When it comes to university, we all know how learning works. If we want to become a doctor, then we know that we must start with introductory biology and chemistry so that the year after we can take organic chemistry so that we can then move on to more complicated subjects. We know that we must first build a foundation of basic essentials and then slowly build upon this foundation, layer by layer, until we eventually reach an understanding of medicine that allows us to treat people. To help us along in this process, our university devises curricula so that when we make the decision to be a doctor, we know what courses to take. After all, how are we supposed to figure out, on our own, without any knowledge, what exactly a doctor must learn? In any course, the process is similar. When learning French, we start with the alphabet and pronunciation, then some basic words, then some bits of grammar, etc. We do not start with learning the conditional if we don't even understand the verb avoir. This is common sense. It would be ridiculous to attempt to learn medicine by simply going to a chemistry lecture one day and then a surgery training the next. We don't create our own curriculum about a subject we know almost nothing about.

Somehow, these principles disappear when we approach Islamic knowledge. How many of us actually went to a scholar well versed in Islam or to a reputable institution and asked, “I want to learn about my religion, what should I do?” How many of us actually follow a curriculum, not invented on our own, but actually recommended to us by someone who already has the knowledge we need? How many of us are laying a foundation before proceeding to more difficult subjects?

Instead, we follow the two shaykhs Google and YouTube. We watch a clip here, a clip there. Maybe we like Shaykh Hamza Yusuf or Shaykh Yasir Qadhi, so we listen to all their clips. We click on whatever lecture we see popping up in our news feed on facebook. Is it ever part of our curriculum? Or are we just clicking on whatever sounds good? We seem to devour any topic we find: tafsir, hadith, fiqh, aqeeda, without bothering to sort them all out. And soon we know the intricacies of the Arabic in the first ten verses of Al-Baqara, the fiqh of wiping over cotton socks in all four madhabs, the differences of Ash'ari and Athari aqeeda...

The result? A disjointed, incoherent, feeble understanding of our religion. We may know al-Baqara, but we have no idea of the tafsir of al-Fatiha, we know the fiqh of cotton socks, but not the fiqh of salah, we know the differences of aqeeda, but we don't know its required elements. We amass a great amount of knowledge, little of which is actually relevant. What's worse, we begin to see ourselves as intelligent and knowledgeable, because we spew random Islamic facts and people commend us for that. Yet our hearts are still black and all this knowledge is not doing anything to wash the dirt away.

On top of all of this, much of our knowledge is useless. Who cares about the difference between the Ash'aris and Atharis if we have no qualifications to consider their points? Yet this becomes our favorite point of debate at the table: Salafis versus Sufis, Hamza Yusuf versus Yusuf Estes. Let's be honest: what have those debates done for us that was of benefit? I can find nothing. Yet somehow we are dragged into this day after day. This is truly the Shaytan's doing: convincing us that we are gaining benefit when we are just wasting our time instead.

The revolution of information that the Internet age has brought is a wonder, but it is also a danger. We begin to think ourselves self-sufficient in learning religion, even though we would never consider doing the same with biochemistry. We forget that Islam, throughout its millennium-and-a-half long history, has always been taught through the apprentice model: with a teacher's guidance and explanation. Unlike today, knowledge was understanding, not the amassing of facts. That is why hearts were cleaner, souls were purer in the times of our predecessors. Despite the fact that they didn't have the same access to knowledge, they at least knew what to do with they knowledge they did have access to.

As a personal reflection, this is a reminder first and foremost to myself. I ask Allah the Exalted to grant us true knowledge of His religion, to help us be firm in it, and to protect us from that which has no benefit. Ameen.

Anton is a 22 year old Russian-American convert to Islam. He has studied at the University of Toronto for the past two years, but will be returning home to America in September. He has been heavily involved both with interfaith and Muslim communities, serving as an exec at the University of Toronto St. George MSA over the past year. He occasionally writes for his own blog and has recently begun video blogs under the name of El Musafir (http://elmusafir.wordpress.com and http://www.facebook.com/pages/El-Musafir/124559040888113). His interests include learning about Islam, reading, and tea.

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Earlier this year, I wrote about the importance of reading and made some
book recommendations. For people not exactly willing to tackle 300 pages at a
time, leafing through a magazine is a solid alternative. While newsstands are
usually stocked with American or British publications, there are some impressive
Canadian magazines that don’t get their due share of the spotlight, perhaps
because of a shrinking industry.
Here, I’ll briefly review two publications that I think make for worthy reads.

The Walrus: In many ways, The Walrus is Canada’s highest quality magazine.
It provides the type of long-form, narrative journalism found in American
publications like The New Yorker and Harper’s, while still maintaining a balance
of Canadian sensibilities. It has a comfortable distribution of fact and fiction;
each issue contains at least a few short stories and poems. The topics discussed
are usually rather weighty and thoroughly researched. The only downside? It
publishes infrequently, only 10 issues per year. http://walrusmagazine.ca

This Magazine: A staple on the Canadian political scene, This Magazine has
proven to be an excellent breeding ground for up and coming young journalists.
The writing is simple and to the point, the stories are relevant and topical. It is
very clearly a left-leaning publication, but takes great pains to be representative
of the broader Canadian electorate, as its diverse roster of contributors suggests.

I was at work when I was approached by three handicap children in wheelchairs assisted by caretakers. These children were in a state of complete dependence; I glanced at them while I interacted with their caretakers and all I could say was Alhamdulilah (All Praise is to God) over and over again.

This is when the thought of, if I were to thank Allah for everything He has given me I would not be able to even if I spent all day and night for the rest of my life, entered my head.

I am a critic and I believe I constructively criticize in hope of seeing a better future. But, I and many of us who strive to improve the future should also stop and think of what we have and be grateful for it.

“But if you count the favours of Allah, never will you be able to number them.” [Sûrah Ibrâhîm: 34]

 

Forgive Me When I Whine - Zain Bhikha

Society in general has a tendency to kick people when they’re down. Throughout history, the weak and defenseless have been targets for abuse. This continues on today.  The young, the old, the poor, the orphans, those with little education and those with disabilities all qualify as victims of this abuse,  so that the very people who have nothing to lose become the people who also have nothing to gain.

Widows are one group of such people. In developing nations – particularly in South Asia and Africa- when a woman loses her husband, she herself pretty well dies, too. This “social death” involves verbal, emotional and physical abuse from the community as a whole as well as from her husband’s family. She can be subject to accusations that she killed her husband. She can be thrown into the street with no one to protect her. She can have her children stolen from her. She can even be set on fire. In some African cultures, a deceased spouse doesn’t end a marriage and a widow can be forced to marry her brother in-law or other male relative to carry on the relationship. This is called a "levirate” arrangement, whereby the children conceived are considered the children of the widow’s original husband. Actually, if the new “husband” doesn’t want kids, he can choose to throw his dead brother’s wife, now impregnated by him, out of the house. All of these horrendous acts of hate are either permissible by law or so culturally normal that the laws against them aren't upheld.

Setting aside the psychological damage this would have on a person; these women have literally nothing left once their partner dies. It's illegal for their husbands to leave them wealth or land. Even if they do get to keep their children, they often have to pull them out of school or have them work due to exceptional circumstances. One can imagine what kind of a mess this gets kids into. Child slavery and prostitution are often the result of a widowed mother.

The most tragic part about this whole ordeal is the heedlessness regarding the issue. There are no laws being enforced to protect a widow’s rights. In India, where in 1856 the law preventing widows from remarrying were abolished nationally, it was still left up to the various religious authorities in different parts of the country to decide what to do with these women. While efforts are being made by a few global organizations such as Empowering Widows in Development (EWD), it is said that no change can occur until these women bind together and call for change themselves. May Allah SWT give them the tawfiq, ameen.

It’s shameful to think that entire communities witness this treachery and yet there is still so little reported on it. Indeed, widows take up large proportions of the population of any country that is at war due to casualties, and there are plenty of those.  Yet there is seldom any statistical evidence to prove the extremeness of this point. One of the few times it has been reported is during Rwanda’s genocide (1994), where over 70% of adult women were widowed. How is this so easily overlooked in other nations?

I’d like to end by asking you to join me in making du’a for our fellow mothers, daughters and sisters. May Allah, Ar-Rahman, Ar-Raheem, soon relieve them of their distress; may He guide them and keep them firm in their iman; may Allah protect them from the evils of this life and the next; and may He ease them in their accountability on the Day of Judgment for the troubles they’ve seen in this dunya, ameen. O Allah send blessings upon our beloved Prophet SAW, who was a mercy to mankind and an example to be followed when dealing with the destitute.

 

Lebron James announced in a one hour TV special which team he would be signing on with. A basketball player that started out in the NBA playing for his home team the Cleveland Cavaliers and became known there as “The King”. He had many fans in his city and played his heart and soul for the team. But, when his contract expired and his chances of winning the championship in the NBA seem best fitted with another team he went for it.

Here’s what his former boss Dan Gilbert had to say about his decision:
 

“A fresh taste of Afghanistan” – indeed it is. This Afghan restaurant opened up in my Mississauga neighborhood earlier this month and it offers a great variety of foods and flavours. The menu is made up of four meats: chicken, beef, lamb and fish, and there are many vegetarian options available as well. Pamier Kabob serves rich tasting foods and also provides many options for spicy food lovers. All of the meals are served with naan and salad and give you the option of adding rice. They also have excellent family combos which offer a variety of different dishes in their platters.

Some of their most famous dishes are the shahi chicken kabob, sultani kabob and the mazari lamb kabob. There are many more options to choose from to suit your own taste.

Pamier Kabob has two locations, one in Mississauga and the other in Brampton. The restaurant offers a pleasant environment for dining in, and they also offer delivery services. Their service and staff are satisfying and I would definitely recommend this restaurant to all those who like Afghan or Lebanese style food or those who are simply looking to try something new.

And best of all, it is HALAL! :)

 

Mississauga: 3355 The Collegeway Unit 6 & 7, Mississauga, ON L5L5T3

Bramption: 200 County Court Blvd. Unit C, Brampton, ON L6W4K7

www.pamier-kabob.com

  “There’s one in every family. Two in mine, actually. And they always manage to ruin special occasions.”
 –Zazu, The Lion King

Ah, Zazu.  In all your wisdomocity, one would think you wouldn’t say something quite so vain and awful. But who could blame you? Scar really was a horrible uncle and brother. He was selfish, rude, unjust – all the qualities of a bad, bad kitty. This is all not to mention the negative influence he had on those around him; everyone from the hyenas to innocent little Simba himself. Surely this means you have a right to complain, right?

We’re constantly faced by challenges in life, there’s no denying that. Though people may offer you explanations as to why these things happen, this is often just a comfort mechanism used to justify things in or against your favour. The fact of the matter is that everything- good, bad and otherwise- is from Allah SWT. So it is silly, and I daresay it is dangerous, to attribute happenings to anything but Allah SWT. I say this not because events don’t have immediate rational reasons behind them, but because in the grand scheme of things, they mean much more than we’ll ever know or understand. You failing your courses at university is because you didn’t work hard enough, but in the long run, it might turn out that you were destined to become an all-star cricket player. Tawhid is the very ground that Islam is built upon and the principles underlying this are firstly the belief that there is no god but Allah SWT and secondly, the belief in predestination. This means that as Muslims, we cannot afford to ask “why me”, particularly not about things completely out of our control. Allah SWT wanted it to happen, so it did. This doesn’t mean we can stop working hard because things will take care of themselves, but it does mean that if misfortune befalls us, by our own doing or otherwise, it’s only by Allah’s Will.

It’s so easy to say and so hard to practice – this I know. Especially when the things that make us ask “whyyy, oh why, oh why” are people; human beings we have to deal with for whatever reason that make even simple interactions absolutely dreadful. I think the worst of this is when the people are your family. I mean we all have ups and downs with our relatives but some of us have cousins who never call, uncles who refuse to bathe and grandmothers who have been trying to marry us off since we were 10. It’s trying. But as with everything else in life, it is in the remembrance of Allah SWT that our hearts can find rest.  Now one might ask how remembering Allah SWT will make their uncle shower, but that’s not the point. If we choose to see a lot of negative aspects in people and become frustrated with them, we overlook all the hidden mercies that bearing them tolerantly brings. It’s like Buckley’s cough syrup; it tastes awful, but it works. In a similar vein, your grandmother constantly bringing you photos of new suitors when you’re not ready for marriage is extremely distasteful. But imagine how quickly you’ll develop patience and respect for elders! Something as simple as saying bismillah before you talk to her will make your whole engagement with her beneficial in this life and the next, inshAllah.

Our families were bound to us; we did not choose them. Heck, we didn’t even ask for them. However, loving them for the sake of Allah SWT is our responsibility. They have rights over us as Muslims and more rights over us by blood. It’s helpful, then, to fulfill our duties by trying to see all our kin as a part of our immutable fate. We couldn’t have had anything else because this is what Allah SWT wanted for us. If we truly believe in the Mercy and Wisdom of Allah SWT, it quickly becomes irrelevant if our personalities clash with those around us. He has put them before us out of His Infinite Mercy and all we have to see is how. How could this really be a blessing in disguise? Then, if we were to become attuned to the idea that whatever will be, will be…Well wouldn’t that make things a lot easier? Love it or hate it; it’s yours. Mmmm, might as well love it.

So when Scar says “Life’s not fair, is it? You see I, well I, shall never be king…” I say woe unto you, Scar! Life is as fair as we make it. If we learn to love our fate by virtue of loving Allah SWT, then unfairness is our own misconstrued reading of life because everything is from Him and He is the Fairest of Judges.

WAllahu Alim.

Although I successfully avoided physically being in Downtown Toronto last weekend, I could not ignore the ruckus and the hoopla that went down in the heart of our city. Many events have taken place in Toronto, but in my 22 years of living in the GTA, I cannot recall a single one that caused as much commotion and uproar. The G20 summit took place in the heart of one of the largest urban centers of the world, and disrupted millions of residents. The government spent an immense amount of money hosting the G20 and setting up security and police to monitor activities of the public.

Along with the G20 came millions of dollars in government expenditure, disruption to the city which no cost can be put on and numerous protests. Protestors came out to exercise their rights and show that they were not in agreement with the choice of the government to host the summit. In response to this, the government increased the powers of the authorities and this meant that the civil liberties of citizens were greatly limited. Numerous arrests took place for activities which were not illegal, and as a result of the anger that protestors had, many local businesses were also vandalized. The government refused to compensate the businesses, and refused to acknowledge the loss of civil liberties.

Throughout the last few weeks of June 2010, Toronto proved to be a city that failed its people. The animosity that swept the city along with the road closures, U of T being closed for a week and cell phone signal disruptions were no doubt a horrible start to the summer of 2010. One can hope that this horrific occurrence is taken as something that lessons are learned from, and one which prevents anything similar from occurring in the future.

The Quran Pen Reader is the latest in Muslim technology and can be yours for only $139.99 (+ taxes, S+H). But, wait there’s more if you call now…

The Quran Pen Reader is a device that when put near the Quran recites the verses it is pointing at. The device does cost about $140. It is nice to see technology being used for the sake of the religion and learning; and I can see its benefits for those who wish to self-study or are older and maybe shy of going to a teacher to learn.

But, I have to say the traditional form of learning with a teacher is best. As I believe the human touch can never be replaced by technology. The expectations of a teacher in itself is a great motivation to learn and compels one to meet goals and complete lessons.  Our tendencies are to be zealous in the start of a new project but gradually we lose interest. Traditionally the Quran has been taught by one person to the other and this creates a chain of transmission that can link back to Prophet (S.A.W.) with technology replacing the teacher the transmission leads back to Made in China.

All-in-all I do like the device but I believe the best teacher is a person.

Pros
·         The pen has a built-in rechargeable battery
·         Can be used like an MP3 to listen to the Quran
·         Good for self-study

Cons
·         Expense
·         Non-traditional