...
Event
History of Independence Day
On July 4th, the American people will celebrate Independence
Day. Over the last 230 years, the celebration of independence
has evolved from a celebration of victory for throwing off the
British monarchy to that of a celebration of patriotism.
Drafted in 1776 by Thomas Jefferson, the Declaration of
Independence is this country’s most cherished document—a
visually symbolic presence of liberty. Penned on its parchment
surface lies the hopes and dreams of those who scribed their
names, their individual ideals of liberty exalted in
unforgettable words, “We the People, in order to form a more
perfect Union…”
The Declaration of Independence was based on an old political
idea summarized by Jefferson in “self-evident truths” that
formed a laundry list of grievances against Britain’s
monarchy, and sought a break of all ties between the colonies
and England.
more...
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