WELCOME TO ISLAM – INITIAL
CORRESPONDENCE
IN THE NAME OF ALLAH, THE BENEFICENT, THE MERCIFUL
AQ/LT/#............... Dated:
Dear Brother-in-Islam, Assalamu Alaikum Wa
It is a matter of great pleasure
to welcome you to our ever-growing Muslim community of
The Creator and the Sustainer, Allah, has been very kind to you. He opened your heart and mind to accept the truth and come into His fold. Allah, out of His infinite mercy, enabled you to follow the path of righteousness, guided you to come out of the darkness of disbelieve, frustration and uncertainties, gave you courage and conviction to embrace the Truth, Al-Islam and provided you with the opportunity to acquire an ever-lasting hope and benedictions of His mercy.
You know that by reciting the Kalimah Shahadah, with conviction at your heart ,“ Ashadu Un La Ilaha Illalahu Wahdahu La Shareeka lahu Wa Ashadu Unna Muhammadun Abduhu Wa Rasuluhu” [ I bear witness that there is no deity except Allah, Who is One (and only One)and there is no associate with Him; and I bear witness that Muhammad is His servant and His messenger ], you have become as pure and innocent as you are born today anew. This is the first and foremost blessing of Allah which you have encashed immediately after entering into Islam. Now you are starting the account of your life with a clean and an immaculate page. Now it is upto you to keep your life-sheet always clean, by committing no sin and always trying utmost to be obedient to Allah.
To keep you up-right on the path of righteousness, you are to follow Allah and His Prophet Muhammad (Peace Be Upon him), study the Qur’an and go through the life of the Prophet (PBUH). This study will tell you where lies the pleasure of Allah and how can you get it. It will tell you what Allah likes and does not like and urge you :
* to keep away from all kinds of drugs and alcohol;
* not to commit adultery and fornication;
* no more boy-friend and girl-friend business ;
* to earn only through rightful means
*. to keep your body and cloths always clean
* be nice and respectful to your parents, neighbors and others who come in contact with you
* whatever you do, act and behave, do it for the pleasure of Allah.
Now on your part, you are to spare some time and resource to acquaint yourself with the knowledge of Islam. On your positive response, we will arrange necessary reading material for your study and hold practical workshops to enable you to learn, adopt and practice about Islam in detail.
Please write to us what reading material you have and that you have already gone through. This will enable us to prepare your study schedule and arrange the reading material one after the other, in sequence of what you have.
Please contact with us, at your earliest, on our toll free # ........................................or see us in person if you are in this area, or contact our local unit at ....................................................... which is in your vicinity. You will find every one of us, Insha Allah, willing to help you in your pursuit to understand Islam and learn what your Creator demands and expects from you to do in the rest of your life.
Yours Sincerely,
.................................
IN THE NAME OF ALLAH, THE BENEFICENT, THE MERCIFUL
AQ/LT/#.II THE
COMMITMENT
After reciting Shahada and entering into the fold of Allah, you have entered into a deal with your Creator. The deal is two sided. It is binding and life-long. On your part you have accepted the authority of Allah and committed to remain life-long obedient to Him and struggle in His way. In lieu of that, Allah commits Himself to reward you paradise in the life Herafter. The Qur’an confirms this deal or bargain with Allah. It is a very clear and categorical declaration from Allah.
“ Lo! Allah has bought from the believers their lives and their wealth for gardens (paradise) which will be for them: they shall fight in the way of Allah and shall slay and be slain. It is a promise which is binding on Him in the Torah and the Gospel and the Qur’an and who fulfills his covenant better than Allah ? Rejoice then in your bargain that ye have made, for that is the supreme triumph.”
(The Qur’an 9 : 111)
This commitment with Allah is very challenging. It connotes :
1. That the authority of Allah is Supreme. He
is not only the Creator but the Sustainer, the Law giver and the Regulator of
this cosmos. His authority is indivisible and inalienable. In this universe, He is the sole monarch. He
has no partner and
none associates with Him. He exists by Himself. He was before
when there was nothing and He will be there when there will be nothing. Making partner with Him,
either in His person on in His attributes is the
greatest unpardonable sin. The very Kalimah which you recited “La
Ilaha Ilallah”, through which you entered into this deal, denies all the authorities, whether it is a human being, a monarch or a parliament,
or the manifestation of nature and exhorts to accept only the authority of
Allah.
2. That after reciting Shahadah, becoming a Muslim, entering into His fold, you have made a covenant with Allah that now onward nothing belongs to you. You have surrendered everything - your life, your time, your talents and your resources- to your Lord. You are to use the way He ordains and not the way you decide or like. Now you are to struggle for the whole of your life in His way for the establishment of His authority on earth with all that you possess. If you succeed in this bargain, the paradise is in waiting for you in the life Hereafter. This is the promise made by Allah in all the Scriptures and that is the best guarantee and the greatest success.
3. That this commitment is total and binding for all time to come. This is not a temporary phase of life or something casual, or for the time being only. His obedience will be in every walk of life. The entire spectrum of your life whether it is social, cultural, economic, or political are to be governed by His laws and commands. If any portion or a part of life is not bringforth under His obedience or authority, the obedience will not be complete and incomplete obedience in not acceptable to Allah. It is a kind of denial of His authority. Partial obedience is no obedience at all. It is simply a mockery of obedience and tantamount to hypocrisy which Allah abhors. He demands : “Enter into His Deen, Al-Islam in its totality and don’t follow the foot steps of the devil. The devil is your open enemy” (Al-Baqrah : 208). This verse of the Qur’an connotes that the partial acceptance of the authority of Allah is a way of devil and so you have to protect yourself form the devil’s path.
4. Allah has prescribed what is permitted in life and what is prohibited thereto. What can you eat, dress or do and what you cannot, all have been spelled out in detail. The entire program of “do’s and don’ts” has been laid down by Allah both in individual and collective life. You are committed to live accordingly. For every walk of life, there are set principles to follow. The list of Haram (what is prohibited) and the list of Halal (what is permissible) have been prescribed in detail and a Muslim is to abide by it.
5. For the whole of your life, you are to seek the pleasure of Allah. Whenever you resolve to do something, you have to see whether it will please your Allah or not. If you find that it will please Him and is within His permissible list, do it, even if the entire world cry against it. You will do it only to get His pleurae. But if you find that it is not permitted by Allah or it is in the prohibited list, don’t do it, even if the entire world advocates for it. You are to live and die for the pleasure of Allah. Your life is now to be the model of this Verse : “Say: Lo! My worship and my sacrifice and my living and my dying are for Allah, Lord of the worlds” (The Qur’an 6 : 162). This is the criterion of a Muslim’s existence on this earth. Wherever he or she is and whatever he or she does, his or her only objective will always be to attain the pleurae of Allah.
6. Similarly, this commitment knows no compromise. Islam does not permit its followers to reconcile with the evil forces and give up the grounds in seeking favors from the secular systems. It expects that its adherents will stand by it under all circumstances, irrespective of the fact whether it is odd or indifferent. Making compromises is against the spirit of Islam. Many opportune moments came in the life of Prophet Muhammad (S) to compromise with idolaters of Makkah, but he rejected them outright. Living in the midst of a liberal society, it is always enticing to make compromises and earn some favor here and there in life. In that case, Allah’s Deen cannot be either practiced or establish in its totality. Compromises will lead us no where.
7. This commitment becomes a challenge to the society where a Muslim lives and struggles for his or her Deen.. At every step, a Muslim feels that the system in which he is living is not compatible with the believes and convictions that he or she holds, practices and advocates. He/she feels that there is no choice except to make serious efforts to change the society and when you struggle for a change in the system, you will encounter with stiff opposition from the evil forces. That will bring your Iman to the real test. If you stand erect and bear the onslaughts of the batill, you will get the best rewards from Allah, But if you run away, you will be the looser in both the world. May Allah save all of us from that state.
These are the logical demands of your commitment to Allah. You are to think over them and see what can you do for the protection and promotion of your Iman . If you undertake to meet its demands, as briefly discussed above, and cope with the challenges, you are to polish it, strengthen its foundation and involve yourself in a continuous struggle to acquire the knowledge of Islam in-depth, become its model in every walk of life and struggle for the establishment of the authority of Allah and His Deen on this earth in a continuous process till you succeed in your efforts or give up your life in that pursuit. That is the success which is in waiting for you - a contented and balanced life on earth and an eternal bliss in the life after death in the form of paradise. This is what you Iman demands and you are to fulfill it , come what may.
May Allah bless you and enable you to meet the challenges to your Iman with courage, fortitude and the Azimah (determination) of a Mumin. Our best wishes are for you. Please write to us if any point is not clear. Please call on us and we will elaborate your quarries with pleasure. The next paper will follow soon. It will deal with the components of Iman and a brief discription of each. Please keep contact with us on phone or in writing. Our best services to develop the understanding of Allah’s Deen are for you.
Sincerely Your Brother-in Deen,
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IN THE NAME OF ALLAH,
THE BENEFICENT, THE MERCIFUL
AQ/LT./ #-III
WHAT IMAN YOU PROFESS
After entering into the fold of Allah and becoming Muslim, it is your believe and conviction that :
* Allah is not only the Creator but Sustainer, Law Giver and the Regulator of this cosmos;
* He created man and from man the woman. Allah made the men/women His vicegerents on earth. He endowed him and her with three strong urges and a free will;
* He created this universe and what it contains for humans and harness them to be at the service of human beings. Humans are free to use them at their discretion in the way they like to meet their urges. In fact the human life on earth. It is a test from the Creator. Allah wants to ascertain that who are those men and women who follow His authority and use this universe and its objects in the way He ordains and that who those who deny His authority and use this world and its objects the way you and me like in our own way. This predominant test makes every individual human being accountable to his or her Creator. To axamine these facts, He has fixed a date of resurrection or a day of Judgment when everybody’s account will be presented before Him and all will be rewarded or punished according to his or her actions and deeds on earth;
* To enable men and women to lead a life of righteousness and follow the way of life He likes or ordains for human being. Allah committed Himself to send guidance through His appointed messengers. The guidance started coming to man right from the first man, Adam and continued till it was lastly revealed to the last Messenger, Prophet Muhammad (PBUH). Thus Allah maintained both the continuity of the Guidance and the continuity of prophethood. The messages delivered to mankind are called the Scriptures, Al-kitab.
* For managing the affairs of this cosmos or His kingdom, Allah has created countless invisible workers to carry out His directives day in and day out. They are called Malaikah or angles. They are the most obedient servants Or the agents of Allah.
* So whatever good or bad is coming to this earth or to the human society or to individual men and women, all come from Allah and it is pre-determined by Him. Men and women create their own destiny through their own free will but with what results, it is known to Allah and what comes out is his or her destiny.
This scenario presents the following believes in nutshell.
1. There is a Supreme Allah, the Creator and Sustainer;
2. Allah appointed innumerable Messengers from amongst the human beings on earth to deliver His message to mankind and serve as its model;
3. The message contains in the Scriptures which are revealed through His appointed messengers;
4. His messages and directives are delivered and carried out throughout His domain by His angles;
5. There is an appointed day of Judgment for accountability, reward or punishment. That day of resurrection is known to Allah alone.
6. All, whether good or bad , happenings in this world come from Allah. That is called the destiny of the animate and inanimate objects .
This whole bunch of believes are called Aqqeedah. The entire life of a Muslim rotates on these believes and convictions. They are also termed as Iman Mufassal (believes in detail). These beliefs have many implications and go a long way to motivate a Muslim or a Muslimah to do everything for the pleasure of Allah before Whom one day they will be accountable. I will, Insha Allah, discuss each part of the Iman in detail in subsequent correspondence with you. Meanwhile, let us summarize the contents of the Kalimah you recite often and on and put the Imaniyat (believes)in nutshell for your better understanding and getting them memorized by heart at ease.
The Kalimah which you recited for entering Imo Islam is called Kalimah Shahadah which is ad follows:
“ASHADU UN LA ILAHA ILLALLAH WAHDAHU LA SHARIKA LAH WA ASHADU
It means : I stand witness that none but Allah is worthy of worship; He is One and He has no associate with Him and Muhammad is His servant and messenger. It is also called the second Kalimah.
The first Kalimah is called Kalimah Tayyeba. It is as follows:
“ LA ILAHA ILLALLAH MUHAMMADUN RASULULLAH’
It means: There is no deity except Allah and Muhammad is the messenger of Allah.
Before I give the details of the Iman Mufassal, as mentioned above, it is essential, I must describe Iman Mujmal (Iman in brief). This Iman in brief is as follows:
“AMANTU BILLAHE
It means : I affirm my faith in Allah as He is with all His names and attributes and I accept all of His commands.
The details of Iman Mufassal are as follows:
“ A’MANTU BILLAHE WA MALAEKATEHI WA KUTUBIHI WA RUDULIHI WAL YAUMIL
AKHIR WALQADRI KHAIIHI WA SHARRIHI MINALLAHE TA’ALA WAL BA’THI BADAL MAUT “
It means : I believe in Allah, in His Angles, His Scriptures, His Messengers , the Day of Judgment and that everything good and bad (in the world) is predestined by Allah the Exalted, and ( I believe) in resurrection after death.
This is the description of Iman ina capsule. Every item of Iman needs further detail description and as
well as illustration. That I will, Insha Allah, discuss in the next letter. Meanwhile, you are requested to memorize the following by heart in the order as noted below along with its with Arabic text.
1. Kalimah Tayyeba - the first Kalimah;
2. Kalimah Shahadah; - the Second Kalimah
3. Iman Mujmal - Iman in brief
4. Iman Mufassal - Iman in detail
May Allah bless you and give you good health and strong Iman to keep you on the right track Please call on us or write to us , if something is not clear to you. May Allah make the understanding of Islam and its practicing easy for you.
With kindest regards and best wishes and prayers.
Sincerely Your Brother-in-Deen,
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IN THE NAME OF ALLAH, THE BENEFICENT, THE MERCIFUL
From: Shamim A Siddiqi Dated 11-2-96
To : The Committee to Investigate about the Allegations against the Amir of ICNA
Respected Members of the Committee, Assalamu Alaikum Wa
With due respect, I would like to state that the procedure adopted by the Committee to ascertain the allegations is not Islamically correct. In this connection, the following points may be considered to get the situation corrected.
1. Islamically, the responsibility to prove the allegations lies with the brothers who have hurled them on the Amir. They should have substantiated their alleged charges with documentary proof/evidence or witnesses in support of their allegations. If they could not do the either one, their allegations would have been discharged right at the spot and the Amir would have been exonerated. The traditions/directives of Prophet Muhammad (S) are very clear in this respect and the judicial history of Islam is full of instances which will support my contention. The learned Chairman and other scholars who constitute the Committee know them well.
Reference : Chapter
* Hadith # 3583 : Narrated by Ibne Abbas ®, Rasulullah (S) said, “ It is for the plaintiff (who alleges) to
prove and only woth (Qasam) is for who denies the allegations/claims”
Baihaqi also narrated this Hadith with Saheeh Asnad. [Muttafequn Alaih]
* Hadith # 3594 : Narrated by Amru bin Shuaib (R). He narrates from his grandfather that Rasulullah
(S) said, “ Providing witness (in proof) is the responsibility of the plaintiff (muddai)
and only Qasam (woth) is on the defendant” [Rawahu Tirmizi]
Against the aforesaid established Islamic procedure/recommendations and express provisions, the Committee has asked the Amir to prove his innocence. What a travesty of fact it is! Here, the accused has been asked to clear his position whereas the accusers have been set free for the reasons known to Allah alone. Therefore, the demand of the Committee from Br. Abdul Malik Mujahid to prove his innocence, prior to establishing the allegations by the brothers who have raised them, is not correct.. Now it is upto the Committee to resolve this anomalous situation.
2. Further, the procedure as laid down in the Shariah has not been followed by the brothers who have raised the allegations against the Amir. The procedure of redress is as follows:
i. It (the allegations) should first have been discussed with the brother concern ( The Amir in this case).
ii. If the grievances still remain, after discussion with the brother concern, then the brothers who have raised these allegations should have brought them before the Shoora.
iii. If the Shoora would have failed to resolve the allegations, then it should be brought to the general body.
Without adopting this procedure, the brothers have committed a grave mistake by circulating the allegations all around and, thus, caused substantial damage to the cause of Iqamatuddin in this country. If anyone of them has resorted to the methods and the process stated above, he should have mentioned it in his circular letter. But the letters are silent in this respect. I pray to Allah for their forgiveness and request the Committee to take serious notice of this procedural short-coming on the part of the members of the General Assembly
3. I have minutely studied the charges against the respective brothers and their counter-allegations against the Amir and have come to the conclusion that they are simply based on some misgivings, misinformation, misunderstanding, misinterpretation of the Charter and By-laws of ICNA, lack of communication, the tyranny of the procedural lapses or the tragedy of short memory which is common to all human beings.
In view of what I have stated above, I urge upon the learned members of the Committee :
* to absolve the Amir from the so-called counter-allegations hurled against him, on his person and the position which he is holding, if they cannot be proved otherwise;
* to ask the brothers who are involved in this crusade and character assassination of another brother to repent to Allah (SWT) for the lapses on their part and recommend to the Amir and Majlis Als-Shoorah to pardon them and restore their membership of the General Assembly;
* to recommend, simultaneously, an automatic procedure/process towards improvement or elimination of indolent and inactive members of the General Assembly by suggesting a minimum standard of expectations from each (MGA). This will set the procedure for the Movement to go ahead with the best human material and dump aside what is short of even the minimum standard. This is essential to enable ICNA to play its effective role in getting the Deen of Allah dominant/established in this society.
I pray to Allah to enable all of you to reach to an unanimous decision which is full of Khair for the Islamic Movement of America and for the betterment of the Muslim Ummah as a whole.
With best wishes and Du’a;
Yours Sincerely,
Shamim A Siddiqi
Member General Assembly , ICNA