Please make Du’a for our beloved scholar and teacher Shaykh Muhammad Hasan wald Dadaw who has been languishing in jail for no reason whatsoever, in the country that used to be the most desired place to go to seek Shar’i knowledge but it now just a nightmare – Mauritania.

May Allah return our Scholars to help guide us through these difficult times, Ameen.

Please support the noble campaign in al-Mujtama' magazine.

And remember one other thing which is topical at the moment…

Make Poverty History.

Our Deen demands it.

Check some of the amazing pictures taken of the lightning that followed our recent hot and sunny weather. Go to the main page of the BBC for the full collection...



Subhanallah. To think that I was in the very area that had homes hit by lightning and total flooding just over 16 hours ago...

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/4124752.stm

Finally something totally random and unrelated:

Fa'idah: A hadith for us to make us think about the quality of our charity especially when we are abroad in the Muslims lands:

The Prophet (sallallahu 'alayhi wa sallam) said, "Do not feed the poor from that which you do not eat yourselves." (Narrated by Ahmad, Sahih)

What's good about this article are a few things.

Firstly it's good to hear once and for all how the 'other side' have always felt about our Economic System. It's reassuring to know that they are so wrong with their pathetic understanding of Shari'ah and also the harms and dangers of their own hotch potch of oppression.

Secondly, and very impressively I may add, the author takes care not to attribute questionable statements to the Prophet (sallallahu 'alayhi wa sallam) but rather makes the statement bi-sighati l-dh'af i.e. indicating that it could be possibly false. And indeed it is false, for the Prophet (sallallahu 'alayhi wa sallam) never did say such a hadith, or any hadith similar to it that can be found in many books and lectures concerning Riba, where he (sallallahu 'alayhi wa sallam) was meant to have compared interest to vile sexual actions etc. It would be great if the Muslims themselves would also take as much care when they speak on the authority of the Prophet.

Thirdly, pasting articles is an excellent way to update a site without breaking one's cycle of proscratination. So allow me to now go and fester some more.


Sharia law on banking hinders the integration of Muslims

By TIM PARKS
17 June 2005
Financial Times


In medieval Christendom lending money at interest was banned. Offenders were guaranteed a place in hell. Today, sharia law imposes the same ban. For one of the world's three great religions, something as ordinary as a mortgage is a sin. "Worse than rape," say the websites of various Islamic banks. "Worse than adultery with 36 women," the prophet Mohammed is reported to have said.

To lend money at a profit without being damned, Christian bankers played with currency exchanges. It was possible to borrow 100 florins in Florence, promising to repay it in pounds in London in three months' time. A complex system of exchange-rate fixing guaranteed a return. Banks thus became international rather than local and financed short-term trade rather than capital investment. For centuries the economy of Europe was skewed.

Today's Islamic banks cannot take cover in exchange rates. They rely mostly on so-called Murabaha deals, where the bank buys, for example, a house on behalf of a client who promises to purchase it over a period of time at the same price. No interest. But while purchasing it he pays rent to live in the house. On an Islamic chat line, Zoahib from California complains: "If at the end I'm paying the 'Islamic financing' company three times the value of the house, how is that different from other lenders?"

Commenting on the performance of Bahrain's Islamic banks, Imtiaz Uddin Ahmad of the University of Maryland remarks that the preponderance of Murabaha deals makes for short-term investments that are safe and lucrative but does little to develop the country's economy.

So why insist on the ban? It is not about protecting the poor, since that could be achieved by stipulating a maximum interest rate. To get a grip on the way the Islamic world is developing in reaction to the west, it is important to understand what is at stake.

In the Inferno, Dante lumped the money lenders together with the sodomites and blasphemers. All three sins were contro natura, against nature. It was unnatural for men to have sex with men, unnatural to curse your creator and unnatural to make a living without "toiling", since God created "toil" to complete man's nature.

The insistence on work is crucial. A man's work in the medieval world was his social station in a static hierarchy. But money-lending altered things. A man could borrow money, set up a business, change his station in life. Everything became more fluid.

Purist Islam seeks to maintain a traditional social hierarchy that the west has long abandoned. Deny people the right to borrow easily and with a clear conscience and you put a big spoke in the wheels of social change.

There is more. If the real nature of financial transactions is constantly being disguised, an unhealthy culture of euphemism results. Language drifts away from reality, and anxiety and guilt follow. Crucially, people are not sure whether they are sinning or not.

In an emblematic move, to make amends for "possible wrongdoing", the 15th century banker Cosimo De' Medici invested a fortune in rebuilding the monastery of San Marco in Florence. Before doing so he insisted that the lax order of Silvestrine monks using the building be replaced with the stricter Dominicans. To cleanse its guilt, big money goes to the fundamentalists. This can be dangerous.

In modern Islam, the culture of euphemism, anxiety and guilt is definitely there, but the larger environment is different. When Christian businessmen eventually discovered in humanism a set of liberal values that lay outside the black and white of religion's revealed truth, they were breaking new ground. Today, Islam finds these convenient positions occupied by a culture it opposes. To liberalise would be surrender, not discovery.

Over the past 20 years, as the confrontation between the west and Islam has intensified, Muslims have actually reinforced their ban on interest-bearing loans. The first purist Islamic banks opened in the mid-1970s. There are now more than 200 transacting businesses worth Dollars 500bn (Pounds 275bn) annually. To compete with western banks, they stress that taking and paying interest is indeed worse than rape.

The loan ban has thus begun to function, like the strict rules on sexual behaviour, as another brake on the integration of Muslims into the western societies in which they live. Ironically, the very rule that reinforces their identity inhibits economic development and diminishes their power in the larger community.

The writer is author of Medici Money: Banking, Metaphysics and Art in Fifteenth-century Florence

It seems that the issue of the Prayer lines does indeed require some clarification. The good thing about this chapter of Fiqh is that it is often a very good example of illustrating how many practising Muslims do not appreciate the Maqâsid of our Deen (i.e. the aims and objectives).

Firstly a sample of a few of the hadith on this issue from a total of over one hundred on this chapter alone:

The Prophet (sallallâhu ‘alayhi wa sallam) said –

“Straighten your lines or Allah will cause conflict amongst you.” (Muslim 128, Tirmidhi 227)

“Prepare your lines – (repeated three times) – for by Allah you must straighten your lines or of a surety Allah will cause conflict between your hearts!” (Nu’man b. Basheer the narrator then said) ‘I saw a man thereby join his shoulder to the shoulder of the one next to him, his knee to his knee and his ankle with his ankle.” (Abu Dawud 657, Bukhari ta’liqan)

“Prepare the lines, align your shoulders, close the gaps, make easy your arms for your brothers, and do not leave any gaps for the Devil. Whoever connects a line, Allah will keep him and whoever cuts off a line, Allah will cut him off.” (Abu Dawud 662, al-Nasa’i 818)

“Straighten and tighten your lines, bring them close and align your necks. By the One Whom my soul is in His Hand, indeed I can see the Devil entering the gaps in your rows as if they were small black lambs.” (Abu Dawud 663, al-Nasa’i 814)

“Straighten your lines for indeed straightening of the lines is from the completion of the Prayer.” (Bukhari 723, Muslim 124)

And they go on and on and on.

All the words used for commanding the Muslims to be straight and orderly in their lines share very similar meanings; I’tadilû, Sawwû, Istawû, ‘Addilû, Russû, Aqîmû and then more specifically Qâribû and Hâdhû.

Sounds like a confused Brazilian second eleven!

The key then to understanding all these very clear narrations is to recognise the objective behind them. Everyone agrees that the line must be as straight as possible and that everyone should be standing as close together as possible.

This is a matter of agreement amongst the scholars. As for the ruling of such a line?

To straighten up the Prayer line (called a Saff in Arabic) is considered to be Mustahab (recommended) by the massive majority of the Scholars.

A few of the ‘Ulema such as Imam al-Bukhari believed it to be obligatory in of itself i.e. that one would be punished if he did not stand in line correctly as the above hadith require. A few later scholars supported this opinion amongst them al-Shawkani.

Ibn Hazm went even further as he often does and considered it to be an obligation from the Salâh itself so if one doesn’t keep straight and close the gaps in the line, his prayer in invalidated (Muhalla 4/52).

Hardcore!

Ok so that’s the general stuff dealt with but what about the little details?

Interestingly if one takes a look at all the hadith and athâr narrated on this subject, one finds a huge amount of emphasis on the straightening of the line and the aligning of peoples’ chests and bodies – but not much for the feet.

In the Sunan of al-Nasa’i we find authentic reports showing the Prophet (sallallâhu ‘alayhi wa sallam) entering in between the lines, and going from one end to another end, pulling the Companions forwards and backwards so that their shoulders and necks would align up, and that they were close together (Kitab al-Imamah).

This makes absolute sense. One can clearly see that to try and ensure the feet are to be touching full contact with your neighbour all the time will still leave large gaps between the upper parts of the body. In fact, the hadith mentioning all such aligning and especially the statement of Nu’man b. Basheer where he saw the Sahabah putting their ankles and shoulders together to create a solid straight line are meant to be understood in a more holistic fashion.

Ibn Hajr says (al-Fath, 2/273), “The intention behind that is to exaggerate in the issue so as to straighten the row and close its gaps.”

And that is also why none of the early scholars or the Madhahib made it obligatory for a person’s ankle to be touching his neighbour’s ankle as long as the row is straight and they are as close as possible, with the shoulders touching and both shoulders and necks in a straight line – so as if one was to go to the end of the line and look down it, one wouldn’t see people sticking out unless due to their larger size etc.

The two Caliphs Sayyidina ‘Umar and Sayyidina ‘Uthman would delegate specific people from the front row to go round the entire congregation straightening up everyones’ rows, physically bringing people backwards and forwards. Only until they returned with the full Ok would they then start the prayer.

In fact, Bilal and ‘Umar even used to hit the peoples’ legs to make them stand straight and close in their lines but as ibn Hajr again said, this does not indicate that putting the feet together is an obligation for these two companions were well known to discipline people if they left what they believed to be Sunnah!

And as Anas (may Allah be pleased will all these blessed Companions) complained that people would run away from them like wild donkeys if they attempted to make full contact with their feet in the Saff, and that was THEN. So what are you guys complaining about now? I’m glad we still even STAND in a line!

All of the above shurooh of these hadith are not from my own pocket but has been taken from the Sharh Sunan al-Nasa’i of Sheikh ‘Ali b. ‘Âdam al-Îtûbî, Sharh Sunan Abu Dawûd of Imâm Badr al-Dîn al-‘Ainî, ‘Awn al Ma’bûd of al-‘Adhîmabâdî, Fath al-Bârî of Ibn Hajr, Badâ’i al-Sanâ’i of al-Kasâni, al-Muhalla of ibn Hazm, Bidâyat al-Mujthahid of Ibn Rushd, al-Mabsût of al-Sarakhsi, as well as other Fiqh texts of the other Madhabs – may Allah shower His immense Mercy upon our great and blessed scholars, Ameen!

So, conclusion?

Folks – never diss the Imams. When the Madhabs all agree on something, it’s no joke. None of the four Madhabs require the Musallî to join his feet with the next man throughout Salâh. Rather it is a recommended action for the majority of scholars if it allows one to achieve a good solid straight line with no gaps and it causes no harm or disturbance to the neighbour.

If the line produces a gap at the upper end of the bodies by joining the feet then that’s no good. But if you can join your shoulders and produce a comfortable yet tight line with only a little gap between the feet or even the feet touching each other at a 45 degree angle then that’s ok too. To point the feet straight to the Qiblah is not an obligation in the Salâh for any Madhab.

If you are able to try and do what the Sahabah used to try and do at the beginning of their Salâh which is to put the feet together, make the feet straight too, and get the rest of the legs and shoulders touching each other too, then you’ll be a superstar and you’ll have done something which 1400 years of the Muslims have not been able to do without someone running off as if the Prince of Wales Stakes at Royal Ascot had just started.

Remember too that to disturb the next man in your Salâh is a major issue. You will be sinning and be punished for this because this is Harâm. But if you leave trying to touch his feet and concentrate in just closing the gaps between the shoulders, you’ll have obtained a better and more worthwhile Sunnah and Allah knows best.

We have to seriously think about our priorities in the Salâh. It might be a cliché now but it really is more important to concentrate on the Salâh itself rather than the position of the feet for there is no evidence making their position an obligation of the Salâh whereas everything else is! Forget looking at his feet and just make sure you’re all standing straight in the same line and that should be good enough insha’Allah.

A little anecdote to finish with. One of my favourite scholars from my lifetime, the amazing Sheikh ‘Uthaymeen (rahimahullah) was once about to pray in Masjid al-Nabawi next to someone and he lined up next to the Sheikh thinking that he’s doing the right thing and all that, placing his foot right up against the foot of the Sheikh…

“Kerpowwww!” (I couldn't think of another sound effect and seeing that 'Batman 37' opens soon...)

Yes. That was the sound of Sheikh ‘Uthaymeen punching the brother in his chest, to get him well away from his foot, get back into line and start again. Then they started the Salâh and that was that.

:-)

So have I confused you all even more?

Ok, this is what I do in the prayer. If the next man wants to stand close to me feet to feet, I will oblige him. If he doesn’t, then I’ll at least make sure that I am not standing so as to leave any gaps between our shoulders. I’ll usually look down and the feet will be virtually touching anyway if the gaps at the shoulders are closed. If my companion doesn’t want his feet anywhere near mine then fine. It is not allowed to move around after him in the Salâh without a real Shar’i reason otherwise the Salâh becomes void. And we don’t want that now do we?

It’s all about being easy with the People and being balanced in our Deen, without compromising that which is dear and sacred to us. There is no need to take extremes in our ‘Ibâdah, for often we’ll be stuck close to each other in one mosque and then we’ll be a bit more relaxed in another mosque. And maybe one day you might even actualise the lovely hadith of the Prophet (sallallâhu ‘alayhi wa sallam) when he said:

“The best of you are those with the easiest shoulders in the Prayer.” (Abu Dawud 653)

What this means is that if someone wants to have a bit of a breather in the line, you’ll loosen up for him. Also, you allow yourself to be moved by someone who wants to straighten the line further. Also it means you can move to close a gap somewhere or even relax to let someone else move. Also, if someone reckons he can fit in to your line to avoid standing alone by himself in a second line, you can let him in.

The hadith shows both that the original state of those in the line would be a nice tight unit and it also shows that the tight unit is a flexible one when the time comes round for it to be so.

Just like Islam really.

:-)


BUT…

If after all that, for all those who are still not satisfied, for those who’d really really like to feel the flesh of the next Miskeen’s foot full on contact, bones to bones and all that, then here are my final few suggestions:

1. Have a shower. Being stinky is not conducive to a close contact.

2. Change your perfume. Try ‘Higher’ by Dior. Or ‘Aqua di Gio’. If you’ve got that on, you can close contact me anytime.

3. Dry your feet with some tissue after Wudhu (do NOT use the face towels like some guys do). No-one likes their nice dry feet to be splattered with your soaking ones.

4. Change those dirty white sport socks! Not only is it not cool to wear them with your sandals and stuff, but they are very uncool next to our black woollen Pringles.

5. Close contact is hard enough as it is but with scaly dry cracked feet? That hurts our soft feet so try some 50:50 WSP Ointment, available from all good Pharmacists.

6. Stinky damp athletified foot? Think again Jose. Try some Miconazole cream in-between those toes and Miconazole powder for your dirty socks, available from all good Pharmacists. Try close contact again after 4 weeks.

7. Or try standing at the end of the line only. That way, where exactly is he going to move to? He’ll keep on going and you can follow him all the way down until he gives up Miskeen and starts to cry.

8. Are you reading out aloud again? Who do you prefer listening to – Sudais or Tony Christie? Exactly. If you can be quiet for once during the Imam’s recitation, maybe he’ll let you stand a tad closer.

9. What’s with all the scratching and itching and stuff? Be like a rock as the Sahabah used to be and maybe the next man won’t even notice you. Then you can stand in between his legs if you can fit.

10. Wear one of those really baggy Egyptian thawbs – you know, the ones where you can’t see your feet anyway and more importantly, neither can he. Then just move in on the sly under thawb cover and before you know it, you’ll have close contact.

11. If you play footie then you’ll know about the ‘Magic Spray’. Use the branded PR Freeze spray on the next guy and then you can even stand on his foot if you wish. Available from all good Pharmacists.

12. Played Twister before? Neither have I but I think if you put your foot in between his two feet and then twist it round his left shin a few times, he’ll have to be Houdini’s dad to get away from that one. Don’t try this on anyone bigger than you though.

13. Have you checked those grotty rotten toenails? Be a bit original and try painting on a few attractive designs. Remember the rules though – no stars, no stripes, no crosses and only Henna. Doh! Not many options left there then.

14. Still struggling on your own? You need the team approach - your mate one side and you on the other and keep progressing inwards for close contact until he’s well and truly squashed. That’ll teach him.

15. If you’re a group then ever better. Stand altogether at one end and keep pushing inwards till the old faithful end up in the Wudhu-khana. Now that’ll definitely teach them.

16. Now if you really really care about the ‘Sunnah’ then put your money where your mouth (or fingers I suppose in our case) is. It’s time to start paying off the Musalleen. Once they realise you’ll give a nugget for each close contact per prayer, you’ll soon have a solid and obedient line – for ever. Hanafi or not. Start saving guys…

17. Maybe you’re just pushing your luck with the old faithful of the front line. Try the last line with all the kids because they love playing close contact. They’ll let you stand on their feet if you let them nudge, kick and poke you in Sujûd. Deal? Done.

18. Good old brute force. During the Iqâmah, warn next man that if he moves his foot from yours even once during the prayer, you’re going to make his blood halâl and drink it before Fajr the next morning and break your fast with it the next evening too. That should do the trick. If you’re too small for that then what the hell are you doing in our front line anyway?!

19. Why don’t you pray by yourself and make a whole new line? Problem solved! And it fits your Usul that to try and fulfil a lesser Sunnah means leaving all the other Wajibat and Sunan of the Saff as well!

20. Finally, the perfect solution. Never go to a mosque ever again. Ever. Just watch out though in case the ‘Amr bil Ma’ruf boys come round and burn your house down…

Here is that fatwa I promised...


In The Name of Allah The Most Beneficent The Most Merciful

Legal Decision concerning the joining of two prayers due to the time of the Eisha Prayer being delayed until nearly midnight


All Praise is due to the Lord of all the Worlds. I testify that there is no God except Allah alone without partner and I testify that Muhammad is His slave and messenger (Pbuh) and his family.

It is important to understand that the duties imposed by the Religion of Islam are directly related to a person's ability and strength. Some people are capable of more than others and so there are concessions within Islam which allow for this difference of ability. The proof of this is that Allah, the Almighty says: Allah doesn't burden any soul with more than it can bear. Each soul receives the reward for the good it has earned and is punished for the evil it has done (2:286). And Allah, the Almighty says: Allah puts no burden on anyone beyond what He has given him (65:7). So sincere fear of and obedience to Allah and sincere struggling for His sake is in accordance with the ability of each slave. Allah the Exalted says: And strive sincerely for His sake He has chosen you and has not burdened you with any difficulty in the religion (22:78).

There can be no doubt that the delaying of the Eisha Prayer until nearly midnight. This would mean that on some days there would only be three hours between the Eisha and Fajr Prayers would cause, in many people's opinion, some difficulty and hardship. It is true that Islam strongly encourages that the prayer be performed on time and the basic rule is that the rulings for the times of the prayers have been made clear and that through these rulings the time of each prayer can be known by certain signs. The time of Eisha for example does not begin until the red twilight disappears from the sky, And so, according to Islamic law if the red twilight doesn't disappear until twelve o'clock at night then the time of Eisha doesn't start until that time.

However our position concerning this matter is not normal in that generally speaking it is not within most people's capability because most people usually go to sleep before midnight. Although some people might remain awake during the early hours of the morning this is not used for the purpose of analogy upon which a legal judgment is made. The Prophet Pbuh once delayed the Eisha Prayer until midnight and the people were waiting in the mosque for him to come out of his room and lead them in prayer. They slept and woke up, slept and woke up until Omar, may Allah be pleased with him, finally called out "The Prayer! The people and children have fallen asleep". So the Prophet (Pbuh) came out and said "If it wasn't for the trouble I fear for my community, I would have ordered them to pray at this time." So for this reason the Prophet didn't use to delay the Eisha Prayer. Although our situation is different in that the specific time of Eisha hasn't begun, the reason for not wanting to delay the prayer, difficulty and hardship is the same. So do we find within the religion provision to pray Eisha early at the time of Maghrib?

It is affirmed in the sunnah that it is acceptable for the traveler to join prayers in order that hardship might be alleviated for him. This is also the case for the resident who, because of circumstances, rain or fear for example, finds it difficult or suffers hardship in attending the prayer at the mosque. It is also true for a woman who is suffering from continual bleeding. In fact. it has been narrated by Ibn Abbas that the Prophet. (pbuh) joined Dhuhr and Asr and Maghrib and Eisha while he was resident in Medina neither traveling nor afraid of the enemy nor was it raining. Ibn Abbas was asked why he did this He replied "In order that his community would not suffer hardship".

It would appear that the Prophet (pbuh) did this without any reason except to show that it was permitted in order to alleviate hardship from his community. Using this and similar hadith as proof. one group of scholars are of the opinion that it is permitted to join Maghrib and Eisha or Dhuhr and Asr if hardship would be suffered by the people if they had to pray each prayer at its specific time. And they have given many examples of what normally causes difficulty and hardship sickness, enuresis (the inability to control the discharge of urine) or flatulence (the excessive passing of wind). Some scholars have even said that any reason that allows a person, who would normally attend, to miss the congregational prayer in the mosque also allows him to join his prayers.

One man came to Saeed ibn Al-Musayyeb and said "I tend camels I milk them until evening comes then I pray Maghrib, I then lie down and sleep through the time of Eisha". Saeed said "Don't sleep until you have prayed it and if you fear that you will fall asleep then join the two prayers together". (Related by ibn abi Shayba in his "Musannaf' 2/459 with a good chain of narrators).

In short we can say that joining two prayers because of need is acceptable and permitted and this is the most correct position of the scholars and it is what the provision of concessions within the religion dictates - the joining of either of the two prayers with the other at either of the two times, for example joining Maghrib with Eisha at the time of Eisha or joining Eisha with Maghrib at the time of Maghrib.

So our situation whether we are referring to the Eisha Prayer in congregation in the mosque or prayed by the individual at home can be judged using analogy according to what has been described previously. So long as there is difficulty and hardship the concession is there. And concession within the law exists so long as the reason for it remains, even if it is for a long period of time,

Concerning the second half of the issue connected to missing the correct time for the Eisha Prayer. The best thing to do is to pray Eisha with Maghrib together at the time of Maghrib because there is no point in delaying it since by delaying it won't mean that you are praying it at its time. I have made this issue clear in a paper which can be found on the following link on ECFR Site: Arabic Original . In it I have mentioned the opinions of the scholars and made clear with evidence which is the most correct opinion.

It is important to understand that in this case, joining the prayers is not due to hardship but because of necessity since no time for the Eisha prayer exists, the time of Eisha having begun at the time of Maghrib. This is what is known as "the time when one is excused" by followers of Al-Shafi' and others.

Having said that to join the prayers is correct and acceptable, we should know that the correct way of performing it is as follows: There should be no break between the two prayers, as is the case when joining because of travel or rain. However, should a break occur it doesn't affect the prayer but it is better that no break occurs. It is also acceptable to pray those sunnah prayers normally prayed after Maghrib, after you have prayed Eisha if the time allows and should you so wish. The sunnah prayers performed after Eisha and Al Witr can also be prayed following the joining of prayers, as well as all those prayers which a person usually performs. This has been documented by a number of scholars and it is in accordance with the evidence.

Written by Abu Muhammad Abdullah Ibn Yusuf Aljudai

In the month of Dhul Qi'da 1415 (April 1995) Leeds

Well I take my hat off to the guy - he does indeed seem to be a comic genius masha'Allah...

www.maniacmuslim.com

I can't possibly choose my favourite but I feel an SOS awards ceremony coming up soon, so for now, here's one of my favourite cartoons from his site...



And because I can't STAND stupid emails that ask us to forward on, then this is just a legendary piece...

Stupid emails

I can't choose anymore because I'd have to choose every other article (other than his little boo-boo on the Superstition article) so go yourself and have a great 30 minutes of laughing.

:-)

It's always fantastic to be in the company of the Deobandi Ulema and Muftis such as Mufti Saleem Dhorat and Mufti Sacha Yusuf et al, seeing their display of Deen and akhlaq, their immense mutual respect for each other, and their unbelievable respect and humility in front of those older and more learned than them, such as Mufti Taqi. Truly a lesson for all the talabat l-'ilm and Du'aat.

The downside of course is that they all seem to go into Zombie mode when it comes to real serious discussions concerning contracts, transactions, Islamic finance etc. The level of questions from such scholars was truly abysmal and did not befit the questioner. What an utter wasted opportunity.

Yours truly made the ultimate mistake of letting all his elders go first and waiting until they had peaked before I started on my various detailed verbal questions. Naturally, Mufti Taqi (as he does) decides to call it a day after my first question! Doh! So much for closed detailed sessions for the 'learned ones'!

Anyway I don't blame him to be honest. Jazahullahu Khayr to him and Sufyan for arranging a very quick private audience which realised a few more answers to the detailed mechanics of a few further contracts but that was it. Short and not really as sweet as it should have been.

Sigh.

Which reminds me. There is NO general session planned for London (which would have been at 7pm after Asr tomorrow evening at East London Mosque). Rather the Sheikh will have an open session for all in the morning at around 11am at the same location. So if you do go along, don't rely on others to ask anything worthwhile, and leave your 'adab and respect for elders' hat at home just this once and get all your questions in hard and fast and early before Mufti gets tired again!

Oh and by the way lads, apparently Sheikh Abdullah b. Munee' seems to have backtracked/retracted his fatwa on Tawarruk and has now come back in the line with the rather more cautious fatwa from the Majma' Fiqh al-Islami which Mufti Taqi helped produce. Although I tell you what, I bet the Saudi and Arab banks making a killing won't be telling anyone about any retractions of any fataawa...

As for that 'Don't Panic, I'm Islamic' programme last night, then Subhanallah how utterly lame was that? People have already started complaining, some blaming the BBC for 'propraganda', others that Daniel Jacob miskeen, others that uncovered woman blah blah blah.

As for the Beeb then don't even try it folks. They just told it how it was and I bet they could have made it a WHOLE lot worse that what it might have been. Subhanallah can someone find me that bearded lad who was doing the leaflet stall so that I can slap him around the head with a big fat wet haddock a few times, just so as to knock a bit of sense into him. At least with the Daniel lad, you could see he was a sellout and what he said was clearly totally ridiculous and outside the understanding of the general Islamic community. But the language and statements of that other lad were simply awful.

Shocking. Sheer and utter ignorance.

I mean how can anyone blame the BBC!? They just showed us what we should already know i.e. that the Muslims are very much their own worst enemies.

Allahu Musta'an.

As for anyone who didn't like a 'Picture of Britain' last night (it wasn't good as the first one or next week's one because this was Suffolk remember for crying out loud!) then you need a serious culture check...



I suppose it might be down to personal taste in the end, but I definitely haven't seen many better programmes on the TV and I can't wait for the rest of the UK to be put under Dimbleby's artful eye.

I end, wal-hamdulillah, with the fantastic news that Sheikh Safar al-Hawali has had a successful operation to remove a blood clot and has now been transferred out of intensive care to the General Teaching Hospital in Jeddah. We wish and pray that Allah gifts the Sheikh a speedy recovery, Ameen!

Just before another manic weekend enters with the Ansar Finance Annual Dinner, Sheikh Haitham's short but intensive course for all students of Islamic Law at Makki Masjid, 10am on Sunday morning, the Mufti Taqi sessions and Allah knows what else...I have just got to say:

- My dear Scousers, you have indeed pulled off the biggest blag ever

- Can someone take out the Glazer family for me? I'll put forward 100 pounds from my side. Check tomorrow's Times all you Reds where you'll see that Man U will have to be paying £25 million pounds a year for the next four years just to pay off the riba from Glazer's new debt he has created. Arghhh!!

- Don't miss (or record it) the Don't Panic I'm Islamic programme this week. Oh and if you don't believe what Tariq Ahmed claims, then ask our good friend 'Matt' on how people perceive a visitor on the phone depending on their name...

- And how can you then miss 'a Picture of Britain' on the Beeb at 9pm?

- Especially for all the bloggists, I'd like to give you all the opportunity to put forward your specific or specialist questions to the one and only Mufti Taqi Usmani whom we hope to meet on Sunday insha'Allah. Make all questions clear and leave them in the comments section.

- Finally, and most importantly, worrying news concerning Sheikh Safar al-Hawali's health after he lost conciousness due to a suspected haemorrhage of the brain. Currently stable in Hospital, I'm sure you'll all keep him in your du'as.

For all those interested in the development of Islamic Finance and Economics, you'll be glad to hear that the great scholar Mufti Taqi al-Uthmani will be arriving tomorrow touring the UK giving a few private sessions for debates and discussions with the 'Ulema and Tullab. There will also be a general lecture each evening in the same location for everyone to attend.

So, in summary, Mufti Saab is at the Houses of Parliament on Friday (meeting with Governmental Ministers), in Bolton Zakariya Masjid on Saturday, Batley on Sunday, Leciester on Monday and East London Mosque on Tuesday.

Make sure you guys benefit from this visit because I certainly will be!

So be there or be an inflation-hit, interest rate affected, index-linked chocolate bar no less...

I always used to think to myself why on Earth do I pay a hundred quid a year for a BBC licence when I hardly get to watch any TV.

I remembered last night though. How fantastic was "A Picture of Britain" on BBC1 last night?

http://www.bbc.co.uk/arts/apictureofbritain/

The beauty of Blighty, its best art, its best poetry and all from its best presenter, the Don Dimbleby - the perfect programme?

Islam Channel - get bidding for the repeat rights!

Nearly forgot to remind everyone that my two favourite Paks are in town (after the Reef of course) so if you're local, be there or be an aloo paratha...

If you're ever feeling down, there's only one place to go and visit - North Wales.

Not only does it have some absolutely fantastic people and such history and culture, but the country itself is stunning. In fact, I believe it to be even more beautiful than Swat back home in the NWFP. Now that's saying something.

Yesterday, not far from Llanfairfechan in a beautifully remote and rural part, whilst I was just enjoying a beautiful day...

"Anta 'Arabi??"

I looked round to see myself being addressed by an old man, 80 odd, smartly dressed, fit with a beaming smile.

"No sir. Essex boy actually!"

He burst out laughing. Now I get this kind of thing all the time, pretty much provoking people into it with my appearance (thawb and stuff) from all sorts of people all over the UK - it's usually a nice ice-breaker to kick off a conversation I find too.

But I thought this little episode was over, and I turned back round, to then suddenly hear...

"Aah...Pathan right?"

Ajeeb!

"How did you know that?!!"

And thus I got to know the remarkable genius that was Mr Ivor Wynne Jones.

What an incredible man. Stationed in Palestine after World War II with the Broadcasting services, he is a historian, an anthropologist, an academic, an author and multi-lingual too! Oh, and he knew more about the Pathan people and their history than I did. Oh Oh, he knew more about the Arabs than I did. Oh Oh Oh, he knew more about EVERYTHING than I did!

He...

- rubbished the 'theory' that the origins of the Pathans was one of the 12 tribes of Bani Isra'eel

- proved on the contrary that they were one of the original ancient peoples with a civilisation in Indo-Pak dating back to 5000 BC!

- showed that the Pathans migrated as farmers to Iraq and settled there, as well as moving on to Europe and in particular the UK, where they mixed with the Celts. These links can be clearly found these days with the Celts of Cornwall, Wales and the Manx of the Isle of Man. (!!)

- showed how the Welsh people were a hotch-potch of many many different cultures and languages, illustrating how the Welsh language had many Hebrew, Arabic and Pathan (!!) words incorporated into it! (Whereby he points to the coast to a place called Rhos-on-Sea and tells me that it refers to the main point of that coast i.e. its head i.e. the Ra's as from the Arabic!)

- blamed the "Jewish terrorists" for some of the greatest atrocities witnessed both in his time in Palestine and nowadays too, yet that Wales had many links via its original ancestors to what is today referred to as 'Israel'.

And all this in 10 minutes! By Allah, this man was an encyclopeadia. He just had so much knowledge, and then the delivery and application as well!

I know this sounds so strange, but how incredible was all that? Such a remote place, such a meeting, and such a learned man who knew about Pathans!? It freaked me out a bit to be honest.

I was just totally speechless throughout our whole exchange, still amazed at how we have such deep human beings amongst us yet we know them not. We make little effort to find them for indeed little do we care...

Sigh.

I asked him so many questions, whereas he provided quality answers for every single one, with humility and modesty. His manners were exemplary. His character just shined.

And then he was gone.

I turned to my colleagues, who were smiling at me. My dispenser said, "Aah so you've met Ivor eh? Nice isn't he?"

:-)

So that was nice alhamdulillah after a sad weekend, but just a few (rhetorical?) questions that I've been mulling over the last few days before I sign off...

1. Is it me or is Galloway's 'Masha'Allahs' and 'Alhamdulillahs' and 'Wallahis' freaking just me out?

2. Is it me or is Peter Crouch the long lost (taller) brother of Peter Beardsley?

3. Europe hates Turkey. Europe has said No. Turkey is not wanted in the EU, despite its desperate attempts. Now when on Earth did Turkey come under Europe anyway?!

4. Are hospital guest beds the worst things in the world to sleep on or are they the worst things in the world to sleep on?

5. Yo Arabs! Can we do a 'buy 2 get 1 free' for Fajr as well?

I think that should do me for a few days...

:-)