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The Top 5 Misconceptions of Backbiting and How To Respond To Them

Backbiting is one of those Islamic topics that often gets sidelined. Appearing as one of the frequent tarbīyyah topics in common circles and gatherings, the issue may be forgotten or ignored. This is severely problematic, as backbiting is one of the most devastating sins a person can ever commit, and not keeping ourselves reminded about it can lead to grave consequences.

To make it fresh in our minds again, let’s tackle the issue in a practical way. Here are 5 common misconceptions that we ourselves or others you encounter may have about backbiting, what is misunderstood, and how to respond to them. Read more »

Muslims Need To Calm Down About Boycotts

A sister who works at an Islamic school once received a Starbucks gift card from one of her co-workers. Unaware of the issue of boycotting Starbucks, she unknowingly walked into the teachers lounge one morning with a small Mocha in hand. She was then met with an uproar from her fellow Muslim staff. Without kindly explaining anything to her, they yelled at her, told her she wasn’t allowed in the room, that her drink was killing Palestinian babies, and that she didn’t care about Muslims in Palestine.

The sister apologized repeatedly, trying to explain that she didn’t know about the boycott and that she purchased her drink using a gift card. When the angry Muslim staff refused to listen and one of them began to cry, she then threw her nearly full drink away.

We Muslims need to calm down a bit when it comes to this boycott issue. For years we’ve been blindly sending out Emails and messages with collections of links and information on possible connections between certain corporations and the Israeli government and military. However, in the middle of this attempt to support our Palestinian brothers and sisters, we’ve lost our heads over some key important issues. Read more »

Reactions To And Reflections On My Status About Food On ‘Ashura

With yesterday being ‘Āshūrā’, the day Allah saved the Children of Israel from Fir‘aun, many Muslims, including myself, were happily hungry for the day to follow the tradition of the Prophet Muhammad who fasted the day because Prophet Moses fasted that day as well, peace be upon them both.

As is the usual during days of fasting, I began to grow cravings for certain foods throughout the day. To let everyone know, I posted the cravings I had on three different areas of online social connection: my Gmail status, Facebook status, and my Twitter. I posted the following status message:

Saqib Shafi is craving chicken philly cheese steaks, chicken shawarma sandwiches, BBQ sauce burgers, & a solid cup of coffee with lots of cream & sugar.

Here are the images that come to mind:

Look good, don’t they? Apparently they looked really good yesterday, considering the way people responded. Read more »

When Abu Bakr and Umar Nearly Lost Everything

The Prophet, sal Allahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, was once sitting with his companions when they were approached by some horsemen as delegates from the tribe of Banu Tamīm. As with any tribe coming to accept Islam, the Prophet wanted to select a leader for them. Naturally, recommendations for the man best fit for this job came from his closest companions, Abu Bakr and ‘Umar, may Allah be pleased with them.

Abu Bakr recommended that the Prophet make al-Qa‘qā‘ ibn Ma‘bad, member of Banu Mujāshi‘, take the position. ‘Umar disagreed, suggesting that the Messenger of Allah instead choose a man named Al-Aqra‘ ibn Hābis.¹ Disagreement between the two turned to debate, debating turned to arguing, and soon the two began raising their voices so loud, they drowned out the voice of the Prophet.

Just then, Allah revealed the following verse to the Prophet, sal Allahu ‘alayhi wa sallam.

Believers, do not raise your voices above the voice of the Prophet or be loud to him in speech like the loudness of some of you to others, lest your deeds become worthless while you perceive not.²

This story gives us a handful of lessons from the revelation of just one verse. Read more »

Did they forget the next verse?

Written by Ayesha Siddique of www.anightingale.com

Imagine a group of Muslim boys sitting together on a Friday night at a friend’s place. They’re making plans to go to the local Blockbuster and rent a movie to watch later that evening. The following conversation ensues:

BOne: What do you guys want to watch?
BTwo: Nothing in particular

BThree: Dude, I’ve haven’t seen Transformers yet, do you want to get that?
BOne: Yea, dude! I heard they made Optimus Prime look sick!

BTwo: Who cares about the robot, the girl in that movie has a slamming body. I would watch just for her.
BOne: Haha, so wrong, yet so right!

BThree: But foreal, let’s rent it.

Disgusting, right? How could Muslim boys have no shame and talk about women in such a way? Why aren’t they embarrassed admitting in front of their friends that they don’t lower their gaze, and that they want to watch something solely for the purposes of checking out girls? Read more »