A certain Father had a family of Sons, who were forever quarreling among themselves. No words he could say did the least good, so he cast about in his mind for some very striking example that should make them see that discord would lead them to misfortune.
One day when the quarreling had been much more violent than usual and each of the Sons was moping in a surly manner, he asked one of them to bring him a bundle of sticks. Then handing the bundle to each of his Sons in turn he told them to try to break it. But although each one tried his best, none was able to do so.
The Father then untied the bundle and gave the sticks to his Sons to break one by one. This they did very easily.
“My Sons,” said the Father, “do you not see how certain it is that if you agree with each other and help each other, it will be impossible for your enemies to injure you? But if you are divided among yourselves, you will be no stronger than a single stick in that bundle.”
Moral
The breach of unity puts the world, and all that’s in’t, into a state of war, and turns every man’s hand against his brother; but so long as the band holds, ’tis the strength of all the several parts of it gathered into one.
Disunity always leads to ruin.
Once upon a time there lived three bulls in a forest. All of them were strong and hefty. They were good friends and kept almost always together. Wherever one of them went, the other two followed too. Thus they were very safe from enemies. Seeing them together, none—not even the lion himself dared come near them.
A leopard too lived in a lair in that forest. He often saw the bulls and licked his chops. How he wanted to make them his meal indeed ! But he was afraid to go near them.
The leopard thought hard and hit upon a plan. He decided to divide them against one another. He took help from a jackal and created bad blood among the bulls. As a result, they moved away from one another.
Seeing this, the leopard attacked one bull and feasted on his flesh. Thus he was able to kill the other two as well one by one.
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Of Unity, Communism and Ummah
Communism comes from the word commune or community? And communes or the community are what Islam is all about. Those from the community are referred to as an ummah. In fact, Islam stresses on the importance of the ummah and Muslims refer to each other as Ummah Islam.
Islam teaches its followers that those who travel must travel in a group and someone from that group must be appointed the leader of the community. When you eat don’t eat alone but in a group or community. You get more pahala or credits that way. When praying do not pray alone. Pray in a group or community. You also get more pahala when praying in a group compared to praying alone.
Islam also makes it mandatory to pay the tithe or zakat and fitrah. This is so that those less fortunate in the community can share the wealth. The rich look after the poor in the community. That is the Islamic way. And sharing the wealth is also the way of Communism.
Actually, Islam is all about the ummah or community. This is basically because, in the old days, for security reasons people used to live in communes — both for personal safety as well as financial security. So you can’t separate Islam from community living or communes. And, logically it might seems that Islam is, in a way, Communism.
So Communism is not new. It is not 100 years old as many believe. It is actually 1,500 years old. Only that it was not called Communism back in the old days but was called ummah. But the spirit of the commune or community living always existed in Islam just like it does today in ‘modern’ Communism.
Go!!! Go!!! Go!!! Go!!! I can’t remember anything, Can’t tell if this is true or dream
Deep down inside I feel the scream... This terrible silence stops me Now that the war is through with me I’m waking up, I cannot see That there’s not much left of me; Nothing is real but pain now
Divided we Fall!!!
Once upon a time the Prophet’s youngest wife, Aishah, was travelling through the desert in a caravan. The caravan stopped for a ‘pit stop’ and Aishah decided to seek a secluded spot to answer the call of nature (they did not have R&R stops in the desert in those days).
Without realising that Aishah was missing, the caravan continued on its journey leaving Aishah behind. When Aishah returned she discovered that the caravan had left so she sat down to wait for them to come back for her.
But they did not realise they had left her behind until they stopped for the night. By then it was too dark to turn back so they decided they would do that the following morning come daybreak.
In the meantime a young, handsome Arab on horseback passed by and he saw Aishah sitting all alone in the desert. Although this Arab had never met Aishah before he immediately recognised her as being one of the Prophet’s wives because all the Prophet’s wives wore tudungs or headscarves.
The young Arab offered to give Aishah a lift and help chase after the caravan. Before they could reach the caravan, night fell, so they had to seek shelter for the night in a cave and continue their journey to look for the caravan the following morning when it was light again.
The following morning the Arab reached the caravan with Aishah riding pillion on the only horse that he possessed. Of course, this triggered talk that Aishah had spent the night alone with a young, handsome Arab. Within a day the whole of Medina was gossiping about this story and in no time at all the Prophet’s enemies were spreading the story about Aishah’s ‘affair’ with a young, handsome Arab.
Ali, the Prophet’s cousin and son-in-law (the first person after Khatijah, the Prophet’s first wife, to become a Muslim) came to see the Prophet to inform him that the rumours about Aishah’s ‘affair’ were becoming very bad and extremely serious. The Prophet was very troubled with this because Aishah was his favourite wife and also the daughter of his best general, Abu Bakar.
Ali argued that the Prophet cannot afford to be linked to rumours of an unfaithful wife. Ali insisted that the Prophet divorce Aishah.
The Prophet was extremely upset. He refused to divorce Aishah but he did leave her house and did not return for a number of days.
The Prophet (sallallahu alaihi wa sallam) remained in great anxiety with regard to Aisha (RA) for one whole month. At last one day he (sallallahu alaihi wa sallam) visited her and her parents. He sat near her (which she says he had not done since the slander had started). Feeling that something decisive was going to happen that day, Abu Bakr and Umm Ruman (Ayesha (RA)’s parents) also sat near them. The Holy Prophet gently said: “Ayesha, I have heard this about you. If you are innocent, I expect that Allah will declare your innocence. But if you have committed the sin, you should offer repentance, and ask for Allah’s forgiveness; when a servant (of Allah) confesses his guilt and repents, Allah forgives him.”
Hearing these words, tears dried in her eyes, as Ayesha (RA) reported. She looked up to her father expecting that he would say something in her defense, but he said, `Daughter, I do not know what I should say.’ Then she turned to her mother, but she also did not know what to say. At last Ayesha (RA) replied, “You have all heard something about me and believed it. Now if I say that I am innocent – and Allah is my witness that I am innocent – you will not believe me; and if I confess something which I never did – and Allah knows that I never did it – you will believe me. I cannot but repeat the words which the father of Prophet Yousuf (Joseph) had spoken: ‘fa-sabrun jamil’: I will bear this patiently with good grace.”
Saying this she lay down thinking that Allah was aware of her innocence, and He would certainly reveal the truth. At that moment, suddenly the state of receiving the Divine Revelation appeared on the Holy Prophet (sallallahu alaihi wa sallam), when pearl-like drops of perspiration used to gather on his face even in severe winter. The revelation vindicated her stand and proved her innocence. When it was over, the Prophet (sallallahu alaihi wa sallam) was overjoyed. The first words he spoke were: “Congratulations, Ayesha (RA), Allah has sent down proof of your innocence”, and then he recited the following ten verses of Sura An-Noor that had her vindication:
In the end the Prophet did not divorce Aishah but went back to her house and made her swear that she did not commit adultery with the young, handsome Arab (as guided by Surah An-Nur) — and Aishah did so.
So that ended the rumours of Aishah’s affair or adultery. The matter was now settled. But that did not settle the matter between Aishah and Ali. Since that day Aishah and Ali became adversaries. And this revealed itself on the Prophet’s death. The Prophet wanted to spend his remaining days in Aishah’s house and he in fact died on Aishah’s lap. Just before he died, though, he summoned Ali and, according to Ali, the Prophet said that when he dies Ali should take over as the successor (caliph, in the Arabic language).
When the Prophet died the council met to debate who should be the new successor and Ali told them that the Prophet had already anointed him as the successor and that Aishah was a witness to this.
The council summoned Aishah to testify but she said she did not hear the Prophet say this. Because Aishah could not confirm what Ali said, Abu Bakar, Aishah’s father, was appointed the successor instead.
It was not until Abu Bakar and the two caliphs after him, Omar and Othman, died did Ali get his turn to become caliph (the fourth caliph after the Prophet).
But soon after Ali took office, Aishah, who was then living in Mekah, led an army of Meccan Muslims to invade Medina with a view to oust Ali. And this was when the famous (or infamous) ‘War of the Camel’ took place.
It is called the War of the Camel because Aisiah was riding a camel and Ali instructed his archers to not harm her (who was, after all, his step-mother) but to aim for the camel. The camel was brought down with a well-aimed arrow and Aishah fell to the ground.
Ali then approached Aisiah, helped her to her feet, and told her to return to Mekah. Thus ended the rebellion.
The Medinan Muslims, however, were angry with Ali. Rebellion was considered a serious crime and rebels must be sentenced to death, their property confiscated, and their family sold into slavery. But all Ali did was to help Aishah to her feet and allow her to return to Mekah unpunished.
Many people turned against Ali and declared him a bad Muslim for not upholding the law. Aishah may be the Prophet’s widow and Ali’s stepmother. But the law is the law and Ali had violated the law. So they turned on him and soon after that Ali was assassinated.
The Civil War
The First Islamic Civil War, also called The First Fitna, was fought from 656 to 661 soon after the assassination of Usman, the Third Caliph after the death of Prophet Muhammad. A few battles were fought during this civil war that included the Battle of the Camel, the Battle of Siffin, the Battle of Nahrwan, etc.
The ‘Mother of all Battles’ was probably the Battle of Karbala on 10th October 680 that sealed the split between the Muslims for good when Hussein, Prophet Muhammad’s grandson, (plus his entire family), was massacre. Until today the followers of Ali and the opponents of Ali have remained split and the tragedy of Karbala is celebrated every year in Iran with bloodletting on the streets.
The historic background of the Sunni–Shia split lies in the schism that occurred when the Islamic prophet Muhammad died in the year 632, leading to a dispute over succession to Muhammad as a caliph of the Islamic community spread across various parts of the world which led to the Battle of Siffin.
The dispute intensified greatly after the Battle of Karbala, in which Hussein ibn Ali and his household were killed by the ruling Umayyad Caliph Yazid I, and the outcry for his revenge divided the early Islamic community.
Today there are differences in religious practice, traditions and customs, often related to jurisprudence. Although all Muslim groups consider the Quran to be divine, Sunni and Shia have different opinions on hadith.
Summary
It was most unfortunate that Aishah needed to answer the call of nature and doubly unfortunate that she did not inform anyone in the caravan and they left without realising she was missing.
It was also unfortunate that a young, handsome Arab, a Good Samaritan, passed by and he was riding alone. If he had been in a group rather than alone then the story of Aishah’s affair and adultery would not have been possible.
But what happened, happened and the bad blood between Aishah and Ali resulted in the Sunni-Shiah conflict that is still going on until today.
You see, when they assassinated Ali, his followers formed ‘the Party of Ali’ or Shiatul Ali (now know as Shiah for short) to seek revenge for Ali’s death at the hands of fellow Muslims. And the Shiahs are still seeking revenge until today (man, do these Shiahs have long memories).
But what I want to stress here is not so much the Sunni-Shiah conflict but how rumours of sexual misconduct can have serious repercussions. In the Aishah-Ali case millions died because of it, Muslims at the hands of Muslims.
Ali’s solution to this was that Prophet Muhammad must divorce Aishah to protect the image and reputation of the Prophet. A Prophet can’t afford to have these rumours of an unfaithful wife hanging over his head. A Prophet and his family must be seen to be above sin and transgression.
As they say: it is a matter of perception.
Of course, these rumours were being spread by the Prophet’s enemies. That is natural. Who else but your enemies would do this?
But the Prophet’s enemies were able to spread these rumours only because the event did happen (meaning: Aishah spent the night alone in the desert with a young, handsome Arab). If the event had not happened then they would not have been able to spread any rumours.
Those who supported the Prophet and/or Aishah naturally did not believe the rumours. Ali did not say be believed it as well. What Ali said was the Prophet has to divorce Aishah to protect/insulate the Prophet (and Islam, of course) from these rumours.
Never mind I found someone like you, Sometimes it last in Love but sometimes it hurts Instead!!!
For Only God Knows!!!
What does Ahli Sunnah Wal-Jamaah mean?
Ahl or ahli means ‘member of’, ‘the people of’, ‘those in the group’, ‘belonging to’, etc.
Sunnah means the traditions or actions of Prophet Muhammad.
Jamaah means ‘the congregation’, ‘the party’ or ‘the group’.
Hence those who are in the congregation of the tradition of Prophet Muhammad — meaning members of the Sunnah — are called Sunnis.
Now, Sunni Islam is the branch of Islam that accepts the first four caliphs as rightful successors of Prophet Muhammad. And that is why those who reject the first three Caliphs and instead accept only Ali, the Fourth Caliph, is not a Sunni but a Shia (which is short for Shiatu Ali — or congregation, group, followers, faction, party, etc., of Ali).
Now, what is the difference between Shia and Sunni Islam?
Actually, both Sunni and Shia Muslims share most fundamental Islamic beliefs and articles of faith. The differences between these two main sub-groups within Islam initially stemmed not from spiritual differences but from political differences. Over the centuries, however, these political differences have spawned a number of conflicting practices and positions, which have transformed into spiritual differences.
Both Sunnis and Shias share the same fundamental beliefs as far as doctrine goes. They may, however, disagree whether Ali should have been the Fourth Caliph — after Abu Bakar, Umar and Usman — or whether he should have been the First Caliph — ahead of Abu Bakar, Umar and Usman.
This has been the great Sunni-Shia divide for 1,381 years since Prophet Muhammad died on Monday, 8th June 632. Both Sunnis and Shias accept Allah as God and Muhammad as the last Prophet. They do not, however, agree on who should have been the successor to Prophet Muhammad.
And when Ali eventually became the Caliph (the word Caliph means successor) in 656, the anti-Ali faction opposed his appointment and this triggered the first civil war that was fought between Muslims and Muslims. And the Sunnis and Shias have been fighting ever since not over matters of doctrine but over the issue of succession.
Many Sunnis consider the Shias as deviants, and vice versa. This is not unlike the Protestant-Catholic divide of 500 years ago when the Puritans killed the Anglicans and the Anglicans killed the Catholics and the Catholics killed anyone and everyone who was not Catholic because each considered all the others as heretics and apostates.
At the end of the day, who are the deviants and who are the true followers of the faith? I suppose only God knows that answer.
Who among them shall be the holiest of the Holy??? A Divine Being???
When television was first introduced, the Saudi Scholars refused to allow television to come into the country — just like the Internet is a western invention that will erode a culture and belief system.
It took many years for the ruling elite to convince the Saudi scholars to allow television to come into the country. Finally they agreed to compromise. But television can only broadcast ‘filtered’ news, religious programmes and Quran recitals (now football as well). But they can’t broadcast movies and entertainment programmes, until today.
This was the opinion of the religious scholars or ulamak. This was their religious decree or fatwah. It is considered ‘politically correct’ for Saudi Arabia, the seat of Islam. So why does othe Muslim country not also follow the rulings of the Saudi scholars? Are these scholars wrong when they know Islam better than any non-Arabic speakers?
The Saudi scholars also refused to allow planes to land in Saudi Arabia. People who wanted to perform their pilgrimage to Mekah had to take a ship (kapal haji). It was not until later that the Saudi scholars compromised and allowed an airline company to be formed and for foreign planes to land in Saudi Arabia. But the Saudi airline company may not employ local Saudi women as stewardesses and there must not be any liquor on board the plane — like MAS, the airlines from Malaysia, another country where Islam is the official religion.
Women can’t drive in Saudi Arabia and they can’t leave home alone and unescorted by a member of the family and so on and so forth. In Malaysia or Indonesia, the scholars have not ruled the same or issued any religious decree to that affect.
The point I am making is you can’t win an argument by saying that this is the opinion of the religious scholars and this is what they decreed because in different places, and at different times, different scholars have ruled differently.
So what standards are you using in Malaysia or in Indonesia when you talk about the Islamic tradition and religious decrees and whatnot?
In Afghanistan, another Muslim country, they beat women who do not wear a headdress (tudung) in public. In Turkey, yet another Muslim country, they ban women from using a headdress. Women must remove their headdress before entering the university compound or else they would be denied entry. One lady Member of Parliament was escorted out of the Turkish Parliament building because she refused to remove her headdress.
In Malaysia and Indonesia, it is your choice to wear it or not. It is not compulsory and neither is it banned. It is a free choice and will.
Afghanistan, Turkey and Malaysia, all Muslim countries. But they have different rulings on even such a ‘simple’ thing as the tudung. And all three countries have religious scholars who have issued religious decrees. But why is it not consistent? Why the differences?
In other words, whose standards do we apply? Afghanistan’s, Turkey’s, Indonesian's, Brunei's or Malaysia’s? If it's a holier than thou attitude should it follow the Saudi's rulings?
Prophet Muhammad was an Arab and the Quran is in Arabic wouldn't it be right that such rulings or decree are to follow the Arab's way and tradition?
There are 7 layers of Heavens and there are also 7 layers of Hells. Who among its creations shall reside in the highest layer of Heaven and who among its creations shall reside in the lowest level of Hell?
Mama take this badge from me I can't use it anymore It's getting dark too dark to see Feels like I'm knockin' on heaven's door
Knock-knock-knockin' on heaven's door Knock-knock-knockin' on heaven's door Knock-knock-knockin' on heaven's door Knock-knock-knockin' on heaven's door, eh yeah
Mama put my guns in the ground I can't shoot them anymore That cold black cloud is comin' down Feels like I'm knockin' on heaven's door
Knock-knock-knockin' on heaven's door Knock-knock-knockin' on heaven's door Knock-knock-knockin' on heaven's door Knock-knock-knockin' on heaven's door...