About this blog

In recent times a plethora of misconceptions, misrepresentation and myths have been forged about Islam
and Muslims. Many western influentials from politicians, policymakers to judges have taken it upon
themselves to undermine the Islamic beliefs, values and rules so to make it palatable to their
egotistic minds and the secular liberal thoughts.

This blog is dedicated:-

1. To argue the point for Islam in its belief and systems and to refute the misconceptions.
2. To expose the weakness and contradictions of all forms of secularism.

12 Mar 2010

Life Without The Head Of Our Family

Every family at some point in their lives will have a person who leads it indeed my father, Haji Zomir Uddin (May Allah [swt] forgive him) was that figurehead until he passed away in 2007, he was the head of my family in more ways than one. He looked after the interests of my family, he was very decisive and once he made a decision that was the end of the matter as we were all loyal and trusted his judgement. Often other family members went to him with their problems and grievances. My father spent his time and money ensuring that all of us were living comfortably; he spent many a night worrying and contemplating about the welfare and future of his family. He nurtured and cultured everyone, preparing and instilling in us the capability to go out into the real world. My father guided those who stepped out of line, rallied the family in moments of crisis and he protected the family against harm or evil intent of others. I’m sure this story strikes a chord with many who read it, for some it will remind them of their family and for others it may even resemble the role they play on a day to day basis.

Although being the head of the family entails many responsibilities, the main aim of the role is to ensure the vitality of the family unit someone must be there to make the final decisions allowing the family to function. If a family has no head then the implications can be disastrous; if there is no head then everyone will do what they want, many conflicts and arguments will arise, the weak family members will be oppressed by the strong family members, everyone will look after their own interests, in such a case it is only a matter of time before the family fragments and breaks apart. One does not have to go far to see such consequences, liberal excesses have led to what we now know as ‘Broken Britain’. If we look to the society we live in we see that single parent families have become the norm, the lack of authority and direction in the lives of many youths has led them astray. The result: a high rate of teenage pregnancies, anti-social behaviour and an ever increasing crime rate.

Many of you might be pondering how this discussion is linked to Islam and Muslims. The prophet (saw) reminds us in a Hadith:

Ibn 'Umar reported that the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace stated:

"All of you are shepherds and each of you is responsible for his flock. A man is the shepherd of the people of his house and he is responsible. A woman is the shepherd of the house of her husband and she is responsible. Each of you is a shepherd and each is responsible for his flock.”

In a bid to achieve family stability Islam elucidated clearly the roles of men and women in this context. If the lack of a leading figure in the context of a family has disastrous consequences one can only imagine the fate of a nation which also lacks a sincere figurehead. Islam also addressed this problem by highlighting that the Muslims are one ummah who are to be ruled by the Sharia under one ruler. This one ruler or Khalif was an essential Islamic institution which began after the death of the Prophet (saw) and continued for many centuries being led by some of the greatest personalities ever known in history.

On Wednesday 3rd March 2010 it will be 86 years since the abolishment of the Khilafah. Since the 3rd of March 1924 this noble Ummah has been without its head. In these 86 years we have seen our lands carved up literally with a pencil and ruler, we have seen our lands attacked and invaded, we have seen the implementation of kufr in our societies, we have witnessed the killing of millions, we have seen our ummah - young and old - die because they cannot meet their basic needs, we have seen tyrant and despotic rulers oppress us, we have seen these rulers selling and profiteering from our resources. Even at home we see our core Islamic values being ridiculed regularly. In the absence of one ruler leading us with an Islamic political system it should not be of any surprise that our lands have fragmented and our ummah subjected to one tragedy after another.

The role of the Caliph is to look after the affairs of Ummah. Ibn Taymiyah in his book “Economic Concepts” wrote:

“It should be noted that the existence of the Khilafah to regulate the affairs of all the peoples is the most vital requirement of the Deen. To be honest, the Deen cannot be established without it. The health and prosperity of the sons of Adam cannot be accomplished without a well organised society because they are dependent on one another; indeed for such a society a ruler is indispensable.”

The Caliph is there to unite us, protect us, implement the laws of Allah (swt), resolve our disputes, look after the interests of the Ummah and propagate the call of Islam. It has been narrated on the authority of Ibn 'Umar that the Holy Prophet (May be upon him) said:

“Beware every one of you is a shepherd and every one is answerable with regard to his flock. The Caliph is a shepherd over the people and shall be questioned about his subjects (as to how he conducted their affairs). A man is a guardian over the members of his family and shall be questioned about them (as to how he looked after their physical and moral well-being). A woman is a guardian over the household of her husband and his children and shall be questioned about them (as to how she managed the household and brought up the children). A slave is a guardian over the property of his master and shall be questioned about it (as to how he safeguarded his trust). Beware, every one of you is a guardian and every one of you shall be questioned with regard to his trust.”

However nothing will be achieved by just commemorating the date on which the Khilafah was abolished and lamenting its loss. We should work tirelessly night and day to bring the head of our ummah back, we should study our deen and our glorious past, and we should propagate the idea of Khilafah to everyone we meet. Surely after years of witnessing false dawns the imminent return of the Khilafah - as prophesised by our Nabi (saw) – will bring an end to the turbulence experienced by this ummah. I end with the words of Sultan Abdul Hamid moments before he was deposed as Caliph:

“Midnight had struck by the time the carriages were loaded and a white-faced, tottering old man stood for the last time on the threshold of the palace where he ruled an Empire for 33 years, with a heavy heart this Caliph knew he be one of the last to ever hold this position, he knew deep down what tragedy and evil will befall this Ummah without its head, he knew there was nothing he could do. Like a father who gets up in the night to cover his children with the duvet to protect them from the cold, this old man knew this Ummah will have no one in the day or night to cover them or protect them”

Sultan Abdul Hamid ruled for 33 years and was one of the last Caliphs that led the ummah.

May Allah (swt) enable us to witness the day when the Khilafah will resume once again, may Allah (swt) be a witness to those who sacrificed in his path to restore the deen and may He (swt) elevate them on the day of reckoning.


Article Written By Amad Uddin


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What they said...

“Islam represented the greatest military power on earth…It was the foremost economic power in the world…It had achieved the highest level so far in human history, in the arts and sciences of civilization...Islam in contrast created a world civilization, poly-ethnic, multiracial, international, one might even say intercontinental.”





[Bernard Lewis, Professor of Near Eastern Studies, Orientalist and Historian, 2001]





"There was once a civilization that was the greatest in the world. It was able to create a continental super-state that stretched from ocean to ocean, and from northern climes to tropics and deserts…the civilization I'm talking about was the Islamic world from the year 800 to 1600… Although we are often unaware of our indebtedness to this other civilization, its gifts are very much a part of our heritage"





[Carly Fiorina, ex-CEO of Hewlett-Packard, 2001]





"For the first three centuries of its existence (circ. A.D 650-1000) the realm of Islam was the most civilized and progressive portion of the world. Studded with splendid cities, gracious mosques and quiet universities where the wisdom of the ancient world was preserved and appreciated, the Moslem world offered a striking contrast to the Christian West, then sunk in the night of the Dark Ages."





[Lothrop Stoddard, Ph.D (Harvard), American political theorist and historian, 1932]





"Medieval Islam was technologically advanced and open to innovation. It achieved far higher literacy rates than in contemporary Europe;it assimilated the legacy of classical Greek civilization to such a degree that many classical books are now known to us only through Arabic copies. It invented windmills ,trigonometry, lateen sails and made major advances in metallurgy, mechanical and chemical engineering and irrigation methods. In the middle-ages the flow of technology was overwhelmingly from Islam to Europe rather from Europe to Islam. Only after the 1500's did the net direction of flow begin to reverse."





[Jared Diamond, UCLA sociologist and Author, 1997]



"No other society has such a record of success in uniting in an equality of status, of opportunity and endeavour so many and so varied races of mankind. The great Muslim communities of Africa, India and Indonesia, perhaps also the small community in Japan, show that Islam has still the power to reconcile apparently irreconcilable elements of race and tradition. If ever the opposition of the great societies of the East and west is to be replaced by cooperation, the mediation of Islam is an indispensable condition."





[Hamilton Alexander Rosskeen Gibb, Professor at Harvard University, 1932]





“The Muhammadan Law which is binding on all -- from the crowned head to the meanest subject is a law interwoven with a system of the wisest, the most learned and the most enlightened jurisprudence that ever existed in the world.”





[Edmund Burke, British Statesman and Philosopher, 1789]





"The Exile here is not like in our homeland. The Turks hold respectable Jews in esteem. Here and in Alexandria, Egypt, Jews are the chief officers and administrators of the customs, and the king’s revenues. No injuries are perpetuated against them in all the empire. Only this year, in consequence of the extraordinary expenditure caused by the war against Shah Tahmsap al-Sufi, were the Jews required to make advances of loans to the princes."





[David dei Rossi, Jewish Traveller 17CE, quoted by Norman A. Stillman, The Jews of Arab Lands]





"The notable religious tolerance towards Christians and Jew under Muslim rule had given way to the uncompromising zealotry of Spanish Inquisition. Jews and Muslims thus fled Spain with large numbers of Jews immigrating to the Ottoman Empire which was known for its tolerance to the Jews."





[Graham Fuller, Author and former CIA, 1995]





“If there is much misunderstanding in the West about the nature of Islam, there is also much ignorance about the debt our own culture and civilization owe to the Islamic world. It is a failure, which stems, I think, from the straightjacket of history, which we have inherited. The medieval Islamic world, from central Asia to the shores of the Atlantic, was a world where scholars and men of learning flourished. But because we have tended to see Islam as the enemy of the West, as an alien culture, society, and systems of beliefs, we have tended to ignore or erase its great relevance to our own history”





[Charles Philip Arthur George, HRH The Prince of Wales, 1993]





"...Not being subject to the Sharia, Jews and Christians were free to go to their own religious authorities for adjudication of disputes; but in many cases they went instead to the [Muslim] Qadi"





[Richard W. Bulliet, Professor of History and Author, 2004]





"Here in the land of the Turks we have nothing to complain of. We possess great fortunes; much gold and silver are in our hands. We are not oppressed by heavy taxes and our commerce is free and unhindered. Rich are the fruits of the earth. Everything is cheap and each one of us lives in freedom. Here a Jew is not compelled to wear a yellow star as a badge of shame as is the case in Germany where even wealth and great fortune is a curse for a Jew because he therewith arouses jealousy among the Christians and they devise all kinds of slander against him to rob him of his gold. Arise my brethren, gird up your loins, collect up your forces and come to us."





[In his book 'Constantinople', Philip Mansel quotes a rabbi in Turkey writing to his brethren in Europe where they were facing increasing persecution after 1453]





"Praise be to the beneficent God for his mercy towards me! Kings of the earth, to whom his [the Caliph’s] magnificence and power are known, bring gifts to him, conciliating his favour by costly presents, such as the king of the Germans, the king of the Gebalim, the king of Constantinople, and others. All their gifts pass through my hands, and I am charged with making gifts in return. (Let my lips express praise to the God in heaven who so far extends his loving kindness towards me without any merit of my own, but in the fullness of his mercies.) I always ask the ambassadors of these monarchs about our brethren the Jews, the remnant of the captivity, whether they have heard anything concerning the deliverance of those who have pined in bondage and had found no rest."





[Hasdai Ibn Shaprut (915-990 CE) Jewish physician, chief minister of Islamic Caliphate in Cordova, 'The Jewish Caravan']





"In Baghdad there are about forty thousand Jews, and they dwell in security, prosperity, and honour under the great Caliph [al-Mustanjid, 1160-70 CE], and amongst them are great sages, the Heads of the Academies engaged in the study of the Law…’"





[Benjamin of Tudela, Rabbi in Baghdad in the year 1168 CE, 'The Jew in the Medieval World']





"Those Eastern thinkers of the ninth century laid down, on the basis of their theology, the principle of the Rights of Man, in those very terms, comprehending the rights of individual liberty, and of inviolability of person and property; described the supreme power in Islam, or Califate, as based on a contract, implying conditions of capacity and performance, and subject to cancellation if the conditions under the contract were not fulfilled; elaborated a Law of War of which the humane, chivalrous prescriptions would have put to the blush certain belligerents in the Great War; expounded a doctrine of toleration of non-Moslem creeds so liberal that our West had to wait a thousand years before seeing equivalent principles adopted.





[Leon Ostorog, French Jurist]





"The debt of our science to that of the Arabs does not consist in startling discoveries or revolutionary theories; science owes a great deal more to Arab culture, it owes its existence"





[Robert Briffault, Novelist and Historian, 1928]





"The only effective link between the old and the new science is afforded by the Arabs. The dark ages come as an utter gap in the scientific history of Europe, and for more than a thousand years there was not a scientific man of note except in Arabia"





[Oliver Joseph Lodge, Writer and Professor of Physics, 1893]





“Thus, when Muslims crossed the straits of Gibraltar from North Africa in 711 and invaded the Iberian Peninsula, Jews welcomed them as liberators from Christian Persecution.”





[Zion Zohar, Jewish scholar at Florida International University, 2005]







“Throughout much of the period in question, Arabic served as the global language of scholarship, and learned men of all stripes could travel widely and hold serious and nuanced discussions in this lingua franca. Medieval Western scholars who wanted access to the latest findings also needed to master the Arabic Tongue or work from translations by those who had done so.”





[Jonathan Lyons, Author, Writer and Lecturer, 2009]