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Qur'an
The Night Journey
Al-Isra (The Journey by Night):
17:1 Glory to ((Allah)) Who did take His servant for a journey
by night from the Sacred Mosque to the farthest Mosque, whose
precincts We did bless,- in order that We might show him some
of Our Signs: for He is the One Who heareth and seeth (all
things).
Editorial
August
Message from MAS Bay Area President
Assalamu Alaikum Brothers and Sisters of the San Francisco Bay
Area
I hope you have been enjoying the lecture series entitled
"Exemplary Muslims, Better Society". We have been learning
about the betterment of ourselves, our families and our
society. This should have given us enough incentive to look
into ourselves and make a conscience effort to find fructuous
methods to improve.
We are at the gates of Ramadan. We ask that Allah provides us
with the wisdom to contemplate these thoughts through our
fasting and to put them into practice the rest of the year.
But before we get there we need to prepare ourselves for the
month. more...
Event
The Prophet’s Night Journey
The event of Al-Israa’ and Al-Mi`raj is recorded in the Qur’an
and Hadith. It is the miraculous Night Journey of Prophet
Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him) which consists of
two phases. Phase one covers his trip from Makkah to
Jerusalem, known as Al-Israa’, and phase two covers his ascent
from Jerusalem into the Heavens, known as Al-Mi`raj. It is the
opinion of some historians that the Prophet went on this
remarkable journey on the night of Rajab 27 (in the seventh
month of the Islamic calendar).
Some authors refer to the year in which this event is recorded
as the Year of Grief. It was the year in which Muhammad (peace
and blessings be upon him) lost his beloved wife Khadijah (may
Allah be pleased with her) and his dear uncle, Abu Talib, who
had nurtured him as a child and protected him when he was
proclaimed a prophet of Allah. During this same year, he went
to the city of Ta’if to invite the people to Islam, but he was
stoned and driven out of the city by the street urchins. The
Prophet is reported to have said that the day in Ta’if was the
most difficult day of his life. more...
Article
The Spiritual Method of Revivalism: On Hassan al-Banna and His
Legacy
By Andrew Booso
Part One: An Introduction
Although I’ve never belonged to an organization that has
either a direct-lineal or distant-familial connection to Hasan
al-Banna (1906-1949), I am compelled to admit his significant
impact on his own world and the world that we currently
inhabit. Hence a study of the man and his legacy should
provide some explanations as to why he is still relevant.
Indeed, our age of psychological and physical chaos makes the
need for remedies to the contemporary human condition most
urgent. Al-Banna’s life fits in with a diverse grouping of
twentieth-century individuals and their collectives to bring
about a revival of what they considered to be orthodoxy; and
al-Banna’s tale would, arguably, occupy the distinction of
being the most riveting tale in such annals of history, for
its sheer scope of vision and action, and unprecedented
significance, which has continued to our own time. Al-Banna is
seen to have inheritors in the moderate ‘Islamists’ – the
latter being a truly horrid term, which I think should be
dismissed from use – and here is where a neutral Englishman
like myself sees a significant opportunity for al-Banna’s
legacy to provide a personal and societal benefit.
more...
New Muslim
A 40 Year Struggle Towards Islam
An African-American Woman's Long Journey
By Salwa Abd-Allah
My name is Salwa Abd-Allah. I was born Edwina Mariea
Fauntleroy to Reverend and Mrs. Jerry Cornelius Fauntleroy in
Newport News, Virginia, US, in 1946. I have three brothers and
I was the third of the four of us.
I have been striving to be a Muslim for approximately 40
years. I became socially aware in the 1960s in America during
the Vietnam War era and the turbulent years of racial unrest
as descendants of slaves in general began protesting the
subtle and not-so-subtle discrimination that was spread in
America at that time.
There is much to say about that era, but my focus here is my
conversion to Islam. There were two avenues to change at that
time. One was integration and the eloquent spokesman for that
path was Martin Luther King, Jr.
The other path was separation and self-determination
represented by the equally eloquent and courageous Malcolm X
for Elijah Muhammad and the Nation of Islam (NOI) — initially.
more...
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