News & Views

Not one of the most amazing stories, but one that definitely caused some concern in the Muslim communities across the world.

A Muslim couple, Aftab Ansari and Sohela, who live in Jaipur, have been married for the past 11 years. However, on the night of December 20 last year, Aftab allegedly uttered Talaaq three times in his sleep after a tiff with his wife.

The community leaders were adamant that the two separate or face a "social boycott", whereas the couple refuse to take the order as there was no discord between them.



This is not the first time I recall a Fatwaa being given to people that was totally against the Shari'ah teachings. Islam is a very flexible, easy yet firm religion with set boundaries. Allah has set the rules for His believers to follow but has put great levels of flexibility in all of His orders.

We, sometimes, say or do things without realising the consequences of the matter. Here we see a village, Jaipur, which many people will be shocked to know that it even exists, has a few people within it that said something without being certain about what verdict they were giving.

We should always be careful about what we say and do, especially when the matter is related to our religion.

May Allah give us all the correct understanding. Aameen.



Allah has stated in the Qur'an, in many places, the excellence of knowledge. However, He has also mentioned that we should seek knowledge from those people who have the knowledge if we do not have knowledge:



Similarly, the Prophet of Allah, Sallallahu Alayhi Wa Sallam, has said:


Knowledge has been emphasised to a great extent in the Qur'an and Sunnah; angels spread their wings for the person seeking knowledge, the fish and creatures make Dua for him whilst he is seeking knowledge etc. However, our beloved and merciful Prophet, Sallallahu Alayhi Wa Sallam, has mentioned a method of achieving this knowledge:





Is Divorce Pronounced During One's Sleep Valid? - by Mufti Muhammad ibn Adam

This is a story of an Asian Muslim who went on a four month journey to find out the answer to the question "could growing a beard completely change the way people treated a British Asian?"

He grew a beard in preparation for this 'journey' and compared how life began changing for him...

So what sparked this question in the young man's mind? He says:

It was a week after 7 July and I'd just got on an east London bus. I was on my way to buy razors as I hadn't shaved for days.

A couple of stops later a middle-aged Rasta guy got on, sat down next to me and asked: "So how's it feel brethren?" "Erm, how's what feel?" I replied. "How's it feel now it's your turn to be bottom of the pile?" he said.

We had a good chat, we talked about riots and muggers and bombs and beards. We had a right laugh. "Take it easy brother," he said as he stepped off the moving bus.

When I got to Liverpool Street and I went into the station to catch the Tube, I was stopped and searched under Section 44 of the Terrorism Act. It had never happened to me before and I had always felt perfectly at ease in the UK, my home."

During his journey he experienced many changes and he states:

One young man in Birmingham - a religious Muslim - said he'd been for a job interview and as soon as he walked into the room and the manager saw the colour of his skin and his beard he was told to "forget it" and sent away.

But it was people in authority, whose role it was to be alert, who were the most suspicious. It seemed now I had a beard - and for the first time in my life - members of the Metropolitan Police thought I looked dodgy.

I wasn't sure whether the two were connected. So when I was stopped by police outside Downing Street, and searched yet again, I asked one of them the question: "Do I look dodgy?" The answer was a very definite yes.

"Would I look less dodgy without my rucksack?" I asked. "Dodgy," he replied. "What about if I wore a suit?" "You'd look like a dodgy bloke in a suit," he said. "How about if I shaved my beard?" "Dodgy. Just face it - you look dodgy," came the disconcerting reply.

Finally, he clarifies something vital to all his readers, "I don't want to point the finger of blame at the public for how I was treated during those first few weeks as their fear was real, just like me they were living in a different reality for a time after the bombings."



It's not the first time this issue has been mentioned in the media, yet it is one that has been of rising concern for people of all backgrounds and societies.

The above is just a journey of one man's experience of society's reaction towards something they have 'fear' of.

At first, I would think many people would feel 'targeted', 'discriminated' and even a slightly annoyed by the different reactions and attitudes of people.

This is because we feel that we are the victims of something we haven't done, and this view is not incorrect.

However, we need to realise that their attitudes towards us are due to fear and because they feel that they have been the victims of terrorists and could also be in the future. Therefore, human instincts make them more alert and thus the greater level of suspicion.

The BBC NEWS site has a comment from Mr Cedric from Brighton, which I believe has said something quite extraodinary:

"I think the problem is that stereotypes are our natural defence against things we don't know, or that might be dangerous. We have evolved socially far faster than our body and brain have. Despite trying not to, I will see people in the street and according to certain stereotypes I will make a judgement about them. It's a natural reaction, but with a conscious effort I think you can do something about it."
Cedric Wooding, Brighton, England

We all have to realise that we need to be conscious about our treatment towards one another, we have to show respect to each and everyone and through this good-treatment we should hope and pray that misunderstandings are removed and elimated. At the end of the day we all are victims of the terrorists, and stand together as one nation.

"We need to stick together as a nation, as a people now. As Mr. Thind says, we live in a country of tolerance and we can't let some warped people change that."
Charlie Hutchinson, Winchester



Allah has stated in the Qur'an, in numerous places, the excellence of a good moral character and social etiquttes. He states in one verse how He dislikes arrogance and pride:







Similarly, our beloved Prophet Sallallahu Alayhi Wa Sallam encouraged each and everyone to be like fellow brothers, to respect one another, to not conjure any hatred or evil thought of one another:

Abu Huraira transmitted that the Prophet Sallallahu Alayhi Wa Sallam said:






Islam and Neighbours

This is an amazing story of a two month old baby girl that was found in a lagoon in Brazil.

The report says that the mother, now arrested by the local authorities, denied the throwing of the child in the water.

An amateur camera-man was at the scene recording the rescue thinking that it was an animal or a cat that was stuck in the black bag. Only after pulling the bag out of the water did the people realise that a human foot was pushing itself out from within.

Immediately, the child was undressed from its wet clothing and then wrapped and prepared to be taken to the hospital.



It seems like the time when the pagan Arabs used to bury their daughters alive. At that time it was considered a matter of shame to have given birth to a female child. Therefore, the parents, many times through false pretence and lying to the child, would take their daughters and bury them alive in the deserts of the Arabian land.

Could it be the poverty that these people fear or is it the sheer spark of the ignorance from the days of darkness that still remains apparent in this world today.



Allah has mentioned this act of burying the daughters alive many a times in the Holy Qur'an:













In opposition to this the Holy Prophet Sallallahu Alayhi Wa Sallam encouraged one to raise daughters and that whomsoever did this would gain Jannah (paradise) through their upbringing. Similarly, he Sallallahu Alayhi Wa Sallam brought this advice into action through his own daughter, Fatimah Radhi Allahu Anha.

Ibn 'Abbas transmitted that the Prophet Sallallahu Alayhi Wa Sallam said:






The Woman as Daughter