FINGER LICKING GOOD

ﺍﻠﺴﻼﻢ ﻋﻠﻴﻛﻢ ﻮ ﺮﺣﻤﺔ ﺍﷲ ﻮ ﺒﺮ ﻛﺎ ﺘﻪ

ASsalaamu Alikum.. wa rag matullah hi wa barakatu...

PEACE & Blessings upon you all...

my brothers and sisters... I Love u all.. for the sake of Allah (SWT)... i said it... get over it... live with it...

but i am not shy to say that i do really love u all... for the sake of Allah... and on this Mubarak of days... i greet with a coffee in my hand and a smile on me face... JUMUah Mubarak!!!

FINGER LICKING GOOD...

LAST WEEK ... FRIDAY ... i sucummed to the most basic of human conditions... hunger... or is it uitgeVreetness... i don't know but when i drove passed the local KFC establishment... i could not resit... STREETWISE 2... boi was it finger licking GREAT!!!!

a few years ago i would not even contemplate KFC... their were invites... and try as JABBA did... he could not convert me... i refused to BUj ( or is budge:-)..hehe..lol) ... "No" i would say ... "Nandos is better.."... and it is ... but the moral i take out of this little realisation is that such is life.... we ebb and we flow... and hearts do change...

We are on the brink of yet another Ramadaan... ALLah Hu AKbar!!!... and their is not a better month to witness the potential of humans to change... to better themselves... to GROW... the Ulumma will undoubtedly remind us that ... "Ramadaan is a training ground" ... " a month in which we can build our emaan to a level that will sustain us for the other 11 months" ... and that is true... the barakah of this month is SOOOO great... that my mind boggles at the very thought of it...

So my brothers and sisters... DO all that you can and more... take the opportunities, and run with it...

FOr ALLAh SWT is ALL wise and Most MERciful...

Abdullah Al-Ansari (ra) said: The Messenger of Allah(saw) came out to us one day and he (saw)said: "Indeed I saw in my dream that Jibreel was (sitting at) my head and Mika-eel was (sitting at) my feet. One of them said to the other: 'Make for him(saw) a parable (of this).' So he (the angel) said:'Listen attentively and allow your heart to understand. Your (Muhammad(saw)) parable/similitude is like the similitude of your Ummah. (It is) like the similitude of a King who has taken for him an Abode. Then, in it(the abode) he builds a House. Then, in it(the house) he prepares a Banquet. Then, he sends out a Messenger to invite the people to the food of it(the banquet). So, amongst them are those who will respond (to the invitation) and amongst them are those who will not respond. So, Allah – He(swt) is the King. And the Abode is Islam. And the House is Jannah. And you, O Muhammad are the Messenger. Whoever responds to you (saw) will enter Islam. And whoever enters Islam, enters Jannah. And whoever enters Jannah, eats of that which is in it' - Tirmithi Vol.8 Hadith.3020

Think.ponder. Respond ...

PS: The MSA of the Cape will be having their annual ramadaan box... packing ... all who wants to be part of this venture and share int he barakah and reward... can contact me... u got me email... details will follow in due course... but we probably gonna pack next Saturday, iA... watch this space!

PS2: Today is Friday, Aug. 29, the 242nd day of 2008. There are 124 days left in the year... and the weather in KLERKSdorp is..well... ask nabz:-)!

PS3: There is no chin under Chuck Norris' (aka'hazrat' AAshiq's) beard. There is only another fist.

Xbox: I will be taking a leave of absence during ramadaan and will not be sending out emails.. coz well im running out of quality jokes to tell u ..heheh ... and u guys can find something else to do with your time... but I'll be back... the following months..

Wii: So last week i discovered a new trick... BCC... or rather a blank CC... quite kool.. and this week i discovered the spell check!!!

Peace. Love... and the return of the Falooda making extravaganza!!!

PSP: ... WARNING: NO LAWYERS WERE HURT DURING THE MAKING OF THIS EMAIL... hehehe:-)

A lawyer ... lets call him DArra... runs a stop sign and gets pulled over by the Metro police... He thinks that he is smarter than the traffic because he is sure that he has a better education. He decides to prove this to himself and have some fun at the deputies expense... Speed Cop says, "License and registration, please." Darra says, "What for?" Spiet cop says, "You didn't come to a complete stop at the stop sign " DArra says, "I slowed down, and no one was coming." Spiet Cop says, "You still didn't come to a complete stop. License and registration, please." Darra says, "What's the difference?" Speed cop says, "The difference is, you have to come to a complete stop,that's the law. License and registration, please!" Darra says, "If you can show me the legal difference between slow down and stop, I'll give you my license and registration and you give me the ticket, if not you let me go and no ticket." Speed cop says, "Exit your vehicle, sir." DArra gets out of his GTi and at this point, the Cop takes out his nightstick and starts beating the ever-loving crap out of himand says: "Do you want me to stop or just slow down?" Enjoy your week end... and remember the ummah in your duas...

SILENT NIGHT, HOLY NIGHT, LAYLATUL BARAA

PEACE and Blessings upon you all...

i trust that all is well and everyone is excited as i am for yet another friday... and as Boeta Jameel says every friday moring on VOC FM... TGIF... thank goodness its friday...

Every now and then a day comes along that changes your life... a BIG day... one that leaves you with a feeling of WOW! ... take BIRTH for instance... that was a pretty big day... in fact some would say its the day of days... matric was big... graduation ... weddings ( i'll tell u in December how big a day this was ...iA ... hehehe) ... all these days are huge... people love birthdays... cakes, presents.. fancy clothes... and its always a good excuse for a braai... So we have many days that stand out as being BIG... days which see us making an extra effort to enjoy and we work hard to extract the goodness out of them...

A few weeks ago i had a BIG day... my Little red monster of a TAZZ turned 100 000km old... and not a problem was had... ( ok there was a time when it was going through oil like hameed goes threw a bottle of All gold Tomato sauce:-).... but we all err... and we recover, and get on with life...) a BIG day indeed ...some scoffed at the idea... and some people laughed as they ran faster than my car up UCT hill...:-) but none of that matters... adventures where had and life certainly is more fun in a TAZZ ...

so last saturday as i prepared for GRoOT AAND... BIG NIGHT...Laylatul BAraa... i got all excited as i knew the masjid was gonna be full... it always is... people flock tothe masjids... Alhumduliilah... the energy and buzz generated on evenings such as these are just awesome... and it always leaves one with a tingling sensation... and the smell of that uncles samoosa oilie at habibia...

an auspicious occasion...

SILENT NIGHT, HOLY NIGHT.... ALL THINGS BRIGHT... blah blah blah...

but i know that it will be shortlived... becuase the very next day the saffs wont be complete.. and the masjid will not be as full ... and then im left with a feeling of ..' where's every body go?" and i then think to myself...mmaybe... they went to another masjid... benefitt of the doubt...perhaps?

maybe thats why i get so excited for Jumuahs... coz everybody goes to masjid... and even if its a squeeze i really do feel comforted ... and i have to ask a question... where does everybody go?

as BIG as these auspicious nights are... and they are... i am of the belief that ... everyday and every night has the potential to be BIG... its what we make of it... and especially the final third of the evening... its HUGE... infact it is said ALlah SWT... decends and is in search of those engaged in his remembrence... thikrullah... and for the love of me i cannot rememeber the verse/ hadith which explains its HUGENESS ( perhaps someone can email it to me) ... but what i do know is that the reward for engaging in thikr/ Tahujudd salaah... at that time of the evening is so huge... that we dont have to wait for a special occasion ... for in the silence of every night... GReat reward awaits... great satisfaction can be had... Allah hu akbar!!!

May allah SWT make us of those who have the courage to draw closer to Him... everyday... Ameen.

i leave u with hadith i did manage to find...its from An-Nawawi's 40 Hadiths

Hadeeth 42 : The Expanse of the Forgiveness of Allaah The Most High

On the authority of Anas (radiAllaahu anhu) who said : I heard the Messenger of Allaah (sallAllaahu alayhi wa sallam) say :

Allaah the Almighty has said : O Son of Aadam, as long as you invoke Me and ask of Me, I shall forgive you for what you have done, and I shall not mind. O Son of Aadam, were your sins to reach the clouds of the sky and you then asked forgiveness from Me, I would forgive you. O Son of Aadam, were you to come to Me with sins nearly as great as the Earth, and were you then to face Me, ascribing no partner to Me, I would bring you forgiveness nearly as great as it [too].

It was related by at-Tirmidhee, who said that it was a Hasan hadeeth.

Explanation of Hadeeth Number 42...

In this hadeeth are immense good tidings, clemency and great generosity, and what cannot be enumerated of the types of Grace and Beneficence, Compassion and Mercy and what demands Gratitude. And similar to it is his (sallAllaahu alayhi wa sallam) statement: "Allaah is more Joyous by the repentance of His slave, than the joy of one of you when he finds his lost camel [in the desert]"... read more...follow the link http://www.islaam.net/main/display.php?id=204&category=24

Think. ponder... and lets wake up, iA.

PS: i LOVE u

PS2: IF i have said anything hurtful or incorectly please forgive me.. and if i have said anything beneficial...then it certainly comes from Allah SWT... and may he Guide us all.

Ps3: Before toilet paper was invented, French royalty wiped their bottoms with fine linen... toilet humour:-)

PSP: Did u know that the Mozambiqan currency, The metical was derived from Mitiqal, an arabic unit of measurement...

Xbox: Today is Friday, Aug. 22, the 235th day of 2008. There are 131 days left in the year... and in 1926 Gold was discovered in Joburg

Wii:

LAUgh a little...

Three Doctors are dicussing which types of patients they prefer. Doctor Osman says, ''I prefer librarians. All their organs are alphabetized.''
Doctor Bapoo says, ''I prefer mathematicians. All their organs are numbered.''
Doctor Arieff says, ''I prefer lawyers. They are gutless, heartless, brainless, spineless, and their heads and rear ends are interchangeable... hehehe:-)

Peace.love. and a bowl of cubed fresh and chilled PAW pAW with vanilla yoghurt dribbled over..mmh:-)

A SOOFIE THIKR

PEACE... Blessings... and the Remebrence of Allah SWT...

ﺍﻠﺴﻼ ﻢ ﻋﻠﻴﻛﻢ ﻮ ﺮﺣﻤﺔ ﺍﷲ ﻮ ﺒﺮ ﻛﺎ ﺘﻪ

On this GRRRR8 day of Jumuah .... I greet you with a smile... just picture all ten of my pearly whites staring you down... yes i am content this morning ... i had my All bran flakes... 2cups of tea... but i suppose it has something to do with me ... having spent the early part of last nite ( or this morning depending how u look at it) in a thikr... not just any thikr... a soofie thikr... it was surreal... but the energy which resonated from tthe room was pupable... ( this weeks BIG word.. meaning... obvious... apparent... at least thats what the Thesaurus says...

i must say i have never participated in or ever witnessed a thikr quite like that... i've seen it on the tele...but never live... and in 'surround sound' .... the brethren holding hands... swing arms ... forming one big circle... and every so often a different fella would enter the circle and rally the troops with their own individual 'dance' ... i suppoise they have their own brand of attaining closeness to ALlah Swt... right or wrong... i dont know... the whole thing was a bit foreign to me... and i must admit i was a bit nervous/ apprehensive... probably becuase i didnt understand where this form of thikr originates from... personally i try not to just follow for the sake of following... and i am pretty sure their were others like me there... i was told " pop around"... " we having a quraan khatim..." and "some thikrallah..."

being a glut for thikr ... i went... they started with some arawaag... then surah faatigah... follwed by surah yaseen... some more quraan ... BEuatifull!!! and then all of a sudden... every body stood up... made a circle and the rest is well ... read on...

withthe lights switched off... i stood back and watched ... with the intetnion of asking their ' leader' where this originates from... about 20 minutes into the thikr... the reinforcements arrived... with tamborines and all... so i stood back .. and watched ... and all of the sudden they started to jump and the intensity grew...and the rythm and pace sped up to the tune of "Allah hu.. Allah hu... Allah hu... "

lots of thoughts were flyingthrew my mind... and having just attended and been part of the Reviving the Islamic Conference... i was stunned ... lost for words... but soon realised and kept telling myself... that everybody has their own way to attain a closeness to Allah...

I then i thought a bit more... what does it mean to Revive the Islamic Spirit... Our conference has received some good responses ... loads of people have emailed that they really enjoyed it... Do we pat ourselves on the back ... and say "well done" ... i think not. One can never rest on our laurels...and does attending a conference or a thikr automatically revive the Islamic Spirit?

In my humbble understanding of Islam... i cannot think so... Islam is not theoritical... or tobe lived behind closed doors... but rather ... it is a practical religion... a way of life... that has to be lived and seen to be lived.. not by others... but we have to understand that living this dean... is about Pleasing no1 else other than OUR RABB... What does REvivng the Islamic spirit mean?

i dont know... but as one of the guest lecturers mentioned at the conference... " we must take what we have learnt... and understand it... but more so we must implement it into our Lives..." ..perhaps then... attending such gatherings and thikrs is a start...but we have responsibility to sustain it in which ever way we choose.

having said that... i have a sneaky suspicion that Islamic spirituality has something to do with gaining a better understanding and respect for the following ... Allah hu Akbar... allah hu Akbar... Laa illah ha illal aa muhumad dur rasoolulah... and once we do that... then perhaps... All ah hu alim... then perhaps... we can sustain our Islamic spirit beyond the masjids... conferences and thikrs... MAy Allah SWT.. Guide us All to HIs path, Ameen!

i leave you witht his Hadith...

Hadeeth 36 : The Virtue of Gathering for the Recitation of The Qur'aan, and for the Remembrance of Allaah

On the authority of Abu Hurairah (radiAllaahu anhu) that the Prophet (sallAllaahu alayhi wa sallam) said :

Whoever removes a worldly grief from a believer, Allaah will remove from him one of the griefs of the Day of Resurrection. And whoever alleviates the need of a needy person, Allaah will alleviate his needs in this world and the Hereafter. Whoever shields [or hides the misdeeds of] a Muslim, Allaah will shield him in this world and the Hereafter. And Allaah will aid His Slave so long as he aids his brother. And whoever follows a path to seek knowledge therein, Allaah will make easy for him a path to Paradise. No people gather together in one of the Houses of Allaah, reciting the Book of Allaah and studying it among themselves, except that Sakeenah (Tranquility) descends upon them, and Mercy envelops them, and the angels surround them, and Allaah mentions them amongst those who are with Him. And whoever is slowed down by his actions, will not be hastened forward by his lineage.

It was related by Muslim in these words. for an expantion of this hadeeth... follow this link...
http://www.islaam.net/main/display.php?id=210&category=24...

Think. ponder. reACT...

"... Verily in the Remembrence of Allah, Do hearts find content." [quraan 13:28]

Peace. Love. and that smaaklike chicken & steak from the Country manor people ... mmh:p.. welll done Murgy!!!

PS: By now u must be thinking... what happen to all the colour... well im giving u a glimpse into a world without colour... Know Islam. Know Life ... NO ISLAM. NO LIFE... quite simple... colour being metophorical for ISLAM.

PS2: Joke of the week...

So NABZ and Shafeeqa... ( 50yrs into the future, Inshallah)... were in a romantic mood. While sitting on their loveseat, the Shafeeqa looked at nABZ and said, "I remember when you used to kiss me every chance you had." Nabz feeling a bit obliged leaned over and gave her a peck on the cheek. Then she said, "I also remember when you used to hold my hand at every opportunity."

NABZ again feeling obligated reached over and gently placed his hand on hers. The elderly woman then stated, " I also remember when you used to nibble on my neck and send chills down my spine." This time NABZ had a blank stare on his face and started to get up off the couch. As he began to walk out of the livingroom Shafeeqa asked him, "Was it something I said? , where are you going?" HE looked at her and replied, " I'm going in the other room ... to get my teeth!...heheheheh... lol...

PS3: no teeth were lost in the making of this email... heheehe

PsP: Invitation to Workshop Hosted by MSA of the Cape

Topic : Al-Masjid Al-Aqsa

Presented by Dr. Raid Fathi

Dr. Raid Fathi holds a PhD in Islamic Jerusalem Studies from the University of Aberdeen. He was head of the Islamic Council of Fatwa from 2001 to 2003. He often gives lectures at Masjid-Al-Aqsa to congregations of more than 7000 people.

What you will get from this workshop:

• An accurate synopsis of the history of Palestine.
• Your questions answered about the Al-Quds, and the Palestinian-Israeli conflict, by an expert in the field.
• A clear understanding of the Palestinian crisis and the ongoing Zionist threat to Musjid-Al-Aqsa
• A deep understanding of the centrality of Al-Quds to the state of the Ummah.
• A framework for a workable plan of action to support our brothers and sisters in the Occupied Territories.

When: Saturday 23rd August 2008
Where: Musjidul-Quds Auditorium, Gatesville
Time: 11:00am – 4:00pm
Cost: FREE

Seats are limited - Booking Essential

To reserve your seat, forward your name and contact number to MSA of the Cape:

sms: 082 5566044
e-mail: info@msacape.org

Xbox: If i have said anything wrong/ incorrect/ offensive then i ask your forgveness... and if i have said anything benficial then surely that comes from Allah SWt... and May Allah SWT Guide and protect us all.

JOURNEY TO THE CENTER OF THE WORLD

Asalaaamu alikum Waragmatullah hi wa barakaatu

i tust that youare all well?

JOURNEY TO THE CENTER OF THE WORLD... ( OR SO IT SEEMED;-)

So last w/e we set off on a journey... to Klerksdorp... a frend decided to get married to a girl from there... so we decided to make a holiday of it...

interesting place klerksdorp... NOT!!!... nothing much to write home about but... the people made us feel welcome and we indulged in sum of the local dishes... mielie pap en tamatie sous... with wors.... interesting, indeed. Klerksdorp itself is a small town... it got all the basics... we being the people that we are, are always in search of hallaal food... go figure... and that was an adventure on its own... and henceforth the halaal tour 2008 took in the sites in and around the dorp... KFC- not halaal. Nandos- not halaal... they said they were... but i didnt see no certificate!!!

and then like an oasis in the desert... we stumble accross this heavenly place... called Chicken Licken... halaal nogal... and so we feasted our fancies upon the wide selection on offer... chicken wings with hot source...mmmp:-P

the thing i like about travelling... is that it opens your eyes to a different world... and any journey has the potential to provide inspiration to the wandering individual...

like with all journeys when it ends u take time to reflect... and take in your experience... Life is a journey... they say... enjoy the ride... they say... so thats what we did.

the striking thing about any community is the fact that we all have our peculiarities... take the following for example on saturday evening at the wedding one person in our travelling troop made conversation with a local... we wanted a braai grid... coz well we wanted to braai the ribs that Br Hayder had with him... they said that they would bring us the grid and so we invited them over to enjoy the braai with us... [ 2hours later] ... they show... up what follows is almost a summarised yet verbatum conversation:

Klerksdorp localz: " Slmz" [ walking around our room and introducing themselves]

US: "ws"

KL: [ now settled ..their leader remarks...] " your'll smoke weed?"

US: with disillusionment written on our faces... we say "no"

[ the conversation continues...and the atmosphere tenses up... but soon we realise we aint getting any grid... ]

Kl: "O so you guys really wanted to braai?"

US: Yes... [ DURR a tinge of sadness in our eyes... :-(]

the end.

Moral of the story: Always make sure that when u say u need a braai grid... u mean a braai Grid!!!

they were nice guys.. they wanted to make us feel welcome in their town... what the above tells me is that in life .. many obstacles and temptations will come our way... the question is how are we going to respond???

So this week i leanrt alot... and i was reminded of this verse in the Quraan: " Have they not travelled through the earth and seen what was the end of those who were before them? And verily, the home of the Hereafter is the best for those who fear Allah and obey Him (by abstaining from sins and evil deeds, and by performing righteous good deeds). Do you not then understand? "[ 13:109] - i dont have the tafsir for this ayah.. so go look it up.. im sure your'll find the meaning to be meaning ful...

So this weeks Lesson 1: ---- So indeed we may journey near and far... we may be far away from home... but we will do well to rememebr that our Rabb will not fosake us... unless we forget HIm... and Allah SWt tells us that He is Most Merciful... So lets be steadfast in our salaah... home and away, Inshallah.

Lesson 2: -- as no doubt many masjids celebrated the laylatul meeraj... we were once again reminded that salaah is our salvation... our direct line to Allah Swt... our break from our daily lives... our oppertunity to draw closer to Allah swt...

So no matter were we journey to on this BIG EARTH ... know that Allah SWT is with us... The Prophet SAW was reported to have said " the earth is my masjid" [DAwud] ... so we got no excuse not to ...

i leave you withthis Hadith...

Mujahid (ra) narrated that Ibn Umr (ra) said that the Messenger of Allah(saw) took hold of me by a part of my body and said:"Be in the Dunya like a stranger, or a traveler passing through. And consider yourself amongst the people of the graves." So Ibn Umr (ra) said to me (Mujahid(ra)): 'When you wake up, do not speak of yourself at night, and when you sleep, then do not speak of yourself in the morning. And take from your health before you become sick and from your life before your death. O slave o Allah, indeed you do not know what your name will be tomorrow '

Tirmithi Vol.7:Hadith 2435

Explanation:

And consider yourself amongst the people of the graves. – meaning remember death often. And consider this as your ultimate destination so that you will not attach yourself completely to this Dunya and its beauties.

When you wake up, do not speak of yourself at night, and when you sleep, then do not speak of yourself in the morning. – meaning speak not of yourself as if you know that will live to see the night / the next morning. Allah can take your soul at anytime and in any place, at your appointed time.

O slave o Allah, indeed you do not know what your name will be tomorrow ' – meaning that tomorrow you might no longer be alive and your name will be only a memory to those you leave behind in this Dunya.

Think. ponder. reflect.

PS: " the Salaah is the meeeraj of the believer"

PS2: register for the Reviving the islamic spirit conference... www.msacape.org ... last few seats available...

PS3: u wanna smoke some weed:-)

Wii: Qiyaamul layl Programme this saturday... 9pm... Taronga rd Masjid... Moulana Muath is our guest ... all welcome.

Xbox: Dragonflies are the fastest flying insect. A Dragonfly can move up to 35 mph

PSP: A cow, an ant and an idiot...

A cow, an ant and a idiot are debating on who is the greatest of the three of them.
Cow: I give 50 litres of milk every day and that's why I am the greatest!!
Ant : I work day and night, summer and winter, I can carry 52 times my own weight and that's why I am the greatest!
It's your turn now--- Say something.........lol..hehehehe:-) !!!

Peace. Llove... chicken wings...!!!