Asalam o alaykum wr wb.
Many people undermine the importance of being updated with current affairs of the country as well as the whole world. However, a good daee will always keep him/herself updated with current affairs. We also find examples from Ambiya and sahaba lives. They always kept themselves updated with whats happening around the country and in the world and this helped them in planning strategies. Also we can see Hazrat Nooh trying to persuade his nation, in surah nooh, through discussing current affairs with them and presenting to them the solution to all their current problems according to Islam. Similarly Hazrat Musa (AS) persuaded his nation by knowing their affairs and hence providing them solution through Islam.
Many religious people are afraid that if we read newspapers, we will get brainwashed and become secular/modernist. This is a wrong perception. I have been reading newspapers frequently and Alhamdulilah there is nothing so far that shook my eman. Infact i find the arguments of secularists quite funny and easy to refute. This also helps one to know about their arguments and tackle them easily.
The reason why secular/modernists are on top of world today and leave an impressive mark on people is because they give solution to every current issue according to their deen, which is secularism. You can see magazine of secularists. In these magazines they have discussed every issue, whether it be global warming, energy crisis, political instability, good governance, environmental problems, women's status, corruption, Pakistan's relations with other countries, they have provided solution to all through secularism in their writings. Unfortunately the religious people lag behind in this and dont even know whats happening around the world, so how can one expect them to provide solution to such problems? They want people to come to them and ask. However this will not happen. No one comes to listen jumma khutbas except a very few individuals, mostly old people. We need to realize this and combat secularism like they are combating Islam. Today, I dont see a single magazine of any Islamic Organization which is discussing current affairs and providing solution through Islam.
Organizations like UN, NATO, IMF etc are shaping the world today and we are lagging behind a lot. If a practicing Muslim today starts to talk about current affairs according to Islamic perspective, i bet that we will be on top of world again insha Allah. Also this will attract many people towards them. People today think of Islamists as some extreme minded freaks who know nothing about this world or its affairs and who just know about traditions like prayer, fasting, etc. May Allah Almighty help us understand this. Aameen
DIFFERENCES OF OPINION
Many people quote the ahadith:
"Difference of opinion among my nation is a mercy" and "difference of opinion among my sahaba is a mercy." to justify blind following of the four school of thoughts and to push down those who promote ittiba (reasoned following). So i want to share with all a reply of Dr. Bilal philips about this issue.
"The hadith "differences among my nation are a mercy for you." collected by al-bayhaqi is weak and allegedly reported by Jabir. As for the hadith "differences among my companions is a mercy", it is considered wahin (extremely weak) by hadith schcolars. It is allegedly reported by ibn umar and collected by ibn battah in al-ibanah, ibn asakir and nidham al-mulk in al-amali, quoted by shaykh al albani in silsilah al-ahadeeth ad-daeefah wa al-mawdoo-ah, beirut, al-maktab al-islami, 3rd ed., 1972 vol. 1 p.82.
Not only are these so-called hadiths un authentic, but their very meanings are in obvious conflict with the Quran itself. Throughout the Quran's one hundred and fourteen chapters, Allah has clearly cursed and forbidden religious disagreement and has ordered unity and agreement. Disagreement has been explicitly forbidden in verses such as:
"..Do not dispute among yourselves and cause you own failure and loss of power.." (8:46) and: "..Do not be like those among the idolaters who split up their religion into sects, each group happy with what they had." (30:31-32)
Implicitly, too, Allah has forbidden it, for example,
"If your Lord had so willed, He could have made manking one people; but they will not cease to dispute, except those on whom you Lord has bestowed His mercy.." (11:118-119)
If Allah's mercy puts an end to dispute among men as is implied in the quotes u mentioned, how then could disagreement and dispute be a mercy?? In the unmistakable terms of the following verse and others like it, Allah has ordered unity and agreement:
"Hold fast to the rope of Allah together and do not split up. And remember Allah's mercy on you when you were enemies, then He put love in your hearts and with His blessings you all became brothers.." (3:103)
As for the differeces that arose between sahaba and imams, they were natural and unavoidable. A large portion of it was due to their different reasoning abilities which showed up in their various interpretations of the Quranic verses and hadiths. There were other causes which led to differences their time which later disappeared, for example the wide distribution of hadiths made it impossible for any individual sahabi and imam to be aware of them all, and thus wrong decisions were bound to be made where information was lacking. Obviously, they cannot be blamed for these and similar mistakes, which were not intentional. Furthermore, it is absolutely proven that they readily corrected their wrong decisions when authentic information or more relevant evidence reached them. The sahaba and imams were totally free from the blame for conflicting rulings.
However, any discrepancies apparent in their different rulings are not to be glorified and perpetuated. Infact they themselves disliked disagreements, as is shown in the following narration quoted by ash-shafi's student, al muzani:
"Umar bin al khattab, the second righteous caliph, got angry because of a dispute b/w the sahabi, ubayy ibn ka'b and another sahabi ibn masood, over the performance of salah in a single piece of cloth. Ubayy considered it quite all right while ibn masood felt that was so only when cloth was scarce. Umar angrily left his residence and declared, "Have twoo of Allah's Messenger's companions disagreed and they are among those whom the masses watch closely and imitate? Ubayy is correct and ibn masood should desist! If i hear of anyone disputing about this matter after this point, i will deal with him!" (Jami' Bayan al-ilm, vol. 2, p.83-4)"
How could conflict be a mercy? It is nothing but those who got drowned in the pool of blind following trying to defend their own madhab.
THE RISING TIDEAsalam o alaykum wr wb brother & sisters. This is not a post for liking. I am writing this to start a discussion on a very important matter and i want you people's views and comments on it.
It is about the rising trend of Islamic media and of the revival of Muslim ummah since many youngsters are coming to deen. Since this trend has started, we are seeing the birth of many islamic organizations, islamic groups, islamic channels, islamic conferences, islamic websites, islamic softwares. This is a step towards Islamic revival insha Allah. However i have some concerns which i would like to share and ask everyone's opinion about it.
Today, i see a flood of Islamic knowledge everywhere but i see the missing of barakah. I dont know how to explain this feeling. But i would try my best to explain in simple words. What i want to say is today i see more Islamic platforms but less barakah. In sahaba's time there were limited and less platform but the barakah was more. Today, i see slowly and steadily the work of dawah becoming a business and an industry like hollywood where the better actors have more demand, more fan following and where the higher technology effects movies gain more fame. (I can be wrong in this so please correct me as this is the reason why i started this thread in the first place).
There used to be a time when scholars were less, islamic organizations were less, no islamic media was there, but people were still God fearing. Today i see a strange thing. The speakers/scholars with better speaking skills and charismatic personality and being famous (by appearing on youtube/islamic channels) are considered more authentic. [Please note: I said AUTHENTIC. I didn't say "only they are called to speak", since its understandable and human nature that they get attracted to only such speakers.]
Today i see that people, because of living in a world of technology and looking around them fashion and style and charisma, have set their own criterias with regards to Islam as well. For example i was talking to a person and i requested that person that its more rightful on us to promote the more God fearing scholars and provide them a platform so that their voice reaches the audience. But the reply i got was that we should be flexible. My request was regarding a speaker who doesn't have a full beard and trims it and i said that its more appropriate to bring forward the better ulemas. But anyways. My point here is that i believe something is missing in all this process of revival of Muslim ummah. Something like purity. I feel we are relying more on the "being cool" criteria then the methodology of salaf with regards to working for Islam. Our criteria is becoming more and more material than spiritual. I am feeling a lot of unease because of all this situation. Please share your views if u people feel the same or is it just me and waswasas.
(p.s: Through this post i do not want to deny the fact that good speaking and good dressing are essential parts of a speaker, so please do not take this post to mean this.)
Here are some comments by Brothers and Sisters :
Mohammad Ali I just pray to Allah Almighty that our people understand this. aameen10 February at 20:02 · ·
1
Shahzaib Iftikhar As in my opinion barakah is not there becoz we focus on big aspects of islam like 'aqeedha' n donot give proper attention to smaller aspects like 'talking to na-mahram'. we are donot follow islam completely.10 February at 20:03 · · 3- Mohammad Ali Allah hu akbar! One of our silent active members speaks and speaks good.10 February at 20:22 · · 3
Fahad MansoorAkhi i feel the same .. i feel there is something missing from our Muslim Ummah. i shared this feeling with my mother and she replied saying," Muslims are working in different groups of their own, every one working their own way i.e. some promoting jihad, some promoting aqeedah some promoting Hamd of Allah etc. she then told me about what Quran says about this time... about the time when people will be entering Islam in multitudes... she told me to read surah Nasr.
she then told me that we should wait for the appearance of Imam Mahdi.......
that s alll10 February at 20:46 · · 3
Hamas Ashrafthere is also a race here...
Oh Young people are doing it... we gotta come up and hurry otherwise i dont know what will happen we will lose popularity or something or we will not be herd etc
to be honest this constitute more ego.. compitition?? i dont know specially people of pakistan are proud of themselves. for sometimes no other reson than they drank 7 glasses of lassi.
you think they can face it. i say this stuff because right now my eman level is low because of exams tention. i am discovring while writing this that i cant even control myself properly(i.e. the regular revival of deeni knowledge and eman and sins etc) and somewhat i indulge in some activities regarding working for the deen and i lose my sunnahs in those nawafil acts. i dont think many of us are ready. i dont know you guys know yourself better.10 February at 20:53 · · 2- Mohammad Ali Oh boy. This thread shud be saved. This is becoming very interesting and informative.10 February at 20:56 ·
- Hamas Ashraf Mohammad Ali this is one of the answers and thats what i was talking abut
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4LTl6lASM-Y&feature =youtu.be 10 February at 21:54 · 
Muhammad Danishthe problem is we are not focussed . some people like you Mohammad Ali says or trying to say that western type scholars look nice and a bit authentic compares to others . its not only you . may be lots of other persons also have this thinking in their mind . so either we should stick to eastern type scholars or western type scholars . by that we will only follow one ideology . secondly by that what could happen is that the follower of that scholar would understand INSHA ALLAH that whether this scholar is authentic or not . coz when you follow some one fully . not feeling like a see say . then you will think of that scholar most than before . but if you are saying that that this scholar is right this is wrong then you will be in a mess. i hope my answer is a bit synchronized with you question10 February at 23:34 · · 1- Fahad Mansoor well brother .... what i suggest is that we should only seek knowledge from Quran and Sunnah, from Books under the right full institutions .....other than these scholars. no offence against them but we understand OUR language more than the others...... its my opinion10 February at 23:37 ·
- Mohammad Ali Muhammad Danish Show me any of my statement where i said western scholar are more authentic? I had been bearing ur attitude since a long time and neglecting. But it seems u are not learning. I request u to take notice of this. Jazak Allah khair10 February at 23:46 · · 2
Saif BilalUsually people follow the scholars because
uska anadz-e-bayan acha hai...
uskay views naram/sakht hen...
So people make THEM as source of Inspiration,
without realizing that these scholars are just pointing towards the Ultimate Source of Inspiration ....so when the scholar passes away people losses their Inspiration....
Teacher's of Salaf Salheen which were Sahabah R.A and Tabaeen not only taught them but they also did their tarbeyyat in such a way that the Only Nabi SAW is the source of Inspiration......
Now today at least i am unable to see such a scholar who does the tarbeyyat of his followers in such a way...
Take example of Ibn-e-Tamiyyah rahema Hullah he tried to make strong the connection among an Individual Muslim , his Prophet PBUH and his Rab...
this is what i felt....
Wallah hu Aalam10 February at 23:55 · · 4- Muhammad Danish Mohammad Ali sorry i mean western scholars looks nice but less authentic . sorry didn`t check thatSaturday at 00:41 · · 3
Faisal Akhunzada Asalam o alikum this post is quite alarming.I have already told u guys concentrate on your own ullamas they possess good knwoledge and thy fit our society cauz thy exactly knw whts going on here.Find them and if they lacking communication skills ask teach them how to communicate wid yo ppl.Humara ekh masla yeh bhi hai jo parha likha alim hai woh ghamdi ban jata hai.don't knw what to say really speechless.
Jawad Mansooryar brother Mohammad Ali u r right there is something at least something that is lagging in this revival. and that is what i feel in the statements like "my platform" if there is a platform for the purpose of the deen then it can never be someones as it now belongs to the Ummah. Someone may have the privilege given by Allah to lead govern it for him but we shoudl be thankful to Allah about it. and realize that it is an accountability.
on the other hand i feel it the need of being materialistic type of approach of dawah because it depends on the listener not the speaker. for all the cool thingy i blame people not the daees.. daees try to deliver the message of Islam, and u know it better that we can tempt people to the deen, and it is Allah who actually turns the hearts to purity (Islam)..Saturday at 02:27 · · 2
Muhammad Belalassalam o alaikum :) to all brothers and sisters ...
my observation on brother ALI point is ...
1-WE DONT KNOW THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN ISLAM AND IMAAN(THE KEY POINT TO ATTAIN PEACE AND THATS WHAT THE ISLAM MEANS).
2-ALHAMDULILAH WE ALL ARE FAMILIAR WITH THE FAMOUS SCHOLARS OF THE WORLD, THOSE ARE VERY PROFESSIONAL & AUTHENTIC TO ANSWER BACK ANY OF THE NON MUSLIM MISSIONARY...BUT...WHAT WE ARE DOING WE JUST LISTEN THEIR DEBATE,S TO ARGUE NOT TO FOLLOW...
BROTHER & SISTERS ISLAM IS ALREADY UNDEFEATABLE, ALHAMDULILAH NO ONE HAS BORN IN ALL OF THE HISTORY TO PROOF WRONG A SINGLE STATEMENT ALLAH O AKBAR, THAT IS POWER AND PURITY OF ISLAM ... BUT UNFORTUNATELY WE BEGAN TO USE ISLAM INSTEAD OF FOLLOW IT ...
I ADVISE ALL OF YOU TO WAKE UP AT TAHAJUD AND PRAY FOR GUIDANCE , BECAUSE AT THAT TIME ALLAH S.W.T SAYS IS THERE ANYONE WHO IS PRAYING , ALLAH IS HERE TO ACCEPT HIS PRAYERS ...
JAZAK ALLAH KHAIR :)Saturday at 06:38 · · 2- Mohammad Ali @everyone
I got a great answer from brother hamza tzortsis's status. What a co incidence it is. Seems like hamza is thinking the same i am :P
Hamza Andreas Tzortzis
“In my time the people were not impressed by speech, they were impressed by actions. Anyone can say whatever he wants.” Al-Qasim b. MuhammadSaturday at 06:42 · · 2 - Muhammad Belal TRUE SIGN OF MATERIALISTIC PEOPLE ... WE HAVE FORGOTTEN OUR SOULS ...Saturday at 06:45 ·
Usman KhalidMashaAllah everyone's contribution to the discussion is worth reading and knowledgable. Precisely targetting the issue is the status of br Hamza shared here by br Mohammad Ali. Jazakallahu khairan br Mohammad Ali for the post and all brothers who have contributed their thoughts. I agree its a materialistic time and feeling of barakah is at minimal and so is the lack of patience. The right path is never easy, full of traps of shaitaan and strength of our nafs is NOTHING as compared to the people of the days of Barakah. If we want barakah to prevail (InshaAllah) then we need to first hatch it and raise it up within us. How? By being patience, firm in our Aqeedah and MOST importantly having Control over our Nafs. Its not going to be easy but its not Impossible either. Once the barakah of Deen prevails within us InshaAllah by the grace of Almighty Allah it will be seen and felt by us everywhere. This is the first step and my brothers and respected sisters indeed it is The Most Important Step. Let us pray that may Allah SWT blesses us with the istiqamah to become the source of this barakah Aameen.
May Allah SWT blesses me and all my hardworking brothers and sisters with the true essence of Deen and gives us Isteqamah. Aameen Summaameen. Indeed we are nothing without your blessings and guidance O Allah Almighty and indeed its only You O Lord of the Worlds Who Knows Best.
وسلام
Mugheerah LuqmanI agree with Brother Mohammad Ali as today people only follow scholars who are more famous and have speaking skills and use technology, whereas the love for knowledge and Taqwah, indeed the criteria for taqwah and Iman for a scholar has vanished...! I have thought about it quite often and I have reached to a certain point and that is:
It is nature of the human being that he is influenced by the dominant personalities. British ruled over us for centuries and even today we are their slaves, I know many of us would not agree but that is the reality, we like to speak their language, we like to copy their style, we try to adopt their traditions, and yet we yap; we are free men...! As we are influenced by those people, if any person from them starts doing Dawah without much knowledge we are naturally attracted more towards them, because they are dominant today... There was a time when we were influenced by people like Sheikh Al Islam Imam Ibn e Taimiyyah (R.A) who led the simple life, etc but today the greatest scholar we know off might be Dr. Yusuf Estes, or may be someone else... BECAUSE THEY ARE WHITE AND SPEAK ENGLISH... Plz brothers and sisters, do not get angry, Im not degrading them its just that we dont know Scholars... we do not know who was Allama Ihsaan Ilaahi Zaheer, we do not know who is Molana Irshaad Ul Haqq Asri, and believe me when I visit the gatherings of such people, I see many big scholars sit in front of them like students of grade one... But who knows about them????!!! No one...!!!! Neither do we care because we consider them traditionalists, unless a person does not wear a pants or shirts and speak in an English accent we do not think of them as helpful...
However, there is one way I figured out, give people what they want... If they are impressed by English, Impress them by English, if they are impressed by technology, use the latest BUT ALWAYS GIVE THEM WHAT SALAF GAVE US...
IN OTHER WORDS GIVE THEM HONEY IN THE FORM OF JAM IF THEY DO NOT TAKE IT IN THE ORIGINAL FORM...!Sunday at 10:55 · · 2- Usman Khalid Mugheerah but dnt u think this is already happening. Beards are trimmed, ankles are covered (Jam) and the Message (Honey) is being delivered still. ?
- Usman KhalidWe need to cleanup our nafs first. Its just like "if you want a change, change yourself first" but that doesnt mean "Change yourself the way its wanted by the society but bring that change what u want to see but bring it within yourself first. To see the society clean we need to start with ourselves, then our home and then we move out to clean the society right my brother. Similarly i agree with what Mohammad Ali has felt (Absence of Barakah) but dont you also agree that the flame of Eemaan (that will help us find Taqwaah in us and eventually help us follow the path that Prophet (P.b.u.h) showed us which will undoubtdly bring barakah in what we do and thats how our actions will more effectively do what tongues cannot) should lit up in us first.
Indeed Allah SWT knows best. - Mugheerah Luqman Usman Khalid
Indeed I was referring to the PURE SCHOLARS.... That they should learn English and do such thing... I am definitely not in favor of such people...!Yesterday at 11:20 · · 1 
Nadeem A AshrafI have repeated this before but will say again. There are Scholars ( mufassirun, muhadditheen, of fiqh etc ) and there are 'dua'at'. Some are very good at presenting Islam using the English medium and debate and discuss in a confident and forceful way which makes those who are holding any non Islamic thoughts tremble with fear. Then you have the traditional ulema in this country, in the Arab world and a few in the west who are excellent when it comes to explaining ahkam and giving fawtawa. The difference is that , and i am using an example here: We probably wont ask Hamza Tzortzis to give us a fatawa on some highly complex fiqhi issue which needs daleel from the Kitaab and the sunnah. We will go to him to discuss Atheism or psychology or other things he is an expert at. Likewise if we were to ask a Scholar from an madrassa to explain a ruling and not (to a certain extent) ask him to give us an analysis of current socio political thinking coming from Dawkins or Hawking and thier ilk. Each have their are of expertise.Yesterday at 11:46 · · 1- Mugheerah LuqmanNadeem A Ashraf the problem is not with the differentiation, it is indeed more problematic with Daais because they are presenting Islam in many plat forms, they should be more careful about these things and the second issue is, people consider them scholars and they react as scholars and even give fatwas and discuss issues which are not their domain...! These two major problems are being discussed as far as I know...! We see our Daais as more weak in their Islamic appearances and the second issue I talked about...!Yesterday at 11:59 · · 1
- Nadeem A AshrafI agree to a certain extent, but if you are convinced, as i am, that the world over in this current climate is being dominated by western materialism and its ideological thinking then people like Hamza Andreas Tzortzisand many others are tackling these dominant forces head on. Thousands of Muslims are repenting and thousands are accepting Islam. They are inspiring many people to adopt Islam as a way of life and many go on to study in Islamic institutions and become Ulema. Can you provide an example of a famous speaker giving an incorrect fatwa? In this day and age its about 'attracting' people back to the Islamic way of life and if these western speakers are doing it , then let them continue and also link them up with traditional Islamic scholars.Yesterday at 12:05 · · 1
- Mohammad AliNadeem bhai i agree about the differentiation u made. I just talked about speakers (who could be daaees and who cud be scholars). And my point was that i dont see barakah and purity because to me people listen to an exciting speaker and they say: "Wah kia speaker hai yar. Kia speech karta ha"---- And that is it. They dont care what message he gave, they just treat it like an entertainment show and like a block buster movie which i seen, praised and then forgotten. My concern was that whether its the fault of the people who dont take message or whether there's something missing in our speakers that we dont see any barakah. Have they become too much materialistic and defensive in their approach or have the people become so hard hearted that they dont want to listen. Is all this process of dawah becoming like a glamour industry. These were my concerns and quite few people understood. Majority took the topic to another way.Yesterday at 14:26 · · 2
- Nadeem A AshrafFair enough bro. But the way i see it. We have only had 2 recent international speakers come and give lectures. I am not saying they were flawless but i did not sense any kind of arrogance or any thing missing or insincerity . If people see them as celebs and only come and listen to them for entertaining purposes , then that cant be helped! Theres always a mixed crowd, some who want to learn and others who just want to be entertained. This used to be an issue even in the classical times , many Shuyookh talked about people sitting in circles of the scholars for insincere reasons. So what do we do? we could address the issue at the lectures and/or continue with the dawah which , they way i see it is very effective . I want people to see Muslims & Islam as cool again as opposed to non Islamic filth like bollywood etc.Yesterday at 15:38 · · 3
Shahid Aziz I just read the post and the comments. What a thought by Mohammad Ali, I have been trying to tell ppl about this for so long but couldn't do it.22 hours ago ·- Usman Khalid Wallah Exactly Zeeshan Khalid ... the source of barakah is within us and barakah reflects with our actions.20 hours ago · · 2
Muhammad Usman KhanI Agree with Brother Mohammad Ali as well as Mugheerah Luqman Brother that Barakah is not there.
1- I think the main reason of this problem is that the difference between scholars & Da'ees are gradually decreasing in people's understanding. If one person got an answer from a Da'ee then he recognises him a scholar & want all the answers from him in less than 30 minutes... The Problem is the Da'ee is happy to being considered as scholar although its his responsibility to clarify this wrong perception.
2- I think the Solution to bring up the scholars who have Taqwa, Knowledge & Good Communication Skills as well. its very very important either.20 hours ago · · 1- Shahid Aziz "And who is better in speech than one who invites to Allah and does righteousness and says, "Indeed, I am of the Muslims." (41:33)19 hours ago · · 1
- Muhammad Usman KhanBrothers & Sister, Another fundamental problem is lacking of Simplicity & Taqwa but one should try to follow the right path as much as he can and keep steadfast in his work of Da'wa etc.....
As Allaah says, "So lose not heart, nor fall into despair: For ye must gain mastery if ye are true in Faith." [3:139]
اور (دیکھو) بے دل نہ ہونا اور نہ کسی طرح غم کرنا اگر تم مومن (صادق) ہو تو تم ہی غالب رہو گے
::::::
One more thing that our Da'ees & Scholars must have to study Psychology so that their Dawa & Communications are most appropriate to the particular group of people....
"3rdly, for some time of my life.. and i`d recommend u too.. to stay away from media.. and camera.. and stage ! .. and all things which include shine.. and only focus on knowledge. we shouldn`t idealize, preachers of today`s age.. and time.. rather study seerah and salaf"