الساكت عن الحق شيطان اخرس

We at Al Thawra strongly condemn the on-going massacre of Iraqi, Lebanese and Palestinian civilians, as well as the indiscriminate destruction of their infrastructure perpetrated by the Zionist and American forces. In this time of difficulty we pray to Allah for unity in the Muslim community, justice to be done, and patience to deal with this unfolding tragedy.

This presentation shows just a small percentage of the carnage and war crimes in lebanon.

مولد الامام علي

Today is Imam Ali’s birthday [a] , the first convert to Islam. A brief biography:

Name – Ali
Title – Al-Murtaza, Al-Amir-ul-Mo’mineen, Abu-Turab, Asadullah
Kunyat – Abul Hasan

Born – Friday 13th of Rajab, in the Holy Ka’ba
Father’s Name – Abu Talib-ibne-Abdul Muttalib
Mother’s Name – Fatima bint-e-Asad

Died – at the age of 63 years, at Kufa, on Monday, the 21st Ramadan 40 AH, murdered by an assassin who mortally wounded him with a poisoned sword in the Mosque at Kufa during morning prayers on the 19th of Ramadan.
Buried – Najaf, near Kufa.

اهل البيت (Ahl al-Bayt)

‘Everything has a foundation, and the foundation of Islam is love for us, the Ahl al-Bayt (the Household).’Prophet Muhammad (pbuh)

The Ahlul Bayt, or household of the Prophet Muhammad – peace be upon him and his household [pbuh] – refers to his daughter Fatima al-Zahra, his successor and son-in-law, Imam Ali, their two sons Imam Hasan and Imam Husayn, and the nine Imams from the lineage of Imam Husayn, peace be upon them all.

The Prophet of Islam [peace upon him and his household], in the well-attested tradition called Hadith al-Thaqalayn said:

Verily, I am leaving behind two precious things (thaqalayn) among you: the Book of God and my kindred (`itrah), my household (Ahl al­Bayt), for indeed, the two will never separate until they come back to me by the Pond (of al­Kawthar on the Judgement’s Day).

Ali [a], the first Imam and successor to the prophet, said:

“…We the people of the house (of the Prophet – Ahlul bayt) possess the doors of wisdom and light of governance. Beware that the paths of religion are one and its highways are straight. He who follows them achieves (the aim) and secures (the objective). And he who stood away from it went astray and incurred repentance.” [Sermon 119]

“We are the near ones, companions, treasure holders and doors (to the Sunnah). Houses are not entered save through their doors. Whoever enters them from other than the door is called a thief.” [Sermon 153]

“Where are those who falsely and unjustly claimed that they are deeply versed in knowledge, as against us, although Allah raised us in position and kept them down, bestowed upon us knowledge but deprived them, and entered us (in the fortress of knowledge) but kept them out. With us guidance is to be sought and blindness (of misguidance) is to be changed into brightness. Surely Imams (divine leaders) will be from the Quraysh. They have been planted in this line through Hashim. It would not suit others nor would others be suitable as heads of affairs.” [Sermon 143]

[Source: Nahjul Balagha, translated by Syed Ali Raza]

“We are lights of the heavens and the earth and the ships of salvation. We are the repository of knowledge, and towards us is the home-coming of all the matters. Through our Mahdi all (false) arguments shall be refuted, and he is the seal of the Imams, the deliverer of the Ummah, and the extremity of the light. Happy are those who hold on to our handle and are brought together upon our love.

[Source: Sibt Ibn al-Jawzi, Tadhkirat al-khawass, p. 138]

Therefore, based on the above and other lines of evidence, it is the belief of Islam that the Holy Prophet and his family [peace be upon them] were blessed by Allah and purified to the level of being pure and sinless throughout their distinguished lives.

Halakhah: Jewish Law

“The difference between a Jewish soul and souls of non-Jews—all of them in all different levels—is greater and deeper than the difference between a human soul and the souls of cattle.”, Rabbi Abraham Yitzhak Kook, the first Ashkenazi chief rabbi of Palestine. 

In Omar Barghouti’s article, ‘The massacre at Qana’, he quotes a passage from the late Israeli academic and human rights advocate, Israel Shahak, who ‘traced the roots of Israeli public justification for killing Palestinians, for instance, to similar readings of the tenets of Halakhah. While the murder of a Jew is considered a capital offence in Jewish law, the murder of a Gentile is treated quite differently. “A Jew who murders a Gentile,” Shahak reveals, “is guilty only of a sin against the laws of heaven, not punishable by court.” Indirectly, but intentionally, causing the death of a Gentile is “no sin at all.”  More about Jewish Fundamentalist interpretations of Halakhah can be found here.

On Knowledge

I came across this account of a saying by the prophet ‘Isa (Jesus) [a] : ‘I saw a stone on which was written, “Turn me over”, so I turned it over. Written on the other side was “Whoever does not act by what he knows will be doomed by seeking what he does not know, and his own knowledge will be turned against him.” ‘

He who truly knows is the one in whom sound actions, pure supplications, truthfulness and precaution speak out… not his tongue, his debates, his comparisons, assertions or claims. In times other than these, those who sought knowledge were those who had intellect, piety, wisdom, modesty and caution…. nowadays we see that those who seek it do not have any of these qualities. The man of knowledge needs intellect, kindness, compassion, good counsel, forbearance, patience, contentment and generosity; while anyone wishing to learn needs a desire for knowledge, will, devotion (of his time and energy), piety, caution, memory and resolution.

‘A man who overtly criticises himself is covertly praising it.’ Imam Ali

Certain poor (in knowledge) individuals love to criticise themselves in order to seem humble and modest. Keep it up and soon there will be nothing praiseworthy left in your personality.

The Essentials of Acquiring Knowledge

This ocean will be accessible once the sharks have ended their feasting ritual.