jumuah Mubarak!!!

Asalaamu alikum wa ragmatullahi wa barakatu...

 

Peace & Blessings upon you all

 

i trust all is well and that you having a spledid week...

 

its 34degrees today... Alahu akbar!!!

 

Struggling towards your objective...

 

... an oft misunderstood term ... JIHAAD ... why? i dont know ?

that the media portrays it as only being the domain of the violent terrorists... and i know that many people, muslim and non-muslim, are not aware of its other significance ... Jihaad means ' ... to struggle' ... but i wanted to know more... why? 

 

 

TAKE NOTE: this email is not an attempt to define Jihaad... but rather to highlight that one must not judge without knowlledge ...

 

well lets begin ... i read an article on Jihaad by a learned scholar ... in which he states  " in Arabic means "to strive for some objective",

my story begins...

SATURDAY, 28th MARCH 2009,

On a clear autumn's evening the wife and i set off for the Simon's Town Naval Show... to view a display some of its best toys...  ships... submarines ... rifles... 76mm land to air rifles... big guns... big ships... big deal? right?

wrong!

 

as the sky darkened...the stars began to show itself...

as main road emptied...  the townsfolk gathered intheir hundreds ... surrounding the two 76mm aircraft assault guns stationed on the edgedof town.

Everyone was eager to be part of the annual navy festival ... which sees the NAVY shooting flares into the empty sky and then well.. they let loose setting off on a brazen attack... as if to convince us all that our milatary could fend off an attack from any invaders... for about half and hour every year the locals are treated to an awesome display of artilery barraging and battering the invisible enemy... out of nowhere ... the sky is lit up by a sea of red catupulting bullets flung in a distinct pattern one after the other towards its target... and in a second the soft quiet evening roars into life... with loud echoes of the invisible war errupting before your very eye ... and the clattering of wasted shells collecting in a heap...  DA DA DA AD ADA DA DA DADA Da DA ... AN AWESOME DISPLAY IS GREETED BY FRENZIED ONLOOKERS OBVIOUSLY GATHERED THEIR in thier hundreds...for the entertainment... wrapped up in the blankets and coats... and sipping from the pre prepared cups of cofee/ hot choclate... and picnic baskets...  in amoungst it all their i stood and all i could think of was  what the people in GAZA must of felt like for close on a month.  

 

Friday 27th,

last friday the wife and i and family all made our way to the baxter theater. We went their to support the MAdrasutun Nur's theater production, Jihaad. It was a lovely family play that appeals to both young and old.. Given the sensitive subject matter i was left in awe with the manner  in which the production team was able to it together .. and the youngsters put in comendable performances and aded to the worthy show... their were laughs.. and their were tears... but overall it was entertaining...  i believe that it was able to show that that Jihaad has to be seen in context and in its entirety ...

 

Most IMPORTANTLY THOUGH it highlighted that Jihaad is not only  ... the physical military type jihaad waged against TYRANTS AND OPPRESSORS .. but tells the story of how we have to fight an even bigger Jihaad...  Jihaad un nafs... the jihaad of the soul...  every human being has to endure ... that is choosing good over evil... doing good or commiting sin... Whatever we do as muslims ... everything in our lives has the potetnial to be a jihaad ... If we choose good purely for attaining Allah swt's Pleasure then ... we have succeeded in our personal Jihaad.

 

In essence, Jihaad, the show depicts the struggle of South Africans during the apartheid regime, and compares this with the struggle of people in Palestine...  set in the backdrop of apartheid SA and occupied palestine ... the play delves into the personal struggle that ordinary people endure ... it explores the understanding that it is the soul which drives our decisions... so we need to harness it in such a manner which will not only allow our bodies...  our minds to act accordingly... but leaves us with the understanding that if we can take control over our nafs for the Pleasure of Allah (swt)... then jannah can be your abode... inshallah. 

 

In essence the freedom struggle in South Africa was not to dissimilar to the Jihaad being fought in Palestine today... ... many people ... women and children died in the Apartheid struggle and many people continue to die in the PAlestinian fight for freedom...

 

last saturday i was made aware of what it might of sounded like during the early parts of January 2009 in GAZA ... i thought if one gun made so much noise... i shudder to think what sound the  4th largest army in the world makes...

 ... i make dua for those who have and who do live with the sound of it... i ask Allah swt to protect those people...

 

as i stood in the midst of the cool ocean breeze... i was somewhat saddenned by the thought of what our brothers and sisters had and have to endure ... but i was somewhat comforted by the following verse ...  

 

 

"Think not of those as dead who are killed in the way of Allah. Nay, they are alive, with their Lord, and they have provision." [ surah al imraan2: 169.... Allah states that even though the martyrs were killed in this life, their souls are alive and receiving provisions in the Dwelling of Everlasting Life.

 

 

May Allah guide us all on Straight Path with sincerity. Ameen!

Requesting your humble du'aas!

 

think. Ponder. Reflect.

 

PS: JIHAAD, the PLAy can still be seen ...

Venue: Baxter Theatre

Date: Saturday 4th April

Time: 8 P.M. sharp (The Baxter' will close the doors and refuse entry once the show starts, until the interval)

Tickets: R100

Contact: Zunaid a.k.a. Sparky on 073 741 1919

 

 

PS2:In Sweden there is a ski-thru McDonalds.

PS3: happy bday to Hamied, ( april fool) mobray, brother gools... all this weeek ..Peace:-)

Wii: A jiffy is an actual unit of time for 1/100th of a second. Thus the saying, "I'll be there in a jiffy".

Xbox:

A policeman pulls over a Ashiek Parker for swerving in and out of lanes on the highway. He tells AShiek to blow a breath into a breathalyzer.

"I can't do that, officer."

"Why not?"

"Because I'm an asthmatic. I could get an asthma attack if I blow into that tube."

"Okay, we'll just get a urine sample down at the station."

"Can't do that either, officer."

"Why not?"

"Because I'm a diabetic. I could get low blood sugar if I pee in a cup."

"Alright, we could get a blood sample."

"Can't do that either, officer."

"Why not?"

"Because I'm a hemophiliac. If I give blood I could die."

"Fine then, just walk this white line."

"Can't do that either, officer."

"Why not?"

"Because I'm drunk."
 

 

Peace. Love . didnt go anywhere for th ehalaal tour this week:-)